Chief Economist Warns About Eurozone Break-Up
Even some European politicians admit that one or more member countries might withdraw from the European Monetary Union, or EMU, according to ING Group’s chief economist.
“The EMU was designed to be irreversible and the sovereign debt crisis has set the markets thinking that this may no longer be so,” Marc Cliffe said during a Wednesday meeting in Istanbul.
German politicians are discussing openly about EMU’s continuing to be the sole option, he said.
According to a recent ING report written by Cliffe, there are two scenarios in front of the member countries: a Greek exit or a compete break-up of the monetary union.
The results of the second scenario “might be dramatic and traumatic,” the chief economist said. In such case, output would fall by between 5 and 9 percent in numerous member states and asset prices would plummet. “With their [possible] new currencies falling 50 percent or more, the peripheral economies such as Spain and Portugal would see their inflation rates soar toward the double digits.”
Noting that the break-up scenario might lead to massive divergence in both interest rates and bond yields, the one-year bond yields in Germany would fall below 1 percent while those in the peripheral markets might soar into a 7-12 percent range.
“Spain is too big [for Europe] to save, unfortunately,” Cliffe said, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. He added that Greece, Ireland and all the peripheral countries have started to follow the tight policies set by European Central Bank, or ECB. A further bail out for Spain might accelerate substantial weakening of the euro as well, according to him.
Saying that Turkey has performed considerably well in the wake of the global recession compared with many European countries, Cliffe said the country’s “biggest advantage is its independence in monetary and fiscal policies that peripheral country do not have.”
The growing economies will have a bigger portion from the world economy, Sengül Dagdeviren, the chief economist of the lender’s local branch, said at the meeting.
Turkey should increase its competitiveness with Asian economies in the next two decades, she said. Talking to the Daily News, Cliffe said, “Rather than trying to penetrate independently into Asian markets, Turkey could be plugged into Germany and increase its chances in these markets.”
Many firms from Germany’s neighboring countries — such as Netherlands and Austria — work with Germany in order to penetrate indirectly into Asian markets, he said.
According to him, Germany would come up with a solution for the debts of peripheral countries since the country’s economy is performing relatively well since it has penetrated into Asian markets. According to recent figures, business confidence is rising in the country, Cliffe noted. Germany is the engine powering the fiscal policies, measures and debt-restructuring models for the peripheral countries of the eurozone, he said. “We are all Germans.”
Rating increase for Turkey
Commenting on the domestic side, Dagdeviren said, “Turkey is much more immune to micro changes in the economy as the sensitivity is on the rise according to global economic trends.”
Noting that Turkey has enjoyed the efficiency of reforms that took place after 2001 crisis, she said: “Turkey’s economic growth will slow down inevitably to 4.6-5 percent at the end of this year.” Dagdeviren said the inflation rate in Turkey would float between 7.5 and 11 percent over the next 10 years. Noting that Turkey’s increasing current account deficit still is a threat to the country’s economy, she said: “Turkey is still safe as the country does not have low GDP growth, high budget deficit, and high public debt together as most of the European countries have currently.”
Break-up scenarios
ING chief economist Marc Cliffe’s two scenarios on the future of the European Monetary Union include the withdrawal of debt-hit Greece or a total break-up:
Scenario A: Exit of Greece
- At the mild end of the spectrum, the most plausible scenario is that Greece will be the only country to exit the eurozone.
- Greece is the most challenged country from solvency and a competitiveness perspective, and it is most observers’ favorite candidate for leaving EMU.
- The modest size of the Greek economy means that its departure would be far less disruptive than if one of the bigger economies were to leave.
- Greece’s exit will not happen in a chaotic manner. The eurozone and IMF would provide medium-term funding to ease the pain of Greece’s exit.
- The Greek exit gives further impetus for reforms in other highly indebted countries such as Spain and Portugal.
Scenario B: Complete breakup of the eurozone
- At the extreme end of the spectrum, eurozone countries and the financial markets conclude that the monetary union has failed.
- Members decide to revert to national currencies and monetary policy.
- If a core member leaves the zone, there would be protracted economic, political and financial tensions that would leave open the possibility of further departures.
- Exit from the EMU and reverting to national currencies do not directly improve fiscal solvency. Even in the absence of restructuring, foreign investors will still bear huge losses as a result of a leaver’s currencies depreciating and asset prices plummeting.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
China: Yuan Value Continues to Rise. Increase in Gold Imports
Today, the Chinese currency is valued at 6.5781 against the U.S. dollar. Since 2005 the Yuan has been appreciated by 26%. The inflation fears push investors to buy gold. In the first 10 months of 2010 209 tonnes of bullion imported.
Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) — The Central Bank of China today set a new higher value of the Yuan at 6.5781 against the U.S. dollar. According to analysts, the move indicates that the government is trying to appreciate the Chinese currency in a bid to fight inflation. In January, inflation in the country reached 4.9%.
The U.S. government is urging Beijing to appreciate its currency, artificially undervalued by at least 30%, to the benefit of Chinese exports. Yesterday, on the eve of the G20, the Governor of Central Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan, said that Beijing will decide the pace of appreciation of the Yuan according to their own forecasts, without being influenced by other countries.
Beijing fears that a rapid appreciation of its currency would curb its exports and employment in the country, creating more social tension. However, since July 2005, when China decided to break away from fixed exchange rate with the dollar, the Yuan has been appreciated by 26%.
Due to inflation, Chinese investors are feeling increasingly insecure and there is a growing demand for gold. In the first 10 months of 2010 the country imported over 209 tons of the precious metal. In 2009 it had imported only 45 tonnes
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
China: Foreign Investments in China Rise, Fuelling Fears About Inflation
In January, foreign investments jumped by 23.4 per cent from a year earlier. In 2010, foreign capital flowing into China reached record proportions. However, these investments are often speculative in nature, centred on real estate. Experts warn that Beijing must appreciate the yuan if it wants to curb inflation.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Foreign direct investment in China rose 23.4 per cent in January from a year earlier. However, revived foreign capital inflow is compounding the country’s excess monetary liquidity and runs the risk of further fuelling inflation.
China attracted US$ 10.03 billion in foreign investment last month, Commerce Ministry spokesman Yao Jian said. That is down from US$14.03 billion in December, but still much higher over a year ago.
Foreign direct investment hit a full-year record of US$105.7 billion last year, an increase of 17.4 per cent year-on-year, after years of decline.
This is raising concerns because foreign investments are frustrating the government’s attempts to “cool” the economy after three interest-rate increases since October.
Faced with escalating inflation, especially food prices, the authorities’ response has been to tighten monetary supply. Nevertheless, inflation reached 4.9 per cent in January and foreign capital can only accentuate the trend.
More than 20 per cent of foreign investments went into real estate rather than other productive activities, further expanding what many consider an already highly speculative bubble.
Experts believe that the capital coming to China is speculative in nature, as investors bet on higher real estate prices and a stronger yuan to recoup their investments and make quick profits.
They also think Beijing will have to appreciate the yuan against the US dollar and bring it closer to its real value even if this should raise the price of Chinese goods and cut into Chinese exports.
“It is a consensus that the appreciation of the Chinese currency will certainly accelerate this year as it is an important part of the tightening, which will (make China) even more attractive to foreign capital,” Ren Xianfang, an economic analyst, said.
China’s foreign direct investment data include investment by overseas companies in industries such as manufacturing, real estate, services and agriculture.
The government announced last week that it would set up a panel to vet proposed mergers and acquisitions by foreign firms to “safeguard national security” in areas like national defence, agriculture, energy, resources, infrastructure, transport, technology and equipment manufacturing.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: IMF: Unrest Will Increase Unemployment
(ANSAmed) — ROME, FEBRUARY 18 — The International Monetary Fund has sent out an appeal to the governments of the Middle East region, calling on them to focus their efforts on creating general growth in their economies and offering aid targeting the poorest households, a report on the website of Araby-world net reports. Due to the recent political unrest, the unemployment rate in Egypt could rise, the IMF forecast says.
According to Masoud Ahmed, the Middle East and Asia Office Director with the IMF, recent events in Egypt could have negative short-term effects on the Egyptian economy.
Paradoxically, however, they could also help improve Egypt’s long-term economic position. As the Director notes, growth will slow this year and will remain under the rate of 5.5 percent recorded during the closing two quarters of last year. Apart from this slow-down in economic growth, Masoud Ahmed believes that other negative economic effects will include a drop in tourist activity and in foreign investment in the country, while food prices and interest rates are set to rise.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt’s Economic Apartheid
More than 90% of Egyptians hold their property without legal title. No wonder they can’t build wealth and have lost hope.
By Hernando De Soto
The headline that appeared on Al Jazeera on Jan. 14, a week before Egyptians took to the streets, affirmed that “[t]he real terror eating away at the Arab world is socio-economic marginalization.”
The Egyptian government has long been concerned about the consequences of this marginalization. In 1997, with the financial support of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the government hired my organization, the Institute for Liberty and Democracy. It wanted to get the numbers on how many Egyptians were marginalized and how much of the economy operated “extralegally”—that is, without the protections of property rights or access to normal business tools, such as credit, that allow businesses to expand and prosper. The objective was to remove the legal impediments holding back people and their businesses.
After years of fieldwork and analysis—involving over 120 Egyptian and Peruvian technicians with the participation of 300 local leaders and interviews with thousands of ordinary people—we presented a 1,000-page report and a 20-point action plan to the 11-member economic cabinet in 2004. The report was championed by Minister of Finance Muhammad Medhat Hassanein, and the cabinet approved its policy recommendations.
Egypt’s major newspaper, Al Ahram, declared that the reforms “would open the doors of history for Egypt.” Then, as a result of a cabinet shakeup, Mr. Hassanein was ousted. Hidden forces of the status quo blocked crucial elements of the reforms.
Today, when the streets are filled with so many Egyptians calling for change, it is worth noting some of the key facts uncovered by our investigation and reported in 2004:
• Egypt’s underground economy was the nation’s biggest employer. The legal private sector employed 6.8 million people and the public sector employed 5.9 million, while 9.6 million people worked in the extralegal sector.
• As far as real estate is concerned, 92% of Egyptians hold their property without normal legal title.
• We estimated the value of all these extralegal businesses and property, rural as well as urban, to be $248 billion—30 times greater than the market value of the companies registered on the Cairo Stock Exchange and 55 times greater than the value of foreign direct investment in Egypt since Napoleon invaded—including the financing of the Suez Canal and the Aswan Dam. (Those same extralegal assets would be worth more than $400 billion in today’s dollars.)
The entrepreneurs who operate outside the legal system are held back. They do not have access to the business organizational forms (partnerships, joint stock companies, corporations, etc.) that would enable them to grow the way legal enterprises do. Because such enterprises are not tied to standard contractual and enforcement rules, outsiders cannot trust that their owners can be held to their promises or contracts. This makes it difficult or impossible to employ the best technicians and professional managers—and the owners of these businesses cannot issue bonds or IOUs to obtain credit.
Nor can such enterprises benefit from the economies of scale available to those who can operate in the entire Egyptian market. The owners of extralegal enterprises are limited to employing their kin to produce for confined circles of customers.
Without clear legal title to their assets and real estate, in short, these entrepreneurs own what I have called “dead capital”—property that cannot be leveraged as collateral for loans, to obtain investment capital, or as security for long-term contractual deals. And so the majority of these Egyptian enterprises remain small and relatively poor. The only thing that can emancipate them is legal reform. And only the political leadership of Egypt can pull this off. Too many technocrats have been trained not to expand the rule of law, but to defend it as they find it. Emancipating people from bad law and devising strategies to overcome the inertia of the status quo is a political job.
The key question to be asked is why most Egyptians choose to remain outside the legal economy? The answer is that, as in most developing countries, Egypt’s legal institutions fail the majority of the people. Due to burdensome, discriminatory and just plain bad laws, it is impossible for most people to legalize their property and businesses, no matter how well intentioned they might be.
The examples are legion. To open a small bakery, our investigators found, would take more than 500 days. To get legal title to a vacant piece of land would take more than 10 years of dealing with red tape. To do business in Egypt, an aspiring poor entrepreneur would have to deal with 56 government agencies and repetitive government inspections.
All this helps explain who so many ordinary Egyptians have been “smoldering” for decades. Despite hard work and savings, they can do little to improve their lives.
Bringing the majority of Egypt’s people into an open legal system is what will break Egypt’s economic apartheid. Empowering the poor begins with the legal system awarding clear property rights to the $400 billion-plus of assets that we found they had created. This would unlock an amount of capital hundreds of times greater than foreign direct investment and what Egypt receives in foreign aid.
Leaders and governments may change and more democracy might come to Egypt. But unless its existing legal institutions are reformed to allow economic growth from the bottom up, the aspirations for a better life that are motivating so many demonstrating in the streets will remain unfulfilled.
Mr. de Soto, author of “The Mystery of Capital” (Basic Books, 2000) and “The Other Path” (Harper and Row, 1989), is president of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy based in Lima, Peru.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
ENI CEO Says Libyan Business Normal Amid ‘Not Particularly Strong Tension’
Rome, 17 Feb. (AKI) — Eni chief executive Paolo Scaroni said unrest in Libya country has not caused his Italian oil and gas giant to interrupt its activities in the north African country and “doesn’t expect anything” from a popular revolt that will affect business.
“Our activity continues normally,” Scaroni told reporters on Thursday at the Italian foreign ministry where he was attending a conference on Tunisia. “The tension isn’t particularly strong.”
At least four people were killed by Libyan security forces in the eastern city of al-Beyida during during protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, according to foreign opposition websites. The websites said the deaths happened on Wednesday in the eastern town of Al-Baida.
Protesters have called for a “Day of Rage” to take place Thursday in Libya.
In 2009 Eni produced 522 thousands barrels of oil and its gas equivalent in Libya, making it a top international producer in that country, according to the Rome-based company’s web site.
“Libya is a very strategic country for us. We’ve been there for years and will continue to be there,” Scaroni said.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: House Prices to Continue Falling in 2011, Says BoG
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, FEBRUARY 18 — House prices in Greece will continue falling this year after falling by 3.7% in 2009 and 4.0% last year, the Bank of Greece said on Thursday as reported by ANA. In a survey on the domestic real estate market, the Central Bank attributed its pessimistic forecast to the fact that households remained cautious, excessive supply, a significant inventory of unsold homes and a squeeze in bank funding. Greek households are affected by increased uncertainty over employment and their future incomes, while most households have also postponed the purchase of new homes anticipating a further decline in prices over the next few months. The report said house prices fell 8.1% in the last quarter of 2010, compared with the same period in 2009, for newly-built homes, and by 4.0% for older ones. House prices fell 4.4% (newly-built) and by 3.8% (older ones). In a geographical analysis, house prices fell 5.1% in Athens in the fourth quarter of 2010, by 9.0% in Thessaloniki, by 6.1% in other large cities and by 4.9% in other regions of the country.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Iceland President Calls Referendum on New Icesave Deal
Iceland’s president has called a referendum on the latest plan to repay the UK and Netherlands the 4bn euros (£3.1bn) they lost when the Icesave bank collapsed.
President Olafur Grimsson said the new deal, which was approved by parliament last week, requires public approval.
It is the second time in just over a year that Mr Grimmson has vetoed an Icesave deal and demanded a referendum.
Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir has said the move is “disappointing”.
Last week, Iceland’s parliament overwhelmingly voted in favour of the deal, and voted down by a slim majority the idea of putting the issue to a referendum.
The money will be used to repay the UK and Dutch governments for reimbursing 400,000 citizens who lost savings when Icesave’s parent, Landsbanki, collapsed late in 2008.
‘Not common’
“The citizens of Iceland will get to vote on these new Icesave contracts,” President Olafur Grimsson told reporters in Reykjavik on Sunday.
“These (Icesave) contracts are different from the last ones that were put to the nation,” Mr Grimsson said.
“It is important that the nation again will get its say,” he said, adding that “nearly half of parliament” wanted it to go to a public vote.
400,000 British and Dutch depositors were initially left out of pocket when Icesave collapsed
Mr Grimsson has said recently that the latest deal was much better than the previous one, which was rejected by 93.2% of Icelandic voters in a referendum in March 2010…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
IMF Warns Turkey on “Hot Money” Dependence
(ANSAmed) — ISTANBUL, FEBRUARY 18 — “Hot money” inflows remain a potentially destabilizing factor for Turkey, the International Monetary Fund has warned while predicting that the country’s current account deficit will continue to rise in its most recent assessment of the economy. The IMF’s executive board concluded its second post-program monitoring discussions with Turkey on February 11 and released an analysis on the Turkish economy late Wednesday. The Washington-based IMF raised its economic growth estimate for 2010 to a robust 8.2%. However, as daily Hurriyet notes, it predicted only 4.5% growth for the whole of 2011, while also noting the problem caused by a gaping current account deficit, which is predicted to be near 7% of gross domestic product in 2010. The IMF expects inflation to accelerate to 6.5% by the end of 2011 due to “increasing demand and cost pressures.” The figure is 1 percentage point above the Central Bank’s target.
According to data released February 11, the current account gap rose to $7.5 billion in December, while it surged to $48.6 billion for the whole of 2010. The figures are the worst since the Central Bank started making the data public in 1984. A current account deficit occurs when a country’s total imports of goods, services and transfers are greater than its total export of goods, services and transfers. This situation makes a country a net debtor to the rest of the world. The gap is generally financed either by long-term foreign investments, or by short-term portfolio investments, which are called “hot money.” As short-term investment leaves an economy — generally after making a profit — it may cause serious disruptions in financial markets.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Industrial Orders Up 13.9% in 2010, Biggest Rise Since 2001
Turnover up 10.1%, also best in 10 years
(ANSA) — Rome, February 18 — Industrial orders rose by 13.9% in Italy in 2010, the biggest annual rise since 2001, Istat said Friday.
In 2009 orders fell by 22.4%, the national statistics agency recalled. The boom was led by orders from abroad, 21.2% up.
Industrial turnover rose by 10.1% in 2010, again the best result since 2001, compared to an 18.7% fall in 2009.
Car turnover fell by 3.9% in December compared to December 2009, and orders by 11.2%.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Portugal: Finance Minister’s “Cry for Help”
i, 16 February 2011
The sovereign debt alarm bells sounded yesterday in Lisbon, worries Portuguese daily i. With interest on national debt above 7% for the eighth consecutive day, finance minister Teixeira dos Santos was summoned to an emergency meeting with President Aníbal Cavaco Silva to outline government strategy to cope with staggering rates and the imminent switching off of ECB aid. Cavaco Silva is concerned that Portugal may shortly be forced to accept an EU/IMF bailout of the European fund/IMF, a scenario all the more likely after Brussels announced that the 500 billion euros supposed to buttress the European Financial Stability Fund will only be available in 2013. “But 2013 may be too late for the government,” the Lisbon daily notes. Prior to the 14 February ECOFIN gathering of EU27 finance ministers in Brussels, dos Santos complained of “delay and hesitation”: “It’s a process that is proving to be, in my opinion, more time consuming than desirable”, he said. An economics specialist talking to i qualified the minister’s “cry for help” as “desperate”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: Government Takes Measures to Lower Food Prices
(ANSAmed) — DAMASCUS, FEBRUARY 18 — The Syrian government has announced a series of measures to contain and lower food prices.
The government has planned to lower taxes on olive oil by 53%, on animal fat by 20% and on sugar by 25%. The Italian Trade Commission (ICE) office in Damascus points out that also tax on import requests have been lowered, from 2% to 1%. Duties on milk powder have been lowered from 10% to 5%, on tea from 10% to 7%, on rice from 3% to 1%, on coffee from 20% to 15% and on bananas from 40% to 20%
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia: Ben Ali Clan Owes 1.3 Billion Euros to Banks
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, FEBRUARY 16 — Outstanding loans from Tunisian state and private banks to the 182 businesses (grouped together under 23 different agglomerations) connected to member of former President Ben Ali’s family total 2.5 billion dinars.
The figure has been announced by the Governor of Tunisia’s Central Bank, Ahmed Kamel Ennabli, during a press conference today. Over half of the figure, i.e. 1.3 billion dinari (around 671 million euros), concerns the companies: Carthage Cement, Société Tunisienne de Sucre, Tunisiana and Orange Tunisie. The Governor also noted that a further 1.77 billion dinars (around 914 million euros) have been placed against guarantees. These loans considered risky by the banks amount to a total of 430 million dinars, or around 222 million euros).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia: Monoprix Chain Suffers 5.2 Mln in Damages
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, FEBRUARY 18 — With thirteen supermarkets seriously damaged, four of which were set on fire, total damages for the Monoprix group stand at 10 million dinari (around 5.2 million euros). The figure has been made public today by the supermarket chain that has seventy stores on the Tunisian market and employs 38,000 people. The parent company has stated that three of the stores (in Carthage, Bèja, Bizerte) will require several months’ of work before they can reopen. But it has decided to carry on paying staff their regular wages, ahead of their return to work.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Simon Schama: Cuts Will Make History Preserve of the Rich
The Government’s new history tsar who was called in by Education Secretary Michael Gove to advise the Government on the history curriculum in schools, also berated academic snobbery among some fellow historians who have worked solely in higher education. Broadcaster Schama, 66, who is Professor of Art History and History at Columbia University, also made no secret of his fears for what lies ahead for the study of the arts and humanities in British universities. He said he had deep misgivings about the proposed new financial regimen for higher education.
