[Dawn] Afghanistan is sending an official delegation to Pakistain "soon" to investigate the killing of Kabul's peace envoy, a presidential front man said Monday.
Pakistain has agreed to accept the delegation, front man Aimal Faizi told news hounds, adding that it could leave as early as Tuesday.
Rabbani was assassinated by a turban bomber at his Kabul home in September in a move which stalled efforts to talk peace with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Afghan officials say the killing was planned in Pakistain and carried out by a Pak jacket wallah. They have also previously accused Pakistain of refusing to cooperate in the probe.
But at a conference in Istanbul earlier this month, the two sides agreed to cooperate on an investigation into the killing.
"The government of Afghanistan, in order to further investigate the liquidation of professor Burhanuddin Rabbani ... the gentlemanly murdered legitimate president of Afghanistan... ... will soon send a delegation to Pakistain. Pakistain has accepted to receive the delegation," Faizi said.
"After the pressures that Afghanistan and Turkey put on Pakistain at the Istanbul conference, Pakistain finally agreed to accept our delegation."
The delegation will feature officials from Afghanistan's defence and interior ministries, plus its intelligence service.
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11/22/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Monday said Australia would not abandon Afghanistan, despite suffering a spate of deadly attacks by rogue Afghan troops.
In an address to parliament on the decade-old conflict, Gillard said there was no evidence to suggest the attacks, in which four Australians have died this year, were part of a pattern.
In the worst of three incidents this year, an Afghan opened fire on a parade in October, killing three Australians and wounding seven others.
In May, an Australian lance corporal was rubbed out by an Afghan with whom he was sharing guard duties at a patrol base in the Chora Valley, and earlier this month an Afghan soldier opened fire on Australians, seriously wounding three.
The attacks have prompted renewed debate about Australia's involvement in the war, to which it was first committed in late 2001 by then-prime minister John Howard. It withdrew and then redeployed in 2005.
Delivering her annual statement on Afghanistan, Gillard insisted progress was being made and that the 1,550 troops based mostly in the southern province of Uruzgan were on track to hand over the lead role on security by 2014.
"Australia will not abandon Afghanistan," she said.
Australian troops are training the Afghan National Army's 4th Brigade and Gillard said the timing on completely handing over to Afghan forces in Uruzgan "may well be complete before the end of 2014" given progress being made there.
While this would lead to a drawing down of Australian forces in the country, she repeated her stance that Canberra would be engaged in Afghanistan through this decade at least.
Gillard said she had discussed a long-term partnership with Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... during their meeting in Kabul last month, adding the government would consider keeping Special Forces troops there beyond 2014.
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11/22/2011 00:00 ||
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] South Sudan rebel chief George Athor vowed Sunday to continue battling the government in Juba and demanded new elections to end his bloody war.
"People must die so we can have peace and can have democracy," Athor told news hounds in the Kenyan capital, his first public appearance since launching his bloody rebellion in April 2010 after alleging fraud in elections.
Athor, a former general who began his rebellion after losing the gubernatorial race in Jonglei state, said he met with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir last week in Nairobi, but his demands had been rejected.
"There is a grave need for peace in South Sudan but unfortunately the other side were not cooperating," the militia leader said, who called for both fresh nation-wide elections and "two or three ministerial posts."
"President Kiir was positive but that was not the same for the rest of the delegation," he added.
South Sudan accuses Athor of acting on behalf of former civil war enemies in Khartoum in a bid to destabilise the country, which won independence in July.
Athor, who denied he was supported by Khartoum, Sure he's not...
demanded a third party to guarantee the implementation of any agreement, as well as "reparations for the losses people have suffered."
He did not give details of the financial package he demanded, but also said that schools and hospitals should be built in the areas badly hit by the conflict.
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11/22/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Morocco will not follow other North African states in handing power to Islamists when it votes in an election this week because it has a mature democracy, a leading member of a liberal alliance contesting the vote told Rooters.
