The Perfect Storm Of Terrorism

November 3, 2011: Islamic radicalism has done many things to Afghanistan, including eliminating all churches. The last church was torn down this year. This is all-too-typical of attitudes in Islamic nations, where it has become increasingly fashionable to be hostile towards, and persecute, non-Moslems. This intolerance is nothing new, and there's no easy, or politically correct, way to deal with it.

Afghanistan never had a large non-Moslem ("Infidel") population, but since the 1990s, the number has shrunk to nearly nothing. Over 99 percent of Afghans are Moslem, and a fifth of those are Shia. The Sunni majority are trying to exterminate the Shia as well, because Sunni conservatives consider the Shia heretics. Among the non-Moslem communities, there are believed to be about 5,000 Christians, 3,000 Sikhs, 400 Baha'is, a few hundred Zoroastrians, a hundred Hindus and one Jew. There are 10-20 Sikh and Hindu temples still active. Many Afghans consider it a religious duty to kill any Moslem who converts to another religion. Attacks on non-Moslems are common in Afghanistan. But it happens elsewhere as well.
Currently, you have Moslems killing Buddhists in Thailand, Jews everywhere, Baha'is in Iran and Christians in Egypt, Iraq, the Philippines, Pakistan, Malaysia and elsewhere. This is not a sudden and unexpected outburst of Moslem violence against non-Moslems. It is normal, and at the root of Islamic terrorism. While this violent behavior represents only a small number of Moslems, it is a large minority (from a few percent of a population, to over half, according to opinion polls). Moreover, the majority of Moslems has not been willing, or able, to confront and suppress the Islamic radicals that not only spread death and destruction, but also besmirch all Moslems. This reveals a fundamental problem in the Islamic world, the belief that combining righteousness with murderous tactics, is often the road to power and spiritual salvation. Throughout history, when these tactics were applied to non-Moslems, they often failed. The non-Moslems were unfazed by the religious angle, and, especially in the last five hundred years, were better able to defeat Islamic violence with even greater violence. Thus, until quite recently, the Moslems fought among themselves, and left the infidels (non-Moslems) out. But after World War II, that began to change.
This new attitude towards infidels led to the "Green Line." During the Lebanese civil war of 1975-1990, Christian and Moslem Arabs fought bitterly over political, cultural and, ultimately, religious differences. The capital, Beirut, was divided into Christian and Moslem sections by the Green Line. The name came from the fact that in this rubble filled no man's land, only grass and weeds survived. And that the line on a ceasefire map was drawn in green. There have been a lot more Green Lines since then. Few realized it at the time, but this war was but the first of many between Christians and Moslems in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Many of the earliest Moslem converts were Christians. And many of the peoples Moslem armies unsuccessfully sought to conquer were Christian. The original Crusades, which modern Moslems portray as Western aggression, were actually a Western attempt to rescue Middle Eastern Christians from increasing Islamic persecution, terrorism and violence. Centuries of struggle between Islamic and Christian states eventually led to the defeat of the Moslem empires and nations. Islam as a political force was in decline for several centuries until the 1970s. Then things changed, and they continue to change. Fueled by oil wealth and access to Western weapons and technology, Islamic radicals saw new opportunities. Islam was again on the march, and few have noticed the many places where it was turning into religious war with Christians and other non-Moslems.
In Asia, we have a Green Line between India and Pakistan. Inside India, many Moslem communities remain, and feelings aren't always neighborly. Indonesia and the Philippines suffer growing strife between Moslems and non-Moslems. Malaysia has fanatical Moslems persecuting more laid-back ones, and non-Moslems in general. China has a large Moslem community that generates an increasing amount of violence. Russia and America have formed a curious partnership to deal with Islamic-based terrorism coming out of Afghanistan and Pakistan. And in Chechnya, Russia faced Islamic-inspired violence all alone in the 1990s.
Africa has a rather dusty Green Line south of the semi-arid Sahel region. Many African nations are split by increasingly sensitive religious differences. The Moslems are in the north, Christians and animists in the south. Nigeria, Chad and Sudan are among the more violent hot spots at the moment. When the Moslem Somalis stop fighting each other they will return to raiding their Christian and animist neighbors to the south.
The Middle East still contains many non-Moslems. None have their own country, except for Israel. But Egypt contains over five million Copts, native Christians who did not convert to Islam. Similar small Christian communities exist throughout the Middle East, and growing hostility from Moslem neighbors causes many to migrate, or get killed.
