Friday, July 1, 2011
Syrian protesters call on Assad to step down
| AL Jazeera Middle East | ||||
| Activists say two people killed in the city of Homs, as thousands take to the streets across the country. Last Modified: 01 Jul 2011 13:48 | ||||
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets across Syria in fresh protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Witnesses and activists said the anti-government protesters were calling on Assad to "leave", braving a security crackdown ordered by the authorities to quell unprecedented protests sweeping the nation since March. Activists said security forces shot dead at least two people and wounded another 12 as more than 100,000 people turned out in the central city of Homs on Friday. Soldiers, backed by armoured vehicles, had been setting up road blocks on the main roads in the city to prevent protests.
"They are chanting for an end to the siege on Syrian cities and for the toppling of the regime," they said. A similar demonstration was reported from Ain al-Arab, a Kurdish-majority town on the edge of Aleppo governorate in northern Syria, with marchers holding aloft banners saying "the people want to topple the regime" and "the Syrian people are one". A huge rally was also held in the city of Hama, were people filled the square around the central Clock Tower. 'Time running out' The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an independent group based in London, said three people were killed overnight after tanks led an assault on villages near the Turkish border. The latest protests came as Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said "time was running out for the Syrian government". "They are either going to allow a serious political process that will include peaceful protests to take place throughout Syria and engage in a productive dialogue with members of the opposition and civil society, or they're going to continue to see increasingly organised resistance," she said while addressing an international democracy conference in Lithuania on Thursday. "They must begin a genuine transition to democracy and allowing one meeting of the opposition in Damascus is not sufficient action toward achieving that goal," Clinton said, referring to a rare opposition gathering that the authorities allowed in the capital a few days ago. Assad’s one-party rule is seriously threatened by the protests, apparently inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt that toppled long-entrenched leaders. About 1,400 people have reportedly been killed in the crackdown that followed the protests, provoking global condemnation of the Syrian regime. | ||||
| Source: Al Jazeera and agencies | ||||
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Morocco votes on revised constitution
| AL Jazeera Africa | ||
| Revisions give some of the king's powers to the prime minister and the parliament while keeping him as a power-broker. Last Modified: 01 Jul 2011 08:18 | ||
? Moroccans are voting in a referendum on a revised constitution seeking to curb King Mohammed VI's near absolute powers in the north African nation. Mohammed announced the referendum last month in what is widely seen as a move to ward off "Arab Spring" street protests sweeping the region. Polls opened at 8am (0700 GMT) and were to close at 7pm with preliminary results expected on Friday or early on Saturday. About 13 million of the country's 32 million people were registered to vote. Pro-democracy movements in Morocco have been calling for more rights and greater freedoms since the beginning of the Arab Awakening earlier this year. The revised constitution grants the government executive powers, but retains the king at the helm of the army, religious authorities and the judiciary and still allows him to dissolve parliament, though not unilaterally as is the case now. Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Rabat, the capital, said voters were more concerned about other issues than the powers the king holds. "The issue in Morocco is not just curbing the powers of the monarchy, which has been at the very centre of political life for the past 13 centuries," he said. "What is ... interesting for Moroccans is to see how this new constitution is going to be implemented. They would like to see wages going higher; less unemployment; more transparent political systems; less political corruption; less mismanagement of public funds ... and a vibrant parliament. "This is going to be a very long, protracted political process that starts today with the reform of the constitution and then elections, which are expected in October." King's concessions On June 17, Mohammed, who took over the world's longest-serving dynasty in 1999, conceded some of his political powers to the prime minister and the parliament while keeping his role as a power broker. "We have managed to develop a new democratic constitutional charter," he said in a televised speech, adding that the constitution "enshrines a citizenship-based monarchy". But critics say the changes do not go far enough and a low turnout could still spur demands for bolder changes. The country's February 20 Movement has continued to hold protests, organised through websites such as Facebook and YouTube, since the reforms were announced and maintains they do not go far enough. In a statement posted on its Facebook page on Friday, the movement called on its supporters to stay away from the polls. "We are calling for a boycott of this referendum because the constitution it proposes consecrates absolutism and will not make corruption disappear," it said. The street movement has not been as extensive as those which toppled the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt. It is calling merely for the king's powers to be reduced to those wielded by the British or Spanish monarchs, rather than for him to step down altogether. But while Mohammed's personal popularity may swing many voters in favour of the reforms, the margin of victory could be eroded by resentment at what is seen as a wide disparity between rich and poor, and sense of alienation from the political elite. | ||
| Source: Al Jazeera and agencies | ||
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Concern over journalists' arrest in Ethiopia
| AL Jazeera Africa | ||
| Amnesty International says government using laws on reporting of counter-terrorism as pretext to silence dissent. Last Modified: 30 Jun 2011 19:19 | ||