A moderate Islamist party says it believes it can win the 25 November parliamentary election, buoyed by the resurgence of Islamists in the wake of the "Arab Spring" uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
The Islamists' main challenger is the newly-formed Coalition for Democracy, which is centred around secularist parties with ties to the court of Morocco's ruler, King Mohammed.
"Morocco is different. It is not Tunisia, nor is it Libya or Egypt," Salaheddine Mezouar, Morocco's finance and economy minister who is also one of the leaders of the coalition, said in an interview.
"Here in Morocco we have a plurality. Morocco has never known one-party rule. Moroccan political parties have practised democracy and are well-educated, which makes an outcome of that kind [an Islamist victory] improbable," he said.
"To my knowledge, the Islamists in Morocco are very far from winning first place, but at the end of the day the ballot boxes will decide."
The election is a test of the king's commitment to respond to the uprisings around the region by moving his kingdom closer to democracy and ceding some of his powers to elected officials.
The vote will almost certainly remove the present government, which many Moroccans associate with corruption and nepotism. Whoever takes over will nevertheless be no less loyal to the monarch.
At issue is whether the election will hand power to the Coalition for Democracy, whose leaders are younger and less tainted by governing than many of those currently in power, or to the opposition Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD).
Islamist party officials have accused their opponents of trying to keep them out of power by bribing voters, a phenomenon that has blighted previous elections.
Mezouar, whose National Rally of Independents is one of eight parties making up the liberal coalition, said it was time for a break with the murky electoral practices of the past.
"We want a new Morocco with competent elected officials," he said. "These practises have always existed in all Morocco's political parties, but it is not encouraged by the parties. These are individual practises, by certain elected officials."
"We have been firm in the coalition: anyone found carrying out these practises will be expelled."
The biggest challenge facing the palace in the election is the risk that voters, disillusioned with a contest that many do not believe will bring real change to their lives, will stay at home on polling day, analysts say.
A protest movement, inspired by the "Arab Spring" uprisings, is urging people to boycott the election, saying it is not truly democratic.
"We do not have any problems with those who call for a boycott," said Mezouar in the city of Meknes, about 150 kilometres east of the capital, where he was on the campaign trail.
"But the problem that arises if you propose a boycott is, what's the alternative? Should we leave the country without constitutional institutions? ... We are betting on a big turnout in this election."
If the Coalition for Democracy wins enough seats to form the next government, it will have to re-balance public finances.
The outgoing government, in an effort to prevent "Arab Spring" unrest spreading to Morocco, spent heavily on increasing public wages and subsidising staple goods.
That leaves little for major infrastructure projects that are planned to create jobs and stimulate growth.
Mezouar said if his alliance wins it will promote partnerships with the private sector to get big projects off the ground and raise tax revenue to curb the budget deficit.
He said the coalition would tackle the hugely inefficient subsidy system by taking half of the cash devoted to it and using that money instead for targeted assistance for the poorest people. Some state assets could also be sold.
"Our programme does not rule out privatisation. We say that to subsidise investment funds, it is possible to sell a part of the state's shares in certain enterprises," said Mezouar.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Unless your friends from across the waters help Islamists the way they did in Libya.
[An Nahar] Bahrain admitted on Monday "excessive force" was used on pro-democracy protesters earlier this year as tension escalates two days ahead of the unveiling of a probe into the deadly crackdown.
Bahrain's Independent Commission of Inquiry, commissioned by King Hamad ...King of Bahrain (since 14 February 2002), having previously been its emir (from 6 March 1999). He is a Sunni, while the rest of Bahrain is predominantly Shiite... , will on Wednesday unveil the results of its investigation into alleged government misconduct during the February-March crackdown on Shiite-led protests.
As the Gulf kingdom braced for the findings of the probe, tension has escalated in Shiite areas of the Sunni-ruled nation and the opposition has vowed not to back down from demands for democratic reform.
