Police beat mourners in new wave of unrest in Iran

By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian police fired tear gas and beat protesters to disperse thousands chanting "Neda lives!" Thursday at a memorial for victims of post-election violence held at the gravesite of the woman whose death made her an icon of the pro-reform movement, witnesses said.

The new wave of unrest showed the opposition's continuing ability to harness anger over the crackdown, and more protests could erupt around the inauguration next week of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose government has been virtually paralyzed by the crisis.

Thursday's memorial gathering marked the end of the traditional 40-day mourning period for Neda Agha Soltan, a 27-year-old music student who was shot to death June 20. Her dying moments were filmed and circulated widely on the Internet, making her name a rallying cry for the opposition.

"Neda is alive! Ahmadinejad is dead!" chanted protesters, many holding up single red roses tied with green ribbons, the signature color of the opposition.

Plainclothes forces dispersed the crowd with tear gas and batons — and with chants of "Death to those who are against the supreme leader," according to witnesses and state television.

The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisal. The government has banned media from covering some events, including Thursday's memorial.

Demonstrations that drew thousands more later spread to other parts of the capital, Tehran, and more clashes with security forces erupted. Police fired tear gas, shots in the air and paintballs at hundreds of protesters on Vali Asr Street and other major avenues, witnesses said. Protesters set tires and trash cans ablaze in response. There was no word on casualties.

The opposition claims Ahmadinejad's election victory was a fraud and his government has been virtually paralyzed by the 7-week-old crisis. The president has come under attack from both the opposition and his own supporters, who were angered by his appointment of a controversial first vice president he was later forced to sack.

The government says 30 people have been killed in the crackdown, though human rights groups say the true number is likely much higher. Hundreds were arrested in the sweeps, including young protesters, politicians and longtime critics of the government.

Soltan and at least 24 others killed in the crackdown are buried at Behesht-e Zahra, the vast cemetery on Tehran's southern outskirts, according to rights groups tracking the dead.

The site holds great symbolic weight. Many of those killed during the 1979 Islamic revolution are buried there, and the revolution's leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini has a gigantic mausoleum complex nearby. Those killed in Iran's 1980-1988 war with Iraq are also buried in the cemetery, and families frequently visit the graves.

During the revolution, the deaths of protesters prompted similar marches after the 40-day mourning period, which were often answered by security forces attacking mourners in a cycle that helped fuel the street uprising.

Police barred opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi from joining the crowd around Soltan's grave Thursday, witnesses said. Mousavi and his supporters claim he is the true winner of the election.

An amateur video of Thursday's memorial showed thousands marching through the cemetery, chanting and flashing victory signs. Some wore green T-shirts — the color of Mousavi's movement.

When Mousavi tried to approach the grave, hundreds of police surrounded him as supporters chanted "Yaa Hossein, Mir Hossein" — comparing their leader to the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein, who is the most revered Shiite saint. Police forced Mousavi to leave, said witnesses who asked not to be identified out of security concerns.

Afterward, his supporters remained at the grave, chanting, "Death to the dictator," as the crowd swelled to several thousand.

The police charge came when an ally of Mousavi, Mahdi Karroubi — who was also a candidate in the election — tried to give a speech. Karroubi had to flee the site, and several of his aides were beaten and harassed, according to pro-opposition Web sites.

After the clash, thousands of supporters continued to pay their respects at Soltan's grave. Passengers riding the subway from the cemetery to central Tehran chanted slogans against Ahmadinejad, shouting, "Traitor Mahmoud, we want you to become homeless," witnesses said.

Police arrested two prominent Iranian filmmakers when they tried to lay flowers at Soltan's grave — Jafar Panahi, whose film, "The Circle," criticized the treatment of women under the Islamist government and is banned in Iran, and a female documentary maker, Mahnaz Mohammadi.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly criticized the use of force to disperse the mourners, saying it was "particularly disturbing ... to break up a group of people who are trying to exercise an important ritual under Islam, the mourning after 40 days."

Thousands more gathered at the main Mosalla mosque in central Tehran, with heavy security forces nearby and at other major intersections.