Amnesty International, the UK-based rights group, has voiced concern over the arrest of nine people, including two journalists and two opposition party members, in Ethiopia on suspicion of terrorist offences. Woubishet Taye, a deputy-editor for the weekly Awramba Times, and Reyot Alemu from the Feteh newspaper who were arrested on July 19 and 21, were among those detained. Demelash Woldemikael, the assistant commissioner of Ethiopia's federal police, said: "The group was caught while plotting to sabotage electricity and telephone lines in an attempt to wreak havoc in the country. "Further investigation has also revealed that they acted to recruit others to carry out terrorist activities with support from the Eritrean government and other anti-peace groups." Demelash said the group will be charged upon completion of investigations. The detentions prompted the media watchdogs the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) to call for their immediate release. "The pretext of counter-terrorism being used to silence dissent, particularly among groups traditionally critical of the government such as political opposition parties and the private press is worrying," Michelle Kagari, Amnesty International's deputy Africa director, said on Thursday in a statement. "The detainees must be granted full and prompt access to legal representatives and their families." In a statement, the Paris-based RSF said: "The mystery surrounding their detention is unacceptable. "These shady methods suggest a desire to stifle outspoken media and impose a news blackout on government abuses by scaring journalists and pressuring them to censor themselves on a regular basis." Shimelis Kemal, a government spokesman, said their incarceration had no link with their political affiliation or their jobs. "This has nothing to do with their reporting or political activity. They were arrested because they plotted to carry out terrorist activities and recruited others to join them," he said. Anti-terrorism law The US-based CPJ reported on June 24 that journalists covering the activities of Ethiopia's opposition figures, or those of the Ogadeb National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebels, have risked prosecution since the country's anti-terrorism law came into effect in 2009. "The law criminalises any reporting authorities deem to 'encourage' or 'provide moral support' to groups and causes the government labels as 'terrorists'," Mohamed Keita and Tom Rhodes, CPJ Africa programme staff, reported on the CPJ blog. "Ethiopia is a country whose relative stability in the troubled Horn of Africa region is in great part maintained by repression of dissent and ever-increasing restrictions on the freedom of the press. "It receives praise and assistance for its participation in US counterterrorism in Somalia, but for Ethiopian journalists, reporting on terrorism [as defined by their government] without risking jail time has become too risky," the staff added. The blog posted, entitled "In Ethiopia, anti-terrorism law chills reporting on security", reported that local journalists had revealed that it was only acceptable to write about terrorism if it was clearly denounced else "she or he is taking the risk of any interpretation". 'Risk of torture' Amnesty International also warned on Thursday that some of the detainees may be at risk of torture. The group are being held at Maikelawi – the Federal Police Crime Investigation and Forensic Department in Addis Ababa - which is reported to be under the command of the National Intelligence and Security Service. "Maikelawi is infamous for the frequent use of torture against pre-trial detainees," Kagari said. "It is troubling that the vaguely defined provisions of the anti-terrorism legislation are being used to suppress legitimate freedom of expression in Ethiopia." Ethiopia and Eritrea have often traded tough rhetoric since a 1998-2000 border war. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi regularly accuses Eritrean leader Issaias Afeworki of supporting opposition and rebel groups in Ethiopia. Addis Ababa claims its northern neighbour is trying to destabilise the region by backing rebels, while also supporting Islamist fighters in Somalia. | ||
| Source: Al Jazeera and agencies | ||
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US 'extends drone strikes to Somalia'
| AL Jazeera Africa | ||
| First such attack reported in East African nation wounds two leaders of anti-government group al-Shabab. Last Modified: 01 Jul 2011 10:17 | ||
A US drone aircraft is reported to have fired upon two senior members of al-Shabab, the Islamist anti-government armed group, in Somalia last week, marking the first time a US unmanned plane has been used for such an attack inside the country. The strike, said to have been carried out on June 23, is believed to have targeted a convoy of fighters belonging to al-Shabab, which is fighting to overthrow Somalia's weak Transitional Federal Government and impose Islamic law. The attack was not immediately identified as a drone strike, but a senior US military official familiar with the operation told the Washington Post newspaper on Thursday that it had come from such an aircraft. The strike would make Somalia the sixth country where the US has reportedly used drones to conduct attacks. They have also been used in Libya, Yemen, Iraq and far more extensively in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The strike hit the convoy of fighters as it drove along the cost in Kismayo, a southern port town, the AP news agency reported. Two men were wounded, and the US official identified them as senior Shabab members. Abdirashid Mohamed Hidig, the deputy defence minister, declined to identify who the fighters were or who carried out the attack, except to say it had been done by a "partner country". Reflects change in US strategy Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a counterterrorism expert at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told Al Jazeera that the attack in Somalia emphasises the new American counterterrorism strategy, which favours "surgical strikes". It also underscores the recent news that the United States will be providing drones to the governments of Uganda and Burundi, he wrote in an email. But drone attacks, a useful tactic, should not be mistaken for a strategy, he said: "It seems that the concern underlying the attack was the two leaders' relationship to [Yemeni-American al-Qaeda cleric] Anwar al-Awlaki, which suggests that the strike served a prophylactic purpose (trying to contain a perceived threat to the homeland). But does America have a plan to stabilize Somalia, of which the drones are a part? Or will drone attacks end up a means of simply keeping a threat indefinitely at bay?" The United States previously has launched attacks in Somalia. In 2009, a raid involving US special operations troops succeeded in killing Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a Kenyan national wanted for a 2002 truck bombing at a tourist hotel in Mombasa. Al-Shabab, which is believed to maintain links with al-Qaeda franchises, is growing stronger as it consolidates its hold on the majority of Somali territory, including more than half of the capital, Mogadishu. "They have become somewhat emboldened of late, and, as a result, we have become more focused on inhibiting their activities," the US official told the Post. "They were planning operations outside of Somalia." The Somali Transitional Federal Government, led by President Sharif Ahmed, relies on international funding and military support from America as well as the African Union to maintain its tenuous hold on power. | ||
| Source: Agencies | ||
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