Moslems also have turned their righteous wrath on dissident Moslem sects. The Druze and Alawites are considered by many Moslems as pagans pretending to be Moslems. Similarly, the Shias of Iran and neighboring areas are considered less orthodox, not just for their admitted differences, but because many Iranian adherents openly practice customs of the pre-Islamic Zoroastrian religion. These differences are less frequently overlooked today. To survive, the many Druze have allied themselves with Israel, and most of the current Syrian leadership are Alawites who pretend to be more Shia, and Moslem, than they really are.
Even Europe has a Green Line. The Moslems in the Balkans (Albanians and Bosnians) have been a constant source of strife for the last decade. Moslem migrants in Europe face even more persecution because of all those Green Lines, and this makes it easier for radical groups to recruit and carry out their crusade against Christians. In many European cities with Moslem minorities, there are neighborhoods non-Moslems are advised to stay out of.
But the Green Lines are about more than religion. A lot of it is politics. One of the reasons Islam ran out of steam centuries ago was that the Moslem areas never embraced democracy, and intellectual progress. Until the 20th century, most Moslems lived as part of some foreign empire, under local totalitarian monarchs. The foreign empires are gone, but democracy has had a hard time taking hold. The dictatorships are still there. And the people are restless.
Radical Islam arose as an alternative to all the other forms of government that never seemed to work. In theory, establishing "Islamic Republics" would solve all problems. People could vote, but only Moslems in good standing could be candidates for office. A committee of Moslem holy men would have veto power over political decisions. Islamic law would be used. It was simple, and it makes sense to a lot of Moslems in nations ruled by thugs and thieves, especially if the people are largely uneducated and illiterate.
But Islamic Republics don't work. The only one that has been established (not counting others that say they are but aren't) is in Iran. The major problems were twofold. First, the radicals had too much power. Radical religious people are no fun, and you can't argue with them because they are on a mission from God. Most people tire of this in short order. To speed this disillusionment, many of the once-poor and now-powerful religious leaders became corrupt. This eventually sends your popularity ratings straight to hell.
It will take a generation or so for everyone in the Moslem world to figure out where all this is going. This is already happening in Iran, where moderates are getting stronger every day, but everyone is trying to avoid another civil war. While the radicals are a minority, they are a determined bunch. The constant flow of Islamic radical propaganda does more than generate recruits and contributions in Moslem countries; it also energizes Moslem minorities (both migrants and converts) in Western countries to acts of terrorism. In the United States, you find several incidents each year where Moslems get arrested for attempting to carry out religious violence.
Radicals throughout the Moslem world continue to take advantage of dissatisfaction among the people and recruit terrorists and supporters. To help this process along they invoke the ancient grudges popular among many Moslems. Most of these legends involve Christians beating on Moslems. To most radicals it makes sense to get people agitated over faraway foreigners rather than some strongman nearby.
Most radicals lack the skills, money or ability to carry their struggle to far-off places. So most of the agitation takes place among Moslem populations. Any violent attitudes generated are easily directed at available non-Moslems. Thus we have all those Green Lines. But the more violence you have along those Green Lines, the more really fanatical fighters are developed. These are the people who are willing to travel to foreign lands and deal with non-believers, and kill them for the cause. We call it terrorism; the fanatics call it doing what has to be done; defending Islam with jihad.
Not surprisingly, Moslems get motivated to do something about Islamic radicalism when the violence comes to their neighborhoods. That's why terror attacks in the West are so popular. The infidels are being attacked, without any risk to those living in Moslem countries. Iraq changed all that, and during the course of that war (2004-7) the popularity of Islamic terrorism, in Moslem countries, declined sharply because the terrorists were killing so many Moslems. That, in the end, is what has killed, for a while, most Islamic terrorism in Iraq. But this time around, it would be nice if the Moslem world got their act together and expunged this malevolent tendency once and for all.
Foreign peacekeepers have a particularly difficult time dealing with all this, even if they are Moslem. But local Moslems have a hard time controlling their own terrorists. That's because Islam is a more aggressive religion than most. While many religions believe they are the One True Faith, Islam has always been the most violent in trying to force their beliefs on others. This aggressive attitude is based on a strong sense of entitlement and righteousness that has survived to the present. Combine it with enthusiasm for suicidal tactics and disdain for your victims (even Moslem women and children) and you have perfect storm of terrorism.

