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Friday, October 7, 2011

Voters deal Berlusconi latest blow in referendums

June 14, 2011 — MILAN (AP) — Italian voters turned out in large numbers to deal Premier Silvio Berlusconi his latest blow at the ballot box, overturning laws passed by his government to revive nuclear energy, privatize the water supply — and help him avoid prosecution.

The defeat on four referendums on the ballot Sunday and Monday was Berlusconi's second in as many weeks, after his candidates lost mayoral races in his stronghold Milan and trash-choked Naples in a vote the billionaire media mogul himself had billed as a referendum on his government.

Center-left opposition leader Pier Luigi Bersani said the referendum results were tantamount to "a divorce between the government and the country." Activists for the "yes" vote on four referendums erupted in cheers in the capital Rome when it became clear that voter turnout, topping 57 percent, had surpassed the quorum needed to validate the vote. It was the first time since 1995 that the quorum of more than 50 percent was reached.

Final results showed clear overwhelming majorities of those casting ballots chose to throw out two laws to privatize the water supply, kill a law reviving nuclear energy and undo the so-called "legitimate impediment" law offering the Italian leader a partial legal shield in criminal prosecutions. Each referendum passed with around 95 percent.

Italy becomes the second Group of Eight country after Germany to ditch nuclear energy following the nuclear disaster in Japan triggered by the March 11 quake and tsunami. Germany announced last month plans to abandon its nuclear program by 2022.

It is the second time Italy has said no to nuclear power. The first time was a 1987 referendum, the year after the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine. "The high turnout for the referendums demonstrates that the desire of citizens to participate in the decisions about our future cannot be ignored," Berlusconi said in a statement. "The government has the duty to fully take into account the response to the four referendums."

Berlusconi's majority in Parliament will be tested next week during a vote on the new government appointments. Insisting upon the vote was President Giorgio Napolitano, who decides whether coalitions command enough loyalty in the legislature to effectively govern.

The vote will give the restive allies in the Northern League an opportunity to demonstrate whether they will still stick with Berlusconi, or jump ship. One prominent Northern League leader as well as minister, Roberto Calderoli, said the League was tired "of being slapped in the face."

Political analyst James Watson said that Berlusconi's parliamentary majority, which depends on the Northern League, "is very much at risk at the moment. "Berlusconi is clearly out of favor with the majority of Italians for one reason or another," said Watson, a political scientist at American University of Rome, adding that the premier "pretends that everything is all right."

Berlusconi and many of his allies abstained from voting on the ballot questions that were direct challenges to both his coalition's policies and his legal tactics in criminal cases in Milan. The government tried to block the nuclear referendum, abrogating its own law relaunching nuclear power to give the country time for reflection. However, the country's highest court said the referendum, backed by 750,000 signatures, could go ahead.

Berlusconi's conservative government had also passed a law mandating that the water supply be privatized by the end of 2011, saying the step was needed to improve aging delivery systems and cut waste, and another law imposing market rules on water pricing. Roman Catholic nuns and priests joined the campaign to revoke the law, saying that water was a human right that should not be subject to market rules.

But the referendum on whether top government officials could continue to enjoy a "legitimate impediment" from defending themselves in court due to official business was the most direct swipe at Berlusconi. Italy's highest court already weakened the law, unfreezing criminal prosecutions in Milan earlier this year. The court said, however, that Berlusconi's lawyers could cite official engagements on a hearing-by-hearing basis as reason that the premier couldn't show up in court.

Stretching out the hearings could play out in Berlusconi's favor by eroding the statute of limitations. Berlusconi's lawyers have been seeking to schedule court appearances in four cases based on the premier's official duties.

Berlusconi, who for years exercised his right not to attend his own trial, now says he wants to defend himself in court. Among the criminal cases he is facing in Milan is his trial on charges of having paid for sex with an underage teen and then using his influence to cover it up. That trial continues Tuesday, although Berlusconi is not expected to attend the hearing, which is due to take up technical matters.

Berlusconi denies the accusations in that trial as well as in all the other cases. He insists he is the innocent victim of prosecutors he claims sympathize with the left.

Spanish protesters end 3 week camp-out in Madrid

June 12, 2011 — MADRID (AP) — Young demonstrators who camped out in one of Madrid's busiest squares to protest bleak economic prospects began leaving the plaza to squads of cleaners Sunday after voting to end more than three weeks of vociferous protest.

The protests began May 15 and spread to cities across Spain and elsewhere in Europe, striking a chord with hundreds of thousands of sympathizers. Some participants voted to continue the protest against high unemployment and political corruption but a majority raised their hands at meeting Wednesday giving their approval to a proposal to take down the camp at Puerta del Sol opposite town hall.

"We all feel a bit sad but the future of this movement is progress," said protester Raul Rincon. "Cleaning up, leaving and moving forward is a step that needed to be taken for our movement to grow up."

Cleaners, most of them demonstrators, began to move in to scrub the square clean as fellow activists angry over Spain's jobless rate dismantled camp and moved on to other urban locations bearing placards saying, "We're not leaving, we're expanding."

Spanish authorities at times appeared not to know how to deal with protests which readily acknowledged that recent pro-democracy uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East had served as an inspiration.

One complicating factor was that Spain held regional and municipal elections on May 22. Election rules state that political activities like demonstrations and rallies must end for a "day of reflection" before ballots and the protesters made no effort to abide by that rule.

A week after the elections riot police charged at protesters in Barcelona's main Catalunya Square firing rubber bullets and wielding truncheons in a bid to clear away their makeshift camp, leaving more than 100 people injured.

Then on Saturday Madrid riot police tried forcefully to clear demonstrators who had gathered to jeer as Alfredo Perez-Rubalcaba, Madrid's newly re-elected mayor, was sworn in at a building not far from Puerta del Sol.

