Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai said Saturday that he personally held peace talks recently with the insurgent faction Hizb-i-Islami, appearing to assert his own role in a U.S.-led bid for negotiations to end the country's decade-long war.
Karzai made the announcement hours before he was to meet with American special representative Marc Grossman to discuss progress and plans for bringing the Taliban insurgency into formal talks for the first time.
"Recently, we met with a delegation from Hizb-i-Islami ... and had negotiations," Karzai told a meeting of the Afghan parliament, adding, "We are hopeful that these negotiations for peace continue and we will have good results."
Hizb-i-Islami is a radical Islamist militia that controls territory in Afghanistan's northeast and launches attacks against U.S. forces from Pakistan. Its leader, powerful warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, is a former U.S. ally now listed as a terrorist by Washington.
The president has met before with representatives of Hekmatyar, whose political allies hold seats in the Afghan parliament and Cabinet, but Saturday's public announcement seemed intended to bolster Karzai's insistence on inclusion in the U.S.-led peace process.
[An Nahar] Sudan on Friday rejected any plan for an aid "corridor" to war-torn southern states after the United States warned of a possible "horrific" famine affecting civilians in the area.
Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... , said on Tuesday the Security Council "would have to review a variety of other options" to get food to people in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states if famine breaks out.
She did not elaborate.
"The Sudan government refuses completely any plan for secure corridors to send the aid to South Kordofan and Blue Nile" unless Sudanese organizations and the national Humanitarian Affairs Commission are involved, the official SUNA news agency reported.
This is to ensure that aid does not reach rebel fighters, it said.
Food shortages would become critical without substantial aid deliveries by March, Rice said, accusing the Khartoum government of instituting "a deliberate policy" of blocking aid agencies from reaching civilians in the conflict zones.
"We have doubts" about Rice's comments on the humanitarian situation, SUNA quoted Suliman Abdul Rahman, the country's humanitarian chief, as saying.
"We want Susan Rice to tell us the source of the information," he said.
The government has cited security concerns in severely restricting foreign aid organizations within the two states, where fighting erupted several months ago.
Abdul Rahman said the government does not want a repeat of Operation Lifeline Sudan, which began in 1989 and allowed international agencies to provide relief to victims of Sudan's civil war.
He said that aid effort prolonged the fighting.
Princeton Lyman, the U.S. special envoy to Sudan, on Wednesday called on South Africa to pressure Khartoum to let international aid groups into Blue Nile and South Kordofan.
"There is time to prevent a horrific tragedy," Lyman said.
Sudan's U.N. ambassador accused international aid workers of using U.N. flights to carry arms and ammunition for the rebels -- a claim for which the U.N.'s top humanitarian official said there was "no evidence."
Valerie Amos said the U.N. is negotiating with the African Union and 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... about providing observers in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, "to perhaps give the government of Sudan the confidence that they are looking for."
The U.N. backed statements by the United States that there could be a famine in the two states unless urgent aid is allowed in, and estimates that more than 500,000 people have been displaced or severely affected by the fighting.
The government is battling ethnic rebels once allied to snuffies who now rule in South Sudan which became independent from Khartoum last July after decades of civil war.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2012 00:00 ||
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[Magharebia] In a step described as new and surprising, Jamaat Dawa wa Attabligh ("Society for Call and Spreading Faith") in Mauritania announced last month that it was willing to co-operate with the government.
The moderate Islamist group made the announcement following a December 25th meeting with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. The statement was the first political message of the group since its establishment in Mauritania several decades ago. Jamaat Attabligh had previously been known for its centrist views and avoidance of politics.
In a statement issued by group front man Inejih Ould Sidna after the presidential meeting, Jamaat Attabligh said the discussions were motivated by a desire to "spread the culture of peace among the different components of society and enhance peace in the universe".
"We want good for everyone, and we co-operate with everyone in the nation, whether kings, presidents, rich or poor," the statement added.
Group member Abdelbarka Ould Tayeb told Magharebia that the president discussed ways to create people "moderate in their thought away from religious deviation or extremism".
