“Spain’s Situation is Very Different to Greece’s”
Regulating market speculation is very complicated, says Philippe D’Arvisenet, chief economist at BNP Paribas, who advocates the establishment of a common European budget as an alternative.
Fearing the spread of a Greek-style debt crisis, speculators sent European stock markets tumbling on Tuesday. Stocks in Madrid fell 2.27% and markets in Athens fell almost 4% at the close on Wednesday. The euro itself reached its lowest level since April 2009, at 1.29 dollars. If Europe does not solve its fundamental institutional problems, “the future of the euro may be limited”, Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz said Tuesday.
But the end of the euro is nowhere near, says Philippe D’Arvisenet, chief economist at BNP Paribas. He hopes the Greek crisis will prompt consideration of how to plug the institutional and systemic holes in the euro zone.
There were rumblings Tuesday that the Greek crisis could spread to Spain, causing panic in the markets. Where did this come from?
According to one rumour, Spain has asked the IMF for a loan of 280 billion euros, which corresponds to half of its total debt. But this does not make any sense! The Spanish Prime Minister denies this, the IMF denies it… But the damage is done. Markets always move on fear.
Rumours are always provoked: they aren’t born from nowhere, they’re created for someone to profit from. Who started this rumour? It may be someone in a trading room or the work of hedge funds; we’ll never know. The role of rating agencies may also be called into question… There are many stakeholders. What is worrying is that investor expectations manufacture reality. There’s a crisis of confidence in euro markets that feeds off itself.
What impact might this have on the Spanish economy?
Spain’s situation is very different to Greece’s. Its debt is less than half and there has been no such level of falsification of accounts. But it’s certain that in the coming years, many European countries — Spain, but also Portugal and Ireland — will have to have much tighter budgets. It’s the only way to reassure the markets in the short-term. The austerity budget will slow economic activity further in these countries, but also further widen the gap in the euro area.
In a way, Germany, Holland and France are benefiting from this situation. When interest rates rise on Greek bonds — because these securities are not safe, and therefore not attractive — those of other countries fall. For example, Germany’s are less than 3%.
The euro hit its lowest level in a year. Do you believe in the “end of the euro,” as evoked by Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz?
First, one shouldn’t necessarily complain about the decline of the euro. A few months ago, it was considered too high. A strong euro is a barrier to exports, and since November it has been noted that export orders are up. So this decline is not entirely negative.
Moreover, the Anglo-Saxons have been predicting the end of the euro for 15 years. The single currency has never pleased them, they dream of an end to the euro.
But in reality, it would be very complicated. We must consider the consequences, both for those who come out and for those who remain in the euro zone.
If you are Greek, and you have some money in the bank, you do not want to devalue your currency by half. In Argentina, the devaluation of the peso resulted in very significant social tension. Moving Greece out of the euro zone would have been a much more violent solution, and full of uncertainties. The Germans also have no interest in this. Like others, they export half their production to the euro zone members. It would be very hard to sell if neighbouring countries had a devalued currency.
What are the possible solutions?
If the situation continues to deteriorate, the euro zone countries will have to do something. Otherwise, we’ll go straight to the wall. We must find answers to the flaws in the euro system. We have known since the beginning that there is no federalism; on one side there is the European Central Bank (ECB), and on the other a multitude of governments. We also know that the outcome of a crisis is uncertain.
Faced with this situation, we must implement a common European budget. California, for example, has a disastrous budget situation, but no one is talking about making California leave the United States! Either everyone tightens their belts, or we go towards this form of federalism.
There are plenty of holes in the euro system; it takes a crisis to get everyone to start thinking about them.
On the other hand, regulating market speculation internationally is very complicated. But the debate is open, especially on the role of ratings agencies.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Greece Trying to Pick Up the Pieces
Most Greeks are upset about the austerity cuts, but they have reconciled themselves to reality.
The shutters of bank branches in Athens remained down on Thursday. Some had been damaged by the violence of the previous day. As public transport resumed, taxis returned to the streets and civil servants went back to work, it was bank employees’ turn to go on a strike.
On Wednesday, three employees of a Marfin Popular Bank branch office in central Athens suffocated from the smoke and gas that emerged after a Molotov cocktail that had been thrown into their building. The two women and one man were the first fatalities of the frustration gripping Greece over the radical budget cuts in progress. Wednesday saw the largest demonstration in Greece since the beginning of the country’s debt crisis in December 2009. On Thursday, parliament approved austerity measures of 30 billion euros. The legislation includes tax hikes, pension reforms and deep cuts in public sector bonuses.
“A demonstration is one thing, murder is something else,” prime minister George Papandreou said during the meeting in parliament that addressed the controversial austerity package Greece must implement if it is to receive its promised 110 billion euro loan from its fellow eurozone countries and the IMF.
Abandoned battlefield
Some 50,000 Greeks participated in Wednesday’s demonstration, but despite its scale it had the character of a routine protest. The people had to blow off steam, analysts said, but at the same time seemed to have reconciled themselves to the reality they have to suffer from the debt their country is in.
When the news of the three victims reached the protesters, the mood in the city turned. The police, already omnipresent, started blocking streets and arresting people. Greek media, which had been participating in the strike, resumed their broadcasts and that could be watched in cafes. As metro service shut down and the gate of Syntagma metro station was closed, the last passengers headed for the riots slipped through. They reached the abandoned battlefield in front of the parliament building. The pungent smell of tear gas and smoke hung over Athens’ centre.
Garbage bins emitted smoke and riot police with white helmets and transparent shields moved in file along squares and streets where small groups of strikers still gathered. Some of them ran as soon as they saw the police, as though they expected a confrontation.
“I am angry because it is all so pointless,” said Vasiliki Petsa, a political scientist, as she found her way through the shattered glass of store fronts. She was in town for a meeting, but doubted it would take place. “Like the week-long riots in December 2008 [that erupted after police shot a teenager], this is not a revolution, it is just destruction and a game about money.”
An occupational accident
The, mainly black-clad young, strikers who remained on the streets Wednesday were busy making phone calls to determine where to go next. The report that three had died was a malicious lie, they told each other, spread to cast us in a bad light. Yannis Trantos, a 20-year-old medical student who carried a red flag, had heard people only suffered minor injuries. Just two blocks away from the Marfin bank, he was sure the news consisted only of “rumours meant to scare people”.
Unions and moderate protesters quickly left the scene in the afternoon, afraid they would be held responsible for the fatalities. They were replaced by urban sanitation crews swiping together the glass from windows and bus stops that had been destroyed.
Open mourning for the victims didn’t take place until Thursday morning. People left flowers in front of the targeted bank branch. A spokesperson for the civil servants’ union, ADEDY, gave a statement mourning the dead, but added the strikes would continue.
The otherwise very articulate mass of leftist splinter groups seemed to consider the death of the three bank workers an occupational accident. They were unfortunate victims in the ongoing clash between capitalism and their ideal society. It was their boss who kept the three bank employees in the office, was the conclusion of a man in his forties who was discussing the matter outside a bar in Athens’ student neighbourhood. “That’s capitalism,” he said. If the boss had had his heart in the right place, he would have given them the day off, he ventured. “Because everybody knew banks and luxury shops would be attacked.”
This way of reasoning was long accepted in Greece, but it is no longer going over well with the majority. Police officers and fire-brigades have made anonymous statements in the press saying they could have saved more lives if they had not been hindered by aggressive protesters. The papers went on to accuse the hardcore anarchists of abusing the peaceful demonstration of normal citizens and harming Greek democracy.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Greek Banks in Serbia Stable, Liquid and Solvent
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, MAY 5 — The financial situation of domestic banks that are owned by Greek banks is stable, they are liquid and solvent, and all business indicators are in accordance with the prescribed frameworks, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) said in a statement, on the occasion of the current debt crisis in Greece, reports Tanjug news agency. These banks, as well as other banking institutions operating in Serbia, are resistant to external shocks, which has been confirmed by stress tests conducted by the NBS on the methodology of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the checks carried out by a joint team of the IMF and the World Bank under the program of assessment of Serbia’s financial sector, the NBS statement reads. In Serbia, there are four banks that are majority-owned by legal entities from Greece — Alpha Bank Serbia, Eurobank EFG, Piraeus Bank and Vojvodjanska Banka — with a participation in the market of 16%. In 2009 these banks increased their credit activity by 10%, and the growing trend is continuing in this year. These banks, as members of the financial companies from Greece, operate in Serbia as independent legal entities within the frameworks of their banking groups, with the license of the NBS and their own capital, which enables them to properly and efficiently fulfill all their obligations towards their creditors, including the citizens.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Liar Loans and the Thieves That Make Them
The Federal Reserve System (Fed) is not now and has never been a legitimate central bank. It is not part of the U.S. government. It is a private corporation owned by member banks. Private investors own the member banks. A majority of the owners in recent years are European by birth and residence.
Like OPEC, which is a cartel of oil-producing countries, the Fed is a cartel of commercial and investment bankers who coordinate the production, pricing and marketing of money in the United States. Though it’s not a government entity, this particular cartel also utilizes the police power of the federal government to enforce its agreements.
Our founding fathers were very specific about the creation (or production) of money. Article 1, Section 8 of our Constitution charges the Congress with “the power to coin money and regulate the value thereof.” Many people argue it violates the Constitution to turn these powers over to a non-governmental, privately owned corporation that is a highly profitable outside third party like the Federal Reserve. I agree with them.
What the Federal Reserve System does is this: It creates money out of nothing and charges interest for it. The Fed creates the money via the distribution system of America’s privately owned, federally-chartered banks through a process called fractional-reserve banking. The U.S. Treasury, which is a government entity supported by taxpayer dollars, pays for the paper and ink and printing presses and employee costs for printing our currency.
The Federal Reserve has three primary components:…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Did Gen. Petreaus Misspeak About Times Square Lone Wolf Jihadi?
Attorney General Eric Holder may have upstaged CENTCOM Commander Gen. Petreaus on an ABC Sunday Morning news program when he said that Times Square bombing plot suspect, Faisal Shahzad did have Pakistan Taliban connections and support. Petreaus had said that Times Square bombing plot suspect, Faisal Shahzad may have acted as a ‘lone wolf”. That comment had angered many in the counterterrorism community. Petreaus had based his comment in part that there wasn’t much chatter on the internet from al Qaeda and Taliban terrorist sites about Shahzad. Now it appears that Petreaus may have spoken hastily…
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Holder Says Pakistani Taliban Behind Times Square Plot
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says the Pakistani Taliban was “intimately involved” in the failed Times Square bombing.
Speaking on Sunday morning news shows, Holder says the Taliban in Pakistan “directed this plot.” A U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent, Faisal Shahzad is accused of spending five months in Pakistan before returning to the United States in February and preparing his attack.
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Times Square Terrorist’s Mystery Mosque Found?
Feds raid radical Islamic center owned by terror front
It remains a mystery: Where did the alleged Times Square terrorist — a Muslim man with an apparent zeal for Islam — go to mosque?
