30 March, 2011
AFP: Bahrain Shiite opposition urges Iran not to 'meddle'
AFP: Bahrain Shiite opposition urges Iran not to 'meddle' MANAMA — Bahrain's Shiite opposition leader on Wednesday urged Shiite Iran to keep out of the Arab country's internal affairs, after government charges that Tehran had orchestrated month-long protests. Ali Salman also warned against Bahrain being used for a proxy war between rival regional superpowers Iran and Saudi Arabia. http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
US Senators ask Clinton to help end anti-Israel incitement
US Senators ask Clinton to help end anti-Israel incitement
By JORDANA HORN
27 Democrats, Republicans send letter asking secretary of state to identify the administration's steps to end Palestinian incitement.
NEW YORK – Twenty-seven senators, Democrats and Republicans, sent a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday asking her to identify steps the Obama administration is taking to end Palestinian incitement against Jews and Israel.
The letter, spearheaded by US Senators Mark Kirk (R-Ill) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), was spurred on by the murders of the Fogel family in Itamar, as well as the terrorist bombing in Jerusalem last week.
The letter cites “continuing incitement directed against Jews and Israel within the Palestinian media, mosques and schools, and even by individuals or institutions affiliated with the Palestinian Authority.”
“The Itamar massacre was a sobering reminder that words matter, and that Palestinian incitement against Jews and Israel can lead to violence and terror,” the Senators wrote. “We urge you to redouble your efforts to impress upon the Palestinian leadership that continuing to condone incitement is not tolerable.”
Specifically, the letter references certain examples. One mention is of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ adviser Sabri Saidam, who delivered a speech on March 9 saying that Palestinian weapons must be turned toward Israel, and that the anniversary of the death of Dalal Mughrabi (one of the perpetrators of a 1978 coastal highway massacre) should be marked by inaugurating a square in her name in the city of El-Bireh. Mughrabi was featured and extolled in a television program on Palestinian TV on February 9.
On January 24, a presidential grant worth $2,000 was given by the governor of Jenin to the family of a Palestinian terrorist, Khaldoun Samoudi, killed while trying to detonate two bombs against Israeli soldiers at the Beka'ot Crossing.
The letter references Al Hayat’s report that on January 2, Azzam Al-Ahmed, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, attended a gathering on the 46th anniversary of the establishment of Fatah during which models of settlement buildings were blown up.
According to the letter, Al-Ahmed reviewed terrorist attacks perpetrated by Fatah and said, "Fatah is a mass movement which believed in popular revolution and wrested its right to use all means of resistance in order to achieve its aim."
“Although President Abbas has expressed his sorrow over the Itamar massacre, the Palestinian Authority must take unequivocal steps to condemn the incident and stop allowing the incitement that leads to such crimes,” the letter states. “Educating people toward peace is critical to establishing the conditions to a secure and lasting peace.”
The letter encourages Clinton to focus on “adequate training and educational programs in the West Bank and Gaza that promote peaceful coexistence with Israel.”
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=214462
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
By JORDANA HORN
27 Democrats, Republicans send letter asking secretary of state to identify the administration's steps to end Palestinian incitement.
NEW YORK – Twenty-seven senators, Democrats and Republicans, sent a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday asking her to identify steps the Obama administration is taking to end Palestinian incitement against Jews and Israel.
The letter, spearheaded by US Senators Mark Kirk (R-Ill) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), was spurred on by the murders of the Fogel family in Itamar, as well as the terrorist bombing in Jerusalem last week.
The letter cites “continuing incitement directed against Jews and Israel within the Palestinian media, mosques and schools, and even by individuals or institutions affiliated with the Palestinian Authority.”
“The Itamar massacre was a sobering reminder that words matter, and that Palestinian incitement against Jews and Israel can lead to violence and terror,” the Senators wrote. “We urge you to redouble your efforts to impress upon the Palestinian leadership that continuing to condone incitement is not tolerable.”
Specifically, the letter references certain examples. One mention is of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ adviser Sabri Saidam, who delivered a speech on March 9 saying that Palestinian weapons must be turned toward Israel, and that the anniversary of the death of Dalal Mughrabi (one of the perpetrators of a 1978 coastal highway massacre) should be marked by inaugurating a square in her name in the city of El-Bireh. Mughrabi was featured and extolled in a television program on Palestinian TV on February 9.
On January 24, a presidential grant worth $2,000 was given by the governor of Jenin to the family of a Palestinian terrorist, Khaldoun Samoudi, killed while trying to detonate two bombs against Israeli soldiers at the Beka'ot Crossing.
The letter references Al Hayat’s report that on January 2, Azzam Al-Ahmed, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, attended a gathering on the 46th anniversary of the establishment of Fatah during which models of settlement buildings were blown up.
According to the letter, Al-Ahmed reviewed terrorist attacks perpetrated by Fatah and said, "Fatah is a mass movement which believed in popular revolution and wrested its right to use all means of resistance in order to achieve its aim."
“Although President Abbas has expressed his sorrow over the Itamar massacre, the Palestinian Authority must take unequivocal steps to condemn the incident and stop allowing the incitement that leads to such crimes,” the letter states. “Educating people toward peace is critical to establishing the conditions to a secure and lasting peace.”
The letter encourages Clinton to focus on “adequate training and educational programs in the West Bank and Gaza that promote peaceful coexistence with Israel.”
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=214462
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
Ivory Coast: Pro-Ouattara fighters 'enter Yamoussoukro'
Ivory Coast: Pro-Ouattara fighters 'enter Yamoussoukro'
Pro-Ouattara forces are advancing on several fronts from their northern bases Continue reading the main story
Forces loyal to UN-backed President-elect Alassane Ouattara have entered Ivory Coast's capital, residents of Yamoussoukro say.
His forces have been advancing from the north and incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo has appealed for a ceasefire.
Mr Gbagbo refuses to stand down despite the UN saying he lost November's poll.
Abidjan is Ivory Coast's main city, but a BBC reporter says Yamoussoukro's capture would be a major symbolic victory for the pro-Ouattara forces.
The fighters are also reported to be 100km (60 miles) north of the port of San Pedro, a major cocoa exporting centre.
Some one million people have fled the violence - mostly in Abidjan - and at least 462 people have been killed since December, according to the UN.
Port next?
The BBC's John James in the northern city of Bouake says residents of the capital voted overwhelmingly for Mr Ouattara in the elections.
He says it is not clear yet if the pro-Ouattara forces who have been spotted in Yamoussoukro have met any resistance.
In Abidjan, the UN says attacks on civilians by pro-Gbagbo youths have continued.
The enrolment of these youths into the army was due to start on Wednesday to replace soldiers who are not turning up for work or who have changed sides, our reporter says.
Fighters loyal to Mr Ouattara have been gaining ground on three fronts from their northern bases this week.
In the west, pro-Ouattara forces have taken the towns Daloa and Duekoue, while in the east, the forces say they have captured the town of Bondoukou.
Thousands of people have taken refuge in a church compound in Duekoue to escape the fighting.
A spokesman for Mr Gbagbo said the army had adopted a strategy of tactical withdrawal but warned it could use its "legitimate right of defence".
Despite the plea, Mr Ouattara's fighters were reported to have been in towns to the west and north of the capital by Thursday morning.
"Fighting with heavy weapons started at 2am, we are hiding in our houses," a resident in Tiebissou, 40km north of the city, told the AFP news agency.
In the town of Bouafle, about 50km to the west of the capital, residents told Reuters news agency the fighting began at 0600 GMT.
Our reporter says the other main target under immediate threat is the port of San Pedro in the south-west.
On Thursday afternoon it was reported that Soubre, the nearest town to San Pedro, had been seized by Mr Ouattara's fighters.
The port's capture would open up a vital supply route for the pro-Ouattara forces and eventually allow them to start shipping the country's main export, cocoa, our correspondent says.
The pro-Ouattara forces have controlled the north of the country since a 2002 civil war.
Pro-Gbagbo troops have lost every battle against them since last November's election, our reporter says.
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
Pro-Ouattara forces are advancing on several fronts from their northern bases Continue reading the main story
Forces loyal to UN-backed President-elect Alassane Ouattara have entered Ivory Coast's capital, residents of Yamoussoukro say.
His forces have been advancing from the north and incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo has appealed for a ceasefire.
Mr Gbagbo refuses to stand down despite the UN saying he lost November's poll.
Abidjan is Ivory Coast's main city, but a BBC reporter says Yamoussoukro's capture would be a major symbolic victory for the pro-Ouattara forces.