Nearly two years of recession have left Spain with a 21.3-percent unemployment rate, the highest in the eurozone, and saddled with debt problems. The jobless rate jumps to 35 percent for people aged 16 to 29, and many young, highly educated Spaniards can't find jobs as the eurozone's No. 4 economy struggles.

Serb nationalists burn NATO flag

June 13, 2011 — BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serb nationalists — furious over the holding of a NATO conference in Serbia — on Monday burned a NATO flag and put up a huge banner at a Belgrade bridge denouncing the Western military alliance.

About 200 ultranationalists gathered outside pro-Western President Boris Tadic's office, chanting anti-NATO slogans and singing Serb nationalist songs. They accused Tadic of treason. Tadic has "allowed occupation of Serbia, throwing the country at Brussels' and Washington's feet," said Zoran Krasic, senior official from staunchly anti-Western Serbian Radical Party.

The Radicals tried to enter the presidency to hand Tadic a letter but were prevented by the police. Dozens of nationalists also scuffled with riot police at similar protests on Sunday. Nationalists are angry over NATO's bombing in 1999 of Serbia, which ended the country's rule in Kosovo. They argue that Serbia should move closer to Russia rather than NATO.

But Tadic's pro-Western authorities have stepped up cooperation with NATO, joining the Partnership for Peace program for ex-communist nations. The holding of the NATO annual conference in Belgrade is seen as a sign of improving ties.

Also Monday, activists from other nationalist groups spread the banner reading "Never in NATO" along one of the bridges across the Sava river in the Serbian capital. "NATO is evil," declared Stojanka Bodo, a nationalist supporter attending the Belgrade protest. "NATO wants us to become their marionettes and to listen to everything they say."

"They kill and cripple people, they spread death," Bodo said.

Kazakhstan deports Uighur to China, rights groups cry foul

07 June 2011, Tuesday

Kazakhstan has extradited an ethnic Uighur schoolteacher who had been granted UN refugee status to face charges of terrorism in China, a diplomat said on Tuesday, and rights groups said he could face torture.

Ershidin Israil, who holds a Chinese passport, was arrested in Kazakhstan’s financial capital Almaty on June 24 last year on terrorism charges, following a request from Interpol, said Ilyas Omarov, press secretary for the Kazakh Foreign Ministry. The extradition comes as rights groups called on Kazakhstan to refrain from sending back 32 detainees who fled from Uzbekistan to seek asylum from religious persecution, saying they were at risk of torture.

“Israil has been extradited to the People’s Republic of China,” Omarov said, adding that the handover was made on May 30. “The Chinese side gave written guarantees that Israil would not be executed.”

The Turkic-speaking Muslim Uighur people are native to China’s far western region of Xinjiang, strategically located on the borders of Central Asia. Many of Xinjiang’s 8 million Uighurs resent the growing presence and economic grip of the majority Han Chinese.

Israil had officially applied for refugee status in Kazakhstan on June 8, 2010. At the time, he held a refugee mandate issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). “Taking into account Israil’s confessions on his role in a terrorist act in China’s Xinjiang and ... his possible complicity in preparing a terrorist act in July 1997, the [migration] commission turned down [on Sept. 9, 2010] his request to obtain refugee status in Kazakhstan,” Omarov said.

Omarov said that, after studying Israil’s case, the UNHCR annulled on May 3 its refugee mandate issued to Israil.

The exiled World Uighur Congress said Israil had fled Xinjiang in 2009 after providing information to Radio Free Asia about the death of another Uighur man. That year, Uighurs rioted against Han Chinese residents in Xinjiang’s regional capital Urumqi, killing at least 197 people, mostly Han.

China’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. “Israil’s deportation appears to be based on accusations by the Chinese authorities of his involvement in ‘terrorism,’” Human Rights in China said in a statement. “Such accusations, however, were levied against Israil after he allegedly released details of the Sept 18, 2009 ... death of ethnic Uighur Shohret Tursun, who had been detained by Chinese authorities following the Urumqi riots,” it added.

Source: Today's Zaman.
Link: http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?load=detay&newsId=246570&link=246570.

Algeria cracks down on 'prostitutes' at resort

Jun 10, 2011

ALGIERS — Algerian security forces arrested 46 women suspected of prostitution in the popular seaside resort of Tichi and had them charged with "incitement to debauchery," the daily Echourouk said Friday.

The women were detained overnight Wednesday and appeared in court on Thursday in the nearby town of Bejaia. Eight of the suspects were ordered into preventive custody.

Echourouk added that 10 of the women were ordered to leave the region within 48 hours.

Some of the women, aged between 16 and 59, have already been in prison. The Arab-language paper, which did not give its sources, said that three of them had been connected with terrorism and one was the widow of an Islamic extremist.

On May 6, demonstrators laid waste to several hotels in the area, demanding their closure for "offending the moral standards of the region". The protesters called themselves the May 6 Movement and said their aim was to put an end to bad social trends.

They announced, according to Echourouk, that they would hold sit-ins every Thursday night outside the headquarters of the local administration to press for the closure of nightclubs and the prosecution of their owners.

Thursday night is the start of the Algerian weekend, when hotel nightclubs are packed. Tichi, a town on the Mediterranean coast, is very popular with tourists.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Turkish PM Erdogan eyes third term – and a chance to rewrite constitution

Friday 10 June 2011
Helen Pidd in Istanbul

Polls say AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan could score a crushing victory with up to 50% of the vote in Sunday's election.

From a five-storey billboard on the Tarlabasi Boulevard in downtown Istanbul, Turkey's prime minister is making some typically bombastic promises. Vote for me, says a shirt-sleeved Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the traffic-congested megalopolis will be rewarded with a third airport and a third bridge across the Bosphorus.

The pledges are just two examples of what even Erdogan describes as his "crazy projects" – the most memorable of which is probably his plan to build a mega-canal in Istanbul linking the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara.

