A 26-year-old doctor who exposed the torture of jailed protesters in Iran died of poisoning from a delivery salad laced with an overdose of blood pressure medication, prosecutors say. The findings fueled opposition fears that he was killed because of what he knew.
Investigators are still trying to determine whether his death last month was a suicide or murder, Tehran's public prosecutor Abbas Dowlatabadi said, according to the state news agency IRNA.
The revelations of torture against prisoners in Iran's postelection turmoil angered even government supporters and deeply embarrassed the country's clerical leadership and security forces.
Much of the abuse took place at Kahrizak, a prison on Tehran's outskirts where hundreds of opposition protesters were taken. Several there died, and the facility became so notorious that Iran's supreme leader was forced to close it down.
Ramin Pourandarjani, a doctor at Kahrizak, later testified to a parliamentary committee and reportedly told them that a young protester he treated died from severe torture. He said he was also forced by security officials to list the cause of death as meningitis, according to opposition Web sites.
Pourandarjani died on Nov. 10 in mysterious circumstances, with authorities initially saying he was in a car accident, had a heart attack or committed suicide.
Forensic tests showed that the doctor died of "poisoning by drugs" that matched doses of propranolol found in a salad that was delivered to him, Dowlatabadi said Tuesday. "A large number of these pills must be used for a person to pass away from them," he said.
Propranolol is used to treat high blood pressure, rapid heart rate and tremors, and can be lethal in high doses.
The restaurant delivery man told investigators that he gave the salad directly to Pourandarjani and described how the doctor took it from him at the door of his room, then closed the door behind him, Dowlatabadi said. The delivery man is not under arrest, he said.
Last week, Iran's top police commander, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, insisted the death was a suicide. He said the doctor faced criminal charges over failure to fulfill his duties to treat the detainees and killed himself in despair in a courthouse lounge. The police chief said a note was found with the body.
But the police chief, speaking more than a week after the death, only highlighted the mysteries.
His comments were the first and only public word that Pourandarjani had faced any charges -- or that he had died in a courthouse. The IRNA report on the prosecutor's announcement did not say where the doctor was when the salad was delivered to him.
One pro-reform lawmaker dismissed the claims and suggested a link to the prison torture.
"It is impossible to accuse him of suicide," said Masood Pezeshkian, the pro-opposition Web site Roozonline reported Wednesday. "The idea of suicide by someone who had no problems and no serious disease -- and was present during the events at Kahrizak -- seems questionable to us."
President Barack Obama's effort Tuesday night to reassure Democrats who oppose the deployment of another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan and to emphasize a U.S. exit strategy to pressure Afghan President Hamid Karzai to reform his corruption-riddled government could backfire.
The Taliban , al Qaida , their allies and their patrons in Pakistan and the Middle East , as well as America's partners, may think that Obama's pledge to begin withdrawing troops by July 2011 signals a lack of U.S. staying power and dilutes any incentives for insurgents to switch sides or negotiate a political accord.
Instead, the extremists may persevere in their fight, thinking they can run out the clock and further erode support for the war in the United States as congressional elections loom in 2010, while pumping up their own ranks. Some members of the U.S.-led international force already have announced their intention to leave.
"It's a big mistake," a U.S. defense official, who requested anonymity to speak freely, said of Obama's announcement that a U.S. withdrawal would begin in 19 months. "It just tells the Taliban and everyone else how long they need to last." Rest at link
Posted by: ed ||
12/02/2009 09:07 ||
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#1
two points
1. When surged in Iraq, anyone who closely followed the discussions knew that the surge troops couldn't be there that long, because of the strain on US ground forces, which was acknowledged by the authors of the surge strategy. Despite that, the insurgents could not simply sit back - for why see point 2
2. If the insurgents choose to sit back for 18 months, they will find at the end of that time a larger and better trained Afghan security force. And probably a stronger afghan economy, governance, etc. Not a good strategy for them, even leaving aside that BHO did NOT promise to take out all US forces, or even all surge forces, in 18 months. He said he would BEGIN a US withdrawl, and THAT is contingent on conditions on the ground.
3. In response to the snark about members of the Int Force leaving. That would be Canada, and they really did overstretch themselves, and need a break.
#3
Actually, you were initially correct. It's only two points. This one isn't a point.
If the insurgents choose to sit back for 18 months, they will find at the end of that time a larger and better trained Afghan security force
Look back at the previous 18 months. Or the 18 before that. Or the 18 before that. Or add all those months together. 18 months is no time at all when it comes to raising and training a national army in a culture that has a history of not having one.
If anything, it's the precise opposite of what you say. Continuing their attacks will lead to a more experienced ANA with more knowledge of the Talibans operation.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
12/02/2009 12:35 Comments ||
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#4
Not all that different from what Bush proposed in Iraq, I guess. A notably uninspirational speech, but given the line he has to walk politically, it's probably the best he could do.
[Dawn] President Nicolas Sarkozy has refused a US request for France to send more troops to Afghanistan, the minister for Europe said Tuesday.
'You know the president's answer, it's 'no,'' Pierre Lellouche said in a French television interview when asked about reports that President Barack Obama was seeking 1,500 extra French troops for the Afghan mission.