Though massive protests and deadly clashes erupted in the days and weeks after the disputed election, Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard and its allied Basij militia have since adopted a zero-tolerance stance. Demonstrators have managed to hold several smaller protests in recent weeks, however.

Thursday's protests showed the opposition movement still has momentum, fueled by growing anger over abuses of detainees and continuing arrests. Ahmadinejad is scheduled to take his oath of office before parliament on Aug. 5 and there is talk in some opposition circles of demonstrations in front of parliament and calls to wear black in mourning.

Ahmadinejad's government has been paralyzed by a double blow — the election crisis and heavy criticism from within his own conservative camp over his appointment of Esfandiar Rahim Mashai as first vice president.

Mashai came under attack by conservatives for once calling Israelis friends of Iran, and Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered Ahmadinejad to dismiss him in a humiliating setback. That was seen as a bid by Khamenei to prevent his hard-line supporters from splintering in the face of the opposition attack on the country's clerical leadership. The top clerics were already deeply divided over the election outcome and the crackdown.

Allegations of torture against jailed protesters have become an embarrassment to the clerical leadership, bringing criticism from top clerics and even fellow conservatives.

Hundreds were arrested in the sweeps, including young protesters, politicians and longtime critics of the government. Many have been held in secret locations, without contact with relatives. In recent weeks, the bruised bodies of several young protesters have been handed over to families. The opposition has said detainees were tortured to extract false confessions for the courts.

Soltan's mother, Hajar Soltan, said she was waiting for her daughter's killers to be arrested and brought to justice.

"Her death has been so painful," she told the British Broadcasting Corp. "Words can never describe my true feelings. But knowing that the world cried for her, that has comforted me. I am proud of her. The world sees her as a symbol and that makes me happy."

Barzani re-elected as Iraqi Kurd president

ARBIL, Iraq (AFP) – Massud Barzani was re-elected president of Iraq's autonomous region of Kurdistan and the two main Kurdish parties, which ran on a joint parliamentary list, won 57 percent of the vote in weekend elections, official results showed on Wednesday.

Barzani, who had been widely expected to win, secured 69.57 percent of the popular vote in Saturday's poll.

The joint Kurdistania list, comprising Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union Kurdistan (PUK) of Jalal Talabani, meanwhile, won 57 percent of the legislative vote.

According to the results a key opposition grouping called Change won 23.57 percent of parliamentary votes, faring much better than expected.

Change, largely made up of PUK defectors, and a leftist-Islamist list called Services and Reform have condemned what they have called voter fraud in the elections, insisting they made bigger breakthroughs than preliminary results showed.

Services and Reform won 12.8 percent of the parliamentary vote, according to Wednesday's results.

Nearly 80 percent of the autonomous Kurdish region's 2.5 million voters took part in what poll officials trumpeted as a transparent election.

The vote was held at a key time in Iraq's transition as regional leaders remain locked in a bitter dispute with Baghdad over land and oil, while local voters also voiced increasing concern over corruption.

Iraq police clash anew with Iran rebel camp residents

by Ali Al-Tuwaijri

KHALES, Iraq (AFP) – Clashes flared for a second day on Wednesday between Iraqi security forces and residents of a camp housing Iran's main exiled opposition, a day after violence left two policemen dead.

More than 400 people were also wounded after Iraqi soldiers stormed the camp on Tuesday, sparking unrest that prompted the deployment of riot police to quell resistance from Camp Ashraf's residents.

"Fighting resumed when Iraqi police established a police station and hoisted the Iraqi flag," police Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim al-Karawi said, adding that Iraqi security forces now controlled about 75 percent of the camp.

The opposition People's Mujahedeen said seven residents of the camp, in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, were killed but there was no independent confirmation of those deaths.

Doctor Abdullah al-Timimi from the main hospital in the nearby town of Khales said the two policemen died on Wednesday from injuries sustained the previous day.

One had suffered internal bleeding following a blow to the head. The other had been stabbed in the neck, he said.

The Iraqi defense ministry was unapologetic about the raid against the camp, saying it was justified under a November security agreement with Washington.

