Diplomat: Jordan to Replace Saudis on UN Council

November 8, 2013 (AP)
By EDITH M. LEDERER

Jordan will replace Saudi Arabia on the Security Council for a two-year term starting in January after the Saudis' unprecedented rejection of the seat hours after they were elected, a U.N. diplomat said Thursday.

The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal was made privately, said Jordan's U.N. Ambassador Prince Zeid al Hussein was flying to Amman on Thursday night to discuss Jordan's new role on the U.N.'s most powerful body.

Earlier this week, Jordan dropped its bid for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council, leaving Saudi Arabia a clear path in the now uncontested election next Tuesday.

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, a Geneva-based human rights organization, said: "It is appalling that seats on the world's top human rights body are being traded like merchandise, treated as trinkets by non-democracies."

The U.N. General Assembly, which voted on Oct. 17 to give Saudi Arabia the seat traditionally reserved for an Arab nation on the council, will have to formally approve Jordan as a replacement. Since Jordan is almost certain to be the only candidate, its election is virtually assured.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry stunned the diplomatic world with the announcement that it was rejecting the seat, less than 24 hours after it was elected. The Saudis issued a scathing attack on the Security Council's failures to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the war in Syria, and to convene a conference on creating a zone in the Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.

The rejection appeared largely directed at the country's longtime ally, the United States.

The oil giant and the world's superpower are at odds over a number of Mideast issues, including how Washington has handled some of the region's crises, particularly in Egypt and Syria. It also comes as ties between the U.S. and Iran, the Saudis' regional foe, appear to be improving somewhat.

Jordan, which shares a border with Israel, has been a key behind-the-scenes player in efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. U.S. Secretary of State was in Amman on Thursday trying to rally support for his peace efforts from King Abdullah II and warning of a return to violence if peace efforts fail.

Jordan also shares a border with Syria and has become a major destination for refugees fleeing the 2 1/2-year civil war.

According to the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, Jordan had 250,000 Syrian refugees in January and is expected to have 432,500 in December, second only to Turkey.

In April, Prince Zeid sent a letter to the Security Council saying the refugee crisis had sparked "a grave humanitarian situation" that threatens the country's security and stability.

In August, King Abdullah warned that ethnic and sectarian violence sweeping across several Arab countries could lead to the "destruction" of the Muslim world.

The civil war in Syria has taken on an increasingly sectarian tone, pitting predominantly Sunni rebels against a regime dominated by an offshoot of Shiism, which is allied with Shiite-majority Iran. Jordan is worried that the violence could spill across the border.

Diplomats from a number of countries had tried to persuade Saudi Arabia to change its mind and take the seat, arguing that it could achieve more inside the council than outside. But the Saudis never backed down.

On Oct. 21, Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal sent letters to a number of "friendly countries" seeking support for its decision to turn down the seat. One letter, obtained by AP, said support for the Saudi decision would be deeply appreciated and demonstrate "the depth of bilateral relations between our two countries."

Source: ABC News.
Link: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/diplomat-jordan-replace-saudis-council-20823433.

Tajik president reelected in landslide victory

November 07, 2013

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AP) — Tajikistan's president has won a fourth term in an election that has been criticized by Western observers and extends his more than 20-year rule in the ex-Soviet Central Asian nation.

The Central Election Commission said Thursday that Emomali Rakhmon won 83.6 percent of the vote, but monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the top trans-Atlantic security and rights group, criticized the previous day's vote.

They say that state media had been dominated by coverage of Rakhmon's campaign and that registration requirements were designed to limit competition. "While quiet and peaceful, this was an election without a real choice," Gerdana Comic, Special Coordinator for the OSCE mission, said in a news conference in Dushanbe.

The Tajik government long has drawn criticism for its crackdown on dissent and its tight grip on the media. Authorities in the impoverished Sunni Muslim nation of 8 million have sought to exploit public fears of a replay of a bloody civil war of the 1990s, casting the opposition as a threat to the country's stability.

Rights activist Oinihol Bobonazarova was denied registration after the election commission claimed she had failed to gather enough signatures to run, and the remaining five challengers waged lackluster campaigns and praised Rakhmon's rule.

They voiced little criticism after the official results were released. The president's closest rival only took 5 percent of the vote. "There were some insignificant flaws and shortcomings, but nothing that could have truly influenced the results," said Olimdzhon Boboyev of the Economic Reform Party, who polled at 3.9 percent.