Let's remember this when the Frogs ask to extend their UN mandate in the Ivory Coast ...
Remember, too, what anonymous5089 wrote yesterday (here, comment #7): France is broke, and the French armed forces are broke. They simply don't have the wherewithal to send more troops, nor the supplies to maintain them over there.
Fair enough. Step back from the world stage then. Of course, perhaps we should be doing the same ...
Le Monde newspaper quoted an aide to Sarkozy as saying that France was weighing the request and could agree to boost its contingent in Afghanistan as long as the fresh troops focus on training Afghan forces.
According to the daily, Obama has asked his allies to provide 10,000 extra troops for the Afghan campaign, including 1,500 from France, 2,000 from Germany, 1,500 from Italy and 1,000 from Britain.
Britain has already agreed to send 500 more and Italy says it will increase its force without saying by how many, but so far Germany has proved reticent and Sarkozy said last month he would 'not send a single soldier more.' Le Monde however quoted a member of Sarkozy's staff as saying: 'We're not saying no to Obama.
'We applaud the approach that he's preparing to announce and we'll take part in the January 28 conference in London to see what the Afghans are ready to contribute,' the unnamed aide said. 'We'll see what we can do to complete, if necessary, our presence, notably in terms of training,' he added.
London will host a major summit on Afghanistan next month.
Earlier, French Defence Minister Herve Morin confirmed that 'the United States is asking the Europeans for more troops. If there were to be an additional effort, the only effort that would make sense would be in terms of Afghan army and police training,' said Morin.
'There cannot simply be a military response,' he stressed. 'For us, building Afghan institutions is a key component of an exit strategy.'
Obama was expected to announce at least 30,000 US reinforcements in a major speech on Afghan strategy on Tuesday.
The White House said Monday that Obama had called Sarkozy to update him on the plans.
France already has 3,750 soldiers attached to the campaign, 3,400 of them in Afghanistan itself -- some attached to the Nato mission and some under US command -- and is the fourth largest contributor to the western force.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
...Remember also what I said about a year ago: With the highly qualified exception of the UK, NONE of the NATO allies have had anything resembling capable ground forces for years now. After the Soviets collapsed, they were sent home. The Allies - again, with the qualified exception of the UK - never actually expected us to invoke Article 5 of the NATO Treaty after 9/11. The Allies have kept just enough to maintain their obligations under NATO and keep the US bucks rolling in. They know it, and we know it too - but to admit it and admit how many billions have gone to Europe for nothing would result in a final and irresistible call to bring the troops home and shut down the gravy train.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/02/2009 8:42 Comments ||
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#2
Mike - it may be worse than that. Consider that the Baltics and former Warsaw Pact countries, most now in NATO, were eager participants in Iraq (even under GHWB) to establish bona fides with the West generally. All that when they were arguably least capable (i.e. new to NATO, non-standard logistics/equipment, economies in ruins from communism, etc..).
Now consider what the POTUS has done in a year to "develop" those relationships? Poland/Czech - think they want to answer the call, Ukraine, Georgia? Even Rumania and Bulgaria?
He's really counting on Pakistan, and even W seemed to know better than that.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Kidnapping has become a lucrative business for al-Qaeda's north African branch, experts said Tuesday after a French national and three Spaniards were abducted in the Sahel within days of each other.
The kidnapping of Frenchman Pierre Camatte in northern Mali last week and the abduction of the Spanish aid workers on Sunday in Mauritania have both been attributed to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), even though it has not yet claimed responsibility.
" Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb needs money (...) Other groups can snatch Westerners for them and hand them over. You get the impression it's becoming a business in the (Sahel) region "
Alain Antil
In the last year, kidnappings "have multiplied, and the situation has continuously deteriorated in the last five years," Alain Antil, a researcher for the French Institute on International Relations (IFRI) said.
"Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb needs money (...) Other groups can snatch Westerners for them and hand them over. You get the impression it's becoming a business in the (Sahel) region," Antil explained.
AQIM "has grave financial problems and these kidnappings show a push to resolve this," French al-Qaeda specialist Jean-Pierre Filiu of the Paris Institute for Political Qtudies said.
"In times of difficulty (al-Qaeda's north African branch) becomes dangerous," added the author of several books on Islamist extremism.
According to the coordinator of counterterrorism at the U.S. State Department, Daniel Benjamin, AQIM "is financially strapped, particularly in Algeria, and unable to reach its recruiting goals." Benjamin said that it was reliant on kidnapping Westerners.
An interesting pair of points -- drops in both donations and volunteers...and this behaviour isn't likely to increase either, I should think.
Targeting tourists and aid workers
" Although we still can't be completely sure of anything, everything indicates that it was a kidnapping, and, if so, as I fear it was, everything indicates that it was a kidnapping by AQIM, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb "
Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba
AQIM have targeted tourists as well as aid workers.
On Sunday three Spanish aid workers disappeared in Mauritania and appeared to have been kidnapped by a group linked to al-Qaeda.
"Although we still can't be completely sure of anything, everything indicates that it was a kidnapping, and, if so, as I fear it was, everything indicates that it was a kidnapping by AQIM, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb," Spain's Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said.