Schama said he was uneasy that “sciences and subjects, which seem to be on a utilitarian measure useful, have retained their state funding, while the arts and humanities are being stripped of theirs.” He fears that such a move will have the “unfortunate” effect of channelling students into subjects such as accountancy rather than philosophy or the history of art.
Schama said Britain runs the risk of causing “appalling” damage to culture by making the arts and humanities the preserve only of the well-heeled.
In a thinly veiled attack on PM David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg, Schama said: “It behoves those people who were themselves educated at places like Westminster, and Eton — or in my case, Haberdashers’ — to understand the damage that you can do to British culture by making it essentially a wealthy pursuit.”
He also slammed some fellow academics, adding: “You have to work very hard to make history boring, and there are plenty of people in the institutions who do a brilliant job of making it boring. “I was lucky enough to be taught at school and particularly at university by teachers who believed that history was not just for other historians and was not purely an academic pursuit. “They really resisted the slightly incestuous model of debates which were hissy fits between rival schools of historians.” He added: you have to make sure you understand the social realities of what it’s like to deal with a classroom, for example in inner cities, where a very high proportion of children have English as a second language. Those social realities are very compelling.” However, he believes that youngsters retain a hunger for knowledge about the past, and that history remains popular in schools. He said: “Children of all ages are wired for ancestral stories and they are also wired for a kind of critical curiosity. In other words, not just to be a kind of passive blotting paper for ethics but also to ask questions about it.”
Schama was speaking during a visit to the University of York to ark the tenth anniversary of his landmark 15-part BBC series A History of Britain who he wrote and presented…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Anjem Choudary to Lead White House Protest Calling for Muslims to ‘Rise Up’
A hardline Muslim cleric who sparked anger across the U.S. with his anti-American comments in a television interview this month is to hold a protest outside the White House.
British extremist Anjem Choudary — who once said ‘the flag of Islam will fly over the White House’ — has announced he will lead a demonstration calling on Muslims to establish the Sharia law across America.
The rally, planned for March 3, is to take place just weeks after his on-screen row with Fox News presenter Sean Hannity.
Mr Choudary, 43, called Americans ‘the biggest criminals in the world today.’
The former leader of outlawed group Islam4UK told the Daily Star ‘we expect thousands to come out and support us.’
Mr Choudary said the March rally was organised by the Islamic Thinkers society, an extremist group based in New York.
Two other British extremists, Abu Izzadeen and Sayful Islam, have also been asked to speak at the demonstration.
Izzadeen is the hate preacher who caused fury last year when he called British soldiers ‘murderers’ the day he was released from jail after a three-and-a-half year sentence for inciting terrorism.
Mr Choudary told the newspaper: ‘The event is a rally, a call for the Sharia, a call for the Muslims to rise up and establish the Islamic state in America.’
However, whether the three will be able to enter the U.S., especially Izzadeen, remains to be seen. Even a tourist visa requires applicants to answer questions on whether they have been involved in acts of terrorism or plan to commit crimes in the U.S.
‘This is a unique event taking place in Washington, outside the White House which, Inshallah, (God willing) will garner huge support.’
He hit U.S. headlines just two weeks ago after his furious exchange with Mr Hannity on Fox News. The presenter became so enraged with his anti-American comments he ended the interview by calling him a ‘sick, miserable, evil S.O.B’.
The East London-based cleric’s anti-American stance is well-documented. Last year he led protesters in burning the American flag outside the U.S. embassy in London on September 11.
And in October, he told an ABC chat show that ‘one day the flag of Islam will fly over the White House.’
He told the Daily Star: ‘They have seen our activities in the UK and Europe and have decided they want to challenge the vacuum in freedom and democracy and the people in the front line of the struggle against Islam and Muslims — the American government and the establishment.
‘They have invited and myself and Sayful Islam from Luton to come over to address the crowd and rally support.’
‘We are going to address corruption in the Senate, corrupt foreign policy, the mayhem around the Muslim world, the drug and alcohol culture, promiscuity and the pandemic of crime in America.
‘It is only right the call is made in the heart of Western civilisation in front of the biggest pharaoh that exists today, which is Barack Obama.’
He added: ‘I think the American people’s hearts and minds are open to receive Islam as an alternative way of life. We expect thousands to come out and support us.’…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Government Worker Unions: The Long Good-Bye
The beginning of the end of the incestuous relationship between government and the unions.
by Steve McCann
The “Madison Uprising” is the beginning of the end of the incestuous relationship between government and the unions. That fact has been recognized by the public sector unions and the Democratic Party and is why they have pulled out all the stops and reverted to their 1960’s playbook in order to maintain the status quo. However, it is a battle that the unions and the Democratic Party will lose regardless of the immediate outcome in Wisconsin.
The Democratic Party has sold its soul to the public sector unions. In the 2010 mid-term election, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees poured over $87 million dollars into the election. (A new spending record). AFSCME’s $87 million was greater than the campaign spending by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ($75 million) and American Crossroads ($65 million). Other public sector unions also ratcheted up their spending such as SEIU ($44 million) and the National Education Association ($40 million).
The three major public sector unions spent over $171 million in the 2010 election plus an estimated $250 million equivalent value of so-called volunteer activity such as get out the vote efforts, door-to-door campaigning and poll watching.
[…]
…In 2008 the NEA and the AFT made contributions and grants totaling over $96 million of union dues; all to liberal organizations irrespective of the desires of the rank and file or the taxpayer…
[…]
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How a Geek Fooled the CIA Into Handing Over £13m for a Computer Program to ‘Stop Al Qaeda Attacks’
A computer expert was paid more than £13million after fooling the CIA that he had developed software to stop Al Qaeda attacks.
Officials were so convinced by Dennis Montgomery that, acting on a tip-off from him, former president George Bush ordered passenger jets flying from London to be turned back over the Atlantic amid fears they were being hijacked.
There was even talk of shooting down the jets because it was feared the ‘hijackers’ would crash them into U.S. targets in 2003.
But the information, like other tip-offs supplied by Montgomery, 57, was false.
On that occasion French officials were so angry at the supposed lapse in their security — one of the planes was headed for France — that they carried out their own investigation into Montgomery’s technology and found it was a hoax.
One former CIA official said they realised then that they were conned and said: ‘We got played’.
But even as late as 2008 he claimed to have picked up intelligence that Somalia terrorists were planning to disrupt President Obama’s inauguration in Washington DC.
The programmer was given contracts worth more than £13million after convincing the CIA and U.S. Air Force that his software could decipher coded messages being sent among terrorists.
Montgomery claimed his codes were able to find terrorist plots hidden in TV broadcasts made by the Arab network Al Jazeera.
He also said his software could identify terror leaders from photographs taken by aerial drones and detect noise from enemy submarines — and he claimed that his software ‘could save American lives’.
But an inquiry by The New York Times has revealed him as a fraud and, it is claimed, court documents that would prove the software failed are being kept secret by the U.S. Justice Department to prevent embarrassment to spy chiefs.
Montgomery has not faced criminal charges over his deception or been ordered to pay back the money.
He is awaiting trial in Nevada on unrelated charges of passing bad cheques worth £1.1million to Las Vegas casinos…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Rumsfeld Blasts Obama’s World Image
Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld disputes the notion that President Barack Obama has made America more popular around the globe than it was under his former boss, President George W. Bush.
Asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” by host Candy Crowley whether the U.S. is looked at differently than under his tenure, Rumsfeld replied, “I don’t think there’s data that supports that.”
“I think [Obama] has made a practice of trying to apologize for America,” Rumsfeld said.
Rumsfeld also downplayed Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize.
“He had not accomplished a thing when he got the Nobel Prize. It was given to him on hope,” Rumsfeld said. “He’d been in office 15 minutes.”
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Scientist Finds Gulf Bottom Still Oily, Dead
WASHINGTON (AP) — Oil from the BP spill remains stuck on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, according to a top scientist’s video and slides that she says demonstrate the oil isn’t degrading as hoped and has decimated life on parts of the sea floor.
That report is at odds with a recent report by the BP spill compensation czar that said nearly all will be well by 2012.
At a science conference in Washington Saturday, marine scientist Samantha Joye of the University of Georgia aired early results of her December submarine dives around the BP spill site. She went to places she had visited in the summer and expected the oil and residue from oil-munching microbes would be gone by then. It wasn’t.
“There’s some sort of a bottleneck we have yet to identify for why this stuff doesn’t seem to be degrading,” Joye told the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual conference in Washington. Her research and those of her colleagues contrasts with other studies that show a more optimistic outlook about the health of the gulf, saying microbes did great work munching the oil.
“Magic microbes consumed maybe 10 percent of the total discharge, the rest of it we don’t know,” Joye said, later adding: “there’s a lot of it out there.”
The head of the agency in charge of the health of the Gulf said Saturday that she thought that “most of the oil is gone.” And a Department of Energy scientist, doing research with a grant from BP from before the spill, said his examination of oil plumes in the water column show that microbes have done a “fairly fast” job of eating the oil. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab scientist Terry Hazen said his research differs from Joye’s because they looked at different places at different times.
Joye’s research was more widespread, but has been slower in being published in scientific literature.
In five different expeditions, the last one in December, Joye and colleagues took 250 cores of the sea floor and travelled across 2,600 square miles. Some of the locations she had been studying before the oil spill on April 20 and said there was a noticeable change. Much of the oil she found on the sea floor — and in the water column — was chemically fingerprinted, proving it comes from the BP spill. Joye is still waiting for results to show other oil samples she tested are from BP’s Macondo well.
She also showed pictures of oil-choked bottom-dwelling creatures. They included dead crabs and brittle stars — starfish like critters that are normally bright orange and tightly wrapped around coral. These brittle stars were pale, loose and dead. She also saw tube worms so full of oil they suffocated.
“This is Macondo oil on the bottom,” Joye said as she showed slides. “This is dead organisms because of oil being deposited on their heads.”
Joye said her research shows that the burning of oil left soot on the sea floor, which still had petroleum products. And even more troublesome was the tremendous amount of methane from the BP well that mixed into the Gulf and was mostly ignored by other researchers…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Belgians Riled by Government Stasis
Rudderless nation takes to streets
By Philippe Siuberski and Roddy Thomson, Agence France-PresseFebruary 18, 2011true
Protesters across Belgium staged a “chips revolution” Thursday to demand a government as the country took over Iraq’s dubious record for the world’s longest political crisis of recent times.
In Brussels, Ghent and Leuven, some 5,000 youths took to the streets, according to organizers, lining up for warm packs of free Belgian fries to honour a national dish under banners reading “Separatism: Not In Our Name -Youth.”
The rudderless nation of 11 million people, home to the European Union and NATO, hit 249 days of political deadlock Thursday as politicians from the Dutch-speaking north and French-speaking south squabble over a coalition government deal.
In Ghent, male and female youths stripped to the bare essentials to demand a government, with 20-year-old history student Frea Van Craeynest saying “I’m taking my clothes off to send a signal to the politicians to do something.”
“We gave them our votes, our trust. They must act!”
In six degrees Celsius temperatures, her classmate Stien Van Vytvenet, 19, added: “Flemish and Walloon students have the same bodies. We’ve had enough.”
Already Europe’s longest wait for a government -beating the Netherlands in 1977 at 208 days -Belgium has now outperformed Iraq, where Kurds and Shiite and Sunni Muslims struck a political pact late last year after 249 days, which in December, 40 days later, saw a government sworn in.
The Belgian press marked the event with brio, the leading daily in Dutch-speaking Flanders, De Standaard, using a football analogy under the headline “At last, world champions!”.
Unusually, the French-language press pursued the same editorial lines, with Le Soir crying “Record Beaten!” and warning the day-count was far from finished.
A new government for Belgium is not even on the horizon more than eight months after a June 13 election failed to produce an outright winner.
As fears mount of a lasting divorce between the two sides, figurehead sovereign King Albert II has named a succession of special envoys to bridge the gulf but all efforts have floundered.
“We saw what happened in Tunisia and Egypt,” 24-year-old architecture student Kliment Kostadinov told AFP. “We are also trying to stage a positive revolution.”
He and other organizers of Thursday’s “unity” protests are hoping the “chips revolution” by youngsters from across Belgium’s growing language and political divide will help stave off Belgium’s breakup.
“We all face the same problems, whether we’re Flemish or French-speaking,” said Gunter Kathagen, 23, standing by a banner reading “Belgium1” in Leuven.
At stake is a deal to reform Belgium’s federal system, giving more autonomy to each of its regions -Flanders in the north, French-speaking Wallonia in the south, and the capital Brussels, a bilingual enclave in Flanders.
The far-right Vlaams Belang, which wants independence for Flanders and whose slogan is “Belgium, Die!,” has threatened to disrupt the Ghent party, where police said they were bringing reinforcements.
Albert II has asked his current go-between, caretaker finance minister Didier Reynders, to report back on progress by March 1 in getting the politicians back to the negotiating table.
| — Hat tip: TV | [Return to headlines] |
Berlusconi Has Made Italy a Laughingstock
Silvio Berlusconi? “His frequent blunders and poor choice of words has offended practically every category of Italian citizens and many European leaders… He has damaged the image of the country in Europe and brought ridicule to Italy’s reputation in many sectors of the American government”. This is not a spur of the moment judgment but one pondered down to the last adjective and destined to remain secret. It was written by Ronald Spogli, the US ambassador to Rome, when he left office to explain our country to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. It is a harsh portrait of the premier who “has become the symbol of the incapacity and ineffectiveness of Italian governments to meet the country’s chronic problems: a noncompetitive economic system, decaying infrastructure, growing debt, endemic corruption”.
Despite this, the “Cavaliere” when “led by the hand” and “made to feel important” has shown himself to be the best ally possible. It is above all his domestic and international weakness that has been exploited by the Obama administration in order to obtain undreamed of concessions: more soldiers in Afghanistan, new military bases in Veneto and Sicily, total support in the standoff with Iran, support to American initiatives “also within EU institutions”. Everything and more. To achieve its objectives, the White House offers “cover at the highest level” in times of political difficulty. Obama himself saved Silvio when — as written in increasingly worried reports- the G8 in Aquila risked becoming a disaster for him. Because the Americans have one certainty: there is no alternative to Berlusconi, there are no figures capable of replacing him. All in all, this is fine because “when we hook him into our objectives, he allows us to achieve concrete results”. There is only one sore point, that is becoming increasingly more painful: his close, personal ties with the Kremlin. It is a relationship that increases the power of Moscow’s main weapon — Gazprom’s gas.
In January 2010, this drove Clinton to initiate an investigation into the secret relations between the two premiers: “Silvio seconds Putin’s worst instincts”. This is the analysis that emerges from the documents of the American Embassy in Rome obtained by WikiLeaks that “L’espresso” will begin publishing this week: more than 4000 cables that rewrite the story of the relations between Italy and the United States from 2002 until April 2010, analyzing every juncture in the life of our country thanks to direct talks with ministers, parliamentarians, managers, journalists and frequent inspections in the field. These are exceptional documents that testify to the collapse of Italy’s credibility and its institutions, with very few exceptions: President Giorgio Napolitano, the Carabinieri, the Fiamme gialle and the soldiers involved in missions.
The clown premier and his blunders
“Berlusconi tends to make blunders and is a bit of a clown”, a definition given by an anonymous Pdl official, recurs often in the reports sent to Washington that is kept up-to-date on all the premier’s verbal slipups, including “Obama’s tan” and some of his “racy” jokes. But the dossiers have never concerned themselves with gossip: the sexual scandals, the “uninhibited parties with really young girls”, the “recordings with a prostitute”, the accusations of “sexual promiscuity made by his wife” take up very few lines that are dealt with in an extremely prudent manner. What the Americans care about instead is to what extent the Cavaliere can be useful for their plans. The best analysis is the one given by Spogli, George W. Bush’s ambassador to Rome, who in February 2009 presented a dramatic picture to the new Obama administration: “Italy has not always shown itself to be an ideal partner. Its slow but real economic decline threatens its capacity to play a role in the international arena. Its leadership often lacks strategic vision — a characteristic that arises from decades of unstable or short-lived coalitions. The institutions are not adequately developed as one would expect from a modern European country”. Spogli reiterates its leaders’ limits: “the lack of will or the incapacity to find answers to many of the chronic problems creates apprehension among its international partners and gives the impression of an ineffective and irresponsible government”.
Silvio Berlusconi has become the symbol of this little Italy, with a portrait that seems to be taken from the film “Caimano”: “His perceived desire to place his personal interests ahead of those of the State, his preference for short-term solutions instead of long-term investments and his frequent use of public institutions and resources to gain electoral advantages over his political adversaries have damaged Italy’s image in Europe and unfortunately brought ridicule to Italy’s reputation in many sectors of the American government”.
In the face of this diagnosis, however, the conclusions are Machiavellian: the situation presents clear advantages for the US. “The combination of economic decline and political idiosyncrasy has driven many European leaders to denigrate Berlusconi and Italy’s contribution. We must not do this. We have to recognize that a long-term commitment with Italy and its leaders will pay strategic dividends now and in the future”. There is a list of these dividends, starting with a fundamental question for Washington and ignored here at home: Africom, the new command that from Vicenza will direct military operations in Africa, the promised land of Al Qaeda’s rebirth. Because the White House has essentially the same vision as Mussolini: Italy is a natural aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean. “It is a unique strategic platform for US troops, permitting them to easily reach the trouble spots in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa. Thanks to this position, it has become the base of the most important military force deployed outside the States. And with Africom, it will be an even more important partner in our force projection”. In addition, the government “has demonstrated the desire, rather the craving to collaborate with us”. In other words, weak, discredited but very useful: “Berlusconi wants to be our friend: he is genuinely and deeply committed to relations with us. He is not in tune with our rhythm and he is hardly credible, but his return to the government has given us the way to concretize important operational results”. And he recommends the following: “as long as you maintain close ties, you will achieve great results in Italy”. In short, as was acknowledged already in 2003, “Rome is an excellent place to carry out our political and military business”…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Daring Nazi Comedy Applauded at Berlin Film Festival
An Austrian “Nazi satire” about a Jewish man who dons the uniform of an SS officer to save himself and his mother from the Holocaust was surprisingly well-received Wednesday at the Berlin film festival.
“My Best Enemy” stars one of Germany’s most popular actors, Moritz Bleibtreu, in a comedy that takes daring risks with its harrowing subject but was applauded at a packed press screening.
Director Wolfgang Murnberger, 50, said he was aware of walking a thin line with his take on the horrors of the Nazi era but said he believed audiences were ready for a new approach.
“I had thought that this material could only be dealt with like in ‘Schindler’s List’ in a feature film because that is politically correct,” he told reporters, referring to Steven Spielberg’s harrowing Oscar winner.
“But then I saw that you could do more than show Jews behind barbed wire and in concentration camp uniforms — the idea was that in a story like this one, the Jew can be the hero.”
Bleibtreu plays Victor Kaufmann, the scion of wealthy Viennese gallery owners who still believe they can use their influence to escape the Nazi killing machine.
But a childhood friend, Rudi Smekal, who grew up in the Kaufmann family villa while his mother worked there as a housekeeper, sees his chance in the rise of the Third Reich.
He joins the SS and sells the family out by promising to deliver a priceless Michelangelo drawing in Kaufmann’s possession, which Axis partner Italy is demanding.
The Nazis seize the sketch and deport the family but when the time comes for the handover to the Italians, an expert determines the confiscated piece is a forgery.
They demand Smekal fetch Kaufmann from a concentration camp and force him
to reveal the location of the original. But their plane crashes over Poland and in the ensuing confusion, Kaufmann tricks Smekal into giving him his uniform.
When German troops arrive, Kaufmann begins a dangerous game in which he has to play the part of a Nazi to save his own life and that of his mother.
The ensuing race to find the Michelangelo drawing and organise an escape veers into slapstick when Kaufmann must perform crisp “Sieg Heil” salutes and cut a dashing figure in his Nazi uniform to hide his true identity.
A happy ending sees Kaufmann vindicated, with Smekal getting his comeuppance, while the real Michelangelo turns up in a surprising location.
“It was difficult to maintain this balance between a comedy and a tragedy. I wanted to show glimpses of the real story — for example prisoners in a concentration camp— as the backdrop for a fictional story,” Murnberger said.
“I am an Austrian director — maybe that is why I dared to make this movie. I’m curious to see how it will be received in Germany.”
A lighter approach to the Nazi period in German cinema has proved a dicey prospect in the past.