The fighters are also reported to be 100km (60 miles) north of the port of San Pedro, a major cocoa exporting centre.
Some one million people have fled the violence - mostly in Abidjan - and at least 462 people have been killed since December, according to the UN.
Port next?
The BBC's John James in the northern city of Bouake says residents of the capital voted overwhelmingly for Mr Ouattara in the elections.
He says it is not clear yet if the pro-Ouattara forces who have been spotted in Yamoussoukro have met any resistance.
In Abidjan, the UN says attacks on civilians by pro-Gbagbo youths have continued.
The enrolment of these youths into the army was due to start on Wednesday to replace soldiers who are not turning up for work or who have changed sides, our reporter says.
Fighters loyal to Mr Ouattara have been gaining ground on three fronts from their northern bases this week.
In the west, pro-Ouattara forces have taken the towns Daloa and Duekoue, while in the east, the forces say they have captured the town of Bondoukou.
Thousands of people have taken refuge in a church compound in Duekoue to escape the fighting.
A spokesman for Mr Gbagbo said the army had adopted a strategy of tactical withdrawal but warned it could use its "legitimate right of defence".
Despite the plea, Mr Ouattara's fighters were reported to have been in towns to the west and north of the capital by Thursday morning.
"Fighting with heavy weapons started at 2am, we are hiding in our houses," a resident in Tiebissou, 40km north of the city, told the AFP news agency.
In the town of Bouafle, about 50km to the west of the capital, residents told Reuters news agency the fighting began at 0600 GMT.
Our reporter says the other main target under immediate threat is the port of San Pedro in the south-west.
On Thursday afternoon it was reported that Soubre, the nearest town to San Pedro, had been seized by Mr Ouattara's fighters.
The port's capture would open up a vital supply route for the pro-Ouattara forces and eventually allow them to start shipping the country's main export, cocoa, our correspondent says.
The pro-Ouattara forces have controlled the north of the country since a 2002 civil war.
Pro-Gbagbo troops have lost every battle against them since last November's election, our reporter says.
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
Syria: Protests in Latakia after Assad speech -residents
Protests in Latakia after Assad speech -residents
Syrian forces fired warning shots in Deraa
Syrian forces fired warning shots in Deraa
AMMAN, March 30 (Reuters) - Hundreds of people took to the streets on
Wednesday in the port city of Latakia chanting "freedom" after
President Bashar al-Assad made a speech playing down unprecedented
protests against his rule.
Several residents said they heard shots fired in the al-Sleibeh old
district of the city, where one of at least two demonstrations took
place, as security forces confronted the demonstrators. (Reporting by
Khaled Yacoub Oweis; Editing by Louise Ireland)
29 March, 2011
AFP: Saleh urges opponents to leave Yemen
AFP: Saleh urges opponents to leave Yemen SANAA — President Ali Abdullah Saleh, under mounting pressure to stand down, challenged his opponents to leave Yemen instead, in remarks published on Tuesday. "I tell those who appear in the media asking others to leave, that it is up to them to go," said the embattled president, quoted on state news agency Saba, branding his rivals as nothing more than "paid agents and collaborators." http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
Libyan woman offers glimpse into workings of Gaddafi government - The Washington Post
Libyan woman offers glimpse into workings of Gaddafi government - The Washington Post Video: A distraught Libyan woman stormed into a Tripoli hotel Saturday to tell foreign reporters that government troops raped her, setting off a brawl when hotel staff and government minders tried to detain her. (March 26) http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
ASYLUM-SEEKER NUMBERS FALL TO ALMOST HALF LEVELS OF A DECADE EARLIER, UN REPORTS
ASYLUM-SEEKER NUMBERS FALL TO ALMOST HALF LEVELS OF A DECADE EARLIER, UN REPORTS
New York, Mar 28 2011 10:10AM
The number of asylum-seekers seeking to live in the industrialized
world continues to fall and is now almost half the level it was a
decade ago, the United Nations refugee agency reported today as it
released its annual snapshot of asylum trends.
New York, Mar 28 2011 10:10AM
The number of asylum-seekers seeking to live in the industrialized
world continues to fall and is now almost half the level it was a
decade ago, the United Nations refugee agency reported today as it
released its annual snapshot of asylum trends.
The <"http://www.unhcr.org/4d8cc18a530.html">report from the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) finds that 358,800 applications for
asylum were lodged last year in 44 developed countries – a drop of 5
per cent on the 2009 figures and about 42 per cent below the levels of
2001, when nearly 620,000 applications were made.
Unveiling the report, High Commissioner António Guterres said the
global dynamics of asylum had changed in recent years.
"We need to study the root causes to see if the decline is because of
fewer push factors in areas of origin, or tighter migration control in
countries of asylum," Mr. Guterres said.
Serbia – including Kosovo – provided the biggest number of
asylum-seekers in 2010, with 28,900 claims lodged, compared to only
18,800 the previous year.
UNHCR said the sharp rise was probably due to the European Union's
December 2009 decision to grant visa-free entry to holders of Serbian
passports.
The other leading countries of origin of asylum-seekers were, in
order: Afghanistan, China, Iraq, Russia, Somalia, Iran, Pakistan,
Nigeria and Sri Lanka.
Mr. Guterres noted that the developing world is still "carrying the
lion's share of responsibility for hosting refugees," with countries
such as Liberia and Tunisia playing host to asylum-seekers despite
their own problems and challenges.
Within the developed world, the United States was the biggest
recipient of asylum claims, with 55,500 lodged last year, due in part
to an increase in applications from Chinese and Mexicans. France was
second, with 47,800 claims, drawn largely from Serbian, Russian and
Congolese asylum-seekers. Germany, Sweden and Canada rounded out the
top five recipient nations.
UNHCR defines an asylum-seeker as an individual who has sought
international protection and whose claim for refugee status has not
been determined. A person is considered a refugee if he or she fulfils
criteria set out in the 1951 Refugee Convention.
The 44 recipient countries used for the report were the 27 members of
the European Union, as well as Albania, Australia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Iceland, Japan, the Republic of Korea
(ROK), Liechtenstein, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, Serbia,
Switzerland, Turkey, the United States and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia.
28 March, 2011
RESOURCE-RICH AFRICA WELL PLACED TO TRANSITION TO ‘GREEN ECONOMY’ – UN OFFICIAL
RESOURCE-RICH AFRICA WELL PLACED TO TRANSITION TO 'GREEN ECONOMY' – UN OFFICIAL
New York, Mar 28 2011 12:10PM
Africa is well poised to take advantage of a host of opportunities on
the continent for building a 'green economy,' one that generates
decent jobs in an environmentally sustainable way, a senior United
Nations official said today.
New York, Mar 28 2011 12:10PM
Africa is well poised to take advantage of a host of opportunities on
the continent for building a 'green economy,' one that generates
decent jobs in an environmentally sustainable way, a senior United
Nations official said today.
"This continent is in many ways the envy of the 21st century world,"
Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme
(UNEP), told African ministers of finance, planning and economic
development gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
"Africa is rich in the kinds of natural resources that in many parts
of the world have been over-exploited and diminished by centuries of
unsustainable development," he
<"http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=2636&ArticleID=8675&l=en&t=long">stated.
This includes not just precious and semi-precious metals, but also
nature-based resources such as forests and biodiversity, which support
tourism and could also underpin inventions and pharmaceutical
breakthroughs.
At the same time, many parts of the continent are rich in so-called
natural fuels such as wind, solar and geothermal.
"The fundamental question," said Mr. Steiner, "is how will all this
potential be harvested for the benefit of Africa's citizens and in a
way that promotes stability in Africa and beyond."
He noted that the green economy is not a substitute for sustainable
development, but a way of realizing it. "It is as relevant to
developing economies and it is to developed ones; it is as central to
more state-led economies as it is to more market-led ones. It is not a
straitjacket, nor is it prescriptive."
In February UNEP released a
<"http://www.unep.org/GreenEconomy/Portals/93/documents/Full_GER_screen.pdf">report
outlining how investing 2 per cent of global gross domestic product
(GDP) in 10 sectors can catalyze the transition to a green economy.
It also provided a global compilation of case studies from across the
globe, including Africa, where forward-looking policies by governments
are "watering the green shoots" of the global green economy.
One example is South Africa, whose Green Economy Plan focuses on
investments that create more decent jobs, and where nearly $1 billion
is being spent on railways, energy-efficient buildings, and water and
waste management.
He also highlighted Kenya's new green energy policy, including a
feed-in tariff and 15-year power purchase agreement, which is
catalyzing an initial target of 500 megawatts of energy from
geothermal, wind and sugar wastes systems.