In Feb. 2008, two Austrian tourists were kidnapped by AQIM in Tunisia, who took them to northern Mali and released them after eight months. In December of the same year two Canadian diplomats were seized in Niger by a group that claims links with al-Qaeda.
They were soon joined by four European tourists -- two Swiss, a German and a Briton -- abducted in the border region between Mali and Niger in January.
The Canadian diplomats, the Swiss hostages and the German were released over the following months, but in June AQIM put a message on a web site saying it has killed the Briton, Edwin Dyer.
Top
Ransoms and deals
Ransoms are believed to have been paid and deals struck to release jailed militants, though most of the governments involved vehemently deny entering into any deals.
Observers say the killing of the British hostage was because London had refused to give in to the kidnappers' demands to release an Islamic militant jailed in Britain.
In the Austrians' case, local media in Austria quoted sources saying a ransom of between two and ĆÆĀæÅ3 million was paid but stressed that Vienna had not paid any money directly to the kidnappers.
Likewise, Canadian media reported that the Malian authorities paid several million dollars to ensure the release of the Canadians. Canada denies paying a ransom, but critics point to the fact that Canadian aid to Mali has more than quadrupled since.
Last September, Algerian President Abelaziz Bouteflika pleaded before the United Nations General Assembly for a ban on paying ransoms to kidnappers, which he said had reached "worrying proportions."
According to the Algerian leader "ransoms are now the principal source of finance for terrorism."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Detained former BNP ministers Lutfozzaman Babar and Abdus Salam Pintu had assisted banned Islamist group Huji in its botched attempt to kill Awami League President Sheikh Hasina on August 21, 2004.
Abdul Kahar Akand, investigation officer in two cases filed for August 21 grenade attack, said this at a Dhaka court yesterday.
He was seeking a day's fresh remand for Huji founder Sheikh Abdus Salam. The court granted the prayer.
The IO said Harkatul Jihad al Islami first planned to kill Hasina, now prime minister, and some of her party colleagues during AL's previous tenure in 1996-2001.
It took the decision as it found the then government an obstacle to its campaign that included recruiting and training youths as its operatives, and procurement of firearms for fellow militants fighting in India and Afghanistan.
"Huji grew desperate to execute the plan after the Awami League rule ended [in 2001]. At that time, they had assistance from Babar and Pintu through Pintu's brother and Huji leader Moulana Tajuddin," Akand said in his remand prayer to Metropolitan Magistrate Zulfiker Hayat.
Some other individuals too had aided Huji in its failed bid to assassinate Hasina five years ago, he added.
Akand said Babar and Pintu, then state minister for home and deputy minister for education, had directly helped Tajuddin flee the country and take shelter in Pakistan.
Tajuddin, still at large, had supplied the grenades used in the August 21 blasts that killed at least 23 AL leaders and workers and injured over 300 others, he added.
Both Salam Pintu and his brother are charge-sheeted accused in the August 21 carnage cases.
The Criminal Investigation Department pressed charges against them and 20 others including Huji boss Mufti Abdul Hannan during the last caretaker government rule.
It arrested Babar after a court on August 3 ordered further investigation to find out the patrons of the attackers and suppliers of the grenades.
Akand, an additional superintendent of police at CID, said they had lately seized some documents and Tajuddin's journal following up information gleaned from Salam. The papers may hold important clues.
At present, the investigators are working to hunt down the others who had aided and abetted the Huji men in the attack.
Salam, now convener of Islamic Democratic Party, was earlier remanded for 14 days. He was arrested on November 2 for suspected links with the August 21 blasts.
During interrogation, he said he returned to Bangladesh after the end of Afghan war against former Soviet Union and formed Huji along with other war returnees.
He said they had trained many youths, mainly madrasa students, how to operate firearms and bombs. Most of their recruits came from Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Bangladesh.
They had also mobilised funds, arms and ammunition for insurgents in Kashmir of India.
But the going got tough after AL came to power in 1996.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The National Central Bureau (NCB), Interpol's regional office in Dhaka, has sent a letter to its Washington DC office seeking cooperation for deportation of fugitive Lt Col (retd) AM Rashed Chowdhury, a self-declared and convicted killer of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The NCB, Dhaka sent another letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking diplomatic assistance in this regard.
Besides, the NCB local office also renewed the red alert against nine fugitives in Bangabandhu assassination case, jail killing case and other killings that took place in 1975.
Sources say the NCB office in Washington DC had earlier informed the Dhaka office after Rashed Chowdhury sought permission of the US authorities for his permanent stay in America.
Soon after that, the NCB Dhaka office informed the foreign ministry about it and sought diplomatic aid in this regard, sources say.
Hasib Aziz, assistant inspector general of police (AIG), who is also in charge of Interpol in Dhaka, told The Daily Star they sent another letter to the Interpol headquarters in Leon in Franc informing the latest developments and verdict in Bangabandhu assassination case.
"We have also sought help to trace the other fugitive killers for their deportation", the AIG-Interpol said. "We have sent a letter to the NCB office in Washington DC and another to the foreign ministry regarding deportation of Rashed Chowdhury."
Asked, Aziz said the NCB Dhaka office has renewed the red alert notices against the fugitive killers and is also continuing conversation with the Interpol office in different countries regarding deportation of the fugitives.