Berlinale competition entry “Jud Süß” starring Bleibtreu as Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels was loudly booed last year and 2007’s “My Führer — the Really Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler” featuring the Nazi leader as a bed-wetting crybaby was panned by critics.
However Italian comedian Robert Benini’s 1997 “Life is Beautiful” set during the Holocaust won three Academy Awards and was an international box office smash.
“My Best Enemy” is screening out of competition at the Berlin film festival, which wraps up on Sunday.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
EU: Croatia Close to Joining, More Efforts Against Corruption
(ANSAmed) — STRASBOURG, FEBRUARY 16 — “The time for the final push” has arrived for Croatia, the final effort needed to become the EU’s 28th member state. So said the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Stefan Fule, who told the plenary session of the European Parliament that membership talks were at an advanced stage. His report was overwhelmingly approved, with 548 in favour, 43 against and 42 abstentions.
Fule said that Croatia could sign the EU membership treaty by the end of June, and the country has completed 28 out of the 35 chapters in the membership talks. “But it is at the end that things become difficult,” warned Fule, underlining that the aspects still to be completed are the fight against “widespread” corruption, the creation of a “transparent and impartial” judicial system, the fight against the impunity of war criminals through “indispensable collaboration with the International Criminal Tribunal (ICT), collaboration with the families of victims and the treatment of minorities.
The resolution by the assembly in Strasbourg included a number of priority challenges, beginning with a quick launch of trials for war criminals, with focus on the fact that the ICT’s request for important military documents has been disregarded. European MPs say that other aspects that must be considered by Zagreb are the integration of refugees when they return to their countries and the privatisation of the shipbuilding industry, which is fundamental for the competition chapter. Euro MPs also expressed their concern at a report by Eurobarometro, which reveals that Croatian citizens believe that the country will not benefit from joining the EU. As a result, the country’s authorities and civil society have been asked to involve citizens further in the project of European integration.
A referendum of the Croatian people will be staged to give the green light to the country’s EU membership.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Police Raid Anti-Fascists’ Offices After Dresden Violence
Police raided offices used by anti-fascists in Dresden on Saturday evening after violence erupted when demonstrators hindered three neo-Nazi marches through the city.
A spokesman for the group “Dresden Nazifrei!” said that officers from the state criminal police (LKA) seized ten laptops and six mobile phones when they stormed the group’s press office, as well as offices belonging to the Left Party and a lawyer.
Left Party MP Katja Kipping said around 20 balaclava-clad LKA officers stormed the “House of Encounter” where the “Dresden Nazifrei!” and Left Party have their offices at around 5.30 pm on Saturday, just as the demonstrations and clashes in Dresden were dying down.
She said the doors were smashed open and several volunteers working there handcuffed and forced to sit on the floor. The officers said they suspected a crime and a trespassing violation were being organised there. Kipping said the raid was excessive, while the spokesman for “Dresden Nazifrei!” said it could have been a revenge attack.
Thousands of people managed to disrupt the three neo-Nazi marches planned for Saturday in Dresden with sit-down protests and road-blocks. Violence flared when some anti-fascists tried to break through police lines to get to where the neo-Nazis were gathering.
Police said on Sunday that more than 50 officers were injured and around the same number of demonstrators arrested.
At times the protests resembled a riot as demonstrators vandalized cars, set rubbish bins on fire and pelted police with stones, bottles and fireworks. Officers reacted with water cannon and pepper spray.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Berlusconi Launches Justice Reform
Cabinet soon to OK wiretap, immunity moves after Ruby trial set
(ANSA) — Rome, February 18 — Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi on Friday launched a judicial reform including a curb on the use of wiretaps and the restoration of a strong form of parliamentary immunity.
The premier says the reforms are needed to make the system fairer and faster and protect people from trial by the media but critics say they are aimed at shielding him from trials.
Earlier this week Berlusconi was sent to trial on April 6 for allegedly paying an underage prostitute known as Ruby for sex and allegedly abusing his position to get her out of police custody on an unrelated charge.
Berlusconi, who has been trying for years to enact reforms critics say are aimed at reining in allegedly hostile prosecutors, was reported as telling ministers: “This is a reform based on principles (underlying) civilised life”.
“We must move quickly,” he reportedly added. An extraordinary cabinet meeting will be called shortly, political sources said, to launch a constitutional reform of the justice system.
Justice Minister Angelino Alfano reportedly outlined a bill to the cabinet Friday to separate the careers of judges and prosecutors, split in two the judiciary’s self-governing body, stop prosecutors from appealing against acquittals and give the justice ministry more power over probes.
The government is also thinking of making judges liable for their actions, sources said. At present prosecutors are independent of the justice ministry and initiate probes at their discretion, if they are informed of a possible crime. The centre-left opposition rose up against the reported bill, with former graftbuster Antonio Di Pietro, leader of the Italy of Values party, saying “these reforms are not in favour of justice and honest citizens but (for) criminals”.
The opposition and the judiciary has argued in the past that reforms such as a proposed trial cap and wiretapping curbs would affect prosecutors’ crime-fighting abilities.
The largest opposition group, the Democratic Party, claimed “the government has not wasted time in trying to intimidate magistrates” after the Ruby trial date was set on Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: I Don’t Want a PM Who Pays Minors, Says Bersani
(AGI) Rome — Pierluigi Bersani, leader of the Democratic Party, urges for Berlusconi to resign as a matter of dignity. “This issue involves taking a step back, it’s not about left wing, right wing, centre, or a government with left wing, right wing or centre policies; it’s about our country’s dignity,” Bersani stated during the National Conference of democratic women. “If it turns out that a 74 year old gave 185 thousand euros over two months to a minor, not counting the jewellery,” he added, referring to the gifts Prime Minister Berlusconi supposedly gave to Karima El Mahroug a.k.a.’Ruby’, “I do not intend to be governed by such a man.” .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: ‘Damaging’ Berlusconi ‘Symbol’ of Italy’s Decline Says WikiLeaks Cables
Rome, 18 Feb. (AKI) — Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, world-famous for his gaffes and alleged escort links, is “damaging Italy” and symbolises the country’s chronic decline, a former United States ambassador to Italy wrote in leaked cables published in Italian media on Friday.
“Berlusconi is damaging Italy but he is useful to us and should be helped,” wrote then-ambassador Ronald Spogli in a despatch to Washington on 5 February 2009 .
“(US president Barack) Obama should save him at the Group of Eight Summit in L’Aquila.” Berlusconi controversially switched the G8 summit in July 2009 from the Sardinian island of La Maddelena to the quake-hit central Italian city of L’Aquila.
Spogli’s cable is one of over 4,000 documents that take the lid off relations between Italy and the US from 2002 until April 2010. Left-leaning Italian daily La Repubblica and its sister weekly L’Espresso began publishing the documents on Friday after they were leaked by whistle-blowing website Wikileaks.
Berlusconi “has become the symbol of the incapacity and ineffectiveness of Italian governments to meet the country’s chronic problems: a non-competitive economic system, decaying infrastructure, growing debt and endemic corruption,” Spogli wrote.
He also slammed Berlusconi for his notoriously inopportune remarks, saying these have harmed Italy’s image abroad.
“His frequent blunders and poor choice of words has offended practically every category of Italian citizens and many European leaders… He has damaged the image of the country in Europe and brought ridicule to Italy’s reputation in many sectors of the American government,” Spogli said.
Berlusconi’s many gaffes have included calling Obama “suntanned,” saying “it’s better to like beautiful girls than to be gay,” and that wartime Italian dictator Benito Mussolini “never killed anyone” and sent them “on holiday in (internal) exile.”
Berlusconi when “led by the hand” and “made to feel important” had shown himself to be a valuable ally, Spogli conceded.
“When we hook him into our objectives, he allows us to achieve concrete results.”
The Berlusconi government has boosted troops to Afghanistan, installed new miltary bases in Italy’s northern Veneto and southern Sicily regions” and supported the US on sanctions against Iran over its uranium enrichment programme.
But Spogli issued a warning to the new Obama administration.
“Italy has not always shown itself to be an ideal partner. Its slow but real economic decline threatens its capacity to play a role in the international arena.
“Its leadership often lacks strategic vision — a characteristic that arises from decades of unstable or short-lived coalitions. The institutions are not adequately developed as one would expect from a modern European country.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Rome Mayor May Move Gypsies From Shacks to Tents
Rome, 17 Feb. (AKI) — Roma-Gypsies living in illegal shanties on the outskirts of Rome may be moved to a tent city, according to Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno.
“The idea of tents has not been excluded,” Alemanno told reports Thursday in the Italian capital. “We have to consider all possibilities.”
Four Roma-Gypsy children in Rome earlier this month died after embers fell from a brazier causing the shack they were sleeping in to catch fire.
The three boys and one girl between 4 and 11 years of age who lost their lives in the flames were living in an unauthorised encampment of the type that Alemanno has pledged to get rid of.
In August a 3-year-old Roma-Gypsy boy died in a fire that broke out at Rome encampment.
Alemanno blamed excess bureaucracy for creating difficulty in forcing Gypsies from shanty towns and said he would tomorrow request special governing powers that would permit him to sidestep redtape and allow for speedier expulsions.
Alemanno, who in 2008 was elected Rome’s mayor pledging to bring law and order to the city, dismantled a string of camps including Europe’s largest and pledged to relocate their inhabitants to new locations.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Berlusconi: Constitutional Reform in a Few Days
(AGI) Rome — “I will convene the Council of Ministers to launch, in a few days time,the constitutional reform of justice.We will introduce historic innovations in the judicial system, so that also Italy may have an equitable and dignified judicial system. No more injustice, no more slow processes and inefficient procedures that have discouraged for many years foreign investors to come and work in our country, “stated Silvio Berlsuconi in a message to promoters of Liberty.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Let’s Party Like It’s 1848
In 1848, a revolution in France acted as a catalyst for a whole wave of uprisings and revolutions that erupted across Europe in its wake, with the year becoming known as the Springtime of the Peoples, the Spring of Nations and the Year of Revolutions depending on which country you happened to be in and how poetic the local historians were. Revolts against the old order spread from country to country via the 19th Century equivalent of Facebook and Twitter; word of mouth and newspapers. Revolutions and uprisings followed France’s across Europe: in many of the states that would help form Italy and Germany, and in Schleswig, Denmark, the Hapsburg Empire, Hungary, Slovakia, Switzerland, Greater Poland, Wallachia, Ireland and amazingly Belgium.
Most of these uprising were bloody, violent and put down quickly but they led to changes, to the eventual creation of Italy and Germany, to a widening of the electoral franchise and the slow devolution of power to classes below the ruling elites and so on…
[…]
The Tunisian uprising took just about everyone by surprise and drew attention to a regime that most westerners only know about from holidays, if at all, and yet in a few days the sight of people bravely battling brutal police thugs and amazingly winning, inspired many and led to the toppling of the country’s dictator-like President Ben Ali after 23 years in power. Then came uprisings in Egypt and the unthinkable ousting of President Mubarak after 30 years in power and suddenly as a result almost the whole of the Middle East is galvanized into rebellion…
[…]
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London Olympics 2012: China to Give UK £50m Mobile Phone Network on Tube
Passengers travelling on the London Underground could soon be using their mobile phones to make calls and send text messages.
Chinese telecoms company Huawei has offered to install a £50m phone network in the Underground as a gift from one Olympic nation to another.
The idea is being backed by London Mayor Boris Johnson but security chiefs fear the move could increase the risk of terrorism.
‘In the event of a terrorist attack, putting a mobile network on the underground would be extremely helpful,’ said Patrick Mercer MP and former chairman of the counter-terrorism subcommittee.
‘But it absolutely answers a terrorist’s prayers — to be able to detonate devices on the Underground.’
According to the Sunday Times mobile transmitters would be installed along the ceilings of tunnels so that commuters can make and receive calls for the first time on the Underground.
Huawei first needs to reach an agreement with Thales, one of the Underground’s engineering contractors and TfL, which is chaired by Mr Johnson.
It is believed Thales have been working closely with the Chinese company to create transmitters which will not increase heat during the summer months.
Mobile phone giants Vodafone and O2 have both agreed to pay for installation work while Huawei, one of the world’s biggest telecoms equipment firms, would hope to make an income from maintenance fees…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Religious Freedom Beats Out Bill to Amend Ritual Slaughter
Efforts by the animal rights party PvdD to get parliament to back a ban on the ritual slaughter of animals without anaesthetic appeared to have failed on Thursday, as MPs said religious freedoms were more important.
According to farm ministry figures quoted by Nos television, 364.800 cows, chickens, sheep and goats are ritually slaughtered each year in line with Jewish and Muslim requirements.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Mainland Europe’s Biggest Hindu Temple to be Built in the Hague
The biggest Hindu temple complex on the European mainland is to be built in The Hague, Trouw reports on Friday.
A consortium of three Hindu groups is building three temples on a site behind the Hollands Spoor railway station. The complex will also include 45 apartments and is set to open in 2014.
Some 1% of people living in the Netherlands is Hindu and Hindus account for the largest immigrant group in The Hague, the paper said.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Rentgate: Milan Prosecutors Are Investigating
(AGI) Milan — After the Court of Accounts Milanese prosecutors are now investigatingthe ‘Affitopoli’ or “Rentgate’ scandal.
They are looking into low rents handed out as favours by the Pio Albergo Trivulzio Institute to famous and influential people in Milan city centre. A special file and is being examined by deputy prosecutor Alfredo Robledo, who works mainly in the area of public administration. For now he is following up newspaper articles and does not have any specific offence in mind. If the initial examination reveals any ‘anomalies’, the next step would be a formal request to check whether the rents charged match market rents and if they don’t, whether to proceed with a prosecution for abuse of office.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Sanremo’s Musical Anniversary Tribute to Italy
Benigni arrives on horseback, jokes about current affairs and explains national anthem. Al Bano and Anna Tatangelo reinstated but festival is over for Patty Pravo and Anna Oxa
MILAN — Yesterday was Sanremo’s patriotic evening. The festival was dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy and to the lesser history of Italian song, representing the various ages of Italian society and everyday life. Inevitably, the show opened with the Tricolore flag. However, the message was interpreted — well — by an American, choreographer and Momix founder Daniel Ezralow, with an enormous red, white and green flag that unfurled down to the stage from the Ariston theatre’s circle. For the occasion, Ezralow himself was sporting a scarf in Italy’s colours. It was the evening when the 14 stars competing sang celebrated Italian songs in a cascade of heritage, history and memories of past Sanremos. There was a tribute to Giorgio Gaber from Luca and Paolo, admittedly somewhat dated with playful jibes at homosexuals and women. “We two love each other” became “we three love each other” when they were joined on stage by Gianni Morandi. Luca commented ironically that it was a “gay” moment. But everyone was waiting for the highlight of the evening, Roberto Benigni’s commentary on the Italian national anthem. Halfway through the evening, the comedian arrived on a white horse, brandishing a Tricolore flag. His monologue, which began with gags and one-liners, was a genuine commentary on the Inno di Mameli, striving to make comprehensible the meaning behind words that Italians all too often, culpably, do not know.
SELF-PLAGIARISM AND CITATION — First up was reluctant Northern League icon Davide Van De Sfroos, who gave a hearty rendition of Francesco De Gregori’s Viva l’Italia. Behind the scenes, argument raged over yet another case of self-plagiarism. Following Franco Battiato, it was Roberto Vecchioni’s turn to admit on the radio that Chiamami ancora amore is very similar to his 1998 release Piccolo amore. “It’s blatant, but very successful, self-plagiarism. Actually, it’s like at least eight other songs of mine”, joked Vecchioni. The list of songs chosen by the stars to tell the story of their Italy gives the flavour of an evening in pure “national-popular” style, to use a term often applied to the Sanremo festival. It was the nation’s anniversary and there were songs everyone has whistled. Patty Pravo went back to the 1940s for Mille lire al mese, Nathalie turned to Lucio Battisti and Il mio canto libero, Roberto Vecchioni talked about the war with a Neapolitan song, ‘O Surdato ‘Namurato, while Anna Oxa reinterpreted the Neapolitan song to end all Neapolitan songs, O Sole Mio. Then came Giusi Ferreri with Il cielo in una stanza and Luca Madonie and Franco Battiato in La notte dell’addio.
VERDI AND THE RISORGIMENTO — “Spider Man” Max Pezzali, who brought Arisa back to Sanremo with him, plunged back to almost a century ago to when Italy was humming Mamma mia dammi cento lire [Mum, Give me a Hundred Lire], an apparently carefree song that reflects the drama of emigration, the only hope for so many Italians at the time. Crus chose Parlami d’amore Mariù whereas Al Bano went for the classics. Joining Iannis Plutarchos and Dimitra Theodossiou, he gave his version of Verdi’s Va’ Pensiero chorus from Nabucco, a direct link with the Risorgimento through both the song and its author. The theme was echoed by the Risorgimento-era melody Addio mia bella addio, sung by Luca Barbarossa and Raquel Del Rosario. Anna Tatangelo, with the evergreen Mamma, and Tricarico with L’Italiano, were more Sanremo-esque in style. On stage with Tricarico was the song’s composer, Totò Cutugno, and a multi-ethnic choir of Italian-born youngsters, representing, as Gianni Morandi put it, “the new Italy”. Rounding off the collection was a non-Italian song dedicated to two innocent victims of emigration. Here’s to You, written by Joan Baez for the film Sacco & Vanzetti, was interpreted by Modà and Emma Marrone. There was more singing outside the Ariston theatre, where Purple People demonstrators were bashing out Bella Ciao, another iconic song for Italian history. Initially, Bella Ciao was on the list selected for the show but in the end the political climate prompted other choices…
English translation by Giles Watson
www.watson.it
18 febbraio 2011
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Slovenia: Average Monthly Wage 966 Euros in 2010
(ANSAmed) — ROME, FEBRUARY 17 — The average net monthly wage in Slovenia in the year 2010 was 966.62 euros, the gross salary 1494.88euros. This figure means a 2.1% increase in real terms compared with 2009, and a 3.9% increase in nominal terms. The average gross salary in 2010 decreased only in the public administration activities of defence (0.6%) and healthcare and welfare (0.3%).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK Government to Press for European Court Reform
The government is to press for the European Court of Human Rights to be reformed, says the justice secretary.
Ken Clarke said the government would press for changes to the way the court operated when the UK takes over the chairmanship of the Council of Europe.
Speaking on the Andrew Marr show, he said the European Convention of Human Rights would continue to be adhered to.
Last week it was announced that a commission would be set up to examine a possible British Bill of Rights.
The commission, which will be jointly chaired by Mr Clarke and Deputy Leader Nick Clegg, will look at whether the UK Bill of Rights could overrule the European Convention of Human Rights.
“The government’s policy is to investigate a case for a British Bill of Rights and whether that could improve the relationship between Strasbourg and here,” said Mr Clarke.
‘Improve relationship’
The move follows a row over votes for prisoners and the sex offenders register.
The European Court of Human Rights has decreed that it is illegal for prisoners to be refused the vote.
In response, MPs voted to keep the ban however the House of Commons’ decision is not binding, but could put pressure on ministers to go against the Strasbourg court’s decision.
The Supreme Court has recently ruled that sex offenders in England and Wales could appeal against having to register with the police of life.
The UK court ruled that the lack of a review was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
“We are considering the debate we had in the House of Commons and considering what the legal position is but everybody — the prime minister and everybody else — has said we will of course comply with the law,” said Mr Clarke.
“It would be startling if we had a British government which said we aren’t going to comply with legal judgements.”…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Murderers and Rapists Could Get Full Benefits
Murderers and rapists could get full state benefits if a case at the European Court of Human Rights is successful in challenging the British Government.
It means criminals like Moors Murderer Ian Brady and the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, could qualify for pensions. The test case involves four patients at secure hospitals and one former patient who went to the European Court in Strasbourg after they failed to overturn the current rules.
The case is among a series of claims being considered.
Other applications include a convicted terrorist who said it was ‘inhuman and degrading ‘ to increase his jail sentence and a paedophile who said his ‘right to a family life’ was breached when the Prison Service banned visits from his infant son.
The claims will put more pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron after he pledged to review the influence the European Court has over British law following the row over whether prisoners should get the vote.
Convicted patients detained at Broadmoor and other psychiatric hospitals claim it is unfair that they are unable to benefit from Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support and Pensions.
None of the applicants involved in the court case have been identified however, it could lead to Brady, who is now 73, claiming up to £132.60 a week in pension credits and Sutcliffe claiming a similar figure when he reaches pension age in June this year.
Patients brining the case forward involve:
FA who was convicted of murder in 1995 and jailed for a minimum of 22 years. He is 44. He was transferred to Broadmoor, Berkshire, in 1996 where he was convicted of trying to murder a fellow patient. HB, was jailed for life with a minimum of 19 years in 2001. He is now 63 and is also at Broadmoor.
ALF, 40, was convicted of rape, attempted rape and indecent assault in 1999 and was jailed for life. His minimum 10-year tariff expired last year but he is still detained.