Later this week, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit Kenya's main
geothermal sites, located north-west of Nairobi, to learn first-hand
how these developments have been achieved, as well as how they are set
to generate thousands of new jobs in the clean energy sector while
reducing dependency on imported fossil fuels.
"The rest of the world can learn from Africa, but Africa can also
learn from other continents," said Mr. Steiner.
He added that the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development,
set to be held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012 – 20 years after the
Earth Summit of 1992, could prove to be one of the most transformative
moments in international affairs.
"In 1992, we could only perhaps glimpse the scale some of the
challenges emerging on the radar from climate change and the loss of
healthy, productive cropland," he noted.
"But in the world of the here and now, many of those challenges have
become all too real. There is an urgency to swiftly and decisively
evolve the sustainable development agenda onto a far more focused and
far reaching level."
He said that the question now emerging is not whether a green economy
is desirable but how to realize a green economy in practical terms.
"Rio+20 offers an opportunity to accelerate and scale-up transitions,
already under way across this region and indeed across the world in
order to catalyze growth and employment opportunities for around nine
billion people by 2050," he stated. "But in a way that also maintains
and enhances the regional and global planetary services that underpin
wealth generation in the first place.
"Africa's experience on what has worked and what has not worked over
the past two decades offers an invaluable foundation upon which a
transformational outcome next year can be built."
YEMEN FIGHTING WORSENING ALREADY DIRE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION, WARNS UN OFFICIAL
YEMEN FIGHTING WORSENING ALREADY DIRE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION, WARNS UN OFFICIAL
The top United Nations relief official today called for restraint by
all sides in Yemen, warning that the ongoing violence is worsening an
already dire humanitarian situation.
The top United Nations relief official today called for restraint by
all sides in Yemen, warning that the ongoing violence is worsening an
already dire humanitarian situation.
It is estimated that the recent political turmoil in Yemen, part of a
wave of protests across the Middle East and North Africa calling for
social, economic and democratic reforms, has led to more than 82
deaths and hundreds of injuries.
"I am especially concerned about the humanitarian situation in Yemen
because, even before the recent protests, the country was facing a
humanitarian crisis due to protracted conflict in the north displacing
300,000 people, some of them multiple times," said Valerie Amos, the
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator.
"The recent fighting has again affected hundreds of people that have
not recovered from earlier conflict," she added, urging those involved
to refrain from violence and ensure the safety of civilians.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA), the country is also facing acute water and food
shortages. Some 31.5 per cent of the population is food-insecure, and
approximately 12 per cent – or 2.7 million people – are severely food
insecure.
Ms. Amos noted that some humanitarian agencies are having difficulty
reaching those in need due to insecurity. The UN is discussing access
with both the Government and the Al-Houthi rebels. "I hope we will
have a meaningful agreement on access soon," she stated.
"The prolonged and chronic suffering in the country means that
humanitarian aid continues to be urgently needed."
Both Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN human rights office have
voiced their concern about the situation in Yemen, where a state of
emergency has been declared. Mr. Ban has called for a broad dialogue
with the political opposition, youth groups and other elements of
civil society leading to "bold" reforms in country.
26 March, 2011
Yemen Government Official: Deal on President's Ouster Being Worked Out | News | English
Yemen Government Official: Deal on President's Ouster Being Worked Out News English
A top Yemeni government official says he hopes a deal on President Ali Abdullah Saleh's departure can be concluded as early as Saturday.
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
A top Yemeni government official says he hopes a deal on President Ali Abdullah Saleh's departure can be concluded as early as Saturday.
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
SYRIA'S VIOLENT REPRESSION OF PROTESTS RISKS FUELLING FURTHER ANGER - UN OFFICIAL
SYRIA'S VIOLENT REPRESSION OF PROTESTS RISKS FUELLING FURTHER ANGER -
UN OFFICIAL
The United Nations human rights chief on Saturday urged Syria to
listen to the voices of its people who are rising up and demanding
change in the country, warning that continued killing of protesters
will only lead to more anger and violence.
UN OFFICIAL
The United Nations human rights chief on Saturday urged Syria to
listen to the voices of its people who are rising up and demanding
change in the country, warning that continued killing of protesters
will only lead to more anger and violence.
The demonstrations in Syria are part of a broader protest movement
that has swept the Middle East and North Africa since the start of the
year, toppling long-standing regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and leading
to fierce fighting in Libya.
Media reports say around 55 people have been killed in unrest in Syria
over the past week, including two children.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called on Syria "to
draw lessons from recent events across the Middle East and North
Africa which clearly demonstrate that violent repression of peaceful
protest not only does not resolve the grievances of people taking to
the streets, it r
isks creating a downward spiral of anger, violence, killings and chaos."
She pointed out that the use of force by authorities in other
countries has not succeeded in quelling discontent, but only led to
fuelling frustration and anger.
Indeed, she added, the use of force to suppress initial peaceful
protests in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Bahrain only contributed
to a rapid deterioration in the situation, as well as many deaths and
injuries.
"If those governments had responded more thoughtfully, without
violence, to the demands of the people, so much death, so much
destruction, so much of the fear and uncertainty faced by ordinary
people could have been averted," said Ms. Pillay.
"The Syrian people are no different to the other populations in the
region. They want to enjoy the fundamental human rights which they
have been denied for so long."
She stressed the need for the Government to guarantee protesters''
legitimate rights to peaceful expression and assembly, listen and
work to resolve the real issues they are raising and take rapid
action to tackle the underlying human rights deficits that have led to
their discontent.
On Thursday, the Syrian Government announced a set of political and
economic reforms, including holding consultations on ending the state
of emergency that has been in place since 1963.
Yet, the very next day the violent repression of protests by security
forces continued - something Ms. Pillay found "particularly
disturbing."
"Actions speak much louder than words," she said. "To announce a
package of long-overdue and very welcome reforms, and then to open
fire at protestors in the streets the very next day sends
diametrically opposite signals and seriously undermines trust."
The High Commissioner stressed the need for an independent, impartial
and transparent investigation into the killings that have occurred
recently, and called for the immediate release of all detained
protesters and human rights defenders.
25 March, 2011
Wikileaks on Somaliland and its recognition.
US IMPROVING RELATIONS WITH SOMALILAND
(C/NF) Turning to Somaliland, A/S Frazer noted the recent visit of
Somaliland President Dahir Rayale Kahin to Washington. While some may
interpret this visit as a sign that the U.S. was on the verge of
formal recognition, A/S Frazer clarified that the United States was
not getting ready to recognize Somaliland, but believed that it was
important to engage with them to ensure regional stability. At the
same time, A/S Frazer said that the United States would not be opposed
to Somaliland independence if it should happen within an AU context.
A/S Frazer said that she had raised the issue with AU Chairperson
Alpha Oumar Konare, who seemed to be placing unrealistic conditions
for addressing the Somaliland issue. The first was that Somaliland
negotiate with the government in Mogadishu, either the TFG or its
successor, regarding its independence, and the second was that there
be a regional consensus on Somaliland's status, neither of which are
likely to happen or result in any clear decisions.
(C/NF) Meles said that Ethiopia's position on Somaliland was the same
as that of the United States, but that the political situation within
the AU was not yet ripe for addressing the Somaliland issue. Meles
said that he met with Rayale upon his return from Washington and urged
him to write to the AU requesting that they identify a timeframe for a
discussion on the Somaliland issue. However, Rayale "messed things up"
by essentially re-sending his previous letter requesting recognition
and membership in the AU, rather than asking for a timeframe for a
discussion on Somaliland. Meles said that, if Somaliland had taken the
route that he suggested, it would have been likely that the issue
could have been addressed soon. However, if the elections for a new AU
Chairperson take place during the AU Summit, Meles said that the next
chairperson is unlikely to be as positive towards Somaliland as
Konare, which will only further delay any discussion of Somaliland.
(C/NF) Meles also noted the complications of the current political
situation inside Somaliland with the delays in preparations for the
municipal and presidential elections. While avoiding any specifics,
Meles said that the clan dynamics in Somaliland were out of balance,
but that it was important to convey to Rayale that he could not rely
on "outside forces" to tilt the balance in his favor. Even if Ethiopia
tried to intervene on Rayale,s behalf, Meles said, the effort would
fail.