"Regrettably, there have been instances of excessive force and mistreatment of detainees" during the deadly crackdown against protests, the Bahraini government statement said.
Authorities say 24 people, including four coppers, were killed in the unrest, while the Shiite-led opposition puts the corpse count at 30. Hundreds more were maimed.
The statement said authorities have begun prosecuting 20 officers involved in the crackdown, adding that more steps will be taken.
"We cannot condone mistreatment and abuses by our officials. There will be no impunity. All those responsible for abuses will be held accountable," it added.
Amnesia Amnesty International urged the authorities to act on the probe's findings.
"The publication of this report gives Bahrain's authorities a key opportunity to demonstrate that they intend to deliver justice to victims of abuse and carry through on promises of reform," it said.
Apart from trying those responsible for rights violations, "the authorities must provide reparations to the victims, reinstate those who were dismissed from work and reform legislation that criminalizes public gatherings."
Anti-government protests in mainly Shiite areas outside Manama have intensified this month, resulting in festivities with security forces that have left a 16-year-old boy dead and dozens of people injured.
On Sunday, King Hamad warned Bahrainis to steer clear of "anything that adversely affects" their unity.
The mass demonstrations which rocked Bahrain earlier this year were violently crushed as government forces used live ammunition and heavy-handed tactics in festivities with protesters.
The final blow to the protests, inspired by the Arab Spring, came in mid-March when the security forces, boosted by troops from Gulf nations, drove demonstrators out of Manama's Pearl Square -- the focal point of protests.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
"they're Shiites. They like it."
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/22/2011 8:06 Comments ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Delawar Hossain Sayedee along with other collaborators kept a Hindu girl confined to her father's house at Parerhat in Pirojpur and raped her day after day during the Liberation War, the International Crimes Tribunal was told yesterday.
The victim, Bhanu Shaha, daughter of Bipod Shaha, left the country after liberation out of fear of public humiliation. She still lives in India, said Syed Rezaur Rahman, a senior prosecutor, while placing the opening statement against Sayedee.
In the tribunal's first trial since its formation on March 25 last year, the prosecution on Sunday got through 61 pages of the statement in court.
Yesterday, Rezaur read out the remaining 27 pages before the three-member panel of judges headed by Nizamul Huq.
On October 3, Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer Sayedee, one of the seven Jamaat-BNP leaders jugged over war crimes links, was charged with 20 counts of crimes. The charges include genocide, murder, rape, arson, abduction and torture of civilians.
The tribunal will start taking depositions of witnesses on December 7.
Rezaur described the crimes against humanity allegedly committed by Sayedee in 1971 and also the background of the case.
He told the tribunal that Sayedee had led a 50-member team of the Razakar Bahini, an anti-liberation force, in attacking Hindu Para of Hoglabunia under Pirojpur.
Spider senses tingling at the proximity of the myrmidons, members of the Hindu community had managed to flee.
The razakars, however, got hold of Shefali Gharami, wife of Madhusudan Gharami, and raped her.
Shefali gave birth to a baby girl after the war but, like Bhanu Shaha, she had to leave for India.
On May 5, 1971, Saif Mizanur Rahman, deputy magistrate of then Pirojpur Sub-Division; Foyezur Rahman Ahmed, sub-divisional police officer and father of famed writer Humayun Ahmed and noted educationalist-writer Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, and Abdur Razzak, SDO in charge of Pirojpur, were taken to the Baleshwar river bank and shot to death.
Sayedee as a member of the killing squad was present there.
Under his pressure, some 100-150 Hindus of Parerhat and other villages converted to Islam and had to go to a mosque, said the prosecutor.
He oversaw the creation of a fund with cash and other property looted by the razakars from the locals, mainly Hindu families. He also issued a Fatwa (religious edict) legalising war booty, said the prosecutor.
He also succeeded in allying himself with the Pakistain army, as he had a good command of Arabic and Urdu.
