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Thursday, August 18, 2011

Forecast: Spain's protests to 'go global'

KINGSTON, N.Y., May 27 (UPI) -- Growing unrest in Spain will spread throughout Europe this summer and "go global" by winter, a U.S. trends forecaster said in an interview posted Friday.

"Young people have wised up. They know the score," Trends Research Institute Director Gerald Celente told King World News. "Those are the people that are ahead of all of these revolutions."

Inspired by the revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests taking place in the Middle East and North Africa, tens of thousands of young Spaniards, expressing distress over 45 percent youth unemployment and severe government-imposed austerity measures, have taken over central squares in 60 cities -- including Madrid's busy Puerta del Sol -- seeking to overhaul Spain's socioeconomic and political systems, which they allege favor special interests, especially financial institutions.

Like the so-called Arab Spring, the growing Spanish movements are spread via social media networks and led in the streets by the young.

And "they're not leaving the streets," Celente told King World News, because "when you lose everything and have nothing left to lose, you lose it."

"These revolutions are going to spread through the summer in Europe, and by the winter it's going to go global," he said.

A French youth-led group plans a large demonstration in Paris this weekend in solidarity with Spain's protesters, known as "los indignados," or "the outraged." The French protest would follow Friday's close of the Group of Eight summit of world leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, in the French seaside resort town of Deauville.

Another Spanish-style uprising could emerge in neighboring Portugal next week, ahead of a June 5 snap election, The New York Times said.

Celente said Europe's Internet-savvy youth are "getting everyone out to join them because they know now that if they don't fight against the machine, the machine is going to grind them up."

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/05/27/Forecast-Spains-protests-to-go-global/UPI-81871306528540/.

Spain's election results may lead to a more unpopular government

Saturday 28 May 2011
Luke Stobart

If the authoritarian Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba takes over from Zapatero, it's likely to worsen relations between public and state.

The growing gulf between Spain's PSOE government and its population is not likely to close after Zapatero steps down as prime minister, as is expected to take place shortly. His now very likely successor is the government's "strongman" – seen by some as the most able to push through unpopular austerity.

Despite the conservative Popular party's success in last Sunday's municipal and regional elections, there is little evidence that Spaniards want a more rightwing administration. The center-left PSOE lost three times more votes than the Popular party gained – hardly an endorsement of the latter. Furthermore, surveys continually detect hostility towards both parties and politicians in general. In an April survey, over 46% of interviewees said they "strongly distrusted" opposition leader Mariano Rajoy; almost the same figure as for Zapatero.

This historic level of disaffection with Spain's political class has been a major factor in the continued city square occupations. These have now spread out into local neighborhoods and are confronting eviction attempts by police.

Disaffection with Spanish democracy also may help explain one of the biggest upsets in the municipal elections on Sunday: the pro-independence coalition Bildu in the Basque country picked up more council seats than any other party in that territory. This leftwing party, which the Spanish right has described as "pro-terrorist" but has openly condemned violence, was very nearly prevented from standing by the supreme court at the request of the government. It is a great irony that the biggest victor in the elections was the only political option previously deemed unsuitable for Spanish democracy.

The PSOE has lost great popularity, which reached a peak after it removed Spanish troops from Iraq in 2004 – by adopting a far-reaching austerity program. Previously, Zapatero repeatedly promised he would "not make workers pay for the crisis".

Yet since the elections there have been two responses by the PSOE that suggest it will stay on its new course. Firstly, it has announced it shall not modify its economic program, which includes labour "reforms" against "absenteeism" and on union bargaining rights.

It is hoped that by the general elections such measures will have helped resuscitate collapsed investment. However, similar gambles by the Greek and Irish governments have not worked. Instead, reduced public spending has depressed private demand and larger crises have ensued. Such a panorama is unlikely to weaken the current protest by the "no future" generation and may encourage more.

A second issue is that of Zapatero's likely successor. After the PSOE's worst election result under democracy, regional "barons" (presidents) successfully managed to dissuade Carme Chacón, the young defense minister, from standing for prime minister in primaries. They did so by threatening an emergency congress in which less PSOE members would directly vote.

Most commentators agree that this leaves the door wide open to the man who already arguably wields the most governmental power, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba. Since last autumn he has been deputy prime minister, interior minister and government spokesman.

General consensus has it that Rubalcaba, an ex-university lecturer, is highly intelligent. A sign of this was when he stepped into ministry of labor discussions with the unions when an agreement on pensions was stalling. Union leaders had held a general strike in September against legal changes facilitating dismissals of an already precarious workforce. So Rubalcaba suggested a limited tempering of the changes in exchange for the unions accepting an increase in the retirement age to 67 years. The union leaders accepted, much to the outrage of the population, 79% of whom rejected the increase.

Arguably, Rubalcaba's ability as a self-defined "strategist" is matched by his authoritarianism. Not only was he responsible for the attempt to ban Bildu, but was also a key player in the controversial militarization of the airports during a labor dispute before Christmas. In this conflict, air-traffic controllers were forced to land planes in front of armed soldiers. Since then, strikers have been sacked and threatened with long-term prison sentences.

When once asked to describe himself, Rubalcaba quoted a literary detective: "If I were not bad, I would be dead, and if I were not sweet, I could not live" – an intriguing answer but one which acknowledges a dark side.

If Rubalcaba does take over, it is hard to imagine a new convergence between government and the street. Instead, the political crisis of recent weeks may just be the beginning.

Source: The Guardian.
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/28/spain-election-zapatero.

Tunisia protects ancient treasures

As Tunisia recovers from revolutionary upheaval, officials hope the country's ancient artifacts can be a springboard to attract visitors and renew youths' interest in their history.

By Mohamed El Hedef for Magharebia in Sfax – 27/05/11

Tunisian officials are launching renewed efforts aimed at preserving the country's ancient treasures while at the same time educating the next generation on the nation's rich history.

As part of those efforts, the culture ministry chose International Museum Day (May 18th) to celebrate Tunisia's antiquities. Two events were held simultaneously in Sfax and at the Bardo Museum in Tunis.

The choice of Sfax for the launch of the celebration reflected a real will to give back to the region its place in the memory of Tunisia and its role in the cultural system, Interim Culture Minister Azzedine Bach Chaouch said. The minister also announced the foundation of a museum of traditions and folklore and another for maritime heritage in the southern city.

Meanwhile in Tunis, Education Minister Taieb Baccouch joined other officials to mark the occasion, including international experts from the International Council of Museums and Mohamed El Aziz Achour, Director-General of the Arab League Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (ALESCO). The Bardo Museum event showcased extensive renovation works that were launched in 2009.

The occasion also served to highlight the recovery of stolen archaeological artifacts. The culture minister said that, since February, over three quarters of the stolen pieces were recovered, including some that were smuggled outside the country.

It is hard to imagine how much was robbed from the national Tunisian heritage, Bach Chaocuh said. He alleged that the thieves would have not gone as far as they did without the help of officials from the former regime. He claimed they made available vehicles for transporting the archaeological pieces and unique statues to the villas and ostentatious palaces of the ousted president's family-in-law. The minister said vehicles were used as cover to get through checkpoints.

In early February, Bach Chaouch formed a specialized committee within the culture ministry to investigate stolen historic items. He explained that he had previous experience in tracking down lost artifacts while working with UNESCO where he successfully retrieved Cambodian treasures with help from Interpol. He added that he intends to ask Interpol to help Tunisia retrieve its antiquities.

Several former officials are currently being investigated for complicity in smuggling historic pieces. For instance, the investigating judge in the court of first instance began questioning Beji Ben Memmi, the former mayor of Tunis and former director of the National Institute of Archaeology. He was later released but his personal driver was arrested on May 21st, accused of providing assistance in transporting artifacts to houses owned by the Trabelsis and Materis, both in-laws of the ousted president. Some of the pieces were allegedly used as columns, kitchen tables and as the balustrade of a swimming pool.

An official at the National Institute of Archaeology admitted that the Bardo Museum's collection was missing 87 pieces that were stolen from its warehouse in 2009.

The visit by the education minister underlined the joint efforts with the culture ministry to spread knowledge about Tunisian's rich history in educational institutions. Officials hope to trigger new interest in students about their national identity. Baccouch reiterated to Magharebia the intent of his ministry to include heritage in education curricula beginning with preschool.