The Council on American-Islamic Relations says it surveyed the mosques in suspect Faisal Shahzad’s home state of Connecticut and concluded Shahzad did not worship at any of them and therefore was not religious.
“I’ve asked everyone, ‘Have you seen this person, have you heard of this person?’“ said Mongi Dhaouadi, spokesman for CAIR’s Connecticut chapter. “And the answer is ‘no.’“
WND, however, has learned that federal agents investigating the alleged car bomber paid a visit to a radical mosque in Bridgeport, Conn., with ties to terrorism. Shahzad has lived in the Bridgeport area for nearly a decade.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ottawa Man Returns Medal to Saudis to Protest Treatment of Trapped Woman
OTTAWA — A retired naval officer from Ottawa is giving back a medal of honour in protest of the Saudi government’s treatment of a Canadian citizen.
And he hopes others will follow suit.
Mark Brousseau, who served on HMCS Athabaskan in the early 1990s during the first Gulf war, received the Liberation of Kuwait medal from the government of Saudi Arabia.
On Tuesday morning, he’ll head to the Saudi embassy in Ottawa to return it to the ambassador to protest the country’s male guardianship system that has kept 24-year-old Canadian Nazia Quazi in the country against her will.
The Muslim woman, whose mother and brother live in Ottawa, went to Saudi three years ago to visit her father and to do the Umrah, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
But once she arrived, her father, whom she claims doesn’t approve of her boyfriend, took her travel documentation and identification and has refused to let her leave the country. In Saudi Arabia, the male guardianship system says that fathers must make decisions for their unmarried daughters. Quazi lives in housing provided by her employer, and says her father, whom she alleges has beaten her in the past, is becoming increasingly violent and abusive. MPs Paul Dewar and Bob Rae have called for action. Deepak Obhrai, minister of state for foreign affairs, says the government is in contact with Saudi officials, but can’t do much because of the country’s rules.
Giving back the medal, Brousseau feels, will raise awareness and, if several of his shipmates — he figures about 700 Canadians have the medal — do the same, it will have more impact. He encourages them to contact Muslims for Progressive Values Ottawa (www.mpvottawa.com), a group that has been lobbying for Quazi’s release.
“It’s a small step, but if more people find out about it, maybe they’ll get on the bandwagon,” he said.
Brousseau first heard about Quazi when she was interviewed on CBC’s The Current.
“It just broke my heart, the situation she was in,” he said. “I wished I could help.”
That’s when he thought of his medal: “I thought, it’s not doing me any good sitting in my drawer with all my navy paraphernalia. I’m not under the delusion that I’m going to change Saudi’s rules but the point is that if, in this case, this gesture will help to get Nazia home, it’s worth it.”
Brousseau, 51, is retired from a 25-year career in the Navy. He remembers the Gulf deployment as a stressful time because they got word they were going around Christmastime and he had to leave his wife and children, then four and six years old, for 10 months.
And, as it was before e-mail, he could only contact them once a month when they went into port.
“It was the first time I was deployed in harm’s way,” he said. “They were bombing oil fields and talking about weapons of mass destruction.
“We were at full high alert the whole time we were there.”
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: SPÖ Fears British Conservative Government
The Social Democrats (SPÖ) fear that a future British Conservative Party government would have “negative implications,” according to SPÖ federal manager Laura Rudas.
Speaking today (Fri) Rudas said that such a government would constitute a set-back for efforts to make Europe “more social and for more regulation and control of financial markets. It would be more difficult to create a common European financial-market architecture with a Europe-sceptical and conservative British government.”
People’s Party (ÖVP) Europe spokesman and former Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, on the other hand, claimed that the British people had clearly indicated their preference for a change in government.
He said he hoped that Conservative Party leader David Cameron would continue to cooperate constructively with the rest of Europe as head of a new British government since the UK played “an important role” in Europe.
Freedom Party (FPÖ) foreign-affairs spokesman Johannes Hübner said the conservatives’ victory had been “urgently necessary” for Europe, adding that the FPÖ valued the party’s Europe-critical policies in the interest of the British people.
FPÖ MEP Andreas Mölzer welcomed the prospect that a British government led by Cameron would help stop centralisation in Europe.
Green MEP Ulrike Lunacek welcomed the election of the first Green to the House of Commons since the British Greens’ formation 30 years ago.
Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) leader Josef Bucher called British election results “a new chance for the UK.”
He also claimed the Liberal Democrats had shown that the era of absolute majorities in the UK had come to an end.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: BZÖ Attacks Government for Helping ‘Money Sink’ Greece
Austrian opposition politicians have criticised the government for deciding to financially support “money sink” Greece.
Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) boss Josef Bucher said in parliament yesterday (Weds): “European leaders have failed. They have now agreed to assist ‘money sink’ Greece while not mentioning anything about a tax on risky financial speculations.”
Bucher claimed the Euro “will be history” if speculators focus on Spain and Portugal who are also in serious financial difficulties.
The BZÖ chief branded the coalition’s decision to contribute 2.3 billion Euros to the international rescue package for Greece as an “act of desperation without legitimisation of the parliament”.
People’s Party (ÖVP) Finance Minister Josef Pröll defended the move.
“Hundreds of thousands of jobs would be at risk if we don’t help Greece immediately,” he said.
Pröll however also warned: “The time of cheating and tricking is over for Greece.”
The minister revealed he was “angry” by former Greek leaders’ actions.
BZÖ MP Ewald Stadler claimed the 110-billion-Euro rescue bid — agreed on by the EU’s 16 Eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — would only help bank institutes. Stadler accused Pröll of “not having a clue” about what was going on.
Freedom Party (FPÖ) head Heinz-Christian Strache attacked the coalition — formed by the ÖVP and the Social Democrats (SPÖ) — for not having held a referendum before agreeing on Austria’s participation.
Greens foreign issues spokesman Alexander Van der Bellen said European Union (EU) leaders acted “incompetently” in their decision to financially support Greece which has worryingly high state debt and budget deficit figures.
The chiefs of Austria’s five biggest banks earlier this week ensured they would not reduce investments in Greece.
Raiffeisenzentralbank (RZB) chief Walter Rothensteiner said: “We will not speculate against Greece, and we won’t reduce our investments in the country.”
Austrian banks have invested around 4.5 billion Euros in the country.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium: Magistrates to Investigate Paedophilia in the Church
The Belgian Justice Minister Stefaan De Clerck (Flemish Christian democrat) has given two magistrates the task of looking into allegations of child sex abuse by Roman Catholic clergymen. Two weeks ago, the Archbishop of Bruges Roger Vangheluwe resigned after he admitted to having abused an under-age boy in the 1980’s.
It has also been alleged that Roger Vangheluwe covered up allegations of sexual abuse by priests in his diocese.
The two magistrates will liaise with the church’s Commission for Complaints of Sexual Abuse in a Pastoral Relationship and the Justice Department.
Since the resignation of Bishop Vangheluwe, there have been some 150 complaints made about child sex abuse perpetrated by members of the Belgian clergy.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
EU: Greece in Court of Justice Over Petrol Station Rules
(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, MAY 5 — The European Commission has decided to refer Greece to the EU Court of Justice, for failing to adopt regulations for petrol stations concerning the principle of a business’s freedom to be set up. According to Brussels, the current rules make it very difficult for businessmen from other member-states to enter the Greek market. In particular, the European Commission contests the coherence and proportionality of certain legislation concerning the location of petrol stations, their certifications, their opening hours and the minimum distance between one station and another. The EU Commission sent its thoughts to Athens in June of last year, asking for community regulations to be adopted, but received no response. As a result, the move towards the final phase of infraction proceedings was decided, hauling Greece in front of the Court of Justice. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
EU: Greece to Face Court for Public-Sector Energy Company
(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, MAY 5 — The European Union Commission has decided to take Greece before the European Court of Justice so that it will end the State’s special rights in the management of the public-sector energy company. The aim of this initiative is to ensure conformity to regulations of the Treaty for the free movement of capitals, whereas Greek regulations in fact impose a limit to investors from other Member States. A presidential decree, in fact, defines a 5% ceiling to voting rights in all company decisions, of which the State holds 51%. Following a first intervention by the European Commission, Athens had stated that the limit to voting rights had been imposed for security reasons and in the public interest, without explaining in what way these would be jeopardised. After the forwarding of a motivated opinion in November 2009, and there having been no modification to regulations by Greece, Brussels has now decided to turn to the European Court of Justice. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
France: It’s Time to Face Algerian War, Historian
(ANSAmed) — PARIS, MAY 7 — “It is time for France to face the Algerian war, because the refusal to do it is a source of suffering for an important part of French society”. There is a need to elaborate once and for all the grief for the colony’s loss. So says historian Benjamin Stora, among the main experts of Maghreb history, who’s denouncing the defamatory campaign against Hors la loi, the French-Algerian director Rachid Buchareb’s movie participating at the Cannes Festival under Algerian nationality, and that is been charged with the accusation of counterfeiting history by a French congressman who has yet to see it. Back in 1991, in “La gangrene et l’oubli”, Stora affirmed that 30 years after Algeria’s independence, war had yet to end “in the minds and in the hearts”, since it was “not named, shown, accepted in the collective memory enough”. According to him the French always had a hard time in representing the Other, the former native of colonial times, at the movies, and the problem is that “they need to change their outlook on their colonial past, to elaborate their grief on the loss of French Algeria that was considered a part of France and it still is today a wound in the history of French nationalism”. That’s why, he explains, the separation has practically never been shown on the screen as the result of the need of independence of the Algerian people, but rather like the product of a betrayal or an abandonment by the French. So “episodes like the massacres in Setif, Guelma and Kherrata in 1945 (told in Hors la loi) don’t appear in French cinema, a real black hole”, according to Storia, who believes that today in France “on one hand, the young children and grandchildren of immigrants multiplied the historical researches on their parents and grandparents’ country, on the other hand they developed the desire to turn the page and look at the future, and the refusal to accept this chapter of French history is a source of great suffering for an important part of French society: that’s why it’s time to face it.” (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Pope Accepts Mixa’s Resignation
Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of controversial Augsburg Bishop Walter Mixa following Friday’s revelations about Mixa’s alleged sexual abuse of children.
The Vatican’s move officially ends Mixa’s bishopric and probably his career in the church. A “diocese-administrator” is to be chosen by the local chapter on Saturday afternoon in Augsburg, pending the selection of a new bishop.
Karlheinz Knebel, general vicar of the Augsburg bishopric, called on his colleagues and congregation to protect the unity of the church “in this difficult time.”
“We are at a new beginning, and we must embark on it together,” he said.
State prosecutors in the Bavarian town of Ingolstadt opened an investigation into Mixa on Friday after child abuse suspicions were passed on to authorities by the diocese of Augsburg.
According to the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper, the accusation related to Mixa’s time as bishop of the Bavarian city of Eichstätt, between 1996 and 2005. But further details about the alleged victim were not known.
Knebel said that the diocese had “taken responsibility, had acted and had informed the authorities.” This, he said, was in line with the German Conference of Bishops’ policy of “transparency and truth.”