Sayedee went into hiding after the war but returned to his home district of Pirojpur in 1986. In the guise of an Islamic scholar, he began addressing waz mahfils or religious gatherings to hide his past, Rezaur said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2011 00:00 ||
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h/t Gates of Vienna
From November 14-18, the Greek air force held joint exercises with Israel at the air base of Ovda, in the Negev desert. Up your, Recep!
#2
Don't hold back, Angoper - tell us what you really think.
Posted by: Barbara ||
11/22/2011 21:45 Comments ||
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#3
Just following my instincts...I'm probably being harsh. However,intuition has been kind to me all my life. I've come to rely on it for wisdom and humor.
Pakistan's ambassador to Washington has been forced to resign after the government ordered an investigation into claims he sought American help to oust his country's military and intelligence chiefs.
Husain Haqqani finally resigned following a series of allegations by an influential Pakistani-American businessman who said he had passed a secret memo last May from the ambassador to Adml Mike Mullen, then America's most senior military chief, asking for US help to prevent a coup.
The businessman, Mansoor Ijaz, said the memo offered to install a "new national security team" and to dismantle sections of Pakistan's ISI intelligence service which supported terrorist groups in Afghanistan. It had been passed on with the blessing of President Asif Zardari, he suggested.
The disclosure of the memo provoked a crisis in the already tense relationship between Pakistan's elected government and its powerful military, which continues to control the country's defence spending budget and foreign policy.
Retired senior military figures said the Army chief General Kayani was furious over the claims and had demanded Mr Haqqani's resignation to settle the dispute.
The Pakistani Taliban has declared a ceasefire to encourage nascent peace talks with the government, a senior commander said, a move that appears to show the deadly group's willingness to strike a deal.
The commander said the ceasefire has been in effect for the past month and was valid throughout the country.
"We are not attacking the Pakistan army and government installations because of the peace process," he said late Monday. The commander is close to Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of the Taliban.
His statement adds credence to recent announcements by anonymous Taliban and intelligence officials that government intermediaries recently met Taliban commanders to talk about a possible peace deal. The government has not officially commented, and on Tuesday the Pakistani army denied it was involved in any talks.
#1
to encourage nascent peace talks with the government
'Nascent' typically means 'recently having come into existence'.
Probably just having done so (THIS time around anyway) either because of the impending onslaught of the mighty Pak winter, or some form of hudna allowing the talibunnies to regroup. Methinks Sr. Mehsud is at a weak point somehow or just waiting for resupply.
Hit them again and again and again.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
11/22/2011 15:47 Comments ||
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[Dawn] Media Adviser to the President Farahnaz Ispahani, who is also the wife of Pakistain's Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani, on Monday defended her husband and said the pair is ready to face legal action pertaining to the memo controversy.
Ispahani said she and her husband want "an investigation" into the matter and were ready to cooperate in the forensic investigation of Husain Haqqani's blackberry phone and computer.
"Whatever guidance is given to us by our big shotship, we will take it, but personally if the big shotship allows us, we will go in for libel," she added.
She expressed these views while talking to the media outside the Supreme Court on Monday.
While raising doubts over the credibility of the Pak-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz who claims that Haqqani asked him to deliver the memo to Adm Mike Mullen in May this year, she said that Haqqani was prepared to sue Pak-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, who has claimed the memo was drafted and delivered on the envoy's instructions.
She described Ijaz as "a citizen of another country" whose allegations "make me believe he is working against Pakistain's democracy" and added, "He is a foreign national who is blaming us and attacking Pakistains democracy."
Turning down that the allegations were baseless, she said that they were not scared of the issue and were not fleeing Dubai or Washington, vowing that the pair is ready for Pak and American courts because they have nothing to hide.
Ijaz hit out at the ambassador on challenging the authenticity of the memo and ruled out any missing links in the authenticity chain, adding that he was a wealthy individual who handles his own investments and would sue anyone for slandering against him.
