Indonesia rejects foreign appeals, executes 6 drug convicts

January 18, 2015

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia brushed aside last-minute appeals by foreign leaders and executed by firing squad six people convicted of drug trafficking, including five foreigners, sending a message that the new government will not compromise its tough approach to narcotics.

Four men from Brazil, Malawi, Nigeria and the Netherlands and an Indonesian woman were shot to death simultaneously in pairs just after midnight Saturday, several kilometers (miles) from a high-security prison on Nusakambangan island. The other, a woman from Vietnam, was executed in Boyolali, according to Attorney General Office's spokesman Tony Spontana. Both areas are in Central Java province.

Their bodies were brought from the island by ambulances early Sunday either for burial or cremation, as requested by relatives and representatives of their embassies. Indonesian President Joko Widodo in December rejected their clemency requests. He also refused a last-minute appeal by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and the Dutch government to spare their countrymen — Brazilian Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira, 53, and Ang Kiem Soe, 52, who was born in Papua but whose nationality is Dutch.

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said in a statement late Saturday that he had temporarily recalled the country's ambassador to Indonesia and summoned Indonesia's representative in The Hague to protest Ang's execution. He said it was carried out despite King Willem-Alexander and Prime Minister Mark Rutte personally contacting Widodo.

Koenders called the execution "a cruel and inhumane punishment ... an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity." Rousseff said she was outraged and appalled by the execution, according to a government statement.

The execution "creates a stain, a shadow in the bilateral relationship," said Marco Aurelio Garcia, the Brazilian president's foreign affairs special adviser. "There was no sensitivity on the part of the Indonesian government."

Amnesty International said the first executions under Indonesia's new president, who took office in November, were "a retrograde step" for human rights. Indonesian Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo has said there is no excuse for drug dealers and that "hopefully, this will have a deterrent effect."

Prasetyo said the new government had a firm commitment to fight against drugs. Widodo has said he will not grant clemency to the dozens of drug convicts on death row. "What we do is merely aimed at protecting our nation from the danger of drugs," Prasetyo told reporters Thursday. He said figures from the National Anti-Narcotic Agency showed 40 to 50 people die each day from drugs in Indonesia.

He said that drug trafficking rings have spread to many places, including remote villages where most victims are youngsters of productive age. Indonesia has become the largest drug market in Southeast Asia, with 45 percent of the region's drugs in circulation.

A second batch of executions will be held later this year and also target drug smugglers, Prasetyo said. Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago nation of 250 million people, has extremely strict drug laws and often executes smugglers. More than 138 people are on death row, mostly for drug crimes. About a third of them are foreigners.

Moreira, the Brazilian, was arrested in 2003 after police at Jakarta's airport found 13.4 kilograms (29.5 pounds) of cocaine hidden in his hang glider. A second Brazilian national, Rodrigo Muxfeldt Gularte, remains on death row in Indonesia, also convicted of drug trafficking.

Ang was arrested near Jakarta in 2003 after police found equipment that they estimated had been producing 15,000 ecstasy pills a day for three years. Police confiscated 8,000 pills and thousands of dollars.

The others who were executed were Namaona Denis, 48, from Malawi; Daniel Enemuo, 38, from Nigeria; and Indonesian Rani Andriani. Tran Bich Hanh of Vietnam asked authorities to let her face the firing squad uncuffed as one of her last wishes, said Spontana, the Attorney General Office's spokesman.

Associated Press writers Mike Corder in The Hague and Adriana Gomez Licon in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.

Egypt signs agreements to purchase advanced French warplanes

February 16, 2015

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt signed agreements to purchase 24 advanced fighter jets from France on Monday, hours after Egyptian aircraft bombed Islamic State targets in Libya and implored foreign governments for help fighting extremists in the region.

The deal for 24 of Dassault Aviation's multi-role Rafale aircraft as well as a frigate and munitions, underlines how many are willing to overlook Egypt's poor human rights record when it comes to weapons sales as Cairo emerges as a key player in the fight against the Islamic State group.

At a ceremony in the gilded Presidential Palace in the Egyptian capital, French business executives including Dassault CEO Eric Trappier signed the agreements with Egyptian generals, shaking hands and kissing each other's cheeks.

Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Sedki Sobhi said the weapons would help Egypt boost security and fight terrorism. "Without a doubt, the stability and security of Egypt are an essential base for the stability and security of countries of the Mediterranean, as well as countries of the European Union and above all, your country, which has been confronted in recent months by terrorist acts," Sobhi said, referring to last month's deadly attack on a Paris satirical magazine.

Monday's Egyptian airstrikes in Libya were a swift retribution for extremists' beheadings of Egyptian Christian hostages, shown in a grisly online video released hours earlier. Libya's air force commander said the strikes were coordinated and killed some 50 militants, while two Libyan security officials said civilians, including three children and two women, were among the casualties. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Libya, Egypt's western neighbor, has slid into chaos since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian condemned the killing of the Egyptian hostages in Libya, calling the Rafale deal "the beginning of reinforced cooperation to serve regional security."

"These events show that the threats are accumulating, and we are measuring their severity every day. To confront these threats we need allies," he said. "Today our two countries are leading a common combat against terrorism."

U.S. ally Egypt, which has for decades received up to $1.3 billion annually in military aid from Washington, is seeking to diversify its arms providers. Its military remains largely U.S.-trained and equipped, although Russian news agency Interfax reported last week that Moscow has $3.5 billion in new contracts with Cairo for military aircraft, air defense missiles and other weapons.

Washington had withheld some of its aid after the Egyptian army ousted a freely elected Islamist president in 2013, but has for example released a delivery of Apache helicopters last year. Ben Moores, senior defense analyst at IHS Jane's in London, said the new Rafale aircraft will significantly improve Egypt's ability to drop advanced munitions on targets with precision, compared to its current workhorse jet, an older variant of the American F-16.

"This gives them a much better strike capability, because the targeting system is much better than what their existing aircraft have," Moores said. "Probably the biggest difference is that it comes with advanced radar, which is effectively like moving from analog to digital."

"With this platform, they're going to get access to a lot of precision guided weaponry ... they'll be able to drop bombs on very particular targets with much lower collateral damage, and that makes a massive difference when dealing with public scrutiny."

A French Defense Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of ministry protocol, has said the total value of Monday's sale was 5.2 billion euros ($5.93 billion). Besides extremists in Libya, Egypt currently faces a militant insurgency in the restive Sinai Peninsula, and is weighing intervention in Yemen if Shiite rebels there threaten shipping lanes in the strategic Red Sea via the Suez Canal.

"Now they'll be able to strike all over Libya and potentially Yemen as well," Moores said. "And that will be crucial because both those places are turning into failed states where extremists can set up shop easily."

Egypt: Party of Former Presidential Candidate to Boycott Parliamentary Elections

4 February 2015

Cairo — Strong Egypt party, headed by former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, announced in a press conference on Wednesday that it will not participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections "given the absence of a democratic environment."

The elections are due to be held over two phases, with the first running from March 22 and 23 and the second phase being held on April 26 and 27.

Strong Egypt party issued a statement, saying that all the "revolution's slogans are in setback," adding that this comes in "parallel with unprecedented terrorist operations."

The party added that instead of confronting "terrorism," the executive authority, specifically naming the presidency, are widening the "societal split" and the rift between political groups and between classes of society.

The party has regularly expressed opposition to the current Egyptian regime's policies and boycotted the presidential elections held in May 2014, which brought Sisi to power.

It said it will reach to the Egyptian people to raise their awareness on political, social and economic rights, offering "political alternatives."

The party said it will continue to cooperate with political opposition groups that believe in peaceful political action to "found a real democratic path."

Once completed, the parliamentary elections are considered the last step in the political roadmap that was announced by the military after the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013 following mass protests against his rule.

The legislature will be made up of 567 seats and will be the first elected under Sisi.

Source: allAfrica.
Link: http://allafrica.com/stories/201502050746.html.

Bosnian Serbs pass law limiting freedom of speech

February 05, 2015

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Lawmakers in the Serb part of Bosnia passed a controversial law Thursday that allows authorities to fine people who post offensive content on social networks — a move rights activists have labeled as limiting freedom of expression.