Mixa had already tendered his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI last month because of persistent allegations that he hit and beat children while he was a teacher at Schrobenhausen children’s home during the 1970s and 1980s. Eight people who lived at the home have come forward with claims that he beat them with his fists, a stick and even a carpet beater.
After weeks of flat denials, Mixa recently admitted he could “not rule out a cuff or two around the ear 20 years ago” and added that “I very much regret that today.”
A special investigation into activities at the children’s home and the charitable foundation running it highlighted a number of seemingly questionable purchases signed off by Mixa.
These included spending 15,000 Deutsche marks on a Mary icon, DM43,000 on a probably counterfeit Piransi engraving, and DM70,500 on a fancy crucifix. Thousands were also spent on wine.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Greek Riots Threaten to Scare Tourists
The protests and riots in Athens threaten to undermine tourism, one of Greece’s few growth industries and the country’s best hope of easing the pain of its unprecedented austerity program.
“People will think twice about going to Greece,” said Ian Gamse, a director at London-based Otus, which advises Marriott International and Hilton Worldwide. “People who have booked are going to start calling their tour operators. If Greece can’t get the situation under control, it is going to be a big problem.”
The demonstrations, which left three people dead and four buildings burned on Wednesday, come as the spring tourist season is getting under way. Tourism accounts for about 16 percent of Greece’s gross domestic product and about one in five jobs, according to estimates by the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Greece’s GDP will decline 4 percent this year and 2.6 percent next year, according to the Finance Ministry. European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Wednesday that the austerity measures Greece agreed to for its May 2 bailout package will deepen the contraction by 1 percentage point this year and by 2 percentage points next year.
Prime Minister George Papandreou accepted the measures in return for 110 billion euros ($141 billion) in funding from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, or IMF. Union groups have called the austerity plan “savage.”
The street violence made Megan McCulla, a 24-year-old who works in marketing at West Virginia Junior College in Morgantown, West Virginia, consider canceling her vacation plans. She and her husband had bought tickets to spend 10 days on the island of Patmos.
“My mom’s called me, my dad’s called,” McCulla said in a telephone interview. Her husband was worried, she said, that “if we do go there and it heats up again we might get stuck. We may not go.”
Even before the riots, the Athens-based Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises was planning a public-relations initiative to counter the effect of weeks of strikes and protests. Its first target: Germany, where public resentment has been rising against the government’s contribution to the bailout package.
Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister Angela Gerekou asked the EU to ease visa requirements on April 15, according to the Athens News Agency. The next week, Gerekou called for a freeze on hotel prices. Greece may lift the ban on foreign flag cruise ships docking at its island ports, Gerekou said on April 21.
Underperforming other destinations:
While hotel rates across Western Europe are up from last year, Greece has increased 4 percent while France is up 14 percent, according to Dan Toporek, a spokesman for Travelocity.com, an online travel agency based in Southlake, Texas.
The negative headlines may be an initial deterrent for travelers concerned about safety, said Drew Patterson, chief executive officer of Jetsetter, a private luxury discount agency based in New York.
“Consumers do read things in the press and they do respond,” Patterson said in a telephone interview. “When things blow up, when there’s negative news in the press, that will slow down the booking pace.”
The dollar has gained 11 percent against the euro this year, making it cheaper for Americans to travel to Greece. The euro, which last year strengthened to as much as $1.51, dropped below $1.29 on Wednesday for the first time in more than a year.
The violence came as tourism was showing indications of increasing. Passenger arrivals at Athens International Airport rose 10 percent in the first quarter. Revenue from tourism climbed 1 percent in the first two months of the year to 202.9 million euros, according to Bank of Greece data.
In Athens, though, there were signs the crisis was keeping tourists away. Hotel occupancy in the city fell 1.4 percent in the year through March, according to STR Global, a London-based research company.
Travel providers are cutting prices to Greece. STA Travel, the world’s largest student travel agency, reduced prices for its Greece packages as much as 30 percent.
German “bookings for Greece are underperforming other summer bookings and this trend has accelerated in April,” said Doerte Nordbeck of the market research institute GfK inNuremberg.
GfK analyzes data collected from 1,200 representative German travel agencies. Summer bookings are down 6 percent for Greece and fell 12 percent in April, both compared with the same period a year earlier.
Alexander Rusch, a 57-year-old worker at a Kerrygold factory near Dusseldorf, said in an interview that he and his wife had considered vacationing in Greece for the first time this year. “We decided to go to Mallorca once again because of all the frightening news we saw on TV,” he said.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Major US Bank Sued by Milan Fund
Milan, 7 May (AKI) — American banking giant Citigroup is being sued by Italian infrastructure fund F2i for 100 million euros. In the lawsuit filed in Milan, the Rome-based fund claims the bank found no investors for its Italian fund while launching a rival fund.
The New York-based bank had a conflict of interest because it marketed its own fund after being hired by F2i to promote a similar investment, an F2I spokesman told Bloomberg in a telephone interview Friday.
Financing from F2i is used to finance major infrastructure projects including roads and bridges in Italy.
According to a report published in the Italian financial daily, Il Sole 24 Ore on Friday, Citigroup did not find any investors for the F2i fund during its 18-month contract, while it raised 3 billion euros for its own rival fund.
The damages sought reflect what Rome-based F2I would have earned on the 15-year fund as a management fee had it raised the target of 1 billion euros, the Italian newspaper reported.
But Citigroup has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
“Citi firmly believes that it duly performed its obligations and always acted in the interests of its client,” Citigroup said in a statement on Friday.
“The lack of international investment in the F2i fund was due to a complex number of factors completely independent from, and unrelated to, the work done by Citi during the course of two years.”
Citigroup said it will “vigorously defend” itself against the allegations.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Third Council to Fine Burqa Wearers
Biella, 7 May (AKI) — The northern city of Cossato on Friday became the third local authority in Italy to impose fines on women who cover their faces in public. The head-to-toe Islamic burqa and the niqab, which leaves the eyes visible are not specifically named in the by-law but are understood to be its target.
The fines will range from 25 to 100 euros. Elsewhere in northern Italy, Varallo and Novara city councils have already imposed fines on burqa and niqab wearers.
“There’s no security emergency in Cossato. But I want to stress that people coming to our country have obligations as well as rights,” said mayor Claudio Corradino, who belongings to Italy’s anti-immigrant Northern League party.
The burqa and niqab are a sensitive issue in Italy and elsewhere in Europe, where many people see them as a security threat, as well as a symbol of the oppression of women and an obstacle to integration.
The Northern League party, a coalition partner in Italy’s conservative government, made strong gains in recent regional elections in northern Italy.
The northeastern Veneto and northern Piedmont regions elected Northern League governors.
A row erupted on Wednesday after Novara city council on fined a Tunisian woman 500 euros after she she was apprehended by police wearing a burqa outside a post office.
The move drew criticism from Muslim groups and politicians from Italy’s centre-left opposition.
It was Italy’s first such fine and made possible after Novara city council, which is dominated by the Northern League, introduced a controversial by-law in January banning clothing which prevented immediate identification in public.
A 1975 Italian law to combat domestic terrorism forbids any mask or clothing that makes it impossible to identify the wearer, while allowing for some exceptions.
Belgium’s lower house of parliament on 30 April backed a bill making it illegal to wear clothing that covers all or part of the face. The country is likely to become the first to impose such a ban.
French MPs are also due to debate whether there should be restrictions Islamic garments that fully cover a woman’s body and face.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Vatican Official ‘Named’ In Corruption Probe
Perugia, 7 May (AKI) — A senior Vatican official has been named in a major investigation by Italian prosecutors into a multimillion euro public works kickback scandal. On Thursday, prosecutors widened their investigation to include 15 apartments they believe were purchased with slush funds.
According to Italian media reports published on Friday, prosecutors heard evidence that Francesco Camaldo, a senior Vatican monsignor closely involved in the official ceremonies of Pope Benedict XVI, met jailed businessman Diego Anemone regularly.
Anemone was among four people arrested in February in connection with alleged graft in the allocation of construction contracts for last July’s Group of Eight summit that totalled 327 million euros.
“It was me who accompanied Diego (Anemone) to meetings with these people,” Anemone’s driver, Laid Ben Fathi Hidri, reportedly told prosecutors. “ I remember in particular he had a relationship with Monsignor Francesco Camaldo.”
Until 1997, Camaldo was private secretary to the late Cardinal Ugo Poletti and is now an honorary prelate appointed by the pope.
According to the Italian daily La Repubblica, he was also questioned in the 2006 inquiry conducted by Naples prosecutor Henry John Woodcock who at the time issued an arrest warrant for Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, accusing him of participating in corruption, forgery, and prostitution.
Woodcock’s inquiry was later moved to Como in northern Italy, where it was shelved.
In the latest inquiry, it is alleged that Camaldo had sought 280,000 euros from another official under investigation, jailed former civil protection deputy Angelo Balducci.
La Repubblica said that the prosecutors had been told Balducci made the funds available and they were transferred to “his bank account at the Vatican through an internal transfer at the same bank”.
Laid Ben Hidri Fathi said “politicians and prelates” had benefited from relationships with Anemone.
Earlier this week, industry minister Claudio Scajola and key ally of prime minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned after he was linked to the inquiry.
Scajola had been under pressure since the end of April when he was named in relation to a 1.5 million euro apartment he bought for his daughter near the Roman Colosseum in 2004.
More than half the purchase price of the Rome apartment was allegedly paid by Angelo Zampolini, an architect who is being investigated for public works corruption who worked for Anemone.
Another Berlusconi ally, Denis Verdini, the national co-ordinator of Berlusconi’s ruling conservative People of Freedom party was this week cited by prosecutors in Florence and Cagliari probing alleged kickbacks relating to the G8 and other public works projects.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Civilian Protection Chief Denies Wrongdoing
Rome, 7 May (AKI) — Italy’s civil protection chief on Friday denied any involvement in a multimillion euro public works kickbacks scandal and said allegations made against him were “the fruit of misunderstanding”. Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi refused to accept Bertolaso’s resignation in February after he was accused of sexual impropriety and corruption.
“The accusations made against me are the fruit of a misunderstanding,” Bertolaso told journalists in the Italian capital, Rome.
“I think I have shown with concrete facts that all the allegations levelled against me are completely unfounded,”said Bertolaso, who is also a junior minister.
“I have a clear conscience,” said Bertolaso, claiming to have brought with him documents that had been overlooked by prosecutors investigating 327 million euros of bribes allegedly paid to secure public works contracts allocated during the Group of Eight summit last year.
Florence prosecutors claim to have telephone intercepts in which Bertolaso allegedly enjoyed “not only massages but sexual services” at the Salaria Sport Village, a health club in Rome.
Investigators have alleged that Diego Anemone, the Rome businessman arrested in relation to the alleged corruption of G8 construction contracts, also organised “ sex parties” for Bertolaso.
Berlusconi has defended Bertolaso, claiming he was the victim of increasingly “barbaric behaviour” and a “poisoning of public life”.
Bertolaso is considered by many as a national hero for the role he played last year in coordinating rescue efforts after the devastating earthquake which struck the central Italian city of L’Aquila and the surrouding area last April.
