What Does Increasing Political Violence Mean for the Future of Nation's Democracy?

May 14, 2014. In the six months leading up to South African’s fifth democratic election on 7 May, 76 incidents of election-related violence had taken place. These were mostly clashes between supporters of rival political parties and communities who used the elections as a national platform to air their grievances.

During voter registration in February, police had to close three registration stations in Bekkersdal as angry residents burned down municipal offices, blocked roads and clashed with police.

Officials from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) were also reportedly chased from the area. This followed after weeks of violent protests, with people demanding better service delivery and the removal of their mayor.

The final voter registration weekend of 2014 was marred by violent incidents between political parties in Khayelitsha, a service delivery protest in Ga-Rankuwa and the burning of an IEC registration station and materials in Taung.

Clashes between the ANC and the National Freedom Party (NFP) broke out in Ntshongweni, west of Durban, when members of the ANC allegedly chased away campaigning NFP members.

In the two days before the election, tents and buildings that had been demarcated as polling stations were set alight in Bekkersdal, the Gugulethu informal settlement in Gauteng, Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape and in Richards Bay.

Individuals who had formed a mob were arrested on their way to torching another polling station, and IEC officials were threatened in Lorraine and Maruleng in Limpopo, Ulundi in KwaZulu-Natal and the Siqalo informal settlement in the Western Cape.

On election day itself, five protests disrupted the opening of polling stations according to the IEC, and one ANC supporter was killed in KwaDukuza in KwaZulu-Natal.

Another death was reported in KwaMashu in the same province. There had been no such incidents during the previous national election in 2009, although seven protests were recorded on election day in the 2011 local government election.

During this election, 97 people were arrested for election-related offences on voting day, and in Bekkersdal two IEC officials had to be rescued by police when a crowd attacked them after voting had closed.

In Tzaneen, two people were arrested after they attacked police, election officials and party agents and damaged voting material. Violent protests also broke out in Alexandra in Gauteng shortly after the elections.

Thousands of people were killed before the first democratic elections in South Africa held in 1994, and levels of political violence and intimidation have dropped significantly since then.

Subsequent elections saw far lower rates of violence and intimidation, and violence has not been seen as a specific risk to the electoral process in South Africa.

Unsurprisingly, the most hotly contested provinces experienced the highest number of incidents, and violence increased where dominant party power had been confronted by newcomers.

According to the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) public violence monitoring project, of the 76 incidents recorded since October last year, two-thirds turned violent.

Half of the recorded incidents took place in metropolitan areas, 29% in rural areas and 20% in small towns. Gauteng (29%) and the Western Cape (21%) experienced the highest number of election-related incidents, followed by the Eastern Cape (16%), KwaZulu-Natal (11%), Limpopo (8%) and North West Province (7%). Where the political affiliation of perpetrators is known, the main perpetrating party is the ANC (52%), followed by the EFF (26%).

While violence was not widespread enough to have significantly influenced the outcome of this year’s national elections, it must be considered whether it would escalate during the 2016 local government elections.

There will be more at stake for the 4 277 councillors who want to keep their jobs; and those who want to challenge them for those jobs. For many local politicians and officials, their government salaries and access to state resources stand between a relatively comfortable existence and poverty.

This factor has already fed into local-level political violence. Worryingly, an estimated 120 political killings have taken place since 2003, mostly in KwaZulu-Natal, involving local-level politicians and officials.

Although there has been an upsurge in community protests and labour unrest since 2009, these have mostly been peaceful.

However, communities who feel that government officials aren’t taking their concerns seriously enough are increasingly using violence as a political tool. As this continues, protests and violence may escalate at election time.

One of the worrying consequences is that the IEC has increasingly become the target of violence. During many of the incidents aimed at the IEC, the perpetrators were reported to be community groups without specified political affiliation.

Almost two-thirds of the perpetrators were such community members who used the elections to highlight their grievances with service delivery; rather than individuals involved in conflict between rival political parties.

Monitoring of public violence must be improved to allow the IEC and other agencies to identify ‘hot spots’ well in advance.

It will also be important to strengthen the dispute- and conflict-resolution capacity of the IEC, local governments and agencies such as the police so that their responses are appropriate, and serve to reduce conflict rather than intensify it.

Action needs to be taken as soon as possible, so that election-related violence does not pose a future threat to South Africa’s proud track record of free and fair polls.

Ukraine: Fierce fighting closes Donetsk airport, claims dozens of lives

May 27, 2014. Donetsk, Ukraine (CNN) — A battle between pro-Russia separatists and government forces at Donetsk airport in eastern Ukraine has claimed 40 lives, authorities said Tuesday, in what is the deadliest outbreak of violence yet in the flashpoint city.
An additional 31 people have been injured, including four civilians, according to the website of the Donetsk mayor, Alexander Lukyanchenko. Two of the fatalities are civilians.
The conflict at Donetsk International Airport broke out only hours after newly elected Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he’d potentially like to negotiate a way out of the crisis.
After Ukrainian forces moved in against the militants Monday, the deadly assault continued overnight.
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Photos: Ukraine after the election Photos: Ukraine after the election
The airport remained closed Tuesday despite an easing in the gunfire, as conflicting accounts emerged of how many had lost their lives.
The Donetsk mayor’s website didn’t specify how many of the 40 killed in the airport standoff were separatists.
But a spokeswoman for the separatist self-declared “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DNR) told CNN that 35 separatists had been killed and about 60 injured in Monday’s fighting.
Although the separatists earlier claimed they controlled the airport, it became clear as Tuesday wore on that the Ukrainian military had taken charge.
The official website of Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said late Tuesday the “Airport in Donetsk is fully under our control.”
The occasional exchange of gunfire and blasts could be heard from the airport but it was not clear if the shots were fired by military as they maintained a perimeter or whether separatist forces were still present within its territory.
Two blown-out trucks nearby appeared to have been hit by heavy weapons. Human remains were still visible, suggesting this may have been the cause of some of the casualties Monday.
The separatist movement in Donetsk believed it was offered a three-hour ‘truce’ Tuesday to leave the city of Donetsk, according to a spokeswoman for the DNR who asked not to be identified to avoid possible arrest. The truce was offered between 1 and 4 p.m. local time (6 a.m. and 9 a.m. ET), she said.
The DPR learned of this truce online, the spokeswoman told CNN, adding that Ukrainian armed forces were threatening to bomb separatist strongholds in the city if they failed to leave.
The Ukrainian government denied offering rebels any such truce. The Ukraine Government’s Anti-Terror Operation (ATO) told CNN there is a longstanding offer of amnesty to any separatist who turns himself in and gives up his weapons, unless he (or she) is guilty of murder.
Morgue piled with bodies
A CNN team at a morgue in Donetsk saw a large pile of separatist militant bodies, many of which had been torn apart by shrapnel and explosions.
Doctors there said 31 bodies had been brought in with different types of injuries, from bullet wounds to those caused by heavy weapons and explosions. The remains included the body of a woman civilian.
Doctors also said some locals had arrived during the morning to identify and collect their relatives from among the dead.
The airport clashes marked the worst violence that this key population center in eastern Ukraine has seen since the start of the crisis. A statement posted on the mayor’s website Monday advised residents to stay in their homes as sounds of gunfire and explosions cracked through the air.

Elsewhere in the Donetsk region, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said it has had no contact with one of its Donetsk-based teams since around 6 p.m. (11 a.m. ET) Monday .
The team of four — of Swiss, Turkish, Estonian and Danish nationality — was on a routine patrol east of Donetsk when it was last heard from. The OSCE says it is using contacts on the ground to try to determine where the monitors are.
The last time an OSCE team went missing in Donetsk, its members turned up in the hands of militant separatists in the flashpoint town of Slovyansk. They were freed just over a week later.
In another development, NATO has observed Russian troop movement near the Russia-Ukraine border recently, a NATO officer told CNN. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officer said this included signs of Russian equipment and supplies being packed or prepared for movement, and that the activity could signal a slow or staged withdrawal of forces.
Turning point?
The Ukrainian security forces’ muscular airport assault may signal a shift in approach as the new president takes charge in Kiev.
A senior Ukrainian official told CNN’s Jim Sciutto in Kiev that it is “now or never” in the fight against militants in the East.
“We have been patient for far too long,” he said, indicating that with the election over, the new government believes it has a mandate to put the insurgency to rest.
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoff Pyatt told CNN that the crisis is now entering its “most kinetic phase.”
At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday urged an immediate halt to the operation against separatist militants in Ukraine’s south and east, the Kremlin said.
Putin also spoke by phone with Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi of the need for the leadership in Kiev to start a peaceful dialogue with representatives of Ukraine’s regions, it said.
Kiev and the West have accused Moscow of backing Ukraine’s separatists. But Russia has denied having direct influence over the pro-Russia militants and says the unrest is due to the actions of far-right ultranationalists.
At a news conference Monday in Kiev, Poroshenko, the newly elected president, said that Russia needed to participate in bringing peace to eastern Ukraine.
He also reiterated that European integration would be his priority.
In addition to the unrest roiling the east, Poroshenko, a candy tycoon known as the “Chocolate King,” faces the challenge posed by Ukraine’s ailing economy and a looming crisis over Russia’s supply of natural gas to Ukraine.
Russia’s energy giant Gazprom says Ukraine owes it $3.5 billion for gas already supplied and has threatened to turn off the taps if no payment is made. But Ukraine’s interim government has said that the price must be renegotiated after Russia hiked it up this spring.
Prime Minister Arensiy Yatsenyuk said on his website Tuesday that Ukraine would take the issue to an international court if Russia’s Gazprom and his own country’s Naftogaz do not sign an agreement by May 29.
Anti-aircraft weapons
Government air and ground forces attacked the pro-Russia militants after they seized a terminal at the airport early Monday.
The troops moved in after the separatists ignored a government ultimatum to vacate the premises, said the country’s anti-terror office spokesman, Vladislav Seleznev.
After a Ukrainian military plane “made a preliminary shot,” paratroopers landed and began clearing the airport, Ukrinform reported. In the fighting, a separatist anti-aircraft gun was destroyed, the news agency said.
Although the gunfire had largely halted by Tuesday morning, the airport is not expected to reopen for the moment.
The preliminary evaluation is that the airport suffered minor damage in the fighting, Seleznev said.
Experts are working to establish whether all the navigation and other systems are working, he said. In any case, it is not judged safe for airplanes to fly because the separatists have weapons capable of shooting at aircraft and seem willing to use them.
Seleznev also warned in a Facebook post Tuesday that if the rebels do not surrender, “terrorist” targets in Donetsk will be hit by “special high-precision weapons.”
Government officials had been optimistic that flights would resume by 9 a.m. (2 a.m. ET) Tuesday, but given the situation, it remains unclear when the airport will reopen.
Ukraine’s acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov posted on his Facebook page Tuesday that an airstrike had destroyed a training camp in Yasenakh, in the Luhansk region.
Separatist unrest over recent weeks has centered in the country’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Internal reconciliation
U.S. President Barack Obama congratulated Ukrainians for casting their ballots Sunday and criticized Russia-backed separatists, whom he accused of trying to block voting.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a phone call with Poroshenko, hailed the vote as “a clear commitment of the Ukrainian people to unity and democracy as well as a peaceful solution to the current conflict,” Merkel’s spokesman said in a statement.
She said Germany would continue to support Ukraine on its democratic path, the spokesman said, adding that the two leaders agreed on the need to pursue internal reconciliation through national dialogue and constitutional reform.
At a news conference Monday, OSCE Parliamentary President Joao Soares said the presidential election was fair and represented the will of the Ukrainian people, despite major problems in Donetsk and Luhansk.

Clashes in Libya leave 36 dead, health ministry says

May 17, 2014. TRIPOLI, Libya — Fighting in eastern Libya between troops loyal to a rogue general and Islamist militias killed 36 people, the health ministry said Saturday, as the clashes that the central government referred to as a “coup” subsided.
A military official in Benghazi said forces under the command of Gen. Khalifa Hifter withdrew to the city limits after attacking the bases of two Islamist militias Friday. The official said the fighters of the two militias, Rafallah al-Sahati and a militia known as February 17, returned to their bases after they were driven out during the clashes.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists.

Libya’s Health Ministry said the fighting Friday, which saw military aircraft under Hifter’s control fly over the city, wounded 139 people. The city’s airport remained closed Saturday for a second day, though stores reopened and traffic appeared normal.
Hifter’s offensive comes amid rising violence in Benghazi blamed on powerful Islamist militias acting outside of government control. Hifter’s spokesman said his offensive, called the “Dignity of Libya,” aimed to bring these militias under government control and end lawlessness in the city.
But the central government criticized Hifter’s attack, calling it is tantamount to a “coup.”
Many in the country are divided over the offensive, having grown impatient with the central government’s inability to rein in the militias. Last week, three protesters were killed during a protest outside the base of one of the militias. The incident led Libya’s justice minister to ask February 17 to abandon its base. The militia ignored the request.
Speaking Saturday on Libyan television station Awalan, Hifter’s spokesman Mohammed al-Hegazi urged residents of several Benghazi neighbourhoods to leave their homes to avoid getting caught in future fighting as they prepare for further operations there. Al-Hegazi accused the militias of using civilians as shields. He said the operation against the militias will continue “until Libya is cleansed” of extremists.
Hifter, who once headed the army under Gadhafi but defected in the 1980s, is a controversial figure in Libya. After Gadhafi’s ouster, he was assigned to help rebuild the country’s military, but he was removed soon after. He appeared in an online video in February and proclaimed he intended to “rescue” the nation. Authorities described his declaration as a coup attempt.
The fighting marks the latest turmoil in Benghazi, where a Sept. 11, 2012, attack killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens

Army chief issues warning as violence returns to Bangkok

May 15, 2014. Bangkok (CNN) — The head of the Thai army issued a stern warning Thursday to protesters to avoid violence or the military will take action.
Political violence returned to the Thai capital as three anti-government protesters were killed by gunmen, hours before demonstrators hounded the interim Prime Minister from a meeting.
“If the situation turns more violent it could lead to riots,” Army chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha said in a national address. “The Army will have to use military forces to resolve the situation for peace and order.”
The attack occurred at about 2 a.m. local time Thursday when gunmen on a pickup truck opened fire on a protest camp near the site of Bangkok’s Democracy Monument, where protesters have been camped for months, said Lt. Gen. Paradon Patthanathabut, Thailand’s national security adviser to the Prime Minister.
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Bangkok’s Erawan Emergency Center reported that three people were killed in the attack and 23 injured. The fatally injured victims included a 21-year-old man, who was shot in the chest, and a 51-year-old man.
Later that morning, anti-government protesters stormed the grounds of an Air Force office compound, forcing the country’s caretaker Prime Minister to flee a meeting with members of the Election Commission.
Paradon said the protesters drove a truck through a gate to reach the front of an Air Force office complex, while new interim premier Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan and ministers were meeting in another part of the building. As a result of the disruption, the meeting was called off and the politicians left the venue, said Paradon.
Air Force spokesman Air Vice Marshal Montol Sanchukorn told CNN that the protesters, who are seeking the government’s ouster, then demanded to “inspect” the room to check that the Prime Minister was no longer inside.
“We allowed them in to see, and they said they would have a bit of a rest before they left,” he said. Some protesters remained to stage a sit-in at the complex.
Thailand was rocked by rival mass political protests over the weekend, with pro- and anti-government supporters taking to the streets in their tens of thousands following fresh twists in the country’s protracted political crisis.
Thai turmoil
Caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was removed from office along with nine cabinet ministers by a top court last Wednesday, and subsequently indicted by the country’s anti-graft body. If the country’s Senate votes to impeach her, she could be banned from politics for five years.
WATCH: Acting Thai PM — ‘Government still in charge’
Protesters led by the People’s Democratic Reform Committee have been agitating against her government since November, calling for it to be replaced with an unelected interim government.
Drawn mainly from Bangkok’s royalist, middle class establishment, the anti-government protesters have been seeking to rid Thai politics of the alleged influence of Yingluck’s brother, the former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thaksin, a telecommunications tycoon, was overthrown in a 2006 military coup and has since lived in self-imposed exile to avoid a corruption conviction. His opponents claim he has continued to exert influence in Thai politics through his sister and other allies.
The November protests that sparked the current crisis were triggered by the government’s botched attempt to pass an amnesty bill that would have cleared the way for his return to the political fold.
The anti-government protesters are seeking a new government — but not through elections, which the opposition Democrat Party has boycotted, arguing the alleged corruption of their political rivals makes widespread reform necessary before any meaningful vote can be held.
‘Judicial coup’?
Meanwhile the government’s “red shirt” support base, many of whom hail from the country’s rural north and northeast, view Shinawatra’s ouster as a “judicial coup” and have been protesting what they consider an unfair bias by many of the country’s institutions against their side.
Yingluck, who was elected in a landslide at the polls in 2011, is the third Thaksin-linked prime minister to be dismissed by the Constitutional Court, which also dissolved Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai political party in 2007.
Analyst Paul Quaglia, director at PQA Associates, a Bangkok-based risk assessment firm, told CNN last week that Yingluck’s supporters saw her dismissal as a case of politically motivated judicial overreach.
“They consider it a way to usurp democratic elections,” he said, adding that the opposition was unlikely to win at the polls.
“The Democrat Party say ‘No, we can’t have elections,’ because they know they will lose those elections,” he said.

Ukraine rebels hold referendums in Donetsk and Luhansk

May 11, 2014. “Self-rule” referendums have been held in Ukraine’s easternmost areas, with pro-Russian separatists claiming nearly 90% voted in favour in Donetsk region.

BBC reporters at polling stations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions spoke of chaotic scenes, no voting booths in places and no electoral register.