The law was passed by a vote of 46-0 after opposition lawmakers left the session in protest. One lawmaker said the region, Republika Srpska, can now change its name to "North Republika Srpska," drawing a parallel to the harsh censorship in North Korea.

The regional parliament extended the definition of public space in the existing public order law to include social networks. What would constitute "offensive content" is open to government interpretation.

Under public pressure, lawmakers agreed to exclude criticism of the government from the bill. But activists fear the government could still prevent protesters from using social media to organize demonstrations, by labeling the events violations of public order.

Prior to the vote, journalists associations, civil society groups, foreign embassies and the Organization for Security and Cooperation all urged the parliament not to adopt such a law. "Officials may be left to interpret what is considered disturbing or offensive, possibly leading to arbitrary or abusive charges," said Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of Media.

The EU delegation to Bosnia said freedom of expression must be upheld without reservation, especially in a country aspiring to become an EU member. Sinisa Vukelic, from the journalists union told the AP Thursday that the union will ask the president of the Bosnian Serb region not to sign the law.

Ukraine says some soldiers taken prisoner in Debaltseve

February 17, 2015

LUHANSKE, Ukraine (AP) — Several Ukrainian government soldiers have been ambushed and taken prisoners in Debaltseve, the defense ministry said Tuesday, but denied rebel claims that they have seized control of the key transportation hub.

The ministry said street fighting continued in Debaltseve, which has been the epicenter of fighting in the past two weeks. It did not say how many soldiers had been seized in the ambush. The Ukrainian presidential office earlier Tuesday called on the European Union and NATO to condemn the Russia-backed rebels for violating the cease-fire brokered by European leaders last week.

Russian news agencies quoted Valery Chaly, chief of the Ukrainian presidential administration, as saying that Kiev wants the EU and NATO to "resolutely condemn" the separatists for violating the deals.

The war in eastern Ukraine has already killed more than 5,600 people and displaced more than a million, the United Nations said on Monday. It has also left the country's industrial heartland in ruins.

The government troops and rebels faced a deadline Tuesday to start pulling back heavy weapons from the front line. Rebel commander Vladimir Kononov said on Russian television that most of Debaltseve was under their control and urged the Ukrainian troops to surrender.

"Their only choice is to leave behind weaponry, lay down arms and surrender," he said. The announcement by the rebels came after fierce fighting that appeared to be focused on Debaltseve. Both sides in the conflict claim the town is on their side of the cease-fire line. The issue was not resolved under the cease-fire agreement negotiated last week by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France.

Also Tuesday, a deadline passed under the agreement for both sides to begin pulling back weaponry from the front line. The rebels said they were about to begin withdrawing their big guns on some sections of the frontline. A rebel military official, Eduard Basurin, announced in a televised briefing that they "will take the initiative" and begin to pull back heavy weaponry from the frontline. He did not provide a timeline for this.

The Ukrainian government, however, insisted on a comprehensive cease-fire before pulling back its weaponry. Associated Press reporters saw artillery rounds fired Tuesday from Ukrainian government positions at rebel positions around Debaltseve. Sustained shelling was heard in the area all morning, some coming from Grad rocket launchers.

Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters Tuesday that the separatists continued to attack government positions overnight around Debaltseve and that the pullout hinged on the cease-fire being fully observed. He said at least five troops were killed and nine injured in the past 24 hours in the war zone.

The cease-fire deal, which was brokered by European leaders last week and went into effect early Sunday, specifies the pullout begins on the second day after the parties stop fighting. This condition has not been met, Lysenko said.

"As soon as the fire ceases ... we will be ready to begin the withdrawal," he said. Fighting has stopped or subsided in some parts of war-torn eastern Ukraine, however. Basurin said Tuesday they separatists had not seen any violations of the cease-fire in the area around the rebel stronghold of Donetsk since 8 p.m. Monday.

Rupert Colville, spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, told a briefing in Geneva on Tuesday that the UN is "alarmed" by reports of continued shelling in the areas and have not yet been able to get reliable information on the casualties there and the wellbeing of civilians.