The next generation of Tunisians must become the protector of their heritage, Ali Marzouki said. He suggested that educational institutions adopt programs for school trips and excursions to museums and archaeological sites to bring the children and youths closer to their history and heritage. Marzouki also brought attention to the importance of the role of citizens in reporting to any kind of looting or robbery.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/05/27/feature-04.

Mauritanian divorcees wield uncommon power

Divorce is usually met with tears and pain. In Mauritania – at least for women – it is cause for a party.

By Mohamed Yahya Ould Abdel Wedoud for Magharebia in Nouakchott -27/05/11

Mauritania is outpacing its Maghreb neighbors when it comes to gender equality. Polygamy is rare. Women achieve high government office. They can also divorce and remarry as often as they like.

It is the divorce part that worries Mauritanian men the most.

Four out of ten Mauritanian marriages end in divorce, often because the husband cannot support his household. High unemployment makes the situation worse. For men contemplating marriage and those trying to keep their wives, times are tough.

Mauritanian women, on the other hand, have parties. Friends and family of the runaway brides join in the celebrations.

There is no social stigma attached to a failed marriage. If a woman does not get it right the first time, she can always give it another go.

"According to Mauritanian customs, the divorced woman is received with trills of joy and overwhelming happiness by her family, friends and neighbors, which lifts up her spirits and gives her the confidence to build another nest after the destruction of her first one," says social analyst Ahmed Ould Abdellatif.

"Society's excessive leniency toward divorced women and high dowry are behind many divorce cases in Mauritanian society," he tells Magharebia.

"There is no shame or sadness if the marriage ends," he explains. "In some areas of the country, celebratory gunshots are fired in the air to welcome the divorcee back home."

Aminetou Mint El Moustaffa married at 18, gave birth to a son and then sought a divorce. Before she turned 20, she had a new husband.

"I was certain I'd get married again, and why not?" she laughs. "Marriage is in God's hands. He gives it to whom He pleases and when He pleases. It's fate and divine decree!"

Meimoune Bint Taher, a housewife, says, "As Mauritanians, we are proud of this custom and adhere to it, as we consider it to be a humane custom and not in opposition to religion or good morals."

"Some women in other countries fall prey to their husbands and society is behind that," she says. "That's unjust and inhumane, and strikes at the heart of women's freedom," she stresses.

More than 70% of Mauritanian divorcees wed a second time, and approximately 55% marry a third time. There is no fear of social stigma.

"Mauritanian men have a great understanding of the psychological and social circumstances of divorced women," she says with a smile.

Mauritania also differs from some other Arab countries in that polygamy is uncommon. Social analyst Moktar Ould Alyen says: "The norm in marital agreements is to add the following sentence: 'no spouse before, no spouse after, and if so, the decision is in the woman's hands' , which implies dissolution of the marriage if the groom gets married to another woman."

"Mauritanian women attained all their rights without any real struggle, contrary to their sisters in many Arab and Islamic countries," he adds. "Women in Mauritania sit on the most important ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, occupy all positions and even run for the presidency."

All things considered, Moktar concludes, "Mauritanian women are pampered. And leblouh, or fattening, is evidence of that."

Some men in Mauritania are alarmed by what they call "the power of women", arguing that it threatens men economically, psychologically and socially.

Mohamed Ould Zein El Abidine in 2008 launched a non-governmental organization to defend men's rights. In his fifties, he appears tired and worn out, with sweat dripping on his face.

It has been a long fight, this battle to "protect men from women's oppression and establish a ministry for the protection of men's stolen rights", he says.

"Women stole everything from men in this country," he exclaims. "The judiciary sympathizes with women, as does society, and the ministries are all occupied by women!"

"When I tried to fight this reality by filing an application for a license to found an organization defending men's rights, a group of female secretaries at the Ministry of the Interior detained the request for nine months in the labyrinths of the ministry," he says.

The social affairs ministry contains a bureau for family conflicts. Magharebia asked the ministry's legal adviser, Sidi Athman Mohamed, about Ould Zein El Abidine's position that men are in such dire straits that they need their own NGO to protect their rights.

"I think, simply, that this man did not come to this ministry," Mohamed tells Magharebia. "It is clear that he has prior judgments. Perhaps he has personal problems with some women that he is trying to generalize."

He adds, "The ministry is here to serve both sexes, with full equality and justice, and to attend to the resolution of family disputes, not only for women."

"Women must get all their rights, but that was not and will not be at the expense of men," Mohamed says.

Many women take pride in having a number of ex-husbands, seeing serial marriages as proof of their beauty and desirability.

"Some women boast about the number of times they entered wedlock," says social activist El Mamy Ould Mohamed. "We often hear someone say she was married four or five times, as though that were the biggest proof of her beauty, lineage and femininity, which enabled her to attract more husbands."

This means that a divorce is welcome even before it happens, the activist explains. "This has negative consequences for society in general," he tells Magharebia.

"We have the saying, 'The most hated permissible thing to God is divorce'." Mohamed adds. "Quite simply, I do not see a winner in the divorce process, whatever happens."

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/reportage/2011/05/27/reportage-01.

Tunisia, Morocco ink defense cooperation deal

2011-05-27

Tunisia and Morocco on Thursday (May 26th) finalized a military co-operation agreement, TAP reported. Under the accord signed in Tunis, the countries will launch a joint military committee, which will be charged with improving information exchanges and organizing training partnerships.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/05/27/newsbrief-03.

Mauritania plans national elections

2011-05-27

In preparation for next fall's municipal and legislative elections, Mauritania will begin revising the national electoral rolls on June 1st, ANI reported on Thursday (May 26th). The interior ministry said it would rely on the list from the 2009 presidential election because the vote was based on the consensual Dakar Agreement. The 2009 rolls, however, do not list some 600,000 voters, including 200,000 returnees from Senegal who lack national identity documents.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/05/27/newsbrief-04.

North Korea frees American detained for half year

By LOUISE WATT - Associated Press
Sat, May 28, 2011

BEIJING (AP) — North Korea freed an American held for a half year for reportedly proselytizing, handing him Saturday to a U.S. envoy who said Washington had not promised to provide aid in exchange for the man's release.

The envoy, Robert King, accompanied Eddie Jun on a flight from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, and told reporters after arriving in Beijing that Jun would return to the United States to be reunited with his family "within a day or two."

Jun did not appear with King before reporters in Beijing. Jun, dressed in a dark windbreaker, appeared in good spirits, smiling with King as they boarded the plane in Pyongyang, according to footage from Associated Press Television News.

Jun, a Korean-American from California who traveled to North Korea several times and had business interests there, was arrested in November, with the North's official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, saying he was accused of committing a serious crime. Pyongyang didn't provide details about the alleged crime, but South Korean press reports say Jun was accused of spreading Christianity.

King, the U.S. envoy for North Korean human rights, traveled to Pyongyang with a team of specialists earlier in the week to assess the severity of the latest of North Korea's chronic food shortages. He said he spent 3 1/2 days in talks with North Korean Foreign Ministry officials. He did not specify how much time was spent discussing Jun but tried to quash any speculation that the U.S. had offered aid to obtain his freedom.

"We did not negotiate or agree to any provision of food assistance," King told reporters. He said he would report back to Washington.

KCNA announced Friday that North Korea would release Jun after King "expressed regret at the incident on behalf of the U.S. government and assured that it would make all its efforts to prevent the recurrence of similar incident."

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Friday that he did not have details on the talks and could not confirm whether King had expressed regret. He said Jun was in decent health, with King having visited him Thursday.

"We welcome their decision. It's certainly a positive step," Toner told a news conference.

Toner said the release would have no bearing on the U.S. decision on whether to provide food aid and on restarting dialogue with the North. On engaging North Korea, Toner said the U.S. was still looking for "concrete actions" in other areas and an improvement in the North's relations with South Korea.

The United States, which fought on South Korea's side during the 1950-53 Korean War, doesn't have diplomatic staff based in North Korea. Negotiations on establishing relations have gotten snagged amid North Korea's efforts to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles and its provocations toward South Korea.

In recent years, North Korea has detained several Americans, one of them for trying to proselytize, and they were often freed only after high-profile negotiations. North Korea has said that former President Jimmy Carter asked for Jun's pardon during a visit last month.

North Korea officially guarantees freedom of religion, but authorities often crack down on Christians, who are seen as a Western-influenced threat to the government. The distribution of Bibles and secret prayer services can mean banishment to a labor camp or execution, defectors from the country have said.