The 57-year-hopes his grand designs will ensure that he not only wins a third term in Sunday's national elections, but is elected with such a "supermajority" that he would be able to singlehandedly rewrite Turkey's heavily criticized constitution in his own favour.

Pollsters say his Justice and Development party (AKP) is likely to triumph with up to 50% of the vote, leaving the main opposition Republican People's party (CHP) trailing at 28%. The extent of Erdogan's victory will have wide repercussions for this country of 74 million people straddling east and west.

Round the corner from the gargantuan poster, barber Hasan Keke cites Erdogan's infrastructure projects when explaining his approval of the prime minister. Keke says everyday life has got easier since Erdogan took power in 2003.

"I'll give you an example," says Keke, as he gives a customer a cut-throat shave. "In 2002, I used to have to bring water with me to work. Tarlabasi had such an unreliable water supply back then. Now," he says, turning on a tap, "that isn't a problem."

In the pre-AKP days, when inflation reached 138% and buying a kebab in the old currency cost a seven-figure sum, Keke was constantly raising his prices. They have stayed the same now for four years. And, like many Turks, he feels richer: "Before Erdogan came in, I had never been on a plane. Now, I can pay just 35 Turkish lira (£13.50) to fly back to my home town, Kayseri [500 miles away in central Turkey]."

Most people agree that the AKP has done a good job of rescuing Turkey's economy from the abyss it fell into in the 2001 crash, getting inflation down to a sensible 7.2% while increasing wages.

Some analysts see storm clouds ahead, but Turkey now boasts the sixth strongest economy in Europe and the 17th largest in the world, allowing the country to meet two of the four Maastricht criteria for EU entry – more, as Erdogan never tires of pointing out, than many EU members.

The AKP has dragged Turkey's legal system into the 21st century, too: before 2004, rapists were able to get a reduced sentence if they agreed to marry their victims, for example. But human rights organizations say Turkey still imprisons far too many people on spurious charges – especially Kurds – and free speech is not yet a reality.

The gulf in support between the AKP and CHP was illustrated last weekend at rival rallies at Istanbul's Kazlicesme Square.

Erdogan got to his rally on Sunday almost two hours late. He arrived by helicopter wearing aviator shades and strode on stage with his headscarved wife, Emine, to a rock star's welcome. "Papa Tayyip!" chanted hundreds of thousands in the crowd, cheering as he promised everything from ebooks for all students to earthquake-proof housing.

"We had to bring in 600 people overnight to completely rebuild the stage and site it by the old city walls to fit in all our supporters," said one adviser. The party put on "thousands" of buses to ship in voters from around the city.

The day before, the opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu had set out to the Guardian what he sees as the dangers of continued AKP rule. "They are putting pressure on business people, they're putting pressure on the media, on universities. We're entering a crisis situation," he said.

Earlier this month, the campaign had got grubby when Erdogan started suggesting Kilicdaroglu was not a "real Muslim" because the opposition leader is believed to be an Alevi, a liberal branch of Shia Islam.

"AKP is not a democratic party," said Kilicdaroglu, who has been nicknamed Gandhi for his passing resemblance to the late Indian democratic leader. "Their goal is simply to never lose power. If Erdogan senses he is losing ground, he starts to come out with this stuff."

Under party laws, Erdogan cannot run again as prime minister in 2015. But if he wins 367 seats or more in the 550-seat legislature, he could push constitutional reforms through parliament without calling a referendum. His opponents claim his real desire is to turn Turkey into a presidential system, installing himself again in the top job.

In Kasimpasa, the working-class district of Istanbul where Erdogan grew up, some people expressed criticism. Sakir Sefer is a rare critic of the local-boy-done-good.

"On a personal level, I like the man – I've known him for 10, 12 years," says Sefer, who runs a shop selling pizza-like pide. "But I don't like the way he is starting to separate people rather than bring them together." Overhearing this, a customer butts in. "Don't listen to him" she says. "Erdogan is the apple of our eye."

Elsewhere, Sati Aydin, who runs a chicken kebab shop is furious with Erdogan for bringing religion into the elections.

"Until recently, it wasn't an issue that we were Alevi. No one mentioned it. I'm very angry that Erdogan has made this a topic of discussion in the elections."

Baker Ali says Erdogan's politics have torn his family apart. "Because of him," says the 49-year-old Kurd, "my sister and brother are in jail and I may lose my property."

His neighborhood, the predominantly Kurdish Tarlabasi, is earmarked for a controversial urban regeneration project and his ramshackle house is one of 278 set to be bulldozed to make way for a luxury gated development. Ali blames Erdogan: the contractors given the tender are part of a conglomerate headed by the prime minister's son-in-law.

The imprisonment of Ali's siblings, meanwhile, is directly related to what most commentators agree is Turkey's biggest problem: the treatment of the estimated 14 million Kurds who make up about a fifth of the population.

Ali's 24-year-old sister gave birth to her first son in jail last year. A former town hall worker, she is one of 151 people – NGO workers, Kurdish politicians and their employees – charged in 2009 with supporting terrorism. His brother, meanwhile, is facing a seven-year sentence for throwing a stone at police during a demonstration.

"In 2005, Erdogan said to us, I will solve this problem. He is a liar," says Ali, referring to the landmark moment in 2005 when the prime minister became the first modern Turkish leader to admit the Kurds had been mistreated by Ankara administration. "We might have believed that he was going to help us at the last elections, but we're not going to fall for it again."

The Kurds are still banned from using their own language in any official contexts, particularly in schools, and Ankara has not yet worked out a political solution to the bloody conflict between the Turkish army and the separatist Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK), which is estimated to have claimed 45,000 lives since 1984.