"It's our territory and it's our right to enter, to impose Iraqi law on everybody," defense ministry spokesman General Mohammed Askari told Al-Arabiya television.

"They (camp residents) have to submit to the law, and to Iraqi sovereignty. The SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) authorizes us to do what we did."

Under the pact, Iraqi security forces took over responsibility for the camp three months ago from US forces, which had disarmed the 3,500 or so residents following the 2003 invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement that Baghdad had "no intention to enter a fight with any of the members of the camp, but it (the government) will apply the law vehemently."

He insisted, though, that the government "will not force anyone to leave Iraq against his will" after a Mujahedeen spokesman expressed concern that camp residents who were arrested would be handed over to Tehran.

A police official earlier said 300 camp residents, 25 of them women, had been wounded along with around 110 security force personnel. More than 50 camp residents were detained.

The Mujahedeen said seven camp residents were killed and 385 wounded.

Karawi said negotiations between Diyala provincial police chief General Abdul Hussein al-Shamari and the Mujahedeen, which began on Tuesday evening, have stalled.

A US administration official said that Washington -- which still blacklists the Mujahedeen as a terrorist organization -- had received assurances that camp residents would be treated in a "humane" manner.

The storming of the camp coincided with a visit to Iraq by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates but the top US commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, said the US military had no advance warning.

Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani welcomed the seizure of the camp, describing the action as "praiseworthy" albeit "rather late".

Leading Iranian MP Hossein Sobhani-Nia called for camp residents to be handed over to Tehran.

The head of the exiled National Council of Resistance of Iran, which includes the Mujahedeen, condemned the raid and accused Baghdad of doing Tehran's bidding.

"This aggression is a flagrant violation of international conventions and the assurances given by the Iraqi government to the United States about the protection of the residents of Ashraf," Maryam Rajavi said in a statement.

She charged that Iran had put pressure on the Iraqi authorities to carry out the raid in a bid to distract attention from the deadly unrest inside Iran sparked by last month's hotly disputed presidential election.

The People's Mujahedeen was founded in 1965 in opposition to the shah and has subsequently fought to oust the clerical regime which took power in the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The group set up Camp Ashraf in the 1980s -- when Saddam was at war with the Islamic republic -- as a base to operate against the Iranian government.

Gates: Some US troops may be leaving Iraq early

By ANNE GEARAN, Associated Press Writer

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT – The United States is considering speeding up its withdrawal from Iraq because of the sustained drop in violence there, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday following discussions with his top commanders in the war.

"I think there's at least some chance of a modest acceleration," this year, Gates said.

It was the first suggestion that the Obama administration might rethink its difficult choice to leave a heavy fighting force in Iraq long past the election of an American president who opposed the war.

Gates said the consideration came because the situation is "better than expected."

Perhaps one of the current 14 combat units could come home early, Gates said, which would mean a cut of roughly 5,000 people.

Continued bad blood between Iraq's Arab-led central government and the self-ruled Kurdish region in the north represents the major wild card to a faster pullout, Gates spokesman Geoff Morrell said.

Concern is growing that North-South tensions over land and resources could become a shooting war once U.S. forces leave. Gates spent much of his two-day visit in Iraq warning both sides that U.S. forces will not be around to keep the peace forever, and he offered U.S. help to mediate.

"These are some fundamental issues, and I think it's important that both the government in Baghdad and the Kurds have pursued them through political means" so far, Gates told reporters after meeting Kurdish President Massoud Barzani in Irbil, capital of the Kurdish self-rule area.

Gates said he told his hosts all sides had spent "too much in blood and treasure" since the 2003 U.S. invasion to risk losing it now.

The United States has about 130,000 forces in Iraq, with current plans calling for most combat forces — or more than 100,000 troops — to remain in the country until after Iraqi national elections in January.

Gates gave no other specifics, and stressed that the idea is preliminary and tied to continued good news in Iraq.

"It depends on circumstances; it may or may not happen," he said.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, raised the possibility during Gates' two-day trip to Iraq. If Odierno follows up with a formal recommendation, it would come sometime this fall.