Local media reports implicated Haqqani in a memo allegedly sent from Zardari to Mullen, the United States top military officer, after the US raid that killed the late Osama bin Laden ... who walked in the Valley of the Shadow of Death and didn't make it out... on May 2, sought American assistance to stave off a possible military coup.
The alleged memo, released last month by Ijaz, said that a new national security team in Pakistain with US support could end ties between Pak intelligence and bad boys.
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11/22/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Pakistain Tehreek-e-Insaf categorically rejected the news report about a meeting in which Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... met with US Ambassador Cameron Munter in the presence of ISI Chief General Shuja Pasha.
According to PTI Secretary General Dr. Arif Alvi, the news item was totally fabricated, false and appears to be an attempt to provide support to the false propaganda unleashed by the PML-N and its coterie that PTI has backing from the military establishment.
Military Spokesman Maj General Ather Abbas also rejected the news regarding the meeting.
"The allegation is an attempt to divert the attention of the people from the fast-declining popularity of PML-N because of the failure of its government in Punjab and its anti-people policies that it practiced during its two tenures in the federal capital," said Alvi.
"Its failed rallies in Lahore and Faisalabad had driven it to desperation and it is venting its venom on PTI," he said.
He reiterated that such attempts would not dent PTI Chairman Imran Khan's growing popularity and the flocking of people to his party and programme which is meant to bring about a change in policies of the status quo and align them with the needs and aspirations of the people of Pakistain.
He said that the PTI will send a strong letter to the Sunday Times to retract the article otherwise they will claim damages in a court of law.
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11/22/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Pakistain's Taliban movement, a major security threat to the country, is holding exploratory peace talks with the US-backed government, a senior Taliban capo and mediators told Rooters on Monday.
The United States, the source of billions of dollars of aid vital for Pakistain's military and feeble economy, is unlikely to look kindly on peace talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), which it has labeled a terrorist group.
Past peace pacts with the TTP have failed to bring stability, and merely gave the umbrella group time and space to consolidate, launch fresh attacks and impose their austere version of Islam on segments of the population.
The discussions are focused on the South Wazoo region on the Afghan border and could be expanded to try to reach a comprehensive deal.
The Taliban, who are close to al-Qaeda, made several demands, including the release of prisoners, said the commander.
An ethnic Pashtun tribal mediator described the talks as "very difficult."
"Yes, we have been holding talks, but this is just an initial phase. We will see if there is a breakthrough," said the senior Taliban capo, who asked not to be identified.
"Right now, this is at the South Waziristan level. If successful, we can talk about a deal for all the tribal areas," he said, referring to Pashtun lands along the Afghan border.
The TTP, which is allied with the Afghan Taliban movement fighting US-led NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... forces in Afghanistan, is entrenched in the unruly areas along the mostly non-existent border.
Pakistain has come under pressure to eradicate militancy since US special forces in May killed the late Osama bin Laden ... who no longer exists... in a Pak town, where he had apparently been living for years.
Pakistain's government and military have said they had no idea bin Laden was in Pakistain and have yet to explain the intelligence gap.
The operation enraged Pakistain's military, which branded it a violation of illusory sovereignty and then reduced cooperation on intelligence critical for US efforts to stabilize the region as it winds down combat operations in Afghanistan.
"The US won't be happy," said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a Pak expert on the Taliban. "If there is less pressure from Pakistain on the bully boyz then they (the Pak Taliban) will turn their attention to Afghanistan."
Speculation on peace talks has been rife since the government said in a September all-party conference on a crisis in relations with the United States that it would attempt negotiations with bully boyz to bring peace.
"We never wanted to fight to begin with," said the senior Taliban capo. "Our aim was to rid Afghanistan of foreign forces. But the Pak government, by supporting America, left us no choice but to fight."
Since bin Laden's death, the TTP has vowed to attack Western targets abroad.
Pak military and government officials were not immediately available for comment.
"This is a very difficult stage. We have had three rounds in the last two months, but there seems to be no result," said one of the tribal elders involved in the talks.