"It is unclear how many civilians are still there," he said. "We are particularly concerned about the civilians trapped in the area - we believe there may be a few thousand hiding in cellars, struggling to get food, water and other basic necessities."

Elsewhere, at least one rebel leader claimed that his troops had begun to withdraw their heavy weapons. "I was at the front line last night, and our tanks, our artillery were pulling back," Igor Plotnitsky, the leader of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, northeast of Debaltseve, was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency Tass.

He added that he "expects the same from Ukraine." Due to security issues, his claims could not be immediately verified. Lysenko said the Ukrainian troops "have not noticed any such actions" on the ground.

The separatists were expected to discuss the withdrawal of the weaponry later Tuesday with representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the group charged with monitoring the cease-fire, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

In a phone call late on Monday German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his influence on the separatists to ensure that they stop the fighting.

Merkel's office reported that the three leaders agreed on "concrete steps to enable an observation" of the situation in Debaltseve by the OSCE. It did not elaborate on what these steps would be. OSCE representatives could not get to Debaltseve on Monday because of the heavy fighting there.

Vasilyeva reported from Moscow. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Balint Szlanko in Artemivsk, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

Ukraine army, rebels face deadline to start weapons pullback

February 17, 2015

LUHANSKE, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian government troops and Russia-backed rebels faced a deadline Tuesday to start pulling back heavy weapons from the front line in eastern Ukraine, but Associated Press reporters saw no signs of it on the ground.

Ukrainian military spokesman Anatoliy Stelmakh said in televised comments Tuesday that the separatists continued to attack government positions overnight around the town of Debaltseve and that the pullout hinged on the cease-fire being fully observed.

"As soon as the militants cease fire, the Ukrainian side will begin to withdraw heavy weaponry from the front line," he said. Fighting has stopped or subsided in some parts of war-torn eastern Ukraine, however. Rebel mouthpiece the Donetsk News Agency quoted rebel officials saying Tuesday they had not seen any violations of the cease-fire in their area since 8 p.m. Monday.

Debaltseve is a government-held town surrounded by rebel forces, and both sides claim it should be on their side of the cease-fire line. The issue was not resolved under a cease-fire agreement negotiated last week by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France.

Associated Press reporters saw artillery rounds fired Tuesday from Ukrainian government positions at rebel positions around Debaltseve. Sustained shelling was heard in the area all morning, some coming from Grad rocket launchers.

Elsewhere, at least one rebel leader claimed that his troops had begun to withdraw their heavy weapons. "I was at the front line last night, and our tanks, our artillery were pulling back," Igor Plotnitsky, the leader of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, northeast of Debaltseve, was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency Tass.

He added that he "expects the same from Ukraine." Due to security issues, his claims could not be immediately verified. The Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted rebel leader Andrei Purgin as saying the separatists plan to discuss the withdrawal of the weaponry later Tuesday with representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the group charged with monitoring the cease-fire, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The leaders of Ukraine, Russia and Germany discussed the cease-fire in a phone call late Monday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his influence on the separatists to ensure that they stop the fighting.

Merkel's office reported that the three leaders agreed on "concrete steps to enable an observation" of the situation in Debaltseve by the OSCE. It did not elaborate on what these steps would be. OSCE representatives could not get to Debaltseve on Monday because of the heavy fighting there.

Geir Moulson in Berlin, Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow and Balint Szlanko in Artemivsk, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

Hungary says agreement reached on new gas deal with Russia

February 17, 2015

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's prime minister says his country has reached a "political agreement" with Moscow on a new gas deal, Hungary's main aim in hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Tuesday after his meeting with Putin that only "technical" details needed to be finalized on the deal which will replace a 20-year contract expiring in December. Orban said "Hungary needs Russia" and it was important for Russia to be open to Hungarian products, which have been affected by Russia's ban on EU imports — a countermeasure to EU sanctions against Russia because of the Ukraine crisis.

Orban visited Putin last January when they agreed for Russia to expand Hungary's sole nuclear power plant while providing 10 billion euros ($11.4 billion) to help cover construction costs.