It was largely because of Odierno's worry that the coming Iraqi election would trigger a rebound in violence that President Barack Obama decided on a very slow withdrawal. The decision, announced in February, disappointed many anti-war Democrats.

Under the current plan, the United States would draw down from 14 brigades to 12 this year. After the January election, the withdrawal pace would quicken, leaving about 50,000 forces in Iraq by September, 2010.

Violence is at an ebb in Iraq, and Odierno said Tuesday that he has been pleasantly surprised at how few problems have arisen following a June 30 handover of control of Iraqi cities.

American military commanders say friction between Arabs and Kurds in northern Iraq is the greatest threat to security in the country, overtaking the old Sunni-Shiite divide that threatened to push Iraq into civil war three years ago.

The relatively affluent, peaceful Kurdish North is feuding with al-Maliki's government over its borders and resources. Gates met with Barzani, who claimed victory in a re-election vote last weekend that also saw large gains by an opposition slate, in Irbil, seat of the regional government.

Morrell said the U.S. military has advisers already serving as go-betweens for the Kurdish militia and Iraq's armed forces.

Gates told Barzani that the U.S. backs a set of United Nations recommendations to resolve some of the major disputes. Morrell would not characterize Barzani's response, except to say that Gates left the meeting "with the sense, just as he did in Baghdad, that the Kurds very much want to take advantage of our presence."

Odierno identified the tension in northern Iraq as the "No. 1 driver of instability."

"Many insurgent groups are trying to exploit the tensions," Odierno told reporters Tuesday. "We're watching very carefully to see that this doesn't escalate."

So far, American intermediaries are helping keep a lid on things, Odierno said.

The Kurds have been locked in a dispute with Baghdad over control of oil resources and a fault line of contested territory in northern Iraq, particularly the flash-point city of Kirkuk. The disagreements have stalled a national oil law considered vital to encouraging foreign investment. U.S. officials have warned that Arab-Kurdish tensions could erupt into a new front in the Iraq conflict and jeopardize security gains elsewhere.

Kurdish leaders say they are committed to staying in a unified Iraq, particularly since an independence push could alienate neighboring Iran, Syria and Turkey, which have their own Kurdish minorities. But Iraqi Kurdish politicians must answer to the strong nationalist sentiment among Kurds.

Reformist candidates did better than expected against two established Kurdish political parties in weekend elections, adding to the uncertainty. The reformist slate, called Change, tapped into widespread frustration over alleged corruption and intimidation by the longtime ruling establishment.

Iran's first trials of protesters to begin

By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer

CAIRO – Iran on Wednesday announced that the first trials of postelection protesters will begin this weekend, as anger grew even among some government supporters over abuse of those detained in the more than 6-week-old crackdown.

Accounts emerged from released prisoners about beatings and brutality during their detention. One told of being crammed with 200 other protesters in a pitch-black cell as guards waded in, beating them. Another said he and other detainees were forced to lick toilet bowls.

In recent days, there have been several deaths of young activists in prison — including the son of a prominent conservative. The announcement of trials is likely to anger the opposition, which says that detainees are being tortured into making false confessions to be used against them in court.

Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi is to lead a ceremony on Thursday for those who have died in the postelection crackdown — and the memorial could turn into a new confrontation between protesters and security forces. It is timed to coincide with the passing of 40 days since the death of Nada Agha Soltan, a young woman who was shot to death during a protest. Video of her dying moments made her an icon to the protest movement.

Mousavi and fellow pro-reform leader Mahdi Karroubi will hold the ceremony in Behesht-e Zahra — the large cemetery on Tehran's southern outskirts where some slain protesters have been buried — after authorities rejected his request to hold it at Tehran's main Mosalla mosque, Karroubi's Web site reported.

Hundreds were arrested in the crackdown against protests by hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters, who claim that the June 12 presidential election was fraudulent and that Mousavi — not hard-line incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — was the victor. Among those detained were young protesters, but also senior pro-reform politicians and prominent rights activists.