US bracing for a fight in Persian Gulf

There is greater clarity today than at anytime yesterday evening on what is prompting the US’s anti-Iran tirade. The New York Times reports Sunday that US is embarking on a big military build-up in the Persian Gulf region.

In the absence of a coherent policy toward Iran, with the loss of military presence in Iraq, with Saudi Arabia inexorably descending into crisis, with the ‘pro-West’ Arab oligarchies getting afraid of the dark, with the Aran Spring poised to arrive in the Persian Gulf, with Egypt preoccupied with its own regeneration and the israelis in existential despair, US is doing what comes most natural to it, namely, arrest the march of history with gunboats and missiles. 

Barack Obama is already under some pressure at home, being lampooned for his exciting doctrine of the US “leading from behind” during the Libyan intervention. On top of it, he is now coming under domestic compulsion to show he is not lacking in a regional strategy in the Middle East. The withdrawal from Iraq is traumatic for a host of segments of political opinion in the US - ranging from the neocons to the war veterans, Pentagon, the liberals, Republicans to the Israeli Lobby. A group of influential senators have asked for hearings on Obama’s decision. Sen Joe Lieberman’s presence suggests that the israeli Lobby is pushing Obama against the wall which he can disregard only at some risk in an election year.   

The NYT report says that in addition to ‘repositioning’ US combat troops in Kuwait, the naval presence in the Persian Gulf will be beefed up. Conceivably, the frightened Arab oligarchies will be asked to foot the bills for this big deployment. Most interestingly, US is also proposing a new regional security architecture to be choreographed around its military presence which would “integrate air and naval patrols and missile defence.” (By the way, a bonus will be that the ABM ring around Russia is further tightening. Don’t overlook that there is also a slice of the ‘new great game’ here with Russia about to sign up with the GCC a Memorandum of Understanding on ’strategic dialogue and cooperation’. )

Maybe Patrick Cockburn has a point: Obama could be bracing for a fight with Iran. Doubtless, the best way for him to console the Israelis will be to come down on Iran. That of course won’t solve the US’s accumulating problems in the Middle East, but may help Obama’s election campaign.

Meanwhile, Iran can be trusted not to give any outright excuse for a fight with US, as it knows things are in any case working out favorably for it (even without it doing anything), and its ’soft power’ will only increase as the Islamist forces come to the fore wherever the ancien regimes capsize - be it Egypt or Libya - as Iran’s defence minister pointed out.

The bankruptcy in the American thinking on Iran is simply astounding. The Israeli tail is wagging the dog. After 3 decades of the ‘containment’ policy toward Iran that the US vainly pursued with dismal results, when a fine mind like Fareed Zakaria suggests more of the same, a nadir has been reached. But then, FZ has his ears glued to the ground, too, and attunes himself quickly. Does he know something we do’nt?

OECD Anti-terror Body Maintains Sanctions on N.Korea

The Financial Action Task Force, an OECD body combating money laundering and terror financing, on Friday decided to maintain financial sanctions on North Korea.

The FATF general assembly warned North Korea has made no efforts to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing and therefore poses a serious threat to the international financial system. It called for special caution in trading with North Korean companies or financial institutions.

The FATF imposes its highest level of financial sanctions against the North, the same as against Iran.

The FATF also urges caution for Burma, Cuba, Nigeria, Syria and Turkey.