At least one person is reported to have been killed by armed men loyal to Ukraine’s government.

Ukraine called the vote a “criminal farce” organised by Russia.

Western countries have also condemned the vote. Separatist leaders ignored a call by the Russian president to delay it.

The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic election commission Roman Lyagin told journalists that 89% voted in favour of self-rule, with 10% against, on a turnout of nearly 75%.

There are no results from the Luhansk area so far.

A Donetsk separatist leader, Denis Pushilin, told one Russian news agency that once the results are announced, all Ukrainian military troops in the region would be considered “occupying forces”.

‘Abyss’
The shooting incident, in which separatist officials said at least one person had been killed, took place in Krasnoarmiisk, west of Donetsk city, after armed men supporting the Kiev government closed down a polling station.

A photographer with AP news agency reported seeing two people lying motionless on the ground.

A few hours before polling was due to close, separatist officials claimed turnout in Donetsk region had been close to 70% – but there was no independent confirmation.
The ballot papers in Ukrainian and Russian ask one question: “Do you support the Act of State Self-rule of the Donetsk People’s Republic/Luhansk People’s Republic?”

A second round of voting is planned in a week’s time, on joining Russia. Organisers also say they will boycott Ukraine’s presidential elections on 25 May.

Ukraine’s interim President Olexandr Turchynov has admitted many in the east supported pro-Russian militants, but warned the referendums were “a step towards the abyss”.

The EU and US have also condemned the referendums, amid fears Ukraine could be sliding to civil war.

A Pew Research Centre survey suggested a majority even in eastern Ukraine – 70% – wanted to remain in a united country, despite concerns about governance.

Russia annexed Ukraine’s southern autonomous republic of Crimea after a March referendum.

Bill Taylor, a former US ambassador to Ukraine, said results from Sunday’s vote should be treated with caution after what happened in Crimea.

Russia is estimated to have some 40,000 troops near the border and says they have been pulled back, but Nato says it has seen no sign of this.

EU leaders have warned Russia it faces further sanctions if Ukraine’s presidential election fails to go ahead.

Nine Libyan soldiers killed in clash with militants in Benghazi

May 2, 2014.Tripoli, Libya (CNN) — At least nine Libyan soldiers were killed in fighting between government forces and Islamist militants in Benghazi on Friday, officials said.
The fighting began when members of the Islamist armed group Ansar al Sharia and other “criminal groups” attacked the headquarters of the Benghazi security directorate early Friday, the Libyan interim government said in a statement.
Health officials said 19 soldiers and policemen were wounded, and some of the attackers were also killed, wounded or taken captive, according to the government.
Residents and activists reported explosions and intense gunfire that lasted about an hour at dawn before army special forces troops took control of the area. The government said the attackers used small, medium and heavy weapons in their assault.
The government condemned the attack and praised the special forces and other security personnel in Benghazi “for their resilience.”
The statement went on to say the government will not “allow the presence of terrorists or armed criminal groups that operate outside the legitimacy of the state, it will not allow states within a state.”
Security forces in Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city, have often been targets of assassinations and bomb attacks blamed on Islamist extremist groups.
On Tuesday, at least two soldiers were killed and a number of others were wounded when a car bomb blew up outside an army base in Benghazi.
While no group has claimed responsibility for the violence that has gripped the eastern city, residents and officials have blamed it on groups including Ansar al Sharia, which has clashed with the army in recent months. The United States designated the militant group a terrorist organization this year for its involvement in violence in Benghazi, including the U.S. Consulate attack in 2012.
The security situation in Benghazi has been a major challenge for the Libyan government, with near daily assassinations and kidnappings, which mostly target security forces.
There has been growing concern about the increasing presence and influence of radical militant groups in the North African country after the 2011 revolution that overthrew the Gadhafi regime.
A recently released annual report by the U.S. State Department on global terrorism trends singled out Libya as an area of concern and instability.
“Libya’s porous borders, the weakness of Libya’s nascent security institutions, and large amounts of loose small arms create opportunities for violent extremists,” the report said.
During an official visit to the Libyan capital last week, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns voiced his concerns about the situation and pledged U.S. support to Libya.
“The rising threat of violent extremism, whether it is people using violence for political purposes or the role of terrorist groups, is an enormous challenge first and foremost to the people of Libya, but also to Libya’s international partners as well. We recognize the severity of that threat,” he told reporters in Tripoli.
“We have all suffered from it, whether it is Americans or Libyans or others around the world, and that is why we have such a sense of urgency, and such a sense of determination, to help Libyans build their own security capacity, to deepen counterterrorism cooperation, and also to promote the kind of healthy political process and economic process that increases the chances for greater security over the long term.”

Gunmen kill nine in western Ethiopia bus attack: state media

Wed Apr 16, 2014 6:22am EDT
(Reuters) – Gunmen ambushed a bus carrying dozens of people in western Ethiopia near the Sudanese border, killing nine and wounding six others, state-run media said on Wednesday.

There was no claim of responsibility and no group was blamed for the attack, but Ethiopia says it has thwarted several plots in recent years by Ethiopian insurgents as well as Somali al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab Islamist militants.

A handful of rebel groups are waging low-level separatist insurgencies in Ethiopia, while Ethiopian troops are part of an offensive against al Shabaab in neighboring Somalia.

The bus ambush on Tuesday evening – near the $4 billion-Grand Renaissance Dam – was the second attack on public transportation in the Benishangul Gumuz region in five months. Four people were killed by a bomb on a minibus in November.

“The bus was targeted while travelling 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of (regional capital) Assosa,” a report on state-owned Ethiopian Television said.

No further details were given, and officials were not immediately available to comment.

In September, two Somali suicide bombers accidentally blew themselves up in Addis Ababa while preparing to detonate explosives among football fans during Ethiopia’s World Cup qualifying match against Nigeria.

(Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Editing by Louise Ireland and James Macharia)

Dark Days in Egypt: Violence, Sham trials and Death Sentences

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Many Egyptians feel the situation in Egypt is dire

The United Nations condemns it as a breach of international law.

The United States calls it “unconscionable.”

An Egyptian court has sentenced nearly 530 supporters of the deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi — to death.

The defendants were found guilty of charges relating to an attack on a police station, as the country struggled with violence that led to the overthrow of Morsi last summer.

Yesterday another 683 people went to trial facing similar charges.

It’s been just over three years since the Arab Spring saw the end of more that thirty years of rule by Hosni Mubarak.

And in that time, instead of a peaceful and democratic country, many Egyptians believe the situation has never been more dire.

It’s difficult to get accurate numbers on the rise in the number of Egyptians killed, injured, or jailed since the coup against Mohamed Morsi’s government last summer.

But the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, a human rights organization, has tried to pull together numbers using materials including video, news clips, official and human rights reports since the start of the uprising against then-president Hosni Mubarak in January 2011.

Here is how those most recent numbers breakdown:
Between the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi last July and the end of January, more than 3100 Egyptians have been killed because of political violence.

Of those, at least 2500 were civilians.

And 60 soldiers or police officers were killed in demonstrations or clashes.

More that 17,000 people were injured.

Between July and the end of December, nearly 19,000 Egyptians were arrested for political reasons — the vast majority during political events.

About 2600 political leaders have been detained, primarily from the Muslim Brotherhood and other similar groups.

So what is like to live in Egypt amidst of all this? Sundus Balata is an Egyptian-Canadian development worker. She was in Cairo.

There has been condemnation of not just the mass death sentence, but the way these kinds of trials are carried out. Mohamed Zaree is the Egypt Programme Manager at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies — an independent non-governmental organization which promotes the principles of human rights and democracy across the Arab region. Mohamed Zaree was in Cairo.

Said Sadek says Egypt is in transition — and while the turmoil is serious, so far Egypt’s avoided the catastrophe of other countries undergoing political change. Said Sadek is a political sociologist based in Cairo.

Ban strongly condemns ongoing violence in Egypt

7 October 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the violence in Egypt which killed more than fifty people during a national holiday on Sunday, and today’s attacks against military personnel and facilities, which reportedly killed eight people and injured many more.

“The Secretary-General once again stresses the importance of peaceful protest, respect for freedom of assembly and commitment to non-violence,” his spokesperson said in a statement in which the United Nations chief also conveyed his condolences to the families of those killed and well wishes to those recovering.

Ahead of the announced demonstrations, Mr. Ban on Friday had voiced serious concern at the prospect of violence.

“The Secretary-General continues to underscore the need for political inclusion, full respect for human rights, including of those detained in prison, and the rule of law as the basis for a peaceful, democratic transition in Egypt,” the spokesperson said in today’s statement.

“These are the same principles to which the Egyptian authorities themselves have committed in the roadmap they have set forth,” he added.

Mr. Ban and other senior UN officials have repeatedly stressed that the authorities and the political leaders share a responsibility to end the widespread outbreak of violent protests and excessive use of force which have led to hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries.

The country has been undergoing a democratic transition following the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak two years ago in the wake of mass protests. In July, renewed protests, in which dozens of people were killed and wounded, led to the Egyptian military deposing Mohamed Morsy. The Constitution was then suspended and an interim government set up.

Chhattisgarh Bomb Blasts Highlights Indian Security Threats

Added by Humphrey Bennett on April 13, 2014.
Just one week into the Indian general elections and the Chhattisgarh bomb blasts, orchestrated by Maoist rebels, have already highlighted a major threat to the country’s security. 14 people are reported to have been killed on Saturday when two bombs exploded in central India. 75 to 100 Maoists are reported to have carried out the attacks.

Main casualties of the blasts were officials in charge of securing voters casting their ballots in one of the largest election the Indian subcontinent has ever seen. The cause of the explosions appeared to have been landmines set and activated by Maoist insurgents which triggered the explosion of a bus carrying election security personnel. Seven passengers were killed and 5 others injured.

In another explosion, just hours apart, also involving landmines planted by Maoist, an ambulance was targeted which resulted in 7 fatal casualties including the ambulance driver and a paramedic. The incident also injured 4 men, two of the four cases were critical injures. Officials stated that the blast were likely to have been set off just about 100 meters away. The Chhattisgarh bomb blast has also highlighted possible security threats in other Indian cities across the nation.

The circumstances related to the attack are said to be in sync with the way Maoist rebels operate; by targeting ambulances and security officials in order to garner attention. Just days before, 3 soldiers guarding election outlets were also killed in a gun battle with rebels. The rebels are also blamed for the killing of 16 security force members in an attack carried out last month, also in Chhattisgarh.

Current Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh of the ruling Congress Party, described the Maoist as one of India’s greatest security threats. A Union member spokesperson stated that the Maoists only kill teachers and civilians who are part of the democratic process, which proves they are none other than plain terrorists.

In 2013 insurgents killed 28 of Singh’s Congress Party members in Chhattisgarh, where there is strong opposition against the Congress Party. The area is ruled by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose candidate, Narendra Modi is expected to win this year’s general election to become the next Prime Minster of the Indian Republic.

The Indian Maoists, first established in West Bengal, are known has Naxals, and they have been in battles with the Indian government since the 1960’s. They are against what they refer to as India’s neo-colonial government. The Maoist would prefer the establishment of a socialist-communist government and the removal of the current Indian government in its current form. They wish to put an end to what they believe to be imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism. The Naxals claim that India has an undemocratic electoral policy set in place for the benefit of a feudal landlord based society and capitalism.

The Maoist grew stronger in 2004 with the formation of the Communist Party of India, which is the unification of two separate Maoist groups that has become impossible for the Indian Government to handle. The group has extended into 40 percent of India’s land mass, and has influence in over 20 of the country’s 28 states including Maharashtra where India’s economic lifeline, Mumbai, is located. The government claims that the Maoist has stifled economic activities in Central and Eastern India.

Since 1980 over 10,000 people including Naxals, civilians and Indian security forces have been killed, and the latest bomb blast in Chhattisgarh further highlights the impossible task Indian security forces have to undergo to combat the threats. With the expected win of Narendra Modi, all sides await to see if any new agreements will be put in place to lessen the ongoing hostilities.

By Humphrey Bennett

Venezuela Protests: Background and Potential Fallout

Zachary Fillingham – Apr 06, 14
Venezuela has been in the grip of nationwide protests since mid-February, when students in the states of Tachira and Merida took to the streets demanding increased security after a student was almost raped on her university campus. Since then the protests have expanded in size, spreading to the capital Caracas and beyond. Their scope has also grown, as the movement is no longer just about law and order, but a myriad of other issues reflecting popular wariness towards the policies of the late Hugo Chavez and his successor Nicolas Maduro.

The official number of people killed in ongoing unrest stands at 39, with casualties reported on both sides of the conflict.

It must be stressed that these protests are being driven by economic problems that are real, persistent, and that defy any easy policy answer from a Maduro government often constrained by its own ideology. They include: runaway inflation (57 percent); shortages of basic consumer goods like toilet paper; a serious fiscal deficit (15% of GDP as of January); decreasing foreign reserves (down 23% in 2013); and falling oil production (the central pillar of the Venezuelan economy).

Yet the composition of the protest movement is more nuanced than a cursory glance at the headlines would suggest. This is not an uprising that transcends the entire political spectrum. Quite the contrary, its support base is clearly delineated along class lines, with middle-class and affluent Venezuelans serving as the movement’s driving force and working-class and poorer citizens maintaining their support for the government in Caracas. This helps to explain why, for all the street chaos and economic malaise, the Maduro government still enjoys approval ratings in the low 40s.

Class boundaries hold all the way up to the movement’s political representation, with center-right and right-wing politicians emerging as the main figureheads. Prominent anti-Chavez politician and protest leader Maria Corina Machado was removed from her seat in the National Assembly last week, and subsequently blocked from the premises by the National Guard. Leopoldo Lopez, another right-wing politician, was arrested on February 18 and accused of inciting violence. Former presidential candidate and moderate Henrique Capriles has been visible in protests in Caracas, but he has thus far stopped short of calling for President Maduro to step down.

National Impact
Protests have been raging since mid-February, and it stands to reason that they will persist for months to come. One reason for this is the country’s deteriorating economic situation, which will likely get worse before it gets any better. Though the government introduced a new “Sicad 2” currency control system this week, and various politicians have been doing interviews in the foreign press and trying to rally investor confidence (President Maduro in the New York Times, Finance Minister Torres in the Financial Times), the economic rot is deep-rooted enough to defy any quick fix, especially one that doesn’t involve major cuts to welfare and price control spending.

Another sign pointing to continued instability is the unwavering resolve of the opposition movement. Many have vowed to keep up the fight until Maduro steps down, and they won’t be inclined to accept a compromise out of the belief that their government is sliding towards dictatorship. This belief may well end up a self-fulfilling prophecy as the Maduro government, faced with a cascading economic crisis, might feel the need for a hard turn towards violence and coercion to reign in public order.

Venezuela’s economic issues should also be viewed in the context of shifts in global energy markets. The technological revolution of ‘fracking’ and potential new suppliers such as Iran could precipitate a drop in global energy prices. Venezuela is a country that is particularly sensitive to such price shocks, and if one were to occur and push down government revenues, Caracas would be faced with a severe economic crisis.

Global Impact
Venezuela exported about 2.78 million barrels-per-day on average in 2013, and if current unrest were to actually impact oil exports there would definitely be an uptick in global prices. However, several analysts have pointed to increased global supply from the US shale boom as providing enough of a ‘cushion’ to global markets that the risk premium of Venezuelan protest has not yet manifested itself in international prices. Increased US production is also serving as a political cushion for Washington, which now has the luxury of not having to get its hands dirty and meddle in regional affairs in order to shore up global energy supplies.

Oil accounts for 96% of Venezuela’s exports, and almost half of its government revenue, so the potential impact of ongoing instability on commodities outside of the energy sector is relatively small.

Some are framing the political crisis in Venezuela as a fight for the political ‘soul’ of Latin America. On one side there’s the democratic, neoliberal-lite clique who stress the poverty-alleviation benefits of economic development through trade. They might point to Lula’s Brazil as their supporting example. On the other side there’s the state-interventionists who rallied around the more active redistributive aspects of Hugo Chavez’s “Bolivarian Revolution.” A prominent voice in the former group is Nobel prize-winning author Mario Vargas Llosa, who recently flew to Venezuela to show his support for the opposition movement.

There may be some truth to this argument, especially given the recent struggles by another of Latin America’s pseudo-isolationists in Argentina. Both countries have spurned the dictates of global capital in the past decade, and both have more recently been made to moderate their stance in the face of deteriorating economic outlooks.

Thus, if persistent instability and stunted policymaking lead to a complete collapse of the Venezuelan economy, it’s very possible that the dream of a continental Bolivarian Revolution will collapse along with it.

Zachary Fillingham is a contributor to Geopoliticalmonitor.com

Brotherhood students raise Al-Qaeda flag at Al-Azhar

March 17 2014
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Eyewitnesses at Al-Azhar University said students affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood raised the Al-Qaeda flag inside one of the university’s campuses during protests on Saturday.

As the first day of the second semester of the academic year began, students reportedly set off fireworks and clashed with security officers and other students at the Al-Azhar University’s Nasr City campus, raising the trademark black flag associated with Al-Qaeda and its affiliates on campus premises.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity, an Al-Azhar University administration official said: “Students raised the Al-Qaeda flags during protests . . . [the university’s administration] identified them through CCTV cameras and they have been referred to the disciplinary committee.”

The source added: “Al-Azhar University has increased the number of administrative security officers inside the university campus, and has installed barriers around the administrative building in case of student demonstrations.”

During the first semester, clashes between Al-Azhar students protesting the ouster of former Islamist president Mohamed Mursi and security forces raged. Four students were killed, according to Egypt’s Forensic Authority, and scores injured.