The state news agency IRNA said Wednesday that indictments had been issued against "around 20" detainees involved in "planning and carrying out sabotage" and that trials will begin on Saturday. Among the defendants are some who had contact with the Mujahedeen-e Khalq — a dissident group of Iranian exiles — and members of the Bahai faith, who are often targeted by the Iranian government, IRNA said.

They will face charges including connections to terrorist groups, planting bombs, carrying weapons and grenades, intentional attack on the police and Basij, attacking security and university facilities, "sending images to the media of the enemy" ... and damaging public property, IRNA said.

The report said this was the "first phase" of trials, and that in later phases the defendants would be "those who ordered the post election unrest," an apparent reference to opposition politicians.

On Tuesday, 140 postelection detainees were released from Tehran's Evin prison in an attempt by Iran's leadership to try to ease the uproar over prisoners. At the same time, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the closure of Kahrizak prison, a facility on the capital's southern edges where several detainees were reported to have died from abuse.

But even some in the conservative camp that backs Khamenei and Ahmadinejad said that was not enough and that those behind the abuse should be punished.

"Some died after detention due to beating. Officials said two victims died due to meningitis.It should be reviewed and oppressors should be identified and prosecuted," Ahmad Tavakkoli, a prominent conservative lawmaker, said, according to the opposition Web site Mowjcamp.

Tavakkoli said "individuals without permits" had attacked university dorms and homes — a reference to plainclothes attackers believed to be connected to the Basij militia. "They and their organizers and supporters should be identified," he said.

Accounts from released prisoners appeared on opposition Web sites this week, describing beatings and other abuse at the hands of guards and interrogators.

One told of being held at Kahrizak since his arrest in a July 9 protest, saying, "We were at least 200 people in one room, and everyone was getting beatings with sticks." He wrote that at one point the guards turned out the lights and beat the prisoners for a half hour. The protester, who said he was released on Monday, listed the names of six prisoners he believed had died during the assaults.

As in other prisoner accounts, he wrote anonymously because he had been told not to speak of his detention. His and the other accounts could not be independently confirmed.

Another released prisoner said he was taken to a police station and beaten, and then he and others were forced to lie down in a bathroom, tied their legs up behind their backs and forced them to lick a toilet.

The opposition has been complaining for weeks about abuse in prisons, saying that many are being held in secret locations by the elite Revolutionary Guards, Basij or other unknown bodies. But authorities began paying attention after the son of Abdolhossein Rouhalamini, a prominent conservative, was killed in prison, reportedly at Kahrizak.

A powerful conservative lawmaker, Ali Mottahari, said closing Kahrizak was not enough and that "those responsible for detahs in prison like that of the late Rouhalamini must be identified." He said those involved in abuse at Kahrizak could now be at other facilities.

He reprimanded government officials, asking, "Why did things reach a point that the supreme leader had to get involved? If they had followed their own positions on human rights, the supreme leader's entry wouldn't be necessary."

Several of the top clerics in Shia Islam — the "marajeh-e-taghlid," or "objects of emulation" — have also issued statements in recent days condemning abuses of prisoners.

Nigerian troops battle Islamic militants in north

By BASHIR ADIGUN, Associated Press Writer

ABUJA, Nigeria – Troops exchanged fire with Islamic militants in northern Nigeria on Wednesday, fighting that prompted many people to flee their homes, a witness said.

The report came a day after President Umaru Yar'Adua insisted the military had the situation under control.

Olugbenga Akinbule, a local journalist, said he saw fighting Wednesday morning outside the suspected hideout of a radical Muslim leader accused of orchestrating three days of violence in Africa's most populous nation. He also said more people in the city of Maiduguri were fleeing, in addition to 3,000 people he said Tuesday had been displaced.

The military had surrounded the Islamic camp on Tuesday. Government officials did not answer calls seeking information on Wednesday.

Islamic militants attacked a police station in northern Nigeria on Sunday, sparking the worst violence Nigeria has seen in months and leaving at least 55 people dead over the next few days, according to police.

Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, has been the epicenter of the dayslong violence. Authorities imposed curfews Tuesday night and security forces poured onto the streets to quell a wave of militant attacks against police.

"This situation is being brought under control," Yar'Adua told reporters Tuesday as he appealed for calm.