EM, who will turn 65 this year, was jailed for life for grievous bodily harm in 2003 and is a patient at Thornford Park Hospital in Berkshire. SS was released in 2007 from a 12-year sentence for an unknown crime. He is 33 and receives Income Support and Disability Living Allowance. He is seeking damages for benefits he could have received while in detention. Patients at psychiatric hospitals currently receive a weekly ‘pocket money rate’ of £18 to £21 to spend in the hospital shop or by mail order.
They now want Strasbourg to rule that they should get full income support — £65.45 a week — or pension credits if they qualify plus damages to make up what they have lost since current European Parliament rules came into force in 2006.
Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire where both Ian Brady and Peter Sutcliffe are patientsMurderers and rapists could get full state benefits if a case at the European Court of Human Rights is successful in challenging the British Government.
It means criminals like Moors Murderer Ian Brady and the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, could qualify for pensions.
The test case involves four patients at secure hospitals and one former patient who went to the European Court in Strasbourg after they failed to overturn the current rules.
The case is among a series of claims being considered.
Other applications include a convicted terrorist who said it was ‘inhuman and degrading ‘ to increase his jail sentence and a paedophile who said his ‘right to a family life’ was breached when the Prison Service banned visits from his infant son.
The claims will put more pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron after he pledged to review the influence the European Court has over British law following the row over whether prisoners should get the vote.
Convicted patients detained at Broadmoor and other psychiatric hospitals claim it is unfair that they are unable to benefit from Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support and Pensions.
None of the applicants involved in the court case have been identified however, it could lead to Brady, who is now 73, claiming up to £132.60 a week in pension credits and Sutcliffe claiming a similar figure when he reaches pension age in June this year.
Patients at psychiatric hospitals currently receive a weekly ‘pocket money rate’ of £18 to £21 to spend in the hospital shop or by mail order.
They now want Strasbourg to rule that they should get full income support — £65.45 a week — or pension credits if they qualify plus damages to make up what they have lost since current European Parliament rules came into force in 2006.
Solicitor Peter Mahy, who is representing SS, said: ‘People who are in mental health establishments should be entitled to the same benefits whether or not they have been in prison before.
It is believed there are 780 patients who are paid at the pocket money rate because they were jailed for crimes and later transferred to secure hospitals or were sent to hospitals at the time of being sentenced.
Patients who have not been convicted of a crime, or who were sent to the hospital by the courts rather than being sentenced, are entitled to full state benefits…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Man Dies in Liverpool Albert Dock Boat Jump
A man has died after trying to jump onto a boat in Liverpool’s Albert Dock.
The 21-year-old is believed to have been trying to get onto the boat with three other people when the incident happened at about 0330 GMT.
Two of them jumped in to try to save him, and one of them was taken to hospital to be treated for hypothermia.
Emergency services were called and Merseyside Police underwater search teams pulled the body from the docks at about 0600 GMT.
The man was taken to hospital to be formally identified.
A police spokesman said the family of the man, who is from Liverpool, have been informed.
He said: “Police are investigating how the death occurred and the circumstances around it and would appeal to anyone who witnessed the incident and has yet to speak to officers to do so.”
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Universities Charging Maximum Fees Could ‘Look Silly’
Universities which charge the maximum tuition fee may look “silly” when students opt for cheaper alternatives, says the Higher Education Minister.
Oxford and Cambridge universities as well as London’s Imperial College are expected to charge the maximum annual fee of £9,000.
They fear setting lower fees may saddle them with a reputation for offering “cut-price” education.
But David Willets MP said most courses should not charge above £6,000-£7,000.
Speaking on Sky News’ Murnaghan programme, he said: “I certainly hope to see a range of fees being set by universities.
“To replace the teaching grant they are losing with the extra money coming through the student, universities don’t need to go anywhere near £9,000. For many courses it is closer to £6,000 or £7,000.
“It would be a great pity if we had this idea that you have to charge a very high price in order to establish prestige.”
‘Proper teaching experience’
Universities should charge maximum fees only in “exceptional circumstances”, and the Office for Fair Access will require any that do so to show that they are making places available for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, he said.
Student charters, which are to be launched this week, will provide young people with transparency about the education on offer so that they are able to make informed choices about whether proposed fees are value for money.
“Universities are going to have to tell those customers what they are offering,” he said.
“I think there have been universities that haven’t provided the kind of proper teaching experience that students expect and if they try to charge anything approaching £9,000 for that, I think they will find that there are alternatives available for many young people.”
Further education colleges look set to favour offering degree courses at competitive prices…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: EU: Frattini to Present Package for Mediterranean to 27
(ANSAmed) — ROME, FEBRUARY 18 — Italy’s Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, will be presenting his European colleagues a package of proposals aimed at supporting development in the Mediterranean area during a working dinner on Sunday evening.
The meal will come on the ever of Monday’s Foreign Ministers’ Council in Brussels. The announcement has come from a spokesperson for Italy’s Foreign Office, Maurizio Massari, during the regular press briefing about the forthcoming schedule of EU foreign ministers.
As Mr Massari explained, Italy’s approach to the Mediterranean area is trying to be “holistic” in the sense that it is attempting to keep an eye on the political, economic and social developments in the regions and is “non-paternalistic,” meaning that it foresees “the full involvement of these countries,” calling on them to take “responsibility for their governance, the respect of human rights and the rights of women”. This approach was presented by Frattini in a conference with those of his European colleagues who are “most sensitive to Mediterranean issues”.
“We believe that we need to act quickly, in concert with the other partners and that the EU has to take on a leading role in the region, beginning with those community implements already in place,” Massari continued. “In general, the developments under way constitute an opportunity for the countries themselves, as well as a quality leap in relations between the EU and the Mediterranean.” The spokesperson went on to stress how the regional partners Frattini has contacted over recent days (and Tunisia in particular), want to see us “act soon”: “a request for solidarity and intervention from Europe that we cannot ignore”.
Religious freedoms are also on the agenda in Brussels with the approval of an EU document which names the Christian minorities, in keeping with Italy’s expressed wishes. Among the other points are the Middle East, where, following recent visits by Frattini to Jordan and Syria, “an urgent need to restart the peace process through a return to negotiations has been registered”. Also high on the agenda is Somalia with the EU High Representative, Catherine Ashton to outline a new European strategy which “Italy is following with great interest,” as it has “for some time been urging” the appointment of an EU envoy for the Horn of Africa.
Finally, on Monday Frattini will be chairing a meeting with ministers from the Turkey Focus Group (Italy, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Poland and others) which support Turkey’s European ambitions.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Algeria: Italian Kidnapped ‘Held Hostage by Al Qaeda, I’M Ok’
(ANSAmed) — ROME, FEBRUARY 18 — Al Qaeda has issued an audio message in which a tourist from Florence in Italy who was seized in the Algerian desert at the beginning of this month, says that she is fine. It is the first news of the tourist in ten days.
According to its spokesperson, the terrorist organisation claimed the kidnapping.
The recording, which features the voice of Maria Sandra Mariani, siezed by a commando of the Islamist terrorist organisation sixteen days ago, was obtained and broadcast by Al Arabiya, the TV station based in the United Arab Emirates, with headquarters in Dubai. “It’s me, Maria Sandra Mariani, the Italian woman kidnapped on Wednesday February 2 2011,” the women’s voice says in French, addressing the Italian government directly and, according to a summary of her message, saying that her condition was good: “I am well,” Mariani said, before confirming that she is “still being held by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb”. “I ask Arabiya to broadcast this message please. Thank you,” are the other words Ms Mariani is reported to have said.
Al Arabiya states that it was contacted by a spokesperson for Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb who claimed to have seized the woman; a fact that had been assumed although it had been unconfirmed until now. The terrorists’ representative confirmed that Ms Mariani is alive. It was also learned that the satellite TV station managed to speak with the Italian tourist in person, using unspecified “sources” in Algeria.
The tourist, who works in Italy for a farm-tourism concern in San Casciano, was seized by an armed commando in the Algerian Sahara, 250 km south of Djanet, not far from the frontier with Niger. The Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb organisation (AQIM) is active in the Algerian desert, where it has already seized other foreign tourists, although most of its previous activities had been concentrated in the desert areas south of the Algerian border. AQIM was born of the long conflict between security forces and militant Islamists in the North of Algeria. Driven by the Algerian authorities, the organisation has rertreated to the desert area between Niger, Mali, Algeria and Mauritania, taking advantage of the poorly patrolled frontier areas of these vast countries.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Al-Qaeda’s Zawahiri Tells Egyptians to Establish Islamic State
Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri urged Egyptians to revive Islamic rule and criticized Hosni Mubarak as a “modern-day pharaoh” in remarks that came before the former Egyptian president was toppled.
“The Egyptian regime is in fact a repressive regime that relies on brutality and rigged elections while the Islamic system is consultative and seeks to achieve justice,” the Egyptian militant leader said in an audio recording posted on a website used by Islamist groups including al-Qaeda.
Mubarak was ousted Feb. 11 after 18 days of anti-government protests that demanded political and economic reforms. Al- Qaeda’s Saudi-born leader Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri have often condemned the Mubarak regime for its ties to Israel and the U.S. and urged Muslims to remove U.S.-backed rulers.
Egypt, under the late president Anwar Sadat, was the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. Mubarak, who took over after Islamists killed Sadat, upheld the accord.
“The reality of Egypt is the reality of deviation from Islam,” Zawahiri, an Egyptian, said in the recording, part of a documentary by al-Qaeda’s media arm As-Sahab titled: “A message of Hope and Good Tidings to Our Folk in Egypt.”
“Secularism entered our countries through military occupation, oppression and massacres,” he said. “Western secularism is animus to Islam and supportive to Zionism.”…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Drugs: Morocco Blames Ceuta, Melilla for Trafficking
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, FEBRUARY 14 — The controversy between Madrid and Rabat surrounding Spanish enclaves in Morocco has now spread to drug-trafficking. Moroccan government officials have repeatedly alerted the United States over the role of Ceuta and Melilla as crossroads for drug-trafficking, not only for the hashish trade, but also for cocaine coming from South America and poured into Europe via the permeable borders of a number of West African countries.
This is according to two telegrams sent by Moroccan government officials to the US embassy in Rabat on October 30 2009, which are included in the American State Department documents revealed by Wikileaks and reprised today by El Pais. There are two important new factors: the decline of the traditional trafficking of hashish produced in Morocco and the increase in cocaine, with stashes unloaded by South American cartels in certain points of the north-western African coasts.
Given their high costs, the heavy drugs are not destined for the local market but are intended for Europe, and head for their destination, say the Moroccan officials, after passing through the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, as well as through the Canary Islands. The archipelago is pointed out by US embassies in North Africa to be the crossroads for a significant part of the drug-trafficking that passes through North Africa.
There is a total of three routes used for drug-trafficking, which the Moroccan officials say is the result of inadequate patrolling of the country’s southern and eastern borders, due to the weakness of neighbouring states. This creates a “vast no man’s land where illegal trafficking can flourish”. The first of the routes described connects Gao (Mali) with Bechar (Algeria) and Uchda (Morocco) and has Ceuta and Melilla as its final destinations. A second route comes from Niger, and uses “the extensive desert of southern Algeria” to reach Bechar, which is close to Algeria’s border with Morocco. A third course “crosses Mali, Mauritania and Western Sahara” heading for the Canaries and uses Agadir as a base, with almost 1,500 boats. But the invasion of cocaine is a relatively recent phenomenon — as recently as 2008, the two enclaves were considered the starting points for the journey to Europe of shipments of hashish produced in the hills of the Rif and on the Mediterranean.
Lorries and cars then carry the cargo across the borders of both cities as, according to the documents published, they have “lower levels of inspection compared to the rest of the European Union”. Another route used by drug-traffickers leaves from Tangiers and travels across the Strait of Gibraltar by boat. The most recent telegrams underline the efforts made by the Rabat government to contain the traffic of hashish, with the burning or destruction of 134,000 hectares of cannabis plantations in 2003 and 52,000 hectares in 2009, a year in which the Moroccan government estimated that 100,000 people depended on the drugs trade to survive. But as Spain has begun to deploy electric control of the coasts of the Strait, the drug-traffickers have had to become more powerful and look for ports further afield, such as Alicante, the Ebro delta in Catalonia and the French city of Marseille.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: EU Urged to Freeze Assets, Mubarak’s to be Spared
(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, FEBRUARY 15 — “The EU countries were asked yesterday by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry to freeze the assets of high officials of the old regime, but not those of former President Hosni Mubarak and his family”. So said today in Brussels the spokeswoman of the EU’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Maja Kocijanc.
The request and the developing situation in Egypt will be discussed by the EU member States during today’s meeting of the Political and Security Committee (COPS) in Brussels. Egypt and the Middle East will also be at the centre of the next EU Foreign Council on Monday. “The EU’s Foreign Ministers”, said Kocijanc — “will discuss the matter on Sunday during a working dinner and will continue the discussion during next Monday’s meeting”. The names of the high Egyptian officials whose assets are to be frozen have not been released. “We have no details”, the spokeswoman said, specifying that “it is up to the member states to decide how to proceed and to take the necessary steps”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Millions Celebrate, But Nostalgia, Too, On Streets
(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, FEBRUARY 18 — Exactly one week on from the end of the Mubarak era, the Cairo streets, and those of many Egyptian cities, we full once again today, this time with colourful and happy celebrations of the “day of victory” and to keep alive the spirit of the January 25 revolution. An invitation to attend Friday prayers in Tahrir Square was accepted by around two million people. It was issued by Sheikh Yussuf Qadrawi, an Egyptian TV-preacher resident in Qatar who has returned to the country for the event. Qadrawi called on the country’s youth to defend the revolution’s achievements and praised them for having succeeded in “chasing out the Pharaoh”.
But in another Cairo square, on the other bank of the Nile, thousands of demonstrators gathered to send their apologies to the former leader and to give him back his “honour and dignity”. In Moustafa Mahmud Square, which saw the formation of the first anti- Mubarak marchers on January 25, those nostalgic for the old regime waved flags and photos of a smiling Mubarak in his military uniform, under a great banner reading “We love you, our leader. History will witness that you never betrayed our country and were never unfaithful to it”.
But fondness for Mubarak does not extend to his entourage and not even to his son Gamal. “He should not go on trial out of respect for his father, but our leader fell victim to the machinations of his son and of the people around him,” a group of youths said. They expressed approval at the arrests of several former ministers for misappropriating public funds.
“We’d like to see more behind bars along with former premier Safwat el Sherif and former House Speaker Fathi Sorour,” they said, as a car passed with the following sign on its dashboard: “Revolution means not jumping red lights, not giving back-handers, not cheating your neighbour, not lying and keeping this country clean”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Three Ex-Ministers and Ruling Party Official Arrested
Cairo, 18 Feb. (AKI) — Egyptian authorities have arrested former interior minister Habib el-Adly and two other ex-ministers who are under investigation for corruption, the state news agency reported late on Thursday, citing officials.
In addition to el-Adly, former tourism minister Zuhair Garana, former housing minister Ahmed el-Maghrabi and member of parliament and steel magnate Ahmed Ezz were arrested. Ezz was once a prominent member of the ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party.
Mubarak resigned on 11 February after 18 days of mass pro-democracy protests against his 30-year rule of Egypt.
El-Adly, Garana, el-Maghrabi and Ezz deny charges of misappropriating public funds. They will be held for 15 days, according to officials.
They are among some dozen ex-ministers and businessmen who are under investigation for corruption or abuse of authority. Most of those under investigation belonged to a clique of businessmen-turned-politicians centred on Mubarak’s son and one-time heir apparent Gamal in the ruling party.
Revulsion at the endemic corruption during Mubarak’s rule was one of the key factors in the pro-democracy protests.
Gamal Mubarak and his circle of businessman have been blamed for orchestrating economic reform that liberalised the economy but did nothing to ensure Egypt’s massive poor population reaped the benefits of economic growth.
El-Adly was interior minister for 12 years and had control of Egypt’s 500,000-strong security forces. He has been widely blamed for the deadly brutality used by riot police against demonstrators during the recent anti-Mubarak protests.
Around 300 people were killed and 1,400 injured in clashes between the demonstrators and security forces and their supporters that began in late January, according to the United Nations and human rights groups.
The military council currently ruling Egypt until multi-party elections due later this year has banned on 43 government figures from leaving the country.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Army Promises Hosni Mubarak He Will Not be Prosecuted
Egypt’s military have promised to protect the ousted President, Hosni Mubarak, from prosecution and to allow him to live freely in retirement in his Sharm-el-Sheikh holiday home, sources have told The Daily Telegraph.
Mr Mubarak, who was ill in the run-up to his resignation nine days ago and whose condition worsened as he flew out of Cairo, is now said to be recovering in his beachfront villa.
Despite heavy security outside the hotel compound owned by a friend where he is staying, army sources insist he remains free to come and go should he wish.
“The military has sworn an oath not to pursue legal action against Mr Mubarak,” said one well-placed source.
General Ahmed Saleh, the deputy governor of South Sinai, which covers Sharm-el-Sheikh, confirmed he had no orders to hinder Mr Mubarak’s movements.
“No legal comment has been made that Mr Mubarak is not allowed to leave the country,” Gen. Saleh said. “He has rights as a citizen of Egypt, and rights and benefits as an ex-president. He has the right to stay where he wants.”
He said it would be up to any future civilian government to decide whether to put Mr Mubarak on trial, but added: “I have not heard of a president or a king put on trial like this.”
The Supreme Military Council which took power as Mr Mubarak fell has issued a series of orders freezing assets of ministers and well-connected businessmen, and put some under arrest. No such order has been made against any member of Mr Mubarak’s family. His sons Gamal and Alaa are both wealthy businessmen in their own right, while Mr Mubarak and his wife Suzanne are said to have built up a considerable overseas property portfolio.
Ahmed Naguib, one of the student leaders who organised protests in Cairo and other cities, said people were calling for a trial. “I think the army leaders are aware of this,” he said. “I expect them to satisfy the demands of the people. I know that it is not easy for the army, but for the people and for Egypt it is a must.”…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt’s Copts March to Demand a Secular State
Hundreds of Coptic Christians protested in front of the State Television building on Sunday to call for the amendment of Egypt’s Constitution to establish a secular state.
The march started in the mixed Coptic and Muslim neighborhood of Shubra — a northern suburb of Cairo — with chants of “Civil! Civil!” and “The people want to change the constitution.”
The protest reflects the rising fears of the Coptic community since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, who maintained a relatively secular type of governance.
Copts account for nearly 10 percent of Egypt’s population of over 80 million and constitutes the Middle East’s largest Christian community. They have complained about frequent discrimination and sectarian attacks, and allege that they are overlooked for top jobs in the army, police and certain high ranking administrative posts.
In the past 14 months, the minority has been hit by two deadly attacks. Six Copts were killed in a drive-by shooting while leaving late night mass on Coptic Christmas Eve in the Upper Egyptian city of Naga Hammadi in 2010. At the beginning of 2011, at least 23 worshippers were killed in a New Year’s Eve church bombing in Alexandria.
On Saturday the first Islamist political party was formed in the country when a court approved the establishment of the Wasat party (Center party), founded in 1996 by a faction that broke away from the Muslim Brotherhood.
Meanwhile, the committee appointed by the army to amend certain articles of the Constitution includes a Brotherhood-affiliated lawyer, and a Coptic rights group has argued that Christians are under-represented on it.
“Millions of Copts object to the committee formed by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces,” Nagib Gibrail, head of the Egyptian Union for Human Rights, said in a statement.
“I came here from Shubra to ask what’s going on. The army is flirting with Islamists at our expense,” said Mary Maqar, a demonstrator…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Egyptian Revolution Was Islamic, Not Democratic
The leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood on Sunday clarified that the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak and his regime was driven primarily by a desire to return Egypt to its Islamic roots, and not by a Western ideal of democracy.
Speaking from Iran, where he is attending the International Conference on Islamic Unity, Kamal Helbawi stressed the Islamic nature of the Egyptian uprising, and criticized international efforts to make the revolution look like a move toward the West and its principles. “People of Egypt are seeking human dignity, social justice, and their human rights none of which has any contradiction with Islamic principles,” Helbawi told Iran’s IRNA news agency. He added that the people’s demands stemmed from their interest in Islam. Regarding the Israel-Egypt peace treaty, Helbawi insisted, “We cannot respect such agreements and won’t approve of them.” If the Brotherhood comes to power, or has any significant influence over the next Egyptian government, Helbawi reiterated that it would “annul the shameful Camp David Accords.”
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Egyptian Christians Enraged Over Court Acquittal in Christmas Eve Massacre
by Mary Abdelmassih
(AINA) — The Egyptian Emergency State Security Court in Qena acquitted today two of the three suspects in the Christmas Eve Massacre in Nag Hammadi in January, 2010, where six Coptics, between the ages of 16 to 23, were shot and killed by Muslims in a drive-by shooting. The Copts were killed as they filed out of Church after celebrating the Coptic Christmas Eve midnight mass in Nag Hammadi, 600km south of Cairo A Muslim bystander was also killed and nine Copts were seriously injured (AINA 1-7-2010).