Bertolaso was earlier sent by Berlusconi in May 2008 to spearhead the government’s action plan to end the refuse crisis that had hit the southern city of Naples that year.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: The Real Islam is Moderate, Course in Rome
(ANSAmed) — ROME, MAY 7 — Much different from the distorted interpretations and the more extreme and radical visions, the real Islam is based on the principle of ‘wasat’, that is to say the right and moderate way. This is the central core of the summer lessons that will be held at the Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamics Studies (PISAI), scheduled in Rome between July 1 and July 16. “Realism and moderation in Islam” is the course’s title, for 40 class hours in total (from 8 am to 1 pm five days a week). The type of Islam that most Muslims believe in, discusses PISAI principal Miguel Ayuso Guixot, “is realist and moderate”, and because of its research of the right way, is “adverse to exaggeration both by defect or by excess”. An assumption that the course wants to demonstrate through different themes: from sexuality and physical desire channeling (an area, the professor explains, where “the bond pertains to species reproduction”, but where Islam opposes to polygamy and repudiation) to the limits of violence, whose rightful use, he observes, “is tied to specific conditions”. Law moderation and mutual regulation between law itself and mystical experience will also be discussed. But the core of the course resides in Quran interpretation, whose course sections is titled “Mediating the holy and untouchable text” and revolves around the delicate relationship between revelation and reason, between “uncreated text” and historical circumstances that allow different possible readings. An issue that is also the spotlight of the Bradley Conference on May 21, when professor Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi from the Sorbonne University will talk about the subject “The silent Quran and the talking Quran”. The lessons will be courtesy of professors Hanan Ablahad (Iraqi Christian from Mosul), Francesco Zannini, Felix Phiri, Miguel Ayuso Guixot, Michel Lagarde, Celeste Intartaglia and Valentino Cottini, besides Muslim theologician Adnane Mokrani. At the end of the lesson cycle attendees will receive a certificate that will also be valid for the ECTS university credits system. The summer course re-establishes a tradition of the Institute, founded in 1926 by the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) to educate the missionaries who would supposedly work in the Muslim world, and moved to Rome in 1964 during Paul VI’s pontificate. The Institute’s educational and research activity starts from the assumption that there can be no real dialogue and rapport with Islam without a deep knowledge of the Arab language and Islam. Its courses, open to students, clergy and lay people, consist in a first introductory year to Islam (in Rome or in Cairo, in collaboration with Dar Comboni for Arabic Studies) and further two years at academic level. PISAI is also known at international level for its prestigious publications, besides a 27,000 volumes and 450 magazines digital library. (ANSAmed).
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Journalists: Freedom of Information at Risk, White (IFJ)
(ANSAmed) — CAGLIARI, MAY 7 — “Freedom of information is in danger in a number of countries, because of legal obstacles placed in the way of journalists looking for information, not only in the Arab world. Without this freedom, it is impossible to have a pluralism of information and democracy itself goes into crisis mode”. This is the view of the general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Aidan White, who was speaking during the tenth Meeting of Mediterranean Journalists. “The Italian government is very afraid of the media’s power to get access to information, while information is of great benefit to democracy because it gives the facts to all layers of society. The control that is desired on wiretaps is incredible because, on the contrary, it is very important for the media to have ways of finding and sharing information,” he added, in reference to the government’s bill that drastically limits the publication of telephone interceptions. “I defy anyone to say that the press is not free in Italy. It is so free that in the past it has supported real political campaigns,” said Italy’s Foreign Affairs undersecretary, Stefania Craxi. “If instead we want to talk about the Italian anomaly, we must look to the fact that there are no pure publishers. I am talking, for instance, about the Corriere della Sera, which is owned by a financial structure, as well as Repubblica, which is a party’s newspaper. In terms of Berlusconi’s influence on public television, there are many more Rai programmes against the government than in favour of it”. According to the secretary of the national federation of the Italian press (FNSI), Franco Siddi, “there can never be too much freedom of the press. It is better to have a few problems caused by information that withholds nothing than to ask oneself what should be withheld.” The head of the journalists union was referring to recent comments by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who had spoken of what he considered too great freedom of information in Italy. “The press cannot be considered an enemy,” said Siddi, “but in our country journalists are targeted by those in power, and considered part of the political competition.” He concluded, however, by saying that “a journalist’s independence is founded especially on the rigour of information, which begins with facts and the checking of these facts”. (ANSAmed).
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Kouchner Expects International Backlash Over Burqa Ban
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Sunday that France will likely be severely criticised for banning of the face-covering Islamic veil. Kouchner stated that several countries would consider the ban an infringement on religious freedom.
AFP — Governments worldwide will probably point a disapproving finger at France for banning the full Islamic veil, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Sunday.
President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government is drafting a bill that would make it illegal to wear the face-covering veil, making France the second European country after Belgium to move toward a ban of the garment, known as the burqa.
“There will of course be European countries that will protest,” Kouchner told Europe 1 radio, citing Denmark and the Netherlands who see the ban as an infringement on religious freedoms.
“The United States are keen to defend religious freedom and there will be many NGOs and foundations that will want to show that we are mistaken,” he added.
Kouchner also singled out Pakistan and Turkey as countries “where we will be criticised” and noted that Saudi Arabia will seize on the legislation to justify its repressive laws against women.
“Saudi Arabia will say “fine, you have the right to do what you want in your country and I also have the right to do what I want, for example, not allow women to drive,” Kouchner said.
The minister, who earned a reputation as a humanitarian and outspoken rights defender before he joined Sarkozy’s government in 2007, said he had raised all of these “obstacles” during a recent cabinet meeting.
Sarkozy decided last month to forge ahead with a total ban on the burqa despite warnings from the State Council, the top administrative body, that the law could be struck down as unconstitutional.
Kouchner argued that banning the burqa was not a matter of religious freedom, but of women’s rights.
“I am in favour of supporting a woman’s right to dignity,” said the foreign minister, adding that women should not be “locked up” by wearing the head-to-toe veil.
The government is set to approve a draft bill on May 19 that would then go to parliament in July.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Magazine Gives Moroccan Homosexuals a Voice
Mithly is a new magazine aimed at Moroccan homosexuals. It claims to be the first of its kind in the Arab world.
Mithly means ‘the same as me’ in Arabic; it is also a respectful way to refer to homosexuals. It is a word that the people behind Mithly magazine would like to see replace the more common shazz, meaning pervert or deviant in Arabic, or zemel, an expletive to describe gays in the Moroccan Berber dialect.
Mithly was launched in the Moroccan capital Rabat earlier this month. Even though the magazine has received partial funding from the European Union, it was printed clandestinely and its first 200 issues were distributed under the counter.
In Morocco — as in the rest of the Arab world — homosexuality is a criminal offence, punishable with six months to three years in jail.
A voice for homosexuals
“So far reporting about homosexuals in Morocco has been the monopoly of the mainstream media, most of which describe us as perverts and a menace to society,” said a journalist for Mithly who identified himself only as Mourad. “Mithly is a chance for homosexuals to give their side of the story. We wanted to give homosexuals in the Arab world a voice.”
Mithly also lays claim to being the first gay magazine to serve the Arab world. Lebanon has had an online magazine for the gay community, Bekhsoos, since 2007.
After Lebanon, Morocco is probably the country most tolerant of gays in the Arab world. Still, according to Kif Kif, a Madrid-based gay rights organisation founded by Moroccan Samir Bergachi, which also publishes Mithly, some 5,000 gay men have served jail sentences in Morocco since the country’s independence in 1956.
In recent years, Moroccan authorities have been more relaxed about enforcing the anti-homosexuality laws, Mourad said. At the same time, homophobia has surged in the public arena, thanks to the rise of Islamist political parties.
“What worries us are the constant attacks on homosexuals by the Islamist parties and the papers that support them,” Mourad said.
The newspaper Attajdid, often called the mouthpiece of Islamists, has already demanded a ban on Mithly. The same paper has been campaigning for months against a concert by gay British pop star Elton John, who is set to perform at the Mawazine festival in Rabat in May, claiming that it is part of a plot to ‘homosexualise’ Morocco.
Lynch mob turns on dress-up party
But the attacks on homosexuals don’t come solely from Islamists. In 2007 the populist newspaper Al Massae incited a lynch mob with its incendiary reporting about an alleged gay marriage in the town of Ksar El Kebir. Although the marriage turned out to be little more than a fancy dress-up party, several of the participants were sentenced to prison.
The events at Ksar El Kebir were typical of the Moroccan authorities’ attitude toward homosexuality, said Catherine Vuylsteke, a Belgian journalist and the author of a book about gays and lesbians in Morocco.
“Whenever homosexuality becomes a public issue in Morocco, whether it is an alleged gay wedding or the publication of a new gay magazine, the official response is guided by its desire to steal the limelight from the Islamists,” said Vuylsteke. “After the events at Ksar El Kebir, for instance, the authorities organised raids against homosexuals in several cities.”
The risk that publishing a gay magazine in Morocco might create a new backlash against homosexuals there doesn’t frighten Mourad. “The sad truth is that it is quite impossible to enter into a dialogue with the Islamists about homosexuality,” he said. “So the only thing we can do is to add our own voice to the debate in the hope that we will be able to change the homophobic mentality in our country, even if we realise that such a thing is quite impossible in the near future.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Sex Offenders Should Have the Right to Chemical Castration
Sex offenders serving time in psychiatric prisons should have the right to chemical castration, according to a new report from the criminal law application council RSJ, quoted in the Volkskrant.
At the moment, some psychiatric prisons refuse to give prisoners the drugs cocktail to keep their libidos under control, and that is unacceptable, the commission says. By refusing, the prisons are not giving prisoners good care and are reducing their chances of getting out.
‘Every prisoner must have the same chance of getting the treatment he needs. That can make the difference between getting out and removal to a long-stay ward,’ RSJ board member Louis Donker told the paper.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Rich Greeks Buy Luxury London Homes
(ANSAmed) — LONDON, MAY 5 — While the crisis and government measures are creating dramatic explosions of rage in Greece, Greek millionaires looking for a safe hiding place are buying luxury houses in London at an unprecedented speed, with their “shopping” quickly increasing the prices of super houses in the city over the last two years. According to the estate agency Knight Frank, which was quoted by the Telegraph, the cost of houses and flats costing over a million pounds rose by 21% last month compared to the figure of April 2009, the most significant increase since April 2008. Month on month, prices rose by 1.3%. The agency says that Greek buyers now account for 6% of properties sold in London for more than 2 million pounds, exactly double their number a year ago. “Greek buyers have been particularly active and competitive in the high-end property sector, which is limited,” says Rupert des Forges, a partner at Knight Frank. “There has been a real trend among rich Greek families investing in British properties, for many reasons, but first of all for a safe place to stay”. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Franco: Garzon Investigation Judge Not Challenged
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, MAY 7 — The Spanish Supreme Court rejected today a request of challenge for Judge Luciano Varela, who is responsible for the action against the Audiencia Nacional magistrate Baltazar Garzon, for the opening of an investigation on crimes during Franco’s dictatorship. The request was presented by the defendant. The Supreme Court rejected with a definitive decision the request that accused Varela of partiality and a direct interest in the investigation, according to sources inside the Court and reported by Europa Press agency. The magistrate, who temporarily did not take part in the investigation, will now be able to decide on the opening of the debate phase of the action against Garzon, an action that would imply the Audiencia Nacional magistrate’s cautionary removal from his functions. The investigation started from the lawsuits presented by the Spanish Phalanx and the far-right association Manos Limpias. Garzon’s defense requested Varela’s challenge because he asked the two plaintiffs to correct formal errors in their accusatory documents. The public prosecutor opposed several times to the opening of a trial against the Audiencia Nacional magistrate. Garzon is involved in other two legal actions opened by the Supreme Court: one for alleged payments from the Banca Santander banking group, which funded the magistrate’s lessons at the New York University, and another for the alleged illegal phone tapping the judge authorized pertaining the corruption investigation known as the “Gurtel case”, that implied several Popular Party members. During the former action, the Banca Santander’s former New York general manager Gonzalo de las Heras, questioned yesterday by the Supreme Court’s magistrate, affirmed he “never talked about money with judge Garzon.” (ANSAmed).