The news on Jun came on the same day North Korean leader Kim Jong Il returned home from a weeklong trip to China. Kim's visit there, his third in just over a year, was seen by many as an attempt to secure aid, investment and support for his dynastic transfer of power to his youngest son, Kim Jong Un.

Kim Jong Il, in a thank-you letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao, said the China-North Korea friendship, "sealed in blood and handed down by the elder generations of the two countries, will develop steadily through generations in the common interests and wishes of the two peoples," according to the North's state media.

North Korea is thought by many to be in dire need of outside help, and China is its only major ally. The North has antagonized many through its pursuit of nuclear weapons. It pulled out of international six-nation talks aimed at ridding it of nuclear programs more than two years ago.

Beijing supports a resumption of the negotiations, but South Korea and the United States demand that North Korea first exhibit sincerity toward disarmament.

North Korea's population also faces chronic hunger.

The U.N. World Food Program launched a $200 million dollar international appeal late last month after it concluded that more than 6 million of North Korea's 23 million people were in urgent need of aid. It said the North's public distribution system would run out of food between May and July.

___

Associated Press writers Foster Klug in Seoul, South Korea, and Matthew Pennington in Washington contributed to this report.

Egypt permanently opens Gaza border crossing

By IBRAHIM BARZAK - Associated Press
Sat, May 28, 2011

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Egypt lifted a four-year-old blockade on the Gaza Strip's main link to the outside world Saturday, bringing relief to the crowded territory's 1.5 million Palestinians but deepening a rift with Israel since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak earlier this year.

The Egyptian move will allow thousands of Gazans to move freely in and out of the area — heightening Israeli fears that militants and weapons could easily reach its doorstep.

Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade after the Islamic militant Hamas seized control of Gaza in June 2007. The closure, which also included tight Israeli restrictions at its cargo crossings with Gaza and a naval blockade, was meant to weaken Hamas, but it also fueled an economic crisis in the densely populated territory.

Hundreds of Gazans gathered early Saturday as the first bus load of passengers crossed the border at 9 a.m. Two Egyptian officers stood guard next to a large Egyptian flag atop the border gate as the vehicle rumbled through.

Rami Arafat, 52, was among the earliest arrivals. He said he hoped to catch a flight out of Cairo on Sunday to Algeria for his daughter's wedding.

"All we need is to travel like humans, be treated with dignity, and feel like any other citizens of the world who can travel in and out freely," Arafat said. He said he believed the relaxing of travel restrictions "will guarantee more support from all Arabs and Palestinians for the new Egyptian regime."

Nearby, 28-year-old Khaled Halaweh said he was headed to Egypt to study for a master's degree in engineering at Alexandria University.

"The closure did not affect only the travel of passengers or the flowing of goods. Our brains and our thoughts were under blockade," said Halaweh, who said he hadn't been out of Gaza for seven years.

Until Saturday, the Rafah border terminal had functioned at a limited capacity. Only certain classes of people, such as students, businessmen or medical patients, were eligible to travel and the crossing was often subject to closures, leading to huge backlogs that forced people to wait for months.

Under the new system, most restrictions are being lifted, and a much larger number of Palestinians are expected to be able to cross each day.

Inside the border terminal Saturday, the atmosphere was orderly, as Hamas police called up passengers one by one to register their travel documents.

After 5½ hours of operation, terminal officials said 340 people had crossed from Gaza into Egypt. None were forced to return, a departure from the past when Egypt had rejected passengers found to be on "blacklists." Another 150 people crossed from Egypt into Gaza.

"Today is a cornerstone for a new era that we hope will pave the road to ending the siege and blockade on Gaza," said Hatem Awideh, director general of the Hamas border authority in Gaza. "We hope this facilitation by our Egyptian brothers will improve travel and will allow everyone to leave Gaza."

One after another buses crossed Rafah, pulling blue carts behind them with luggage piled high. Inside the terminal, many waited with high hopes.

One woman, who gave her name as Aisha, said she was headed for a long overdue medical checkup in Cairo. She underwent surgery for blocked arteries at a Cairo hospital in October, but Egyptian authorities had prevented her from returning for checkups because a distant relative was caught — and killed — operating a smuggling tunnel on the Gaza-Egypt border. During the four-year blockade, a thriving smuggling business has grown along the border.

Salama Baraka, head of police at the Rafah terminal on the Gaza side, said travel has been limited to about 300 passengers a day under the old system. He said it was unclear how many people would pass through Saturday, but that officials hoped to get about three days' worth of people, or roughly 900, across.

About 100 Hamas supporters marched with Palestinian and Egyptian flags outside the border terminal in a gesture of gratitude to Egypt.

"This courageous step by Egypt reflects the deep historic relations between the Palestinian and Egyptian nations," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zahri. "We hope this will be a step in the long process to end the blockade imposed on Gaza."

The new system will not resolve Gazans' travel woes completely.

While Egypt has dropped its restrictions on who can travel, bureaucratic obstacles remain. Men between the ages of 18 and 40 will have to apply for Egyptian visas, a process that can take weeks. Women, children and older men need easier-to-obtain travel permits, which can be obtained in several days.

Israel, which controls Gaza's cargo crossings, allows most consumer goods into Gaza, but it still restricts exports as well as the entry of much-needed construction materials, saying they could be used by militants. Israel also enforces a naval blockade aimed at weapons smuggling.

Israeli and American officials have expressed concerns that Hamas will exploit the opening to bring weapons and fighters into Gaza. In January 2008, masked militants blew open the Rafah border wall, allowing thousands of people to pour in and out of Egypt.

Egyptian officials say they have security measures in place to keep weapons from crossing through Rafah.

Hamas has long used tunnels to get arms into Gaza. Gaza militants now have military-grade rockets that have hit cities in southern Israel.

Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli Defense Ministry official, told Channel 2 TV Friday that Israel's primary concern is that military training personnel could cross to instruct Hamas fighters.

"One trainer who tells them how to set up the rockets and how to use them is equal to a large quantity of weapons," Gilad said.

Egypt's decision to open the border is also meant to boost an Egyptian-mediated unity deal between the rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah. Hamas has governed Gaza since routing Fatah forces in 2007, leaving the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in control only of the West Bank.

Last month, the Egyptian regime brokered a reconciliation deal. With details still being worked out, Hamas will be in charge of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, but Egypt coordinated the opening with the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank, said Yaser Afnan, Egypt's ambassador in the West Bank.

Obama nominates new defense, CIA chiefs

May 26, 2011

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Thursday formally nominated Leon Panetta as his new secretary of defense and David Petraeus, who commands the international force in Afghanistan, as Panetta's successor at the CIA.

Obama had first said he planned to nominate Panetta and Petraeus on April 28, just days before US commandos entered Pakistan and shot and killed Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

The US Senate must confirm both men, but neither is expected to encounter any serious opposition there.

The White House hopes that Panetta, whose mission would include cutting spending at the Defense Department, would be able to move into the job on June 30, the day current Defense chief Robert Gates is set to leave.

Petraeus will continue to lead the international force in Afghanistan until his successor, General John Allen, takes over in September. Petraeus will retire from the military before moving to the CIA.

The United States began troop withdrawals from Afghanistan this year, making good on a promise by Obama to reduce US troop levels there, although it is not clear how soon or how many additional troops will leave.

A new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is the president's top military adviser, is also expected to be nominated next month. General Martin Dempsey, the current Army chief of staff, is considered Obama's likely choice to replace Admiral Michael Mullen, according to Pentagon officials.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Jordanians protest, demanding government change

AFP, Friday 27 May 2011

More than 1,000 Jordanians demonstrated in the southern town of Tafileh Friday, demanding the fall of the government and urging an end to corruption, protesters said.

Rallied by a group calling itself "The Youth of Tafileh", protesters chanted slogans such as "People want the government to fall", "We will not be silent and continue to expose corruption", and "Destiny will help the people who want to survive."

The Friday protests come as King Abdullah II urged the government Wednesday to "protect the innocent victims of slander and hatred", including members of his family.

Prime Minister Maaruf Bakhit said Thursday that "the government will take the necessary legal measures against all those who accuse officials of corruption without proof."

Since January, Jordan has been facing a protest movement demanding political and economic reforms, and an end to corruption.