Breakdown of talks over Greece prompts fresh market jitters

February 17, 2015

BRUSSELS (AP) — Greek shares led a European retreat Tuesday as investors reacted negatively to the breakdown in talks between Greece and its creditors in the 19-nation eurozone over the country's attempt to renegotiate its financial bailout.

A meeting on Monday was cut off short, with the eurozone issuing Greece an effective ultimatum, saying the country must accept a key condition by the end of the week or face having to meet its debt commitments on its own — a prospect many in financial markets think would leave Greece little option but to leave the euro.

Greek shares opened more than 4 percent lower. Other markets fell, too, including Germany's DAX, which was down 0.9 percent. "Time is now quickly running out to reach a compromise agreement," said Lee Hardman, an analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. "It is becoming more likely that Greece will exit its current bailout program at the end of the month."

The latest bout of jitters emerged after the eurozone told Greece it has to ask for an extension to its bailout program by Friday before further negotiations on the country's future financing and economic course can take place. Investors are worried that the two sides are poles apart, especially as Greece's new left-wing Syriza government made scrapping the bailout program a cornerstone of its election campaign.

"I hope that they will ask for an extension to the program and once they do that we can allow flexibility inside the program," said Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the top official in the eurozone as he arrived for a meeting in Brussels of European Union finance ministers. "They can put in their political priorities."

Without some sort of financing arrangements in place after the current bailout ends after Feb. 28, Greece would face trouble meeting its obligations, such as debt repayments, over the coming months. Bankruptcy and a potential exit from the euro would loom for Greece once again.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis played down the collapse of the talks and laid out his hope that a deal will be concluded in time. "We know in Europe how to deliberate in such a way as to create a very good solution, an honorable solution out of initial disagreement," he said.

A little more than three weeks after Syriza won the Greek general election, its stance appears unclear to some members of the eurozone. "What the Greek finance minister has said gives us a positive feeling, though I must say that (their) opinions are changing pretty much every day and that actually is our problem," Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling told Germany's Deutschlandfunk radio.

Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

French govt uses power to pass economic reform without vote

February 17, 2015

PARIS (AP) — French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, invoking special powers, pushed through a pro-business economic reform bill without a vote on Tuesday, a move that drew a quick censure motion and will force the government into a showdown vote for its life.

The bill that is meant to spur growth in France's stagnant economy, in part by throwing open some shop doors on Sundays, is a centerpiece of President Francois Hollande's economic strategy. Valls' decision to use Constitutional Article 49-3 to get the measure through the powerful lower house of parliament came shortly before a scheduled vote on the bill.

The decision to take recourse to the rarely used special power was made at an emergency Cabinet meeting. The brief session called by Hollande was part of a dramatic power struggle within the governing Socialist Party, where a group of mavericks contested the bill authored by 37-year-old Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron.

The opposition conservatives' UMP party quickly filed a motion of no confidence, saying Valls' use of Article 49-3 only shows that "this government no longer has a majority." The party denounced the reform as a "compilation of varied measures which frees up neither work nor investment nor activity" and called it a "missed occasion to redress our country."

Valls is now obliged to defend his government and submit to a vote, likely as soon as Thursday evening. Losing the vote means the government falls, but that is widely considered an unlikely prospect. The mavericks within his party have needled the government majority on other issues and while they have grown in numbers they are not expected to help bring down the government.

The prime minister has shown steely determination to get the bill passed. "I will take no responsibility for the risk of rejection of a bill I consider essential to relaunch the economy," Valls said in announcing his decision to invoke special powers.

The bill is aimed at freeing up France's labor rules to invigorate hiring and investment. It contains a patchwork of measures from easing layoffs to boosting Sunday shopping — the issue at the heart of the battle.

Only a scant number of French shops, mainly in tourist areas, are open on Sundays at the moment. Under Macron's law, designated "international tourist zones" would be created with the right to open on Sundays and evenings until midnight. Stores in other areas would be allowed to be open 12 Sundays a year, rather than five currently.

The French president adopted a new economic strategy last year in hopes of kick-starting the economy, with a growth forecast of but 1 percent for 2015 and an unemployment rate of 10 percent.