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Testosterone Levels Drop Among Danish Men
Danish men have lower testosterone levels that their grandfathers according to a new study
A new study from Rigshospitalet among 5,000 male patients has shown that average testosterone levels of those born in the 1960s have dropped by 14 percent compared to those born in the 1920s.
The study also showed that the protein SHBG that binds testosterone had dropped by 26 percent during the 40-year period, reported MetroXpress newspaper.
‘It’s a little frightening and thought-provoking that there is something affecting men’s sex hormones,’ said research study leader Anna-Maria Andersson of the Clinic for Growth and Reproduction at Rigshospitalet.
Fertility doctor Peter Lyngdorf stressed that testosterone is important for maintaining normal heart functions and aiding bone structure, among other things.
‘It’s worrying if men are suddenly lacking one of their key strengths that makes them men,’ he said.
According to Lyngdorf, the reduced testosterone levels are likely due to a combination of factors, including pesticides in products and foods, as well as to the increase in unhealthy lifestyles.
Figures from the Danish Medicines Agency show that an increasing number of Danes are being prescribed testosterone, with sales increasing from 437,000 to 554,000 between 2004 and 2008.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
UK: A Momentous Day for British Politics
As the country awaits news of the formation of the next government, the Muslim Council of Britain today congratulated all voters in taking part in this election. Today we all made history: it will no longer be business as usual for British politics.
This election has proven to be a milestone for Britain’s Muslims, who have confounded critics to take part in our democratic culture in even greater numbers.
Throughout the duration of the election campaign, MCB’s affiliates organised a number of hustings and meetings to scrutinise their candidates. MCB’s successful Muslim Vote campaign has persuaded many first-time voters to take part.
It would seem that these elections have ushered in the age of the discerning British Muslim voter. No party and no candidate can take the Muslim vote for granted. Our issues have been both diverse and common, whilst we have conceivably voted on our own set of priorities for the common good of the nation.
The Muslim Council of Britain congratulates the many British Muslims who have been elected or re-elected: including for the first time in British history, three Muslim women. This election is, moreover, groundbreaking as we welcome two Muslim MPs from the Conservative Party for the first time. We hope they serve all of their constituents well and are role models for Muslim communities everywhere.
Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain said: “At this stage, it is time we applaud all those who have won seats, and commiserate with those who were not as successful. Yet with such large turnouts reported, this is a success for all of us and our democratic culture.
“I also congratulate Mr David Cameron for gaining the highest number of seats. It would seem that all of our leaders now have the heavy responsibility of forming a stable and strong government and leading our nation.”
“It is time to also to reflect on the message from the electorate. With no decisive result, we hope our leaders will use this opportunity to change and revitalise our politics. We pray that our leaders make wise choices in the formation of a new government for the national interest.”
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: The Blackburn Resistance: Jihadis or Jokers?
“We were the A-Team generation. We grew up watching The A-Team — and Rambo of course.”
As a little boy growing up in Blackburn, Ilyas Iqbal dreamed of becoming Mr T. But now, at the age of 23, he says his passion for action films has led to his conviction for terror offences. In March this year, Ilyas was prosecuted along with his brother, Abbas Iqbal, and his best friend, Mohammad Ali Ahmad.
The three were accused of forming a terror cell known as The Blackburn Resistance. But they say they were guilty of nothing more than having a laugh, comparing themselves with characters in Chris Morris’ film, Four Lions.
“All we were doing is messing around,” Ilyas Iqbal told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Donal MacIntyre programme.
Mr Ahmad, a 26-year-old Muslim convert who changed his name from Paul Andrew Cryer in 2004, added: “If you watched that film Four Lions — that was us. “Except that we weren’t doing any of the real-life stuff — we were doing strictly the playing around stuff. Our definition of comedy is being blooper soldiers.”
Terror video
A key piece of evidence in the Blackburn Resistance case was a home-made film described in court as “al-Qaeda propaganda destined to be distributed abroad”.
The film featured Ilyas Iqbal and Mohammad Ali Ahmad crawling through a park in camouflage gear. It was introduced by a voice saying: “They are fighting against oppression, they are The Blackburn Resistance.”
In the background a voice can be heard chanting: “I am the armour for those who believe in the unity of Allah. I am the fire against the aggressor.” The prosecutor in the case said the three men were “intoxicated by the evil of terrorism” as they prepared to join or carry out violent jihad.
He said the film was among material which Abbas Iqbal and an associate had intended to use to radicalise others.
All three men claimed that the film was a homage to their favourite action heroes.
During the court case, jurors were shown clips from the defendants’ favourite films — including Black Hawk Down, which features Somali fighters defeating American forces.
Abbas Iqbal was jailed for a total of two years at Manchester Crown Court for committing acts of terrorism and disseminating terrorist publications. The 24-year-old had stored weapons at the family home in Blackburn.
Prison sentence
Ilyas Iqbal was jailed for 18 months for possessing a document likely to be useful to a terrorist. The brothers have already been released because of the amount of time they spent in custody awaiting trial.
Police found documents at Ilyas Iqbal’s home which detailed weaknesses in the US military. They also found videos on his computer showing the beheading and an execution of soldiers and prisoners.
With regard to the video, Ilyas Iqbal says “we watched it, we didn’t do it. Kids are watching these videos. You know why? It’s not because they’re terrorists. It’s because they’re curious”.
Mr Ahmad was cleared of preparing for an act of terrorism and the trial Judge Andrew Gilbart QC said it was shocking he had spent 387 days in custody “for doing absolutely nothing”.
Mr Ahmad, who spent part of his time on remand at Belmarsh high-security prison, insists that he and his friends were simply living out their boyhood fantasies.
“We wanted to make a video a bit like a Muslim A-Team,” he said. “The Blackburn Resistance was nothing more than a title for that film.
“All this has done has given me a strong hatred for the so-called justice system. I have been a victim to this so-called justice system.”
Police investigation
Det Ch Supt Tony Porter, of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, said: “We presented the evidence to the court and it was up to the jury to decide whether there is sufficient evidence for a conviction.”
Shuiab Khan, editor of Asian Image, a newspaper and website based in Blackburn, had some sympathy with the police. He said: “When I saw their video, I thought straight away it was a joke. But it’s very hard for the police to know for sure without investigating.
“In the present climate, to make a video like this is irresponsible. “Whatever their reason for making the video, most people in Blackburn would say they were asking for trouble. If they had done it in 1998, nothing would have happened but to do it in the current climate was irresponsible.”
Alyas Karmani, an imam and psychologist who works with Muslims convicted under the Terrorism Act, says that although groups like the Blackburn Resistance seem comical, they do pose problems for the authorities.
He said: “The majority of the young men I work with are similarly naïve — with a distorted view of the world, which feeds into delusions of grandeur. That can be a very dangerous mix because these people have the potential to be manipulated by charismatic individuals.”
Although Mr Ahmad attended the premier of Four Lions, Ilyas Iqbal has not seen the film. Despite the fact that he makes constant references to Hollywood movies, he believes that cinema is forbidden in Islam. He intends to appeal against his conviction and says his actions were misinterpreted.
“It was meant to be a joke and we had a good laugh about it — until we got to court and then it wasn’t funny any more.”
Listen to the full report on the Donal MacIntyre programme on BBC Radio 5 live on Sunday, 9 May at 19.30BST. Alternatively download the free podcast. Contact the programme: donal@bbc.co.uk
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Bosnia: Muslims ‘Wanted to Provoke Foreign Intervention’
The Hague, 7 May (AKI) — A prosecution witness at the trial of wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic on Friday blamed Bosnian Serb forces for indiscriminately shelling the capital, Sarajevo, during the 1992-1995 war.
The witness, David Harland, who worked for UN mission in Sarajevo (UNPROFOR) from 1993-1995, accused Serb forces of carrying out “widespread and coordinated” ethnic cleansing of non-Serbs from the territories they controlled.
Karadzic has been charged by the Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on two counts of genocide and nine counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed by forces under his command during Bosnian war.
Cross-examined by Karadzic, Harland said Muslim leaders hadn’t allowed civilians to leave besieged Sarajevo, because it would contribute to ethnic cleansing.
Asked by Karadzic whether Muslims were sacrificing their own people to trigger intervention by NATO and western powers, Harland said it was partly true.
“There were people (in Muslim leadership) who believed that NATO would not intervene if the situation wasn’t very grave and that the presence of civilians on battlefield would shock the public and force NATO to intervene,” Harland said.
Asked whether Muslims staged the two bombings at Sarajevo market place Markale, for the same purpose, in which more than 100 people were killed, Harland said it was out of question.
He said weapons were being smuggled into Sarajevo through an underground tunnel and Muslims were firing at Serb positions from the city.
“But Sarajevo was under siege and a great majority of victims were killed by fire from Serb positions,” Harland said.
“The Muslim side was blowing out of proportions the suffering of population, and the Serbian side was minimising it,” Harland said.
Harland was the sixth of 410 prosecution witnesses to be presented at the trial expected to last several years.
Cross-examination of Harland resumes on Monday.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Foreign Office: Italy for Integration of Whole Region
(ANSAmed) — ROME, MAY 7 — Italy does not intend to “take sides” with Serbia or Kosovo, but rather, we plan to “sponsor the entire Western Balkans, a strategic area for the EU,” said Foreign Office spokesman, Maurizio Massari, explaining Italy’s position on the Balkans in the new column ‘Decoder Farnesina. Five minutes of foreign policy’, visible on the Foreign Ministry’s website. “Italy,” he said, “has a strategic partnership with Serbia and was among the first western countries to recognise Kosovo, we believe that the two things are perfectly compatible: this is not about taking sides with one country or the other, but with an entire region, for the integration of this region, which is strategic for us and the EU”. As for Kosovo’s recognition, which has not come from many EU countries yet, Massari explained that this is a “complex problem that will be resolved step by step, also through the participation of Kosovo in regional events such as the conference in Sarajevo, which Italy promoted together with the Spanish presidency of the EU”. For the conference, said the spokesman, a “compromise” was reached that will allow both Serbia and Kosovo to participate: “both sides accepted participating, but with the names of the ministers and not the countries that they represent, with this formula it will be possible to strike a balance”. Speaking about Bosnia, Massari said that Italy has certainly not forgotten about this issue. “Minister Frattini,” he pointed out, “went there on April 12 as a strong sign of solidarity and we were the first to propose that the EU-Balkans conference extended to the USA, Russia and Turkey be held in Sarajevo to provide a strong sign of pro-European encouragement to Bosnia before their delicate elections, which will take place in October.” (ANSAmed).