---------------------------------------------
24 March, 2011
Sexual Grooming and Pakistani Youths
Sexual Grooming and Pakistani Youths
Jack Straw, the justice secretary in the former British government,
sparked controversy when he accused young men of Pakistani origin in
Britain as regarding vulnerable native girls as "easy meat" for sexual
abuse. The Blackburn MP and one of the Labor Party's most prominent
figures challenged the Pakistani community in the United Kingdom to
tackle a problem that has resulted in "Pakistani heritage men thinking
it is OK to target native girls in this way".
Mr. Straw made his remarks after two Asian men were jailed
indefinitely in Nottingham for a series of rapes and sexual attacks on
vulnerable girls they had picked up on the streets.
Jack Straw seems to have a campaign to demonise and stereotype
Muslims. If he was honestly tackling a problem he would have done it
in a different way.
Why it is a surprise that white woman are easier to get into bed than
a Pakistani women and not to mention we are in the UK which happens to
be a mainly white population.
I believe he concerned about the number of white female converts to
Islam because some of them see the real Islam through a Pakistani
brother.
A nursery worker had been arrested for sexually abusing children aged
2-3 at a nursery. Sick, but Jack Straw does not say that there is a
large number of paedo's still around, or that the church is full of
paedo priests. Why the hypocrisy?
The latest year, for which we have data, Lancashire police arrested
627 people for sexual offences. 0.3% of these were Pakistanis. That's
two people. 85.5% were white British. In Lancashire, there are
1,296,900 white Brits and 45,000 Pakistanis. This means that 4.163 per
10,000 white Brits were arrested for a sex crime, compared to 0.44
Pakistanis
If you look at my religion sex outside marriage, drink and drugs are
all a sin and are forbidden. Also the third biggest sin in Islam is
adultery, which these men also committed. They aren't very good
Muslims are they? The actions they committed are all against Islam and
the punishment under Sharia would be........I think you all know!!!
A major newspaper investigation linked some British Pakistani youths
with the sexual exploitation of underage native girls in towns across
North and Midland. Some of them are convicted of grooming underage
native girls for sex because they think that these girls have fewer
morals and are less valuable than Muslim girls. Now decent Pakistani
men will be looked at as potential child abusers but last year 80% of
child abusers were native Brits.
These Pakistani youths are British born and educated in state schools
with non-Muslim monolingual teachers. They are the product of western
education system which makes a man stupid, selfish and corrupt. They
have been mis-educated and de-educated and they do not know where they
belong. They suffer from identity crises. They speak English in local
accents. They are unable to speak, read and write Urdu language. They
find themselves cut off from their cultural roots and are unable to
enjoy the beauty of their literature and poetry. Such individuals are
fully assimilated into British culture. What do you expect from such
individuals? Instead of sending them to prison, they should be
included in New Year Honour List. In the past a Muslim girl was
awarded MBE for running way from her parents. Now there are round
about 6000 runaway Muslim girls in the custody of LAs. They should
also be included in the Honour List. Thanks to the British education
system.
Most teenage girls, but especially the girls who hang around the
streets have no roots, low self esteem etc and so is easy prey for any
group - any group - who cares to seduce them. Lots of "KID's" around
12 to 14 start partying! (Drinking, doing drugs & having sex). This
was happening in the 60s & 70s, so I am sure it's worse now. The big
issue is where the PARENTS are. British parents already lost the
battle to have any control over their children.
Britain's so brilliant Education Ministry had embarked on teaching sex
to 5 year olds from last year. Britain already has health and social
services, including counseling for children who are sexually active.
One initiative has distributed contraceptives to girls as young as 11.
Tony Blair said it is the right thing to do- handing free
contraceptives to British girls. The Institute for Public Policy
Research found that a major reason for Britain's thug generation was
the collapse of British family life. Evidence also showed that British
adults are afraid to control their drunk, high, fornicating and
violent teens. The adults also lagged behind their European peers in
confronting their teenagers about "antisocial" behavior.
The native Brits have double standards and are hypocrites; they don't
mention the fact that the majority of men who go to countries in East
Asia looking for under aged sex are natives European men.
This is sickening. It's no wonder Great Britain is in such a bad
shape. Ten years old British girls are haveing babies out of wedlock.
They are not allowed to get married but are allowed to have babies.
Teenage pregnancy rate in Great Britain is the highest in Western
Europe. It is a civilised country and Yemen is a backward country
because it allowes young girls to get married.
Indiscipline, incivility, binge drinking, drug addiction, gun and
knife crimes, teenage pregnancies and abortion are part and parcel of
British schooling. These are the reasons why majority of Muslim
parents would like to send their children to Muslim schools with
Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental periods.
Only less than 5% attend Muslim schools and more than 95% keep on
attending state and church schools to be mis-educated and de-educated
by non-Muslim monolingual teachers.
There are hundreds of state and church schools where Muslim children
are in majority. In my opinion, all such schools may be opted out as
Muslim Academies. There is no place for a non-Muslim child or a
teacher in a Muslim school.
London School of Islamics
Iftikhar Ahmad
23 March, 2011
Gaddafi, moral interventionism and revolution
| Gaddafi, moral interventionism and revolution | ||
| Intervening in Libya now will set a poor precedent on when the use of force is justified. | ||
Long ago, Gaddafi forfeited the legitimacy of his rule, creating the political conditions for an appropriate revolutionary challenge. Recently he has confirmed this assessment, referring to his own people as "rats and dogs" or "cockroaches", and employing the bloodthirsty and vengeful language of a demented tyrant. Such a tragic imposition of political abuse on the Libyan experience is a painful reality that exists beyond any reasonable doubt, but does it validate a UN authorised military intervention carried out by a revived partnership of those old colonial partners – France and Britain – and their post-colonial American imperial overseer? I think not. Let us begin with the unknowns and uncertainties. Unknowns There is no coherent political identity that can be confidently ascribed to the various anti-Gaddafi forces, loosely referred to as 'rebels'. Just who are they, whom do they represent, and what are their political aspirations. It is worth observing that unlike the other regional events of 2011, the Libyan rising did not start as a popular movement of a spontaneous character, or a specific reaction to some incident as in Tunisia. It seemed, although there is some ambiguity in the media reports, that the Libyan oppositional movement was violent from the start, and was more in the nature of a traditional insurrection against the established order than a popular revolution inspired by democratic values. Such a political reaction to Gaddafi's regime seems fully justified as an expression of Libyan self-determination, and likely deserves encouragement from world public opinion. By and large, the international community did not resort to interventionary threats and actions until the domestic tide turned in favour of Tripoli, which means that intervention was called upon to overcome the apparent growing likelihood that Gaddafi would reestablish order in his favour. The main pretext given for the intervention was the vulnerability of Libyan civilians to the wrath of the Gaddafi regime. But there was little evidence of such wrath beyond the regime's expected defence of the established order, although admittedly being here undertaken in a brutal manner, which itself is not unusual in such a situation. How is this different than the tactics relied upon by the regimes in Yemen and Bahrain, and in the face of far less of a threat to the status quo, and even that taking the form of political resistance, not military action. A difference in resistance In Libya the opposition forces were relying almost from the outset on heavy weapons, while elsewhere in the region the people were in the streets in massive numbers, and mostly with no weapons, and in a few instances, with very primitive ones (stones, simple guns) that were used in retaliation for regime violence. It may have been the case that the Libyan governmental response was predictably brutal and militarist, and that the rebel opposition felt that it had no choice. But it should have been clear from the experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan that military intervention against a hated and brutal regime is not the end of the story, and before the ending is reached violence cascades to heights far beyond what would have likely resulted had there been no intervention producing heavy civilian casualties and massive displacements among the population. In effect, overall historical trends vindicate trust in the dynamics of self-determination, even if short-term disasters may and do occur, and similarly underscores the problematic character of intervention, even given the purest of motivations, which rarely, if ever, exists in world politics. But it can be asked, what about Rwanda and Bosnia (especially, the massacre at Srebrenica)? Are these not instances where humanitarian intervention should have been undertaken and was not? And didn't the NATO War in Kosovo demonstrate that humanitarian intervention does sometimes spare a vulnerable population from the ordeal of genocidal ethnic cleansing? With respect to Rwanda and Bosnia, the threat of genocidal behaviour was clearly established, and could likely have been prevented by a relatively small-scale intervention, and should have been undertaken despite the uncertainties. The facts surrounding