The three Muslims accused of the shootings were Mohamed Ahmed Hussein, more commonly known as Hamam el-Kamouny, Qurshi Abul Haggag and Hendawi Sayyed. Mohamed Ahmed Hussein, 39, was sentenced to death by the court on January 16 and the other two were acquitted today. The defendants were charged with using force to disrupt public order and intimidate citizens, with the premeditated murder of seven people, illegal possession of fire arms, the attempted murder of nine others, and voluntarily damaging fixed and liquid assets.
Bishop Cyril, the Coptic Orthodox bishop of Nag Hammadi, said “The court imposed one death sentence because one Muslim was killed, and the Egyptian judiciary wasted the blood of the six murdered Copts, who are of no value to the society. This verdict saddened all Christians worldwide because it means that the State is applying Islamic Sharia on all Christians in Egypt.” He explained that according to Sharia the blood of one Muslim, victim Ayman Hisham, is paid for by the blood of one Muslim, Al-Kamouny; since one Muslim died, one Muslim got the death penalty.
Bishop Cyril said that according to the law an accomplice to a crime is on equal standing to the person who committed the crime. “So where is this law and why has it been by-passed in this case and why have the two accomplices been an acquitted?” He said that this verdict brought back sadness and pain to the families of the victims who expected the second suspect to have been sentenced to life imprisonment — if not the death penalty — and the third at least fifteen-year imprisonment, but not an acquittal. “This is why we know that in Egypt the blood of a Christian is worth nothing.”
Bishop Cyril accused the judge of being unjust and said he is contacting the lawyers to discuss the possibility of presenting an appeal to the military governor. “Had I not reported seeing killer Al-Kamouny he would have been acquitted like the rest of the previous acquittal cases.”
According to the Bishop, Pope Shenouda III is very sadden by this verdict.
Mr. Kamal Nashed, father of 19-year-old law student Abanob, who died in the massacre, told Coptic activist Mariam Ragy “The ruling shocked us and was unjust. If the three participated in the killing they should all have received the same verdict.” Nashed said that today’s verdict was unjust. “I want justice for my son and will go after it till my very last day whether in Egypt or abroad.”
Attorney George Sobhy, one of the Coptic lawyers in charge of the case, said the verdict was unjust “to the blood of the youth that was shed on the streets of Nag Hammadi.” He said that investigations confirmed the second and third suspects were accomplices of Al-Kamouny, even the court described them as such . “We were shocked that the court acquitted them, we expected life imprisonment for the second accomplice and 15 years for the third. “Today’s court looked as if it had the intention of giving acquittals to all the accused. I believe that had Al-Kamouny not been already given the death sentence on January 16, the court today may have given him also an acquittal.”
Sobhy said that due to the present circumstances of lack of adequate security, none of the accused were brought to court, and families of the victims and the media were absent. “The court seized the opportunity of the present circumstances and quickly handed down this verdict, as if it was a normal criminal case.”
Since the court is a State Security Court, only the prosecution has the right of appeal, but they would apply to the Prosecutor General to appeal this verdict. “People think the police is corrupt,” she said, “ but after 20 years of practice as a lawyer, I can confirm the most corrupt organ in the system is the Egyptian judiciary.”
Sobhy said that he received hundreds of calls from people disappointed with the verdict. “Most comments I got from those people were that everyone thought that after the January 25 Revolution things would change, but unfortunately corruption is rooted to the core everywhere. This verdict only proves that what is being talked about lately of equality, justice and freedom of religious belief is just empty talk. If our constitution has sharia law embedded in it, then the bitter truth is that as Christians we have no place or value in this country.”
| — Hat tip: Mary Abdelmassih | [Return to headlines] |
Extremists Abduct Daughter of Church Contractor in Egypt, Christian News, The Christian Post
Muslim extremists on Saturday abducted the daughter of a church building contractor who is involved in the controversial building of a church in northern Egypt, reports a Coptic rights organization.
Nesma Sarwat, 18, the daughter of the building contractor for the controversial St. Mary and St. Michael church in Talbiya, within Egypt’s third largest city of Giza, was kidnapped in her family home yesterday, according to the Assyrian International News Agency.
Citing information reported by advocacy group Free Coptic Voice, the agency reported that extremists broke into the family’s home to kidnap Sarwat and then wrote threats on the wall, including: “Islam is the solution,” “the church has to be demolished,” and the names of the remaining family members.
Security forces were called to the home after the home invasion and abduction incident, AINA reported. Blood was reportedly found on the stairs and in the apartment.
In Egypt, it is illegal to build or even repair church buildings without a special permit from the government. Construction of a new church building requires a presidential permit and security clearance, while repairs on an existing building require permission from the local governor and security force.
But a confusing bureaucratic process means application for repairs and construction could take years before the applicant receives an answer. Most of the time, the response is “No.” Even when Copts receive permission from government officials to build or repair a church, such permits are sometimes not recognized by local security officials…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Warns Iran is ‘Taking Advantage’ of Middle East Unrest
The two Iranian ships, which are a frigate and a supply ship, are to deliver supplies to a port in Syria. They mark the first Iranian navy vessels to pass through the Suez Canal since the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
Egyptian officials at the canal denied reports by Iranian state television that the pair of ships had already passed through the strategic waterway connecting the Red Sea with the Mediterranean. But instead said the ships were expected to pass through around dawn today. Egypt and Israel have maintained a cold but stable peace for the past 33 years. This month’s popular revolution in Egypt has led to fears in Jerusalem that, despite assurances from the new interim military government that it would honour the treaty, instability could be afoot. Mr Netanyahu told his Cabinet yesterday: “We can see what an unstable region we live in, an area in which Iran is trying to take advantage of the situation that has arisen and broaden its influence by transferring two warships via the Suez Canal.”
“Israel takes a grave view of this Iranian step,” he said. He added that Israel would have to boost its already considerable defence budget due to the recent upheaval in the region and increased danger it might pose for Israel, particularly if Iran emerges strengthened by events.
Aluf Benn, a senior commentator for Israel’s daily Haaretz newspaper, said: “Egypt is signalling that it is no longer committed to its strategic alliance with Israel against Iran, and that Cairo is now willing to do business with Tehran.” He described the Egyptian decision to allow the Iranian navy passage as a “change to the regional balance of power”.
Until the overthrow of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt had been Israel’s most powerful ally in a region where it has few friends.
Escalating concern among Israeli officials that Egypt could turn hostile comes as Israel is increasingly isolated internationally. On Friday the United States used its veto power to halt a United Nations resolution condemning Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank while the fourteen other members of the Security Council voted in its favour…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Libya Reinstates Entrance Tax for Tunisians
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, FEBRUARY 16 — Libya has reinstated its entrance tax for Tunisians, which had been lifted a few months ago. For cars it is set at 170 dinars (about 88 euros), and their passengers must have at least 700 euros or 1,000 dollars.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Libyans Have “Broken the Fear Barrier”
An exile from Libya living in Switzerland tells swissinfo.ch that it is unclear whether protests in the North African state can unseat Moammar Gaddafi from power.
Ahmed el-Gasir of the Geneva-based, non-governmental organisation, Human Rights Solidarity, said the Libyan leader’s control of the army and security forces appeared to be shaky.
For three days, protesters have been calling for the departure of Colonel Gaddafi — the longest serving Arab potentate.
A call made on the internet several weeks ago for a “day of rage” on February 17, was followed in several towns and villages across the country, particularly in Benghazi in the east of the country.
This city has long been a thorn in the side of the Libyan leader. It was only lukewarm in its support for Gaddafi’s military coup in 1969 and has benefited little from Libya’s oil wealth.
swissinfo: Can you explain why these demonstrations are taking place now?
Ahmed el-Gasir: This is a country that has been run by a dictatorship for 41 years. Following Tunisia and Egypt, the people have finally broken the fear barrier.
swissinfo: But the Libyan people are not demonstrating because they are hungry.
A.G.: The economic situation is very bad because the country is very poorly managed. This is a rich country but you have — according to official estimates — a 22 per cent youth unemployment rate. There are thousands of people graduating and not finding jobs. But unofficial estimates put the figure at 30 per cent or even a little higher.
This is also a country that is being run without a constitution. There have been promises for 10 years to have a constitution. And it’s being run by a political model that is based on the ideas of the dictator. In reality, they have something like a parliament — the General People’s Congress — which has issued a law called the revolutionary legitimacy, by which all the directives and ideas from the Libyan leader are binding by law and must be adhered to. People are yearning for freedom; yearning to have a better future.
swissinfo: What we are seeing now is that the largest demonstrations are not taking place in the capital, Tripoli, but Benghazi. How can you explain that?
A.G.: Benghazi is historically a restless city. It has been resisting the regime since the early 1970s. But since Tripoli is the centre of power they (security forces) have a heavy presence there. I have heard that there have been small demonstrations in two suburbs of Tripoli and a nearby town.
The phenomenon now in the Arab world is that the regimes have lost their monopoly on information. The propaganda machines of the regimes don’t work anymore because people have greater access to information. They have satellite television. They see a different picture of what the regime is trying to convey.
swissinfo: The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt were in a way facebook and Twitter revolutions. Is there also a generation of young people in Libya who communicate using these social networks?
A.G.: The use of social network forums, facebook specifically, is quite widespread for those who have internet access. But the amount of people who have internet access is not as high as in neighbouring countries. But among those who have access, their presence on Facebook is quite high. There were calls on Facebook for people to go out on the streets on February 17 (Thursday).
swissinfo: What do you think the role of the army is in this process? Is it eager to behave like the armies in Tunisia and Egypt and not use force to suppress the demonstrations, or is it too entangled with the Gaddafi family, and will remain loyal?
A.G.: Gaddafi came from the army. But for 12 years he has marginalised the army. And he has set up what’s called security battalions. They have more power and privileges than the official army, which he has weakened a lot.
We know that in Benghazi and al-Bayda some members of the security battalions refused to use force. So he has used two options: deploying a special police force and resorting to using criminal elements of society, which have been given money and cars and have been organised to attack demonstrators. This is a sign that he has no support from the official security forces.
He’s either keeping the battalions for later use or he has lost their support, so he’s resorting to criminal elements. In al-Bayda, which is 200km east of Benghazi, the people there defeated the central police force on Wednesday, so on Thursday morning two planeloads of soldiers from a special battalion which is commanded by Gaddafi’s youngest son were flown in. These forces are not Libyans — they don’t speak Arabic, but only French — and they caused havoc in al-Bayda on Thursday afternoon causing the death of 30 demonstrators.
swissinfo: Do you think that these demonstrations could eventually lead to the end of Gaddafi’s rule?…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: Independent, 200 Dead and 1000 Injured in Clashes
(AGI) London — On the Independent Website, the casualty toll of recent clashes in Libya is reportedly of 200 dead and 1000 injured. The British newspaper does not quote the sources but only refers to “information” that it was allegedly provided.
The most recently circulated toll is of 120 dead although the one provided by Human Rights Watch is of 84.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Libyan Army Allegedly Firing Rockets Against Protesters
(AGI) Benghazi — Gaddaffi supporters are allegedly firing rockests against protesters in Benghazi according to al Jazeera. The TV network is quoting a number of doctors who believe that not even the hospitals are safe now in Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city. Hospital sources have reported that and eight-year-old boy had been hit in the head. A number of witnesses have reported that Libyan security forces are being helped by African mercenaries who are shooting indicriminately against the crowds in the city of Misrata, 200 kilometres from Tripoli .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Libya Protests: ‘Foreign Mercenaries Using Heavy Weapons Against at Demonstrators’
As the violence in the Arab dictatorship continued, a regional medical coordinator in the eastern city of Benghazi said bodies were piling up in hospitals.
“We must be talking at least 150 dead since the start of the demonstrations last week, with many more seriously injured,” he said. “Tanks and helicopter gunships full of foreign mercenaries are fighting gangs of demonstrators. At least one dead man had been hit by an anti-aircraft missile, while other bodies are riddled with heavy machine gun fire.”
Fighting has also broken out in the cities of Al-Bayda, Ajdabiya, Zawiya, and Darnah, with eye-witnesses reporting Molotov cocktails, rifles and even antique Arabic sabres being used by demonstrators. Protestors in Ajdabiya even claimed that it was now a “a Free City” after the HQ of Gaddafi’s Revolutionary Committee was burned down on Friday, along with 14 other buildings.
There were also reports of bystanders, including women and children, leaping to their deaths from high bridges as they tried to escape battle-hardened mercenaries from neighbouring countries like Chad. Meanwhile, the government in Tripoli has shut down a range of media, including internet providers, social networking sites and the signals of western news channels.
Facebook and the website of Al-Jazeera, the international Arab TV network, were among the first to go, with journalists were also being refused entry into the country.
As he suffered the most serious threat to his rule since coming to power in 1969, Gaddafi made it clear that he did not want a repeat of the so-called Facebook Revolutions which ended the rule of despots in Egypt and Tunisia this year.
“Gaddafi’s fear is that eastern cities will fall, and the revolt a full-scale will reach Tripol’“, said Omar, a 24-year-old civil servant in Benghazi, who asked for his surname to be withheld for security reasons.
There have been sporadic demonstrations in the Libyan capital, with crowds of youths setting fire to cars, but any serious trouble has soon been stamped out by the army.
Omar added: “Tanks are being used in Benghazi, but there are already soldiers joining the demonstrators. They are on the side of the people.” While low-paid Libyan army recruits are always likely to desert, the dictator’s third son, Saadi Gaddafi, was said to be coordinating African mercenaries to act as shock troops against the protesters. A Libyan journalist who is currently banned from writing about the trouble because of a news black-out imposed by Gaddafi said: “Some of these mercenary shock troops have been killed or captured, and some of them are said to on the equivalent of around 500 dollars a day…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: 200 Dead as Gaddafi’s Forces Fire on Protest Mourners
Libyan security forces opened fire on mourners at a funeral for anti-government protesters in the eastern city of Benghazi again, a day after commandos and foreign mercenaries loyal to longtime leader Moammar Gaddafi attacked demonstrators with knives, assault rifles and other heavy weaponry.
A doctor at one city hospital said he counted 200 dead in his morgue alone since unrest began six days ago.
The crackdown in Libya is shaping up to be the most brutal repression of the anti-government protests that began with uprisings that toppled the regimes in Tunisia and Egypt. The protests then spread quickly around the region to Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, Algeria, Morocco and outside the Middle East to places including the East African nation of Djibouti and even China.
The latest violence in the flashpoint city of Benghazi followed the same pattern as the crackdown on Saturday, when witnesses said forces loyal to Gaddafi attacked mourners at a funeral for anti-government protesters. The doctor at a Benghazi hospital said at least one person was killed by gunshots during the funeral march, and 14 were injured, including five in serious condition. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
A man shot in the leg Sunday said marchers were carrying coffins to a cemetery when they passed a military compound in Libya’s second-largest city. The man said security forces fired in the air and then opened up on the crowd…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Libyan Islamists Seize Arms, Take Hostages
Islamist gunmen have stormed a military arms depot and a nearby port in Libya and seized numerous weapons and army vehicles after killing four soldiers, a security official says.
The group also took several hostages, both soldiers and civilians, and is “threatening to execute them unless a siege by security forces is lifted” in Al-Baida, the official told AFP on Sunday, asking not to be named.
“This criminal gang assaulted an army weapons depot and seized 250 weapons, killed four soldiers and wounded 16 others” in the Wednesday operation in Derna, which lies east of Al-Baida and 1300km from Tripoli.
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“Army Colonel Adnan al-Nwisri joined them and provided them with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, three pieces of anti-aircraft artillery and 70 Kalashnikov” assault rifles, the source said.
On Friday, he said they attacked the port in Derna and seized an assortment of 70 military vehicles.
It was not immediately clear who the civilians were or where they had been taken hostage.
The group calls itself the “Islamic Emirate of Barqa” after the ancient name of a region of northwest Libya, and the official said its leadership is made up of former al-Qaeda fighters previously released from jail.
The official said the same group was responsible for the hanging of two policemen in Al-Baida on Friday that was reported in Oea newspaper.
Justice Minister Mustafa Abdeljalil started negotiations late on Saturday for the hostage-takers to release their captives, he said. “But we will not negotiate over Libya’s integrity under any circumstances.”
According to Human Rights Watch, at least 23 people have died in Al-Baida since Tuesday in clashes between security forces and protesters against the four-decade rule of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Over the past five years, Libya has freed around 850 prisoners from different Islamist groups, 360 of them since March.
Among those released were jihadists with ties to al-Qaeda’s Iraqi and North African franchises, including senior members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) such as its chief Abdelhakim Belhaj…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: U.S. Strongly Condemns Crackdown
(AGI) Washington — The United States strongly condemned the violent repression of protests in Libya and called on Tripoli to allow peaceful protests after “credible reports” of hundreds of victims in recent days.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: Al Jazeera: Clashes in Tripoli, 3,000 Against Gaddafi
(AGI) Tripoli — Protests have also reached Libya’s capital city after laying waste to Benghazi. TV network Al Jazeera reported that at least 3,000 people are demonstrating. They are marching towards Tripoli’s presidential palace while the supporters of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi are trying to stop them.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: US Accuses Britain of Legitimising Gaddafi
Louis Susman, the US ambassador to London, suggested moves to repair relations with the Libyan dictator had only served to give him “greater stature” on the world stage while campaigners condemned the rapprochement as a failure.
Between 170 and 300 demonstrators are estimated to have been killed after forces loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi attacked them with sniper fire, knives and heavy artillery.
The eastern city of Benghazi was said to be in a state of “civil mutiny” after forces, believed to be African mercenaries, attacked crowds attending mass burials of the dead from earlier violence. The unrest, which follows the overthrow of the rulers of neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt and protests in Bahrain, was reported to have spread to several other Libyan cities last night.
William Hague, the foreign secretary, condemned the killings and voiced his concerns in a telephone call to Gaddafi’s British-educated son Saif. “The world should not hesitate to condemn those actions,” he said. “What Colonel Gaddafi should be doing is respecting basic human rights, and there is no sign of that in the dreadful response, the horrifying response, of the Libyan authorities to these protests.” The Libyan ambassador is expected to be summoned to the Foreign Office as early as today to explain the regime’s violent reaction to dissent while British expatriates in the country are being urged to leave unless they have “pressing” need to stay.
In London hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Libyan embassy calling for the overthrow of the regime.
Libyan dissidents in Britain welcomed Mr Hague’s comments but insisted it was “not enough”.
Guma el-Gamaty, a prominent Libyan writer and political activist, said he feared a massacre “unprecedented in North Africa” unless western leaders including David Cameron apply acute pressure on the Gaddafi regime.
“Believe me, Gaddafi is going down but he won’t go without killing as many people as possible,” he said.
Despite the criticism of the violence both Mr Hague and Kenneth Clarke, the Justice Secretary, defended new multi-million pound trade links with Libya, opened following Tony Blair’s controversial “deal in the desert” Mr Clarke told the BBC: “I don’t think we’ve made a mistake in having investment there.”
Mr Susman said it was not for him to say what the British Government should do but added: “I would suggest to you that to deal with him, to give him greater stature, greater ability on the world front to look like he is a good citizen is a mistake…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Libya Protests: Gaddafi’s Son Admits ‘Mistakes’
Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Sayf al-Islam, has admitted the country’s military over-reacted when dealing with protesters.
But, in a TV address broadcast as violence spread to Tripoli, he accused the opposition and Islamists of trying to break up the country.
He said troops had opened fire on protesters because they were not trained to handle civil unrest.
He also promised “reform and democracy”.
Libya’s legislative forum would meet on Monday, he added.
BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall says this muddled speech was not a convincing impression of a government still in control.
The address was broadcast as the first anti-government rallies broke out in the Libyan capital Tripoli.
The sound of gunfire could be heard across the city. Witnesses said tear gas and live ammunition were used against protesters by the security forces.
Reports from the eastern city of Benghazi say more than 200 people have died there in recent days after the Libyan military used heavy weapons against protesters.
‘Drunkards and thugs’
Sayf Gaddafi said “some” people had been killed but accused foreign media of exaggerating the violence, and said reports of high death tolls were “imaginary”.
He accused “opposition elements” living abroad of trying to initiate an Egypt-style Facebook revolution in Libya.
“They have started a campaign to bring Libya to a point reached by Egypt and Tunisia,” he said.
“Security forces have pre-empted this and arrested some of the people involved. A few people have died and violence against the police has escalated… This is what happened in Benghazi.”
He warned of the threat of civil war, saying “everyone” in the country was armed and, if war started, Libyans would be “mourning hundreds and thousands of casualties”…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Morocco: Rabat Doubles Subsidies to Quell Protest Wave
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, FEBRUARY 16 — Morocco’s government doubled subsidies for basic food products to prevent price increases and unwind public malcontent ahead of the street demonstration scheduled via the internet for Sunday.