This prompted the head of the university—the highest Islamic authority in Egypt and one of the world’s oldest higher-learning institutions—to officially ask security forces to come on campus to restore calm. It was the first time Interior Ministry forces had entered a university since they were banned from campuses in 2010.

A total of 21 students were sentenced to three years in jail in February for taking part in the protests and contravening the country’s new protest laws, which only allow demonstrations pre-approved by the authorities.

The source at the university’s administration also added: “[On Saturday] 275 students were referred to the disciplinary panel for causing disruption and were currently being interrogated, in addition to 500 students who were involved in violence at university residences during the first term, who were banned indefinitely from the university residences.” The source said the ban was preceded by a number of warnings to stop students participating in violent acts.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, sources at the Higher Education Ministry said that CCTV cameras would now be installed inside university departments “to monitor the movement of Brotherhood students planning to cause damage, as was the case during the first semester.”

Egypt’s military-backed interim government has cracked down heavily on the Muslim Brotherhood since Mursi’s ouster last July, blaming it for a number of attacks on police and security buildings and personnel throughout the country.

The Brotherhood was declared a terrorist organization in December following a spate of bombings, which the interim government blamed on the Islamist group. Several top Brotherhood figures have been arrested since July and are now standing trial for a number of offences.

On Sunday, Cairo’s Criminal Court adjourned the trial of Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie and his deputy Khairat El-Shater, along with 15 other leading Brotherhood figures, until March 29.

They are accused of inciting murder during the June 30 protests which led to the ousting of Mursi, possessing unlicensed firearms and live ammunition and joining an armed group with the aim to cause “terror, incitement, bullying and violence,” among other charges.

Meanwhile, nine explosives planted at an electricity generator in the Emraniyah district in Giza have been disabled, according to a security source, who added that a number of suspects thought to be connected to the incident had also been arrested.

According to the source, four small gas canisters with wires, a circuit board and a detonator were primed to explode on Sunday morning. Another five similar devices were found a few hours later.

Special police shot Kiev protesters, inquiry says

Apr 3, 2014. Ukraine’s special police were behind the killings of dozens of anti-government protesters in Kiev in February, a government inquiry says.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov told reporters that 12 members of the Berkut police had been identified as snipers and arrested.

He presented what he said was new evidence from the shootings on 18-20 February, when 76 people were killed.

Months of mass protests led to the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych.

More than 100 people – including police officers – are now known to have died in Ukraine since the unrest began in November over Mr Yanukovych’s last-minute rejection of a landmark deal with the European Union in favour with closer Russian ties.

Ukraine’s new authorities have since signed the political part of the association agreement with the EU.

Meanwhile, Russia – which backed Mr Yanukovych – last month annexed Crimea in southern Ukraine following a controversial referendum branded illegal by Kiev and the West.

Most of the demonstrators who died were killed on Instytutska Street near the main protest camp on Independence Square, widely known as the Maidan.

Mr Avakov gave details of one particular episode where he said the inquiry had established that eight of those killed were hit by bullets from the same machine-gun.

He identified Maj Dmytro Sadovnyk as commander of a unit suspected of shooting dead at least 17 protesters.

“From the side of the the Zhovtnevy Palace, a special squad from the riot Berkut police, wearing yellow armbands, opened fire at the protesters. Much of this fire was targeted. We are carrying out ballistics tests on the weapons,” Mr Avakov said.

Members of the security services’ special unit Alfa are also believed to have taken part in the shootings, he added.

The interior minister also showed a number of slides and photos illustrating where he said police snipers were firing from. He named two buildings on Khreshchatyk and Kostyolna streets, saying other spots were still being investigated.

And he added that the previous authorities had tried to make the inquiry impossible by burning uniforms, dumping weapons and destroying documents.

A former Berkut officer, Volodymyr Krashevsky, denied the allegations. He told the BBC that “neither riot police nor special forces snipers… shot at protesters”.

“If the investigation is conducted objectively, it will prove that they have no relation to killings,” said Mr Krashevsky, who now heads the Berkut veterans’ organisation.

A number of those responsible for the shootings are believed to have fled to Crimea.

‘Direct leadership’
Ukrainian Security Service chief Valentyn Nalyvaychenko said that Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) operatives had been involved in planning operations against the protesters.

He added that the FSB had sent “tonnes” of explosives and weapons by plane to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian authorities also said that the killings of the protesters took place “under the direct leadership” of Mr Yanukovych.

They said arrest warrants had been issued for the ex-president and Oleksandr Yakymenko, Ukraine’s former security service chief.

Mr Yanukovych – who is now in Russia – has repeatedly denied the allegations.

In a TV interview on Wednesday, he claimed the shooting in February came from buildings held by protesters.

Talk, find solution

Published: 12:00 am Thursday, March 27, 2014
EU Parliament urges AL, BNP; calls for probing disruptions in recent polls
The European Parliament has urged the two major political parties to engage in dialogue to find a way forward for giving the Bangladeshi people a chance to exercise their democratic right to choose in a “fully representative way”.
It has also voiced concern over the current situation resulting from the January 5 elections and the reported incidents of “violence and vote rigging” in the recent upazila elections.

The EP is of the opinion that there should be “a full investigation of the disruption to polling,” according to a statement by an EP delegation that left Dhaka yesterday, ending its two-day visit.
It also called for a “reinforcement of the independence” of the Election Commission, to which the European Union has contributed €10 million over the past few years.
The four-member team led by Jean Lambert, chairperson of the delegation for relations with South Asia, flew in on March 24.
This was the first visit by a high-level delegation from the EU since the January 5 election that was boycotted by the main opposition BNP and its allies.
In the statement, Lambert said she was confident that the country would overcome its current crisis and pursue its development as a democratic, secular and tolerant country.
The delegation urged the government to ensure space for the civil society and maintain freedom of expression, notably by amending the Information and Communication Technology Act, “which it is feared could lead to the arbitrary criminalisation of citizens”.
Concerned at reports of attacks on minorities, extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances, it called upon the government to fully investigate these reports and effectively implement its “zero-tolerance” policy on police abuse and extend an invitation to the UN Special Rapporteurs on torture and extrajudicial executions.
On improving factory safety and labour rights, the team said it could still see that much was yet to be done.
It welcomed the steady and multifaceted improvement of Bangladesh’s relations with India, and the considerable reduction in border killings.
The delegation also appreciated the long-standing cooperation between the EU and Bangladesh in the international forum on global issues such as poverty reduction, climate change and gender equality.
On the eve of Bangladesh’s Independence Day, the delegation paid homage to the martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War.
During its visit, the team met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Election Commission officials, civil society members, labour leaders and journalists.
It discussed with the foreign minister Bangladesh’s fresh efforts to address the plight of Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar.
The delegation also stressed the need for a new government strategy to keep a strong humanitarian focus and give access to international agencies and NGOs assisting the refugees.
The other three delegation members are John Attard-Montalto (Malta, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Vice-Chair of South Asia Delegation), Salvador Sedo i Alabart (Spain, European People’s Party, Committee on Industry, Research & Energy) and Niccolò Rinaldi (Italy, Alliance of Democrats and Liberals, Committee on International Trade).

War crime public meeting condemns extrajudicial executions

By Imphal Free Press
March 12, 2014 15:01

IMPHAL, March 12 (NNN): The case of Oinam Naga village of Senapati district where under the code name Operation Bluebird, the Assam Rifles had committed gross human rights violations in 1987, was echoed strongly today during a public meeting at Konthoujam Kangjeibung in Imphal West district.

The North-East Dialogue Forum (NEDF) in collaboration with United Club Organization-Konthoujam and Konthoujam Meira Paibi (women folk) has conducted a public meeting on War Crime and Crimes against Humanity.

Speakers of the event said people experience the kind of human rights violation both from Indian Union and Manipur state security forces and armed non-state actors. Extrajudicial executions meaning killing of innocent civilians and armed cadres after apprehending are serious human rights violations committed by the Indian State, the meet said.

“Besides, many women were raped, raped and murdered, molested and killed by the government’s security forces. Please allow us to take the example of `Operation Bluebird` that was carried out in and around Oinam and its surrounding 30 villages of Senapati district in Manipur for nearly four months in 1987 by 29th Battalion of Assam Rifles. According to the report of Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR), 27 innocent civilians were killed, of which 21 were shot dead after torture and the rest were died due to forced starvation, denial of medical aids in the concentration camp, and shock of torture, three women were raped, five women were sexually molested, two women were forced to get delivered child before the public view and pregnant women were forced to use as potter, 340 persons were beaten and tortured in third degree methods of various inhuman manners, 96 persons were arrested and detained at their camp for weeks in inhuman condition, 125 residential houses were burnt and 172 houses were dismant
led, 10 churches and 6 schools were dismantled in the operation,” the statement from the organisers said.

It said the people in the North East India have been living more than five decades under the shadow of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958, which the people of this part of the world termed as – a draconian law which allows the Government Security Forces to kill, torture and rape with immunity and impunity. Under this Act, all security forces are given unrestricted and unaccounted power to carry out their operations, once an area is declared disturbed. Even a non-commissioned officer is granted the right to shoot to kill based on mere suspicion that it is necessary to do so in order to “maintain the public order”. Initially the Act was enacted in the parliament to suppress the activities of one of the insurgency groups (only one armed opposition group was operating then) operating in the Northeast but in true sense, the Act can do nothing to these insurgency groups except violating the fundamental human rights of the innocent civilian.

According to the organisers, Amnesty International in 1997 defined AFSPA, 1958 as “Undeclared Emergency with undefined reasons for unlimited period of time.” Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee (2005) report stated that “the Act, for whatever reason, has become a symbol of oppression, an object of hate and an instrument of discrimination and high handedness.” And therefore, the committee recommended that “The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, should be repealed.”

The organisers in the statement said the 2nd Administrative Reformed Commission (2007), Justice Verma Commission and Justice Santosh Hegde Commission had all recommended for the repeal of AFSPA, 1958. Ms. Pillay the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, R.N. Ravi, the Retd. Director 1B, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defender, Special Rapporteur on Extra Judicial Execution, Special Rapporteur on VAW visited India and North East State and strongly recommended for the repeal AFSPA. 16 Treaty Bodies Special Mechanism of UN had also recommended to repeal AFSPA since 1997 but India has failed to act responsibly till date.

“Therefore, both Indian armed forces and armed non-state actors are called upon to respect and implement International Humanitarian Laws, Geneva Conventions 1949’s common Article 3 and Additional Protocol II of 1977. It is surprising that India violates the International Humanitarian Laws and Geneva Conventions. War should be fought under International Humanitarian Law. In war or violent armed conflict, both the conflicting parties should allow humanitarian services, protect women and children and allow reaching the medicine/health care, food etc. to the people. However, citing as an example in the case of Sajik Tampak Operation, 2004 Indian Army put restriction on purchase of food items and other essential commodities like medicines and setting limitation of rice quantities to be purchased by a family as per family members and number of days etc. ,” the statement from the organisers said.

Md Rabi Khan, Advocate- High Court of Manipur, Mr. W. Samjai, President All Manipur Working journalist Union (AMWJU), Dr.Chinglen Maisnam, Asst. Professor, Manipur University and Sobita Mangsatabam, Secretary- Women Action for Development (WAD), Konthoujam Maniphar Singh, President United Club Organization and Konthoujam Angou Singh were present at the event as presidium members cum resource persons. Around 300 hundred people were participated in the meeting.

Xinjiang’s cycle of violence

Updated: March 24, 2014 01:21 IST
The Kunmíng violence underscores the need for a more sensitive approach to the Uighur question in China
The expansive square in front of the Id Kah Mosque, a 1,000-year-old place of worship in the heart of Kashgar, usually buzzes with activity as the sun sets on the Taklamakan desert. Worshippers, young and old, gather outside its distinctive yellow walls. The street nearby doubles as a bustling market, selling naan bread, dried fruit and lamb. The mosque is located not far from the edge of Kashgar’s old city, a sprawling maze of narrow alleyways and mud-brick houses that gives the famous Silk Road town its unique identity. For centuries, this town served as the gateway between West and East. As I walked through Kashgar’s distinctive by-lanes, I heard of the thriving links between the old kingdoms of Kashgar and India, Tibet, Central Asia and China — interactions that helped shape the rich local Uighur culture. At one point in its history, the old kingdom of Kashgar stretched its rule into parts of Ladakh, I was told. Today, there are places in Ladakh like Daulat Beg Oldi, named after a noble who once resided in Yarkand and Kashgar, still bearing signs of their old connected Silk Road histories.

Spate of attacks
When I visited the city a little less than three years ago towards the end of the holy month of Ramadan — my third visit — celebrations in the bustling old town appeared muted. Weeks earlier, the city had been rocked by two explosions, set off in minivans in a crowded pedestrian street in the new city, where most Chinese residents live. Unlike many cities in China’s far western Muslim-majority Xinjiang region, Kashgar is still overwhelmingly Uighur — although the number of Han Chinese migrants is fast increasing. Chinese — now a majority in the provincial capital Ürümqi, make up around half of Xinjiang’s population, up from only six per cent when the People’s Republic brought Xinjiang — its “new frontier” — under its control.

The explosions appeared to target Chinese residents. After one crude bomb was detonated, two men hijacked a van and drove it into a crowd of shoppers. Eight people were killed. The next day, another group of men, armed with knives, stormed into a restaurant frequented by Chinese tourists, stabbing to death its owner and four others. Four attackers were shot and killed by police. The result, a few weeks later, was a heavy security presence outside the Id Kah: around two dozen heavily armed People’s Armed Police, or paramilitary personnel, with riot gear, assault rifles and shields watched over the square — a presence, I am told, that is now permanent.

The violence in Kashgar in 2011 turned out to be the start of a string of similar incidents unfolding across Xinjiang, especially in the Uighur-dominated south, where Kashgar and Hotan are located. In August last year, 21 people were killed, including 15 police and community workers, in a clash with six people in a town in Bachu County, also in Kashgar prefecture. The six were later identified by state media as members of a group that was “planning to launch terrorist activities,” similar to the one in 2011 on the pedestrian street. A number of similar small-scale incidents have been reported since, occurring intermittently in Hotan and other cities. These usually only receive little attention, described briefly in terse state media reports that shed little light on the events and generally disregarded by the wider Chinese public, in some sense accepted as par for the course in “violent Xinjiang.”

That, however, would change, following the events of March 1 in Ku¯nmíng, the provincial capital of southwestern Yunnan province, a popular tourist destination for Chinese, known as “the city of eternal spring.” In an attack that resembled earlier incidents in southern Xinjiang, a group of masked assailants, armed with knives, went on a rampage in Ku¯nmíng railway station. Eight masked men and women, all dressed in black, moved quickly and quietly, stabbing at will, leaving a trail of blood, panic and horror. Armed with long knives, they appeared to be highly trained, according to witness accounts. They inflicted deadly cuts, often attacking their victims in similar, precise ways. The attackers appeared unfazed when armed police were deployed: one marched straight into a shower of bullets unleashed by police, a witness said. Four attackers were killed, and one injured woman assailant was captured. Three others suspected of involvement in the attack were detained. The attack left 29 people killed, and came as a shock to Chinese authorities, being the first of its kind to take place outside Xinjiang. The only similar incident of this kind was last year, when, in a strikingly similar repeat of the Kashgar attack, a jeep was driven by three Uighurs into a crowd in the heart of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Two tourists were killed.

The Ku¯nmíng attack, however, was especially significant, according to Pan Zhiping, a Chinese scholar at the official Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, who writes on terrorism and has advised the government. “The attack was well organised,” he said in an interview. “Ku¯nmíng is a long way from Xinjiang. The attackers this time were well trained and brutal.” The police were unprepared. It took them 30 minutes to mount an organised response, by which time 29 people were killed and more than a hundred injured. “Without intelligence,” Mr. Pan said, “you cannot predict such things could happen in Yunnan. And such intelligence is really hard to obtain.”

He suspects the involvement of the separatist East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a banned group whose leader is thought to be in hiding in Pakistan, near the Afghan border. While China has blamed most incidents on the ETIM, there has been little clear evidence of their capabilities of carrying out attacks in China. In the past, exiled Uighur groups have suggested that every act of unrest in Xinjiang, even those stemming from local protests, has been blamed on the ETIM to justify harsh responses.

Qin Guangrong, the Communist Party chief of Yunnan, told local media that the eight Ku¯nmíng attackers had previously sought to leave China “for jihad” overseas, but were unable to do so. They had first attempted to leave from southern Guangdong, but tracked back to Ku¯nmíng when they found no way to leave. For the Chinese government, the Ku¯nmíng attack, which one Party-run newspaper described as “China’s 9/11,” bolsters its claims on the terror threat. Mr. Pan said the government should step up anti-terror crackdowns in Xinjiang and elsewhere.

Local grievances, ethnic tensions
The danger for the government is that its past responses have appeared to exacerbate, rather than improve, the on-the-ground situation in Xinjiang. A case in point was the 2009 ethnic riots in Ürümqi, where 197 people were left killed. The government blamed the riots on ETIM and separatist groups, although the nature of mass rioting suggests otherwise.

Interviews with Uighurs in Ürümqi and Kashgar suggest the local population has growing grievances with government policies, particularly involving the migration of Han Chinese. Ilham Tohti, a Uighur economist known for his outspoken views, has documented rising local unemployment, as Uighur youth remain shut out of lucrative jobs. State-run energy companies, which hold unrivalled sway over government and policy in this mineral and oil-rich region, prefer hiring Mandarin-speaking Han Chinese, he has written. Earlier this year, Mr. Tohti, a widely respected and popular voice in the Uighur community, was taken away from his Beijing home by State police. He has not been heard from since.