The body was established in 1989 after a G-7 summit discussed ways to combat money laundering and terrorist financing through financial institutions.

It consists of 34 member jurisdictions, including China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the U.K. and the U.S. and two regional organizations, the European Commission and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Source: Chosun

Hacker targets rugby fan site after Dax mix-up

A French rugby fan site is back online after an apparent case of mistaken identity.

Owners of the AllezDax website said they believed a hacker had confused them with the Frankfurt stock exchange.
They said the attacker "insulted us copiously in German", having assumed the site was linked to Germany's blue-chip share index, the Dax.
"Our defences were certainly inadequate," one of the group told the France Blue Gascogne radio station.
The site administrators said their web pages were bombarded with 80,000 hits as part of the attack.
They normally receive up to 1,200 visits a day when the local rugby team, in the southwest of France, is playing.
A message on AllezDax's homepage said "After suffering an attack by a spotty young Teuton, the site is back with more security.... Not everything is back up yet, but it will get better over the coming days."
Source: BBC

Argentina convicts drug beauty queen Angie Sanclemente

The Argentine press dubbed Ms Sanclemente the "Narco Queen"

A former Colombian beauty queen has been jailed for nearly seven years in Argentina for running an international drug trafficking ring.

Model Angie Sanclemente Valencia, 31, had denied helping her boyfriend recruit other young women to smuggle cocaine to Europe via Mexico.
She said she had come to Argentina to get married, not to smuggle drugs - her only crime was to fall in love.
Her Argentine boyfriend Nicolas Gualco was given the same sentence.
Several other accomplices were also jailed or given suspended sentences.
Throughout the trial Ms Sanclemente insisted she was innocent.
She said she had come to Argentina to marry Mr Gualco but did not realise he was involved in crime - a story he backed up.
Fugitive But prosecutors maintained she had been the international nexus of the drug trafficking ring.
Ms Sanclemente was arrested in Buenos Aires in May last year after five months on the run.
She said she had gone into hiding after her boyfriend was arrested because she feared being raped in prison.
The investigation began after another accomplice was caught trying to board a flight to Cancun in Mexico with 55kg of cocaine in her suitcases.
In 2000 Ms Sanclemente won the popular Colombian title of Coffee Queen, but had to return it when it was discovered she was married, in breach of the beauty pageant's rules.
Source: BBC

A peek into Al-Shabaab network in Kenya

Al- Shabaab fighters give handouts to Somalis. Kenyan Muslim clerics say youth have been brainwashed by the militants that they fight in the holy war.  

Internal Security Permanent Secretary Francis Kimemia at the weekend called on recruits to turn themselves over to the government and request amnesty so that they could be put under a rehabilitation programme.

“Other countries have conducted such rehabilitation before. Just as we did to Mungiki we will use local leaders and experts to enable the recruits to return to normal life,” Mr Kimemia said.

How al-Shabaab came to enlist so many Kenyans is described in vivid terms by a leaked US cable seen by the Daily Nation, Daily Monitor’s sister newspaper, which detailed the activities of a network of recruiters who exploited youth unemployment and the lure of easy money to net hundreds of young men.

The July 6, 2009 cable titled, “A Portrait of al-Shabaab Recruitment in Kenya,” named Eastleigh, North Eastern Province and Isiolo as some of the areas where Kenyans were enrolled into the militia group in their dozens.

Some limited recruitment also occurred in Dadaab refugee camp. Mombasa has also been named as a recruitment hub. An Isiolo businessman is quoted in the cable claiming that 60 young Kenyan Somali men had disappeared from the area from January 2008 to fight in Somalia, and that two whom he knew died while executing suicide bomb attacks in Mogadishu.