In reply to a question, he said, "A country had sought details of another fugitive convict Lt Col (retd) SHMB Nur Chowdhury, who is now staying in Canada. We have already met their demands collecting information through the CID."
Apart from Nur and Rashed, the Interpol red notice includes the names of four other convicted killers -- Lt Col (retd) Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Lt Col (retd) Shariful Haque Dalim, Capt (retd) Abdul Mazed and Risalder Moslehuddin Khan.
Talking to The Daily Star, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nur Mohammad said, "The deportation of the fugitive killers of Bangabandhu depends on the move of the government and its diplomatic achievement."
"Interpol can help in the deportation process if the countries concerned reach a consensus", the IGP added.
Earlier on Monday, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said the Canadian police have seized the passport of Nur Chowdhury since he has been illegally staying in Canada and submitted it to the Bangladesh High Commission in July last year.
Another convicted killer Lt Col (retd) Dalim had visited Canada some days ago and left that country after staying there for a few days.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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The shadow minister for community cohesion and social action had been meeting local businesses with Tory candidates when she was attacked just before 5pm on Monday.
Up to 10 local British male protesters, believed to be members of the controversial Al Muhajiroun group, started shouting abuse at the Peer, accusing her of not being a proper Muslim and supporting the deaths of Muslims in Afghanistan. Members of the group then threw several eggs at her, with one hitting her on the side of the head and another soiling her jacket.
Baroness Warsi, the country's most powerful female Muslim, was not injured during the attack in the city's Bury Park area. Amid concerns for her safety, witnesses said Baroness Warsi refused to run from the group, but instead started remonstrating with them, later branding them "extremists" who did not represent the views of British Muslims. She later retreated into a sari shop.
Despite police being called, no one was arrested for the attack which was universally condemned by locals.
Brushing off the incident last night, the Tory Peer later addressed a local meeting, where she branded the group "idiots and vile" who did not represent Muslim views and were "clearly repulsed with me". She said they were similar to Nick Griffin, the British National Party leader, who only wanted to divide society and preach hatred.
It is believed the protesters were from the same group of Mulims who earlier this year marred the homecoming of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment through Luton. That protest, where they jeered 200 soldiers and waved placards calling them "Butchers of Basra", "murderers" and "baby-killers, led to fury from families of soldiers and was condemned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Britain's former most senior Muslim police officer, Tarique Ghaffur.
Baroness Warsi, who appeared on the BBC's Question Time alongside Mr Griffin last month, said she decided to stand up to the group because she wanted a proper debate with them. Instead, she said, the group failed to articulate any arguments and only "brought Muslims into disrepute".
"The people of Luton absolutely condemn these people," she told The Daily Telegraph after speaking at the local meeting. "British Muslims throughout the country are saying these people are doing this not in my name, they don't represent me in any way. Their views are not even in line with the faith of Islam. I would say to them they are like extremists and those people who preach hatred. They want to create tension and unrest."
She added: "There are underlying, very serious issues, very difficult issues to address but if I take these sorts of incidents too personally and take them to heart, we won't change anything.
"I am a criminal defence lawyer from Yorkshire, it is going to take a bit more than a few eggs to stop me. The last Tory to be pelted with eggs in Luton was John Major in 1992, and he went on to win the election, so maybe this is a really omen."
Saiful Islam, a member of the group which wants Sharia law to be implemented in Britain, denied his group were behind the attacks but added: "Baroness Warsi purports to be a Muslim but really she's just pushing a government agenda. She should be received with condemnation. She is clearly in opposition to Sharia."
Despite local residents urging her to press charges, Baroness Warsi declined.
[Kyodo: Korea] North Korea has redenominated its currency, the won, for the first time in 17 years, with the exchange rate between the old and new bills at 100 to 1, diplomatic sources and news reports said Tuesday. The North Korean Foreign Ministry notified foreign diplomats based in Pyongyang of the matter at a meeting Tuesday morning. But the ministry did not explain the reason for the step, the sources said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Seems fairly Obvious.
Zimbabwe two, coming very soon.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/02/2009 11:55 Comments ||
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Human rights organization B'Tselem heads the list of Israeli NGOs receiving funding from European governments.
According to a new report published by NGO Monitor and the Institute for Zionist Strategies, 16 Israeli NGOs received a total of NIS 31.5 million in European funding between the years 2006 and 2009.
B'Tselem, HaMoked and Yesh Din each received at least NIS 8.5m. in European funding, lead by B'Tselem, which received over NIS 12m. during that period, the report found.
These details emerged from a conference on the impact and transparency of European governments held at the Knesset on Tuesday afternoon.
"For over a decade European governments have been manipulating Israeli politics and promoting demonization by funding a narrow group of favored non-governmental organizations," said NGO Monitor's president Gerald Steinberg. A war soft-power style
[Al Arabiya Latest] Arab League chief Amr Moussa on Tuesday denounced a vote in Switzerland that banned the construction of any further minarets as the top United Nations rights official said the ban was linked to a growing wave of "anti-foreigner scaremongering."
Moussa, who heads the 22-member organization, told reporters that the ban, approved by almost 58 percent of Swiss voters on Sunday, was a "violation of the rights of Muslims living in Switzerland."