"It is too difficult to say if there will be a breakthrough, but we are moving in the right direction."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2011 00:00 ||
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The U.S. handed over all of the remaining detainees in U.S. custody in Iraq Tuesday, except for a Lebanese Hezbollah commander linked to the death of four American troops, Iraqi and American officials said.
The prisoner transfer marks another step toward the American military's withdrawal from Iraq, as it plans for all U.S. troops to be out of the country by the end of this year.
It still leaves the contentious issue of what to do with a prisoner that many in the U.S. worry will walk free if he's handed over to the Iraqi government. This is exactly why we have Gitmo...
Iraqi Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim said 37 detainees were transferred to Iraqi custody Tuesday morning.
A U.S. military official confirmed all the remaining prisoners were transferred with the exception of Hezbollah operative Ali Mussa Daqduq, who he said is still in American custody while the U.S. weighs his situation.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
[An Nahar] British Foreign Secretary William Hague urged the Syrian opposition to unify to become stronger as he held his first meeting with their representatives in London on Monday.
Hague said after the talks at the Foreign Office he had reiterated that Britannia wanted Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... and his regime to stand down over its bloody crackdown on opposition protesters.
Such a move would be "the best thing for the future of Syria", he said.
"But I've also emphasized the importance to them of achieving a united platform and a unified body among the opposition," Hague said.
"At an extreme moment in their nation's history it is important for opposition groups to be able to put aside their own differences and come to a united view of the way forward."
Hague admitted before the meeting that Britannia was not yet in a position to officially recognize the Syrian opposition because, unlike in Libya, they were not a unified force and controlled no territory in the country.
At the talks, he also stressed to the opposition figures "the importance of non-violent protest and the importance of retaining international support in this situation through non-violent protest".
Hague said he had emphasized that "democracy means not only holding elections in the future, but entrenching human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... including the rights of minorities in Syria".
Among the Syrian figures Hague met were Burhan Ghalioun, chairman of the Syrian National Council which groups together many Syrian opposition groups, and Haytham Manaa, European representative for the National Coordination Body.
Britannia has designated a former ambassador to Beirut, La Belle Frances Guy, to develop contacts with the Syrian opposition.
Hague also welcomed the pressure put on Assad's regime by the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... over the assault on opposition supporters which the U.N. believes has left more than 3,500 dead in nine months.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Ask + ye shall receive ...
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Syrian Free Army] SYRIAN DEFECTORS "ATTACK MILITARY INTELLIGENCE BASE AT HARASTA".
[An Nahar] Syrian leader Bashir al-Assad has reached a "dead end" but only internal forces can bring about change, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Monday, in an interview with the Guardian.
Speaking on the eve of a three-day state visit to Britannia, Gul warned that Assad's back-tracking on reforms agreed by the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... had made international negotiation impossible.
"It's quite too late for that sort of thing now," he told the British newspaper. "He seems to have opted for a different route. And frankly we do not have any more trust in him.
"Syria is now at a dead end, so change is inevitable," Gul said. "But we don't believe the right way to create change is through external intervention. The people must make that change."
Gul urged former ally Assad to relinquish power without a struggle, adding that "everything must be done" to prevent a civil war.
However, corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds... Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier Monday said foreign intervention could not be ruled out completely over Assad's refusal to end the bloody crackdown on protesters.
"You can remain in power with tanks and cannons only up to a certain point. The day will come when you'll also leave," Erdogan told a meeting in Istanbul.
"Someone shows up and says 'I'll fight and die.' Against whom will you fight? Will you fight against your Mohammedan brothers you rule in your country?" Erdogan asked.
The prime minister was referring to an interview with Assad published in London's Sunday Times in which the Syrian leader vowed to fight and die if faced with foreign intervention.