the alleged genocidal threat in Kosovo remain contested, but there was a plausible basis for taking it seriously given what had happened a few years earlier in Bosnia. But just as the Libyan rebels raise some suspicion by seeking Euro-American military intervention, so did the KLA in Kosovo engage in terrorist provocations that led to violent Serb responses, allegedly setting the stage in 1999 for NATO's "coalition of the willing". NATO went ahead in Kosovo without the benefit of a Security Council mandate, as here, for military action "by all necessary means". But with respect to Libya there is no firm evidence of a genocidal intention on Gaddafi's, no humanitarian catastrophe in the making, and not even clear indications of the extent of civilian casualties resulting from the fighting. We should be asking why did Russia signal its intention to veto such authorisation in relation to Kosovo, but not with respect to Libya. Perhaps, the Russian sense of identification with Serb interests goes a long way to explain its opportunistic pattern of standing in the way or standing aside when interventionary forces gather a head of steam. Debating the use of force One of the mysteries surrounding the Libyan intervention is why China and Russia expressed their opposition by abstaining rather than using their veto, why South Africa voted with the majority, and why Germany, India, and Brazil were content to abstain, yet seemed to express reservations sufficient to cast 'no' votes, depriving the interventionist of the nine affirmative votes that they needed to obtain authorisation. Generally the veto is used promiscuously, as recently by the United States, to shield Israel from condemnation for their settlement policy, but here the veto could have prevented a non-defencive and destructive military action that at this stage seems imprudent and almost certain in the future to be regarded as a poor precedent. The American debate on the use of force was more complex than usual, and cut across party lines. Three positions are worth distinguishing: realists, moral interventionists, and moral and legal anti-interventionists. The realists, who usually carry the day when military issues arise in foreign policy debates, on this occasion warned against the intervention, saying it was too uncertain in its effects and costs, that the US was already overstretched in its overseas commitments, and that there were few American strategic interests involved. The moral interventionists, who were in control during the Bush II years, triumphantly reemerged in the company of hawkish Democrats such as Hilary Clinton and Joseph Biden, eventually prevailed in the debate, probably thanks to the push from London and Paris, the acquiescence of the Arab neighbours, and the loss of will on the part of Moscow and Beijing. It is hard to find a war that Republicans do not endorse, especially if the enemy can be personalised and demonised as Gaddafi has been, and there is some oil in the ground! The anti-interventionists, who doubt the current effectiveness of hard power tactics, especially under Western auspices, were outmanoeuvred, especially at the United Nations and in the sensationalist media that confused the Gaddafi horror show for no brainer/slam dunk reasoning as to the question of intervention, treating it as a question of 'how', rather than 'whether', again failing to fulfil their role in a democratic society by giving no attention to the anti-intervention viewpoint. Finally, there arises the question of the UN authorisation. Upholding the charter The way international law is generally understood, there is no doubt that the Security Council vote, however questionable on political grounds, resolves the legal debate within the UN. An earlier World Court decision, ironically involving Libya, concluded that even when the UN Security Council disregards relevant norms of international law, its decisions are binding and authoritative. Here, the Security Council has reached a decision supportive of military intervention that is legal, but not legitimate, being neither politically prudent nor morally acceptable. The states that abstained acted irresponsibly, or put differently, did not uphold either the spirit or letter of the Charter. The Charter in Article 2(7) accepts the limitation on UN authority to intervene in matters "essentially within the domestic jurisdiction" of member states unless there is a genuine issue of international peace and security present, which there was not, even in the claim, which was supposedly motivated solely to protect the civilian population of Libya. But such a claim was patently misleading and disingenuous as the obvious goals, as manifest from the scale and character of military actions taken, were minimally to protect the armed rebels from being defeated, and possibly destroyed, and maximally, to achieve a regime change resulting in a new governing leadership that was friendly to the West, including buying fully into its liberal economic geopolitical policy compass. Using a slightly altered language, the UN Charter embedded a social contract with its membership that privileged the politics of self-determination and was heavily weighted against the politics of intervention. Neither position is absolute, but what seems to have happened with respect to Libya is that intervention was privileged and self-determination cast aside. It is an instance of normatively dubious practise trumping the legal/moral ethos of containing geopolitical discretion with binding rules governing the use of force and the duty of non-intervention. We do not know yet what will happen in Libya, but we do know enough to oppose such a precedent that exhibits so many unfortunate characteristics. It is time to restore the global social contract between territorial sovereign states and the organised international community, which not only corresponds with the outlawry of aggressive war but also reflect the movement of history in support of the soft power struggles of the non-Western peoples of the world. Richard Falk is Albert G. Milbank Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University and Visiting Distinguished Professor in Global and International Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has authored and edited numerous publications spanning a period of five decades, most recently editing the volume International Law and the Third World: Reshaping Justice (Routledge, 2008). He is currently serving his third year of a six year term as a United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy. | ||
| Al Jazeera |
Saudi Arabia to hold municipal polls
| Saudi Arabia to hold municipal polls | ||
| Local bodies elections could be concession extended to protesters seeking political change in kingdom. | ||
Saudi Arabia will hold municipal elections this month in a move seen to be a political concession to protesters who have called for major political changes in the kingdom. "The first phase of the elections will start on Saturday, 19/5/1432 [a date in the Islamic calendar that is likely to fall on April 23]," the ministry of municipal and rural affairs said in a statement on Wednesday. It did not, however, provide any more details on the elections, including if women would be able to take part. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, held elections to half of the seats on municipal councils in 2005, the first such polls in 40 years. Those elections were held in several stages, and excluded women from both voting or running as candidates. A second round of polls was due in 2009, but the government announced a delay of two years at the time. The ministry's statement said that it had begun preparations for the polls several months ago, in order to hold them before a final deadline in October. The government appears to be attempting to stave off a wave of protests that has toppled the rulers of Egypt and Tunisia, and has spread to several other countries in the region. Hussein Shobokshi, a columnist at the Asharq Alwasat newspaper, however, says that the demand for more empowered local bodies has existed since well before recent protests were held. "I don't think you need to link both events: what's happening in the Middle East with the Saudi policies that have been taking place," he told Al Jazeera. He also pointed out that Islamist groups are likely to continue their dominance of such polls. "We can see some participation from various members of society. Saudi Arabia is a very diverse society ... the past elections, the last and only election that was held, did see an important participation by Islamists. And the results showed that they had the most ability to organise, collect money and be in power, and I think they are preparing for another round." Protests Protests in Saudi Arabia have so far been sporadic, small in scale and immediately clamped down upon by security forces. While no political concessions were announced as part of that package, the kingdom did create a new anti-corruption body. Minority Shias have staged marches in the eastern province, where most of the kingdom's oil fields are located, but few Sunnis have answered calls for similar protests in major cities. Clerics in Saudi Arabia have termed anti-government protests "un-Islamic". |
Attacks on Libya
Stabilisation of sorts
Mar 22nd 2011, 13:00 by The Economist online
·
·
AFTER a third day of sorties by the international coalition that is imposing a no-fly zone on Libya, the situation on the ground appears to have stabilised. Rebel irregulars (pictured) have advanced to the outskirts of Ajdabiya, 150km south of their stronghold in Benghazi, the main city in eastern Libya. Despite the attrition of their heavy weaponry by air attacks, loyalists to the regime of Muammar Qaddafi continue to hold this important road junction, blocking the poorly armed and ill-disciplined rebels’ advance to the west.
While effective at wiping out Mr Qaddafi’s air defences, the coalition strikes do not yet appear to have blunted his efforts to recapture two pockets of rebel control in the west of the country. Misurata, Libya’s third-largest city, remains under siege, with power and water cut. Intermittent rocket fire and raids into the city centre by loyalist tank columns killed as many as 40 people on Monday, according to local sources, but failed to dislodge rebel gunmen. Zintan, a small town in the mountainous Jebel Nafusa region south-west of the capital, Tripoli, also continues to be hit by sporadic shelling. Many inhabitants are said to have taken refuge in surrounding caves.