"Our main goal is the reform of real, tolerant and peaceful Moslem, as by reforming the human being, the entire Moslem nation will be reformed and will distance itself from exaggeration," Ould Tayeb said, adding that the meeting was "not political in nature".
Some Mauritanian observers considered the meeting with Ould Abdel Aziz as the first official contact between the group and Mauritanian authorities in several years. The meeting also comes amid noticeable tensions in relations between the Moslem Brüderbund, represented by the Tawassoul Party, and the current regime in the country, according to analyst Mokhtar Salem.
"Ould Abdel Aziz's meeting with Jamaat Dawa Wa Attabligh explains the current regime's desire to attract all Islamist movements, such as Jamaat Dawa Wa Attabligh and Sufi orders, as an alternative for the Moslem Brüderbund. This is because the Moslem Brüderbund is now posing a major electoral threat in Mauritania after they dominated elections in other Maghreb countries and Egypt," Salem added.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2012 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Dressed in green military fatigues and clutching CVs under their arms, young Libyans who fought Muammar Qadaffy ... who is now deader than a rock... are now signing up to register for government jobs.
Some of these men spent months fighting Qadaffy's forces on the front lines of the conflict that erupted last February and have provided security on Libya's streets since fighting ended in October, after Qadaffy was killed.
Now these former rebels are trickling into the interior ministry, looking for jobs with the new security forces, part of a recruitment campaign the government hopes will lead to the disbanding of militias across Libya.
"Name, birthday, brigade?" asked a registrar at the Ain Zara recruitment center area on the outskirts of Tripoli, wearing a cap that says "Free Libya."
Khaled Milad, 24, said he left law school to join one of several militias that sprang up to fight Qadaffy and now wants to join the security services to "help protect the country" in the post-Qadaffy era.
"Militias have no future; we do not want to become like Somalia," said Milad, who served with a brigade in Khoms, about 160 kilometers east of Tripoli.
Tens of thousands of Libyans like Milad, including teenagers who left school, joined the rebellion that led to Qadaffy's death on October 20.
But with the conflict over, the men who helped topple his regime remain organized in armed brigades across the country and often clash among themselves.
Libya's new military and police are far from fully operational and these forces of Evil have stepped in to provide security on the streets.
Libya's new rulers want to disband the militias and to stamp out fears that their weapons -- including heavy arms, anti-aircraft guns and artillery tanks -- could spread across the country or over its borders.
The government estimates that there are about 200,000 former rebels that need to be disarmed, and hopes that some 50,000 will be integrated into the army or police.
Others could be eligible for government financial aid, either to start a small business or complete their education.
"We want security," said Salem Attig, a former member of Qadaffy's military who became a commander in the Khoms brigade and was standing outside the center with some 20 young fighters in Ain Zara.
He told Agence La Belle France Presse his brigade had already surrendered its weapons to the authorities.
The registration process requires each recruit to declare if he possesses a gun and give a commitment to hand it over.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
It is always a problem after a conflict what to do with the fighter?
[Bangla Daily Star] Ishraq Ahmed, one of the conspirators behind the army coup attempt as described by the army on Thursday, studied at Rajshahi Cadet College during the 70s and maintained connections with many of his friends who joined the army during the 80s.
Sources in the army said they have information that Ishraq had been involvement in many instances of army indiscipline in the past.
Ishraq became a drug addicted after completing his Higher Secondary Certificate examinations in 1980, according to locals.
The Daily Star yesterday went to Ishraq's house, Din Monjil of Chakdebpara in Naogaon town, to get details on Ishraq but none of his family responded. Contacted over mobile phone, Ishraq's father refused to say anything about his son.
Locals say Ishraq's father MA Rakib sent him to Dhaka in 1981.
His elder brother Ishtiaq Ahmed is now in Australia while his two sisters Iku and Tonu are now in Pakistain with their husbands.