Recruitment in Isiolo, he said, was directed from a radical mosque in Eastleigh but carried out by members of four mosques in Isiolo.
Kenya’s proximity to Somalia was cited as one of the reasons the country was a fruitful source for recruiting young men to join the extremist group.
Its sizeable population of ethnic Somalis and high levels of poverty has contributed. It noted that Kenya’s ethnic Somali population suffers from lower levels of development and education than other Kenyans.
Despite these claims, Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere has recently pointed out that the al-Shabaab militia is no longer an ethnic Somali affair.
Numerous youth from other communities are in its ranks with a youth from Western Kenya confessing to carrying out recent grenade attacks in the city.
The government has recognised the danger these recruits pose to the country and government spokesman Alfred Mutua issued a statement at the weekend urging all Kenyans that know youth who have left for Somalia to report them to the police.
According to the US cable, one of the biggest drivers of al-Shabaab recruitment was the entry into Kenya of radical Islamists from the Gulf states.
“These Wahhabist clerics may have direct links with radical mosques in Eastleigh, and may be acting as recruitment agents for extremist groups in Somalia,” it said.
That account matches the description of recruitment efforts by the al-Shabaab offered by a Muslim cleric who was one of the first to protest over recruitment of Kenyans into Al Shabaab in early 2005.
Sheikh Juma Ngao, the chairman of Kenya Muslims National Advisory Council, who first blew the whistle over the recruitment, said he knew dozens of families who had lost youth to the terror group. Sheikh Ngao named a mosque in Nairobi’s Pumwani area and another in Mombasa’s Majengo estate as recruitment centres.“We did our research in Biafra in Pumwani and got CDs which show there are youths who had joined al-Shabaab. We got their names and others have since died,” Sheikh Ngao told Daily Nation.
The cleric said the recruitment started when a senior Somali government official who was previously a key member of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) began visiting Nairobi and Mombasa in 2005.
“The sheikh was being hosted by imams from Mombasa and some Muslim leaders in Nairobi. The meetings continued until they formed ICU and recruitment of Kenyans started,” Sheikh Ngao said.
The cleric said many youths were taken to Somalia after being brainwashed that they were going to fight a holy war.
Sheikh Ngao, who was the first Muslim cleric to go public with his opposition to the recruitment, said in 2007 the Imams who were supporting the effort changed tune and demanded the release of Kenyans held in Somalia and Ethiopia.
He accused the government of not taking the enrolment of Kenyans into al Shabaab seriously, adding that provincial administration at the coast did little to contain it.
Source: monitor

How big a threat is Al Qaida's North Africa branch?

Source: scbee

NIAMEY, Niger — It was January 2009, and Yaou Mahaman, a personable dark-skinned Tuareg tour guide from Niger, was coming off a lucrative week. His three car convoy carrying four European adventurists sped along the Sahara's Mali-Niger border. Suddenly, the first one veered off and pulled a U-turn. The back two, not quick enough to respond, fell into an ambush.

The eight fully shrouded bandits demanded Mahaman's four clients — two Swiss, a German and a Briton. They were then sold to North Africa's al Qaida affiliate as hostages. The Briton was later killed, and the other three eventually released, along with two Canadian diplomats working for the United Nations who'd been snatched in Niger one month earlier.

"We didn't realize fast enough what was happening," Mahaman now recalls, nearly three years after the ambush. "They had never targeted tourists before."

The abduction of tourists was not a first, but where it took place was: nearly 300 miles south of Algeria, where an Islamist rebel group had rebranded itself in 2007 as al Qaida's affiliate in North Africa, dubbed al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The earlier kidnapping of the Canadian diplomats took place even farther south, in Niger.

The al Qaida branch had accomplished a notable feat, moving its operations across the Sahara, the transcontinental desert that throughout history has halted empires in their tracks and for millennia kept black Africa separated from Eurasia.

Embassies fretted. Tourism vanished. Researchers warned of the Africanization of al Qaida.

The expansion drew the attention of Western powers, with the U.S. ramping up to $150 million a year its counter-terrorism support to poor governments in the region, most of which held closer ties to France, the area's former colonial power.

France, too, wheeled into action. In February last year, a senior French diplomat told U.S. officials in Paris that AQIM was now his country's No. 1 priority on the continent, according to a diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaks.