Today the Spanish media reported that the demonstration was prompted by young Moroccans through a video posted on YouTube and Facebook that hopes to emulate the wave of protests in Tunis and Egypt demanding equality, social justice, work, a decent home, scholarships and higher wages. According to today’s report by El Pais, in order to quell the protest prime minister Abbas el Fassi and minister of the Interior Taieb Charkaui set up two meetings on Monday with all the parliamentary parties, including the moderate Islamic opposition, to announce that the government would double the budget of the so-called Clearing House in order to subsidise staple goods, cooking gas and fuel in Morocco so that the increasing prices of raw materials on international markets will not impact the pockets of the Moroccan consumers. This year the Clearing House can rely on a budget amounting to 17,000 million dirham, equal to 1.545 billion euros, plus a further 15,000 million dirham, equal to 1.360 billion euros. In total, approximately 4% of Morocco’s GDP. According to el Fassi’s explanation to official agency Map, the measure “tries to neutralise any increase that may negatively impact the purchasing power of the citizens”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Morocco: Planned Anti-Govt Protest Showing Signs of Division
Rabat, 18 Feb. (AKI) — A planned political demonstration in Morocco is showing signs of divisions among groups that previously said they would participate, according to Arab-language newspaper al-Sharq al Awsat.
The Justice and Progress party, an Islamist group, said they are pulling support for the anti-government rally planned for Sunday because the government is carrying out the reforms it seeks.
“We are not interested in participating in the Sunday demonstration because most of the reforms we asked for have been being implemented or are in the process of being implemented,” according to a statement by the party.
A group of university graduates has said it is no longer interested in the protest after some members of the government in the capital of Rabat promised the all people holding degrees from universities will be hired by the public administration or private companies, according to the newspaper.
Al-Adl wa al-Ihsan, an outlawed group of Berbers said to consist of Islamic fundamentalsits, said it will attend the rally.
Earlier this month, the Moroccan government in an unprecedented move approved the anti-government protest being planned on the popular social networking site Facebook for 20 February.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Morocco: Protests for ‘Freedom’ In Rabat and Casablanca
(AGI) Rabat — Protest demonstrations in Marocco are underway in answer to an appeal on Facebook in the wake of Tunisia and Egypt. In the capital city of Rabat more than 4,000 people have taken to the streets to call for a limitation to the king’s power and for more social justice. In Casablanca, the largest city in the North African country, a thousand persons called for “freedom, dignity and justice.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Next Question for Tunisia — the Role of Islam in Politics
TUNIS — The second phase of Tunisia’s revolution played out in this city’s ancient medina last week as military helicopters circled and security forces rushed to carry out an unusual mission: protecting the city’s brothels.
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Fethi Belaid/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images A woman carrying a sign reading “Ghannouchi get out” during a demonstration in Tunis on Sunday.
Police officers dispersed a group of rock-throwing protesters who streamed into a warren of alleyways lined with bordellos shouting “God is Great!” and “No to brothels in a Muslim country!”
Five weeks after protesters forced out the authoritarian government of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisians are locked in a fierce and noisy debate about the role of Islam in politics.
About 98 percent of the population of 10 million is Muslim but Tunisia’s liberal social policies and Western lifestyle shatter stereotypes of the Arab world. Abortion is legal, polygamy is banned and women commonly wear bikinis on the country’s Mediterranean beaches. Wine is openly sold in supermarkets and imbibed at bars across the country.
Women’s groups say they are concerned that in the cacophonous aftermath of the revolution conservative forces could tug the country away from its strict tradition of secularism.
“Nothing is irreversible,” Khadija Cherif, a former head of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, a feminist organization. “We don’t want to let down our guard.”
Ms. Cherif was one of thousands of Tunisians who marched through the capital on Saturday demanding the separation of mosque and state in one of the largest demonstrations since the overthrow of Mr. Ben Ali.
Protesters held up signs saying, “Politics ruins religion and religion ruins politics.”
They were also mourning the killing on Friday of a Polish priest by unknown assailants. That attack was also condemned by the country’s main Muslim political movement, Ennahdha, which was banned under Mr. Ben Ali’s dictatorship but is now regrouping…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Revolution in Egypt — Interview With Grandson of Muslim Brotherhood Founder Hassan Al-Banna
Dr. Hani Ramadan is an author and the director of the Islamic Center in Geneva, Switzerland where he also works as an Imam. He is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood and the older brother of Tariq Ramadan, a well known controversial intellectual. Hani’s father, Said Ramadan was a prominent figure in the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt before he was exiled by Gamal Abdul Nasser in 1954. While his brother Tariq is often accused by his critics of practicing double talk, Hani is seen as a straight talker who never shies away from controversy. In 2002 Hani Ramadan created much controversy in Europe after he wrote an article in the French paper “Le Monde” defending stoning for adulterers. I was able to speak with him last week and asked him to share his thoughts on the recent events in Egypt.
Adnan al-Dulaimi, leader of the Iraq Accordance Front, right, and Salem al-Falahat of the Muslim Brotherhoood, center, and Abdullah Farajallah of the Muslim Brotherhood, left, sit together with a portrait of Hasan Al-Banna, behind, during the celebration of the 100 anniversary of the birth of Hasan Al-Banna, Amman, Jordan, Nov. 16, 2006. (AP Photo/Nader Daoud)
NR: Can you give me your general impression on the events unfolding in Egypt right now? Did you expect a resignation of Mubarak?
Hani Ramadan: We were all surprised by what happened in Tunisia and Egypt. One can only rejoice to see two dictators fall. It’s a sign that the people in this region understand now the power they can have. Regarding the resignation of Mubarak, I had one certainty: that the revolution could only be stopped by his resignation.
NR: Do you trust the army to lead the country in this transition to free and fair elections in September? Is there a risk to see the army simply take over in Egypt?
Hani Ramadan: The risk exists. Especially since the army receives a considerable amount of aid from the US and that the Obama administration is completely dependent on the Zionist lobbies. However, the army has so far shown an exemplary restraint. It would be a mistake to impose a new dictatorship now.
NR: Do you think that there is a risk of a witch-hunt against the people who benefitted from the Mubarak regime?
Hani Ramadan: There is a distinction between those who engaged in corruption and those who simply received a favorable financial position. Justice must be done. However, no one would want to see bloodshed in Egypt or Tunisia. We must move towards reconciliation with the respect of the popular will and equal treatment of citizens.
NR: Many observers in America like to compare the movement in Tunisia and Egypt with the popular movement in Iran. Is it a fair comparison in your opinion?
Hani Ramadan: Many wrongly demonize the Iranian regime. It is, in my opinion, infinitely more respectable than the Zionist state — which massacres Palestinian civilians. That said, Turkey’s example shows that we can reconcile the values of Islam and the positive achievements of the West. But there will be variations from one country to the other. The revolution will be run according to local conditions and cultural specificities…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia: ENI: No Damage From Revolution,500 Mln Dollars Ready
(ANSAmed) — ROME, FEBRUARY 17 — The “soft revolution” in Tunisia “has not had any impact on our activity” so much that “we are considering investing 500 million dollars in the next three years,” said ENI CEO Paolo Scaroni at an Italy-Tunisia meeting at the foreign ministry in Rome.
The ENI executive added that if businesses were unaffected by the revolution, it was also because “our Tunisians did not miss any work, even during difficult times: not one barrel of oil or one cubic metre of gas was lost”. Scaroni guaranteed that he “is not worried about a country in which ENI is happy to be present, even though in terms of oil it does not have resources like its neighbours such as Nigeria or Libya. But we have good hopes and lots of ideas”. He also pointed out that ENI “has done much work in Tunisia: we have been there since 1960 and we have paid one and a half billion dollars over the years in taxes and royalties alone.
As for the situation in Libya where ENI has been present for many years, Scaroni said: “I don’t think that the tension is particularly high” and therefore “we will continue to invest”. “Of course,” he added, “Bengasi has a tradition as a very active city, so certain things can happen, but right now we are not expecting anything, our activity is continuing normally.” While responding to a question about Egypt, he explained that the country “has undertaken an exemplary path, like Algeria. Of course, we are following the situation, but right now our activity has not been influenced”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia: Security, Hundreds Arrested in Aryanah and Kairouan
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, FEBRUARY 17 — Operations by army, national guard and police operations are continuing to restore security in the Country. According to military sources during the night between Tuesday and Wednesday 300 men were arrested, members of two groups, in Borj Louzir (governorate of Aryanah on the northern outskirts of Tunis). Branding swords, knives and bats they had terrorised the local citizens, with episodes of looting and vandalism. Many of the arrested men had criminal records. Another three men were arrested in Kairouan (central Tunisia). They terrorised the area with assaults, looting and rape, according to a police source.
These men also had criminal records.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia: Mayor Saved From Attack by Citizens
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, FEBRUARY 18 — The Mayor of El Mourouj (in the Ben Arous Governorate, on the southern outskirts of Tunis) has been placed under protection for his safety by officers of the National Guard. Having returned to work yesterday following a long period of absence, the Mayor was subjected to very strong attacks by council employees and many citizens, who accuse him of abuse of power and irresponsibility. The National Guard blocked an attempt to attack him and escorted him out of his offices.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Cyprus: The House Ratifies Agreement With Israel on EEZ
(ANSAmed) — NICOSIA, FEBRUARY 18 — The plenary of the Cyprus’ House of Representatives ratified unanimously yesterday a bilateral agreement between Cyprus and Israel on the delineation of the Exclusive Economic Zone between the two countries, as local media report. All six parliamentary parties welcomed the agreement, saying it would contribute to stability in the region and provide political guarantee for investment in the EEZ. The agreement, signed in December last year, is set to consolidate Cyprus’ EEZ in that it complements similar agreements Cyprus has signed with Egypt and Lebanon. The delimitation of the EEZ is based on the Law of the Sea Convention. The government believes that the agreement with Israel is very important economically, politically and strategically. Israel has also welcomed the agreement, pointing out that it reflects the close ties and ongoing cooperation between the two countries. “The State of Israel is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement with the Republic of Cyprus for the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone between the two States,” an Israeli embassy press release noted, adding “this agreement reflects the close relationship and ongoing cooperation between Israel and Cyprus.” Yesterday, the Vice President of international operations of Noble Energy Terry Gerhart expressed hope that they will be able to start a well in Cyprus’ block 12 as early as the fourth quarter of 2011. Cyprus’ Block 12 borders Leviathan, in Israel’s EEZ, and may be part of the same geological structure in the Levant Basin.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Al Jazeera Accuses Libya of Jamming Satellites
(AGI) Doha — Doha-based TV network Al Jazeera has said Libya is jamming satellite communications throughout the Middle East. A spokesman for the network said, “We believe that whoever is behind all this is using extremely sophisticated equipment.” Speaking from Beirut, Telecommunications Minister Charbel Nahha told al Jazeera that the jamming “originated in Libyan territory” and said that Lebanese television had been interred with too.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Bahrain Opposition Set Demands for Talks With Royals
Opposition groups and anti-government protesters in Bahrain say their demands must be met before they will enter into talks with the Gulf state’s monarchy.
They want the government to resign, political prisoners to be released and the deaths of protesters investigated.
Six people were killed and many wounded in the last week as security forces used deadly force to quell protests.
Demonstrators have re-established a protest camp in Manama’s central Pearl Square after security forces withdrew.
Hundreds of people spent the night in the square, the focal point of the week’s unrest.
A protest camp had been cleared on Thursday with the deaths of four people, but protesters flocked to the square on Saturday after the military left.
They were met by police who fired volleys of tear gas and shotgun rounds, wounding dozens of people, before suddenly withdrawing and leaving the square to the jubilant protesters.
‘Terrible tragedy’
The kingdom’s crown prince, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifah, has been charged to lead talks. In his capacity as deputy commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he ordered the military to return to their barracks — one of the key demands of the opposition for any talks.
King Hamad, 61, has been in power since 1999
Population 800,000; land area 717 sq km, or 100 times smaller than Irish Republic
A population with a median age of 30.4 years, and a literacy rate of 91% Youth unemployment at 19.6%
Gross national income per head: $25,420 (World Bank 2009) Country profile: Bahrain
Opposition figures have also said they want political reforms that will lead to a constitutional monarchy.
But some protesters have also called on King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifah to step down.
Human rights activists are demanding to know what became of 10 people who they say went missing last week…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Iran: Protests: Arrested Daughter of Former President Hashemi
(AGI) Tehran — Faezeh Hashemi, daughter of former Iranian President Akbar, was arrested today in Tehran for “provocative behavior”. The news was reported by the Irna press agency which, in a second press release, explained that the woman was arrested on Vali Asr Street “while at the lead of several riotous and revolutionary individuals”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq: Kirkuk: Kidnapped Christian Freed After Family Pays Ransom
Iyad Salman Dawoud Askar, a married father of two, was kidnapped February 13. The kidnappers had demanded a sum of 50 thousand dollars for his release. In 2009, the man lost his brother, killed during a kidnapping attempt. AsiaNews sources: expectations and hope for the events in the Middle East, but fear of more violence remains.
Kirkuk (AsiaNews) — Iyad Salman Dawoud Askar, a Catholic of Kirkuk, kidnapped on February 13 by a group of criminals was released last night by his abductors upon payment of a ransom. At the moment, there is no confirmation on the total amount paid by the family. AsiaNews sources in the host city greet the happy ending withwith “joy and satisfaction”, but do not hide their fear for the future of Iraq and the Christian community.
On 13 February, a group of armed men kidnapped Iyad Salman Dawoud Askar, a 53 year old Catholic and married father of two children (one boy and one girl). The man was taken by the criminals in front of his home, in the Dor al- Zira’a area, close to Ithifalat square, in the south-west of the city.
At first the kidnappers asked for 50 thousand dollars ransom. Police sources confirmed the payment of a sum of money, but the amount paid for his release late yesterday afternoon, is unknown. The family of Askar in 2009 had been the victim of a kidnapping attempt. On that occasion he his brother Sabah Daud Askar was killed.
AsiaNews sources in Kirkuk, anonymous for security reasons, express “joy and satisfaction” for his release. Recent events have led to moments of “expectation and hope” but also “fear for what happens in Egypt and other countries in the Middle East.” Hope a movement for democracy will be born and, at the same time, fears of fundamentalist drift which could take over these events. “The extremists — concludes the source — may start targeting us again.” (DS)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Lebanon: Hariri Calls on Millions to Join Him in Rally to Say No to Hizbollah, Syria and Iran
The event is set for 14 March and should replicate a similar protest held in 2005, which brought millions of Lebanese into the streets against Syrian occupation. Israel and Hizbollah spar verbally as Iranian warships sail towards Suez Canal, raising tensions in the Middle East.
Beirut (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced a million-man march for 14 March against Hizbollah and its allies. The goal is to repeat the 14 March 2005 rally that brought millions of Lebanese into the streets against Syrian occupation. The date gave the Hariri-led coalition its name.
“We are going on 14 March to say no,” Hariri said at a mass rally in Beirut Monday. “No to the betrayal of coexistence . . . no to [Hizbollah’s] armed internal tutelage, no to moving Lebanon to an axis rejected by the Lebanese,” an axis that consists of, he said, Iran, Syria, and Hizbollah.
Hariri said he would not join the new government being formed by Najb Mukati, voted in by parliament on 25 January with the support of Hizbollah.
The Shia-based party left the national unity government established in 2008, forcing Hariri to resign. The decision was prompted by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which is investigating the 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, then the unquestioned leader of Lebanon’s Sunni community.
The Hizbollah-dominated opposition wants the tribunal to be repudiated. It rejects the tribunal established under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter claiming that it is a tool of Israel and the United States.
The political crisis in Lebanon and the recent fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have raised tensions between armed Shia militias and Israel.
Today Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to a statement made by Hizbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who said that his group could take the Galilee in case of a new conflict with Israel.
“Nasrallah announced today that he can occupy the Galilee, but I have news for you, he can’t,” the prime minister. “We have a strong army and a united nation. We tried for peace with all of our neighbours, but the army is prepared and ready to defend Israel against any enemy.”
The war of words began on Tuesday when Defence Minister Ehud Barak said during a tour of northern Israel that Hezbollah had taken a massive blow during the 2006 conflict with Israel.
In the meantime, Israeli intelligence spotted two Iranian warships in the Red Sea and this is raising concerns. The two vessels are expected to reach the Suez Canal in a few days on their way to Syria.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said their presence was a provocation, adding however that they did not constitute a military threat to Israel.
For now, Egyptian authorities have said that Iran has not made any request to use the canal.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia Seeks Ben Ali Extradition From Saudi Arabia
Tunisia is formally requesting the extradition of ex-President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali from Saudi Arabia, where he fled last month.
Mr Ben Ali flew to Saudi Arabia on 14 January after 23 years in power, after being toppled by weeks of protests.
The 74-year-old former leader is reportedly very ill in hospital after suffering a stroke.
Tunisia now has an interim government which is preparing the country for national elections.
That government is now seeking to try Mr Ben Ali on charges linked to the deaths of protesters during the uprising against his rule.
A statement from the foreign ministry in Tunis accused the former leader of involvement in “serious crimes” aimed at “sowing discord between the citizens of the same country by pushing them to kill one another”, the AFP news agency reported.
As well as asking Riyadh to extradite Mr Ben Ali, Tunisia is seeking information on the former president’s current health, including confirmation he is still alive.
Various recent reports have suggested that he is “gravely ill”…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: AKP Attitude to Press Freedom a Tasteless Joke
Interior Minister Besir Atalay is taking us all for a ride. One could not help but laugh at his remarks on Thursday concerning press freedom in Turkey. He was responding to U.S. criticism over pressures being brought to bear on the Turkish media, a fact that has left the Erdogan government livid with anger.
“Turkey in terms of press freedom is much more independent a country than America. … Turkey is a country where there is more press freedom than other democratic countries,” Atalay said in response to remarks by newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Frank Ricciardone and U.S. State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley.
Ricciardone had said earlier in the week, when he was talking to members of the press at a reception, that journalists were being detained in Turkey despite the existence of a stated government policy of support for a free press, and added, “We are trying to make sense of this.”
Government spokesman Hüseyin Çelik wasted no time in lambasting Ricciardone and calling on him not to exceed his brief by intervening in Turkey’s internal affairs. Bülent Arinç, a key senior figure of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, upped the ante by claiming, somewhat arrogantly according to his critics, that Ricciardone — who arrived in Ankara only recently — would have to stay in the country a little longer to understand it properly.
In fact Ambassador Ricciardone has served in Turkey before and is sufficiently familiar with it to know what he is talking about when referring to the state of press freedom here. Even if he did not know anything personally before arriving, which is unlikely, the annual human rights report issued by his own State Department paints a fairly accurate picture of the state of press freedom in this country.
Atalay’s highly comical words quoted above followed remarks by Çelik and Arinç, and all three statements clearly indicated that the U.S. ambassador hit a highly sensitive nerve in the AKP. Ricciardone’s remarks also got support from Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, the leader of the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, which undoubtedly amplified the anger felt by the AKP.
In other words it was seen, as soon as the AKP lambasted Ricciardone, that not everyone in Turkey is of the opinion that the ambassador has exceeded his brief. Many in fact welcomed his remarks, which were also backed up in Washington by PJ Crowley, the spokesman for the State Department.
“We stand by [Ambassador Ricciardone’s] statement… We do have broad concerns about trends involving intimidation of journalists in Turkey, and we have raised that directly with the Turkish government and we’ll continue to do so,” Crowley said, indicating openly that they are not prepared to be cowed by the AKP into remaining silent on this issue.
The ongoing debate concerning the deterioration in the freedom of the press in Turkey gained added steam this week with the raid on “Oda TV,” an Internet newspaper that is highly critical of the government and the questionable way the “Ergenekon” and “Balyoz” (Sledgehammer) cases are being conducted. These cases have to do with alleged plots to topple the AKP government by illegal means.
Following the raid Soner Yalçin, a well-known columnist and editor of Oda TV, was arrested for allegedly being a member of the group that is trying to topple the Erdogan government. AKP apologists in the pro-government media have been trying to present journalists like Yalçin — as well as Mustafa Balbay and Tuncay Özkan, two journalists that are in prison currently for allegedly being part of the same plot — in the worst possible light.
Ricciardone’s and Crowley’s remarks, however, show that not everyone abroad is convinced about this. As President Lincoln famously said, “You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time.”
To return to Interior Minister Atalay’s remarks in the light of Lincoln’s words, one cannot help but wonder what planet he is living on, let alone which country he thinks he is in. To be able to twist the truth in this way, and expect people at home and abroad to fall for it, you have to be seriously out of touch with reality, or if not this, then you have to be taking your interlocutors to be utter fools.
It is clear that Mr. Atalay is not even aware of the “First Amendment” in the U.S. Constitution, i.e. the first thing the Constitution says before saying anything else, which prohibits infringing on the freedom of speech and infringing on the freedom of the press.