After a long honeymoon with commentators at home and abroad, it is clear Erdogan does not enjoy the support he once did. "He could have become the new Ataturk," says Cengiz Aktar, professor of EU studies at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul, referring to the idolized founder of the secular Turkish republic whose likeness still adorns the walls of millions of Turkish homes and businesses today.

"If you go back to the golden years of Turkish democracy – 2002, 2003, 2004 – Erdogan was on that track.

"One example of that would be how the AKP managed to curtail the power of the army, which used to be a big problem in this country.

But in 2004, he stopped reforming. Now he talks like an old conservative. He cares less and less about joining the European Union. He doesn't think he needs to. This over-confidence is very much there, not just vis-a-vis the EU but also the whole world," said Aktar, referring particularly to what many see as a failure of Turkey's "zero problems with the neighbors" policy in the light of the Arab spring.

But Sinan Ulgen, a former career diplomat in the Turkish foreign office who now runs the Center For Economic and Foreign Policy Studies thinktank in Istanbul, says Turkey is an inspiration: "There are a number of areas were we can say that Turkey's experience could be an aspiration or inspiration for Arab states.

"For example, how Turkey has been able to combine a predominantly Muslim state with democracy and economic success, as well as social development."

But will Turkey still be an inspiration in years to come? Will it regress or progress? Shift to the east or the west? The result on Sunday night should provide a clue.

Polls suggest the Justice and Development party (AKP) will win 45-50% of the vote, as in 2007, but whether this gives it a constitutional majority will depend on the performance of smaller parties.

Under the current constitution, in order to send MPs into parliament in Ankara, a party must win at least 10% of the national vote.

Though the CHP will almost certainly make that hurdle, the question is whether the far-right Nationalist Action Party (MHP) will manage the leap after a serious of grubby scandals involving sex tapes forced 10 senior members to resign.

If the MHP does not make the grade, its votes will be divided between the AKP and CHP and could give the AKP a supermajority.

If they end up with more than two-thirds of the vote, the AKP does not legally need to consult the rest of parliament when rewriting Turkey's constitution – though Erdogan claims he will, whether he has to or not.

All sides agree the constitution needs to be radically updated – although it has been amended a few times, it is essentially the 1982 text that was drafted by the army after a military coup in 1980.

But Erdogan's opponents fear that left to his own devices, he will simply install an AKP version of democracy which would concentrate too much control in his own hands.

There are also worries that an AKP-approved constitution would put an end to Turkey's EU hopes.

The talks are already deadlocked over a number of issues and without some progress after the election, perhaps by a unilateral concession to allow Cypriot ships to dock in Turkish ports, the talks might yet break down.

The parties

Polls suggest the Justice and Development party (AKP) will win 45-50% of the vote in Sunday's election but whether this gives it a constitutional majority will depend on the performance of smaller parties.

Under the current constitution, in order to send MPs to parliament, a party must win at least 10% of the national vote. The Republican People's party (CHP) will almost certainly make that hurdle, but it is unclear whether the far-right Nationalist Action party (MHP) will do the same after sex scandals forced 10 senior members to resign. If the MHP fails to make the grade, its votes will be divided between the AKP and CHP.

If it gets more than two-thirds of the vote, the AKP does not legally need to consult the rest of parliament when rewriting the constitution – though Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims he would do so anyway.

All sides agree the constitution needs to be radically updated: although it has been amended a few times, it is essentially the 1982 text that was drafted by the army after a military coup in 1980.

But Erdogan's opponents fear that left to his own devices, he would concentrate too much control in his own hands. There are also worries that an AKP-approved constitution would put an end to Turkey's EU hopes.

Source: The Guardian.
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/10/turkish-election-recep-tayyip-erdogan.

15 Jordanians released from Syrian jails

By Omar Obeidat and Raed Omari

AMMAN - Syrian authorities on Sunday freed 15 Jordanian prisoners under the general amnesty issued last week by President Bashar Assad, a human rights activist said on Sunday.

Abdul Karim Shraideh, head of the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR), told The Jordan Times yesterday that out of the 250 Jordanians serving prison terms in Syria, 15 were set free.

Shraideh said Abdul Rahman Bashabsheh from Ramtha District was the first prisoner to cross the Jordanian border after serving a four-year prison term in Syria on suspicion of working for the Israeli Mossad.

But Atef Bashabsheh said that his relative Abdul Rahman has spent over 10 years in jail and that he was taken into custody by Syrian police over charges related to damaging the country’s national economy.

“He was 18 years old when he disappeared in Syria where he went to import products from there,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone.

He said that he received a phone call from Abdul Rahman yesterday informing him about the news.

The AOHR’s lawyer added that the other 14 prisoners also arrived in the Kingdom during the afternoon.

“Names of the freed prisoners is still not available to the AOHR and we are still following up on the issue,” he said.

Pointing out that tens of Jordanian prisoners have been behind bars for over 20 years and that some of them never stood for trial, he added that three women are still behind bars: Wafaa Obeidat, Yusra Hayek and Shikha Hayek.

He said that the amnesty decision by Assad should include all Jordanian prisoners there, stressing that the organization will continue its efforts to ensure their freedom.

6 June 2011

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=38203.

Turkey's government poised for election victory

June 12, 2011 — ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey's ruling party led by a wide margin in nearly complete returns from parliamentary elections on Sunday, state-run television reported, setting the stage for a third term in which the government is expected to seek an overhaul of the military-era constitution.

However, results indicated that the Justice and Development Party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was not heading for a two-thirds majority in parliament, a shortcoming that would force it to seek support for constitutional change from other political groups.

With 97 percent of votes counted, Erdogan's party had won 50 percent of the votes, TRT reported. It said the Republican People's Party, the main opposition group, had 26 percent of the vote. TRT said another opposition party, the Nationalist Action Party, had 13 percent of the vote, signaling it could stay in parliament by crossing a 10 percent vote threshold designed to keep out smaller parties.

