Libya presidential guards defect as conflict deepens

17 October 2016 Monday

The Presidential Guards of Libya’s UN-backed unity government has defected and joined a rival administration.

In a statement on Monday, the Guards said they have joined the salvation government of the Tripoli-based General National Congress.

The statement accused the unity government of siding with “putschists” – in reference to gen. Khalifa Haftar, the commander of forces aligned with another rival government based in Tobruk in eastern Libya.

“The UN-brokered political agreement and unity government was put forth in order to establish a place for Khalifa Haftar and enable him to rule Libya by force,” the statement said.

On Friday, forces loyal to the salvation government took over offices of the unity government in Tripoli after clashes with unity government troops.

The government, which stepped aside in March in favor of the UN-backed cabinet, said it plans to seize all other state facilities in Tripoli, including the central bank and ministries.

Libya has been wracked by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody uprising ended with the ouster and death of longtime strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government -- one in Tobruk and another in Tripoli -- each of which boasts its own military capacity and legislative assembly.

Last year, Libya’s rival governments signed a UN-sponsored agreement that resulted in the formation of a unity government that has largely failed to resolve the conflict.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/178781/libya-presidential-guards-defect-as-conflict-deepens.

Remembering the massacre of Algerians in Paris

October 17, 2016

Fifty-five years ago today, hundreds of Algerians were massacred by French police and had their bodies thrown in the Seine River.

What: Paris Massacre

When: 17 October 1961

Where: Paris, France

What Happened?

On 5 October 1961, a curfew from was imposed from 20:30 to 05.30 on Paris for “Algerian Muslim workers”, “French Muslims” and “French Muslims of Algeria”. The French Federation of the Algerian National Liberation Front called on Algerians in Paris to demonstrate peacefully against the curfew on 17 October 1961.

Paris police chief, Maurice Papon, assembled 7,000 policemen and riot police to block the demonstration and all access to the capital. Between 30,000-40,000 Algerians joined the demonstration as police raids were carried out all over Paris where 11,000 Algerians were arrested and transported to internment centers.

Those who remained in the demonstration where soon met by gunfire from police officers on the Neuilly bridge. Those that were injured were drowning and the bodies of the dead were thrown into the Seine River below. Around 200-300 Algerians died as a result of the police repression.

What Happened next?

Papon would later be convicted of crimes against humanity for his part in deporting Jews to death camps during the Nazi occupation. The officers under his command who perpetrated the massacre had served in Algeria and had been linked to the deportation of Jews in the city for the Gestapo 19 years earlier.

In 1998 France finally recognized the events of 17 October as a massacre however no one was prosecuted for their participation in the killings due to the general amnesty for crimes committed during the Algerian War.

In 2001, the event was officially acknowledged in Paris by the unveiling of a memorial plaque near the Pont Saint-Michel and on 7 October 2012, President François Hollande acknowledged the 1961 massacre of Algerians in Paris...

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161017-remembering-the-massacre-of-algerians-in-paris/.

Venezuela braces for turbulence after recall is stalled

October 22, 2016

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela is bracing for turbulence after the socialist government blocked a presidential recall referendum in a move opposition leaders are calling a coup. The opposition is urging supporters to take to the streets next week, while a leading government figure is calling for the arrest of high-profile government critics.

Polls suggest socialist President Nicolas Maduro would lose a recall vote. But that became a moot issue on Thursday when elections officials issued an order suspending a recall signature drive a week before it was to start.

"What we saw yesterday was a coup," said former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, who had been the leading champion of the recall effort. "We'll remain peaceful, but we will not be taken for fools. We must defend our country."

The socialists won power nearly two decades ago with the election of the popular former President Hugo Chavez, and for years enjoyed easy election victories. But with the economy in free-fall, polls show most Venezuelans have turned against the party, and over the years, the administration has gradually become increasingly autocratic.

Critical television stations have been closed and several leading opposition activists have been imprisoned. The country's supreme court, packed with government supporters, has endorsed decree powers for Maduro and said he can ignore Congress following a landslide victory for the opposition in legislative elections.

The election commission, which has issued a string of pro-government rulings, halted the recall process on grounds of alleged irregularities in a first-round of signature gathering. Polls suggest 80 percent of voters wanted Maduro gone this year, and the electoral council on Tuesday also ordered a delay of about six months in gubernatorial elections that were slated for year-end which the opposition was heavily favored to win. It gave no reason for the delay.

The opposition charges that in the face of such overwhelming voter discontent, the socialist party has simply decided to put off elections indefinitely. The opposition coalition has called for a massive street protest Wednesday, on what would have been the start of the signature-gathering campaign.

Maduro was traveling outside the country, but in a televised address Friday he urged calm at home. "I call on everyone to remain peaceful, to engage in dialogue, respect law and order and not to do anything crazy," he said.