In response, King Abdullah on April 26 created a commission to propose constitutional reform.

Source: Ahram.
Link: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/13079.aspx.

Turkey: Israel should avoid flotilla face-off

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
May 27, 2011

ANKARA: Turkey’s foreign minister says he hopes Israel will avoid confrontation as a new aid flotilla prepares to depart for the Gaza Strip.

Ahmet Davutoglu said in an interview aired on Ulke TV late Thursday that he believes Israel “has gained sufficient experience” after last year’s Israeli raid on a flotilla that killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American and sparked international outrage. Each side accused the other of starting the violence.

A coalition of pro-Palestinian groups say a flotilla will set sail in the third week of June. Israel has vowed to stop any attempt to breach its sea blockade of Gaza.

A Turkish Islamic aid group said it expects the convoy to be at least twice as big as the one that attempted to reach Gaza last year.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article434744.ece.

Chaos, fatal battles spread outside Yemeni capital

By AHMED AL-HAJ | AP
May 27, 2011

SANAA, Yemen: The deadly fighting that rocked the Yemeni capital this week has spread beyond Sanaa after armed tribesmen seeking to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh seized two military camps in battles that killed at least 18 and prompted airstrikes by government warplanes, a tribal leader said.

Friday’s fighting brought to at least 124 the number killed in the past five days of bloodshed, which has hiked fears that the Arab world’s poorest country could be thrown into civil war as Saleh clings to power in the face of peaceful protests demanding his ouster.

There were new signs that the fighting in and around Sanaa could cause a wider breakdown in a country where numerous armed groups operate. On Friday, Islamic militants went on a rampage in a southern city, taking control of a police station, banks and government buildings, security officials and witnesses said.

This week’s street battles in Sanaa have pitted Saleh’s security forces and fighters from Yemen’s most powerful tribal confederation, the Hashid, which has joined the popular uprising against the longtime ruler.

Friday’s assault on the Republican Guard base in the Fardha Nehem region was the most significant escalation yet outside the capital. Tribal fighters allied to the Hashid stormed the camp, 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Sanaa, and killed tens of troops — including the base commander — in the fighting, said local tribal leader Sheik Ali Saif.

After the fighters captured the camp, government airplanes bombed them and other forces clashed with them on the ground, he said. At least 18 tribesmen were killed, Saif said.

Tribal fighters then assaulted two helicopters that landed nearby, capturing them and a number of soldiers and shooting down a third helicopter, Saif said. Yemen’s Interior Ministry denied the base’s capture in a statement.

Saif said the tribe attacked the base to prevent its soldiers from heading to Sanaa to reinforce government troops there. The Republican Guard is one of Yemen’s best trained and equipped forces. It is commanded by one of Saleh’s sons and has remained loyal to the president even as other military units have defected.

Late Friday, tribal fighters seized another army base nearby after striking a deal with the soldiers inside that allowed them to leave with their personal weapons, local tribal leader Abdul-Moin Al-Sharif said. No one was injured.

The week’s fighting has terrified residents of the capital Sanaa, and many have packed up their cars and fled the city. Tens of thousand massed in the central square that has been the focus of the anti-Saleh protests for a march they said sought to “confirm the peacefulness of the revolution.” Addressing the crowd, Sheik Sadeq Al-Ahmar, head of the Hashid, blamed Saleh for the week’s violence.

“The war came down on our heads, but are holding strong and victorious,” the 55-year-old leader said. “We want to remain peaceful, but if Ali Abdullah Saleh wants war, we are ready to face him and those around him.” For the first Friday since the uprising began, Saleh did not hold a boisterous rally for his supporters, apparently due to security concerns.

UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said she was “deeply alarmed by the escalating violence in Yemen” and called on all parties to protect civilians “and to spare them from the effect of further hostilities.” She cited reports of many families leaving Sanaa and expressed concern that “continued confrontations could force large numbers of people to flee their homes, with serious humanitarian consequences.” “Many Yemenis already face shortages of food, fuel and other basic necessities,” Amos said in a statement. “The UN is monitoring the situation, and stands ready to offer assistance if needed.” The battles broke out Monday after an attempt by government forces to storm Al-Ahmar’s compound in the heart of Sanaa. By Thursday, the clashes had widened to include areas around Sanaa’s airport, and other tribes had joined in alongside Al-Ahmar’s Hashid. On Friday, however, there were no reports of fighting in Sanaa, and Hashid gunmen solidified control over government buildings they’d seized, setting up checkpoints and searching those seeking to pass.

The fighting could open a new chapter in Yemen’s turmoil.

Until now, Saleh’s opponents have stuck to peaceful protests massing hundreds of thousands around the country.

Several military units, along with tribal powerhouses like the Hashid, have joined the opposition, but they have avoided violent confrontations with Saleh’s loyalists.

But Saleh has managed to cling to power despite defections, protests and pressure from Arab neighbors and Western powers to leave office. Efforts to mediate his exit collapsed last week when the president refused to sign a deal for him to step down in 30 days.

Saleh has retained the loyalty of the regime’s most elite military units — all commanded by close relatives.

The escalation with the tribes could strain that hold.

Under Yemen’s ancient codes, tribal leaders can declare that members follow their orders above all others — potentially forcing soldiers in pro-Saleh units to choose between their clan and military loyalties. So far, there have been no apparent signals of mass defections from the pro-Saleh units since the fighting with the Hashid began.

Most of Yemen’s tribes boast heavily armed militias loyal to their chiefs. The northern-based tribes that make up the Hashid confederation hold powerful business and government interests. Yemen’s other main tribal confederation, the southern-based Bakeel, is larger but has less political and economic power and, with many more tribes, is less cohesive. Most Bakeel tribes have turned against Saleh.

Also Friday, hundreds of Islamic militants seized control in Zinjibar, the capital of the southern province of Abyan, killing eight policemen and two civilians in gunfights with guards, security officials said. The fighters took over two banks, the city’s tax bureau and two security offices.

After the fight, the men could be seen driving freely around the city. A local army division made no effort to confront the militants, witnesses said.

Many fear militants will exploit Yemen’s turmoil to take power. Officials said Friday’s attackers were likely local Islamic militants who could be associated with Al-Qaeda.

They spoke on condition of anonymity under government rules.

But Yemen has numerous Islamic militants who are not members of Al-Qaeda’s branch in the country. Veterans of “jihad” in other countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, they have often been used by Saleh’s regime to fight its opponents.

Ali Dahmis, a political analyst in Zinjibar, accused the regime of collusion in the assault on the city Friday.

“This is a theater produced by the regime to distract from the events in Sanaa and show that Al-Qaeda is a threat,” he said.

The escalating violence has prompted the State Department to order nonessential US diplomats and their families to leave the country. Britain said it would scale back its embassy staff, while Germany and other countries issued travel warnings.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article435085.ece.

As toll mounts, Syrians opt for nighttime protests

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
May 27, 2011

BEIRUT: Syrian security forces opened fire on anti-government demonstrations Friday, killing at least eight people as thousands took to the streets, human rights activists and witnesses said.

The casualties included three people in Qatana, a suburb of the capital, and four in the southern village of Dael, according to local coordination committees in Syria, which helped organize the protests. One person was also reported killed near the border with Lebanon.

The 10-week protests have evolved from a disparate movement demanding reforms to a resilient uprising that is now seeking President Bashar Assad's ouster. On Friday, protests erupted in the capital, Damascus, and the coastal city of Banias, the central city of Homs and elsewhere.

Human rights groups say more than 1,000 people have been killed since the revolt began in mid-March.

Many activists have been opting for nighttime demonstrations and candlelight vigils in recent days, aiming for a time when the security presence has thinned out. "We refuse to let them sleep," a 28-year-old Dael resident said of the security forces. "We drive them crazy, as soon as they come to the neighborhood we go quiet and they get lost. And then we start again when they leave," he told The Associated Press.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article434912.ece.

Jordan premier under fresh pressure to resign

By ABDUL JALIL MUSTAFA | ARAB NEWS
May 27, 2011

AMMAN: Hundreds of Jordanians demonstrated in Tafileh, 180 km south of Amman, on Friday demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit’s government, eyewitnesses said.

The protesters also urged the dissolution of the lower house of Parliament and severing diplomatic ties with Israel.

“The people want the resignation of Bakhit,” one of the slogans chanted said. Another read “You should step down, Bakhit, because you have no intention of conducting reforms”.