Ishraq's father served as the president of National Awami Party (Nap) of Naogaon district unit several times. Locals still know him as a Nap leader although he is now inactive in the party. He was elected chairman of Naogaon municipality in 1977.
Ishraq's mother Umme Kulsum Jannatun Ferdous is the retired headmistress of Naogaon Government Girls High School.
According to the army statement made on Thursday, one of the main plotters of the coup Maj Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque on January 10 communicated with Ishraq, who is possibly living in Hong Kong, about "developments and execution process of the coup".
Locals told The Daily Star that a Bihari man, Aftab, rented their house before the country's independence. During the Liberation War, Aftab became the chief of Al-Badr in Naogaon.
The district was freed on December 18 from the Pak occupation forces when the freedom fighters caught Aftab and confined him to a room of KD High School in the town. Two days later, when Aftab was freed, he decamped from the town and went to Pakistain through India.
Aftab and Ishraq's family had good relations. After the weddings of Ishraq's two sisters, they went to Pakistain with their husbands--elder sister Iku in 1980 and younger sister Tonu in 1988. Aftab helped them to go to Pakistain and also managed jobs for the two husbands.
The neighbours said they only know Ishraq is involved in business in Dhaka. They learnt about Ishraq's involvement in conspiracy against the government after watching TV reports and reading newspapers.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2012 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Different political parties yesterday came up with their reaction to the army announcement made at a presser that it had foiled a plan to topple the government.
BNP
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, acting secretary general of BNP, yesterday said his party believes in power transfer only through a democratic process, not in any other way.
He also rejected the allegation made by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that late president Ziaur Rahman, founder of BNP, killed 17 air force officers when a coup took place in 1977.
Hasina was addressing a view exchange with Khagrachhari Awami League leaders on Thursday, hours before the army's press briefing.
On Thursday, BNP made no comment on the army statement or the prime ministerial remark.
Mirza Alamgir yesterday claimed that it was Ziaur Rahman who had established discipline in the armed forces.
"BNP believes in democratic power handover, not in any other way," he said while talking to news hounds after placing a wreath at a monument built for those who were killed in the 2001 kaboom on a Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) rally.
"Such remarks by the head of the government will harm the country's democracy. We condemn it," he said, adding that BNP always wants to see the army, which is the symbol of illusory sovereignty, disciplined.
Asked about the army briefing, the BNP leader said his party believes in democracy and that is why it always stands against autocracy and one-party rule.
Meanwhile, ...back at the sandwich shop, Caroline was experimenting with ingredients of increasing volatility... the party's standing committee member, Nazrul Islam Khan, claimed that BNP did not introduce military rule in the country. Rather, it was Awami League leaders who are responsible for the imposition of first martial law in Bangladesh.
"BNP always believes in democracy," he said while addressing a discussion organised by Swadhinata Forum at the Jatiya Press Club yesterday to mark the 76th birth anniversary of Ziaur Rahman.
He said Awami League leaders came to power by declaring martial law after the liquidation of Shiekh Mujibur Rahman in 1975.
JSD
The party yesterday condemned the coup attempt by some derailed army officials.
In a joint statement, JSD President Hasanul Haque Inu and General Secretary Sharif Nurul Ambia congratulated the army on its timely action and also for making the matter public.
The statement said people were filled with apprehension about a possible conspiracy while the war crimes trial got momentum. "The people's apprehension has now become a reality."
"Religious fanatic groups active in the country should not be undermined," it read.
The two leaders urged all secular and democratic people to be united against any conspiracy against the ongoing war crimes trial.
They also recommended looking into whether the recent comments of opposition BNP leaders have any link with the failed coup.
BANGLADESH WORKERS PARTY
Bangladesh Workers Party demanded those involved with the anti-state scheme be unmasked and brought to trial.
In a written statement, the politburo, the highest policymaking body of the left leaning party, congratulated the army for frustrating the putsch.
The statement said the plot involving some derailed army officials aimed to impede the democratic process and serve political interest of a vested quarter.
Conspiracy by communal forces at a time when the government is holding the war crimes trial means nothing but efforts to implement their cut-thoat agenda, said the statement.