He added that he hoped "the issue will be treated by resorting to the authorities and human rights courts."
Muslim leaders and rights groups have condemned the ban, which will be included in Switzerland's constitution. The alpine country's four existing minarets will not be affected.
Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey said on Tuesday the ban endangered security.
"The reality of our societies, in Europe and in the world (is that) every blow to the co-existence of different cultures and religions also endangers our security," she said, according to a written transcript of her speech in Greece which was released by the ministry.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
What, no report of the veiled threats to loose the youts and have a couple of car-b-ques?
#8
what are "muslim Rights"
1. to be very offended by anything that doesnt have its origins within the offendees ego.
2. to wantonly maim or kill women who dont find the offendee to be "the best ever"
3. to insist that all cultures subscribe to the offendees ideas as law.
4. to be a dirty sand monkey ( I couldnt resist )
Posted by: Ulaimble Dark Lord of the Poles8907 ||
12/02/2009 13:21 Comments ||
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#10
Meanwhile, in most Muslim majority tyrannies, churches and synagogues and temples cannot be built. Bosnia - a heavy beneficiary of US aid - prohibits even maintenance of churches.
#11
Elementary civil rights and human rights of non-Muslims in the west are under siege. The OIC (including our Afghan and Turkish allies) is officially calling for sharia restrictions to be imposed on non-Muslims in Europe and America.
Prominent critics of Islam are marked men and women, they will be hunted for the rest of their lives. Moderate and friendly arab states like Jordan are waging a campaign of legal terror directed against these unfortunate individuals (international arrest warrants etc).
Politicians in the west have mostly acquiesced. Major institutions in the US no longer really believe that the 1st Amendment is the law of the land (Yale, MSM, Comedy Central, Hollywood won't show/print what is prohibited by sharia, for fear of their lives). Western countries as a whole have become finlandized jokes.
And now I am supposed to be alarmed by a "violation of Muslim Rights"?
Why, all of a sudden?
[Geo News] Pakistan Army plans to start recruitment from Swat and Malakand from December 8, Geo News reported Tuesday. Banners in this connection have been put on various places in the above-mentioned areas. In these banners, the youth in Swat and Malakand have been persuaded to join the Pakistan Army. The recruitment will continue from December 8 to 12, for which the Recruitment Centers have been set up in Charbagh, Kabal and Malakand. The applications will be received in Charbagh on December 8 and 9, in Kabal on December 10 and 11. The Malakand recruitment center will receive the application on December 12.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Pretty much a "screw hookers with AIDS" strategy...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/02/2009 0:11 Comments ||
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[Geo News] Pakistan Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the US should not leave Afghanistan for at least five years, Geo News reported Tuesday. Pakistan can cope well with extremism if provided with drone technology; therefore, the US should deliver this technology to the country, he said adding the US drone attacks pose a threat to security and sovereignty of Pakistan. He urged the US not to quit Afghanistan until the mission is completed. The FM Qureshi said the elimination of the terrorism is in the interest of both India and Pakistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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[The News (Pak) Top Stories] President Asif Zardari has finally made up his mind to become a titular head, or in common parlance a Rafiq Tarar, by also relinquishing even the most vital discretionary power to appoint services chiefs and the joint chiefs of staff committee chairman, his close aides say.
Federal ministers, who frequently interact with him, say the president has left no doubt in discussions with us that he is ready to give up the discretionary authority to nominate services chiefs and dissolve the National Assembly and dismiss the government under Article 58(2)b of the Constitution in favour of the prime minister.One federal minister told The News on condition of anonymity that Zardari was now saying that Yousuf Raza Gilani "is my and the PPP prime minister and if he has all these powers, my party and I would be empowered". The scrapping of the 17th amendment is now a matter of weeks not months, according to the president's mind."
These views of the president are in sharp contradiction to his actions in the past 20 months which has led to a massive uproar and his political position has weakened tremendously, analysts say.
The minister has no doubt to believe that the next chief of the Army staff would be appointed by the prime minister, not the president in his discretion, as this power would certainly be transferred to the premier much before the time of the key nomination.
Another minister said the only hitch is the agreement of the Awami National Party (ANP) to support the undoing of the 17th amendment and restoration of the original 1973 Constitution that, too, would be forthcoming if its demand to rename the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) as Pakhtoonkhwa was translated into reality.
"The president is in full unison with the ANP to rename the NWFP as Pakhtoonkhwa as the NWFP assembly has unanimously passed a resolution to the effect," the minister said. Only the PML-N, he said, doesn't agree to the new name, therefore, it should talk to the ANP to hammer out an agreement on some consensus nomenclature of the NWFP.
He said it was not the present government but the previous regime that had made the president head of the national command authority. Now, he said, its chairmanship has been moved to the prime minister from the president.
About the implementation of the Charter of Democracy (CoD), the minister said the president would accept its almost every provision but not the one relating to the establishment of a federal constitutional court because it would curtail the powers of the Supreme Court.
Anybody insisting on the enforcement of this clause, he said, wants the government to be at war with the apex court. "So far, our actions speak that we have not resorted to any step that leads to confrontation with the Supreme Court in any way," he said.