General Carter Ham, who heads American forces in the Libyan operation, says that the frequency of air attacks is likely to diminish, now that their primary objective of securing total command of the skies has been achieved. This suggests that in the next phase progress will be slower, depending more on the rebel opposition’s ability to mobilise and project force over Libya’s vast distances, and on the coalition’s ability to degrade Mr Qaddafi’s ground forces. It is difficult for the aerial coalition to co-ordinate tactically with rebel groups, and its security-council mandate is to protect civilians rather than to assist in overthrowing Mr Qaddafi. Aside from some minor strains inside the allied command, the coalition faces mounting diplomatic opposition, with countries such as Russia, Brazil and China all querying whether the operation has already gone too far.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/03/attacks_libya_0
22 March, 2011
Arab League states: a recent history of protests | World news | guardian.co.uk
Arab League states: a recent history of protests World news guardian.co.uk
The Arab League's support for military intervention in Libya to protect civilians has been pivotal in persuading the US and the UN security council to act. But a glance through the organisation's membership list reveals that the governments of 18 of its 22 member states are facing down – often with violence – protest movements at home, have already undergone popular revolutions or have a chequered history regarding their support for democracy.
http://islaamdoon.blogspot.com/
The Arab League's support for military intervention in Libya to protect civilians has been pivotal in persuading the US and the UN security council to act. But a glance through the organisation's membership list reveals that the governments of 18 of its 22 member states are facing down – often with violence – protest movements at home, have already undergone popular revolutions or have a chequered history regarding their support for democracy.
http://islaamdoon.blogspot.com/
IMPASSE IN ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN TALKS MUST BE OVERCOME, UN OFFICIAL STRESSES
IMPASSE IN ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN TALKS MUST BE OVERCOME, UN OFFICIAL STRESSES
New York, Mar 22 2011 1:10PM
With Israeli-Palestinian negotiations remaining at a standstill and
violence increasing on the ground, a senior United Nations official
today called for urgent action to break the current impasse in the
search for Middle East peace.
New York, Mar 22 2011 1:10PM
With Israeli-Palestinian negotiations remaining at a standstill and
violence increasing on the ground, a senior United Nations official
today called for urgent action to break the current impasse in the
search for Middle East peace.
"We urge the parties to demonstrate leadership and rise to the
challenge of making a historic peace," Assistant Secretary-General for
Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco told a meeting of the
Security Council.
The past month has been marked by an increase in violence and tensions
on the ground, while efforts to restart the Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations "have not produced visible results," he said.
"A decisive effort must now be made by the international community and
the Quartet to bring the parties back to negotiating the final status
issues towards implementing the two-State solution," he added,
referring to the diplomatic grouping consisting of the UN, European
Union, Russia and the United States which seeks to have two States –
Israel and Palestine – living side by side in peace and security
within recognized borders.
Talks between the two sides have been stalled since late September
following Israel's refusal to extend a 10-month freeze on settlement
activity in the occupied Palestinian territory. That decision prompted
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to withdraw from direct talks with
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which had only resumed a
few weeks earlier after a two-year hiatus.
Mr. Fernandez-Taranco said that the recent surge in violence,
including the 11 March murder of five members of an Israeli family
living in a West Bank settlement as well as the increased violence and
tensions in and around Gaza, must not be allowed to further undermine
the possibility of finding a way towards an agreement on final status
issues, or undermine the state-building achievements thus far.
"The wider region has continued to witness dramatic developments,
which add to the importance of redoubling efforts to break the
deadlock as progress towards peace and meeting the legitimate
aspirations of the Palestinian people to statehood could be an
important stabilizing force in the Middle East," he stated.
Turning to the situation in Gaza, Mr. Fernandez-Taranco said all
parties must exercise restraint, as he condemned last weekend's firing
of missiles and mortars towards Israeli civilian areas, and noted the
air strikes and incursions carried out by Israel that killed three
Palestinian civilians and two militants.
The situation of the 1.5 million Palestinian residents of Gaza also
remained a concern, he added, noting that current imports into the
territory represent only about one third of the weekly average prior
to the imposition of the Israeli blockade in June 2007.
The latest UN assessment of the humanitarian impact of the blockade
says that the measures announced by Israel last June to ease the
blockade has not resulted in a significant improvement in people's
livelihoods.
Because of the ongoing restrictions on the import of building
materials, only a small minority of the needed housing units could be
constructed, it adds. High unemployment levels and strong demand for
construction materials have left thousands of people with no
alternative but to risk their lives working in tunnels or in
access-restricted areas near the perimeter fence surrounding Gaza.
DIALOGUE ON REFORM IS THE ONLY PATH FORWARD FOR BAHRAIN, BAN STRESSES
DIALOGUE ON REFORM IS THE ONLY PATH FORWARD FOR BAHRAIN, BAN STRESSES
New York, Mar 21 2011 7:10PM
An inclusive dialogue on political, social and economic reform is the only way forward for Bahrain, where Government forces have cracked down after weeks of popular protests, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
Mr. Ban said the United Nations is ready to help all sides in Bahrain so as to end the violence, protect civilians and promote what he described as necessary reform.
"The United Nations is in touch with all the Bahraini parties on the ground, including the Government and key opposition parties," he <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=1756">told journalists in Cairo, Egypt. "I appeal to all concerned to exercise maximum restraint.
"All involved, including Bahrain's neighbours and the wider international community, should seek peaceful means to ensure national unity and stability, and to create an environment conducive for credible reform."
Last week the country's security forces and police reportedly used heavy force against protesters in the capital, Manama, and they also took over hospitals and medical centres, sparking expressions of deep concern from Mr. Ban and other senior UN officials.
The protests are part of a wider wave of unrest across North Africa and the Middle East since the start of the year, with long-standing regimes toppled in Egypt and Tunisia and fierce fighting in Libya.
"It can be hard to see beyond the escalating violence," he said. "But there is no holding back the movements for reform and democracy that have taken root. Leaders must listen to the legitimate aspirations of their people. Open and inclusive dialogue is crucial. So is respect for human rights. People are eager to build prosperous, inclusive, democratic societies under the rule of law."
New York, Mar 21 2011 7:10PM
An inclusive dialogue on political, social and economic reform is the only way forward for Bahrain, where Government forces have cracked down after weeks of popular protests, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
Mr. Ban said the United Nations is ready to help all sides in Bahrain so as to end the violence, protect civilians and promote what he described as necessary reform.
"The United Nations is in touch with all the Bahraini parties on the ground, including the Government and key opposition parties," he <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=1756">told journalists in Cairo, Egypt. "I appeal to all concerned to exercise maximum restraint.
"All involved, including Bahrain's neighbours and the wider international community, should seek peaceful means to ensure national unity and stability, and to create an environment conducive for credible reform."
Last week the country's security forces and police reportedly used heavy force against protesters in the capital, Manama, and they also took over hospitals and medical centres, sparking expressions of deep concern from Mr. Ban and other senior UN officials.
The protests are part of a wider wave of unrest across North Africa and the Middle East since the start of the year, with long-standing regimes toppled in Egypt and Tunisia and fierce fighting in Libya.
"It can be hard to see beyond the escalating violence," he said. "But there is no holding back the movements for reform and democracy that have taken root. Leaders must listen to the legitimate aspirations of their people. Open and inclusive dialogue is crucial. So is respect for human rights. People are eager to build prosperous, inclusive, democratic societies under the rule of law."
DARFUR: UN-BACKED MEDIATION TEAM REPORTS PROGRESS ON PEACE DRAFT
DARFUR: UN-BACKED MEDIATION TEAM REPORTS PROGRESS ON PEACE DRAFT
New York, Mar 21 2011 4:10PM
The African Union-United Nations chief mediator for Darfur and his Qatari partner plan to call an all-party conference next month to launch a bid to achieve a final peace agreement for the Sudanese region, which has been torn by almost eight years of devastating civil war.
The decision, announced today, comes after AU-UN Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassolé and Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud received observations from the Sudanese Government and two of its opponents, the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), on draft texts submitted by the mediators and based on previous negotiations.
"The mediation welcomes this concrete progress made by the three parties towards achieving a comprehensive peace agreement for Darfur," the mediators said in a statement, urging them to continue working towards the adoption of all the texts submitted so that the mediators can finalize a draft agreement and submit it to them for signature.
As a necessary element of the finalization phase, the mediators said they would organize an all-Darfur stakeholder conference on 18 April in Doha, Qatar's capital, to "enable the establishment of a broad-base ownership" to achieve a final and comprehensive peace agreement.
"The conference will also provide an opportunity for the mediation to seek international support for the implementation of the provisions of the final agreement," they added.
The war between the Sudanese Government, backed by militia allies, and various rebel groups has killed at least 300,000 people and displaced 2.7 million others since it erupted in 2003.
New York, Mar 21 2011 4:10PM
The African Union-United Nations chief mediator for Darfur and his Qatari partner plan to call an all-party conference next month to launch a bid to achieve a final peace agreement for the Sudanese region, which has been torn by almost eight years of devastating civil war.
The decision, announced today, comes after AU-UN Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassolé and Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud received observations from the Sudanese Government and two of its opponents, the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), on draft texts submitted by the mediators and based on previous negotiations.
"The mediation welcomes this concrete progress made by the three parties towards achieving a comprehensive peace agreement for Darfur," the mediators said in a statement, urging them to continue working towards the adoption of all the texts submitted so that the mediators can finalize a draft agreement and submit it to them for signature.