The demonstrators celebrated the resignation on Thursday of the Justice Minister Hussein Megalli and Health Minister Yassin Hosban.

Bakhit told a press conference on Thursday the two ministers resigned in connection with the illegal departure from the country on Feb. 25 of the convicted businessman Khalid Shahin.

However, the two ministers indicated in remarks to the local media that their quitting from the Cabinet had nothing today with Shahin’s affair which dominated local politics over the past three month.

Shahin, who is currently in London, was serving a three-year jail term when the authorities caught the public opinion with surprise by declaring that he was allowed to travel abroad to receive medical treatment which he lacked locally.

Bakhit apparently had ordered the two ministers to submit their resignation after King Abdallah sent him a strongly-worded letter ordering him to take “transparent legal steps” to punish those were involved in corruption cases that surfaced recently, political sources said.

In his resignation letter to Bakhit, Megalli said he had decided to step down “after he found the government’s priorities in disarray and the path of reform deadlocked”.

The demonstrators in Tafileh also burned an Israeli flag and urged the abrogation of the peace treaty with Israel.

They said that they were responding to a move by the extremist member of the Israeli Knesset, Arieh Eldad, who on Monday approached the Jordanian Embassy in Israel with a petition calling on King Abdallah to set up a Palestinian state in Jordan instead of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The Jordanian diplomatic mission refused to receive the document and called Israeli police who removed Eldad, a member of the National Union Party, from the area.

A similar demonstration was also staged after Friday prayers in the city of Maan, 210 km south of Amman.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article434739.ece.

Yemen: Call for 1 million to join march

Friday 27 May 2011
Tom Finn

Huge demonstrations expected after Friday prayers as opposition figures accuse President Saleh of fomenting violence.

As Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh's troops and Sadeq al-Ahmar's guards wage war in the eastern Sana'a neighborhood of Hasaba, protesters at Change Square a few miles north of the capital are continuing their peaceful efforts to oust Saleh, saying they are determined to stop their country from sliding into civil war.

Senior opposition figures have accused Saleh of deliberately stirring violence with the Hashid tribe to divert attention from a peaceful uprising that is entering its fifth month.

"Saleh is trying to portray this as a conflict between him and al-Ahmar's family when really it's between him and the entire Yemeni people," said Fatima al-Rayzi, one of thousands of veiled female protesters in Change Square. "Our demand and our methods remain the same. We want a new, accountable, corruption-free government and a better distribution of wealth, and we will continue to demand peacefully for those things until we get them."

Others protesters say they have joined Ahmar and his tribe, but only as volunteers helping to treat the wounded in a field hospital.

Huge demonstrations are expected across Yemen after prayers on Friday, after protesters called for a "million-man" march and a "day of peaceful revolution to defy the small minority seeking violence".

Source: The Guardian.
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/27/yemen-call-for-million-march.

Tunisia blocks access to porn sites

Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
May 27, 2011

The court of first instance issued the ruling on Thursday after three lawyers filed a case to re-impose a block of porn sites.

Manama: A Tunisian court has ordered the blocking of all pornographic websites in the country within 48 hours.

The court of first instance issued the ruling on Thursday after three lawyers, Ahmed Hasana, Monem Turki and Imed Saadia, last week filed a legal case to re-impose a block of porn sites that was lifted following the uprising that toppled the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 14.

In their pleadings, the three lawyers highlighted the "negative psychological, physiological, social and educational effects" of pornographic websites and said that pornography clashed with the values of the Arab-Islamic society.

The ban on access to the sites was lifted in January following calls for more individual freedoms and rights. In December, the British government said that it wanted to combat the early sexualization of children by blocking internet pornography unless parents request it, British media reported.

The move followed warnings about the hidden damage being done to children by sex sites. "Instead of using parental controls to stop access to pornography - so-called ‘opting out' - the tap will be turned off at source. Adults will then have to ‘opt in'," Sunday Times reported. However, according to internet service providers (ISPs), plans to block pornography "at source" are unlikely to prove effective.

"Technical challenges mean any large scale filtering system is doomed to failure," they said.

Source: Gulf News.
Link: http://gulfnews.com/news/region/tunisia/tunisia-blocks-access-to-porn-sites-1.813640.

Qatar suspends Yemen embassy oper.

Thu May 26, 2011

Qatar has temporarily suspended the operation of its embassy in Yemen and has withdrawn its diplomatic staff members from the country due to violence.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the decision was made because of the lack of response to the initiative and appeals to resolve the crisis in Yemen, Xinhua reported.

The diplomatic mission would return after the demands of the Yemeni people and their choices are met, the ministry said.

Qatar has taken the decisive step after Britain announced a similar move on Thursday to trim down its staff as the situation in Yemen is worsening since March 23.

The United States on Wednesday said it had ordered all non-essential embassy staff and family members to leave the Arab state.

More than 40 people were killed in clashes in the Libyan capital, Sana'a, on Thursday after President Ali Abdullah Saleh refused to sign a power transition deal brokered by the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council for the third time.

The deal calls on Saleh to step down within 30 days after signing the deal in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

Saleh said on Wednesday that he is prepared to escalate the campaign against anti-regime tribesmen, who are calling for his immediate ouster after almost 33 years of authoritarian rule.

“I will not leave power and I will not leave Yemen. I don't take orders from outside,” Saleh said.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/181916.html.

Bomb blast injures 8 in Turkey

Fri May 27, 2011

A bomb blast in the uptown Istanbul neighborhood in Turkey has wounded at least eight people, including a police officer.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack that happened on Thursday morning.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he suspects Kurdistan's Workers Party (PKK) to be responsible for the attack, Hurriyet daily reported.

The PKK is the main militant group whose insurgency began in the 1980s and has killed more than 40,000.

During an election campaign in the Central Anatolian province of Nigde, Erdogan told journalists that the explosion clearly points to the brutal face of terrorism.

He said once the investigation is completed, the details will be made public.

The blast was caused by a medium-strength bomb that was mounted on an electric bicycle near a bus stop in the Etiler neighborhood, the daily quoted Istanbul Police Chief Huseyin Capkin as saying.

Two people are seriously injured, including a 38-year-old woman who has reportedly lost her leg, he said.

The blast also damaged a public bus and a private vehicle passing by, as well as several buildings.

The bomb's target might have been the police, as the electric bicycle carrying the bomb was placed close to a nearby technical college for police.

Turkey is scheduled to hold general elections on June 12 with 50 million eligible voters voting for 15 political parties running for 550 seats in the parliament.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/181927.html.

Chaos spread in Yemen despite truce

Fri May 27, 2011

Despite a truce between Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the powerful Hashid tribe, fighter jets continue to strike tribesmen in the country's rural areas.

At least 18 loyalists of the Hashid tribe were killed in the aerial bombing of the al-Fardha Nehem region, 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of the capital Sana'a on Friday, a Press TV report said.

The air strikes came after tribesmen surrounded and captured two military camps belonging to the Republican Guards, led by the president's son, in order to stop troop deployment to Sana'a.

More than a dozen soldiers -- including a base commander -- were killed in the fighting, AP reported local tribal leader Sheik Ali Saif saying.

The tribesmen also seized two military helicopters and shot down a third, capturing all soldiers on board, Saif added.

Yemen's Interior Ministry, however, denied the base's capture in a statement.

The latest deaths bring to over 124 the number of tribesmen killed during the past five days.

This week's fighting has stoked local and international fears that the Arab world's poorest country could be thrown into civil war.

This is while, tens of thousands of Yemeni anti-government protesters once again massed in the capital's central square on Friday, seeking to confirm the peacefulness of their revolution.

Addressing the crowd, Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar, head of the Hashid tribe, renewed calls on President Saleh to step down and blamed the embattled president for the recent violence.

“We want to remain peaceful, but if Ali Abdullah Saleh wants war, we are ready to face him and those around him,'' the 55-year-old leader said.

Ahmar made the warning after declaring that he had reached a ceasefire with forces loyal to Saleh, following five days of intense street battle.

International pressure on President Saleh continues to mount up, urging him to sign the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC) brokered deal.

The isolated Yemeni president, who has been in power for almost 33 years, has repeatedly refused to sign the [P]GCC initiative that would see him resign in return for immunity from prosecution.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/182050.html.