Tajikistan has hosted a Russian military base and recently allowed Moscow to extend its lease until 2042. Along with five other ex-Soviet nations, Tajikistan is part of the Russian-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization.

It also has been an important partner for the United States, allowing coalition troops and cargo to travel to and from Afghanistan over its territory. However, its ex-Soviet neighbors Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have played a far greater role.

"We welcome the progress Tajikistan has made in improving its electoral process, but there is still a long way to go," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. "We urge the Tajik government to begin working now to strengthen political pluralism, allow true opposition parties to operate, and expand operating space for independent media and civil society groups."

Tajik president set to win another term

November 06, 2013

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AP) — Voters in Tajikistan cast ballots Wednesday in a presidential election all but certain to extend the incumbent's more than 20-year rule after officials barred the only real opposition candidate from the race.

President Emomali Rakhmon, 61, is running for his fourth term in the strategically important Central Asian nation neighboring Afghanistan and China. The Sunni Muslim country of 8 million is one of the poorest among the ex-Soviet nations. It depends on the remittances of the more than 1 million Tajiks working in Russia to make up nearly one-half of the nation's GDP.

For many years, Rakhmon's government has cracked down on dissent and maintained tight control over the media, drawing harsh criticism from international rights groups. He faces virtually no competition in this vote. Rights activist Oinihol Bobonazarova was denied registration on the grounds she failed to collect the signatures of 5 percent of the nation's voters. She insisted she had done so, but the Central Election Commission claimed she fell short because the number of eligible voters had changed.

The remaining five presidential challengers have campaigned together and have even praised Rakhmon. Tajik authorities have sought to exploit public fears of a replay of a bloody civil war that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.

"(The authorities) tried to create an impression that if people support (me), it could lead to a war and bloodshed as in the 1990s," Bobonazarova said. Rakhmon, a state farm director during Soviet times, took the helm during the war that erupted in 1992. Russia backed Rakhmon's faction against a coalition of Islamists, nationalists and democratic groups.

A 1997 peace deal gave the opposition a significant number of government posts, but Rakhmon later consolidated his power, gradually squeezing the opposition members out. There were clashes between government troops and militants in 2010 and 2012, but the government has moved quickly to uproot its foes and cement control.

"Rakhmon's positions are very strong," said Nurali Davlat, an independent analyst. "The opposition has failed to consolidate." Tajikistan has allowed U.N. coalition troops and cargo to travel from Afghanistan over its territory, although its ex-Soviet neighbors Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have played a far greater role.

Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

Poland gives coal a voice during UN climate talks

November 08, 2013

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — With coal-reliant Poland hosting U.N. climate talks, the fossil fuel industry will get a rare chance to play a more visible role in the global warming debate.

But in a move that has infuriated climate activists, the Polish government will also preside over a high-level coal industry event on the sidelines of the two-week climate conference, which starts Monday.

"It's been seen as a real provocation and a statement from the Polish government that they have no intention to move away from coal," said Wendel Trio, director of the Climate Action Network in Europe.

Coal, oil and gas companies normally keep a low profile during the annual U.N. climate talks, which are aimed at reining in the carbon emissions that scientists say are a major driver of global warming.

But Polish officials say that coal, which accounts for more than 80 percent of Poland's electricity generation, won't go away anytime soon and needs to be a key part of the climate debate. So on Nov. 18-19, as the U.N. conference enters its final week in Warsaw, the World Coal Association and Poland's Economy Ministry are organizing a conference billed as "the coal industry's most important event of the year."

Organizers say the International Coal and Climate Summit will bring together coal industry executives, policy-makers and others to "discuss the role of coal in the global economy, in the context of the climate change agenda."

In a statement Thursday to The Associated Press, the World Coal Association said the coal summit is meant as a contribution, not an alternative, to the U.N. talks. It noted that U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres will be a keynote speaker at the event.

Given the irritation the coal summit has stirred in the climate community, attending it may have been an awkward decision for Figueres, who regularly promotes efforts to boost renewable energy and cut funding for fossil fuels.

"She could either completely ignore that it's happening or go there and make a point, and I think she's chosen the latter one," said Liz Gallagher, of European environmental think tank E3G. The U.N. climate change secretariat declined to comment and Figueres did not respond to a Twitter query about the issue.

Gallagher said she believes the coal event is more about domestic Polish politics than increasing the coal industry's presence in the international climate discussions. "They want to show domestic audiences that they haven't forgotten that Poland is heavily reliant on coal," she said.