AQIM surged back into the spotlight over the summer, attempting four suicide bombings in a period of two months in northern Algeria, culminating in a twin suicide blast on Aug. 26 that struck Algeria's premier military academy in Cherchell, killing 18 and sending a powerful message to that country's military.

And many now fear the group could experience a boost from the war in Libya, which has loosed new weapons from Gadhafi's stores and sent thousands of pro-Gadhafi mercenaries and laborers back to their home countries bordering the Sahara.

Analysts disagree over how serious a threat AQIM is, but in just a few years, what started as a domestic Algerian movement now commands the attention of global powers.

With its desert hideaways and shadowy movements, AQIM is one of the world's least understood and most opaque jihadi organizations. Analysts argue with one another about its commitment to global jihadism, whether it wants to expand outside Algeria, and even whether the group is one based on ideology or just another criminal gang looking for ways to make money.

Jean Pierre Filiu, a French academic in Paris, uses the term "gangster jihadism" to describe the group, saying it mixes traditional al Qaida goals with revenue-generating illicit activity.

"They are the jihadi organization that has been the farthest in this path. It is very peculiar to AQIM," Filiu said.

U.S. officials say they believe ransoms that other Western nations have paid for the release of AQIM's hostages are its primary source of funds. Next in line is income from smuggling, largely moving Latin American cocaine along routes that take it to Europe.

Army Gen. Carter Ham, head of the U.S. Africa Command based in Stuttgart, Germany, has been the U.S.'s most vocal official proclaiming the AQIM threat.

"We view the threat posed by al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb as a very serious threat not only to African people but to us as well," Ham told a group of Senegalese journalists in late August.

A month later, he told the Defense Writers Group in Washington that intelligence estimates suggested that al Qaida's global affiliates and emulators, including AQIM, Boko Haram in Nigeria and the Shabab movement in Somalia, may be gaining strength even as the core al Qaida command is weakening.

"That's what I see in Africa and that's what concerns me in Africa," said the general.

While this summer's wave of attacks in Algeria showed the group's northern wing was still active, it's the group's expansion south that most alarms Washington.

The move into what is known as the Sahel — the sparsely-vegetated belt squeezed between central Africa's tropics and the great Sahara — was spurred by a mix of desperation and opportunism: a crackdown by Algerian authorities in 2008 severely weakened the group, but the desolate Saharan dunes, porous borders, and weak governments to the south also proved a vast safe haven and valuable pot of funds.

Now there are worries that the group is strengthening its ties to black Africa, and other like-minded jihadist groups, Nigeria's Boko Haram in particular. The Aug. 26 blast in Cherchell came just a few hours after a more headline-grabbing suicide attack by Boko Haram against the headquarters of the United Nations in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, that killied 23. On Saturday, a blast that killed 67 Nigerians was blamed on Boko Haram.

In Washington, Ham said the intent to collaborate was especially strong between AQIM and Boko Haram, which was being blamed for Saturday's blast that killed 67 people in Nigueria.

That, however, is not a universally held opinion, even within the U.S. government. A State Department official specializing on security in the region downplayed the links between the groups, calling the contacts between the two "episodic."

Andrew Lebovich, an analyst at the New America Foundation, a non-partisan Washington think tank, says "the public evidence" of collaboration "is too thin to draw that kind of conclusion."

"The U.S. and other governments seem pretty convinced, but it's pretty difficult to confirm without access to the classified material," he said.

Boko Haram remains a very Nigerian organization, and AQIM — despite its global jihadist rhetoric — remains largely Algerian-focused, with an Algerian leadership, he notes.

Some analysts point out that regional governments have an incentive to play up the terrorist threat in their countries — attracting more Western aid. That effect could have been on display when in September, when the government of Niger took advantage of the rare presence of foreign reporters covering the arrival in Niamey of Moammar Gadhafi's son Saadi to announce a major clash with AQIM forces in northern Niger in which it claimed to have captured 59 recruits.

"That report was not true at all. They were just plain migrants. The drivers were armed for protection," said Col. Maj. Garba Maikido, the governor of Agadez, the region where the clash supposedly took place.