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Kosovo: Top Officials Accused of Graft and Money Laundering
Pristina, 8 May(AKI) — European Union prosecutor in Kosovo Johannes van Vreeswijk says he has evidence to prove that two high-ranking officials in prime minister Hasim Thaci’s government were involved in corruption and money laundering.
The EU police and judicial mission in Kosovo (EULEX) is investigating communications and transport minister Fatmir Limaj and a ministry official Nedzat Krasnici for a multi-million euro fraud, corruption and money laundering, van Vreeswijk told Pristina Albanian language daily Koha ditore.
“EULEX has proof in this case and is conducting an investigation in six other cases of corruption and organised crime,” Van Vreeswijk said.
Van Vreeswijk said he was disappointed with Thaci’s reaction to the investigation, saying not only members of his Democratic Party of Kosovo were subject of investigation.
Thaci has expressed full confidence in Limaj and said the case shouldn’t be politicised.
“The premier and ministers can feel comfortable, because EULEX will not interfere with their cabinets if there haven’t been unlawful acts,” Van Vreeswijk said.
But if they violated the law, EULEX will “knock on their doors,” he added.
Van Vreeswijk said he knew how to “clean Kosovo of organized crime” and vowed it “would apply to all parts of the country and to all levels”.
Kosovo majority ethnic Albanians declared independence from Serbia two years ago, but crime and corruption have flourished there.
The 2,500 strong EU mission was deployed in Kosovo in December 2008 to help local authorities in police, customs and judiciary matters.
Ending a two-day visit to Kosovo on Friday, EU commissioner for enlargement Stefan Fuele said organised crime and corruption were the biggest problems in Kosovo.
He said the EU had invested over two billion euros there and would not allow the money to be squandered.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt Most Affected Country by Landmines, Conference Says
(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, MAY 5 — Egypt is the most affected country by landmines which cause great loss in civilian lives and hinder the optimal benefit from all available resources in the areas where they exist, said participants in a regional conference on combating landmines. The two-day conference, which wrapped up Wednesday, was organized by The Arab organization for combating landmines in cooperation with the Arab League. There are nearly 21.8 million landmines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) planted in Egypt during World War II. The country made significant progress in removing the deadly devices from the mine-strewn northwestern coast. The ministry has taken action ranging from teaching people how to protect themselves from danger in a mine-affected environment to advocating a mine-free area. During the last decades, Egypt exerted sustained efforts to address the problem of landmines planted on its territory. Egypt has come a long way in implementing a strategy to clear its North Coast area from mines planted during World War II. (ANSAmed)
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Morocco: 4.4 Million Low Cost Bulbs Sent Out
(ANSAmed) — RABAT, MAY 5 — Some 4.4 million low-energy light bulbs were distributed up to March as part of the programme on energy saving. The announcement was made by the country’s Energy, Mining, Water and Environment Minister, Amina Benkhadra, during a session at the Chamber of Councillors. The Minister said that the initiative has so far led to a drop in energy consumption of about 170MW in the busiest hours of the day. The objective is to install 22.7 million low cost light bulbs by 2012. The light bulbs are given out by the electric company at a special price that is charged one dinar a month (0.09 euro cents) on electricity bills for the next two years. With low-energy light bulbs, families will be able to save around 20% compared to incandescent lamps. (ANSAmed) .
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Ready to Return to Algeria, Bernard-Henry Levy
(ANSAmed) — ALGIERS, MAY 5 — “If I am invited, I am prepared to return to Algeria and debate the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians”. These are the words of French philosopher Bernard-Henry Levy, who was speaking to the Quotidien d’Oran during a conference organised by the American Jewish organisation “J Call”, which featured a group of French intellectuals asking Israel to resume negotiations towards the creation of two states. Levy, one of the signatories of the ‘J Call’ petition, said that he was in favour of the borders in place before 1967 and added that “settlements must stop” and that Israel “must urgently return to dialogue with the Palestinian authority”. The philosopher recalled being in Algeria during the dark years of terrorism to support the democrats and the struggle against terror. “Would you be prepared to return to debate the Palestinian issue and the issue of democracy?” he was asked by a journalist. “Without any hesitation,” came Levy’s reply, “invite me and I will come, I am ready to talk and to debate”. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Attacks on Mosques, Israeli Army Blames Settlers
(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, MAY 5 — An alarming report in which fringe groups of Jewish settlers in the West Bank are accused of organising the attacks on mosques in Palestinian villages is passed from hand to hand by leaders of the Israeli army and the country’s Defence Ministry. The news is reported by newspaper Haaretz, which quotes high-ranked military sources. According to the report, extremist groups are planning to focus their violence on mosques, in order to create more tension in retaliation against the blitz carried out by Israeli police and troops in some settlements, and against the recent arrests of settlers. The warning comes the day after the fire in the mosque of the Luban a-Sharkya village, between Ramallah and Nablus. At first the fire was attributed to arson, later a short circuit was blamed. Many Palestinians have their doubts on this however, after the previous incidents in the past months (in these cases the Israeli authorities themselves blamed the settlers) which reached their climax when in the West Bank a mosque went up in flames, another one was desecrated, farmland owned by Arabs was destroyed and the number of ‘punitive expeditions’ in general increased.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Maariv: Intelligence Pro Israel-Syria Accord
(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, MAY 7 — Israel’s military leaders, first of all the intelligence service, are working to persuade the political leaders to seek, with determination, a peace accord with Syria. It was reported today by the daily Maariv in Tel Aviv, also on the basis of a testimony given during the past few days to the Knesset (parliament) by an intelligence exponent. Referring in general terms to the contents of that intervention, the daily stated that Israeli evaluations see the “radical axis’ composed by Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas as having gradually taken the upper hand among Israel’s neighbours, whilst the opposite ‘moderate axis’ composed of Egypt-Jordan-PNA-Saudi Arabia now appears on the defensive. Aggravating the situation from Israel’s standpoint is the gradual rapprochement of Turkey to the “radical axis’. It is an essential priority in order to invert this trend, writes Maariv, based on assessments attributed to intelligence sources, to aim at an accord with Syria which could invert this regional trend. But in the absence of an accord with Damascus, says intelligence now, there would be a remarkable risk of a new conflict. An accord for a ‘cold peace’ between Syria and Israel, based on a withdrawal from the Golan Heights and accompanied by generous U.S. economic aid to Bashir Assad’s regime is possible, says the daily. But for the moment, concludes Maariv, among Israel’s political leaders no strategic decision has been taken: the Defence Minister Ehud Barak appears in favour whilst Premier Benyamin Netanyahu is still not convinced. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UN Commissioner Chasing Funds, Risk of Big Cuts
(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, MAY 5 — The lives of 4.6 million Palestinian refugees in the Middle East look likely to become even more difficult from September. UNRWA, the United Nations agency that has helped them for over 60 years, is at risk of being significantly weakened because of a serious deficit. The situation is of particular concern to the functioning of over 700 schools with half a million children and 137 health services, but also microfinancing, improvements in the conditions in refugee camps and emergency aid for Palestinian refugees living in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, but also Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. The alarm was launched by the agency’s new general commissioner, Filippo Grandi, who was making his first trip to Brussels in his new role. UNRWA receives 45-50% of its resources from the EU and its member states, with 20-25% provided by the USA. “The budget for 2010 is of around 428 million euros and we have a financial gap of around 130 million euros,” Grandi said. “If we fail to find 70 million euros, we have money until September but not beyond. We would have to reduce the activity of the agency to such an extent that it would have a political and social effect on the refugee community”. This is a risk that cannot be run at such a delicate time, with the revival, albeit indirect, of talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians. How will refugees react to the cuts in UNRWA activity? According to Grandi, “they will feel abandoned and will rebel against the peace process, which really doesn’t need any more enemies.” Indeed, as the UN Commissioner explains, “the years are passing and we already have a fourth generation of refugees, who will continue to be such until a solution is reached between the two sides. Unfortunately, we have not heard much said about them during the current debate, even if they represent half of all Palestinians in the Middle East”. “Now that we are emerging from the lethargy of the peace process, a favourable atmosphere must be created, which is why I am talking about the importance of reassuring refugees and not causing trouble with the Jerusalem issue,” he explains. Meanwhile, the paralysis of Gaza represents a “collective punishment that hits the wrong target and is no investment on the security of Israel, but rather the opposite. Some 20% of imports necessary for Gaza’s survival arrive legally, with the rest through smuggling. It enriches a group a people who are not interested in peace, but only in their own personal gain. And it is not in Israel’s interests to have a city as big as Milan 60 km from Tel Aviv that lives off smuggling,” Grandi explained. Also, “we ask the Tel Aviv government, together with the international community, to honour their obligations. Six weeks after the visit of Ban Ki-Moon, and the promise of transferring material to the Gaza Strip for five approved projects, one lorry alone has arrived. This is not acceptable. They cannot wait any longer, it’s a matter of credibility”. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Water: Toulouse-Ramallah Cooperation Agreement
(ANSAmed) — PARIS, MAY 7 — Today, the mayors of Toulouse and Ramallah, Pierre Cohen and Janet Michael, signed a cooperation agreement in which the city of Toulouse pledged in particular to support a project to collect and channel rainwater for an estimated cost of 140,000 euros. The project responds to one of the main problems in the Palestinian Territories and Ramallah, a city that rapidly spreads over a series of hills and where rain turns the roads into canals, causing damages and pollution. This also shows the desire of the city of Toulouse, which is twinned with Tel Aviv, to provide support also to the Palestinian people, “to contribute to laying more solid foundations for peace and to bring the two groups of people closer together”. The first phase of the project, which will be completed by October according to the mayor of Toulouse, by the start of 2011, according to his Palestinian colleague, involves several roads lined with shops in the centre, but could later be expanded. For daily life in Ramallah, said Michael, the project is extremely important, “45% of the city is not connected to the rainwater drainage network”. The cooperation agreement also involves the recovery of water and collaboration in cultural, university and health exchanges. In particular, cultural collaboration involves exchanges between circus schools, and in July the Palestinian school plans to perform its show in Toulouse entitled ‘derriere de Mur’, behind the wall. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
After 23 Days in a Notorious Dubai Jail for “Kiss on the Cheek”, British Girl Reveals the Price She Paid After a Clash of Culture
I was in prison with some prostitutes and a Russian woman who chopped up her boyfriend: Dubai ‘kiss’ girl reveals price she paid
A British woman jailed in Dubai for kissing a man on the cheek has spoken for the first time of her nightmare ordeal in prison.