It is clear that the recent provocative speech of top politicians, atrocities of Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... and BNP's unscheduled programme on December 18 paved the way for execution of such design, said the statement.
It also urged all secular, leftist and democratic forces to work together to resist such move and also protect the people's rights.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pond, the radioactive tadpoles grown into frogs. Really big frogs, in fact... the party chief, Rashed Khan Menon, told The Daily Star that the army has played its due role.
"I hope that the army will continue their service showing respect to the constitution and democracy like this time."
Congratulating the government for not keeping the nation in the dark over the matter, Menon said if the people are united and well informed about such ill-attempts, they themselves can put those down.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
I can imagine the confusion:
"Overthrow the government? When did we get a government?"
I thought a coup means someone WANTS to govern the place...who would EVER want to govern Bangladesh, in their right mind that is....oops oh never mind, I forgot the Islamonuts and Islamonazis
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
01/21/2012 18:11 Comments ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] One of the main suspects of the recent coup attempt in the army, Maj Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque, who is absconding, used a roaming UK mobile SIM card to speak about the plot with at least 11 army officers of different ranks, army sources said.
He also used hi-tech software to operate on the internet through his laptop, said the sources adding that his detailed bio-data along with his photo has been sent to different cantonments and other law enforcement agencies to track him down.
A bigwig in the army told The Daily Star yesterday that Zia, a former student of the Military Institute of Science and Technology, is very intelligent and an expert in information technology, and that is why it has been hard for the authorities to trace him.
He was commissioned as an army officer through the 41 long course of Bangladesh Military Academy.
Zia had long telephone conversations with some mid-ranking and junior officers at different cantonments and tried to inspire them to move towards Dhaka with their forces to make the plot successful on the night of Jan 10 or 11, the sources said.
Army Sherlocks found involvement of Zia, who hails from Mostafapur village of Moulvibazar district, while interrogating Lt Col (retd) Ehsan Yusuf after his arrest on December 15 from his Matikata residence near Dhaka Cantonment along with his laptop.
Another suspect Maj (retd) Zakir is also currently jugged.
The suspected planners of the coup attempt were propagating among some army officers establishment of Islamic rule in the country by toppling the incumbent elected government, the sources said.
They also planned to make senior army officers ministers of their government if their plot became successful, the sources added.
Army Sherlocks are now trying to unearth the detail of the plan.
The army on Thursday said it foiled a "coup attempt to overthrow the present democratic government".
A band of religious fanatics, comprising mid-ranking officers and their retired colleagues, was involved in the failed putsch, Brig Gen Muhammad Mashud Razzaq said at a press briefing.
At the instigation of some non-resident Bangladeshis, they sought to "disrupt democracy by creating anarchy in the army, cashing in on the fanaticism of others", said an army statement.
Father of Zia, Syed Zillul Haque, a businessman, told The Daily Star over the phone last night that he was urging his son, through the media, to report to his senior officers immediately to show respect to the army and the law of the country. "None including my son is above the motherland and its law," he said from his Baridhara DOHS residence in the capital.
Zillul claimed that he has no contact with Zia since December 23 last year. He said many people wanted to know about Zia's whereabouts but he does not know.
He said Zia used to be a moderate practicing Moslem, but he submerged himself in hardline religiosity after his first wife died of cancer. Asked whether he believes Zia was involved in the plot against the army and the government, Zillul said he could not say for sure until he talks to his son.
The army sources said Maj Zia had been absent from work for 21 days once without any permission. Back then his unprofessional behaviour was forgiven because he is a recipient of the sword of honour.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2012 00:00 ||
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North Korea is struggling to free itself from a mountain of debt the economic basket case incurred mainly from friendly communist countries during the Cold War. Seoul estimates North Korea's external debt at about US$20 billion as of this year, borrowed chiefly from the Soviet Union and East European countries before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Since its economy deteriorated in the 1990s, the North has failed to repay the principal and interest on the loans from almost all creditor countries. It has borrowed huge amounts of money from European banks but has not paid off most of the debt, and some of the banks have put the North on a blacklist and even refuse to receive fresh savings deposits from the regime.