According to the tally, the ruling party stood to win 327 seats in the 550-seat parliament, a comfortable majority that would ensure the continuation of its single-party rule. It had 331 seats in the outgoing parliament. Lawmakers serve four-year terms.

Several thousand supporters gathered Sunday night outside the ruling party headquarters in Ankara, chanting pro-government slogans and waving Turkish flags as they awaited Erdogan, who has made it a tradition to deliver a victory speech from the building's balcony.

About 50 million Turks, or two-thirds of the population, were eligible to vote. For the first time, voters cast ballots in transparent plastic boxes in which the yellow envelopes could be seen piling up. The measure was designed to prevent any allegations of fraud. In past elections, wooden boxes were used.

"We have spoken, and now it is time for the people to speak," Erdogan said at a polling station Sunday morning in Istanbul. "For us, this will be the most honorable decision and one that we will have to respect. As far as I know, the election process is continuing through the country without any problems."

The Anatolia news agency reported later that police detained 34 people in the southeast province of Batman for allegedly trying to coerce people into voting for the Peace and Democracy Party, a Kurdish party accused by officials of links to Kurdish rebels.

The party is fielding independent candidates in order to work around the 10 percent vote threshold for Turkey's parliament. It seeks more rights and autonomy in the southeastern strongholds of the ethnic minority, which makes up about 20 percent of Turkey's 74 million people.

Turkey, a NATO ally with a mostly Muslim population, stands out in a region buffeted by popular uprisings as a rising power with traditional Western alliances as well as growing ties in the east and elsewhere. In the past decade, the government has sharply reduced the political clout of the military, and taken some steps to ease restrictions on minorities, though reforms have slowed in recent years.

Despite its successes, Turkey's government faces opposition accusations that it seeks to consolidate power at the expense of consensus-building. Erdogan has promised that a new constitution would include "basic rights and freedoms," replacing a constitution implemented under the tutelage of the military in 1982. However, he has provided relatively few details on a possible new draft.

The government has Islamic roots, long a source of suspicion among secular circles that once dominated Turkey and fear that Erdogan seeks to impose religion on society. Turkey's leaders, however, describe themselves as moderates and "conservative democrats" who are committed to the ideals of Western-style democracy. After winning election in 2002, they implemented economic reforms that pulled the country out of crisis. The growth rate last year was nearly 9 percent, the second highest among G-20 nations after China.

Still, political reforms faltered in the ruling party's second term. Turkey's bid to join the European Union has stalled, partly because of opposition in key EU nations such as Germany and France. Critics point to concerns about media freedom and the Turkish government's plans for Internet filters as signs of intolerance toward views that don't conform to those of Turkey's leadership.

Four people were detained Sunday in the southeast province of Sanliurfa for allegedly voting more than once with other people's ballot papers. In the capital, Ankara, police fired in the air and used pepper spray to break up scuffles at a polling station where a group of voters wrongly accused another group of having fake ballot papers, the Anatolia agency said.

But for all of Turkey's challenges, Sunday's vote was an indicator of stability in a country that suffered fractious coalition politics and military coups in past decades. Most voting was peaceful and orderly, with large crowds gathering early to cast ballots.

"We have come to the end of a long marathon," Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the opposition Republican People's Party, said after arriving at a polling station with his wife and son. "Today is the time for a decision by the people. We will respect their decision. There is a good mood. There is a democracy feast."

Suzan Fraser and Gulden Alp contributed from Ankara, Turkey.

Bahrain Shiites hold first mass rally since crackdown

Jun 11, 2011

DUBAI — Thousands of Shiite Bahrainis rallied Saturday answering a call from their largest opposition group, Al-Wefaq, in the first demonstration since a mid-march crackdown on Shiite-led pro-democracy protests.

The rally, staged under the banner "Bahrain, homeland for all" in the Shiite village of Sar, 10 days after a state of emergency was lifted, had received the nod from authorities, Al-Wefaq politician ex-MP Hadi al-Moussawi told AFP.

"The ministry of interior has been informed, and there was no objection," he said by telephone, adding that police stayed away from the immediate vicinity of the venue, as demonstrators spilled into neighboring streets.

"This presence in the street is to tell the authorities that we still demand political change... Our slogan is: 'The people want to reform the regime'," Moussawi said.

Shiites, who form the majority in the kingdom ruled by the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty, had led a month-long protest inspired by uprisings which toppled the autocratic leaders of Tunisia and Egypt.

Authorities backed by troops that rolled into Bahrain from fellow Gulf nations quelled the protest, and security forces launched a massive campaign of arrests against activists, as well as doctors, medics and teachers accused of backing protesters.

Authorities said 24 people, including four policemen, were killed in the unrest. The opposition said scores were arrested, amid wide claims of torture, while hundreds were dismissed from their jobs.

"No one was left out in the (government's) revenge," Moussawi said. "These people came to express their rejection. The punishment inflicted on the people by the authorities made them believe that there is not much more to lose."

At the rally, the leader of Al-Wefaq, cleric Sheikh Ali Salman, described the recent events as a "grim black three months that left deep wounds in the body of the homeland."

"(But) it only strengthened the determination of the people to voice their legitimate demands and cemented their belief in the need for real reform," he said, according to text posted on the Al-Wefaq page of Facebook.

He did not appear to budge on the initial demands of the opposition which called for a "real" constitutional monarchy, topped by vesting the elected chamber with exclusive legislative and regulatory powers, redrawing electoral constituencies to allow for "fair polls" and an elected government.

He also extended a hand to the Sunnis, slamming as a "big lie" the branding of the protest demands as a "move to establish a Shiite Islamic state."

"We want a civic and a democratic state... My dear Sunnis, let us put hand in hand to advance our political system, build our nation and safeguard the future of our children," he added.