If Turkey was as good in this respect as Atalay claims, his party had a golden opportunity last year, when working out the package of constitutional amendments — which eventually passed in the Sept. 12 referendum — to add an article like the First Amendment which would constitutionally guarantee the freedom of the press and freedom of speech.
Neither should there be at least 50 journalists in prison today while thousands are being investigated by the legal authorities for what they have written about cases such as the Ergenekon or Balyoz cases. So we can brush aside Atalay’s ludicrous claim, and disregard what Çelik and Arinç have had to say.
It is clear, whatever they and their apologists in the AKP-friendly media may say, that the issue is not going to go away either for Turkish and international press organizations or for the U.S. and EU, which are clearly determined to follow developments in this sphere, as Crowley’s remarks clearly indicate.
In the meantime the shock the Erdogan government feels over Washington’s stance on this issue is amplified because of a basic assumption that has now gone seriously awry for it. Ambassador Ricciardone’s appointment was delayed in the U.S. Senate because of a claim that he was soft on human rights issues in countries where he served before.
The Obama administration still sent him to Ankara, even though his appointment has yet to be endorsed within a year by the Senate. AKP members assumed, mistakenly as it turns out, that Ricciardone’s being sent to Turkey in this way meant that he would be, if not a pliant one, at least an amenable ambassador who did not stir the boat.
This assumption has now been shattered since Ricciardone, at the very start of his tenure, has set the tone, with strong support from Washington, and this tone is clearly one that the Erdogan government and the AKP are not happy about.
The bottom line in all this is that there are serious issues that concern freedom of the press in this country, and the situation is not getting any better, but worse. Whether the AKP and its apologists like it or not, this merits serious scrutiny at home and among Turkey’s democratic allies abroad.
In the meantime we have a good indication of just how serious the government is concerning freedom of the press in Turkey in Interior Minister Atalay’s remarks, which amount really to being no more than a tasteless joke.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Don’t Believe Them, Believe Us!
Hysteria, especially when ideologically motivated, can often force adults into extremely childish behavior. This is, for instance, how an otherwise respected columnist — now from the English-language ranks of the pro-Justice and Development Party, or AKP, media — concluded his opinion piece two days ago: “Do not believe media figures who act like defense lawyers.”
With reverse psychology, the columnist was pleading with readers to believe in media figures who act like prosecutors, not the ones who act like defense lawyers. Naturally, the case around which there are defense lawyers and prosecutors, according to the columnist, are the twin tribunals of Ergenekon and Sledgehammer. Pushing the newspaper aside, a diplomat friend asked: “Can you not have columnists in this country who are neither defense lawyers, nor prosecutors?”
It was not the first time that the Foreign Audience Section of the AKP’s powerful Unofficial Propaganda Ministry was ridiculing itself with the same childishly amusing behavior of dancing around the theme “Don’t love them (secularists), love us (neo-post-liberal-Islamists)!” — when in the past the Ministry’s top bureaucrats disguised as journalists forcefully tried to prove to a foreign audience that Islamist/conservative Turks were in fact more liberal-minded than secular Turks. The post-WikiLeaks times have proved that those bureaucrats should work much harder, and they are trying to…
According to the “Don’t-believe-them” journalist, “when the society in general is supportive of legal efforts to expose anti-democratic activity [as the polls show], a disproportionately large part of the so-called mainstream media is pulled in a hysterical mood to ‘acquit’ all those who stand accused in critical trials such as Ergenekon and Sledgehammer.” And, “The more the editors and pundits [mainly from the powerful Dogan outlets] leave their professional roles and turn into the defense lawyers of the suspects — which they now openly do…”
The U.S. Ambassador to Ankara, Francis Ricciardone, told journalists a couple of days ago: “Journalists are being detained on the one hand, while addresses about freedom of speech are given on the other. We do not understand this, so we ask you.”
It is not too complex.
When, for instance, in the “liberal” thinking of the “Don’t-believe-them” columnist and his colleagues from the Ministry, any journalist who would fail to declare Ergenekon/Sledgehammer defendants “guilty” on the first day of their trial, any journalist who would not defend a fair trial for the defendants, who would not wholeheartedly and hysterically wish all defendants to rot in dungeons for the rest of their lives, would be a public enemy of “mature democracy.”
Knowing that they won’t, I would wish the Ministry officials ask themselves a few tough questions: With all the public support for the prosecution of retired and serving generals (and academics and journalists) who stand trial for plotting a coup d’etat and the Dogan outlets’ behavior as “defense lawyers,” why would the Dogan outlets still be “influential” (with high circulation)?
Why would democratic Turks not just put them into the wastebasket and force them into the position of marginal newspapers/TV stations with no influence? Why would the “democratic (read: pro-AKP)” outlets not come anywhere close to the influence Dogan outlets have? Why would the democratic flocks of Turks everyday rush to buy “anti-democratic” newspapers, watch news on “anti-democratic” channels? Why do the “democrat” journalists not just simply shrug off our “anti-democratic” columns, articles and reporting and ignore us as a handful of marginals?
And why would the “pro-democracy” journalists not think for a moment about the fact that yellow journalism has nowhere in history, at no time, been a grand success?
I recommend members of the “democratic media force” have a little bit of patience. I wholeheartedly believe in the sincerity of an increasing number of anonymous messages that pop up in my inbox, telling me in not-so-friendly to friendly language to prepare to pack up since I will either have to leave my country or end up in prison after elections in June.
I especially feel grateful to the “friend” who warmed me that “if only you had personally known one single Ergenekon/Sledgehammer defendant, if only you had exchanged one single call or message with one defendant, if only you had got together with ‘those coup-lovers’ at lunch or dinner or over coffee… But all that may not save you…”
Thank you, gentlemen, for all the friendly warnings; that’s really very kind of you. We appreciate that you have such big hearts that you still forgive some of us for smudging your pure, democratic air with our words.
Note to foreign readers: Don’t believe us, believe them.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Ergenekon Suspect ‘Predicted’ Own Arrest
Soner Yalçin, the owner of dissident online news portal Oda TV, had foretold his arrest months before he was sent to prison on Friday, daily Hürriyet reported Sunday.
The newspaper quoted journalist Samil Tayyar, who revealed on a TV program a letter allegedly written by Yalçin to Baki Özilhan, the communication coordinator of the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP. The letter, dated Sept. 27, was in essence addressed to CHP Kemal Kiliçdaroglu.
In the letter, Yalçin allegedly said he wanted to run “Halk TV,” the TV station linked to the CHP. “We are going to present the news with real journalists,” the letter said. “We are going to be a media organization that doesn’t follow the current news but creates the agenda itself. We are going to be bold. We won’t insult anybody; we will just give the news. We will create an atmosphere that will let everybody speak.”
The most striking part of Yalçin’s letter consists of lines where he expresses worries over what he would be facing after putting himself in to lead Halk TV: “I am putting myself on the line. As a result, they can create all kinds of trouble for me, and I am aware of that. However, I believe I am doing my part and my historical duty in the context of intellectual responsibility. This is what I have done yesterday as well. I have always written what I believed to be the truth. This is what I am doing today, and you know that it is what I will be doing tomorrow.”
Ergenekon charges
Yalçin was arrested along with two colleagues by a court in Istanbul on Friday morning.
The owner and two editors of Oda TV were taken to Istanbul’s Besiktas Courthouse on Thursday to give testimonies related to their alleged involvement in the Ergenekon gang. The so-called Ergenekon gang is accused of conspiring against the government and working to trigger a military coup. Hundreds of people, including retired and active duty military officers, lawyers, journalists and politicians, have been under arrest for months over suspicions that they acted as members of the gang.
Editors Baris Pehlivan and Baris Terkoglu, who were arrested alongside Yalçin, were also charged with “being a member of the Ergenekon organization” and “inciting hatred and animosity among the public.”
Yalçin himself was arrested on charges of “obtaining and publishing documents related to state security,” “being a member of the Ergenekon organization” and “inciting hatred and animosity among the public.” The three were sent to Metris Prison in Istanbul.
The arrest of the three journalists drew reaction from prominent journalists, media organizations and press freedom organizations both in Turkey and abroad.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Yemen’s Unrest Could Embolden Al-Qaeda — or Sideline it Amid Democratic Hopes
SANAA, YEMEN — The populist uprising in Yemen and the heavy-handed response of the government and its loyalists have deepened instability that al-Qaeda’s branch here could exploit to stage more attacks against the United States, U.S. officials say.
But the unrest could also prove problematic for the terrorist group: Yemen’s protesters are demanding democratic freedoms, not the Islamic caliphate al-Qaeda seeks to create in this Middle Eastern nation and elsewhere.
Such calls for democracy would make it harder for al-Qaeda to claim it has popular sentiments on its side and would also give the disaffected a peaceful way to air their grievances without fear of persecution.
“If we change the system, if we have a real government, I am sure we won’t have al-Qaeda or terrorism anymore,” said Mohsin Bin Farid, secretary general of the opposition party, League of the Sons of Yemen.
Across the Arab world, U.S.-backed autocrats who have played vital roles in combating terrorism are under siege by populist revolts, raising concerns that changes in leadership could disrupt efforts by the United States and its allies to prevent al-Qaeda’s growth.
But there are also indications that al-Qaeda itself is concerned about the potential downside of the democratic freedoms being unleashed by protests across the region. Populations repressed by U.S.-backed regimes have long provided a pipeline for radicalization, recruitment and financing for al-Qaeda and other militant groups.
On Friday, the terrorism network’s deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, said in a taped message to the Egyptian people that their nation’s rule had long “deviated from Islam” and warned that democracy “can only be nonreligious.”
And last week, the most recent issue of Sada al-Malahim, an online magazine published by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, called for the Tunisian people to implement “God’s law” and said that democracy was the way to hell, according to a translation posted on Waq-al-Waq, a blog written by Gregory Johnsen, an expert on Yemen based at Princeton University.
“There is something momentous unfolding in the region and al-Qaeda is not an actor in it. They feel left out,” said Marina Ottaway, head of the Middle East program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “Even the Muslim Brotherhood, and other Islamist organizations, are calling for democracy . . . It’s a problem for al-Qaeda that these protest movements are predominantly secular.”
After Pakistan and Afghanistan, nowhere is the future of al-Qaeda of more concern for the United States than in Yemen. Of all the embattled Arab leaders, Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled for more than 32 years, is one of Washington’s most vital partners in fighting terrorism. Last year, the United States gave Yemen $300 million in military and development aid to fight al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the network’s most ambitious affiliate.
The group, often referred to by its acronym, AQAP, has thrived in Yemen’s mountainous terrain, operating under the cloak of sympathetic tribes and feeding off the nation’s instability.
In southern Yemen, its main stronghold, AQAP has exploited deep-rooted resentment against Saleh and his government to gain recruits and support. Despite U.S. funding, the government has been stretched thin in its fight against al-Qaeda, dealing with multiple emergencies, including a northern rebellion, a secessionist movement in the south and immense poverty…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
NATO Accused of Killing Dozens of Afghan Civilians
Nato has said it will investigate reports that it has killed dozens of civilians in recent days in ground and air strikes in eastern Afghanistan.
The governor of Kunar province has said 64 civilians have been killed in recent Nato-led air strikes in a remote mountainous district.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai later said more than 50 civilians had died.
Nato claims to have killed more than 30 insurgents in an overnight raid in the area two days ago.
A spokesman for the Nato forces in Afghanistan told the BBC that they had no evidence of any civilian casualties, but that they were looking into the reports.
‘Martyred’
Governor of Kunar Province, Fazlullah Wahidi, said on Sunday that 20 women and a number of children were among the 64 civilians killed in the district of Ghaziabad over the last few days.
Shortly afterwards, President Hamid Karzai said that, based on information from Afghanistan’s spy agency and local officials, troops had killed more than 50 civilians during days of operations.
About 50 civilians have been martyred during international military forces operations in Ghaziabad district in Kunar province”
Mr Karzai said “about 50 civilians have been martyred during international military forces operations in Ghaziabad district in Kunar province,” according to AFP, adding that he “strongly condemns” the killings.
He said he had sent a government delegation to the district to investigate the incident.
A statement from the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said it took the reports of civilian casualties “very seriously”.
“We are conducting an immediate assessment of these allegations and will report our findings,” US Army Colonel Patrick Hynes, a senior Isaf spokesman, said in the statement.
On Friday, Isaf said 30 insurgents had been killed in an overnight raid in Kunar, and on Saturday said operations had been continuing in Ghazi Abad since 16 February…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Tajik Authorities Ban Sales of Jesus Cartoon
Some 20 copies are seized from sellers in Khorog. The authorities also seize religious discs in the same city. Proselytising is outlawed in the country.
Dushanbe (AsiaNews) — Tajikistan’s Religious Affairs Committee banned the sale of a Jesus Christ cartoon in Khorog, the administrative centre of the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region, the BBC Persian service reported.
Claiming that the cartoon advocated a foreign religion, the Committee seized 20 copies of the cartoon from sellers. It later confirmed to Interfax that it had seized religious discs in Khorog but did not comment the matter.
The cartoon had been translated into Shughni, a language spoken by about 250,000 Pamir Tajiks, who are predominantly Ismaili Muslims, a branch of Shia Islam. Most Tajiks (85 per cent) are Sunni.
Under a new version of the Law on Religion and Religious Associations adopted in Tajikistan in 2009, proselytising is against the law. Nevertheless, over 80 religious organisations, most of them Christian, operate in the country.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
US Official Held in Pakistan ‘Is CIA’
Raymond Davis, a US contractor, has been held for more than a fortnight accused of murder after admitting shooting dead two men in Lahore in self defence.
Despite the incident, the US has insisted he is entitled to diplomatic immunity, arguing that he is an “administrative and technical official” linked to its Lahore consulate.
Pakistan intelligence officials however believe that Davis, a former special forces soldier, is employed by the CIA. “It’s beyond a shadow of a doubt,” one official told the Guardian. Rana Sanaullah, the Punjab law minister, told the newspaper: “This is not the work of a diplomat. He was doing espionage and surveillance activities,”
The allegations came as a US drone attack on Sunday killed at least five militants in South Waziristan, the first such attack since Davis’ arrest on January 27.
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Why American Troops in Afghanistan Shouldn’t Have to Wear Headscarves
In 2001, I was an Air Force lieutenant colonel and A-10 fighter pilot stationed in Saudi Arabia, in charge of rescue operations for no-fly enforcement in Iraq and then in Afghanistan. Every time I went off base, I had to follow orders and put on a black Muslim abaya and head scarf. Military officials said this would show “cultural sensitivity” toward conservative Saudi leaders and guarantee “force protection” — this in a nation where women couldn’t drive, vote or dress as they pleased.
To me, the abaya directive, with its different rules for male and female troops and the requirement that I don the garb of a faith not my own, violated the U.S. constitutional values I pledged to defend and degraded military order and cohesion.
I already had tried for years to get the policy changed, without success, and late in 2001, I sued then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over the policy. Congress stepped in and unanimously approved legislation that prohibited anyone in the military from requiring or encouraging servicewomen to put on abayas in Saudi Arabia or to use taxpayers’ money to buy them.
I remember a discussion with congressmen and staffers about whether the legislation should be broadened to cover military personnel serving in any country. We naively decided that Saudi Arabia posed the worst-case scenario; the military would get Congress’s intent and would not require servicewomen to wear Muslim attire in any mission elsewhere.
Sadly, we were mistaken. Nearly a decade later, some female soldiers serving in Afghanistan are being encouraged to wear headscarves. Some servicewomen have taken off the regulation helmet and worn just the scarf, even when on patrol outside, in their combat uniforms and body armor, M-4s slung over their shoulders.
The more common practice is to wear the scarf under one’s helmet or around the neck, pulling it on as the servicewoman removes her Kevlar helmet upon entering a village or building.
“Within Afghanistan, the donning of a scarf or other type of head covering by our female service members can be done as a sign of respect to the local culture and people they must necessarily interact with,” a senior U.S. military official told me via e-mail. “This can help promote greater trust and a fuller interaction with the local population as well as increased access to persons and places that contribute to mission accomplishment.”
Unlike in Saudi Arabia, this attire is considered optional and at the discretion of “leaders on the ground,” said the official.
However, when a superior tells a military subordinate any practice is optional, the very mention of the practice creates pressure to comply. This is especially true in combat settings, when subordinates must trust their commander’s direction to maximize mission effectiveness and protect lives.
Most of the U.S. servicewomen wearing headscarves are assigned to Female Engagement Teams (FETs), charged to reach out to local Afghan women and win their hearts and minds as part of the new counterinsurgency strategy. Wearing the hijab is thought to facilitate this access, since all Afghan women are expected to wear a headscarf when in public.
In the regions where the FETs are working, most local women still wear burqas, the head-to-toe gown that has a net over the eyes. So our female soldiers hardly blend in, with their weapons, boots and camouflage, and that bright scarf over their hair.
One officer told me she refuses to wear the scarf but is unwilling to speak out publicly against it. Yet many female troops defend the practice…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
China Tries to Stamp Out ‘Jasmine Revolution’
Jittery Chinese authorities wary of any domestic dissent staged a concerted show of force Sunday to squelch a mysterious online call for a “Jasmine Revolution” apparently modeled after pro-democracy demonstrations sweeping the Middle East.
Authorities detained activists, increased the number of police on the streets, disconnected some mobile phone text messaging services and censored Internet postings about the call to stage protests at 2 p.m. in Beijing, Shanghai and 11 other major cities.
The campaign did not gain much traction among ordinary citizens and the chances of overthrowing the Communist government are slim, considering Beijing’s tight controls over the media and Internet. A student-led, pro-democracy movement in 1989 was crushed by the military and hundreds, perhaps thousands, were killed.
On Sunday, police took at least three people away in Beijing, one of whom tried to lay down white jasmine flowers while hundreds of people milled about the protest gathering spot, outside a McDonald’s on the capital’s busiest shopping street. In Shanghai, police led away three people near the planned protest spot after they scuffled in an apparent bid to grab the attention of passers-by.
Many activists said they didn’t know who was behind the campaign and weren’t sure what to make of the call to protest, which first circulated Saturday on the U.S.-based, Chinese-language news website Boxun.com.
The unsigned notice called for a “Jasmine revolution” — the name given to the Tunisian protest movement — and urged people “to take responsibility for the future.” Participants were urged to shout, “We want food, we want work, we want housing, we want fairness” — a slogan that highlights common complaints among Chinese.
The call is likely to fuel anxiety among China’s authoritarian government, which is ever alert for domestic discontent and has appeared unnerved by recent protests in Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria and Libya. It has limited media reports about them, stressing the instability caused by the protests, and restricted Internet searches to keep Chinese uninformed about Middle Easterners’ grievances against their autocratic rulers.
On Saturday in a speech to national and provincial officials, President Hu Jintao ordered them to “solve prominent problems which might harm the harmony and stability of the society.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
China: Appeals on Web, Jasmine Imitate Arab Revolts
(AGI) Beijing — The youths leading revolts in North Africa and the Middle East have their first imitators in China. In Wangfujing, Beijing’s shopping street, near Tienanmen Square, there were moments of tension after a gathering of persons launched jasmine flowers in answer to a message posted on the Chinese web. The message invited readers protest symbolically with the flower, symbol of the revolt in Tunisia.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
China Snuffs Out Democracy Protests
Large numbers of plain-clothed and uniformed officers were deployed in Beijing, Shanghai and several other Chinese cities after anonymous dissidents issued a call on Saturday to any disaffected Chinese to gather and chant slogans for freedom and democracy. In the event, the calls appeared not have penetrated far into the consciousness of ordinary Chinese as the authorities censored Chinese microblogs, made pre-emptive arrests of up to 100 known activists and mounted a deterrent show of police presence on the streets. In Beijing’s Wangfujing shopping district, a stone’s throw from Tiananmen Square which was the epicentre of protests in 1989, a few hundred people gathered in front of the McDonald’s restaurant that had been appointed as the place of protest.
They were comfortably outnumbered by journalists, police officers and large numbers of undercover officers, according to those present. No slogans were chanted and no placards were raised, leading one online commentator to describe the event as the “revolution that never was”. The only overt act of dissent came from 25-year-old Liu Xiaobai who was stopped by police after he placed a white jasmine flower in front of the McDonald’s restaurant and took some photos on his mobile phone. “I’m quite scared because they took away my phone. I just put down some white flowers, what’s wrong with that?” Mr Liu told the Associated Press, “I’m just a normal citizen and I just want peace.” In Shanghai and Hangzhou a heavy police presence was also reported by online users, however there were no reports of protests in other cities where people were urged to gather, such as Tianjin, Wuhan and Chengdu. Despite the ineffectual nature of the call to protest, analysts said the swift reaction of the forces of control that underpin China’s one-party state, demonstrated that the government in Beijing is taking no chances. “By taking this so seriously, police are showing how concerned they are that the Jasmine Revolution could influence China’s social stability,” said Li Jinsong, a leading human rights lawyer. In a speech on Saturday, China’s President, Hu Jintao acknowledged growing social unrest and urged the ruling Communist Party to better safeguard stability and ordered stronger controls over the “virtual society” or the Internet.