Charlotte Adams, 26, was deported on Friday after spending 23 days locked up alongside prostitutes and murderers for ‘indecency’.
A local woman claimed she saw Charlotte openly kiss and touch Londoner Ayman Najafi in a restaurant.
[…]
‘I may have pecked him on the cheek at one point,’ admitted Charlotte. ‘But we weren’t drunk and I would never have snogged someone in the middle of a crowded restaurant — especially in Dubai and especially as Ayman’s friends were there.’
Charlotte and Ayman were stopped by plain-clothed officers after they left the restaurant and asked to accompany them to Jebil Ali police station.
Charlotte said she was taken into a filthy room where an official had a line of syringes on a tray.
He grabbed her arm without warning and drew blood. She was then marched from the building, pushed into a car and driven a few miles to the other side of the city to the cells at Bur Dubai police station.
‘The stench hits you when you walk in,’ she said. ‘There was just a room filled with stained mattresses so close together they had been pushed up the walls.
‘There were 100 women in there that night, with two or three to each mattress and just one toilet which was basically a hole in the floor, which made me heave because of the smell.
‘I stuffed my watch and money inside my bra to keep it safe. I was the only English person there. I couldn’t stop crying. People tried to talk to me but I was too upset.’
Also in the room were women who had been caught smoking cannabis, an American who had threatened someone over the phone and women whose visas had expired.
One Muslim woman, who had been hurt when a fight broke out in a club, ended up being arrested as police believed she had drunk alcohol.
Charlotte was eventually allowed to make one phone call the next day.
She was allowed bail on condition that she surrendered her passport and got a friend to surrender their passport.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Bishop Mixa Investigated for Sex Abuse
Controversial Catholic Bishop Walter Mixa, who resigned last month amid claims he had beaten children and misused Church funds, is being investigated now for sexual abuse, prosecutors announced Friday.
A spokeswoman for the Bavarian Justice Ministry said the Catholic Church itself had made state prosecutors in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt aware of the allegation against Mixa.
The General Vicariate of Augsburg, from which Mixa recently resigned as bishop, announced: “The diocese of Augsburg has brought new information to the attention of the appropriate body, in accordance with the guidelines of the German Bishops Conference.
According to the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper, the accusation related to Mixa’s time as bishop of the Bavarian city of Eichstätt, between 1996 and 2005. But further details about the alleged victim were not known.
Last month, Mixa tendered his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI because of persistent allegations that he hit and beat children while he was a teacher at Schrobenhausen children’s home during the 1970s and 1980s. Eight people who lived at the home have come forward with claims that he beat them with his fists, a stick and even a carpet beater.
After weeks of flat denials, Mixa recently admitted he could “not rule out a cuff or two around the ear 20 years ago” and added that “I very much regret that today.”
A special investigation into activities at the children’s home and the charitable foundation running it highlighted a number of seemingly questionable purchases signed off by Mixa.
These included spending 15,000 Deutsche marks on a Mary icon, DM43,000 on a probably counterfeit Piransi engraving, and DM70,500 on a fancy crucifix. Thousands were also spent on wine.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq: Christian University Students Demand Justice and Security From Iraqi Religious Leaders
In Karakosh, a Council meeting of religious leaders, which brought together bishops and Christian leaders in Iraq. The meeting brought together hundreds of students, including a group escaped the attack on May 2. One of the wounded hospitalized in Turkey, thanks to a special flight from Mosul to Ankara.
Mosul (AsiaNews) — An investigation into the massacre of last May 2 and the possibility of conducting examinations at the end of academic year in a safe place. These are the requests made by Christian students in the area of Mosul, during yesterday’s meeting in Karakosh of the Council of Iraqi religious leaders. Meanwhile, a group of 24 university students victims of a double bombing near Mosul on May 2 last, have reached three different hospitals in Ankara, Turkey. This was a targeted attack against two buses carrying students from the town of Hamdaniya, 40 km east of the capital of the Nineveh province in northern Iraq. The blast left two dead and 188 wounded, some of whom are now being treated in Turkey.
Bishop Avvak Assadorian, Secretary General of the Council of religious leaders and the Armenian Orthodox Archbishop, gathered all bishops and Christian leaders in Iraq yesterday in Karakosh as “a sign of solidarity with the people after the attacks of last May 2”. The meeting was attended by Msgr. Jorjis Casmoussa, Syro-Catholic archbishop of Mosul, Mgr. Gregory Saliba, of the Syrian Orthodox Mgr. Gorguis Toma, of the Assyrians of Mosul, Mgr. Isaac Khamis, of the Assyrians of Dohok, Mgr. Msatti Mattoka, of the Syro-Catholics in Baghdad, Mgr. Louis Sako, Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk and Fr. Najib Moussa, representing the bishops of the Latin rite.
In the garden, in front of the building which housed the Council of religious leaders hundreds of students had gathered. Among these, a small group of university students wounded in the attack of May 2. They submitted requests to the Christian leaders, stressing that “it is the duty of bishops to defend the faithful” and work to “ensure their future.” In particular, the Christian students are asking the government to ensure they can”take their academic year-end exams in a safe environment” and for the “creation of a commission of inquiry” to investigate perpetrators and instigators of the attack on the buses. In addition to medical care for the wounded, the students also hope to see the opening of a university in Karakosh, where 1300 university students live, and to negotiate with the government of Kurdistan, “accommodation for the students for a period of one or two years”, until the new structure is built.
The Iraqi bishops have promised to support the demands of the university students and place them before the government. After the meeting, the bishops issued a joint statement expressing “deep sorrow for the tragedy on Sunday, which caused two deaths and 188 injuries.” “The attack on innocent Christian students — continue the bishops — who have nothing to do with politics is an abominable act.” Christian leaders are appealing to the government to “take these attacks seriously” and put in place measures “to protect” them. They also express their desire for the formation of the new government “as soon as possible”. A government of” national unity capable of working for peace and reconciliation “, because any further delay will impact on civilian life in Iraq. The call to dialogue is also directed at “the authorities of Mosul and Nineveh, especially Arabs and Kurds,” who must work together for the good of the province and its inhabitants. “
Finally, the bishops expressed their gratitude to those who “have shown their solidarity and helped the injured, the blood donors or those who have contributed to their transfer to hospitals,” with a “special” reference to “the plane made available to transport a group of 24 students from Mosul to Ankara “ currently being treated in three hospitals in Turkey.
(Photo Ankawa.com)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Constitutional Reform, Country Towards Referendum
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA — After a real marathon session, the Turkish government last night approved a constitutional reform package put forward by the Islamic-rooted party Justice and Development (AKP), which is led by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, paving the way for a referendum that secular opposition parties are intending to block by appealing to the Constitutional Court. The constitutional mini-reform, that the government deems necessary to adapt to the terms requested for membership of the EU, was approved with the exception of the crucial article 8, which would have taken away the chief appeal court prosecutor’s ability to appeal to the Constitutional Court to begin the procedure of closing a political party, submitting its action to prior approval by a parliamentary commission. The package failed to obtain the two thirds majority needed to instantly make it a law, but did receive the 336 votes needed out of 550 deputies to send it to a referendum. The AKP has been accused by opposition parties of wanting to pass the bill at all costs, so as to avoid the possibility of the chief prosecutor — as occurred two years ago — again beginning procedures to close the party for attacking the country’s secularity, a principle sanctioned by the Consitution. The package, which the opposition says is geared to bringing the armed forces and the judiciary (historically champions of the country’s secularity) under the control of the government, will now be submitted for signature by the country’s President, Abdullah Gul. The head of state has 15 days to sign the bill, after which a referendum will be called and held within 60 days, therefore by the end of July. The main opposition party, the Ataturk-inspired People’s Republican Party (CHP) has already announced that it will lodge an appeal with the Constitutional Court to block consultation by referendum, sustaining that this would definitively consolidate the AKP’s grip on power. In order to begin this procedure, however, the CHP needs to collect the signatures of 110 deputies. For the moment, it has collected only 80 — 74 from its own representatives and six from deputies from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Party of the Left (DSP), though it is almost certain that the party will reach the required total with help from independent parliamentarians. There is no fixed duration for the appeal procedure but many analysts agree that if some articles contained in the package are destined to change profoundly the structure of the Constitutional Court itself, the top magistrates will deliver their verdict before the referendum. In the case of the reform package being declared anti-constitutional after the holding of the referendum, the result of the vote (if in favour of the reform) would me automatically annulled. Such a turn of events could lead to institutional paralysis that might, in turn, lead Erdogan to call a snap election. For this reason, observers say, Turkey looks to have some weeks of uncertainty ahead. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Wine Receives Award in Sicily
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, MAY 7 — Turkish red wine “Likya”, produced in the Mediterranean city of Antalya, got the “Great Gold Medal” in an international competition held in Palermo, Sicily, as Anatolia news agency reports. Twenty-eight red wines from nine countries received the “Great Gold Medal” in the competition held by Brussels-based wine competition “Concours Mondial de Bruxelles”. Almost 7,000 wines from countries including France, Italy, Chile, Spain, Portugal, Uruguay, South Africa and Argentine that are known for good wine production joined the competition. “We will also join a giant organization in Britain in the second half of May,” Burak Ozkan CEO of Likya Wines said. The Concours Mondial de Bruxelles (competition) was held for the very first time in April 1994 in Bruges. In 2006, the Concours Mondial decided to affirm its international character by going beyond its borders. The organizing committee chose Lisbon for this premiére occasion. Maastricht, Bordeaux and Valencia followed. The wine produced by Ozkan Petrol Products Ltd. Sti-Kizilbel Viniculture and Wine production and Sales branch in Turkey, goes into the market under the parent name of Likya, from Elmali, Antalya. The family set up the first vineyard in the year 2000. Likya wines won award in the London International Wine Fair in 2009 for their excellence. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Interview With Russian Historian: ‘In the Eyes of the Majority, Stalin is a Winner’
Historian Nikolai Svanidze spoke to SPIEGEL about the reasons for Stalin’s popularity in Russia. He argues that the archives need to be opened in order to reveal the dictator’s crimes and explains why President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have very different approaches to Russian history.
SPIEGEL: How does one explain that Stalinists or Stalin apologists are a largely accepted part of the political landscape in Russia?
Nikolai Svanidze: Because Stalin is a winner in the eyes of a majority. And we don’t condemn winners. Not only do we associate the victory over Hitler with Stalin, but also those of the Soviet Union’s successes that are now practically mythical: industrialization, becoming a superpower, the predictability of daily life. Negative things have been forgotten.
SPIEGEL: For Germans, the words of praise for Stalin sound like praise for Hitler. Something that is unthinkable.
Svanidze: Because Hitler lost the war. The world considers him a criminal and the Germans see him as a seducer who led their country into a catastrophe. Those who seek to justify Hitler say that he eliminated unemployment, reduced crime, built highways and unified the nation. Very similar things can be said about Stalin. But unlike Hitler, Stalin was never clearly condemned, and certainly not by his own people. There was no trial, so that formally, at least, he has a clean slate.