Meanwhile, King Hamad said on Saturday the national dialogue he announced on May 31 on the eve of the lifting of the state of emergency would be led by parliament chief Khalifa Dhahrani, the official BNA news agency reported.

Making the talks offer, the monarch had called for "all necessary steps to prepare for a serious dialogue, comprehensive and without preconditions," adding that it should "start from July 1."

Al-Wefaq welcomed the offer.

BNA on Saturday quoted King Hamad as saying Dhahrani was an elected MP who "represents the will of the people," and that he had been tasked with preparing and launching the dialogue.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Egypt resumes gas supplies to Jordan, minister says

Sun, 12 June 2011

AMMAN — Egypt has resumed its gas exports to Jordan after a 45-day stoppage due to an attack on a pipeline near the Sinai town of Al Arish, said Energy Minister Khalid Touqan. Since the April 27 blast, Jordan has been forced to incur extra costs associated with using heavy fuel to run its electricity generating plants.

Under an agreement signed in 2001, Jordan receives gas supplies from Egypt through the so-called Arab gas pipeline, which travels northward to supply Syria and Lebanon and, later, Turkey. Over the past few weeks, Jordan and Egypt have conducted negotiations that could lead to a revision of prices for gas supplied to Amman by Cairo.

Egypt’s military rulers have decided that gas prices should be in line with oil prices. — DPA

Source: Oman Observer.
Link: http://main.omanobserver.om/node/54452.

Algerian-born man living in France is refused French nationality

Thursday 9 June 2011
Kim Willsher in Paris

Application turned down because of man's 'degrading attitude' towards his wife.

An Algerian-born man living in France has been refused French nationality because of his "degrading attitude" towards women.

The man, who has not been named, is married to a Frenchwoman, but does not allow her to leave the family home freely, it was claimed.

In what is seen as a legal precedent, his application for French nationality was turned down because "his idea of sexual equality is not that of the republic", according to a high-ranking official quoted by French radio station Europe 1.

The French constitution states that the government can refuse nationality or strip nationality for a "lack of integration". The interior minister, Claude Guéant, has made it clear he expects candidates for nationality to not only integrate but "assimilate" into French society.

A spokesman for the minister told the Guardian that concerns were raised when police interviewed the man as part of the application process. The refusal, she added, had been confirmed by the State Council – the legal body that advises the government on legislation – and was awaiting signature by the minister.

"The man was eligible for French nationality as he had been married to a French citizen for more than four years. In such cases, however, it can be refused by a disrespect of or lack of assimilation into the French community or if the person practices polygamy.

"In this case, during the interview at the police station his behavior showed a lack of assimilation into the French community; it was incompatible with the values of the French republic, notably in respect to the values of the equality of men and women. This justifies the decision for not giving him French nationality. The case was examined by the State Council, which agreed and a decision to that effect was given."

The case emerged a week after far-right leader Marine Le Pen wrote to French MPs asking them to support an end to dual nationality, claiming it "undermines republican values". Le Pen has made no secret that her demand is aimed at people from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. A delegation of 50 MPs from the ruling right-of-center UMP party met President Nicolas Sarkozy recently to press for an end to dual nationality. Afterwards one of the MPs said Sarkozy was "very favorable" to the idea.

Henry Guaino, one of the president's closest advisers, told French radio: "It's an idea that merits debate. Whatever the National Front's position, it's not wrong to discuss this issue."

Socialist MP Manuel Valls, who chairs a parliamentary committee on nationality rights, said scrapping dual nationality would be counter-productive and that French expatriates with dual nationality acted as "ambassadors" for their country around the world.

Christophe Girard, the Socialist deputy mayor of Paris, wrote in Le Monde that the history of France and its mix of cultures was under threat. "This return to nationalism that locks and narrows pits citizens against each other in fear and hatred and is a proven risk," he wrote. "The atmosphere fostered by the current government is even more revolting given that the current head of state himself is the son of an immigrant father and his third wife is French-Italian.

"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the backbone of France. We need to strengthen it. I would appeal to all those who are able to obtain a second citizenship to take the necessary steps now."

Source: The Guardian.
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/09/man-refused-french-nationality.

Top German culture prize goes to Algeria's Boualem Sansal

Jun 9, 2011

Berlin - Boualem Sansal, a 61-year-old former Algerian government official who began writing novels against repression in 1999, was picked Thursday as the winner of a top culture award, the German Book Trade Peace Prize.

The award was also intended to encourage the pro-democracy movement in North Africa, said Gottfried Honnefelder, chairman of the booksellers' and publishers' association Boersenverein in Frankfurt.

'This comes just at the right time,' Sansal said in an interview published by the Boersenverein's news website.

'People in the Arab world are fighting for their freedom right now, and peace for them is freedom,' said Sansal, who accused the West of failing to help Algeria's protesters. 'Nobody helps us,' he added in the interview.

'They think people of the south, the Arabs and black Africans, are not ready for liberty,' he said. Sansal said support from the European Union and the United Nations was vital to protect Arab liberties won by the protesters.

The annual award, worth 25,000 euros (36,500 dollars) is to be handed over to him in October during the Frankfurt Book Fair with cabinet ministers, top executives and star authors present.

Sansal had won the prize for the 'wit and empathy with which he encourages respect and mutual understanding between cultures,' the judges said. He was one of the few intellectuals openly criticizing the government to still live in Algeria, they added.

The author was formerly a senior government economist.

The Curse of the Barbarians, his first novel, published in France in 1999 and in German translation in 2003, mocked repression. A later novel, The German Mujahid, has appeared in English.

His ministry suspended and later sacked him, but Sansal insisted on remaining in Algeria, which has an authoritarian, military-backed government that has forcibly dispersed pro-democracy rallies this year.

The prize goes every year to a writer, scholar or artist regarded as encouraging world understanding. Last year's winner was David Grossman, an Israeli historian of the Holocaust.