Other grievances involve restrictions on religion. Uighur government workers and students in many universities are banned from practising religion, whether it is fasting during Ramadan or even wearing veils. Recent “anti-veil” crackdowns in Kashgar and Hotan, cited by local officials as being driven by security reasons, have understandably angered Uighurs, seen as an assault on their culture.

Wang Lixiong is a Chinese writer who has written extensively on Tibet, Xinjiang and ethnic issues. In an article following the Ku¯nmíng attack, he warned of the danger of an official response that fuels a cycle of violence. He has argued for policymaking that takes into account the sensitivities and aspirations of Uighurs. Today’s policies “have been escalating the ethnic tension,” he warned. Following the Ürümqi riots, locals say ethnic relations have worsened, as Han and Uighur neighbourhoods retreat into themselves, leaving an increasingly segregated city.

“Continuing on that path,” Mr. Wang warned, “it will not take long to reach the point of no return where all opportunities for healthy interaction will be lost, and a vicious cycle pushes the two sides farther and farther apart.”

ananth.krishnan@thehindu

Moldova's Trans-Dniester region pleads to join Russia

Mar 18, 2014. Pro-Russian politicians and activists in Moldova’s breakaway Trans-Dniester region have asked the Russian parliament to draft a law that would allow their territory to join Russia.

The Trans-Dniestrian appeal comes as Moscow moves towards absorbing Crimea into the Russian Federation. Ukraine, the EU and US say that move is illegal.

Russian loyalists dominate Trans-Dniester, with support from Moscow.

The region split from Moldova in a war in 1991-92, as the USSR was collapsing.

Moldova’s President Nicolae Timofti said in a news briefing on Tuesday that any decision by Moscow to accept Trans-Dniester “would be a step in the wrong direction”.

In a September 2006 referendum, unrecognised by Moldova and the international community, the region reasserted its demand for independence.

Irina Kubanskikh, spokeswoman for the Trans-Dniester parliament, told Itar-Tass news agency that the region’s public bodies had “appealed to the Russian Federation leadership to examine the possibility of extending to Trans-Dniester the legislation, currently under discussion in the State Duma, on granting Russian citizenship and admitting new subjects into Russia”.

A pro-Kremlin party, A Just Russia, has drafted legislation to make it easier for new territories to join Russia. The party told the Vedomosti newspaper that the text was now being revised, in order not to delay the rapid accession of Crimea to Russia.

The Duma – Russia’s lower house – and the Federation Council (upper house) are dominated by supporters of President Vladimir Putin.

Vedomosti reports that the Trans-Dniester appeal to Russia also warns about a possible further deterioration if Moldova signs an association agreement with the EU.

Moldova’s leaders plan to do so. The crisis in neighbouring Ukraine erupted after former President Viktor Yanukovych was expected – and then refused – to sign such an agreement.

Two Libyan lawmakers shot as protesters storm congress, members say

By Jomana Karadsheh, CNN
updated 7:06 PM EST, Sun March 2, 2014

(CNN) — At least two members of Libya’s General National Congress were shot and wounded after protesters stormed its headquarters in Tripoli on Sunday evening, according to congress members.
One of the congressmen, Abdul Rahman Sweihli, was shot in the leg after protesters opened fire on him inside the building.
As his security detail rushed him out, gunmen opened fire on their cars as they were trying to flee, his son Bashir Sweihli told CNN.
No information about the second lawmaker was available.
A GNC member speaking on Libyan TV said lawmakers continued their evening session despite dozens of protesters surrounding the building and pouring gasoline on the walls before they stormed the building.
Other members of the GNC, the country’s interim parliament, were assaulted, and some of the women members harassed, lawmakers said.
Young men ransacked the building, and parts of it were set on fire, according to witnesses.
Videos posted to social media sites showed a chaotic scene, with young men setting cars and furniture outside the building ablaze.
Public anger has been mounting against the GNC, especially after members voted last December to extend their term in office until the end of this year.
For almost a month, thousands of Libyans have taken to the streets across the country in peaceful demonstrations demanding an end to the GNC’s term.
In response to the rising tensions, lawmakers announced last month that early elections would be held, but a date has not yet been set.
Earlier in the day, anti-GNC protesters blocked off roads close to the building and set tires on fire after reports spread of an attack Saturday night on anti-GNC protesters. That attack included burning down their tent and reportedly kidnapping some protesters.
More than two years after the overthrow of the Gadhafi regime, Libyans have become increasingly frustrated with the state of their country and the performance of their elected officials.
Separately on Sunday, gunmen shot dead a French national in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Local authorities condemned the killing and said the man was an employee of a private French company that was doing expansion work on the Benghazi Medical Center.
The French Foreign Ministry condemned the killing of the man identified as Patrice Real and said the perpetrators must be pursued and punished.
A Libyan soldier was also killed in Benghazi on Sunday when an improvised explosive device detonated under his car, according to the state news agency LANA.
Four unidentified bodies of young men with gunshots to the head were found in a forest east of Benghazi, LANA reported.
Separately, a fifth unidentified body was discovered in al-Jarutha, west of the city.
Violence levels in the city have spiked over recent weeks with assassinations, kidnappings and bombings becoming near daily occurrences in the city that was the cradle of Libya’s revolution.
While no group has claimed responsibility for the rising violence in Benghazi, residents and officials blame the violence on Islamist extremist groups.
Last week security forces found the bodies of seven Egyptian Christians dumped west of the city.

Protesters ransack government buildings in Guinea smelting town

Protesters ransack government buildings in Guinea smelting town
CONAKRY (Reuters) – Protesters angered by the death of a young man in police custody ransacked a police station and government buildings in Guinea’s main aluminium smelting town on Wednesday, local residents said.

Work at Russian aluminium giant RUSAL’s Friguia refinery has been suspended since April 2012 hitting household incomes hard and aggravating social unrest in the town of Fria, 160 km (99 miles) north of the capital Conakry.

Protesters threw stones and burned tyres in the town’s streets, before attacking the police station.

“The municipal police station is looted. The youth are in the streets showing their anger after the death of their friend,” Fria resident Mamadou Gueye told Reuters.

“The few gendarmes and police officers who were on duty have fled the city,” he said.

It was unclear why the young man had been taken into custody by the police. But town residents told Reuters he had been beaten to death.

Government officials did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

“There are no authorities right now. We’re not seeing the mayor or the prefect…no one,” said a second Fria resident, who asked not to be named.

The violence comes little over a week after two people were killed and 30 others were injured when protests against frequent power cuts in Conakry turned violent.

Guinea is the world’s top supplier of bauxite, the raw material used in aluminium production, but more than 40 percent of the West African nation’s citizens live on less than $1.25 a day.

RUSAL suspended operations at the 630,000 tonne-per-year Friguia refinery amid a workers’ strike over wages.

(Reporting by Saliou Samb; Writing by Joe Bavier; editing by Ralph Boulton)

Venezuelan student leader shot dead at protest

Mar 11, 2014. A student leader has been killed at an anti-government protest in western Venezuela, officials have said.

Daniel Tinoco was shot in the chest at a road junction during a demonstration in San Cristobal, the city’s police chief Angel Perdomo said.

Eyewitnesses said Mr Tinoco and other students were attacked by armed men riding motorcycles.

At least 22 people have been killed since the unrest in Venezuela started more than a month ago.

Day of clashes
Both opponents and supporters of the government have been among those killed in clashes with each other and the security forces.

Mr Perdomo did not say who might have been behind the shooting of Mr Tinoco, an outspoken student leader who often manned the barricades erected as part of the anti-government protests in San Cristobal.

The city’s mayor, Daniel Ceballos of the opposition Popular Will party, said the incident happened after a day of clashes between opposition supporters, pro-government armed militia, and security personnel.

The opposition has accused the pro-government militia, known as “colectivos”, of targeting and harassing them, and has called for them to be disarmed.

The government, meanwhile, has blamed much of the violence on “fascist” groups, who it has alleged are trying to stage a coup against President Nicolas Maduro.

‘On the trail’
On Monday, the authorities also confirmed the death of a Chilean woman in the western city of Merida.

Giselle Rubilar, 47, was shot in the face while clearing a barricade, officials said.

Merida Governor Alexis Ramirez of the governing PSUV party said Ms Rubilar was “ambushed by extreme right-wing groups”.

President Maduro said her killers had been identified and the authorities were “on their trail”.

“Rest assured, Chile and Latin America, we are going to capture the assassins of this compatriot and they will pay for this horrendous crime,” he added.

The president also told his supporters the the government had the opposition protests under control.

“We have faced a coup and neutralised it,” he said.

But students in San Cristobal, where the current wave of protests first started in early February, said they would continue their daily protests and hold fast to their slogan: “He who tires, loses”.

Controversial barricades
Barricades have become a common but controversial feature of the anti-government protests in cities such as San Cristobal and the capital, Caracas.

Protesters say they are a way of exerting pressure on the Maduro government, while others complain about the disruption they cause to the lives of locals and the danger they pose to motorcyclists.

In February, a motorcyclist was decapitated by barbed wire strung across a road as part of a barricade.

The current wave of protests first started in San Cristobal when students demonstrated about the lack of security in Venezuela.

It has since spread to other cities and been joined by Venezuelans disgruntled by the country’s high inflation and shortages of some staple foods.

Tens of thousands have taken part in marches demanding the resignation of the government, but there have also been mass rallies in support of President Maduro.

Egyptian Administrative Attache in Libya kidnapped

24/01/2014 | 11:55 PM | Arab News
CAIRO, Jan 24 (KUNA) — An Administrative Attache of the Egyptian Embassy in Libya has been kidnapped, the Foreign Ministry confirmed Friday and denied reports that Ambassador Mohammad Bu Bakr was the one who was abducted.
The Egyptian and Libyan authorities have been in close coordination over the abduction of the administrative attach, foreign ministry spokesman Bader Abdulaati told the official (MENA) news agency.
He said the two countries were working hard to secure the release of the Egyptian national, whose name was not disclosed. (end) esm.bs KUNA 242355 Jan 14NNNN

Hundreds arrested in Brazil as protest against World Cup spending grows violent

Published time: February 23, 2014 15:35 Get short URL

Bank windows were smashed and fires started in Sao Paolo in a rally against World Cup expenditure, which has exceeded $11 billion. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades, making hundreds of arrests.

Almost a thousand people peacefully took to the streets on Saturday in the south-eastern city to express their discontent over the high government expenditure on the World Cup, which Brazil is going to host in four months.

“There will be no Cup!” and “Cup for the rich, scraps for the poor!” protesters chanted according to AFP.

Although the rally began peacefully, it descended into chaos as some demonstrators started smashing bank windows, constructed roadblocks, and set piles of garbage on fire in the streets. While some told the agency that violence escalated after police refused to allow the rally to carry on, others pointed at masked ‘Black Bloc’ anarchists in the demonstrations.

Stun grenades were fired and tear gas deployed in order to disperse the gatherings.

Sao Paulo military police reported on Twitter that 230 people were arrested. Among them were five journalists – three reporters and two photographers – according to local daily newspaper, O Estado de Sao Paulo.

“Even having been identified by their professional documents, journalists were lined up down the sidewalk,” the paper wrote.

Five police officers and two protesters were injured in the violence. One of the police officers was struck in the neck by a glass bottle, according to the paper, and had to be taken to the emergency department.

However, numerous protesters alleged that police instigated the violence with their heavy-handedness.

“The government is trying to make believe that Brazil is all cheer and carnival, but it’s not like that. This is a very unequal country,” 19-year-old protester Lucas Souza told AFP.

World Cup spending is taking place in the context of transport fare hikes.

Violent protests followed the announcement about fare increases, with members of the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE) being deployed to handle the demonstrators, using tear gas, and resulting in at least 20 arrests.

While protests have been on a smaller-scale than those against the 2013 Confederations cup, the 2014 demonstrations have contained pockets of protesters deemed more ‘radical’, giving rise to fears that the police may not be able to contain violence during the event itself.

A cameraman was killed in a separate protest which took place in Rio de Janeiro on February 6. An earlier call for nationwide protests – the only one of which took place in Sao Paulo – led to one person being shot and wounded by police.

Workers have threatened strikes, slamming their conditions as unsafe. At the beginning of the month, workers at a Brazilian world cup stadium, located in the northern city of Manaus, threatened action after a third construction employee died at the site.

“We have to guarantee the workers’ rights and their safety,” union leader, Cicero Custodio, told local press.

Ukrainian president and opposition sign early poll deal

Feb 21, 2014. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leaders have signed a deal to try to end the political crisis in the country.

Under the agreement, a national unity government will be installed and a presidential poll will be held by the end of the year.

The deal, reached after mediation by EU foreign ministers, also sees electoral reform and constitutional changes.

Ukraine’s parliament has voted to reduce the president’s powers.

It also approved laws which could see the release of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

The deal follows hours of talks and months of demonstrations on the streets of Kiev and other cities.

Dozens of protesters were killed by security forces on Thursday.

The deal has been met with scepticism by some of the thousands of protesters who remain on Independence Square in Kiev, with some saying they still did not trust President Yanukovych.

The opposition leaders who signed the deal were booed and called traitors by a crowd in Independence Square, the focal point of the protests, the BBC’s Gavin Hewitt reports from Kiev.

The agreement, published by the German foreign ministry, includes the following:

The primary aim of any new government – which could be in place with a week or two – will be to restore peace and political stability to a country that has been on the brink of civil war.

Alongside the political changes is the challenging task of reforming the police and dismantling the whole apparatus of repression. Corrupt prosecutors and judges will have to be replaced.

And then there’s the economy. The Ukrainian currency, the hryvnya, has tumbled in value. There have been reports of some shortages of petrol, bread and even cash. International ratings agencies have warned of the country defaulting on its debts.

Ukraine cannot survive without help – but where should it come from? Russia has promised a $15bn (£9.2bn; 10.9bn euros) loan, lent in dribs and drabs. Now the EU has woken up to the importance of Ukraine, the question is whether it will commit to a multibillion-pound bailout package of its own for just a single country – one which may join the EU one day, but not soon enough.
The agreement was later signed by Mr Yanukovych and opposition leaders Vitali Klitschko, Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Oleh Tyahnibok at the presidential administration headquarters in Kiev.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski tweeted that the deal was a “good compromise for Ukraine” which would open the way “to reform and to Europe”.

Mr Sikorski told reporters on his return to Warsaw that Russia had played a constructive role in reaching the agreement.

The White House has welcomed Friday’s deal, praising “the courageous opposition leaders who recognised the need for compromise”.

President Barack Obama is due to speak to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, later on Friday.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron also welcomed the agreement and called on all sides in Ukraine to “get behind this deal and deliver it according to the timetable set out”.

Tymoshenko vote
Shortly after the deal was signed, Ukraine’s parliament approved the restoration of the 2004 constitution, with all but one of the 387 MPs present voting in favour.

Any political deal between President Yanukovych and the opposition movement will have to pass the test here in Lviv. It is a city that has been at the forefront of the protests, sending busloads of demonstrators 500km east to Kiev on a nightly basis.

Lviv has always looked west rather than east: a city for centuries under Austrian and then Polish rule, it only fell to the Soviets during World War Two and has remained fiercely proud of its Ukrainian identity ever since.

The writ of the Kiev government does not extend here. Every regional administration building is now under the control of the protest movement. I visited the police headquarters, taken on Tuesday night by the opposition and ransacked. At the security service office, burnt out cars lie in the courtyard. The mood here is one of defiance: that President Yanukovych must step down now.

Mr Yatsenyuk said the vote was “the first step to restore order in Ukraine”.

Parliament also approved an amnesty for protesters accused of involvement in violence and voted for the dismissal of Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko.

MPs voted for a change in the law which could lead to the release of Tymoshenko, an arch-rival of Mr Yanukovych.

She was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2011 for abuse of power. Her supporters say this was simply Mr Yanukovych taking out his most prominent opponent.

“I think what we’re witnessing is the collapse of this absolutely bizarre and terrible dictatorship which was building up in the country,” opposition politician Andriy Shevchenko told the BBC from the floor of parliament.

Dozens of MPs from Mr Yanukovych’s own Party of Regions voted for the motions, in what correspondents say will be a humiliation for the president.

Opposition MP, Andriy Shevchenko, describes the atmosphere from the parliament floor as the “historic” votes were cast
Bloodiest day
Despite the agreement, isolated outbursts of violence were reported in central Kiev on Friday morning.

It remains to be seen whether the deal will be enough to placate more radical elements of the opposition, including many in the west of Ukraine, who have been demanding Mr Yanukovych’s resignation.

The protests first erupted in late November when President Yanukovych rejected a landmark association and trade deal with the EU in favour of closer ties with Russia.

The deal comes after the bloodiest day since the unrest began.

Police opened fire early on Thursday after protesters tried to push them away from the makeshift camps they have been occupying in central Kiev.

The health ministry said 77 people had been killed since Tuesday, and another 577 were injured.

Ukraine: Deadly clashes around parliament in Kiev

Feb 18, 2014. Violent clashes have erupted during anti-government protests in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, with at least nine people, including two policemen, dead.

In the worst violence in weeks, police used rubber bullets and stun grenades as thousands of protesters marching on parliament.

A deadline set by the security forces for the violence to end has passed with no immediate sign of police action.

The clashes came as MPs were due to debate changes to the constitution.

The proposals would curb the powers of President Viktor Yanukovych, but the opposition say they were blocked from submitting their draft, meaning no debate could take place.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was “deeply worried” by the escalation of violence, and urged politicians to “address the root causes”.

Russia blamed the upsurge in violence on “connivance by Western politicians and European structures” and their refusal to consider the “aggressive actions” of radical factions within the protest movement.

Officer shot dead
Ukraine’s unrest began in November, when Mr Yanukovych rejected a deal with the EU in favour of closer ties with Russia.