Russia has reportedly written off some of about $8 billion of North Korean debt for the sake of better bilateral relations. Since the 2000s, Pyongyang has held negotiations with its creditor nations on repaying its debts by installments over 30 years. It seems that Russia wrote off part of the North's debt in exchange for participation in natural resources development in the North.
With the economy worsening further, the North asked Hungary to write off more than 90 percent of its outstanding debt when the financial crisis hit in 2008, the Financial Times reported. But Hungary reportedly wrote off only part of the debt.
The North also asked the Czech Republic to write off 95 percent of some $10 million in debts. It offered to pay the rest or about $500,000 in ginseng.
The regime is also seeking ways to pay off its debts in munitions materials if negotiations do not work out. Pyongyang has reportedly discussed with Iran ways to pay off debts amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars in small submarines.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/21/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
I am hoping that North Korea buys a lot more from Iran on credit.
#3
Oh yeah, you know its going to be a fancy name for it. Move along there's, nothing here that's important. "These aren't the drones you are looking for".
#4
$500,000 in ginseng for repayment. That's a good one. Will have to research who are the European banks who were stupid enough to loan the Norks money. The should be stuck with the worthless debt.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/21/2012 14:39 Comments ||
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#5
I expect that NK will soon discover that approximately $9.99 will buy the Parker Brother's game Monopoly which includes probably $10K in currency. They wouldn't have to purchase all that many to games to pay off their Czech tab. They may also note that purchases of the game Life also include some stock and insurance certificates. The tin figurines in Monopoly could also be melted down and turned into something. Let Juche be your guide.
Alternately, Norks could tell their Czech creditors that they sent the check to the Slovak's.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/21/2012 18:34 Comments ||
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Turkish customs officials intercepted four trucks on Tuesday suspected of carrying military equipment from Iran to Syria, a Turkish provincial governor.
The governor of Kilis province said the trucks were confiscated at the Oncupinar border crossing into Syria after police received information about their cargo, according to Dogan news agency.
"The four trucks were confiscated by customs. They are alleged to be carrying military equipment," Governor Yusuf Odabas said. He said experts were being sent from Ankara to examine the cargo.
The Turks traditionally haven't liked Russian meddling in the Middle East, and they especially don't like it now.
Turkey imposed economic sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad's government in November, having earlier implemented an arms embargo in protest at Assad's violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters who took to the streets in March.
Turkey abandoned its past friendship with Assad to side with protesters, and has set up camps on its southeast border to host thousands of refugees who have fled the violence in their homeland.
Four trucks with Iranian license plates that were stopped two weeks ago in southern Turkey on the border with Syria were found to be carrying raw materials for making ballistic missiles and chemical weapons, Turkish daily Taraf reported Friday, after Iran denied that the trucks were transporting weapons material to Sryia.
While Turkish officials did not publicize the contents of the cargo in the Iranian trucks, Taraf reported that one truck was carrying for six-meter-long cylindrical tanks and heat-resistant materials, while the other three vehicles were transporting 66 tons of sodium sulfate, which can be used to make chemical weapons.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/21/2012 15:21 Comments ||
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#2
I try to remain positive, but the day-to-day strategic intentions of the leadership in Turkey always keep me guessing Therefore, Ill go with my gut, WRONG!
The owner of the Atlanta Jewish Times weekly caused an uproar when he suggested that Israel consider "a hit" on US President Barack Obama "in order to preserve Israel's existence" in case Iran obtains nuclear capabilities.
In his column, published last week, Andrew Adler laid out what he said were three options available to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in countering the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program. One of the options was to "give the go-ahead for US-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice-president to take his place, and forcefully dictate that the United States' policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its enemies."
The other two options, according to Adler, are to attack Hezbollah and Hamas or defy the US -- which he said is willing to let Israel "take a lethal bullet."