Source: Monsters and Critics.
Link: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1644572.php/Top-German-culture-prize-goes-to-Algeria-s-Boualem-Sansal.

Jordan's king issues amnesty for thousands

Jun 8, 2011

Amman - Jordan's King Abdullah II on Wednesday issued a general amnesty to mark the 12th anniversary of his accession expected to lead to the pardoning of thousands of wrongdoers.

The amnesty excludes crimes pertaining to espionage, state security, narcotics, rape, premeditated murder, financing of terrorism, money laundering and the forgery of banknotes.

The move coincided with a pledge by King Abdullah to carry out 'real and speedy' political reforms in the wake of four months of protests inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

A National Dialogue Committee set up by the monarch in March issued proposals earlier this week for new laws governing the election of the lower house of parliament and the formation of political parties in the country.

King Abdullah has also set up a panel to revise the country's constitution, which is expected to put forward its recommendations in a few weeks.

Source: Monsters and Critics.
Link: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1644369.php/Jordan-s-king-issues-amnesty-for-thousands.

Rohingyas in Malaysia seek education, opportunities

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
June 8, 2011

Graduating from primary school was just a dream for Rohingya teenager Ali Tofik, who, until 2010, lived in Myanmar's northern Rakhine State, where access to education, particularly secondary education, is limited.

In recent decades, this ethnic and religious minority has been stripped of its citizenship and property rights by Myanmar's military-dominated government, leading to human rights abuses and exploitation and resulting in mass exodus.

Some 200,000 fled to Bangladesh over the years, with smaller numbers to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and elsewhere in the region by boat.

Now the 17-year-old is keen to get ahead, learning the Malay language with a group of younger students in the two-room Malaysian school. English, Malay, mathematics and science are taught on the second floor of a business block in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur.

"I would like to become a teacher so that I can help my people and I can teach them and talk with the international community," explains Tofik, who fled Myanmar with his family a year ago.

The local NGO-sponsored school, established in 2009, is accessible to Rohingya, but remains a rarity in Malaysia, with fewer than a dozen similar schools nationwide. Officially, Rohingya children in Malaysia cannot study in government schools without birth certificates or any other official documents.

"Most of the young children are actually born in Malaysia but can't attend the public schools because refugees do not have access to the Malaysian education system, including primary schools," Chris Lewa, coordinator of the Arakan Project, an advocacy organization for the Rohingya, told IRIN.

Illiteracy among the Rohingya is estimated at around 80 percent, with a higher percentage among women, according to the latest available data.

Without a proper education and work permits, job opportunities are severely limited for Rohingya, Lewa said.

But she has also witnessed some improvement in Malaysia's handling of arrivals by providing them with access to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), as well as halting forcing them into unscrupulous hands along the Thai-Malaysian border.

According to UNHCR, there are some 30,000 ethnic Rohingya seeking asylum in Malaysia today, including 20,800 registered with the agency.

"Based on information gathered from the refugee communities, it is estimated that there are about 10,000 more asylum-seekers who have not yet been registered," Yante Ismail, an external relations officer with the agency, explained.

At the Rohingya Society in Malaysia (RSM), a community-based organization, deputy president Abdul Ghani and a small staff assist in registering asylum-seekers for UNHCR, which then determines their status.

It is a difficult process as most Rohingya arrivals are male and often seen by authorities as economic migrants.

But Ghani is quick to deny this. "Please don't link Rohingyas to economic migrants. We Rohingya left our country because of harassment, because of torture, the confiscation of our land. That's why we left our country to get protection from a third country. We ran away from the military regime's harassment."

Indeed, many at the RSM center tell of the struggle to earn enough to survive and feed their families in Myanmar.

"It's impossible to maintain a peaceful family life, so I had to flee," said one young man, awaiting an interview. "Nasaka [paramilitary] forces would order us to work at their camps. If we don't go, they come to our houses during the night and take us. They lock us up in the stockade and beat us."

For many new arrivals, assimilation into Malaysia's Muslim-dominated culture is easier than in their former homeland, but until solid legislature is implemented for proper work permits, the refugees are in limbo, say aid workers.

According to UNHCR, those Rohingya who are working are in the informal sector, including irregular, low-paying menial work in construction, domestic positions, or in the local markets.

Source: All Headline News (AHN).
Link: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/90050883?Rohingyas%20in%20Malaysia%20seek%20education%2C%20opportunities.

Jordan blasts Israel's killing of Arab protesters on Golan Heights

By ABDUL JALIL MUSTAFA | ARAB NEWS
Jun 6, 2011

AMMAN: The Jordanian government on Monday condemned the killing of scores of peaceful Arab protesters by Israeli troops on the occupied Syrian Golan Heights on Sunday.

“Israel is applying double standards by preaching values of democracy and freedom and at the same time gives orders to its forces to kill armless people who were protesting the continued occupation of their land in violation of international law and UN resolutions,” Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said in a statement.

At least 23 people were reportedly killed and scored wounded when Arab protesters approached the Israeli lines on the Golan Heights Sunday to mark the 44th anniversary of occupation of the Syrian territory.

Judeh pointed out that the growing Arab protests against Israeli occupation of Arab lands “reflected pessimism and frustration on the part of Arab peoples over Israel’s obstinacy and failure to respond to serious world efforts” aimed at ending the Arab-Israeli conflict.

He said: “maintaining stability and real security in the Middle East lay in Israel’s evacuation of all Arab lands it occupied in the 1967 war and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article449561.ece.

Bahraini Activists: London, Tel Aviv Aid Manama Regime in Suppressing People

2011-06-08

TEHRAN (FNA)- A prominent Bahraini human rights and political activist underlined Britain and Israel's support for the suppression of peaceful protesters in Bahrain.