The mood had calmed in recent days, but protest camps remain on the streets and the opposition – which insists the president must resign – had warned the government it risked inflaming tensions if it failed to act.

On Tuesday, thousands of protesters tried to march on the parliament building to put pressure on the government to address constitutional reform. But the march was blocked by lines of police vehicles.

The BBC’s David Stern in Kiev says it is unclear what sparked the clashes – protesters and police have blamed each other.

Unlike in previous weeks, violence took place in a number of locations, our correspondent adds.

Some protesters ripped up cobblestones to throw at police. Others threw smoke bombs. Police fired stun and smoke grenades, and rubber bullets.

Protesters also attacked the headquarters of President Yanukovych’s Party of the Regions, temporarily smashing their way in and setting it on fire before being forced out by police.

One person – believed to be an employee – was found dead inside.

The bodies of three protesters were found inside a building close to parliament. Another three bodies were seen lying in the street.

The interior ministry said two policemen had died of gunshot wounds.

Dozens of protesters and security personnel are also reported to have been injured.

The heads of the security services and internal affairs ministry gave the protesters a deadline of 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT) to put an end to the clashes, warning they would “use all the possible methods” to end it.

The entire Kiev metro has been shut down, and police have converged on the edges of Independence Square, the site of the main protest camp since November.

Protest leader Vitaly Klitschko urged women and children to leave the square, saying they could not “exclude the possibility of use of force”.

But the deadline came and went with no apparent sign of security force action.

US ‘appalled’
Inside parliament on Tuesday morning, there were scuffles as the opposition tried to submit a draft resolution on reinstating the 2004 constitution.

Opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the move was being blocked by President Yanukovych, saying his party members “show no desire whatsoever to end the political crisis”.

MPs who support the president say the proposals have not been thoroughly discussed, and that more time is needed.

The speaker of parliament, Volodymyr Rybak, said parliament would not meet on Wednesday, but that opposition leaders would meet the president for further talks.

Several countries have expressed their alarm and concern at the sudden escalation of the crisis.

The US’s National Security Council said it was “appalled by the violence” and urged President Yanukovych to “immediately de-escalate the situation and end the confrontation”
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on both sides to “return urgently” to their attempts to find a political solution.
The UK’s Minister for Europe David Lidington said such violence had “no place in a European democracy” and urged “all parties to return to the path of compromise and genuine negotiation”.
Poland’s foreign ministry said it had summoned Ukraine’s deputy ambassador to express its concern, and called for “immediate dialogue”.

Bahrain policeman dies after protest anniversary bombing

Feb 15, 2014. A policeman in Bahrain has died of wounds from a bomb blast during protests marking Friday’s third anniversary of the country’s uprising.

The interior ministry said he was one of two officers wounded in a “terror blast” in the village of Dair.

Another three policemen were injured by an explosion near the village of Dih.

Protesters were marking the 2011 unrest fuelled by demands for more rights and an end to discrimination against the majority Shia community.

On Friday demonstrators attempted to reach the site of a bloody crackdown on demonstrators almost three years ago.

Several demonstrators were reportedly wounded by security forces. The interior ministry said in a statement that 26 people were arrested on suspicion of “rioting and vandalism”.

Police used tear gas to stop them from reaching the Pearl Roundabout, which was a focus of protests in 2011.

Since then, police and demonstrators have scuffled almost daily. Thousands of people have been arrested.

Associated Press quoted the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights as saying 38 protesters had been hurt in clashes since Thursday evening, with injuries caused by birdshot fire, tear gas and beatings.

Repeated clashes
The government and opposition have held two rounds of fruitless reconciliation talks, with a third expected soon.

The protesters are mostly from poorer, Shia areas in the villages outside the capital.

Protesters have repeatedly used burning tyres and other debris as a tactic to block police vehicles from entering Shia areas.

Sunni Muslims are a minority in the country but through the al-Khalifa dynasty have ruled over the Shia Muslim majority for more than 200 years.

The small island country is a key US ally in the Gulf and hosts the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Bahrain is also closely allied with Saudi Arabia, which in 2011 sent troops into the country to help the government quell the uprising.

Pro and anti-Maduro marches gather thousands in Venezuela

Feb 15, 2014. Supporters and opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have taken to the streets of the capital, Caracas, in rival marches.

The demonstrations come at a time of growing political tension in Venezuela.

Three people were killed during anti-government protests on Wednesday, and some 100 students were arrested.

Mr Maduro accused the opposition of stirring up trouble as part of a coup plot and urged his supporters to march for peace on Saturday.

Government supporters began arriving at Venezuela Square, in central Caracas, in the morning.

They were dressed predominantly in red or in Venezuela’s national colours – blue, yellow and red.

‘Alarming reports’
Hours later Mr Maduro addressed thousands of his supporters in Bolivar Avenue. The march was broadcast live on national television.

“I call all the people to the streets in order to defend peace,” he said.

He warned that his government would not give in to those he described as “fascists,” including former president of neighbouring Colombia, Alvaro Uribe.

“Alvaro Uribe is behind this, financing and directing these fascist movements.

“He intended to use a Venezuelan television channel [NTN24] to do the same they did on 11 April 2002,” Mr Maduro said, referring to a failed military coup against the late President, Hugo Chavez.
Mr Uribe, a centre-right politician, was a fierce enemy of Mr Chavez and accused the late president of supporting Colombia’s largest rebel group, the Farc.

Mr Maduro said police had been looking for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, accused of ordering “all these violent kids, which he trained, to destroy half of Caracas to then go into hiding”.

Mr Lopez has not been seen in public since an arrest warrant was issued for him on Wednesday.

The United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, has issued a statement expressing concern about the rising tensions in Venezuela.

“We are particularly alarmed by reports that the Venezuelan government has arrested or detained scores of anti-government protestors and issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez,” read the statement.

Opposition demonstrators, including a movement known as Mothers in White, gathered at Las Mercedes neighbourhood in eastern Caracas.

Opposition march in Caracas
“Freedom for the prisoners,” reads the banner held by opposition protesters.
Thousands of people, mostly wearing white, marched towards the Courts of Justice building and stopped for a memorial ceremony to the three demonstrators killed on Wednesday: Bassil da Costa, Juan Montoya and Robert Redman.

Student leader Enrique Altimari said the main aim of their “peaceful protest” was to “pay tribute to the victims”.

‘Not after dark’
He said the march would end before night fell, to avoid a repeat of the incidents of Wednesday.

The three victims were shot dead by unknown gunmen as the opposition marches came to an end.

“The streets at night are not a safe place for us. We would not be achieving any goal and would only fall in the trap set up by violent pro-government groups,” Mr Altimari said.

The opposition march ended before dusk with clashes between police, who fired tear gas in attempts to disperse the crowd, and demonstrators who hurled stones.

Reports say three people were injured.

The main opposition grievances are high inflation, crime and the shortage of some staples.

Anti-Maduro protest in Caracas
The government has blamed the shortages on “saboteurs” and “profit-hungry corrupt businessmen”.

Venezuelan politics has become increasingly polarised.

Mr Maduro was elected last April by a narrow margin, defeating the centre-right candidate, Henrique Capriles, who denounced electoral fraud.

A former union leader, Mr Maduro was a close ally of President Hugo Chavez, who died of cancer last March after 14 years in office.

Mr Capriles says the government’s left-wing policies have led to economic collapse, including high inflation – 56.2% in 2013, according to official figures.

Syria crisis: 'Hundreds' evacuated from besieged Homs

Feb 9, 2014. More than 600 civilians have been evacuated from the rebel-held Old Quarter of the central Syrian city of Homs, state media report.

This was despite mortar fire and shooting which activists say killed several people and wounded others.

UN and Syrian Red Crescent teams also managed to deliver relief supplies to the quarter, which has been besieged by government forces for more than a year.

On Saturday aid workers were trapped under fire there for several hours.

The BBC’s Jim Muir says a convoy with relief supplies went into the Old Quarter on Sunday, and then vulnerable civilians were brought out – mainly women, children and the elderly.

He says they looked pale and stressed, after surviving for months in violent siege conditions with very little food or medical care.

The Wall Street Journal’s Sam Dagher, in Homs, has tweeted that more than a dozen men who came out with the evacuees were detained by security forces and taken away to an unknown location.

Sunday is the final day of what was agreed as a three-day humanitarian truce.

The governor of Homs, Talal al-Barazi, has said the ceasefire may be extended by a further three days, to allow all those who might want to leave the chance to do so.
Elsewhere, opposition activists said at least 11 people were killed in the northern city of Aleppo when government helicopters dropped barrel bombs – crude weapons comprising cylinders packed with explosives and metal fragments – on rebel-held neighbourhoods.

‘Stark reminder’
The operation to help trapped civilians in Homs was the one concrete agreement reached at recent peace talks in Geneva, which are due to resume on Monday.

A UN/Red Crescent aid convoy came under attack from mortars and gunfire as it was leaving Homs on Saturday.

Syrian authorities have blamed the attack on rebels, but they in turn say that President Bashar al-Assad’s forces were responsible for the incident.

The BBC’s Jim Muir: “Relief teams trying to get help to trapped civilians found themselves sheltering for their lives”
UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos has insisted that the UN and aid agencies will not be deterred by the weekend’s violence.

She said the events were “a stark reminder of the dangers that civilians and aid workers face every day across Syria”.

The Red Crescent, in a joint operation with the UN, is trying to deliver food, water and medicine by truck to some 3,000 civilians in rebel-held areas.

Homs has been a key battleground in the uprising against President Assad.

The army launched a series of major attacks to recapture rebel areas in the Old Quarter in the beginning of 2012, with almost daily bombardments.

Thousands have been killed, large areas have been reduced to rubble, and many neighbourhoods lie in ruins.

Bosnia-Hercegovina protests break out in violence

Feb 7, 2014. Demonstrators in Bosnia-Hercegovina have set fire to government buildings, in the worst unrest since the end of the 1992-95 war.

Hundreds of people have been injured in three days of protests over high unemployment and perceived inability of politicians to improve the situation.

Police used rubber bullets and tear gas to quell unrest in the capital Sarajevo and the northern town of Tuzla.

Sarajevo-based newspaper Dnevni Avaz says police used water to disperse the protesters who were throwing stones at the building. There were also reports of an attempted storming of the office.

The fire brigade are unable to reach the burning building, the paper reports. A total of 13 fire service teams have been deployed.

On Thursday, clashes between police and demonstrators in Tuzla injured more than 130 people, mostly police officers.

“People protest because they are hungry, because they don’t have jobs. We demand the government resign,” Nihad Karac, a construction worker, told the AFP.

About 40% of Bosnians are unemployed.

The unrest began in Tuzla earlier in the week, with protests over the closure and sale of factories which had employed most of the local population.

Demonstrators in other towns, including Mostar, Zenica and Bihac, supported the Tuzla workers and criticised the government for failing to tackle the rampant unemployment.
This appears to be a case of simmering frustration boiling over.

Two decades on from the siege of Sarajevo, Bosnia has fallen off the international radar – and its people feel they have been forgotten. And not just by the wider world, but their own government.

The administration is split along ethnic lines – and seems incapable of agreeing on anything but its own above-average pay packets.

This has left the rest of Bosnia’s citizens struggling to move forward.

Even practical matters like national identity cards, get mired in ethnic politics. At one point last year, desperate mothers formed a human chain around the main government building, begging for identity cards for their babies.

The economic situation is desperate. Four in ten are unemployed – in large part due to a series of botched privatisations.

That is what sparked the initial protests in Tuzla – but empathy with their cause brought demonstrators out in towns across Bosnia.

Hundreds of people also gathered in support in the Bosnian Serb capital, Banja Luka.

Local media are reporting that the premiers of two of Bosnia’s cantons – Sead Causevic of Tuzla canton and Munib Husejnagic of Zenica-Doboj canton – are to resign.

‘Exasperation’

The BBC’s Balkans correspondent Guy De Launey says exasperation at years of inertia and incompetence in Bosnia is at the root of the protests.

Bosnia-Hercegovina is made up of two separate entities: a Bosniak-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina, and the Bosnian Serb Republic, or Republika Srpska, each with its own president, government, parliament, police and other bodies.

The complex administrative framework and deep divisions have led to political stagnation and vulnerability to corruption.

The current chairman of the Bosnian presidency, Zeljko Komsic, said that politicians were to blame for the protests.

The problem “has been accumulating for several years, but the situation now escalated,” he told FTV.

He was also quoted as saying he would be calling an urgent meeting of the top leadership.

Afghan presidential election campaign under way

Feb 2, 2014. The campaign for Afghanistan’s presidential election has been formally launched, with rallies for key candidates in the capital, Kabul.

The election is scheduled to take place on 5 April.

There are 11 candidates to replace Hamid Karzai, who cannot stand again.

Security is the major issue, with the Taliban threatening to target the campaign. Two workers for candidate Abdullah Abdullah were shot dead in the western city of Herat on Saturday.

Thousands of people attended rallies in halls in Kabul on Sunday as the campaign started, with posters now dotted around the city.

All the candidates have been given armoured vehicles and security guards.

Academic Ashraf Ghani, who is running with former Uzbek warlord Gen Abdul Rashid Dostum and ethnic Hazara tribal chieftain Sarwar Danish as vice-presidents, promised at his rally to bring reforms.

Mr Abdullah also held a rally.

He said the world should not be frightened of Afghanistan, nor should Afghans be afraid of the world.

One of those who attended, Arefa Alizada, told Agence France-Presse news agency he was concerned about security, referring to the deaths of the two campaign workers.

“If it worsens, I and many other people won’t be able to vote,” he said.

One of the main campaign issues will be the presence of US forces beyond the end of the year – when Western forces are scheduled to leave.

A deal with the US was reached to retain thousands to train and mentor local security forces.

However, Mr Karzai has stalled on signing the agreement himself, suggesting his successor would complete the negotiations.

The Taliban has rejected the election and attacks in the capital are already on the increase.

The UN condemned Saturday’s attack in Herat, saying: “This cowardly action constitutes a violent intimidation of electoral candidates and their supporters, and cannot be tolerated.”

The last election, in 2009, was also dogged by allegations of vote rigging and intimidation.

Mr Abdullah pulled out of a run-off vote, handing Mr Karzai another term.

The BBC’s David Loyn in Kabul says a clear winner in the first round is again unlikely, meaning a result may not be known until the summer.

Karzai’s brother, Qayum, and key ally Zalmai Rassoul, could be key challengers.

Another candidate, religious scholar Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, has a jihadist background that may concern the West.

Ethnic backgrounds will be a major issue in the election. Afghanistan’s key ethnic groups are Pashtun (42%), Tajik (27%), Hazara (9%), and Uzbek (9%).

Peace agreement ends century-old Philippines Muslim insurgency

Published 27 January 2014
After many attempts and repeated failures to bring a long-running insurgency in the southern Philippines to an end, the government had a clear message for the rebels: now or never. Analysts say that this message helped President Benigno Aquino III finally reach a landmark peace deal over the weekend with the country’s largest Muslim rebel group. The deal announced Saturday raises hopes that peace will come to the southern island of Mindanao, where decades of war have killed more than 100,000 people, displaced millions, and left a resource-rich region in poverty and violence. Many Muslims in the southern Philippines argue that the central government in Manila, largely run by Christians, has catered to the interests of northern Filipinos — also largely Christian — while oppressing the Muslim south and exploiting the region’s resources. The south-based Muslim rebellion against the Manila government has begun more than a century ago, and has seen many different Muslim militant groups come and go, and one of the central issues every Philippine government since the country became independent in 1946 faced has been the effort to bring peace to Mindanao through negotiations or force.

Amnesty lifts lid on Cairo violence

Jan 23, 2014. Cairo – Egypt has seen state violence on an “unprecedented scale” since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last July following mass protests again his rule, Amnesty International said in a report on Thursday.

Egypt’s authorities “quash dissent and trample on human rights”, Amnesty said, pointing to mass arrests, pressure on the freedom of expression and the introduction of a law that limits the right to protest.

The report came out two days before the third anniversary of the mass uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

About 1 400 people have been killed in political violence since army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted Morsi, mostly due to “excessive force used by security forces”, the international human rights group said.

On August 14, the bloodiest day since Morsi’s ousting, security forces stormed pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo with bulldozers, using live ammunition and killing hundreds.

Thousands more have been arrested, including most of the leadership of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which the government declared a “terrorist organisation” on December 25.

“Security forces have been given free rein to act above the law and with no prospect of being held to account for abuses,” Amnesty said.

“Egypt has witnessed a series of damaging blows to human rights and state violence on an unprecedented scale over the last seven months,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Amnesty.

Egypt’s interim government says it is committed to democracy and human rights. It accuses the Brotherhood of carrying out acts that threaten national security.

The next step in an army-backed road map for political transition are parliamentary and presidential elections. Sisi is widely expected to win, should he decide to run.

Activists who are seen as symbols of the 2011 protest movements against Mubarak have been jailed for breaking a law introduced last November that makes demonstrations without prior police approval illegal.

Several journalists connected with the Qatar-based Al Jazeera media network, whom the government views as sympathetic to the Brotherhood, have been detained. Al Jazeera’s Cairo offices were shut last July.

“There is a concerted effort under way to squeeze out any independent observers, from activists, to journalists, to non-governmental organisations,” said Sahraoui. – Reuters

Rise in violent crime an indictment of the police

Updated Monday, January 13th 2014 at 21:37 GMT +3

Kenyans are beginning to wonder whether the National Police Service will ever get a handle on the growing insecurity that is stalking them daily. The revelations coming from the vetting exercise carried out by the National Police Service Commission have done little to enhance the public’s confidence in the force.

