Germany joins UN Security Council; Afghanistan major interest

Mon, 03 Jan 2011

New York - Germany, one of the five new UN Security Council members in 2011, pledged to be "reliable, responsible and a committed partner" in the body that holds major decisions on world peace and security.

But the 15-nation council, despite its important political responsibilities, has been known also as an unyielding machine when it comes to effecting reforms. It has remained mostly unchanged since its establishment in 1945 - dominated by the five permanent members.

It still considers Germany and Japan as enemies - on paper only - to the Free World that won against Nazi Germany and Japan and ended World War II in 1945. The UN Charter still mentions those two countries as state enemies and efforts to change that status have bogged down in world bureaucracies and procrastination.

Germany and Japan, former German Axis partners in the World War, are today's major contributors to peace and security. Japan had just exited the council last month, after a two-year term.

Germany, Colombia, Portugal, South Africa and India assumed their two-year terms on January 1. For Germany, it is the fifth time that it will be serving as an elected member while pushing for permanent membership on the panel.

Of the five new members in 2011, India and South Africa also want to become permanent members, a status currently held by the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - the five World War II victors.

The other five elected members whose terms will expire end of 2011 are Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Gabon, Lebanon and Nigeria.

Germany was the only new member to have issued a statement upon assuming the council membership on Sunday. The UN Security Council and UN were still on New Year holiday on Monday.

"We embark on this new task well prepared and with clear ideas about what we want to achieve," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in the statement. "In the Security Council, Germany will be a reliable, responsible and committed partner."

"One thing must be clear here: Germany will live up to its international responsibilities - but it also stands for a culture of military restraint," it said.

Germany has contributed sizable numbers of troops to UN operations, particularly in Afghanistan.

Germany said Afghanistan is an important issue in 2011 because the international community will launch the process to hand security responsibility over to the Kabul government under President Hamid Karzai.

"Our aim already this year is to make significant headway on the handover of responsibility and by the end of 2011 for the first time to reduce the size of our Bundeswehr contingent there," it said, referring to the German army.

"We will therefore strongly support the efforts under way to bring about a political solution."

The council's rotating presidency in January is assumed by Bosnia-Herzegovina, which faces some major political issues on its agenda, including the unresolved dispute over the presidency in Ivory Coast, the two popular votes for self-determination in Sudan and other thorny issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and nuclear activities in Iran and North Korea.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360567,council-afghanistan-major-interest.html.

Sainz consolidates lead in Dakar Rally with second stage win

Mon, 03 Jan 2011

San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina - Titleholder Carlos Sainz consolidated his Dakar Rally lead Monday with a second stage win in the northeastern Argentine city of San Miguel de Tucuman.

The Spaniard Sainz, 47, racing with a Volkswagen Touareg, had already won the first stage Sunday.

On Monday, Sainz stretched his overall lead over Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel - record holder in the prestigious offroad race with six titles on a motorcycle and three in a car - by 3.05 minutes.

"It was a difficult stage to tackle again and I had windscreen wiper problems again ­ they wouldn't work properly," Sainz said, in comments posted on the Dakar Rally website.

"For a dozen kilometers, I couldn't see a thing and I had to drive very slowly. I'm very disappointed. I have probably lost a lot of time. I don't understand why we still have this problem, because the mechanics checked everything yesterday. Overall, though, this stage suited me rather well."

Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah, second-placed Monday ahead of Peterhansel, was also upset.

"We lost a lot of power on the last 100 kilometers. I don't know what's wrong, it was probably something to do with the water. We really need to fix it because Im disappointed that we lost a lot of time," Al-Attiyah said.

In the motorcycle section, last year's winner Cyril Despres, with KTM, won the stage to climb to the top of the overall table. The Frenchman, who also won the offroad race in 2005 and 2007, described the ride as "a 300-km giant slalom with jumps, like skiing."

Despres accumulated a 2.35 minute-lead over Spain's Marc Coma, who won the Dakar Rally in 2006 and 2009.

Portugal's Ruben Faria, who had surprised Despres and Coma to win the first stage, lost ground Monday. He is now third overall, 6.13 minutes behind Despres.

Participants covered 740 kilometers - 300 of them in a timed special - between Cordoba and San Miguel de Tucuman Monday.

The rally began on Saturday with a so-called liaison stage starting in Buenos Aires. The race is taking place in Argentina and Chile for the third consecutive year, after security problems drove it out of its original location in Africa.

The Dakar Rally, with more than 9,500 kilometers including 5,000 kilometers of specials, is to end January 15 also in the Argentine capital, where winners are to be celebrated a day later.

This edition, like its predecessors, will feature key stages in northern Chile's challenging Atacama Desert.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360569,dakar-rally-stage-win.html.

US regrets Russia's arrest of protesters

Mon, 03 Jan 2011

Washington - The United States has criticized Russia for arresting dozens of political protesters and urged Moscow to do more to embrace freedom of expression.

"We regret that these arrests have taken place both in Moscow and St Petersburg," State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said Monday.

Russian authorities arrested more than 120 people who were calling for political reforms during protests in the two cities on Friday, including former prominent officials.

"We reiterate the importance of embracing and protecting universal values, including freedom of expression and assembly," Crowley said. "They are enshrined in the Russian constitution, as well as international agreements that Russia has signed."

Among those taken into custody was former vice premier Boris Nemtsov, who was subsequently ordered to serve 15 days in prison.

The latest Russian move prompted additional criticism from Washington, even as the two countries are near final ratification of a new nuclear reduction accord seen on the cornerstone for improving relations.

US officials last week sharply criticized sentencing of oil tycoon and Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who now must remain behind bars until 2017. Khodorkovsky's trial was viewed by the United States and European Union as politically motivated.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360574,regrets-russias-arrest-protestors.html.