As a necessary element of the finalization phase, the mediators said they would organize an all-Darfur stakeholder conference on 18 April in Doha, Qatar's capital, to "enable the establishment of a broad-base ownership" to achieve a final and comprehensive peace agreement.
"The conference will also provide an opportunity for the mediation to seek international support for the implementation of the provisions of the final agreement," they added.
The war between the Sudanese Government, backed by militia allies, and various rebel groups has killed at least 300,000 people and displaced 2.7 million others since it erupted in 2003.
21 March, 2011
UN official: Israel engaging in ethnic cleansing
UN official: Israel engaging in ethnic cleansing
Investigator Richard Falk says settlement expansion, consequent evicting of Palestinians 'intolerable'
Reuters
Israel's expansion of Jewish "settlements" in east Jerusalem and eviction of Palestinians from their homes there is a form of ethnic cleansing, a United Nations investigator said on Monday.
US academic Richard Falk was speaking to the UN Human Rights Council as it prepared to pass resolutions condemning Israeli behaviour on territory it has occupied since 1967.
The "continued pattern of settlement expansion in East Jerusalem combined with the forcible eviction of long-residing Palestinians are creating an intolerable situation" in the part of the city previously controlled by Jordan, he said.
This situation "can only be described in its cumulative impact as a form of ethnic cleansing," Falk declared.
Israel declines to deal with Falk or even allow him into the country, accusing him of bias against the Jewish state.
In a linked discussion on Israeli policies towards lands it seized in the 1967 Middle East War, Israeli and Palestinian delegates clashed over the recent murders of members of a Jewish settler family on the West Bank.
Israel's ambassador Aharon Leshno Yaar called on Palestinian leaders to condemn the March 11 murders of three children, including a baby, and their parents "without caveats or hedging" in Arabic to their own people.
Almost as shocking as the killings, "in the days following the massacre many Palestinians took to the streets celebrating the deaths of this family," Leshno Yaar said.
But Palestinian envoy Ibrahim Kraishi said the killings had already been condemned by the Palestinian Authority as "an act of terrorism" that was not part of his people's culture. "Rather, it is the culture of the occupying power," he added.
In his speech, Falk said he would like the Human Rights Council to ask the International Court of Justice to look at Israeli behaviour in the occupied territories.
This should focus on whether the prolonged occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem had elements of "colonialism, apartheid and ethnic cleansing inconsistent with international humanitarian law," the investigator declared.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4045623,00.html
20 March, 2011
US Says International Forces Control Skies Over Libya
US Says International Forces Control Skies Over Libya
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen (File Photo)
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America’s top military commander says a United Nations-authorized no-fly zone over Libya has effectively been achieved.
The Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, is calling the initial phase of a multi-national effort to take control of Libyan airspace a success. Mullen says Libyan command-and-control centers and air defense installations have been struck, and that leader Moammar Gadhafi’s forces effectively are grounded.
"We have had a very significant impact very early in establishing this no-fly zone and supporting the mission, which is to protect civilians and also to be able to provide corridors and create the conditions for humanitarian relief," he said. "So I would say the no-fly zone, which we were tasked to put in place, is actually in place."
Speaking on the Fox News Sunday television program, Mullen stressed that the current U.S. objective in Libya is well-defined and limited.
"The focus of the United Nations Security Council resolution was really [the rebel stronghold of] Benghazi, specifically, and to protect civilians," he said. "And we have done that, or we have started to do that. This is not about going after Gadhafi himself or attacking him at this particular point in time."
Mullen added that it is impossible to know right now what the ultimate outcome in Libya will be.
Some U.S. legislators believe the United States should have intervened sooner in Libya, and should now focus on ending Mr. Gadhafi’s rule. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina also appeared on Fox News Sunday.
AP
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., right, and Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. take part in a news conference, on Capitol Hill in Washington (File Photo)
"This is a great opportunity to replace a tyrannical dictator who is not a legitimate leader and who is an international crook," said Graham. "And we should seize the moment and talk about replacing him, not talk about how limited we [U.S. objectives] will be."
But Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island says the United States should not act unilaterally beyond the U.N.-authorized mission. He responded this way when asked if he favors U.S. ground forces in Libya:
"Not United States forces," said Reed. "I think the president [Barack Obama] has rightly ruled that out. But there are many forces that are capable of helping."
Many doubt Moammar Gadhafi will give up power unless he is forcibly removed. Ali Suleiman Aujali has served as Libya’s ambassador in Washington, but now backs anti-Gadhafi rebels in his home country. He spoke on ABC’s This Week program.
"There is one thing on the mind of Gadhafi: that he will not step down," he said. "He will fight. He has no other choice. He will never give up"
With air attacks against rebels a thing of the past, Aujali predicts anti-Gadhafi forces will regroup and begin a march towards the Libyan capital, Tripoli, where he predicts they will mount a siege to end the leader’s rule.
Finland: Universities Welcome Imams
Finland: Universities Welcome Imams The idea of third-level education for imams was also welcomed at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Helsinki. However, the dean of the faculty Aila Lauha emphasised that, in line with general university standards, such education should be based on research rather than on religious faith. Drawing comparisons to the education of Lutheran priests, Lauha noted that the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran church does not get to determine the contents of their education. |
SYRIAN UPRISAL
SYRIAN UPRISAL
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis
Tens of people arrested Friday have been released, but scores more
were still in jail, activists said.
Saturday, thousands of mourners called for "revolution" at the funeral
of two of the protesters. Officials later met Deraa notables who
presented then with a list of demands.
It included the release of political prisoners, dismantling of secret
police headquarters in Deraa, dismissal of the governor, public trial
for those responsible for the killings and scrapping of regulations
requiring permission from the secret police to sell and buy property.
POLITICAL PRISONERS Non-violent protests have challenged the Baath
Party's authority this month, with the largest protests in Deraa
drawing thousands of people.
A silent protest in Damascus by 150 people this week demanded the
release of thousands of political prisoners. At least one activist
from Deraa, Diana al-Jawabra, took part in the protest. She was
arrested on charges of weakening national morale, along with 32 other
protesters, a lawyer said.
Jawabra, who is from a prominent family, was campaigning for the
release of the 15 schoolchildren from her home city. Another woman
from Deraa, physician Aisha Aba Zeid, was arrested three weeks ago for
airing a political opinion on the internet.
Residents say the two arrests helped fuel the protests in Deraa, a
conservative tribal region on the border with Jordan.
Graffiti have appeared on school walls and grain silos in Deraa with
phrases such as "the people want the overthrow of the regime" -- the
slogan that became the rallying cry of the Egyptian and Tunisian
revolutions.
Authorities responded by increasing secret police patrols and asking
staff at schools and public departments to man their premises around
the clock and by requiring IDs and registration for buyers of paint
and spray cans.
"These measures only increased popular resentment," one Darea resident said.
(Additional reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi; Editing by Andrew Roche)
19 March, 2011
BBC News - Live: Libya crisis
BBC News - Live: Libya crisis
The Libyan rebels' Transitional National Council has decided to set up a currency authority and an institution for supervising oil, Al-Jazeera reports.
http://islaamdoon.blogspot.com/
The Libyan rebels' Transitional National Council has decided to set up a currency authority and an institution for supervising oil, Al-Jazeera reports.
http://islaamdoon.blogspot.com/
She is afraid that her marriage may not be successful because she got to know him before marriage
She is afraid that her marriage may not be successful because she got to know him before marriage
I read on your website in several places something that made me want to ask about love before marriage. I am a woman who is married to a religiously committed young man, and praise be to Allah he prays and fasts and does his duties in the best manner as he is supposed to. Praise be to Allah, I fear Allah a great deal and I have a strong desire to draw closer and closer to Him. But I got to know this person before marriage, although nothing happened in this relationship to be ashamed of, but he is from one city and I am from another city, and he came to get to know me more and more. But I read that if one likes another person before marriage or sits with him, Allah will not bless them in their relationship, and I am very scared. How can I expiate for my sin? Please note that when I sat with him it was in public places.
I hope that you can help me so that Allah will make my marriage to this person successful, because I fear Allah above everything else.
I hope that you can help me so that Allah will make my marriage to this person successful, because I fear Allah above everything else.
Praise be to Allaah.
What is meant by the love that is forbidden before marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman that includes haraam things such as looking, touching, shaking hands, being alone together, romantic words, the woman softening her voice, and so on. There is no doubt that this is haraam because what it involves is haraam.
For information on the prohibition on the things mentioned above, see the answer to question no. 103044.