Apart from the PPP, the minister said, the PML-Q is also opposed to the creation of the constitutional court. Clause 4 of the CoD, if implemented, will split the present powers of the Supreme Court as the constitutional court will be set up to resolve constitutional issues, giving equal representation to each of the federating units, whose members may be judges or persons qualified to be judges of the apex court. It will be constituted for a six-year tenure. Its members will be appointed in the same manner as judges of the superior judiciary.
Yet another minister said the president has noted with satisfaction the change in the tone and tenor of opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, which augured well for the democratic dispensation. However, he said there were a few hawks in the PML-N, who wanted to keep the government under tremendous attack, finally leading it to collapse.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
bottom line IIUC - the return to the earlier constitution means less power for Zardari, but leaves PPP in control, with support from PMLQ.
PMLN and Sharif unable to take power, as yet.
The NWFP name thing is odd, and perhaps deserves its own thread
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] The Obama administration is seriously worried about the fast weakening grip of President Asif Zardari in Pakistan and on Monday two top US newspapers predicted, in powerful reports by seven leading writers and correspondents, that the Zardari regime seemed to be near collapse.
The New York Times in a report filed by five correspondents said: "The problems in Afghanistan have only been compounded by the fragility of Mr Obama's partner in Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari, who is so weak that his government seems near collapse."
The Washington Post in a report by two correspondents said: "Zardari's political weakness is an additional hazard for a new bilateral relationship. The administration expects Zardari's position to continue to weaken, leaving him as a largely ceremonial president even if he manages to survive in office."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] A UN human rights expert warned on Monday that a Swiss referendum vote banning new minarets restricted religious freedom and violated Switzerland's international treaty obligations.
'I therefore urge the Swiss authorities to abide by all its international obligations and to take the necessary measures to fully protect the right to freedom of religion or belief of members of the Muslim community,' said Asma Jahangir, UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.
'As also stated by the United Nations Human Rights Committee a month ago, such a ban is contrary to Switzerland's obligations under international human rights law,' the statement released by the United Nations added.
In a referendum on Sunday, more than 57 per cent of voters approved a right wing proposal to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland.
The vote had no impact on mosques themselves or religious worship, according to the Swiss government, which had opposed the ban.
However, Jahangir insisted that a ban marked 'clear discrimination' against Switzerland's Muslim community.
'I have deep concerns at the negative consequences that the outcome of the vote will have on the freedom of religion or belief of members of the Muslim community in Switzerland.'
'Indeed, a ban on minarets amounts to an undue restriction of the freedom to manifest one's religion and constitutes a clear discrimination against members of the Muslim community in Switzerland,' she added.
The 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Switzerland has ratified along with 164 other countries, obliges governments to protect and respect freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
The Swiss Green Party has also said that it was considering an appeal against the ban to the European Court of Human Rights.
The Swiss People's Party, the country's biggest political group and the only mainstream force to back the ban, warned Monday that it would rather pull out of international treaties than submit to a UN or European decision.
Although it captured some 28 per cent of the vote in the last general election, the right wing SVP cannot command a parliamentary majority on its own.
Freedom of worship is one of the cornerstones of Switzerland's founding constitution.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
They'll revoke your nationality, you just watch...
#4
what a moron, everyone is free to worship anyway they like, they just cant build muslim steeples. The UN and it's 3rd world cronies( read simpletons who just got a taste of the "so called" Good life of the western world ) overstep their bounds and need to rethink their "mud hut" upbringing and get down off the high horse and step into reality.
#7
would you guys be cool if Israel didnt allow new christian churches?
There is an increasing number of Muslim meeting houses in Switzerland, liberal hawk, whatever one chooses to call them. What is being forbidden is the addition of minarets. Architecturally speaking, that's like building churches without bell towers.
The ten-month moratorium on new settlement construction is a "one-time, temporary offer," warned Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu when he spoke Tuesday night at an economic conference in Airport City, just outside of Ben-Gurion Airport.
"We took this step out of a deep desire to start anew negotiations for peace with the Palestinians," said Netanyahu.
Should the Palestinians not return to the negotiations table, he said, "We will resume building. The future of Judea and Samaria will be determined by a final status agreement and not one day before then," said Netanyahu. "Maybe the horse will learn to sing" has been Jews' principal survival policy for 2000 years. But maybe, just maybe, this is the time for an alternate approach?
#1
stupid sand monkeys never should have attacked in '68. Getting their asses handed to them didnt seem to keep them from whining about lost territory (spoils of war). too bad stupid sand monkeys, you're looooosers and will always be.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the regime will return to settlement construction after a "temporary" moratorium on new construction in the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu said on Tuesday that a 10-month settlement freeze he had earlier announced was only a "one-time, temporary" move, the Israeli media reported.
Israel has rejected all international demands for the permanent freeze on building settlements in the occupied territories.
"The future final-status accord in Judea and Samaria will be determined at the end of negotiations and not a day earlier," he added.
He made the remarks amid sharp criticism from Israeli rightists who vowed to defy the government decision and "do everything" to continue the constructions.
The building of settlements in the occupied territories has been a key point of contention in the 'peace' talks between the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority. The Islamic Hamas resistance movement rejects peace talks with the Israeli regime and insists than peace for Palestinians will only come through resistance.