According to Adler, who later apologized for his column, Obama has an "Alice in Wonderland" belief in diplomacy over force.
#1
This is just one more in a growing list of over-the-top reactions to the US and Obama's policies. I find this frightening because it seems to evidence real fear and desperation from many people not prone to such.
That this is a reaction to the total lack of leadership to confront various and sundry threats by this clique is not a surprise.
When those who are counted on to deal with crises instead foment them and try to increase their own power and wealth at the expense of all others the rest of the usually peaceful animals feel backed into a corner and turn vicious in self defense.
Where this goes and how far it goes is terrible to contemplate.
#2
Whatta maroon. Hope you enjoy your imminent not-too-friendly visit from these guys.
Seriously, folks. I yield to nobody in my contempt for the fifth-column Marxist whose presence currently defiles the Oval Office. But I am goddamned if I'd support anyone who would wish to make this empty-suited traitor into a sacred martyr. I don't want Ogabe to wind up memorialized with a 100-foot golden statue on the DC Mall; I want him driven out of the Presidency in the most humiliating manner possible, to live to a VERY old age with people pointing at him in the street and asking "gee, isn't that the guy who made Jimmy Carter look like a cross between Abe Lincoln and Otto von Bismarck?"
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
01/21/2012 13:51 Comments ||
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#3
Well said, Ricky bin Ricardo. No matter the momentary provocation, we do not go there. While Mr. Adler is correct that President Obama's approach threatens Israel, his answer is completely unacceptable.
#8
#7 Troll is from Hawaii. Prolly FLOTUS at a fling somewhere.
Only wants to make you think it's from Hawaii...like somebody else *ahem*
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/21/2012 16:31 Comments ||
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#9
RbR,
The frightening thing is not that someone will do this, though I think the result may not be quite as neat as you propose. I don't like that idea any better than you. It's that many different kinds of people are spinning out of control due to this wannabe dictator and his regime.
I fear that there is a tipping point when all hell just might break loose. Not just here in the US but many other places due to the total lack of mature hands on the controls of the US.
#10
I don't understand under what circumstances Andrew Adler could think that his editorial was a good idea. If his goal was get America to rally around our current Moron-and-Chief and mistrust Israel, his editorial would be a good idea. The views he expresses seem to be earnestly pro-Israel. Hopefully, he was drinking. He must still be pretty stupid and not understand American very well.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/21/2012 18:23 Comments ||
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#11
This was a stupid op ed!!!!!! If Mossad did this deed, it would be considered an act of war. I agree totally with Ricky's assessment. WTF was this guy thinking???? People have gone to prison for making threats like this.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/21/2012 22:50 Comments ||
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[Dawn] During the hearing of a petition filed against a possible removal of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... and Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, the government clarified that it had no intention of sacking the said officials, DawnNews reported.
Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq told the Supreme Court bench hearing the petition that the government had no plans to take such an action.
On the attorney general's explanation, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry directed him to file a written reply after taking orders on the issue from the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2012 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... (JUI-F) has condemned the krazed killers` activities in the tribal areas and said that some elements wanted to create lawlessness and terrorise the local people.
Speaking at a conference in Khar, Bajaur Agency, aka Turban Central, on Thursday the JUI-F leaders said that their party would continue a peaceful struggle for implementation of the Shariah law. They rejected the recent Fata reforms and demanded of the government to abolish the Frontier Crimes Regulation.
Senators Gul Naseeb and Abdur Rashid, former MNAs Mohammad Qasim and Mohammad Sadiq and other party leaders spoke at the function.
On this occasion, Mr Naseeb claimed that the party was struggling for implementation of Islamic laws in the country through ballot.
He said that the JUI-F had never supported those elements who tried to impose the Islamic law by force.
The Senator said that bad governance was major issue of the country and the ruling parties had broken records of corruption. He said that Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government had brought financial discipline and improved governance in the province.
He said that the province had made record progress under the MMA.
Mr Naseeb said that the JUI-F would sweep the next general elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... .