Turkey has become increasingly vocal in its criticism of Assad after its diplomatic missions came under attack by pro-government demonstrators in several Syrian cities earlier this month.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2011 00:00 ||
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#2
Erdogan went farther later in the day (per haaretz) and unambiguously called for Assad to resign.
"...Without spilling any more blood, without causing any more injustice, for the sake of peace for the people, the country and the region, [Assad, you should] finally step down," Erdogan told a meeting of his ruling AK Party.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
11/22/2011 13:51 Comments ||
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#3
As long as Assad's still alive, you can't say he's reached a 'dead end.'
[An Nahar] Hizbullah and the AMAL movement on Monday said they would continue to stand by Syria and Iran against "international conspiracies" and "threats", as global pressure mounts on the two countries.
"The current events in Syria are clearly an international conspiracy against Syria's support for Arab and Islamic resistance movements in the region," they said in a joint statement.
"Leb will never be a conduit for a conspiracy against a sister state."
The statement comes amid renewed international pressure on Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... over his brutal crackdown on an eight-month popular revolt.
Hizbullah and AMAL also reiterated their support for Iran, as pressure mounts on the Islamic state over its nuclear program.
"We firmly support the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran against all American and Israeli threats," the statement said.
Hizbullah earlier this month accused Washington of ramping up pressure on Iran and Syria as a way to deflect attention from its "searing defeat" in Iraq.
The United States for its part has urged Lebanese authorities to protect their financial sector against potential Syrian attempts to sidestep sanctions, sparking fears that Beirut could be in the lineup of possible future measures against the Assad regime.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... voiced on Monday his support of the funding of the Special Tribunal for Leb, adding that the party understands Hizbullah's insecurities over the matter.
He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: "Keeping in mind its reservations, Hizbullah should cooperate positively with the issue of the funding in order to ease the tensions on the internal Lebanese scene."
The MP noted that Leb can achieve interests through the funding, which it would not be able to achieve if it refrained from this duty.
Addressing the national dialogue, Jumblat stated that the talks should resume in order to continue discussions on the defense strategy, stressing the importance of the resistance's arms in defending Leb against Israel.
He added that the national dialogue may eventually reach an agreement on incorporating Hizbullah's arms within the concerned state institutions.
Turning to the developments in Syria, the PSP leader warned against embroiling Leb in the Syrian crisis "due to some sides' attachment to the regime and others' eagerness to witness its downfall."
The best way to avert this fate lies in fortifying the internal Lebanese scene and ending the political divide between the rival March 8 and 14 camps, the MP noted.
"Ending the anti-regime protests through the use of force has proven its failure," Jumblat said.
"The sensitivity of the regional developments requires the highest level of governmental unity in order to prevent Leb from falling into vacuum," he continued.
"It would have been better if Leb had not opposed the Arab foreign ministers decision on Syria and instead taken a more balanced stand," he stated.
A few weeks ago, the Arab foreign ministers suspended Syria's membership from the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... over its failure to adhere to a League initiative aimed at ending the crisis.
Leb, Syria, and Yemen voted against the decision, while Iraq abstained.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
It's a good thing Wally has that heavily fortified mountain-redoubt...
[An Nahar] The U.N. General Assembly on Monday passed an annual resolution condemning alleged human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... abuses in Iran with a record number of votes in support.
The assembly also passed resolutions condemning human rights in North Korea and Myanmar. All received record high backing.
The Iran vote came only three days after the General Assembly condemned an alleged plot to assassinate the Soddy Arabian ambassador to Washington -- a plot which the United States accuses Iran of criminal masterminding.
The 193-member assembly passed the resolution condemning "torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" by Iranian authorities with 86 votes in favor, six more than last year, 32 against, down eight from 2010, and 59 abstentions.
The resolution, proposed by Canada, condemned "flogging and amputations" carried out in Iran and deplored a "dramatic increase" in the use of the death penalty, particularly against minors. Many human rights groups say events have deteriorated in Iran over the past year.