"I know the decision not to approve any additional construction is not easy to accept. It's not easy for the settlers, and it's hard even for me," he proclaimed.
Earlier in the day, West Bank settlers clashed with inspectors who were to enforce the moratorium on construction, a military official said.
Israel keeps 242 settlements in the West Bank, where more than 187,000 settlers live.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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the headline here is based on Iran Press TV's reading of Bibi's words, which to me seem tendentious.
He said it was a temporary move. That to me is not a promise to start building again when its over - its a message to the Arabs that he expects reciprocation - at the very least a PA return to negotiations, and probably some diplo concessions from the Arab states. IF he does not get that, THEN he will start building in the settlements again.
#2
Duh! Arabs can live in Israel, ergo: Jews can live in the west bank of the Jordan.
Reminder: over 2,000,000 Christians have been coerced out of their Holy Lands since 1948. Yet, the numbers of Israeli Arabs increases exponentially. Someone is being screwed and it isn't the arab.
#3
Arabs can live in Israel, ergo: Jews can live in the west bank of the Jordan.
Except it doesn't work that way, Enver Crerens8778. A major point of Palestinian 'negotiations' has ever been that upon conclusion the Palestinian territories must be completely free of all Jewish communities.
I'm not at all certain what the rest of your post means. Perhaps you would be good enough to explain it to me in smaller words? Thank you.
[Al Arabiya Latest] An irate Israel slammed the European Union on Tuesday for the group's planned proposal to call for east Jerusalem to be named the capital of a future Palestinian state, dividing what Tel Aviv labels its "eternal capital."
The official proposal is set to be put forward by EU foreign ministers on Dec.7 when they will call for Jerusalem to be divided to serve as capitals for both Israel and Palestine, Israel's Haaretz reported, citing a copy of the draft document it obtained.
The document is also said to "imply" that the EU will recognize a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood, a move which the Palesitnian Authority said last month they would seek from the United Nations.
The draft seeks to offer a solution one of the core obstacles to peace and although changes favorable to Israel were made there is reportedly "no chance" of preventing the EU from proposing the division of Jerusalem.
The Europeans hope the draft will help encourage the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table amid a tense row over Israel's continued and defiant settlement building, often seen as land grabbing, in both the West Bank and Jerusalem.
The draft calls on "all parties to refrain from provocative actions" and stating the EU Council "has never recognized the annexation of East Jerusalem. If there is to be a genuine peace, a way must be found to resolve the status of Jerusalem as capital of two states."
The draft states a goal of establishing "an independent, democratic, contiguous and viable state of Palestine, comprising the West Bank and Gaza and with East Jerusalem as its capital."
The document also rejects changes made by Israel to the 1967 borders and said the EU would "be able, at the appropriate time, to recognize a Palestinian state."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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And Israel will give the EU to the Arabs. So there. I know which one I am placing my bets will occur first.
Posted by: ed ||
12/02/2009 0:22 Comments ||
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The Dimona association of mushroom growers is prepared to object in strongest terms possible.
while there has been talk of a highway corridor from Gaza to the WB, with Israeli bridges above a sunken roadway, I don't think that was what the Euros were thinking of. I think it meant that the West bank areas should be contiguous, and they didnt edit the document carefully.
[Ma'an] The UNRWA budget will reach zero by the New Year and threaten the regular payment of salaries for UNRWA workers as well as the level of services for refugees, the organization's media consultant Adnan Abu Hasana said Tuesday from Gaza.
Large international donors are not paying what they used to, the number of individuals depending on UNRWA services are increasing, and several Arab states have failed to follow-through on aid pledges, the spokesman said.
The shortfall comes despite tireless work by the general commissioner of UNRWA, Abu Hasana said, and is principally the result of some of the "big powers" failing to continue their support of UN and humanitarian projects.
Contributing reasons for the shortfall, Abu Hasana said, is the growing number of refugees that do not fit under the original mandate of UNRWA. Palestinians evicted from their homes and those displaced by the most recent war on Gaza are not eligible for UNRWA aid, but face dire living conditions.
Additionally, Abu Hasana said, Arab countries have no fulfilled their commitments to the League of Arab States, which pledged to pay 8% of UNRWA's budget. The official added that last year the Arab League was only able to transfer payments amounting to 1% of the UNRWA budget.
The largest donors for UNRWA and its services are: the United States, the European Commission, Britain, Sweden, Japan, Canada, and the Gulf Arab states.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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Does it means that, for the first time since they were invented, Palestinians will have to work for a living?
[Dawn] Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka on Tuesday allowed nearly 127,000 Tamil refugees to leave squalid and overrun government camps where they have been detained since the country's civil war ended six months ago, an official said.
Some 300,000 war refugees were forced into the camps after fleeing the war zone in the the final months of the government's decades-long fight with the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, which ended in May.
The ethnic-minority Tamils were held against their will, surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by soldiers in Vavuniya district, 260 kilometres (160 miles) north of Colombo. The government maintained that the Tamils had to be screened for rebel ties and that land mines had to be removed from their villages before they could return.