Though Poland has started restructuring its energy mix to boost renewables, officials say coal will remain the staple source of energy. The coal industry and affiliated sectors provide almost 600,000 jobs in Poland and traditionally enjoy government protection, especially now, when the jobless rate hovers around 13 percent.

That's reflected in Poland's position in climate policy discussions within the European Union, where the government has opposed deepening the bloc's emissions cuts from the current target of 20 percent by 2020, compared to 1990 levels. Poland joined the EU in 2004.

On Sunday Polish labor unions and nationalists are planning a panel discussion against climate actions they say could harm Poland's economy. The nationalists will also march the next day, the conference's opening day, which coincides with Poland's independence day. Their marches sometimes turn violent.

"Rich European nations are imposing short-term goals on us which they took some 50 years to achieve," said Krzysztof Bosak, a prominent member of the right-wing National Movement.

Associated Press writer Karl Ritter in Stockholm contributed to this report.

Dutch king visits Russia amid chill in ties

November 08, 2013

MOSCOW (AP) — Dutch King Willem-Alexander and his wife Queen Maxima arrived in Russia on Friday for a visit that aimed to celebrate the two nations' historical ties but comes as relations between them have soured.

The key sticking point of late is Russia's seizure of a Dutch-flagged Greenpeace ship and arrest of all 30 people on board. "What was meant as a friendship year to promote these ties between Holland and Russia turned into exactly the opposite," Derk Sauer, a Dutch businessman who has lived in Moscow for 25 years, told The Associated Press.

Sauer said the Dutch royals will have to be very diplomatic to avoid adding to the tensions. "The Dutch king has to be very careful, because he cannot say anything risking trouble at home," Sauer said. "If he is too nice to Putin, in Holland public opinion will be upset. If he is not nice to Putin, the Russians will be upset."

The Netherlands has asked an international tribunal to order Russia to release the Arctic Sunrise ship and its crew. The 28 Greenpeace activists, a Russian photographer and a British videographer have been in custody since the ship was seized Sept . 19 by the Russian coast guard in international waters after a protest by a Gazprom-owned oil rig in the Arctic.

Russian-Dutch relations have also been strained over last month's assault on a Dutch diplomat at his apartment in Moscow. Russia has expressed regret, but the perpetrators haven't been found. The attack followed a brief detention of a Russian diplomat in the Netherlands.

The Dutch have also criticized Russian policies they see as anti-gay. In April, the mayor of Amsterdam refused to meet with Putin during his visit. And in August, Dutch gay groups protested before a major concert by Russian state musicians and dancers.

General strike shuts down services across Greece

November 06, 2013

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Services across Greece shut down Wednesday as unions held a 24-hour general strike to protest further austerity cuts in the cash-strapped country.

The strike disrupted public transport, halted ferry and train services, shut down courts and state-run schools, and left state hospitals and the ambulance service functioning with emergency staff. Dozens of flights were canceled or rescheduled as air traffic controllers were to walk off the job for three hours from noon in support of the labor action.

In Athens, more than 1,000 Communist party supporters marched to Parliament, shouting anti-austerity slogans in the driving rain. A second demonstration called by the country's two biggest unions was scheduled to start later Wednesday.

Greece has been surviving on international rescue loans from the International Monetary Fund and other European countries that use the euro since 2010, after a combination of dismal financial stewardship, loss of investor confidence and the global recession brought it to the brink of bankruptcy. Successive governments have passed repeated rounds of deep spending cuts and tax hikes to secure 240 billion euros ($324 billion dollars) in bailout loans.

The strike is taking place as the government holds talks with debt inspectors from the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission, known collectively as the troika, over what measures are needed to plug a budget gap next year.

Greece and the troika differ over the size of the gap. Athens maintains the shortfall will be around 500 million euros and can be plugged relatively easily, but Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras has conceded creditors expect the gap to be five times as big.

At stake is Greece's next bailout installment of 1 billion euros ($1.35 billion). The country's conservative-led government insists it cannot impose more across the board cuts on a population that has already suffered an average 40 percent loss in disposable income since 2009 and seen unemployment spike to a staggering 28 percent.

Laid-off Finance Ministry cleaner Evangelia Alexaki, who lost her 500-euro a month job as part of the spending cuts, said she is now destitute. "They throw us to the streets, just like that," she said Wednesday. "Women who are 57 and 58 years old, and (too young) to get pensions or anything else. For us, this money was little but at least we could fulfill some of the family's needs. Now they're sending us to poverty."