"The central government has definitely been playing the terrorism card very openly in Niamey," said Lebovich.

So far, AQIM has had limited success recruiting fighters outside Algeria.

"They are still a North Africa-centered organization with an Algerian leadership. They are trying to make inroads in the Sahel, and it's not a great fit," said the State Department official.

In northern Niger, the Tuareg community says that the group's radical theology and Arab culture clashes with its own fiercely independent Berber identity, although some members of the community admitted that Tuareg smugglers may have connections.

Still, AQIM may have found an entrepreneurial way of financing its terrorist operations through its criminal networks.

Filiu, the French scholar, said that although AQIM still technically remains an affiliate of the global network, it has not pledged allegiance to al Qaida's current leader, Ayman al Zawahiri, and no longer has active ties with al Qaida's Afghanistan-Pakistan central command.

"They still speak global, but they act more and more local," said Filiu. "They are basically on their own now."

But Filiu warns that conditions can always change, especially with tens of thousands of new refugees forced from Libya.

"Certainly, they will probably keep on trying to target global targets in their local environments, but their capability to strike globally outside of their own environment is very limited, he said. "Even so one has always to stay alert."

(Boswell is a McClatchy special correspondent.)

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/06/4034171/how-big-a-threat-is-al-qaidas.html#ixzz1cz6shzBB

More Armed Group In Myanmar Signs Peace Agreement With State Government

YANGON, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- One more Kayin ethnic armed group, the Kaloh Htoo Baw armed group, has signed an initial peace agreement with the peace-making group of the Kayin state government to pave way for talks with the central government, Xinhua news agency reported, citing official media report Saturday.

The Kaloh Htoo Baw armed group was former Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army (DKBA).

The five-point peace agreement was endorsed in Hpa-an of the state Thursday by U Saw Mu Shay, deputy leader of the Kaloh Htoo Baw armed group, and Colonel Aung Lwin, Minister of Security and Border Affairs of Kayin State Government and leader of the Kayin State Peace-Making Group, after discussion were held between them, said the New Light of Myanmar.

The five-point peace agreement covers ceasefire in Kayin state as of Nov 6, temporary settlement of Kaloh Htoo Baw armed group at the environs of Sonseemyaing, opening of temporary liaison office of the armed group at Myawaddy for further talks during the ceasefire, bilateral coordination be made in advance for travelling carrying arms beyond the areas except the areas under bilateral agreement during the ceasefire.

It also include holding further talks on peace and stability in the region, development, settlement and livelihood of armed group members and ensuring eternal peace between central-level peace making group and senior level peace making persons of Kaloh Htoo Baw armed group, led by Major-General Saw Lar Pwe at a place and time acceptable to both sides.

Myanmar's central government had initiated the first peace agreements with two armed groups based in Wa Special Region-2 and Mongla Special Region-4 respectively in early October.

The government, in its peace efforts, issued an announcement on Aug 18, calling on anti-government ethnic armed groups to come for peace talks to end internal armed insurrection and build internal peace in the country.

Source: bernama

Philippine Talks Stumble On

Peace talks have finally resumed between the Mora Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government of the Philippines, but negotiations appear shaky amid escalating tensions after the latest round of deadly fighting forced thousands to flee their homes.

Angering the military is a decision by the MILF not to hand over fugitive commander Dan Laksaw Asnawi, accused of beheading at least 10 Filipino Marines in 2007 and sparking last month’s clash in Basilan that left 19 soldiers dead.

The talks, taking place in Kuala Lumpur, were supposed to pick up from meetings held in Tokyo in August, when both sides failed to agree on a MILF demand for the creation of a Muslim sub-state in Mindanao, which is predominantly Christian.

Claims of rebel involvement in the latest spate of kidnappings in the Southern Philippines were also set to be discussed.  

Further souring the atmosphere were the Ampatuans, the political clan from Maguindanao currently before the courts and blamed for the massacre of 58 people two years ago, including 34 journalists. The group were also key supporters of former President Gloria Arroyo.