Iranian government representative, Mohammad Javad Larijani, an advisor to the country's supreme leader, called the resolution "substantially unfounded and intentionally malicious" in a speech to the General Assembly's human rights committee.
Syria, which faces a special human rights vote on Tuesday over its deadly crackdown on opposition protests, spoke out strongly for its Iranian ally.
The North Korea vote was passed with 112 votes in favor, 16 against and 55 abstentions. On Myanmar the vote was 98 in favor, 25 against with 63 abstentions.
The assembly raised "very serious concern" over the "torture" and "inhuman conditions of detention, public executions, extra judicial and arbitrary detention" in North Korea.
It also condemned the "existence of a large number of prison camps and the extensive use of forced labor."
The Myanmar resolution welcomed recent talks between democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the military-dominated government, the release of some political prisoners and other changes over the past year.
But the General Assembly said there were still "systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms."
It highlighted "arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, rape and other forms of sexual violence, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." It also raised concerns about the treatment of ethnic minorities such as the Karen people.
Western nations, which have sanctions against Myanmar, have sought to encourage the tentative reforms started by the government. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as The Woman to Call at 3 a.m. and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Richelieu ... is to hold talks in Myanmar next month.
Myanmar's U.N. ambassador U Than Swe highlighted the government's efforts towards "building a flourishing, democratic society."
"We do deserve warm, welcome, kind understanding and sincere encouragements of the international community rather than unconstructive approach by adopting such resolutions," he told the assembly.
In a statement, Britannia's Foreign Secretary William Hague acknowledged the changes in Myanmar, but said "human rights abuses continue, especially in ethnic areas, and the level of support for this resolution shows once again that the international community has not forgotten the people" of Myanmar.
"The U.N. General Assembly passed these three resolutions by a record majority today, and I welcome the strong signal that sends," Hague said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2011 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Setting the stage for arguing the "Obama Doctrine" for UNSC Mandate for milaction agz Iran???
* ION FREEREPUBLIC > IRAN MULLING CREATION OF 100.0MILYUHN-STRONG MUSLIM BASIJ ARMY.
Iff Iran, Regional military histoire' is any measure, all of Iran's neighbors should count on Iran's army, "People's War" forces, + aligned MilTerr Groups violating their sovereign borders both for retreat + attack as per anti-US war requirements.
#4
Oh wow, that really going to get their attention. I suspect the might ask the U.S. to drop in and pick up all their nuke materials next week and isue an immediate apology and disband the IRGC Al Kuds force and stop funding Hezbullah and ........ oh wait, I need another doobie.....
[Al Ahram] Russia on Monday accused the West of provocative behaviour during the Syrian crisis, saying Western countries were telling the opposition to forget dialogue with Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad. Lord of the Baath... Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov complained that while the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... had called for a halt to violence in Syria, Western capitals had been telling the opposition to refrain from dialogue with Assad, the RIA Novosti and Interfax news agencies reported.
Russia, one of few powers still offering support to Assad, has repeatedly called on the West for a more balanced approach in the crisis saying violence by both the authorities and the opposition should be condemned.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
I'm not aware that Assad wants a dialog with anyone.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Afghanistan is sending an official delegation to Pakistain "soon" to investigate the killing of Kabul's peace envoy, a presidential 
[Bangla Daily Star] Delawar Hossain Sayedee along with other collaborators kept a Hindu girl confined to her father's house at Parerhat in Pirojpur and raped her day after day during the Liberation War, the International Crimes Tribunal was told yesterday.
presence of ISI Chief General Shuja Pasha.
[Dawn] Pakistain's Taliban movement, a major security threat to the country, is holding exploratory peace talks with the US-backed government, a senior 
Wazoo
The U.S. handed over all of the remaining detainees in U.S. custody in Iraq Tuesday, except for a Lebanese Hezbollah commander linked to the death of four American troops, Iraqi and American officials said.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Walid 
The assembly also passed resolutions condemning human rights in 
Hillary Clinton
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