Speaking to FNA on Wednesday, Head of Bahrain Freedom Movement Saeed al-Shahabi said that recent media reports, including a report by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks, proves that Tel Aviv is collaborating with the Manama government in suppressing anti-regime demonstrations in the tiny Persian Gulf island.

Shahabi also pointed to London's support for the Al Khalifa dynasty, and stated, "Several reports released by different media outlets have revealed that the Saudi military forces deployed in Bahrain are being trained in Britain. Given the fact that there is no war with a foreign country, it is evident that these courses are aimed at training the Saudi troops how to suppress the Bahraini people."

He blasted continued occupation of Bahrain by the Saudi forces, and expressed confidence that the end of the Saudi occupation will be similar to that of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 80s.

The move will eventually result in the collapse of the Saudi regime and Riyadh will have a fate no better than that of the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, he reiterated.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty's over-40-year rule.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar - were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13 to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

So far, tens of people have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and about 1,000 others have been injured.

The Bahraini people condemn Riyadh's involvement in the suppression of the revolution, and have repeatedly underlined that they will continue protests until the regime collapses.

Source: FARS.
Link: http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9003180562.

Muslim Brotherhood officially enters Egyptian politics

June 8, 2011
By Kristen Chick

Egypt's interim government this week recognized the new political party of the Muslim Brotherhood, a formerly banned group that is seeking a prominent role in the new Egypt.

After being officially banned from politics for decades, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is charging into the political fray under its official banner, looking to become a major player in the post-revolution government.

Egypt’s interim government this week officially recognized the group’s new political party, the Freedom and Justice Party, clearing it to participate in September parliamentary elections. The party has pledged to contest about half the seats, leading to predictions that the Brotherhood will be a dominant force in the new political landscape.

But it may be less formidable than it appears. The organization’s response to the new freedom in Egypt is exposing cracks in its facade. In particular, it has alienated some young members who participated in the uprising to overthrow former President Hosni Mubarak, only to turn around and discover their own leaders wielding heavy-handed tactics.

While Brotherhood leaders say the Freedom and Justice Party is independent of the Brotherhood, they have appointed prominent members of their organization to lead the party and forbidden Brotherhood members from joining any other parties. They have also opposed the presidential run of a popular Brotherhood reformist, questioning members who have publicly supported him.

“We have a different vision for political reform in Egypt [than the Brotherhood does],” says Ali Abdel Hafiz, a young Brotherhood member who is particularly unhappy about the ban on joining other parties. “It's not a wise decision to just collect all these political ideologies in one party. Why don't you make everyone free to make their own parties?”

Rigid organization could lead to group's collapse

Mr. Abdel Hafiz, a cheerful graduate student in engineering, and hundreds of other young members considered leaving the Brotherhood and forming their own party. They have deferred that decision until later, but Abdel Hafiz is half expecting to be kicked out of the organization for his public support for Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, a Brotherhood member running for president against the wishes of the leadership.

Dr. Aboul Fotouh is a reformist who is well-liked by many of the Brotherhood youth. Brotherhood leaders have approached some of his young supporters and questioned them or asked them to choose between the organization and Fotouh, says Abdel Hafiz.

Such tactics might have worked when the group was suppressed by an authoritarian regime, but they will not help the Brotherhood succeed in the new, freer Egypt, says Ibrahim El Houdaiby, a former member of the Brotherhood who is now an independent analyst.

“The Brotherhood has two options. The first is to be a rigid organization that insists on having only one legal political manifestation, and in that case the Brotherhood would eventually collapse,” he says. “The other is to be a more flexible organization, allowing different political manifestations and retreating from the political domain to the civil domain and operating in the background of society to shape ... social roles and so forth. In this case, it would grow more powerful. It would be able to capitalize as an organization on the social capital.”

Abdel Hafiz has a vision for the Brotherhood along the lines of that second option, where the Brotherhood would remain a social force, but leave members to participate in politics independently and not obligate them to join a certain party. The Brotherhood has long poured its energy into social welfare projects and proselytizing as well as political participation.

But with leaders proceeding along the first path, Houdaiby predicts a slow exodus from the group as members react to the rigidness from the top and discover they have new options in the new Egypt. While they may all come from the same foundation of wanting Islam to govern social and political life, the group’s members differ in specific political and economic, policies, he says.

Brotherhood's defense

Brotherhood leaders defend the organization’s actions in setting up the Freedom and Justice Party, saying that the party is independent of the Brotherhood and members will elect leaders as soon as party elections are feasible.

Essam El Erian, a longtime member of the Guidance Bureau and newly appointed deputy leader of the Freedom and Justice Party, says it is not restrictive to prevent Brotherhood members from joining other parties. “It is of course, a very natural decision,” he says. “It is nonsense to create many parties from one organization. How can anyone imagine that one organization should create two or three parties?”

But Aboul Fotouh, the Brotherhood member who last month announced he would run as an independent presidential candidate, disagrees.

“This is against the way of the Muslim Brotherhood,” he says. “The Muslim Brotherhood cannot obligate any of its members to take a certain view in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) or economics or politics.” He also criticizes the Brotherhood for appointing party members, rather than electing them.

The former pediatrician’s decision to run for president as an independent has revealed another vein of dissent in the Brotherhood. As a long-time reformer in the Brotherhood, whose views are more moderate than the leadership, he is more popular among reform-minded youth than among the group’s leaders.

Brotherhood leaders said they would not run a presidential candidate, and the fall race for the top seat could turn into a situation where the Muslim Brotherhood is telling its members to vote against one of their own.

The numbers of young Brotherhood members publicly supporting Aboul Fotouh and criticizing the leadership are still small. But that could change. “We've a very small number but our voices are loud,” says Abdel Hafiz. “I think they are afraid that if we go away, other people will follow us.”

Source: The Christian Science Monitor.
Link: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0608/Muslim-Brotherhood-officially-enters-Egyptian-politics.