'Today more than 1,000 families consisting of about 6,000 persons have already exited the camps,' N. Thirugnanasampanther, a senior civil servant in Vavuniya, said on Tuesday.
'Transport out of the camps is a problem but people seem to be very happy to leave.' He said that the detainees were unlikely to be able to return to their homes immediately, and would probably remain based in the camps for now.
Rights groups have called the detention an illegal form of collective punishment for the ethnic group.
More than half were released in recent months amid pressure from rights groups and foreign governments, and the remaining 127,000 could apply to leave starting Tuesday under a plan announced by the government last month.
After registering with camp officials, the detainees are free to leave, transfer to another camp or stay, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakara said. The camps will be closed completely by Jan. 31.
The United Nations has welcomed the government's decision to close the camp, but has said it is waiting to find out how the registration process for departing detainees works.
Government troops routed the Tamil Tigers in May, ending their 25-year fight for an independent homeland for the country's minority Tamils. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 people were killed in the violence.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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[AFP] Five British yachtsmen joyfully decked their vessel with UAE flags as they reached Dubai on Wednesday after Iran accepted they had strayed accidentally into the country's waters and released them.
Wearing white shirts with "crew" on the back, the men were all smiles as they came ashore, shaking hands and embracing waiting friends.
"We are fine ... It is a great relief... Everybody is feeling great to have this all behind us," one of the men, David Bloomer, told Sky News by telephone. "We were treated very well. We are all extremely happy to be free. They towed us out to international waters, we dropped the sails and here we are," according to an audio recording broadcast by the television station.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards, whose naval forces patrol Gulf waters, said the men had been interrogated and, "after investigation, it became evident that their illegal entry was a mistake."
"So they were freed after taking the needed written commitments."
The five had been held since November 25 when they strayed into Iranian waters as they headed from Bahrain to Dubai for a race. The yacht, "The Kingdom of Bahrain," was stopped on November 25. Andrew Pindar, chairman of the Sail Bahrain team, which owns the yacht, said the vessel might have entered Iranian waters due to a damaged propeller.
It was believed to have been intercepted near the Iranian-controlled island of Abu Musa, whose ownership is disputed by Iran and the United Arab Emirates, a Bahraini interior ministry source told AFP.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Days after the issuance of a resolution by the UN nuclear watchdog against Iran's nuclear work, the country's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the resolution has no legal basis as Iran's activities are not in breach of the nuclear pact.
Speaking to Press TV on Tuesday, Iran's envoy to the IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh said the Islamic Republic, which is a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), has not committed any breach of its obligations.
The remarks came as earlier on Thursday the six major world powers drafted a resolution at the UN nuclear watchdog against Iran's nuclear work.
The draft, backed by the United States, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China, was presented at the year-end meeting of IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors on Friday.
The IAEA passed the resolution which called on Iran to stop all construction work at its new enrichment plant -- Fordo -- and confirm there are no more nuclear sites that the agency must be aware of.
Soltanieh explained about the cited plant and construction work at the site, saying, "What we have done in fact is that we have informed [the agency] much sooner than we were obliged [to]."
The Iranian official was pointing to an IAEA Safeguards Agreement under which Tehran is only obliged to inform the IAEA of the existence of enrichment plants six months before the facility becomes operational.
Soltanieh went on to address concerns about what he described as a confusing matter in the latest IAEA report on Iran's nuclear activities.
"One thing has created confusion that I want to clarify here... If you read the DG [IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei] report you can read between the lines and find out that [the] DG has not used words like breach, violation, or noncompliance for this issue... it just says this is not 'consistent'," the Iranian envoy said.
Soltanieh was explaining about a part in the IAEA's November report which complained about Iran's "delay" in making public its new enrichment plant.
"Iran's failure to notify the agency of the new facility until September 2009 was inconsistent with its obligations under the Subsidiary Arrangements to its Safeguards Agreement," read the last IAEA report on Iran.
The Subsidiary Arrangements refers to Code 3.1, which Iran agreed to voluntarily implement on February 26, 2003 after the establishment of the Natanz nuclear power plant.
The modified Code 3.1, demands the Tehran government to inform the agency of the existence of and plans for nuclear plants before construction begins.
Iran observed the modified Code 3.1 from February 2003 to March 2007.
However, in February 2007, the IAEA Board of Governors sent Iran's nuclear dossier to the United Nations Security Council which resulted in sanctions resolutions against the Islamic Republic over its enrichment work.
In retaliation, Iran announced in March 2007 that it would no longer voluntarily observe the modified Code 3.1, and would revert to the original version of Code 3.1, which only obliges countries to inform the UN nuclear watchdog of the existence of enrichment plants 180 days before the introduction of nuclear materials into the facility.
Iran's ambassador to the IAEA went on to react to the recent UN nuclear watchdog resolution issued against Iran prompted by ElBaradei's last report on Iranian nuclear work, saying "they do not have a[ny] justification for this and [for] blaming Iran."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2009 00:00 ||
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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.
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] The Obama administration is seriously worried about the fast weakening grip of President Asif Zardari in Pakistan and on Monday two top US newspapers predicted, in powerful reports by seven leading writers and correspondents, that the Zardari regime seemed to be near collapse.