The exercise, led by Johnston Kavuludi, the chairman of the commission, has revealed a force riddled with corruption, infighting and haphazard deployment of officers, with some of them leaving no doubt that although they are in charge of their respective departments, it was only in theory because they are not in control.

Revelations of the great wealth amassed by some of the officers interviewed, and the cavalier manner in which they responded to questions about how they acquired it, leads to the conclusion that the force might need a thorough overhaul, perhaps even deeper and more exhaustive than was envisaged in the beginning. A corruption-ridden police force is a danger to the very society it is supposed to protect and that pays its salaries and other personal emoluments, no matter how inadequate.

A comparison of salaries and other personal emoluments earned by police officers, and other civil servants, with those paid to the bulk of the private sector employees could very well reveal that talk of low pay and how it fuels corruption in the public sector is greatly exaggerated. The comparison might reveal that public service employees, especially on the lower rungs, earn more than their private sector counterparts. And yet, the level of corruption between the two is worlds apart.

This means no efforts should be spared to clean up, not just the police force, but the entire criminal justice system. That this is a critical exercise that cannot wait any more is driven by two key considerations.

First, the proliferation of small arms, particularly in the northern and north-eastern parts of the country, is intensifying conflict and blurring the line between long-standing ethnic competition – traditionally manifested in cattle thefts – and political violence.

The result was that even before the public has had time to mourn the lives lost in the killing fields of Tana River, Pokot and Turkana counties, Marsabit erupted in an orgy of violence that is still to be quelled.

The general mayhem let loose in these counties has not only led to a partial disintegration of family life but is also threatening to spill over to the rest of the country. A look back at violence unleashed in Bungoma and Busia, for which no perpetrator has been brought to book, underlines just how close to the brink the country is sailing.

Second, the growing security threat posed by Al-Shabaab and other fundamentalist militants leaves little room for complacency.

And complacency seems to have become the hallmark of the country’s police force whose top officers have been shown to pursue their turf wars more aggressively than they hunt down criminals.

Clearly, this state of affairs cannot be allowed to go on for much longer.

Egypt referendum: Vote under way amid tight security

Jan 14, 2014. The BBC’s James Reynolds reports from outside a voting station surrounded by Yes voters

Egyptians are voting amid tight security in a two-day referendum on a new constitution that could pave the way for fresh elections.

The new charter aims to replace the constitution passed under Islamist President Mohammed Morsi months before he was ousted by the army.

The military wants a strong Yes vote to endorse Mr Morsi’s removal.

His Muslim Brotherhood, now designated a terrorist group, is boycotting the vote. Five people have died in clashes.

One person was killed during an anti-referendum protest in Bani Suef, south of Cairo, the governor there told the BBC.

Three people were killed in clashes with security forces in the Upper Egypt city of Sohag while a further death was reported in Nahia, in the Giza district of Cairo.

Shortly before voting began, an explosion took place near a court building in Cairo’s Imbaba district, although no casualties were reported.

Many of the hundreds queuing up at this polling station in Nasr City see the referendum as a personal vote in favour of Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Several military Chinook helicopters flew overhead. A military convoy drove outside the polling station – on the bonnet of one vehicle was a picture of Gen Sisi.

It has been a calm morning so far. The security presence is quite heavy, but the forces remained at a distance, keeping an eye all around, whether from the roofs or both inside and outside the polling station

There was a considerable turnout at polling stations during the first hours of the vote, although numbers are reducing as the day goes on.

In the first hours of voting, numbers have been significant, although in the surrounding villages turnout is more limited.

Correspondents’ round-up
A huge security operation is being mounted for the two days of voting. Some 160,000 soldiers and more than 200,000 policemen are being deployed nationwide.

Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited one polling station in north Cairo, telling guards there: “Work hard. We need the referendum to be completely secured.”

The BBC’s Orla Guerin in Cairo says this has been a distorted campaign, with endorsements for the new constitution flooding state-run and private TV and radio.

However, spotting any posters from the No campaign is a lot harder and people have been arrested for putting them up, our correspondent says.

Democratic or not, she says, the referendum is seen by many as more than a ballot on a new constitution – it is widely viewed as a verdict on the removal of Mr Morsi.

State-run media were on Tuesday describing the vote as a “democratic ceremony” – a term widely used during the Hosni Mubarak era but not heard since he was ousted in the revolution of January 2011.

Shortly before polls opened, a bomb exploded at a Cairo courthouse

One voter in Cairo, Salah Mustafa, told the BBC: “Compared with the document that we had last year, which was a really horrible constitution, there’s a lot of rights.”
But Mohammed Soudan, a spokesman for the Brotherhood’s political wing, said most people were boycotting the vote, adding: “This is a message that we are not recognising this kind of new power.”

Interim Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi has called the referendum the “most critical moment” for Egypt.

Interim President Adly Mansour said after voting: “The people must prove to dark terrorism that they fear nothing.”

The new constitution was drafted by a 50-member committee that included only two representatives of Islamist parties.

The authorities maintain that it is a crucial step towards stability.

Under the new constitution:

The president may serve two four-year terms and can be impeached by parliament
Islam remains the state religion – but freedom of belief is absolute, giving some protection to minorities
The state guarantees “equality between men and women”
Parties may not be formed based on “religion, race, gender or geography”
Military to appoint defence minister for next eight years
Critics say the new constitution favours the army at the expense of the people, and fails to deliver on the 2011 revolution.

A Yes vote could pave the way for fresh elections and it now seems certain that Gen Sisi, who backed Mr Morsi’s removal following mass protests, will run for president.

Turnout ‘key’
Egypt key dates

25 Jan 2011: Anti-government protests begin
11 Feb 2011: President Hosni Mubarak resigns
24 June 2012: Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi wins presidential elections
26 Dec 2012: President Morsi signs a controversial new constitution into law following a referendum
3 July 2013: President Morsi is deposed after street protests
14 Aug 2013: Hundreds of pro-Morsi supporters killed when troops clear sit-in protests
4 Nov 2013: Mohammed Morsi goes on trial
14 Jan 2014: Referendum held on new constitution
Timeline: Pro-Morsi protests
The constitution is expected to attract a resounding Yes vote, but the turnout is key, analysts say.

The last charter, passed just over a year ago, was approved by 63.8%, but only 32.9% of the population voted.

Mohammed Morsi was Egypt’s first democratically elected president but was deposed by the military last July.

He is being held in jail in Alexandria, facing several criminal charges relating to his time in office – which he says are politically motivated.

Many of the Muslim Brotherhood’s senior leaders and the movement’s supporters are also behind bars.

More than 1,000 people have died in violence since Mr Morsi’s overthrow.

UN concerns mount over besieged Syrians

Jan 12, 2014. The UN humanitarian affairs chief has expressed deep concern for communities cut off in Syria by months of fighting between government and rebel forces.

Valerie Amos told the BBC she had heard accounts of near starvation, including in the capital, Damascus.

Baroness Amos said she had spoken to the government about trying to get humanitarian access.

She said the situation in the country was getting worse by the day and she had heard horrific tales of suffering.

The situation on the ground keeps shifting, but a confidential UN document leaked to the BBC in late December said more than a quarter of a million Syrians are stuck in “besieged or hard to access areas”.

The sick and wounded have not been able to leave, we’ve not been able to get food in”
Starving an area is a war crime. In Syria, food is a weapon of war used by all sides as they try to gain ground militarily, says the BBC’s Lyse Doucet.

The uprising began in March 2011 and the UN says more than 100,000 people have died in the conflict.

Baroness Amos’ visit comes less than two weeks before the planned start of an international conference in Switzerland to find a political solution to the war.

Foreign ministers from 11 countries that back the Syrian opposition movement met in Paris on Sunday with the aim of persuading the opposition to attend the Geneva II talks.

The so-called Friends of Syria said on Sunday that there would be “no political solution for Syria unless Geneva 2 meets”.

Ahmad Jarba, the leader of the Syrian National Coalition, said it had been agreed that President Bashar al-Assad and his family would have no role in the country’s future.

But Mr Jarba did not say whether the Coalition would take part in the 22 January talks.

The Coalition asserts President Assad has no intention of negotiating his own departure, especially now that the military opposition is itself compromised by the rise of Islamist groups.

There is an almost complete disconnect between the effective forces on the ground inside the country, and the Western-backed Coalition – which claims to be the sole representative of the Syrian people, says BBC Middle East correspondent Jim Muir.

‘Unimaginable’
Baroness Amos said she was “really worried” about people in communities who had been besieged for long periods, in some cases for more than a year.

“The sick and wounded have not been able to leave, we’ve not been able to get food in.

“There are reports of people on the brink of starvation including in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp close to the centre of Damascus,” she told the BBC.

Lyse Doucet: “Food is a weapon in this war” (first broadcast 20 Dec 2013)
She described the situation as “unimaginable”.

She said the Syrian government had given assurances that they would help the UN to get humanitarian access.

“We talked in particular about how we can try to get into these besieged communities – this has been part of the conversations that I’ve had with the government on a number of occasions.

“I have been assured by the deputy foreign minister and also by the foreign minister that the government will do everything that they can to help us to facilitate that access.”

Speaking on Friday, UN official Christopher Gunness said residents in the Yarmouk camp, including infants and children, have been subsisting on diets of such things as stale vegetables, animal feed and cooking spices dissolved in water.

He said infants were suffering from diseases linked to severe malnutrition, including anaemia, rickets, and kwashiorkor [a protein deficiency].

The Syrian Observatory said separately that it had documented the deaths of 41 Palestinian refugees as a result of food and medical shortages in the past three months.

Sheikh Hasina sworn in as Bangladesh PM

Jan 12, 2014. Sheikh Hasina has been sworn in as Bangladesh’s prime minister for her second straight term after a election marred by violence and boycotts.

Her party won a clear majority, but many seats were not contested by the opposition who demanded a neutral caretaker government to oversee voting.

The new cabinet was also sworn in, during a televised ceremony in Dhaka.

The international community has called for a re-run of the election amid fears of more unrest.

At least 18 people were killed and more than 100 polling stations set on fire on election day, which saw Ms Hasina’s Awami League party win a predictable majority.

After being sworn in, Ms Hasina, who also led the country from 1996 to 2001, said she would work to uphold democracy.

The opposition has vowed to continue their protest and has called for a blockade of roads, rail and waterways to put pressure on the government.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led a nationwide 48-hour strike during the election after its leader Khaleda Zia urged supporters to “completely boycott” what she called a “scandalous farce” of an election.

Ms Zia was absent from the swearing-in ceremony at the presidential house, where President Abdul Hamid swore in 29 cabinet ministers and 19 deputies.

Anger at corruption scandal prompts Istanbul street violence

Dec 27, 2013. Anti-government protesters clashed with police in Istanbul on Friday amid public anger at the corruption scandal gripping the country.
Rocks and firecrackers were hurled at police who unleashed water cannon, tear gas and plastic bullets as they attempted to quell the demonstrations. At least 31 people, including three lawyers, were arrested, according to the Istanbul Bar Association.
The demonstrations and political turmoil surrounding allegations of corruption helped push the Turkish lira to new lows against the euro and the dollar.
The street clashes were the latest challenge to the government which earlier in the day had suffered another setback when a high court ruling thwarted its attempt to change the rules on how corruption investigations are instigated.
Public anger about corruption has been running high and was intensified by the recent arrest of 24 people which forced three ministers to resign from the government when it was revealed their sons were among those detained.
The Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has said the arrests were part of a conspiracy to topple his administration. His critics have in turn accused him of trying to stifle the investigation. Media reports have said the investigation is looking at alleged illicit money transfers to Iran and bribery for construction projects.
Fears that the scandal could lead to a military coup were raised when a close ally of Mr Erdogan suggested in a newspaper that it was a possibility, and perhaps even the intention of those behind the investigation, that the armed forces could seize control.
Three military coups have taken place in Turkey the last 50 years and Mr Erdogan has taken measures to reduce the power of the armed forces.
A statement issued by the military on Friday denied that there was any intention to become involved in “political debates” but warned that it “will keep on closely following the developments regarding its corporate identity and the legal positions of its members”.
The court ruling on Friday was a blow to Mr Erdogan because it blocked his attempt to prevent prosecutors from launching corruption probes without the approval of their superiors, many of whom, say critics, are allied to the government.
Before the ruling was made he accused Muammer Akkas, a prosecutor involved in the investigation that led to the recent wave of arrests and who reportedly wanted to summon Mr Erdogan’s son Bilal for questioning, of smearing innocent people and of being “a disgrace”.
On Thursday Mr Akkas had issued a written statement accusing the chief prosecutor and police of hampering the investigation. Turan Colakkadi, Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, responded by removing Mr Akkas from the case.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party, condemned the government’s handling of the investigation. He said: “We have entered an era where the thieves are being protected and prosecutors who are going after the thieves are rendered ineffective.”

Vicious year: Terrorism surged in 2013, says report

News Desk

Published: January 6, 2014

Since 2010, the number of overall incidents of violence saw a downwards trend for the two subsequent years. This trend could not persist in 2013 and took a slight upward curve, mainly, during the campaigning phase of the general elections and sustained until the year’s end.

This was revealed in a report titled ‘Pakistan Security Report 2013’ compiled by Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), said a press release issued on Sunday.

According to the report, militant, nationalist insurgent and violent sectarian groups carried out a total of 1,717 terrorist attacks across Pakistan in 2013, claiming the lives of 2,451 people and causing injuries to another 5,438.

Compared to 2012, the number of reported terrorist attacks in Pakistan posted a nine per cent increase while the number of people killed and injured in these attacks increased by 19 per cent and 42 per cent, respectively.

Despite the killing of its top brass in drone attacks and military operations by Pakistani security forces, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) remained the major actor of instability in the country in 2013 through its alliance with numerous militant groups. It carried out 645 terrorist attacks in 50 districts, claiming the lives of 732 civilians and 425 security forces personnel.

Meanwhile, a rise in sectarian violence that started in 2011 continued through towards end of 2013, with the number of people killed and injured in such incidents increasing significantly.

The number of suicide attacks across the country rose by 39 per cent, with 46 suicide attacks in 2013 compared to 33 in the previous year. As many as 18 (39 per cent) out of the total suicide attacks in 2013 were recorded in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), 12 in FATA, nine in Balochistan, five in Sindh and one each in Rawalpindi and Azad Kashmir.

Of the total, 34 suicide attacks were perpetrated by the TTP and its affiliated groups. Nine were sectarian-related mainly carried out by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and one suicide blast was carried out by nationalist insurgents. Another two attacks were carried out in inter-militant clashes.

US drone strikes on the other hand saw a 31 per cent decrease in 2013. Out of 31 reported drone attacks, around 24 struck militants and their hideouts in North Waziristan Agency, in FATA. Five drone strikes were reported in South Waziristan, and one each in Khyber Agency and Hangu, a settled district of K-P. Fatalities in these attacks also fell by 39 per cent.

The number of overall cross-border attacks and clashes increased in 2013 mostly along Pak-India border, but the casualties in these attacks decreased. Also, 26 and nine attacks were reported from Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan and Iran respectively.

On the whole, 103 border attacks and clashes were reported from Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan, India and Iran, which were 30 per cent more than such incidents in 2012. As many as 59 Pakistani citizens including personnel of security forces and civilians lost their lives in these incidents, 82 per cent less than the killings in such incidents in 2012.

The incidents of ethno-political violence in Pakistan increased by 22 per cent, from 183 in 2012 to 224 in 2013, but the fatalities in these incidents slightly decreased from 288 in 2012 to 283 in 2013. While most incidents of ethno-political violence in 2013 were concentrated in Karachi (over 81 per cent), such incidents were reported from a total of 28 districts in all four provinces of Pakistan.

Apparently, the May 2013 elections made the ethno-political violence in the country a more complex phenomenon with increasing number of political parties becoming either a part of it or being beleaguered in politically motivated targeted killings.

Interestingly, the number of militants killed in 2013, in overall incidents of violence, declined by 28 per cent while fatalities among security forces personnel decreased by a meager two per cent.

The report, while endorsing the establishment of the Cabinet Committee on National Security (CCNS), recommends the expansion in its role from a consultative and decision-making body to implementing and monitoring secretariat of National Security Initiatives (NSI).

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2014.

Bahrain Impasse Risks More Instability In 2014

By Reuters January 4, 2014

Bahraini government and opposition groups are sliding into an increasingly dogged confrontation amid rising fears over violence, with authorities using arrests, raids and strict new laws against activists seeking political reform.

Efforts to reconcile the government and opposition groups seeking reform seem ever more hostage to hardliners on both sides, diplomats and analysts say.

An example was a July car bombing in the capital: the resulting security crackdown, involving raids, arrests, tough new laws and strict sentencing, boosted the Sunni Muslim monarchy’s control, but mutual mistrust was also deepened.

Many wonder where the climate of recrimination will lead in Baharain, base to the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

“The worst scenario is that the crackdown by the authorities will increase and the violent reaction to this crackdown will also increase,” said Sheikh Ali Salman, a Shi’ite cleric and head of the main opposition al-Wefaq group, which advocates non-violence.

Last Monday, the government said it had foiled an attempt to smuggle explosives and arms, some made in Iran and Syria, into the country by boat. It complained of “plans to carry out terrorist acts”.

In government circles, responsibility for security flare-ups is placed squarely with the opposition. Information Minister Sameera Rajab said of al-Wefaq: “We don’t trust them. They have to work hard to get the trust back.”

The strategically vital island has been hit by unrest since large pro-democracy protests in early 2011, becoming a front line in a region-wide tussle for influence between Shi’ite Muslim Iran and Sunni Arab states such as Saudi Arabia.

The mass disturbances were put down, yet demonstrators drawn mainly from Bahrain’s big Shi’ite community haved continued small protests almost daily, demanding the Sunni ruling family create a constitutional monarchy.