Bahraini forces attack villages

Fri May 27, 2011

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have attacked anti-government protesters in several villages across the Persian Gulf sheikdom.

Witnesses say regime troops used tear gas and concussion bombs to disperse protesters in Diraz, Bani Jamrah and some other villages on Friday.

The protesters called for an end to the Al Khalifa rule and the immediate release of detained anti-government protesters.

According to witnesses, Bahraini protesters in recent days have their faces covered to avoid recognition by regime forces.

Saudi-backed Bahraini troops have arrested hundreds of anti-government protesters during overnight operations after identifying them based on pictures taken from opposition rallies.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or arrests on Friday.

Since the beginning of anti-regime protests in Bahrain in mid-February, Manama has launched a harsh crackdown on anti-government protesters, rounding up senior opposition figures and activists in dawn raids and arresting doctors, nurses, lawyers and journalists who have voiced support for the protest movement.

While the whereabouts of many detainees are still unknown, Bahraini authorities have begun to try a number of detained activists in what the opposition calls kangaroo courts.

Protesters have been charged with several counts such as attempting to overthrow the monarchy, and they are being tried in a special security court set up under martial law.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have criticized the Bahraini government for its brutal crackdown on civilians.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which visits detainees in conflict situations, has been trying to see and contact Bahraini detained activists since mid-March. But so far Manama has refused to grant it permission.

Meanwhile, Bahrain's state news agency says that military prosecutors have asked the country's highest court to review death penalties issued against two anti-regime protesters.

Human Rights Watch as also called on the country to stop trying civilians in military courts.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/182019.html.

35 mosques, 8 Husseiniyahs attacked in Bahrain

Saturday, May 28, 2011

The head of Bahrain's Ja’afari Endowments, Ahmed Hussein, has said that Al Khalifa regime attacked 45 holy sites over the past few days.

In a letter to Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Hussein said that the troops had demolished 28 mosques, adding, seven mosques, eight Husseiniyahs (congregation halls for Shia ritual ceremonies) and two tombs were also attacked and damaged in the country, IRNA reported on Wednesday.

He expressed hope that the Bahraini regime would take necessary measures to reconstruct the destroyed mosques and compensate for the damage.

The regime has begun destroying mosques as well as houses of some dissidents since dispatch of Saudi Arabia's military forces to the country.

Anti-government protests against the rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty in Bahrain began in mid-February. Since then, the Manama regime has unleashed a massive brutal crackdown on the protesters.

Scores of people have been killed and many more arrested in the Saudi-backed crackdown on peaceful protests in the Persian Gulf state -- a longtime ally of Washington and home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.

Bahrain's peace ranking falls 51 places

Bahrain's world ranking in the 2011 Global Peace Index has plummeted 51 places to 123 out of 153 countries, a new study says.

The study, carried out by the Institute for Economics and Peace, said on Thursday Bahrain's score has deteriorated by the second-largest margin after Libya, which declined 83 places to 143rd position.

The fall was due to the growing unrest and Manama's Saudi-backed crackdown on peaceful anti-regime protests since mid-February.

Source: Tehran Times.
Link: http://old.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=241491.

Al-Qaida takes over several government buildings in south Yemen: official

SANAA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Yemen-based al-Qaida branch on Friday took over several government buildings, including two state- run banks, in the southern province of Abyan, a provincial government official told Xinhua.

"Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula defeated government forces on Friday following fierce clashes in Zinjibar, the provincial capital city of Abyan, and controlled almost the whole strategic city including the government facilities," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"They (AQAP) seized the headquarters of the General Security Camp, the building of Civil Status, and two state-owned banks of Al-Ahli and the Agricultural Cooperative Credit Bank," he said, adding that they also seized several privately-owned companies.

He also affirmed that fighters of AQAP are now controlling almost the whole city of Zinjibar and setting up their own checkpoints at all three entrances of the city.

A doctor at Al-Razi Hospital said they had received one body of al-Qaida militants, while 15 others, including three citizens, were sent to the hospital with serious injuries.

Meanwhile, an eyewitness told Xinhua that Yemeni fighter jets were striking Khanfar Mountain in Jaar city, which is a stronghold of AQAP and located nearby Zinjibar city.

AQAP has launched many sporadic attacks on Zinjibar in an attempt to take over it since the eruption of the four-month-long anti-government protests aiming at ousting Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power since 1978.

Abyan, some 480 km south of the capital Sanaa, is a key stronghold of resurgent AQAP which has carried out frequent attacks against the Yemeni security and military personnel since 2009.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/27/c_13897708.htm.

Somali breakaway state needs recognition, says leader

By Simon Allison (AFP) – May 27, 2011

HARGEISA, Somalia — The leader of Somaliland has called on the international community to give the breakaway state the recognition it "deserves" as it marks 20 years since a unilateral declaration of independence.

"It's high time the international community gave consideration to the efforts of the people of Somaliland, and gives the recognition that the people of Somaliland need and deserve," Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo, the self-styled president of Somaliland, told AFP in an interview.

Somaliland broke away from Somalia proper in 1991, the year in which the Horn of Africa nation started its long descent into violence and chaos with the overthrow of strongman president Mohamed Siad Barre.

Somaliland, which has had two decades of relative stability, last week celebrated the 20th anniversary of its "independence" declaration although it remains part of Somalia in the eyes of the international community.

Silanyo argued the impending recognition of South Sudan would strengthen Somaliland's case for recognition.

"One problem with the African Union has been the idea that African borders should not be changed ... But that argument does not hold true anymore," said Silanyo, pointing out that in contrast to Sudan, which was a single country in colonial times, Somaliland was already separate from the rest of Somalia.

Silanyo said the problems in the rest of Somalia should not be allowed to hinder the development of Somaliland.

"The international community can see that the possibility of change in Somalia does not even appear on the horizon and that there is no reason why we should be held hostage for solutions to be found for Somalia," he said.

"We hope that the international community will find solutions for Somalia, and we support the efforts of the international community in this regard, but certainly that should not be at our cost."

Silanyo said that not having international recognition deprives Somaliland of its "rightful seat in the UN and AU" and means it receives no development aid.

On the various secessionist movements operating from within Somaliland -- specifically those in the Sool and Sanaag regions -- Silanyo said: "There are protests all over the world ... We are no exception."

He argued Somaliland is the most peaceful part of the region and that it has gone a long way towards establishing a democratic and participatory government. "If there are complaints here and there, so what?" said Silanyo, who is Somaliland's fourth president since the territory uproclaimed its independence.

Silanyo, who has a degree from the London School of Economics and runs the Kulmiye party, took over from Dahir Riyale Kahin after winning the June 2010 polls. The vote was held without violence and the outgoing president gracefully conceded defeat.

Many voters and politicians voiced the hope that such a smooth transfer of power would once again prove their democratic credentials and strengthen their territory's case for international recognition.

Some Western countries argue Somaliland deserves to become a fully-fledged country and thus gain access to more aid but the African Union is wary of setting a precedent they fear could spur secessions across the continent.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Uyghur Repatriation Imminent

2011-05-27

A Uyghur is denied political asylum in Kazakhstan and faces extradition to China.

An ethnic Uyghur, once acknowledged by the U.N. as a refugee, is set to be deported to China after a Kazakh court refused to grant him political asylum, according to his brother.

Ershidin Israil, 38, fled to Kazakhstan in the aftermath of deadly riots in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and has been held by Kazakh authorities since June last year amid Chinese accusations he was involved in "terrorism."

Experts say the court ruling on Wednesday called into question Kazakhstan's adherence to international obligations in the face of increased pressure from neighboring China where Israil could be severely punished on his return.

Seeking political asylum in Kazakhstan may have been Israil’s last bid to stay out of China, whose anti-terrorism policy, according to rights groups, deliberately targets activists among ethnic minority communities such as Uyghurs and Tibetans.

If repatriated to his home country, he is likely to face harsh punishment in a specific case of informing RFA about the death in custody of a fellow Uyghur held by authorities for alleged involvement in July 2009 riots in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi.

His brother Enver Israil, who arrived in Kazakhstan three months ago, said he heard from his brother's lawyer that he was accused of being a terrorist by the Chinese police and that they had demanded his return.

"[The Chinese police] tortured a jailed protester to death and nobody is calling the Chinese terrorists, but my brother is accused of terrorism just because he told the media about the killing," he said in a phone interview Thursday from Almaty, the country’s largest city.