Nigeria's 140 million people are nearly evenly divided between Christians, who predominate in the south, and primarily northern-based Muslims. Shariah was implemented in 12 northern states after Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999 following years of oppressive military regimes. More than 10,000 Nigerians have died in sectarian violence since then.

The militants oppose western education and seek a harsh interpretation of Islamic Shariah law in northern Nigeria.

Late Tuesday, the army sent armored vehicles to a residential district in Maiduguri that is believed to be a stronghold of an Islamic sect behind the violence. Officers said militant leader Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf was thought to be holed up in one of the houses.

As army vehicles approached and opened fire, sect members fired back, soldiers said. An Associated Press reporter in the area saw smoke billowing above the homes.

The radical sect behind the latest violence is known by several different names, including Al-Sunna wal Jamma, or "Followers of Mohammed's Teachings" in Arabic, and "Boko Haram," which means "Western education is sin" in the local Hausa dialect.

Some Nigerian officials have referred to the militants as Taliban, although the group has no known affiliation with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

Taliban's Constitution

KABUL — Laying down a code of conduct for its fighters, the Afghan Taliban has issued a book restricting the use of suicide bombings and guiding fighters on how to act on hostages and win hearts and minds of the Afghan people.

"A brave son of Islam should not be used for lower and useless targets," says the book obtained by the Doha-based Aljazeera television on Monday, July 27.

The book, "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Rules for Mujahideen", says that Taliban fighters should avoid civilian casualties while launching attacks.

"The utmost effort should be made to avoid civilian casualties."

The suicide bombings are one of the most effective means the Taliban fighters are using against the US-led foreign troops.

On Saturday, seven suicide bombers tried to storm the eastern city of Khost, killing one civilian and wounding several others.

"Governors, district chiefs and line commanders and every member of the Mujahideen must do their best to avoid civilian deaths, civilian injuries and damage to civilian property," says the book.

"Great care must be taken."

The Taliban was ousted by the US following the 9/11 attacks to topple the group and its ally Al-Qaeda.

Since then, Taliban has been engaged in a protracted guerilla war against the US-led foreign troops, which left thousands of people dead.

Captives

The 13-chapter book also sets rules for Taliban fighters on how to deal with the West-backed Afghan government.

"Every Muslim can invite anyone working for the slave government in Kabul to leave their job, and cut their relationship with this corrupt administration," it says.

"If the person accepts, then with the permission of the provincial and district leadership, a guarantee of safety can be given."

The guideline gives Taliban leader Mullah Omar the full authority to decide on the fate of its captives.

"Whenever any official, soldier, contractor or worker of the slave government is captured, these prisoners cannot be attacked or harmed," says the book.

"The decision on whether to seek a prisoner exchange, or to release the prisoner, with a strong guarantee, will be made by the provincial leader.

"Releasing prisoners in exchange for money is strictly prohibited.

"If the prisoner is a director, commander or district chief or higher, the decision on whether to harm, kill, release or forgive them is only made by the Imam or deputy Imam."

On captured foreign troops, the book says the Taliban leader or his deputy has the full authority to decide on his fate.

"If a military infidel is captured, the decision on whether to kill, release or exchange the hostage is only to be made by the Imam or deputy Imam."

Taliban is holding hostage a US soldier, who was captured earlier this month.

Unity

The Taliban book also bans the formation of new armed groups in the central Asian Muslim country.

"Creating a new mujahideen group or battalion is forbidden," says the book.

"If unofficial groups or irregular battalions refuse to join the formal structure they should be disbanded.

"If a governor or leader has in the past had a unit or active group in another province, they should bring it to the attention of the leader of that province. That leader should then take over command of the group."

Taliban commanders have so far had a fair degree of autonomy, often deciding what operations to conduct and how to run the territory that they control.

The book also urges Taliban fighters to seek to win the hearts and minds of the local Afghan population.

"The Mujahideen have to behave well and show proper treatment to the nation, in order to bring the hearts of civilian Muslims closer to them.

"The mujahideen must avoid discrimination based on tribal roots, language or their geographic background."