A resumption of the big protests of early 2011 appears unlikely, with Bahrainis apparently weary of political crisis.

Yet hopes for a breakthrough now seem feeble.

Adel al-Asomi, a member of parliament who is critical of Shi’ite oppposition groups, said: “Bahrain is a small country that cannot take more. It has been three years of terrorist acts and unplanned steps by the opposition.”

“I hope there is a solution, but until now there are no indications that there can be any solution soon.”

CYCLE OF CLASHES AND CLAMPDOWN
The country’s worst turmoil since the 1990s quickly changed from peaceful demonstrations to an attritional cycle of clashes between mostly Shi’ite protesters and mainly Sunni security forces in which dozens have died, including some policemen.

The violence has added new layers of grievance to the original dispute, in which the opposition accused the ruling family of manipulating sectarian divisions to avoid democracy, while the government charged Wefaq of working for Iran.

Hardliners in both camps, the Saudi-backed ruling family and the mainly Shi’ite opposition, are gaining ground, complicating efforts to end the cycle of protest and clampdown.

A year ago hopes for a breakthrough rose when Crown Prince Salman, seen by some opposition figures as a more moderate figure within the Al Khalifa ruling family, called for a renewal of political talks abandoned in 2011.

While the two sides remained apart on many big issues, the talks began and some sort of deal appeared possible.

Then, on July 17, a car bomb exploded in a carpark outside the Sheikh Isa bin Salman Sunni mosque in Riffa, an area where many members of the ruling family and armed forces live.

There were no casualties. But the blast undermined the Crown Prince’s efforts to push political and economic reforms, instead strengthening hawks inside the Al Khalifa family who see Shi’ite protests as a threat.

“The Crown Prince was hunkered down. He has to be seen to be tough,” said one Western diplomat.

“Since then it has been hard going.”

Days after the bombing, parliament held an extraordinary session and agreed to strip of their nationality anyone who commits, or calls for, “terrorist crimes”, while the king decreed additional tough new penalties for such offences.

The amendments prescribe a jail sentence on anyone who carries out or attempts a bombing attack. Anyone who puts or carries anything that resembles explosives or firecrackers in public places will also receive prison terms.

Protests in Manama were banned and weeks later the government barred opposition members from meeting foreign diplomats without official approval.

DEAL OR NO DEAL
When a senior Wefaq official and former lawmaker, Khalil al-Marzouq, was arrested in September and put on trial for inciting terrorism, the opposition pulled out of the talks.

The arrest of Marzouq, followed by the charging of Sheikh Salman with insulting the Interior Ministry and “spreading lies” capable of jeopardising national security, marked a turning point in government rhetoric towards Wefaq.

However, by clamping down on the main opposition group, the government risks losing its only credible negotiating partner, said Jane Kinninmont of the British thinktank Chatham House.

“There are other influential opposition leaders, some of whom have more influence on the regular street protesters, but the government has so far been unwilling to talk to figures who have tougher demands than Wefaq,” she said.

Despite the pessimism, however, a number of insiders still speculate that a deal may be possible.

The specifics of such an agreement remain unclear.

In one scenario suggested by analyst Coline Schep from Control Risks, the government could attempt to offer Wefaq junior ministerial posts or changes to electoral districts, which the opposition says underrepresent Shi’ites.

In return, it might ask Wefaq to end its boycott of parliamentary elections, started in 2011, and halt street violence, which Schep believes it has only limited power to do if no deep reforms addressing Shi’ites’ grievances were made.

A former U.S. official said he believed Bahrain’s rulers were ready to offer the opposition a deal.

“The opposition can’t get their act together. They are not interested in a compromise. They’ve had chances that they failed to seize,” said the former official.

However, the ruling family has shown no willingness to yield to Wefaq’s bottom-line demands that parliament be given full powers to legislate and form parliaments.

The elected assembly’s powers to legislate are neutralised by an appointed chamber and the monarchy dominates the cabinet – headed by the same Al Khalifa prime minister since 1971.

Violence, opposition boycott mar elections in Bangladesh

Julhas Alam, The Associated Press
Published Saturday, January 4, 2014 6:55AM EST
Last Updated Saturday, January 4, 2014 10:26PM EST

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Suspected opposition activists stabbed an election official to death and set more than 100 polling stations on fire across Bangladesh in a bid to disrupt general elections Sunday that take place amid bloody street clashes and political vendettas.
The opposition and its allies are boycotting the vote, a move that undermines the legitimacy of the election and makes it unlikely that the polls will stem a wave of political violence that killed at least 275 people in 2013.
Police said suspected opposition activists stabbed to death a polling official in northern Thakurgaon district, and local media reported that attackers torched more than 127 school buildings across the country in overnight attacks. The buildings were to be used as polling stations.
The voting began at 8 a.m. but local television stations showed mostly empty polling stations, still wrapped in early morning winter fog.
Much of the capital, Dhaka, has been cut off from the rest of the country in recent weeks, as the opposition has pressed its demands through general strikes and transportation blockades. Civilians have been caught up in the bloodshed, with activists torching vehicles belonging to motorists who defy the strikes, leading to a growing sense of desperation over the political impasse.
“I want to go to vote, but I am afraid of violence,” said Hazera Begum, a teacher in Dhaka. “If the situation is normal and my neighbours go, I may go.”
The chaos could exacerbate economic woes in this deeply impoverished country of 160 million and lead to radicalization in a strategic pocket of South Asia, analysts say.
The opposition demands that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina step down and appoint a neutral caretaker administration to oversee the election. But Hasina has refused, which means the election will mainly be a contest between candidates from the ruling Awami League and its allies. Awami League candidates are running unchallenged in more than half of the country’s 300 parliamentary constituencies.
Bangladesh has a grim history of political violence, including the assassinations of two presidents and 19 failed coup attempts since its independence from Pakistan in 1971.
“I am fearful that deadly violence could return, people would continue to suffer, political forces with extreme views could emerge in the face of government crackdown and repressive measures,” said Asif Nazrul, a law teacher and analyst. “This election will just pollute our very new democracy by shrinking the space for opposite views.”
The squabbling between Hasina and opposition leader Khaleda Zia — known as the “Battling Begums” — has become a bitter sideshow as both women, who have dominated Bangladeshi politics for two decades, vie to lead the country. “Begum” is an honorific for Muslim women of rank.
Zia urged people to boycott what she called “farcical” elections. “None at home and abroad will legitimize it,” she said.
The bickering between the two longtime rivals caused an uproar in October, when the women spoke for the first time in years in an acrimonious telephone call.
“I called you around noon. You didn’t pick up,” Hasina said, according to a transcript published in the Dhaka Tribune, an English-language newspaper.
Zia, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, said the prime minister was wrong.
“You have to listen to me first,” Zia snapped.
Last weekend, after authorities barred Zia from leaving her home to join a rally, she told police that she would change the name of Gopalganj, Hasina’s home district, if she came to power. Her outburst was broadcast live on TV while roads around her home were heavily guarded and sand-laden trucks were parked to obstruct her movement.
A key factor in the latest dispute is the role of Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamic political party. The party is a key ally of Zia, and was a coalition partner in the government Zia led from 2001 to 2006.
Opponents of Jamaat-e-Islami say it is a fundamentalist group with no place in a secular country. Bangladesh is predominantly Muslim, but is governed by largely secular laws based on British common law.
The execution last month of Abdul Quader Mollah, a Jamaat-e-Islami leader and a key member of the opposition, exposed the country’s seething tensions.
Mollah was the first person to be hanged for war crimes in Bangladesh under an international tribunal established in 2010 to investigate atrocities stemming from the 1971 war of independence against Pakistan.
Bangladesh says Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators including Mollah, killed at least 3 million people and raped 200,000 women during the nine-month war. The case remains politically volatile because most of those being tried are connected to the opposition.
The European Union, the United States and the British Commonwealth said they would not send observers for the election. U.S. State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said that Washington was disappointed that the major political parties have not yet reached a consensus on a way to hold free, fair and credible elections.

Read more: http://www.cp24.com/world/violence-opposition-boycott-mar-elections-in-bangladesh-1.1617611#ixzz2pjKmDhim

Clashes and boycott mar Bangladesh election

Jan 5, 2014. There have been violent clashes between opposition activists and police during Bangladesh’s general election, amid a boycott by the opposition.

At least 18 people were killed during Sunday’s polling. Dozens have died in the run-up to the election.

Scores of polling stations have been torched. Voting ended at 10:00 GMT and was said to be thin.

The opposition has boycotted the vote and called a two-day strike over what it termed a “scandalous farce”.
The trickle of voters never turned into the long queues Bangladeshi elections are known for. Voters who did turn up had no real choice, as the opposition was not taking part.

There was extra security at the few constituencies in Dhaka where voting did take place. But in more remote areas the fear of attacks left voters wary. In some places election officials did not turn up till late. And with the outcome of these polls all but certain, many felt voting would be futile.

As Bangladeshis wait for the same faces from the last government to form the next one, their real concern will remain the violence. Legitimacy will be the ruling party’s biggest headache, at home and abroad. The election leaves the political crisis exactly where it was before voting started. The key to any possible dialogue between the two rival political camps will hinge on what has so far remained elusive – compromise.

Results are expected to come in during the early hours of Monday morning.

However, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League is assured of victory, with government candidates already declared victors by default in many seats.

She had rejected opposition demands for her to step down and set up a neutral government to oversee the poll.

‘Deserted’
Widespread violence erupted across the country on Sunday.

Police opened fire as protesters tried to take over polling station in northern Rangpur district, killing two people. In Nilphamari district, police also fired on about two dozen protesters. Two people died.

In the opposition stronghold of Bogra, the police chief told AFP: “We’ve seen thousands of protesters attack polling booths and our personnel at a number of locations with Molotov cocktails.”

In Parbatipur, in the north, police chief Mokbul Hossain said: “We were forced to open fire after thousands of them attacked us with guns and small bombs.”

Security is tight across the country
Media reported that more than 100 polling stations were torched overnight – adding to a similar number the night before.
Saila, a resident of Gaibandha, told the BBC in an email: “None of my family or myself have gone to cast our vote amid fear and violence. What is happening here is a one-party election and 90% of Bangladeshis are against it. The polling centres are deserted.”

One polling station in Dhaka’s Mirpur district recorded only 25 ballots out of 24,000 registered voters in the first two hours, AP reported.

Security is tight, with some 50,000 troops reportedly deployed around the country for the election.

But the BBC’s Mahfuz Sadique in Dhaka says that, given the arson attacks and attempts to steal ballot papers and despite the heavy police presence, voters were wary about how secure they would be in coming to the polling stations.

Caretaker administration
The opposition Bangladeshist National Party (BNP) began a nationwide 48-hour strike on Saturday a day after its leader Khaleda Zia urged supporters to “completely boycott” what she called a “scandalous farce” of an election.

She accused the government of placing her under house arrest – something the authorities deny.

The two-day strike is only the latest in a string of protests by the BNP and its allies – including the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party – that has seen a blockade of roads, railways and waterways and the closure of shops, schools and offices.

The big question on the morning of 6 January will not be who won but rather, what will happen next?
In the run-up to the polls, scores of opposition supporters died in police shootings and dozens of commuters were burnt to death by protesters throwing petrol bombs at strike-defying buses.

All elections since 1991 have been held under a neutral caretaker administration to ensure that voting is not fixed.

But the Awami League abolished the caretaker system in 2010, arguing that it was no longer necessary.

The government has insisted the BNP should take part in the polls within the existing constitutional framework.

Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia – who are bitter political enemies – have alternated from government to opposition for most of the past two decades.

South Sudan general killed in ambush

Jan 5, 2014. A South Sudanese army general has been killed in fighting outside the rebel-held town of Bor.

A BBC correspondent with government troops said a convoy advancing on Bor came under heavy fire in an ambush.

The fighting is continuing as the warring parties meet in Ethiopia to try to agree a ceasefire. Substantive talks appear to have been delayed once again.

The conflict pits supporters of President Salva Kiir against rebels led by his sacked deputy Riek Machar.

It began on 15 December after the president accused Mr Machar of attempting a coup – which he denies.

At least 1,000 people have been killed and nearly 200,000 displaced in the conflict, which has taken on ethnic undertones. Mr Kiir is from the Dinka community and Mr Machar from the Nuer group.

Fighting rages
The BBC’s Alastair Leithead was travelling with government troops from the capital, Juba, on Sunday when the convoy came under attack about 25km (15 miles) from Bor.

The rebels are not just a ragtag group of civilians with guns – although there is an element of that.

It’s actually a whole division of the South Sudan army that has joined the rebel side.

So you’ve got army fighting against army. They’re both very well armed.

The government has been trying for a few days to retake Bor. It still hasn’t managed to get through.

We’ve seen bodies on the road and two burnt-out tanks. We’ve seen very heavy fighting between two trained armies.

The commanding general – who has not been named – was killed in the ambush.

The government has been sending reinforcements to try to retake Bor in recent days, bringing the total number of army troops involved to some 2,000.

A whole division of the South Sudanese army has joined the rebel side, so the fighting in Bor in effect involves two trained armies, our correspondent adds.

He says he saw evidence of the intensity of the fighting, with burnt-out tanks by the side of the road.

Fighting is also continuing in other areas. Army spokesman Philip Aguer said there had been clashes in the oil-producing states of Unity and Upper Nile in the north.

Up until Friday, the talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, were conducted by mediators. Now, teams representing the opposing factions are expected to negotiate face-to-face.

A preliminary meeting was held late on Saturday. Key issues are establishing a ceasefire, and the rebels’ demand for the release of what they see as political prisoners.

But substantive talks failed to get under way on Sunday, delayed by disagreements over the agenda and – an official was quoted as saying – by “protocol issues”.

It seems each side is trying to gain as much leverage on the battlefield before they even consider a ceasefire, says the BBC’s Africa editor Richard Hamilton.

International mediators may be losing patience with South Sudan’s leaders whose delays are costing hundreds of lives, he says.

‘Arm twisting’
It is now hoped talks will begin in earnest on Monday.

South Sudan spokesman Michael Makuei said the government would resist international pressure to free supporters of Mr Machar arrested in Juba at the start of the conflict.

He said releasing “those who attempted to overthrow a democratically elected government” would set a “bad precedent”.

“Are we not risking the governments of Africa and the rest of the world to such attempts? We should not be arm-twisted because we are a new nation.”

Meanwhile the first aid flight to South Sudan funded by the UK government has arrived in the country. The aircraft, carrying emergency aid and sanitation supplies, landed in Juba, on Sunday.

South Sudan is the world’s newest state. It was formed in 2011, gaining independence from Sudan after decades of conflict.

The latest trouble has its roots in tensions that go back long before 2011.

Egypt unrest: 11 deaths at Muslim Brotherhood protests

Jan 3 2014. Eleven people have died in clashes between police and Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators across Egypt, the health ministry says.

The Muslim Brotherhood put the death toll at 17. Dozens of people, including police, have been wounded.

The deaths were reported in the capital Cairo and the cities of Alexandria, Fayoum and Ismailia.

Authorities have recently intensified a crackdown on the movement, which has been declared a terrorist group.

In Friday’s violence, police fought with demonstrators, some throwing stones and fireworks and setting police vehicles on fire, in several districts in the capital.

Authorities said 122 protesters had been arrested.

The health ministry said 52 people had been wounded in the clashes, with several people reported injured by birdshot in Alexandria.

The latest clashes come a day after two people were killed in violence at an Islamist demonstration in the northern coastal city.

Supporters of the Brotherhood’s ousted President Mohammed Morsi have held frequent protests since he was removed by the military in July.

Terrorism label
The Brotherhood, which had been banned since September from all activity, was declared a terrorist group in December after it was blamed for a suicide bombing of a police headquarters in the Nile Delta.

The Brotherhood denied carrying out the attack. A Sinai-based Salafist-jihadist group, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, said it was behind the bombing, which killed at least 15 people.

Mr Morsi’s government – the first to be democratically elected in Egypt – was toppled on 3 July following widespread anti-Brotherhood demonstrations.

Since then, thousands of Brotherhood members, including its leadership, had been arrested and many put on trial.

The ousted president is on trial on several charges, including incitement to murder.

Preventive Priorities Survey: 2014

PublisherCouncil on Foreign Relations

Release Date December 2013

Overview

Spillover from Syria’s civil war and violence in Afghanistan as coalition forces draw down are among next year’s top conflict prevention priorities for U.S. policymakers, finds the annual Preventive Priorities Survey from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). The most urgent concerns also include terror attacks or cyberattacks on the United States, military strikes against Iran, and a crisis in North Korea.

CFR’s Center for Preventive Action (CPA) asked more than 1,200 government officials, academics, and experts to evaluate a list of thirty conflicts that could break out or escalate in the next twelve months. The experts ranked the contingencies by their relative impact on U.S. interests and the likelihood they will happen in 2014. CPA then categorized the contingencies into three tiers, in order of priority to U.S. policymakers.

Tier I priorities include spillover from Syria as two million refugees have fled to neighboring countries. More than fifty-five thousand have moved to Jordan since 2011, draining that country’s economy and limited natural resources. The United Nations has estimated that Jordan will need $5.3 billion by the end of 2014 for this humanitarian crisis.

Also among the top-tier priorities is Afghanistan, where political and security transitions, including the drawdown of coalition forces by the end of 2014 and the presidential elections in spring 2014, threaten to increase levels of violence and exacerbate internal instability.

North Korea ranks high on the survey because of the nuclear test it conducted in February of this year, as well as U.S. estimates that it has enough plutonium to produce five nuclear weapons. Also of great concern is North Korea’s internal political instability. For example, since the survey was taken, Jang Song-thaek, the uncle of leader Kim Jong-un and formerly the second most powerful man in the country, was executed.