"Where is the justice?" he asked.

Seeking refuge

On Sept. 24, 2009, Israil fled on foot to Almaty from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), crossing the border without a passport after four nights of walking.

Chinese authorities in Ghulja, in Qorghas (in Chinese, Huocheng) county, Ili prefecture were searching for Israil for allegedly releasing details of the Sept. 18 beating death of Shohret Tursun, according to Israil’s sister-in-law.

Tursun was detained among a group of 40 Uyghurs in July 2009 around the time of ethnic riots in Urumqi that left some 200 dead.

His badly bruised and disfigured body was released to his relatives nearly two months later, prompting a standoff between authorities who wanted him buried immediately and family members who refused and demanded an inquiry into whether he had been beaten to death.

The family was forced to hold a burial for Tursun the following day.

In a previous RFA interview with Israil, he said he fled his hometown fearing harsh punishment from Chinese authorities as a two-time offender. Israil had previously served a six-year jail sentence in 1999 for "separatism."

After meeting with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Almaty, Israil was granted refugee status in March 2010 and accepted for resettlement in Sweden that April.

But while making final preparations to leave Kazakhstan, a UNHCR official informed Israil that Kazakh authorities had refused to supply him with the necessary documents to leave the country.

On April 3, Israil was moved into an apartment guarded around the clock by Kazakh police officers while the UNHCR investigated the delay in his resettlement.

In June 2010, he was detained by local authorities and has since attended a total of five hearings on his application for refugee status, all of which rejected his bid and ruled that he must be returned to China.

‘A terrible track record’

Exiled Uyghur dissident Rebiya Kadeer, president of the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC), said the Kazakh government is disregarding international law by moving to repatriate Israil.

She called the Chinese charges against him “an obvious abuse of the Geneva Convention rules,” adding that he had committed no crime aside from revealing how Uyghurs have been treated in the aftermath of the 2009 riots.

“I urge the U.N. and EU to take
 action," she said. “I would ask the 
Kazakh government to not forget our blood relations and to take 
into consideration the one million Uyghurs who are living in Kazakhstan."

Memet Tohti, the WUC representative in Geneva, said China is desperate to take Israil back to prevent him from talking about the abuses he had witnessed and in order to show other Uyghurs that they cannot defy the government and escape punishment.

"Ershidin was in jail for six years and he is aware of a number of tragic stories that have taken place in China's black jails," he said, referring to the country's growing number of unofficial detention centers which serve as holding camps for petitioners seeking redress against official wrongdoing.

"Secondly, Chinese authorities want to discourage Uyghurs in East Turkestan from taking part in the Uyghur freedom movement by showing them that they can get to them no matter in what part of the world they seek refuge."

Uyghur groups use the term “East Turkestan” to refer to a short-lived Uyghur government that existed before the communist takeover of Xinjiang or to assert their cultural distinctiveness from China proper.

Nury Turkel, a Uyghur American attorney based in Washington, said Kazakhstan’s refusal to grant Israil political asylum is the latest example of the country bowing to Chinese pressure.

“Kazakhstan has a terrible track record of repatriating or forcibly removing Uyghurs to China who were suspected of being involved in any political activities, and history certainly will not be kind to Kazakhstan,” he said.

“Kazakhstan—being under the Soviet Union for several years and knowing how it feels to be oppressed—I think it’s time for Kazakhstan to enjoy their sovereignty and make a decision based on their international obligations, not on the pressure by neighboring countries.”

An uncertain future

Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China, a New York- and Hong Kong-based group, said that as a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional group for security and economic cooperation in Eurasia, Kazakhstan has a number of obligations to fellow SCO states, particularly China.

“These include forcible returns to China of any individual or group suspected of terrorism, separatism, or extremism, including individuals who may have been granted refugee status by UNHCR,” Hom said.

“China has designated Central Asia as a source of what it terms the 'East Turkestan' threat and has exerted intensified pressure on its neighbors, and most recently on Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.”

Hom noted that Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan—both SCO member states—obstructed travel of Uyghur activists to attend a recent conference in the U.S., apparently to preserve their relationship with China.

Hom said that Israil could “disappear” if he is deported to China, like many others forcibly returned to the country.

“If he is subjected to any Chinese legal process, it will be within a system that is politicized, corrupt, nonaccountable, and marked by the complete absence of due process. The international community needs to act immediately to protect him and demand respect for his refugee status.”

Uyghurs say they have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness despite China's ambitious plans to develop its vast northwestern frontier.

Xinjiang is a vast, strategically important desert territory that borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

The region has abundant oil reserves and is China's largest natural gas-producing region.

Source: Radio Free Asia (RFA).
Link: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/repatriation-05262011192244.html.

Egypt, Syria, Yemen on the boil

May 28, 2011

There were fresh protests on Friday in Egypt, Syria and Yemen, signalling that West Asia's pro-democracy uprisings, which began in Tunisia five months ago, are still far from running their course.

Having toppled Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's President for 30 years, earlier this year, protesters in their thousands on Friday demanded that the transitional military establishment should pitch definite markers on the ground to assure them that their “revolution” was truly on course. The protesters assembled at Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square demanding the interim government quickly seal Mr. Mubarak's fate, by taking punitive action against him and his inner circle.

Despite the perception that it is slow to act against, if not protecting, the ousted rulers, the decision by the rulers to ease some of the pressure on impoverished Palestinians in neighboring Gaza has been widely welcomed. On Saturday, Egypt will permanently open the Rafah border with Gaza — the first visible sign that Cairo's Mubarak-era unpopular alliance with Israel may be beginning to fall apart.

Elsewhere in the region, protesters in Syria continued to push the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad on to the defensive. Building on the months of protests, anti-regime campaigners held massive demonstrations countrywide. Thousands marched in Abu Kamal on the border with Iraq, in the Kurdish area of Amouda and Homs, the scene of a bloodbath in the eighties that killed thousands.

In Yemen, President Ali Abdullah Saleh appeared to cling on to power, despite serious clashes in capital Sana'a, which are threatening to pull the nation into a bloody civil war. People, fearing for their lives, are leaving in droves from Sana'a. On Friday, fighting escalated dramatically when the Saleh-regime used warplanes to target tribal fighters gathered in the Naham province, north-east of Sana'a. Since Monday, more than 80 people have been killed in fighting between fighters loyal to Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, head of the Hashid tribal federation, and Mr. Saleh's forces.

The escalation in fighting in Yemen has alarmed neighboring Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian daily Arab News quoted Prince Khaled bin Sultan, the Kingdom's assistant Minister of Defense, as saying Riyadh was well prepared to defend its borders. Yemen is also facing a rebellion of ethnic Houthis in the north and a separatist's movement in the south — huge challenges which threaten to turn the embattled country into a failed State.

Reuters quoted Dubai-based security analyst Theodore Karasik as saying the chances of a peaceful democratic transition in Yemen were now slim. “It is going to look like Libya, and now it is becoming ... like Libya,” he said.

Source: The Hindu.
Link: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2054934.ece.

Parts of China's Inner Mongolia "under martial law" as protests spread

Fri May 27, 2011

* China's Mongolians protest for 5th day in rare sign of defiance
* Students locked up in some schools to prevent participation in protests
* Resource extraction has eroded way of life for Mongolians -exiled Mongolian

By Ben Blanchard and Sui-Lee Wee

BEIJING, May 27 (Reuters) - Chinese authorities sealed off parts of the northern region of Inner Mongolia on Friday in what residents described as martial law, to try to quell a fifth day of protests by ethnic Mongolians over the death of a herder in a hit-and-run accident.

China keeps a tight grip over Inner Mongolia and other strategic border regions including Tibet and Xinjiang, which are home to large numbers of ethnic minorities, as well as being rich in natural resources.

But China's Mongolians, who make up less than 20 percent of the roughly 24 million population of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, rarely take to the streets, unlike Tibetans or Xinjiang's Uighurs, making the latest protests highly unusual.

Residents in Shuluun Huh Banner, or Zheng Lan Qi in Chinese, and Left Ujumchin Banner, or Xi Wu Qi in Chinese, near Inner Mongolia's Xilinhot city, told Reuters that martial law was imposed on Friday. Banner is a traditional term for county.

"There was martial law declared this morning," said one resident of Shuluun Huh Banner who gave her name as Tana. "It's still ongoing with fewer guards right now, but some police are on the street."