Official: M23 chief, rebels surrender to Uganda

November 07, 2013

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The top commander of Congo's M23 rebel movement and about 1,700 of his fighters surrendered to Ugandan authorities following defeat by Congolese troops, a Ugandan military official said Thursday.

The move raised hopes the rebels might sign a peace settlement after 19 months of a brutal insurgency that displaced thousands of people in eastern Congo's North Kivu province. M23 commander Gen. Sultani Makenga and his fighters were being held by the Ugandan military in Mgahinga, a forested area near the Congolese border. The rebels had been disarmed and were being registered by Ugandan officials, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give this information.

Makenga, 39, is the subject of U.S. sanctions. The United Nations has also imposed a travel ban and assets freeze on him for "serious violations of international law involving the targeting of women and children" in armed conflict in eastern Congo. Makenga emerged as the rebel group's commander earlier this year following a violent split within M23 that saw the ouster of Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda, who then fled to Rwanda before handing himself over to United States authorities.

"Makenga should be arrested and immediately brought before the courts," North Kivu Gov. Julien Paluku told The Associated Press. "He should be made to answer for his actions in eastern Congo." Paluku disputed the tally of 1,700 M23 combatants, saying it seems too high in light of all the defections in recent weeks.

It is unlikely that Uganda, which has been hosting peace talks between the rebels and Congo's government, will immediately extradite Makenga to Congo —likely a reason the rebel leader and his fighters fled to Uganda.

The senior Ugandan official who spoke to The Associated Press about Makenga's surrender said the rebel leader and his fighters would be under Ugandan protection until regional governments, including those of Rwanda and Congo, agree on how to deal with "negative forces" in the region. Regional leaders have in the past urged Congo's government to solve the "legitimate grievances" of M23.

Angelo Izama, a Ugandan analyst who runs a regional security think tank called Fanaka Kwawote, said Makenga's surrender to Ugandan authorities "may have to do with his sensitivity for the pressure Rwanda finds itself under" for its alleged links to M23.

A report by U.N. experts has said Rwanda's government provided weapons, recruits and training to M23 rebels. That report also said some in Uganda's military aided M23, charges denied by both Rwanda and Uganda.

Izama noted that Uganda and Rwanda are "faithful" allies whose interests in eastern Congo are similar. Their militaries have in the past invaded Congo to fight militias opposed to their governments that operate in Congo's largely lawless east, he said.

M23 launched its rebellion in April 2012, becoming the latest reincarnation of a Tutsi rebel group dissatisfied with the Congolese government. The rebels accused Congo's government of failing to honor all the terms of a peace deal signed in March 2009 with M23's precursor group, the CNDP.

At their peak the M23 rebels overtook Goma, the eastern provincial capital, and threatened to march toward the Congolese capital of Kinshasa. But in the past year they had been substantially weakened by internal divisions and alleged waning Rwandan support. The Congolese military capitalized on these rebel setbacks by pushing ahead with new offensives beginning in August that were supported by a brigade of United Nations forces with a mandate to attack the rebels.

This week the rebels lost control of all the territory they once held following an intensified offensive by Congolese troops backed by U.N. forces. After their last major stronghold fell last week, the rebels appeared to flee from the border town of Bunagana to the surrounding hills and forests. Earlier this week the rebels' civilian leader, Bertrand Bisimwa, announced the rebellion was over, saying he wanted to work with Congo's government toward finding a political solution to violence in eastern Congo.

A group of international envoys to Africa's Great Lakes region, including U.S. envoy Russ Feingold, has been urging a political solution to eastern Congo's latest rebel crisis. Peace talks in Uganda aimed at getting both sides to sign an accord have repeatedly stalled since December, but a final accord may now be signed after Congolese troops militarily defeated the rebels.

Feingold said Wednesday that an agreement between M23 and Congo's government "has been worked out in great detail" and could be signed by both parties within days. But the deal offers no amnesty for rebels who face serious criminal charges, he said.

"That is not happening in this case if this agreement goes through the way I believe it will go through, and certainly, the international community and the United States would not support such an agreement," Feingold said, talking about blanket amnesty for M23 rebels.

Congo's U.N. Ambassador Ignace Gata told reporters after a Security Council meeting Wednesday that "the government wants to complete the Kampala talks and in coming days we will sign a document with the M23."

"It is not excluded that elements from the M23 be integrated into the army. But the conditions for integration have to be defined," Gata said.

Associated Press writers Saleh Mwanamilongo in Kinshasa, Congo and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.