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2012 00:00 ||
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Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal has decided not to seek another term, the movement said Saturday, paving the way for a possible leadership contest at a time when the anti-Israeli Islamic group faces far-reaching decisions on whether to stay the course of militancy or moderate. Syria's burning. He may or may not step down. So many possibilities One of which is that Mossad knows his precise coordinates...
However, Hamas suggested Mashaal could be asked to stay on, in what would be a boost for his more pragmatic line. uh huh. Pragmatic If you're radical enough, Mashaal could be seen as 'pragmatic'. If you're radical enough...
Mashaal could not be reached for comment Saturday, but his decision not to seek another term as head of Hamas' political bureau was confirmed in a Hamas statement. Mashaal, who like other top Hamas leaders is based in Syria, has led the 15-member bureau since 1996, or nearly twice as long as permitted under Hamas rules. "rules?rules!? We don't need no steenking rules!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/21/2012 14:47 ||
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[An Nahar] Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... called Friday for 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... to publish a keenly awaited report on its much criticized observer mission to Syria and seek U.N. sanctions over the persistent bloodshed.
In an open letter to Arab foreign ministers ahead of a meeting on Sunday at which they are to decide whether to extend the mission for another month, the New-York based watchdog said the observers' presence had failed to stop the Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... government's deadly crackdown on 10 months of protests.
"The Arab League should make its monitors' report public to address increasing concerns that its monitoring mission is being manipulated by the Syrian authorities," said HRW's Middle East director, Sarah Leah Whitson.
"Only a transparent assessment of the monitoring mission can determine whether the monitors should stay in the country."
The observers have been deployed since December 26 to monitor compliance with an agreement under which Damascus undertook to protect civilians, withdraw troops from population centers, free detainees and open negotiations with the opposition.
But HRW charged that their presence had failed to rein in the government's crackdown. It cited activists as saying security forces had killed 506 civilians since the mission's launch and jugged a further 490 as of Wednesday.
"The Arab League should publicly recognize that Syria has not respected the League's plan and work with the Security Council to increase pressure on the authorities and effectively curtail the use of fire power," Whitson said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Aren't folks like Human Rights Watch usually the same people who tell us that sanctions=war?
Posted by: American Delight ||
01/21/2012 10:46 Comments ||
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#2
that's Ron Paul
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/21/2012 10:48 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] President Nicolas Sarkozy ...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit... declared Friday that La Belle France cannot stand silently by and allow Syrian leader Bashir al-Assad to put down the pro-democracy revolt in his country.
"We cannot accept the ferocious repression by the Syrian leadership of its people, a repression that has led the entire country into chaos, and a chaos that will help faceless myrmidons of all kinds," he said.
In March last year Assad's regime was rocked by a popular uprising, part of the so-called Arab Spring pro-democracy revolts sweeping the region, and his security forces unleashed a brutal crackdown.
At first he faced mainly unarmed Mass Street protests, but armed rebel groups including army deserters have now sprung up as well.
Last month under mounting international pressure, Assad agreed to allow observers 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... monitor the crisis, and pledged to send his troops back to their barracks.
But the violence has continued.
Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... said on Thursday that Syrian activists report that 506 civilians have been killed by security forces and a further 490 jugged since the observers arrived.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2012 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
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.
[Bangla Daily Star] Ishraq Ahmed, one of the conspirators behind the army coup attempt as described by the army on Thursday, studied at Rajshahi Cadet College during the 70s and maintained connections with many of his friends who joined the army during the 80s.
One of the main suspects of the recent coup attempt in the army, Maj Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque, who is absconding, used a roaming UK mobile SIM card to speak about the plot with at least 11 army officers of different ranks, army sources said.
[Dawn] During the hearing of a petition filed against a possible removal of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez 
Bajaur Agency, aka Turban Central
Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal has decided not to seek another term, the movement said Saturday, paving the way for a possible leadership contest at a time when the anti-Israeli Islamic group faces far-reaching decisions on whether to stay the course of militancy or moderate.