Despite this, hundreds of Mongolians defied the tighter security and marched towards the government building in Shuluun Huh Banner before noon, said Enghebatu Togochog of the New York-based Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center.

"Students have been locked up in their schools and they aren't allowed to join in their protests," Togochog said, adding that one or two high schools and several middle schools have been sealed off.

Asked to comment on the protests, an official answering the telephone at the Inner Mongolia government's propaganda office said: "I have no time, goodbye," before hanging up.

An official at the Left Ujumchin Banner, where protests took place on Thursday, also hung up on being asked about the protests. Repeated calls to the Shuluun Huh government were not answered.

STATE OF SIEGE

"It has been in a state of siege since this morning, everything was fine here yesterday," said a resident surnamed Zhou in Ujumchin Banner. "At the moment, police are patrolling the street."

An official in the bus station near the government building in Left Ujumchin Banner, who refused to give her name, said all buses had stopped since the morning because of martial law.

The protests were set off by the death earlier this month of a Mongolian herder, Mergen, who was killed when he was struck by a coal truck. The government has announced the arrest of two Han Chinese for homicide, though this has failed to stem public anger.

The latest demonstrations have broadened their scope, with those taking part demanding greater official protection for their culture and traditional way of life.

Inner Mongolia, which covers more than a tenth of China's land mass and borders Mongolia proper, is supposed to offer a high degree of self-rule.

In practice, though, Mongolians say the Han Chinese majority run the show and have been the main beneficiaries of economic development.

Inner Mongolia is China's largest producer of coal, a commodity that feeds well over half the country's power plants and on which China depends for its breakneck economic growth.

"The rapid development of resource extraction has resulted in a terrible blow to the interests of the Mongolians," Tumen-ulzii, an ethnic Mongolian Chinese living in exile in the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator, told Reuters by telephone.

"People just can't stand it any more," he said. "They have no way of following their traditional way of life. The death of Mergen has become a spark, it has united the whole Mongolian people (in China)." (Additional reporting by Huang Yan and Sabrina Mao; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL3E7GR11X20110527?sp=true.

Yemen denies tribe militants seize military base outside capital

SANAA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- A spokesman of the Yemeni Defense Ministry on Friday denied reports that anti-government armed tribesmen took control over military bases and shot down military planes outside the capital, official Saba news agency reported.

"What have been reported by media about that tribe militants seized military bases and shot down fighter jets were baseless," Saba quoted the spokesman as saying.

"What happened was that an armed group belonging to the opposition Muslim Brotherhoods Islah party and their allies of the Joint Meeting Parties (JMPs) raided a military check point stationed in Farada area in Nehm, some 40 km northeast of Sanaa," the spokesman said.

The government troops fired back at those outlaw militants, inflicted big casualties among the attackers as the clashes also led the commander of the military checkpoint and six soldiers killed, said the official.

He also denied that military planes were shot down.

Earlier the day, a security official told Xinhua that at least 13 people, including seven soldiers, were killed in clashes between Yemeni soldiers and tribe fighters as the latter tried to seize a camp belonging to the Republican Guards after they took over a military checkpoint.

Meantime, a tribe leader said six armed tribesmen were killed and more than 10 others were wounded in the clashes and air raids by the government.

The clashes between the anti-government tribesmen and the government forces have erupted since Monday as at least 127 people were killed during the five-day gun battles.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/28/c_13897931.htm.

Winds and rain destroy Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh

Friday, 27 May 2011

Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh: Heavy winds and rain destroyed Rohingya refugee camps which are situated along the Burma-Bangladesh border on May 20, according to a committee member from Kutupalong makeshift camp.

“The winds started in the evening with black clouds and heavy rainfall down at night. We were not able to stay in our shacks as the winds blew the roofs off and rain fall inside the shacks.”

“The whole night we were sitting on one side of the shacks with plastic coverings, and our children became sick.”

“Our shacks are built with branches and bushes, plastic and bamboo. They can’t resist the heavy wind. It blew the roofs off and rain fell into the shacks.”

“Some shacks are made of mud walls, and after the roofs blew off, the mud walls fall down, which hurts the refugee.”

“I got a minor injury on my waist when a mud wall fell down on my body during the heavy rain and winds,” said Lal Buri, a fifty-year-old female refugee from the Kutupalong makeshift camp.

“My old mother and I are living in a small shack which was made with bushes and branches, and the winds and rain destroyed our shack. Now I am unable to rebuild the shack as I have no money, and other refugees are also engaged with their shacks. They are not able to help me.”

“The rainy season is coming and I don’t know how I will stay without rebuilding the shack. It makes me cry.”

A community committee member said, “Many huts were already destroyed by the heavy rain and wind from May 20–22, 2011.”

“The refugees who are widows, they have more difficulty to build their huts.”

“We have been living in the Kutupalong makeshift over three years, but we still don’t get any support from UNHCR.”

In the camp, thirty young refugees are giving basic education to youngsters as home study, but the heavy rain and winds forced them to close their home schools as the rain caused mud to flow inside the home schools.

“We are trying to rebuild the home schools’ roofs and continue to give the lessons. We don’t want the young children going around the camp. We want them to be educated children, and hope they will be able to give the education to other children,” Hashim, a schoolteacher said.

“In our camp, there are more than forty thousand refugees, and more than 10,000 children need education, but we are only giving education to 1,000 children.”

Similarly, a refugee community leader from Leda camp said that the camp situation of Leda is awful because many shacks were severely damaged during the heavy rain and winds.

“The shacks are no longer strong or sturdy as they are all now at least three years old. They are built only with bamboo and plastic sheets. Now some shacks have fallen completely and the refugees fear for their lives while they are sleeping during the night.”

“We fear for young children who mostly stay in the shacks if heavy wind blows in the daytime or night. The rainy season is coming soon, but we have no facilities to roof properly for rain. Every shack is getting rain water inside when the rain falls.”

There are more than 12,000 refugees in the camp. The Leda Refugee Camp is managed by Muslim Aid UK, including healthcare programs, and Solidarity is working for the sanitation program in the camp.

Nearby, the winds had blown the roofs off huts inside the registered refugee camp in Kutupalong, which is under the control of UNHCR.

Source: Burma News International (BNI).
Link: http://www.bnionline.net/news/kaladan/10824-winds-and-rain-destroy-rohingya-refugee-camp-in-bangladesh.html.

India's longest tunnel will be ready by 2012

Mahendra Kumar Singh
May 28, 2011

QAZIGUND: The rail link between Kashmir valley and the rest of the country will be completed by December 2012 once India's longest tunnel at 11 km — connecting Qazigund with Banihal — is constructed within a year.

The tunnel, one of the world's largest and deepest, will pierce through the Pir Panjal range below snowline, which stands like a wall between the Valley and Jammu.

The engineering marvel, named T80, is strategically important for the country since the only road link via the Jawahar Tunnel, which connects both the regions in the border state, is often blocked due to heavy snowfall.

"The tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between the two regions," said Chahatey Ram, chief administrative officer of Northern Railway. "We are hopeful that Banihal-Qazigund rail link will be commissioned by December 2012," he added.

Hitesh Khanna, director (works) of IRCON, which is executing the project, said of the 11-km stretch, work has been completed in 10.40km. The distance between Banihal and Qazigund will be reduced to only 16km once the tunnel becomes operational, said R V Anand of IRCON.

Railways is also building an eight-feet wide service road along the T80 for any exigency.

The Banihal-Qazigund project is part of the Katra-Qazigund (129 km) venture, passing through hostile terrain of young Himalayas that are routinely posing geological surprises to the engineers. The inhospitable terrain has forced IRCON to construct 67.5km of access road to reach the project site, which has also helped in providing connectivity to around 35 villages.

Railways is using state-of-the-art Austrian tunneling method to construct T80 that involves integration of surrounding soil formations into a ring-like support structure.

In 2002, then NDA government had announced a 345-km Jammu-Udhampur-Katra-Qazigund-Baramulla railway line, the biggest mountain rail project since the Independence.

The 53-km Jammu-Udhampur section was opened to the public in 2005, and the 119-km Qazigund-Baramulla route has been operational since 2009.

At present, the 6.5km Karbude tunnel of the Konkan Railway is the longest tunnel in India.

Source: The Times of India.
Link: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-05-28/india/29594680_1_longest-tunnel-rail-link-jawahar-tunnel.