Meanwhile, one of his most powerful allies, Diosdado Cabello, said top opposition leaders should be jailed for attempting election fraud. And opposition leaders said the government might be taking steps in that direction.

Capriles and opposition spokesman Jesus Torrealba on Friday posted online what appeared to be a local court order barring eight leaders from leaving the country. The document gave no reason. The opposition had centered its energy on rallying Venezuelans to sign petitions next week demanding a referendum on Maduro's removal. That would require collecting and validating 4 million signatures from 20 percent of the electorate within three days in each of the country's 24 states.

"This a big deal and reveals that the government was fearful of what could happen in the three-day signature collection period. They have effectively postponed the recall referendum indefinitely. This measure makes it difficult to think of Venezuela as a democracy," said David Smilde, a Venezuela expert at the Washington Office on Latin America.

But the campaign had already become mostly symbolic because the election board ruled in September that no vote would take place this year. That timing is crucial. A successful vote to oust Maduro this year would have triggered a presidential election and given the opposition a good shot at winning power. If Maduro is voted out in 2017, though, his vice president will finish the presidential term, leaving the socialists in charge.

The electoral council said Thursday decision was based on rulings by courts in four states that found there was fraud in the initial stage of the petition drive, when the opposition collected signatures from 1 percent of electorate.

The council itself had validated those signatures in August and allowed the process to move forward. It gave no indication if or when the process would be resumed. The move sparked a new round of international condemnation of the socialist government.

Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio called Friday for increased sanctions on Venezuela, the head of the Organization of American States promised concrete consequences for violating democratic norms, and U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the elections board was being used to block voters' "right to determine the direction of their country."

Opposition cries dictatorship after Venezuela blocks recall

October 21, 2016

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Venezuelan opposition's campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro has been thrown into disarray with elections officials' decision to suspend a recall drive against the socialist leader a week before it was to start.

In a related move, a court appeared to issue a ruling Friday blocking key opposition leaders from leaving the country. With the latest actions, the government has effectively halted the effort to stage a recall effort that polls suggest Maduro would have lost by a wide margin. The ruling is particularly dramatic because it comes just days before critics of the socialist administration were to start gathering the one-fifth of voters' signatures needed to place the issue on the ballot.

"This is a big deal and reveals that the government was fearful of what could happen in the three-day signature collection period. They have effectively postponed the recall referendum indefinitely. This measure makes it difficult to think of Venezuela as a democracy," said David Smilde, a Venezuela expert at the Washington Office on Latin America.

Officials cited alleged fraud in a preliminary effort to get 1 percent of voters' signatures as justification for blocking the opposition from proceeding to the next stage of the referendum on Maduro's removal. His critics blame the late President Hugo Chavez's heir for Venezuela's economic collapse, bare store shelves and the jailing of opposition leaders.

The opposition immediately blasted the decision as unconstitutional. "The government is pushing toward a very dangerous scenario," former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on Twitter. Capriles and opposition spokesman Jesus Torrealba on Friday posted a document online that appeared to be from a local court, and barred eight leaders from leaving the embattled South American country without giving a reason.

The suspension of the recall came as a shock to many Venezuelans, who were gearing up for the chance to sign petitions next week seeking the embattled leader's removal. To trigger a stay-or-go referendum, the opposition needed to collect and validate some 4 million signatures from 20 percent of the electorate in 24 states over three days next week.

Critics of Venezuela's 17-year left-wing administration have made the recall their central political issue after being sidelined in Congress and in virtually all other public institutions this year. But the campaign had already become mostly symbolic after elections officials in September said no vote would take place this year.

That timing is crucial. A successful vote to oust Maduro this year would have triggered a presidential election and given the opposition a good shot at winning power. If Maduro is voted out in 2017, though, his vice president will finish the presidential term, leaving the socialists in charge.

The electoral council's decision Thursday was in response to rulings earlier in the day by courts in four Venezuelan states that found there was fraud in the initial stage of the petition drive. During that stage the opposition had collected signatures from 1 percent of electorate.

But in standing by those low-court rulings it appeared to be ignoring its own decision in August validating the signatures and allowing the process to move forward. It gave no indication if and when the process would be resumed.

"In adherence with the constitution, the National Electoral Council abides by the decisions ordered by the tribunals and has sent instructions to postpone the process of signature gathering until new judicial instructions are known," it said in a statement.

Although the government-stacked electoral board had already thrown a number of obstacles in the way of Maduro's opponents, many had hoped that the next stage of the complex process would have drawn onto the streets millions of Venezuelans who polls show overwhelmingly favor firing Maduro, who they blame for triple-digit inflation and long food lines.

The ruling comes on the heels of another decision by the electoral council this week to suspend by about six months gubernatorial elections that were slated for year-end which the opposition was heavily favored to win.