Tier I U.S. Conflict Prevention Priorities in 2014:

• Intensification of the Syrian civil war, including possible limited military intervention
• Growing violence and instability in Afghanistan resulting from the drawdown of coalition forces and/or contested national elections
• Growing political instability and civil violence in Jordan triggered by spillover from the Syrian civil war
• A severe North Korean crisis caused by a military provocation, internal political instability, or threatening nuclear weapons/long-range missiles
• A mass-casualty terrorist attack on the U.S. homeland or a treaty ally
• A highly disruptive cyberattack on U.S. critical infrastructure
• Renewed threat of military strikes against Iran as a result of a breakdown in nuclear negotiations and/or clear evidence of Iran’s intent to develop a nuclear weapons capability
• Increasing internal violence and political instability in Pakistan
• Civil war in Iraq due to rising Sunni-Shia sectarian violence
• Strengthening of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) resulting from continued political instability in Yemen and/or backlash from U.S. counterterrorism operations

Among the contingencies appearing on the list for the first time are increased violence between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas in Myanmar’s Rakhine state; violence in Bangladesh surrounding the upcoming general elections; a Sino-Indian border clash; and a deepening political crisis in Venezuela.

The Preventive Priorities Survey was made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Eight Killed in Attack on Chinese Police Station

December 30, 2013

VOA News

Yarkland, Xinjiang province, China

Police in China’s restive far western region of Xinjiang say eight attackers were shot dead during in assault on a police station, raising the death toll from violent clashes in the province to at least 35 since November.

Authorities also said one of the nine attackers was captured in Monday’s pre-dawn attack. There was no mention of any police casualties.

“At around 6:30 am, nine thugs carrying knives attacked a police station in Kashgar’s Yarkand county, throwing explosive devices and setting police cars on fire,” the regional government said in a statement.

“The police took decisive measures, shooting dead eight and capturing one,” it added, labeling the incident a “violent terrorist attack” which was being investigated.

The deadly incident took place in an area known as Yarkand, not far from the city of Kashgar.

Earlier this month, police shot and killed 14 people during a riot near Kashgar.

In a similar outburst of violence, at least nine civilians and two policemen were killed when a group of people armed with axes and knives attacked a police station, also near Kashgar, last month, state media has said. At least 91 people, including several police officers, have been killed in violence in Xinjiang since April, according to state media reports.

‘Strike hard’

The latest attack showed the serious threat posed by separatism, extremism and terrorism, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters at a regular press briefing.

“The Chinese government will strike hard against them in accordance with the law,” Qin said.

Many Uighurs chafe at restrictions on their culture, language and religion, though the government insists it grants them broad freedoms.

Rights groups and exiles say police often use often heavy-handed tactics against the Uighur community. Violence has broken out previously when groups of Uighurs protest at police stations, they say.

Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the main Uighur exile group, the World Uyghur Congress, said the international community should prevent China from continuing its “repressive policies” against Uighurs.

“Directly firing on and killing protesters and accusing them of so-called terror is currently China’s post-judicial reform means of repressing the Uighur people. Uighurs endure China’s discrimination and humiliation and are facing a crisis for survival and faith,” he said in a statement.

China has stepped up security in Xinjiang after a vehicle plowed into tourists on the edge of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in October, killing three people in the car and two bystanders.

China said that attack was carried out by Islamist militants.

Xinjiang has been the scene of numerous incidents of unrest in recent years, which the government often blames on the separatist East Turkestan Islamic Movement, even though many experts and rights groups cast doubt on its existence as a cohesive group.

Many rights groups say China has long overplayed the threat posed to justify its tough controls in energy-rich Xinjiang, which lies strategically on the borders of Central Asia, India and Pakistan.

Ukrainian government websites brought down by hacktivists amid riots

02 Dec 2013 by Paul Cooper
PaulMCCooper
paul@itproportal.com, 02 Dec 2013News

A number of cyber-attacks have crippled several websites associated with the Ukrainian government, after widespread allegations of a brutal police crackdown against peaceful protesters.

The official website of the President of Ukraine, Ministry of the Interior, and the official government portal were crippled in a series of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

While all the sites are now back online, they were largely unavailable all through Sunday.

The protests arose after the government of Ukraine put a halt to an agreement that would have paved the way for Ukrainian membership of the European Union.

More than a million Ukrainian citizens gathered in the streets of the capital, Kiev, to protest the government’s stance. Many banners bore the protest slogan “And today we no longer fight to become Europe, we fight to remain Ukraine.”

While the protest appears to have been largely peaceful, some groups of protesters attacked police with chains, fire, and smoke bombs, as well as at one point using a heavy digger to attempt to break police lines. Police used tear gas, light and sound grenades in an attempt to fight off the protesters.

Women, children and even one Reuters journalist were caught up in the violence.

“This Ukraine has never seen,” wrote online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda (Ukrainian Truth).

The clearance of protesters from Kiev’s Maidan Square was ostensibly in order to clear the way for the putting up of the traditional Christmas tree in the centre of the square. The clearances resulted in widespread violence, with photos of police beating unarmed protesters with batons and chasing people through the streets circulating on social media.

One of the unlikely heroes of the protest has been a little girl, whose photo went viral over the weekend. The photo show her holding a sign that says “Choke on your Christmas tree”.

This is not the first time that DDoS attacks have been used as a form of protest in Ukraine. When popular file-sharing website ex.ua was taken down by a copyright lawsuit in January 2012, widespread protests were joined by cyber-attacks on official sites. At the time, ex.ua accounted for 15-20 per cent of all of Ukraine’s Internet traffic.

Before long, protesters were sharing details of how to contribute to DDoS attacks on Facebook, Twitter and Russian-language social network Vkontakte. The target list included websites of Ukraine’s President Victor Yanukovych, the pro-presidential Party of Regions, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Parliament, and others.

The Ukrainian government blamed “an increased number of visitors and possible DDoS attacks.”
While the stricken websites are now back online, the incident has reminded the world how frequently hacktivism has combined with traditional forms of protest to form a potent cocktail of civil disobedience.

The recent downing of Australian business, government and police websites by Indonesian hackers occurred as a result of allegations that the Australian secret service aided the American national Security Agency (NSA) in spying on Indonesian officials.

Read more: http://www.itproportal.com/2013/12/02/ukrainian-government-websites-brought-down-by-hacktivists-amid-riots/#ixzz2pOdaIjFp

Guerrillas and Gangs Exploit their Agendas in Latin America

Monday, December 16, 2013
By Jerry Brewer

As if Mexico and much of Latin America were not mired in enough record setting murders and violent atrocities, the spectre of organized crime subversives continues to pose significant across border security threats to homelands.

And it is now clear to many that a large part of their businesses is not just about drug trafficking, but also involves influencing elections; threatening governments, the military and police officials; and drawing attention to their noms de guerre.

This rebellion of sorts has consistently been portrayed as drug cartel versus drug cartel, with prohibition-like claims that the legalization of drugs would stop the violence, plus there are constant references to poor and disadvantaged youth which have set many unrealistic goals and agendas to halt the killing.

There is a monumental failure to address the many underlying motivations and social dynamics of this violence that are not popular with governing officials. It is easy to blame voracious drug demand from the US that gives demand and supply perpetual life. As well, it is easy for many world nations mired in poverty to claim that this violent crime is fuelled by unemployment and a lack of opportunities.

However, power and greed are two terms that need to be astutely and aggressively injected into proactive and strategic dialogue regarding these transnational scourges of violence and murder.

Identity is a curious necessity for so many of these insurgents. Could their original cause or motivation for violence be a lesser need? Territorial confrontations, allegations of disrespect, as well as status and prestige are often cited as the prime rationale for the onslaught. Power struggles are a key ingredient of control within the transnational criminal network theatre.

The dynamics cited in lack of opportunities for youth and assorted economic issues are no doubt great topics of conversation. A saying from long ago was that the US border was paved with gold. This euphemism was used to cite that even the minimum wage in the US was so much more than what so many could earn in their own countries. Drug trafficking, and extracting what has been reported to be some US$80 billion out of the US and across the border for illicit drugs, has given new perspectives to ideologues that now see minimum wage labor as a joke.

The hunger for US dollars, which has now expanded to many foreign currencies, by transnationals comes in many and competing methods of illicit markets. Human and sex trafficking have boomed, with a minimum of US$32 billion attributed to human trafficking revenue alone. Trafficking for sexual purposes is believed to far exceed those numbers.

Kidnappings and extortion have also become major sources of illicit revenue that know no boundaries due to the wealth of so many of the victims willing to pay to survive. Yet many pay and do not survive.

In Mexico, in the first half of this year alone that nation saw the highest number of reported kidnappings since at least 1997.

Peace and truce talks throughout Latin America, with governments and guerrillas and gangs, appear to be clear indications of the deception by these transnational organized criminals that seem to crave the attention and power they perceive they have. Too, their negotiating agendas often fail to address the reasons why they do what they do with impunity — often citing their identity as a voice of the people and calling for government representation.

Preventing violence over the long-term has not been the hallmark of these talks. Some fear that the narrow focus on truces alone may actually be part of the problem. Many insurgents and gangs are linked to other transnational criminal markets, and some with allegations of political support from rogue regimes.

A recent report indicated that Jose Luis Merino, a leader of a left-wing Salvadoran political party, arranged a drug lord’s meeting with the Colombian FARC on a flight coordinated with Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro. This alleged new evidence reveals that Venezuela’s current president, Nicolas Maduro, when serving as Venezuelan Foreign Minister, “worked to improve the FMLN’s access to drug trafficking.”

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, US-based social scientists held a dim view of gang truces believing that these kinds of agreements legitimized gangs, “reinforced the authority of leaders, deepened cohesion among their rank and file, and reproduced — rather than reduced — violence.”

In Cuba, continuing negotiations that began in November of 2012 between Colombia and its largest left-wing guerrilla insurgency of five decades, known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC, show little progress. The group has essentially held Colombia hostage, with an estimated figure of 220,000 people killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.

Perceived by some as tongue-in-cheek, FARC leader Ivan Marquez characterized the talks as “an important step in the right direction to end the conflict and to achieve a real democracy in Colombia.”

The truth is that FARC insurgents have taken numerous hostages and murdered many civilians, including women and children. Their justifying rationale for the attacks and assassinations, against the armed forces, police and others, is cited in their self-seeking ideological claims of starting out as a grassroots-supported guerrilla movement in the interests of the repressed rural population. And their spurious history of having taken advantage of previous concessions by the Colombian government to talk, disarm, and seek peace is well documented.

Duplicitous behavior and vacillation by these transnational criminals, professing peace but never laying down their arms, while demonstrating the importance they attach to image and status maintenance, negates much hope for a return to the rule of law voluntarily.

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Jerry Brewer is C.E.O. of Criminal Justice International Associates, a global threat mitigation firm headquartered in northern Virginia. His website is located at http://www.cjiausa.org.

2012 Terrorism Report: New Levels of Destructiveness

Published 24 December 2013

Terrorism touched eighty-five countries in 2012, but just three — Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan — suffered more than half of 2012’s attacks (54 percent) and fatalities (58 percent), according to new data released the other day by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) Global Terrorism Database (GTD). In addition to illustrating a continued shift in location of attacks, the new data — with more than 8,400 terrorist attacks killing more than 15,400 people in 2012 — also show an increase in attacks and fatalities over the past decade. Al-Qaeda central was not directly responsible for any attacks in 2012, but the six deadliest terrorist groups in the world were all affiliated to some extent with the organization. These include the Taliban, Boko Haram, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, al-Qaeda in Iraq, and al-Shabaab.
The next five most frequently targeted countries were India, Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, and Thailand.
“While terrorist attacks have in large part moved away from Western Europe and North America to Asia, the Middle East and Africa, worldwide terrorism is reaching new levels of destructiveness,” said Gary LaFree, START director and professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Maryland.
A START release reports that in addition to illustrating a continued shift in location of attacks, the new data — with more than 8,400 terrorist attacks killing more than 15,400 people in 2012 — also show an increase in attacks and fatalities over the past decade. The previous record for attacks was set in 2011 with more than 5,000 incidents; for fatalities, the previous high was 2007 with more than 12,500 deaths. A map showing concentration and intensity of 2012 attacks is available here.
The release says that it is critical to note that beginning with 2012 data collection, START made several important changes to the GTD collection methodology, improving the efficiency and comprehensiveness of the process. As a result of these improvements, a direct comparison between 2011 and 2012 likely overstates the increase in total attacks and fatalities worldwide during this time period. Analysis of the data indicates, however, that this increase began before the shift in data collection methodology, and important developments in key conflicts around the world suggest that considerable upward trends remain even when accounting for the possibility of methodological artifacts.
In the 1970s, most attacks occurred in Western Europe. In the 1980s, Latin America saw the most terrorist acts. Beginning with the 1990s, South Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East have seen steadily rising numbers of attacks, a trend that has accelerated in recent years.
“The other striking development in recent years is the incredible growth in terrorist attacks linked to al-Qaeda affiliates,” LaFree said.

Though al-Qaeda central was not directly responsible for any attacks in 2012, the six deadliest terrorist groups in the world were all affiliated to some extent with the organization. These include the Taliban (more than 2,500 fatalities), Boko Haram (more than 1,200 fatalities), al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (more than 960 fatalities), Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (more than 950 fatalities), al-Qaeda in Iraq (more than 930 fatalities), and al-Shabaab (more than 700 fatalities).
Attacks in Yemen, Nigeria, and Iraq were among the deadliest in 2012.
On 5 January, unidentified Sunni perpetrators in Dhi Qar, Al Anbar and Baghdad, Iraq bombed various Shiite civilian targets, including pilgrims and laborers, in six separate attacks. Nearly 120 people were killed across all six attacks, including at least two suicide bombers.
In Nigeria on 20 January, approximately 190 people were killed in bombings targeting government, police, media, schools, utilities and private citizens, primarily in Kano. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attacks, indicating that they were carried out in response to Nigerian authorities detaining and killing Boko Haram members.
On 4 March, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula attacked a series of military targets in Zinjibar, Yemen, killing a total of 195 soldiers and kidnapping 73. More than 40 perpetrators were also killed in these attacks, and the hostages were released the following month.
GTD data files and documentation are available for download from the START Web site for users who would like to conduct custom analysis of the data. In addition to the methodological improvements made in the collection and coding process, the GTD team has added elements to improve the experience for those using the database. 2012 is the first year of data that includes geocodes for all attacks that occurred worldwide. Efforts to geocode the historical data back to 1970 are ongoing, and with the current update the geocoding process was completed for an additional 20 countries in North Africa and Southeast Asia. This information makes it possible for analysts to explore geospatial patterns of terrorist violence and more easily identify the sub-national concentrations of attacks.
Other new variables include target subtypes, which systematically classify targets into more specific categories. For example, while previous versions of the data allowed users to explore a subset of attacks against transportation targets, now analysts can easily identify attacks that target buses (42 percent of all transportation attacks), trains (33 percent), bridges and tunnels (9 percent), stations (7percent), roads (4 percent), subways (2 percent), or taxis (1 percent).
“This update includes a number of improvements that we have been working on for several years, in response to common requests from users,” said Erin Miller, GTD program manager. “We are always happy to get feedback on what types of information would make this a more useful resource and better serve the needs of researchers and practitioners.”
According to Miller, the most commonly requested feature is the ability to distinguish between international and domestic attacks. To address this need, the GTD team developed a set of indicators that classify attacks as international or domestic across several dimensions, including logistics (whether the perpetrator group crossed a border to carry out the attack) and ideology (whether the perpetrator group was attacking a target of a different nationality, regardless of where the attack took place). The domestic/international indicators and other new variables are currently included in the downloadable data files. START plans to incorporate them into the online user interface in a future update. More information about the new variables can be found in the GTD Codebook.
With this data release, the GTD now contains information on more than 113,000 domestic and international terrorist attacks between 1970 and 2012 that resulted in more than 243,000 deaths and more than 324,000 injuries. These attacks are defined as the threatened or actual use of illegal force and violence by a non-state actor to attain a political, economic, religious or social goal through fear, coercion or intimidation.
The GTD is funded through START by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s Office of University Programs, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, and the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s Resilient Systems Division.

Crisis in Ukraine

Mass protests in Ukraine against the abandonment of preparations for a trade deal with the EU have escalated into demands for the resignation of the government and the president, Viktor Yanukovych. The crisis comes as efforts by European leaders to promote links between the EU and former Soviet states have been frustrated, with both Ukraine and Armenia caving in to pressure from Moscow to prioritise relations with Russia. Although a recent summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, was not a complete washout—as Georgia and Moldova both initialled trade agreements with the EU—this very modest progress has been overshadowed by events in Kiev. Our eastern Europe analysts expect political tensions in Ukraine to persist and possibly intensify, while already-poor relations between Russia and the EU will become worse.

Thailand protests spread beyond Bangkok

November 27, 2013
The protests in Thailand against the government of Yingluck Shinawatra are growing and spreading beyond the capital.

Four more ministries are now surrounded, adding to the five that were shut down yesterday, and the Finance Ministry remains occupied. 2000 staff at Thailand’s FBI, the DSI, had to be evacuated as the building was taken over.

19 provincial administrations have also seen mass demonstrations.

“I think whether we succeed or not is not the most important point. What’s important is that the people in the country came out this time to be understood, to symbolically show what the people want,” said one protester.

The unrest is affecting the country’s financial position. The central bank lopped a quarter percent off interest rates on Wednesday and trimmed growth forecasts to 3% for 2013. Exports fell in October.

In parliament Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra faces a confidence vote on Thursday she is expected to win, but her majority there and the fact her party has won every election since 2001 counts for little in the streets, where her critics are angrier than ever.