SPIEGEL: But there aren’t just Stalin supporters in your country.
Svanidze: Stalin still divides society. Some say that he killed innocent people, while others believe that the victims were merely enemies of the people and that the end justified the means. Unfortunately, the majority of Russians see him in a positive light. The fact that the Soviet Union reached the high point of its imperial power and geographic size under Stalin warms the hearts of many.
SPIEGEL: In an interview with SPIEGEL, President Medvedev said that “the liquidation of a huge number of Soviet citizens was a crime,” and that the state must candidly call it that. Why does Medvedev hazard such sentences when the majority sees things differently?
Svanidze: It just happens to be what he thinks.
SPIEGEL: Does he hope to score points in the West?
Svanidze: When I wrote my book about Medvedev in 2008, a strange thing happened. I asked him about his opinion on Stalin. He replied at length and in his typically thoughtful way. He described Stalin as extremely negative. But when I sent Medvedev the text, he deleted what he had said about Stalin.
SPIEGEL: He had lost his courage?
Svanidze: The next time we met, he explained to me that although he had already been elected as president, he was not in office yet and didn’t want to forfeit his relationship with the people right away. Then he thought about it — and left the passage in after all.
SPIEGEL: Why?
Svanidze: Because the negative view of Stalin is his deep conviction and because, in referring to the past, he intends to make a statement about the present and the future. Medvedev is also using the debate over Stalin to portray himself as a politician who differs from Putin ideologically.
SPIEGEL: Putin, for whom the collapse of the Soviet Union was the “greatest political catastrophe of the twentieth century.”
Svanidze: Putin is no Stalinist…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
India: Minister Opposes US Arms Sales to Pakistan
New Delhi, 7 May (AKI/DAWN) — India’s defence minister cautioned the United States on Friday against shipping military supplies to Pakistan, saying the hardware could be diverted to target India. The warning came after the US said it would deliver unarmed drones to Pakistan and less than a month after it unveiled plans to transfer 600 million dollars to Islamabad to fund operations against militants.
A. K. Antony told reporters in New Delhi that India had expressed its concern to Washington.
“Even though the US is giving equipment to Pakistan to fight against the Taliban, we feel there is every possibility of (Pakistan) diverting most of them to Indian borders,” Antony said.
“We have already conveyed our concerns about transfer of equipment to Pakistan. We told the US that they have to be careful about that,” the Indian defence minister added.
Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi moved quickly to ease India’s fears, saying that the hardware would be used only against militants, who have been blamed for bomb attacks killing more than 3,300 people in his country.
“The military equipment that we are getting from the United States should not worry India, because it is meant for counter-terrorism and to enhance our capacity to fight terrorist networks,” he told reporters in Lahore.
“They (India) should not be afraid of this because it will be used against terrorist networks who have made this region unsafe.”
Pakistan, Washington’s frontline ally in its battle against militancy, has domestically produced surveillance drones but it told the United States in March that it wanted sophisticated US-made aircraft.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Kyrgyzstan: As Kyrgyz Discuss Constitutional Reform, Neighbours’ Embargo Strangling the Economy
A team of experts is drafting a new constitution, which should be submitted to a nation-wide referendum at the start of summer. Kyrgyz authorities are seeking ousted President Bakiyev’s extradition from Belarus. Meanwhile, the country’s neighbours are keeping borders shut, seriously damaging the Central Asian nation’s economy.
Bishkek (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Kyrgyzstan’s caretaker government has ordered prosecutors to seek the extradition of former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who is currently in Belarus where he fled a month ago via Kazakhstan. In the meantime, the country is discussing a proposal for constitutional reform drafted by a ten-member team of experts that was released on 26 April. This is happening at a time when Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and China closed their borders with Kyrgyzstan following the recent political unrest, cutting off import or export of goods.
Mr Bakiyev is in Belarus where he fled via Kazakhstan after turmoil on 7-8 April forced him out of power. About 85 people died and hundreds were injured in clashes after he ordered police to fire on demonstrators.
In order to prevent that someone like Bakiyev from exercising too much power, a new constitution is being drafted that would introduce new checks and balances. Kyrgyzstan in the post-Soviet era has not had a president who has served out his elective term.
The president, under the proposed draft, would take on more of a ceremonial role, with the primary responsibility for managing the government resting with a prime minister.
The president would retain some responsibilities for foreign policy and personnel appointments, but foreign treaties and agreements would require the coordinated approval of the executive and legislative branches.
The president would lose the right to appoint all 13 members of the Central Election Commission.
Opposition parties would have the power to select one-third of the Central Election Commission’s members, as well as hold the deputy speaker’s seat, and budget and defence committee chairmanships in parliament.
Elections rules would also prevent any one party from holding more than an absolute majority in parliament.
Critics note that the proposal remains vague on fundamental questions, like the division of power.
An appointive body of leading politicians and civil society activists, the 75-member Constitutional Council, is now reviewing the draft. It should complete its work by 19 May.
The caretaker government plans to hold a nationwide referendum on 27 June.
In the meantime, Kyrgyzstan is paying a severe economic price for its political instability. The Central Asian nation is suffering from a de facto trade embargo, as China, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are keeping their respective borders closed. Many Kyrgyz who used to buy goods in these countries for resale at home are now cut off.
Kyrgyzstan’s agriculture sector is also heavily dependent on imported supplies from China, produce from Uzbekistan, and petrol from Russia via Kazakhstan. Since many agricultural products grown in Kyrgyzstan are exported, closed borders could mean a disastrous harvest later this year.
Kazakhstan and China are Kyrgyzstan’s first and second largest trading partners. Because of the April unrest, Kyrgyz textiles have lost almost all bulk buyers from Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries. Many workers are now on mandatory and unpaid indefinite leave.
Almazbek Atambayev, a top official in the Kyrgyz provisional government, has repeatedly pled with Kazakh authorities to re-open the border, closed since 7 April.
Some Kazakh media outlets have reported that authorities in Astana are keeping the border closed because of a supposed glut of weapons floating around in Kyrgyzstan
Some experts suggest that the blockade is essentially political. Kyrgyzstan’s neighbours fear democratic contagion should the small Central Asian nation succeed in reorienting itself in a more democratic direction.
“Neighbouring countries are scared of the spread of revolutionary, free-thinking moods,” Temirbek Shabdanaliev, chairperson of the Association of Freight Carriers. “I remember the upheaval of 2005 [the Tulip Revolution] when Kazakhstan’s mass media was intentionally showing the most terrible scenes of looting in Bishkek to intimidate the population.”
What is more, caretaker leaders in Kyrgyzstan have promised to return state assets that former president Bakiyev may have illegally sold or otherwise distributed, among them some properties now held by Kazakh businessmen. Kazakhs fear their investments could be nationalised or seized in the looming round of restitution and score settling.
In the short run, the Kyrgyz economy is projected to shrink in the second quarter, after showing promising signs of growth in the first.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
South Korea Finds North Sank Ship, Paper Says
South Korea has concluded that North Korea sank one of its warships in March close to their disputed border with the loss of 46 lives, Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported.
The finding may hamper a resumption of nuclear disarmament talks with Kim Jong Il’s regime as public ire builds in South Korea, said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Seoul’s Dongguk University. Kim Jong Il reaffirmed his commitment to denuclearization in a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao this week, Xinhua News reported Friday.
[…]
South Korean and U.S. investigators have collected three pieces of “definitive circumstantial evidence” using satellite images and reconnaissance air craft, Chosun reported, citing South Korean officials it didn’t identify. South Korea also tracked a North Korean submarine that probably fired on the 1,200-ton Cheonan on March 26, the Korean-language report said.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Vietnamese Government Targets Christians
Socialist nation taps cell phones to cut off religious freedom discussions
Vietnamese officials are purchasing phone snooping gear so they can listen in on Christians’ phone calls, reports persecution watchdog International Christian Concern.
ICC Regional Manager Jeremy Shull reports that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s security apparatus has purchased phone eavesdropping software and are able to monitor all cell phone calls. This allows them to directly interfere with communications.
“Whenever an international conversation turns to human rights and religious freedom, the call is disconnected,” Shull explained. “This is a very recent development that has severely impacted the amount of information we get out of the country.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
France: 49 Illegal Networks Down
(ANSAmed) — PARIS, MAY 7 — In 2010’s first quarter 49 illegal immigration networks have been taken down, +75% compared to the same period last year, announced Immigration Minister Eric Besson in a press release. The last one is an Afghan immigration network, with final destination Sweden and operation bases in Paris and Belgium. The minister, remembering that the government’s goal is to locate and neutralize at least 200 clandestine immigration networks within the year, hopes for “punishment that can be of example against everybody that exploit the weakness and needs of women, men and children who are transported and accommodated like goods, in conditions that are against any human dignity. A modern slave trade that we have to fight endlessly and mercilessly”. Besson, interviewed by France-Soir, said that these networks often have very tight relationships with integralist proselytism and child traffic. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Syrian Doctor Blames “Corrupt Jews” For Immigration Conviction
Police feared a Facebook campaign blaming “corrupt Jewish Zionists” for the conviction of a Syrian doctor for immigration offences, would lead to protests outside a court.
Extra police surrounded Kingston Magistrates Court on Friday while Shawkat Spahi-Shoaib attended a sentencing hearing after being found guilty of using deception to remain in the UK.
He had applied for indefinite leave to remain in the UK in May 2005, despite awaiting trial in Manchester for two sexual offences, of which he was later found guilty.
The doctor launched a Facebook group which drew more than 1,600 members, claiming that the two judges involved in the original trial and appeal, investigating officers and defending solicitor were all Jewish.
Among the postings, Dr Spahi-Shoaib wrote: “The Jewish Zionists are working in the UK and possibly around the world.” Some posts suggested “at least hundreds” would atend the hearing. But there were no reported incidents or protests and the sentencing was referred to Kingston Crown Court.
| — Hat tip: Earl Cromer | [Return to headlines] |
Are Honor Killings Domestic Terrorism?
…But one more point: When Mohammed was in a weak position, he counseled “peace.” When he was in a strong position, he counseled “no mercy, full jihad ahead.”
I stressed the terrorists, home-grown and otherwise, are not motivated by poverty, unemployment, or lack of education. Remember that Bin Laden is a billionaire, the Christmas Day failed bomber Abdul Muttalab came from a wealthy family, Mohamed Ata was educated, as were Fort Hood Major Nidal Hassan and Times Square Faisal Shahaz. Mental illness does not “cause” terrorism. The Saudi Wahabi Salifist world-wide funding of mosques, madrassas, and Middle East Institutes does. Iranian funding of Hamas and Hezbollah funds and indoctrinates terrorism.
If a true and “peaceful” Islam — a pro-woman Islam — has been hijacked by maniacs then true and peaceful Muslims must stand up to them. If one’s interpretation of faith can encourage a man to drive a car bomb into Times Square, it can also give good people the faith and courage to stand up and fight the extremists in their midst.
Faith can empower people to combat radical evil in a way that nothing else can.
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