Polls say a majority of Venezuelans want Maduro gone. The opposition charges that in the face of overwhelming voter discontent, the socialist party has simply decided to put off elections indefinitely.

The opposition staged its largest street demonstration in years on Sept. 1, with a rally in Caracas demanding a referendum against Maduro be held in 2016. But apart from that protest, most anti-government rallies this year have been relatively small and quick to disperse.

Hard line leaders immediately started calling for more massive street protests in the face of election authority's ruling. "This is the time for national unity," wrote former congresswoman Maria Corina Machado on her Twitter account. "Every single person must take to the streets, with strength and without fear, to make the transition a reality."

Thousands attend warlord's funeral in Ukraine's rebel east

October 19, 2016

MOSCOW (AP) — Thousands turned out Wednesday for the funeral of a senior commander of pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine, who was killed in a bomb blast. Arsen Pavlov, 33, also known by nom de guerre Motorola, was killed Sunday when an unidentified device exploded in an elevator of his apartment building in Donetsk. His bodyguard was also killed.

Thousands lined up in Donetsk on Wednesday to pay tribute at the local opera house, where his body was displayed. Rebel officials blamed the explosion on Ukrainian saboteurs and threatened retribution. He was reportedly called Motorola because he dealt with communications when he served in the Russian military in the 1990s.

Russian-born Pavlov became one of the most recognizable faces of the separatist movement. His unit took part in some of the fiercest battles in the conflict that has killed more than 9,600 since April 2014.

Ukrainian officials have accused Pavlov of war crimes, and he once admitted personally killing 15 prisoners of war. Pavlov's death came as leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France were set to meet in Berlin on Wednesday for talks aimed at reviving the stalled peace process in eastern Ukraine.

The 2015 Minsk deal brokered by France and Germany envisaged that Ukraine regains control of the rebellious region's border with Russia after granting them special status, holding local elections there and offering amnesty to the rebels.

Ukraine has accused Russia of failing to withdraw its troops and weapons from the east, but Moscow has denied having any presence there. The Kremlin, in turn, has argued that Ukraine has failed to meet its end of the Minsk deal by not providing autonomy to the eastern regions and calling elections there.

Some said that Pavlov's killing could further fuel tensions in the region. "Despite a shaky truce, there is a real danger of the resumption of hostilities in eastern Ukraine," said Vadim Karasyov, a Kiev-based political analyst.

Romanians march to demand reunification with Moldova

October 22, 2016

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — More than 2,000 people marched through the Romanian capital Saturday demanding the country's reunification with neighboring Moldova. Demonstrators waved the virtually identical Romanian and Moldovan flags as they filed down the city's main streets. They shouted "Bassarabia is part of Romania," using the historical name for Moldova.

Some briefly scuffled with police. A photographer for The Associated Press saw police detain two people after fights broke out. Riot police said five were briefly detained and fined. Organizer George Simion said protesters wanted political parties running in Romania's December parliamentary elections to make reunification "a national project," and take steps to integrate the neighbors, such as developing energy links and a joint currency.

Some protesters remained in a central square Saturday evening after the march ended. Moldova was part of Romania until 1940, when it was annexed to the Soviet Union, and declared independence in 1991.

Some four-fifths of Moldovans, an Eastern European country of 4 million, are of Romanian descent. Romanian is the official language in Moldova, while Russian is widely used. However, the reunification cause does not have much support in either Romania or Moldova.

France moving more than 6,000 migrants, destroying huge camp

October 24, 2016

CALAIS, France (AP) — Lines of migrants with their lives in small bags walked to a registration center in the French port city of Calais Monday, the first day of the mass evacuation and destruction of the filthy camp they called home.

French authorities are beginning a complex operation, unprecedented in Europe, to shut down the makeshift camp, uprooting thousands who made treacherous journeys to escape wars, dictators or grinding poverty and dreamed of making a life in Britain.

Under the eye of more than 1,200 police, the first of hundreds of buses were arriving to begin transferring migrants to reception centers around France where they can apply for asylum, and level the camp in a weeklong operation. Hotels and even castles are among the hundreds of centers officials have been converting to migrant housing ahead of the big move.

Unaccompanied minors, many with family members in Britain, were to be housed on-site in containers set up earlier this year as their files are studied in London to see if they qualify for a transfer across the English Channel. The humanitarian organization France Terre d'Asile, says 1,291 unaccompanied minors live in the camp.

Authorities say the camp, known as the jungle, holds nearly 6,500 migrants who are seeking to get to Britain. Fourteen migrants have died this year in the Calais area. Officials were expected to begin dismantling hundreds of tents and shelters as their occupants depart, gradually closing down the camp that sprung up behind an official shelter housing women and providing showers and daily meals.