African delegation meets Gbagbo in attempt to solve crisis - Summary

Mon, 03 Jan 2011

Nairobi/Abidjan - Kenya's prime minister on Monday joined three West African heads of state in Ivory Coast in the latest attempt to persuade defiant strongman Laurent Gbagbo to leave power.

Gbagbo has resisted fierce international pressure to hand over power to his rival Alassane Ouattara - the man the world recognizes as the rightful winner of November's presidential election - in a standoff that has claimed over 170 lives.

The 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) last week sent the presidents of Benin, Sierra Leone and Cape Verde to Ivory Coast with a warning to Gbagbo he could face military intervention if he does not step down.

Gbagbo, who insists he is Ivory Coast's true leader, rejected the message, as he has brushed off European Union and United States travel bans, as well as aid freezes from bodies such as the World Bank.

The trio, this time accompanied by Raila Odinga on behalf of the African Union, met Gbagbo for two hours, although they revealed little about their discussion other than saying it was "useful."

However, earlier comments indicate an amnesty offer for Gbagbo now appears to be on the table.

Odinga's spokesman on Sunday said the Kenyan premier would "seek a peaceful settlement to the election crisis ... and seek an assurance of safety and security for Mr Laurent Gbagbo ... if he agrees to cede power."

This is a significant softening of tone from Odinga, who had earlier called on the African Union to "grow teeth" and use force to remove Gbagbo.

Many observers feel ECOWAS will be reluctant to insert a military force given the negative implications for regional security and upcoming elections in Nigeria, which would be the most likely candidate for providing troops.

The delegation was also due to meet Ouattara, who is trying to run an alternative government from a United Nations-protected hotel in the economic capital Abidjan.

The elections were supposed to open a more positive chapter in Ivory Coast's history eight years after civil war split the West African nation into the mainly Muslim north, which backs Ouattara, and Christian south, where Gbagbo holds sway.

Instead, the polls only highlighted north-south divisions after a Gbagbo ally on the constitutional council overturned electoral commission results proclaiming Ouattara the winner.

The United Nations has accused pro-Gbagbo forces of extrajudicial killings and disappearances of Ouattara supporters.

Germany rejects accusation of cosying up to Iran over journalists

Mon, 03 Jan 2011

Berlin - Germany on Monday rejected accusations by an Iranian human rights activist of being too soft with Tehran in its efforts to free two German journalists arrested more than 80 days ago.

"This cozy diplomacy has to end," exiled Iranian dissident Mina Ahadi told daily Berliner Zeitung on Monday.

She said Germany must demand the release of the journalists, who

were arrested on October 10 in the northwestern city of Tabriz.

"We cannot relate to this judgment," government spokesman Christoph Steegmans retorted, adding that Chancellor Angela Merkel was doing everything "to be helpful in this difficult matter."

The reporter and photographer, who entered Iran on tourist visas, had sought to interview the son and the lawyer of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, who had been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery and involvement in her husband's murder.

"The German government is unambiguously campaigning outwardly and in internal talks for the quickest possible return of the two Germans to Germany," Steegmans said.

Ahadi said Mohammadi-Ashtiani was most likely pressured into her recent decision to sue the journalists for exploiting her case. If this were true, the detained Germans could expect a long trial, Ahadi added.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360549,accusation-cosying-iran-journalists.html.

Alliance of rebel factions agrees to Darfur peace deal

Mon, 03 Jan 2011

Doha, Qatar - An alliance of Darfuri rebel factions agreed on Monday to a final peace settlement with the Sudanese government.

"We submitted a letter yesterday after we confirmed that we accept the proposals made by the mediation and we believe it represents a solution to meet the aspirations of the people of Darfur," Tijani Cisse, chairman of the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), said in the Qatari capital Doha.

The apparent agreement comes after nearly two years of talks between Khartoum and various rebel groups, with the support of the African Union and the Arab League.

Without giving details of the agreement, a statement by the movement said that they agreed on the points put forth by the Qatar mediators. LJM said they are now waiting for the final peace document to sign it.

A spokesperson for Darfur's largest rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), said yesterday that they received the text of the agreement and would hand their position to mediators before the end of the week, according to the Sudan Tribune.

The announcement comes just days after Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir threatened his side would quit the talks in Qatar if there an agreement could not be reached within 24 hours, a deadline that expired on Friday.

His remarks were immediately deplored by mediators and by the JEM.

The talks were aimed at bringing a definitive end to the long conflict in the restive western Sudanese region, which began in 2003 when the predominantly black African tribes took up arms against what they called decades of neglect by the Arab government in Khartoum.

According to United Nations estimates, more than 300,000 people have died and almost 3 million been displaced as a consequence of the conflict. Khartoum says only 10,000 people have died.

Fighting had died down, but during the course of 2010 clashes between government forces, JEM and other rebel groups have begun to pick up again.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against al-Bashir, accusing him of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide carried out in the province.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360556,agrees-darfur-peace-deal.html.

German tourists rescued after crocodile misadventure

Mon, 03 Jan 2011

Sydney - Four German tourists had to be rescued after they ignored warning signs and tried to cross a crocodile-infested river Monday in the Kakadu National Park in far northern Australia.

Northern Territory Police told national broadcaster ABC that the group's vehicle stalled while trying to ford Magela Creek, which was under 1 meter of water at the time.

Superintendent Debbie Smith said they tried to drive through the crossing at 80 kilometers per hour.

"Some witnesses nearby had warned them not to enter the water because they are croc-infested and the people climbed onto the roof of their vehicle awaiting rescue," she said. "Fortunately nobody was injured, but it certainly put everybody's lives in a bit of danger."

She said the tourists were lucky their vehicle was not washed off the causeway and into the river.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360487,tourists-rescued-crocodile-misadventure.html.