Both online and in the real world China’s government has not shied from arresting or detaining those it considers a threat, with more than 100 activists arrested in recent days according to the Hong Kong-based group Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said. The current Nobel peace laureate, Liu Xiaobo, is a Chinese dissident who is serving an 11-year jail sentence for release his Charter 08 call for democracy and reform in China…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
North Korea ‘Preparing Nuclear Test’
North Korea started building at least two new tunnels at its Punggye-ri facility in northeastern North Hamgyong province for a possible underground atomic test, according to a South Korean official. The source told Yonhap news agency: “It is obvious evidence that it (the North) is preparing a third nuclear test.”
The report comes after Pyongyang racked up tensions at the end of last year by launching an artillery barrage against a South Korean island and disclosing a new nuclear programme, before going on a charm offensive last month.
Pyongyang is building more than one tunnel to choose the best one for a possible test, as tunnels cannot be reused after a nuclear test blast, the official claimed.
The official added the possible test would probably be carried out using material from the North’s plutonium stockpile, which Seoul and Washington estimate to be enough for six to eight bombs. Cross-border ties have been icy since Seoul last May accused Pyongyang of sinking a South Korean warship and killing 46 sailors — a charge the North angrily denied.
The tension soared further when Pyongyang’s shelling of a frontier island of Yeonpyeong left four South Koreans, including two civilians, dead in November.
The first cross-border meeting since the shelling, held earlier this month, broke down as Pyongyang officials stormed out after Seoul demanded an apology for the Yeonpyeong bombardment and the sinking of the warship…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
The West is Deluding Itself Over the Extent of China’s Growth
There seems no end to the steady stream of highly significant economic and political developments these days. We live in incredible times. Yet of all the events I followed last week, of all the data sifted and news wires perused, one story really grabbed me. Although I read it alone, it still elicited an audible “wow!”
China is in “advanced talks” with the Colombian government to build an alternative to the Panama canal. The mooted 220km rail link would run from the Pacific to a new port near Cartagena on Colombia’s Atlantic coast. Imported Chinese goods would be assembled for re-export through the Americas and beyond, with Colombia-sourced raw materials filling ships making the return journey to Asia. Beijing is now reaching very high, pushing China onwards to the zenith of its modern-day power. For centuries, visionaries dreamed of uniting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by forging a path across Central America’s tantalisingly slender isthmus. When that was finally achieved, the Panama Canal opening in 1914, it not only lopped 7,000 miles off the New-York-to-San-Francisco shipping route, avoiding Cape Horn, but also brought Europe much closer to Asia. This single, ultra-strategic waterway, transformed the commercial map of the world.
The canal was, and perhaps remains, the greatest feat of engineering in human history. Under Theodore Roosevelt, America succeeded where the French (and, centuries before them, the Scots) had not. Digging the vast trenches through swamp and forest meant overcoming malaria and coping with frequent flashfloods, while shifting hundreds of millions of tons of rock and soil.
It was a story — told superbly in Hell’s Gorge by British historian Matthew Parker — of grit, skullduggery and labour exploitation on a gargantuan scale. Once completed, the canal effectively ended the imperial battle of trade routes and did so in America’s favour. Now China has other ideas.
The canal carries 300m tonnes of shipping annually — compared to the 80m it was designed to accommodate. Since it was built, world trade has expanded enormously — the UK’s combined imports and exports ballooning from 35pc to more than 60pc of GDP in the past 50 years alone. Large modern cargo ships, including LNG gas vessels, simply cannot fit through — which is why the canal’s vast lock gates are currently being widened. But the mooted Sino-Colombian rail-link, involving the expansion of the Pacific port of Buenaventura, the whole thing to be funded by the Chinese Development Bank, would give Beijing its own 50m-tonne-per-year trade conduit, avoiding Panama’s US-controlled pinch-point.
China could then more easily land goods on America’s East coast — provided the US didn’t erect more trade barriers. The new Colombian railway might also mean Warren Buffet’s vision of revitalising the US freight-rail industry as a land-route for global trade flows across the Americas might not look so smart.
Most of Columbia’s coal — it is the world’s fifth largest producer — is exported via Atlantic ports to the US and Europe. A new railroad south of the Panama canal could change that too, diverting such resources, via Pacific ports, to China.
The Panama canal opened to ocean-going traffic just as the guns began booming in Europe at the start of the First World War. The symbolism was unmistakable. The old world was set on a course of collective self-harm, locked in conflict. The new world, the US, was meanwhile taking control of the high seas. This was truly set to be America’s century — and nothing made that clearer than the Panama canal…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Four US Citizens’ SV Quest Yacht Hijacked by Somali Pirates: Were They Targeted in Retaliation?
Fears are growing for the safety of four Americans hijacked off the Somali coast after warnings they could be used for retaliation after a pirate was sentenced to 33 years in jail.
Scott and Jean Adam were on their yacht the SV Quest with two other unidentified U.S. citizens when they were hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean off the Somali coast.
Omar Jamal, first secretary at the Somali mission, said the hijacking raised ‘serious concern’ as it followed the sentencing this week of a Somali pirate for the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama.
Los Angeles base: The Adams are members of the Del Rey Yacht Club in Los Angeles, but they have been sailing around the world since 2004. Their website states they intended to do so for eight to ten years
Earlier this week a Somali pirate told an Associated Press reporter in Somalia that pirates would target Americans in retaliation for the sentencing.
The pirate, who identified himself by the name Hassan, said Americans would suffer ‘regrettable consequences’.
Pirates have recently tied hostages upside down and dragged them in the sea, locked them in freezers, beaten them and used plastic ties around their genitals, the commander of the European Union anti-piracy force, Major Gen. Buster Howes told AP this month.
The case of the Maersk Alabama case ended in a spectacular rescue when Navy sharpshooters killed two pirates holding the ship’s captain, Richard Phillips.
Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse was sentenced to 33 years in prison this week.
Pirates have turned increasingly violent in their attacks, and naval officials say pirates have begun systematically torturing hostages and using them as human shields.
The Adams use the Del Rey Yacht Club in Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles, as their mailing address, but the pair have been sailing around the world since 2004.
The Los Angeles Times says that the pair distribute Bibles worldwide.
The Adams’ abduction also echoes the kidnapping of Paul and Rachel Chandler, who were ultimately released without harm but suffered a year of captivity.
A U.S. military spokesman at Central Command in Florida said: ‘We’re aware of the situation and we continue to monitor it.’…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
139 War Criminals Given the Right to Settle in Britain Permanently
The Home Office has given 139 suspected war criminals the right to settle in Britain permanently.
They are believed to include former henchmen of Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein, an Afghan official who tortured prisoners and killers who took part in Rwandan genocide.
They fled here over the last five years, making this country the world’s war criminal capital. But sending them home to their fate would infringe their human rights.
Immigration minister Damian Green is under pressure to put them on trial in the UK. He admitted that the 139 have been refused British citizenship but given visas to stay here for as long as they wish.
Mr Green refuses to identify the suspects or discuss further action against them.
But Labour MP Michael McCann, chairman of the Commons’ all-party Genocide Prevention Group, said: “There’s enough information to prosecute them. Some admit they committed crimes.”
Mr Green said 19 people identified by officials as war criminals have been thrown out of the UK in the last six months. Eighteen left and 75 denied entry.
| — Hat tip: Steen | [Return to headlines] |
An Influx of Refugees: Finding Help, Hate and Hope on Lampedusa
By Katharina Peters in Lampedusa, Italy
As the tiny Mediterranean island struggles with another influx of refugees, its inhabitants are torn about how they should respond. While some only see problems for their safety and livelihood, others are doing all they can to provide comfort to the less fortunate. But everyone fears they may soon reach their limit.
“A little more couscous?” Annalisa D’Ancona asks, scooping more noodles and vegetables onto a plastic plate, as Tunisian refugees crowd around her.
“Thank you,” says one of them in French. “That’s very kind of you.”
“Dig in,” D’Ancona replies in Italian. “It’s for everyone.” She’s cooked four kilograms of pasta and two and a half kilograms of couscous today, all free of charge. But it’s not nearly enough for everyone.
There are almost 2,000 refugees still on Lampedusa, a tiny Italian island in the Mediterranean, all of whom made their way across from Tunisia in recent days. Today, together with other locals, D’Ancona has lugged three large pots to the fittingly named Liberty Square in the middle of the island. It was a spontaneous offering, D’Ancona says. “Eating together is the best way to show solidarity.”
This is not the first time she and the others have cooked for the refugees. Lampedusa lies closer to Africa than Europe and, for years, many exhausted North Africans dreaming of a better life in Europe have managed to reach the island. But not long ago, the boats stopped landing here, and Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni declared the problem solved for good last July.
Anger and Equanimity
But now the problem is back — and worse than ever. All of a sudden, Lampedusa is back in the world’s headlines.
In the past, refugees were hastily herded into the island’s detention center and locked up. But now they are wandering through the small town’s streets, kicking a football or just sitting by the harbor. The police simply leave the gates to the refugee center open. Too many people have come, and cooping up thousands of Tunisians in a facility built for 800 just isn’t feasible. All of Lampedusa has become a detention center.
The island’s residents alternate between anger and equanimity, between wanting to push the refugees away and wanting to help them. They wonder what might happen should the men run out of money for food. Or they wonder if some of the refugees might actually be prison escapees. One resident claims that three Tunisians attacked him at night, stabbing him in the arm and injuring his leg with a bottle. He now has a large bandage on his arm and walks with a limp. “We don’t want any more illegal immigrants in Lampedusa,” he says.
But there are plenty who have not had such negative experiences, and who disagree.
The North Africans wanted a better life for their families, one café owner says. Glancing at his daughter, he says that, had he been in a similar situation, he “might have come to Europe, too. We’ve grown up in a fortunate part of the world.”
Tourism Worries
Lampedusa’s inhabitants want to help these people, he adds, but at some point they just won’t have the strength to do so anymore. He believes the government needs to take action, but laments that it is “far away” in Rome.
The tourist season is still weeks away in Lampedusa, but hotelier Maurizio Palmeri is already worried about how the latest influx of refugees will affect business. “If tourists see the refugees on TV,” he explains, “they might not come here anymore.”
Lampedusa’s turquoise waters and hidden bays are what usually draw vacationers to the island. Tour operators promise “warm light and wheeling seagulls” and a “one-of-a-kind, unforgettable holiday.” But, at this time of year, the town’s main street looks more like a ghost town, with many of its buildings shuttered up and some of the store windows papered over.
A stroll along the harbor quickly reveals the other side of Lampedusa. This is where the boats that ferried the refugees to the island are kept. They’re simple boats, painted red, white and blue and built for fishing, not escape. There are gaping holes in the wood, planks have been torn off and the railings are covered in rust. The pilothouse on one boat, the HS 392, is a wreck, and a life jacket lies discarded under the bow of the Elemel. Refugees spend a day or more crossing the sea on these vessels before they end up in what the locals call the “boat cemetery.” They say there are dozens of other rotting boats further inland, slightly hidden from view…
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Britain ‘To Grant 20,000 Visas to Indian Workers as Part of EU Trade Deal’
The UK is set to welcome 20,000 extra Indian workers a year due to a secretive trade deal brokered by the European Union.
Britain will accept thousands of skilled workers in exchange for lucrative export deals, even though the public sector are cutting jobs and unemployment stands at 2.5million.
The EU India Free Trade Agreement was initiated by Former Trade Commissioner Lord Mandelson in 2007 and is expected to be signed by the middle of this year.
Under the agreement European countries will grant India between 35,000 and 50,000 visas in return for £4billion worth of trade.
However, sources have revealed that India are demanding up to 20,000 of them should be provided by the UK, with only 7,000 asked of Germany and 3,000 expected from France. Meanwhile Estonia is expected to accept just 19 individuals.
The 20,000 will not count towards the Coalition’s pledge to cap net immigration at ‘tens of thousands.’
The workers will be exempt from National Insurance in their first year but will be able to use the NHS.
Sir Andrew Green, the chairman of MigrationWatch UK, said: ‘The secrecy surrounding this deal has gone on long enough.
‘This scheme makes a nonsense of efforts to limit economic migration.’
A spokesman for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, told The Sunday Telegraph: ‘Strict criteria are being negotiated to ensure there is a focus on highly-skilled and highly-qualified professionals entering the UK temporarily.’
Nearly 30,000 workers came to Britain from India last year. Two thirds of them travelled as part of the intra-company transfer scheme. This is also exept from the Coalition’s interim immigration cap…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Nearly 200 Tunisians Transferred From Southern Island
(AKI) — Two flights were due to transport 176 Tunisian migrants on Friday from Lampedusa to other detention centres in Italy. Over 5,000 Tunisian illegal immigrants have landed on the tiny southern Italian island over the past ten days in search of work in Italy and elsewhere in Europe.
There are 1,700 Tunisians crammed into the island’s identification centre, designed to hold a maximum of 800 people. Migrants held at the centre on Thursday threatend to go on hunger strike to protest living conditions there.
Italian bishops on Friday called for the Italian government to consider issuing an emergency decree to offer “regular employment to immigrants.”
It also urged “greater international cooperation with North African countries, resources and development plants aimed not only at creating macro-projects but also micro-projects..to meet the needs of families and cities.”
The Italian bishops’ commission and Catholic immigrant and refugee charity Migrantes also invited Italians, “especially in Sicily” to “show hospitality…to peoples, families and individuals who are on the move.”
Italian interior minister, Roberto Maroni, has warned of a “biblical exodus” from Tunisia. Youth unemployment is massive and the tourist industry has been hard hit by the recent unrest which caused president al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee the north African country in mid-January.
There are reports of tens of thousands of people waiting to leave Tunisia. The Italian government has said it fears a similar influx of migrants from Egypt, where a Tunisia-inspired popular revolt toppled the country’s autocratic president Hosni Mubarak earlier in February.
Italy has asked the European Union for 100 million euros in aid to tackle what it calls the “humanitarian emergency” in the Mediterranean.
Maroni last Saturday asked the EU’s border patrol agency to step up controls in the Mediterranean Sea and to cover part of the cost of deporting migrants.
He also asked Italy’s fellow EU member nations to share the burden of accommodating the migrants. Many view Italy as stepping stone and would like to work in France, Germany and other Northern European countries.
Discussions at a European Union summit next month on the bloc’s response to democracy uprisings in North Africa and in the Middle East will be enlarged to include immigration issues as requested by Italy, diplomats said on Friday.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Libya Threatens E.U. Not to Incite Protesters
(AGI) Brussels — Tripoli has threatened the European Union that it will not cooperated on the illegal immigration issue if the E.U. continues to incite protesters in Libya. The Hungarian ambassador, current president of the E.U., released the news after being summoned by Libyan authorities.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia: Boat Intercepted at Kerkennah Islands
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, FEBRUARY 18 — The Tunisian coastguard has blocked a large boat with many illegal migrants on board in the waters off the Kerkennah islands. The operation was carried out early this week, but was made public only today. There were also 40 men on board, most of them young, from Zarzis. They were taken back to Zarzis in a bus on Tuesday afternoon.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisians Dream of Going to France
(AGI) Siracusa — After going on a hunger strike, Tunisian migrants in the Rosolini shelter have started eating again.
Last night, in a show of protest, the Tunisians coming from the Lampedusa Reception Center had called a hunger strike to attract public attention on their future and express their disagreement with the perspective of being transferred to the Mineo (Catania) facility. They spent part of the night outside the facility located in the Granati Nuovi district, and subsequently went back inside because of the cold. Most of the foreign migrants ask to emigrate to France although others explained to the Carabinieri and to the Civil Protection volunteer workers that they want to start with a new life, possibly in Italy, but having a job. . .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
British Gay Muslims Seek Islamic Weddings
British gay Muslims are joining the global fight for equality and seeking gay Islamic marriage. The BBC’s 5 live Investigates speaks to one couple about their ‘nikah’ — a Muslim matrimonial contract — and asks how they balance their sexuality with the Islamic faith.
“We met about three years ago, at an iftar — a breaking of fast during Ramadan.
“I think a lot of Muslims find that time of year very spiritual and very enlightening, and so I think that’s why our relationship developed, because we spoke about our faith.”
“Eventually we went on a date.”
Asra recalls the first time she met her partner, Sarah, three years ago. The gay couple, who are also Muslim, are one of a growing number of gay, British Muslims who have cemented their relationship with marriage — Islamic marriage.
Asra fondly remembers the moment Sarah proposed to her.
“After the first date, which was about an hour, Sarah casually asked me to marry her.”
Sarah interjects.
“I think it was more like four hours, after dinner, coffee and walking. I didn’t really plan it, but it just really seemed like the way it was between us, I should try and keep it as pure as possible.
“That may sound strange being lesbians, but it felt like we should do it the most honourable way we could.”
The Muslim way
Asra and Sarah decided upon a ‘nikah’ — a Muslim matrimonial contract. Whilst nikahs have traditionally been the reserve of heterosexual Muslims, Asra and Sarah were aware that other gay Muslims had followed this route and the couple decided to investigate further…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
Columbia Student Body and Faculty Pure Class
Columbia University recently had hearings to determine whether or not the ROTC should be allowed back on campus. At the hearing a Disabled War Vet, Anthony Mascheck decided to wheel up to the mic to voice his opinion on why the ROTC program should be instituted at Columbia University.
And by wounded I mean a wheelchair bound amputee that was shot eleven times during a firefight in Kirkuk.
He was treated with the dignity and respect you would expect from a college whose student body is made up of spoiled trust fund children whose parents pay over $50,000.00 a year in tuition alone:
“Several students laughed and jeered the Idaho native, a 10th Mountain Division infantryman who spent two years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington recovering from grievous wounds.”
At least he was supported by faculty….[NOT]
“Universities should not be involved in military activities,” Sociology Professor Emeritus Herbert Gans told The Post. “Columbia should come out against spending $300 billion a year on unnecessary wars.”
Ahh sociology professors, where would the world be without you? Probably a lot better off I should say.
Also, for those of us who knew the DADT law was a bullship excuse to keep ROTC programs off elite(read rich) college campuses, we now have confirmation of it. The student left is trying a new excuse out. See how this fits you.
“Transpeople are part of the Columbia community,” said senior Sean Udell at the meeting, referring to the military’s current ban on transgender soldiers.
[…]
| — Hat tip: Larwyn | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Gay Hotels Investigated for Breaching Equality Laws
The Equality and Human Rights Commission is examining whether “gay-only” guesthouses breach new laws designed to prevent people being treated unfairly in the provision of goods or services. Last month, Christian owners of a guesthouse in Cornwall became the first to be found guilty of discrimination under equality laws after they refused to let a homosexual couple stay in a double room, in a legal action supported by the EHRC.
Now, the watchdog says it must establish an “objective balance” by considering if gays-only accommodation also defies the legislation. Its lawyers are now investigating the issue and the EHRC says it has not ruled out taking legal action against “gay-only” hotels if they are deemed to be discriminating against heterosexuals. However, it admits that it has not received a single complaint from the public about such establishments.
The watchdog has also said it spent £15,320 of taxpayers’ money on projects to ensure hotels run by Christians are complying with the law and has written to warn them over their treatment of homosexuals. Hoteliers who run same-sex guesthouses fear they could be put out of business if they are forced to open their doors to heterosexual couples as it will make their core market feel more self-conscious. John Bellamy, 55, who runs a homosexual hotel in Bournemouth for men only, said that the new legislation could result in the closure of exclusively gay guesthouses.
While he said he welcomed the new equality laws for tackling discrimination, he added that it had “come at a price”. “I knew we’d get this as the new legislation is a double-edged sword,” said Mr Bellamy, who runs Hamilton Hall, which advertises that “clothing is optional” at the hotel.
“We’ve been campaigning for this law for years so that everyone is equal, but it could spell the end of gay-only resorts. “Gay bars and clubs are closing because they can’t restrict themselves any more and the gay world is losing its culture.” Mark Hurst, who runs a “gay-only” guesthouse in Blackpool has also expressed fears that he could lose his homosexual clientele if he is forced to accept heterosexual people.
“Many of them would feel more self-conscious. Many of our guests like to just sit on the settee in the lounge and cuddle up to watch a film,” he said.
“They can hold hands and have a little kiss and would behave in a way they may not if they were in a mixed crowd.”
The EHRC said: “As discriminatory issues concerning ‘Christian’ bed and breakfast establishments and hotels have been officially brought to our attention, and as we are testing the law in this area, there is a need for the Commission to establish an ‘objective balance’. “We are, therefore, looking in to the matter of ‘gay-only’ hotels’/B&B establishments and the potentially discriminatory policies towards heterosexual couples that some of those ‘gay-only’ establishments may hold.”…
| — Hat tip: DF | [Return to headlines] |
1 comments:
'Gay' bars should also be investigated over their employment practices. Official surveys show that lass than 2% of the UK population is gay. hence no more than 2% of the employees of a gay bar should be gay.
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