Love may occur without a person choosing that and without doing any haraam things, such as if a woman hears of a man who is of good character and starts liking him. She is not to be blamed for this so long as it is not followed by anything haraam.
If a man wants to propose to a woman, it is permissible for him to look at her and to meet her in the presence of her mahram.
No matter what the nature of the love and relationship before marriage, if a person committed any wrong action in that case, then he has to seek forgiveness and repent, for Allah forgives sin, accepts repentance and erases bad deeds.
If we assume that you overstepped the mark with regard to saying something inappropriate or shaking hands and the like, then all you have to do is ask for forgiveness. Allah has blessed you with marriage to a righteous young man, so praise Allah, may He be exalted, and think positively of Him, and hope for the goodness, blessing and success that He may bestow.
No one can be certain that the one who falls in love before marriage will not be blessed in his marriage. This is a matter of the unseen that no one knows except Allah. The most that can be said is that haraam love may be a cause of the marriage not being blessed, because a person may be deprived of provision because of a sin that he committed, as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "…a man may be deprived of provision by a sin that he commits." Narrated by Ibn Maajah (4022) and classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah.
But if a person repents and turns to Allah, there is the hope that he will be successful with Allah's help, and that his bad deeds will be turned into good deeds.
So have faith in Allah, may He be exalted, and put your fears aside; seek the forgiveness of Allah from all sins, minor and major, and you will be fine, praise be to Allah.
And Allah knows best
GREATER OPENNESS NEEDED ON NUCLEAR CRISIS, UN ATOMIC CHIEF TELLS JAPAN’S LEADERS
GREATER OPENNESS NEEDED ON NUCLEAR CRISIS, UN ATOMIC CHIEF TELLS JAPAN'S LEADERS
The head of the United Nations agency that coordinates global nuclear safety told Japanese leaders today that they must provide faster and fuller information about the country's nuclear reactor crisis amid reported criticism that they have not been as open as they should.
At the same time the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it does not at the moment have health concerns either in Japan or more widely from released radiation, although that could change if the situation worsened.
On a flying visit to Tokyo, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano met with Prime Minister Naoto Kan, other ministers and TEPCO electricity company officials to discuss how the agency can help mitigate the crisis caused by loss of power to the reactor cooling systems when the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was damaged by a devastating earthquake and tsunami a week ago.
"The director general stressed the importance of providing faster and more detailed information about the situation at the nuclear power plants including to the international community," IAEA Special Adviser on Scientific and Technical Affairs Graham Andrew told a news briefing at agency headquarters in Vienna, at which he reported that, as yesterday, the situation remains very serious but with no significant worsening.
"He also emphasized the importance of Japan working closely with the international community to resolve the crisis," Mr. Andrew said, adding that the Japanese affirmed their willingness to strengthen their cooperation with the agency.
IAEA has sent a monitoring mission to Japan, which at the moment is focusing on radiation levels in Tokyo, where first measurements show no indication of iodine-131 or caesium-137, major radioactive hazards present in nuclear fission products. A second sampling was to be carried out overnight. "We will move towards the Fukushima region as soon as possible," Mr. Andrew said.
"We don't have concerns at the moment both in Japan and, if not in Japan, clearly more widely for human health. If the situation changed dramatically, then we'd have to make a reassessment."
He noted that the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said today that international flights and maritime operations can continue normally into and out of Japan's major airports and seaports and that there is no medical basis for imposing additional measures to protect passengers.
On the situation at the Fukushima reactor site, more than 200 kilometres to the north of Tokyo, Mr. Andrew noted that spent fuel ponds at units three and four of the six-unit plant remain "an important safety concern," with information lacking on cooling water levels and temperatures. As for the first three units, perhaps half of the fuel in some cases is uncovered, "which is not positive," he said.
"We want all of the fuel to be covered, but it's not oscillating, it's not going down dramatically. So certainly for the units one, two and three the situation, taking on board the pressure and the water levels, remains fairly stable, which is positive," he added.
Mar 18 2011 6:10PM
U.S. Department of State: Statement on Cote d'Ivoire
Statement on Cote d'Ivoire
Press Statement
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
March 18, 2011
The United States condemns Laurent Gbagbo's continued attacks on unarmed civilians in Cote d'Ivoire and we demand an immediate end to this brutality. Gbagbo's indiscriminate violence against civilians cannot be tolerated. All individuals responsible for ordering or carrying out these heinous acts will have to answer for their actions.
Gbagbo's claim that he represents the Ivoirian people belies his persistent refusal to participate in the peaceful transition recommended by the African Union. Gbagbo's incendiary rhetoric, such as his recent call for civilians to take up arms against their fellow citizens, stands in stark contrast to President Ouattara's appeal for calm and restraint among the Ivoirian people. Now is the time for all Ivoirians to embrace the path of peace and to unite in rebuilding Cote d'Ivoire so that future generations can enjoy the stability and prosperity that all Ivoirians deserve.
The United States is providing humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by the growing violence, including a $4.5 million food aid contribution to the United Nations World Food Program in Cote d'Ivoire and a $7.5 million contribution for refugees in neighboring Liberia. We will continue to assist those affected by this violence and help put an end to the crisis.
18 March, 2011
Combating jihadists and free speech: How the U.S. military is using fake online profiles to spread propaganda
Combating jihadists and free speech: How the U.S. military is using fake online profiles to spread propaganda
By LEWIS BAZLEY
· Fake profiles would NOT operate in English as this would contravene U.S. law
· Instead operators would work in languages such as Arabic, Farsi and Urdu
The American military has spent $2.8million on software to create fake personas on social networking websites in a bid to curb online jihadists.
The U.S. Central Command (Centcom) has awarded a $2.76million contract to California company Ntrepid in order to create false identities – known as ‘sock puppets’ – to manipulate conversations on sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
The move is reportedly intended to hamper online extremism but critics will argue the scheme actually strikes a blow against free speech.
Online manipulation: The U.S. military is to use software that creates fake personas so as to combat extremism and spread propaganda
A June 2010 contract shows the software in question would allow users to control ‘10 personas… replete with background , history, supporting details, and cyber presences that are technically, culturally and geographically consistent’.
Up to 50 users of the software would be ‘able to appear to originate in nearly any part of the world’ with the intention of interacting ‘through conventional online services and social media platforms’.
Centcom’s contract also stipulates that the users of the software should be able to handle a number of false online personas from one workstation ‘without fear of being discovered by sophisticated adversaries’.
More...
· We've built a flying saucer, boasts Iran (even if it does look like it belongs in a 1950s B-movie)
Centcom spokesman Commander Bill Speaks told the Guardian: ‘The technology supports classified blogging activities on foreign-language websites to enable Centcom to counter violent extremist and enemy propaganda outside the U.S.’
He stressed the ‘sock puppets’ would not operate in English as to use such technology would contravene U.S. law – instead the false identities will conduct online conversations in languages such as Arabic, Farsi and Urdu.
However, the implications of the Centcom contract – which would allow U.S. forces personnel to contribute to Facebook conversation, tweets and message boards under a false name – could be of concern for free speech campaigners.
Jihadist: The U.S. project hopes to infiltrate online conversations between suspected terrorists - pictured here is Abdullah Ahmed Ali, 27, who was found guilty in 2008 of conspiring to kill hundreds of people in a bombing campaign
By contributing to online discussions while using a fake identity, the U.S. military would potentially be able to disseminate pro-American propaganda, attempt to quash dissenting opinions and create an artificial consensus.
With the software allowing users to manage several personalities from one location – thought to be Macdill air force base in Florida in this instance – its development may encourage governments or private firms to engage in similar practices.
Centcom commander James N. Mattis told a senate hearing earlier this month: ‘Our enemies operate within cyberspace (and its associated relevant physical infrastructure) to plan, coordinate, recruit, train, equip, execute and garner support for operations against the U.S., its allies and interests. Clearly, in the information age, our military must adapt to this new domain of warfare.’
The new scheme to develop fake online personas is believed to be part of Operation Earnest Voice, which manages Centcom's Information Operations, and in the words of Mattis, ‘seeks to disrupt recruitment and training of suicide bombers; deny safe havens for our adversaries; and counter extremist ideology and propaganda’.
A report by the inspector general of the U.S. defence department suggested Operation Earnest Voice had involved multinational forces in Iraq but the Ministry of Defence told the Guardian it had ‘no evidence’ of British involvement in the programme.
The MoD also declined to confirm if it had engaged in false persona creation, saying: ‘We don't comment on cyber capability.’
Cyber campaign: The project would see military personnel conversing on Facebook in languages such as Arabic or Urdu
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