Their private army has clashed with the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), led by ousted MILF field commander Ameril Umbra Kato, for unknown reasons. Also unknown is why some of the peace negotiators failed to turn up for the talks, with only four from each side attending.

After all, the government’s three-stage proposal had won initial, if limited, support. This plan included a road map for social and economic rehabilitation through a joint committee responsible for development, and a peace accord to be administered by a yet to be established Bangsamoro Commission, which would craft legislation on autonomy and supervise any peace pact.

In addition, under the plan, the government of President Benigno Aquino would acknowledge historical injustices and would reconcile this by allowing the official retelling of ‘the real history of Mindanao.’ But the MILF appears to have gone cold on the three point plan, and asked Malaysia to broker the current round.

The Philippines is prone to coups, and there’s increasing resentment within the military over perceptions that Aquino hasn’t toed a tough enough line against the militants, particularly in light of recent attacks. Such perceptions could be galvanized if the Ampatuans are serious about lining up against BIFF.

It’s no secret that Manila wanted to use these talks to hasten broader peace talks. Equally, the government has other issues to contend with, including a Maoist rebellion and a persistent face-off with China over the Spratly Islands.

The Maoists continue to attack government forces and are refusing talks until prisoners are released, while China isn’t expected to do the Philippines any favors in the disputed waters.

This leaves Aquino in his toughest diplomatic position since taking office mid-way through last year. His toughest judges won’t be the MILF, Bangsamoros, Maoists, Beijing or even the Ampatuans. It could well be the military men and women who swear their allegiance to the president.

Viewpoint: Has a year of civilian rule changed Burma?

 

Burma is not about to turn into a Western-style democracy

One year after the controversial Burmese elections the debate about whether there have been any significant changes inside the country rages on louder than ever.

The debate, as usual, is conducted largely outside of Burma, and today the battle lines are drawn between old guard activists who maintain everything Nay Pyi Taw does is window dressing, and the slowly increasing numbers of those giving credit to the new government.

Inside the country the changes are perceived as gradual but real, and everyone is hoping the government will continue on the reform path.

So what are the main milestones?

One can really only look at the period after the handover of the military's State Peace and Development Council to the new government on the last day of the first parliamentary sitting at the end of March 2011. Prior to that, the military was still in charge.

The new structure has been tested by what has seemed like an internal struggle between more reform-minded and more hard-line ministers. Yet despite this internal contest, quite a few things have been engendered:

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Most importantly for the people of Burma, yet hardly mentioned abroad, have been the legislative changes”

Just before the second sitting of parliament there was direct engagement of the government with Aung San Suu Kyi. First there was a dialogue with Labour Minister Aung Kyi and subsequently her visit to Nay Pyi Taw, with her meeting the president.

Since that time she has said herself that she believes changes are happening. The question remains if her party, the NLD, will re-register and take part in the political processes of the country.

It is likely to have been discussed but details of the negotiations are not in the public domain.

No-strings release

Another big milestone was the release of at least 220 and possible as many as 270 political prisoners as part of the 6,000+ amnesty in September this year. The amnesty resulted in some controversy on the numbers of prisoners of conscience who had not been included.

It emerged that rather than the universally accepted figure of 2,000 political prisoners, the real figure was more likely to be around 700 (even the NLD holds a list with that number).

Hundreds of prisoners have been released under an amnesty

This means that close to 30% of political prisoners have been freed, and for the first time without any conditions attached to their release. This is a big step for the government and one for which the reformers in Nay Pyi Taw probably had to battle hard.

A few days later President Thein Sein suspended the construction of the Myitsone Dam, despite vocal protests by China.

While other dams are still planned, and the Chinese presence in the northern ethnic areas remains unchallenged, the halting of the construction in light of the geographic and ecological dangers shows that the thinking of the government goes beyond receiving Chinese money and political support no matter what the cost to the Burmese population.

The president followed this announcement with a trip to Burma's other giant neighbour, India, rebalancing at least symbolically its foreign policy priorities in the region.

India has to date been much less involved than China, and prior to this it was understood that northern Burma was simply becoming a Chinese satellite.

New labour laws

Most importantly for the people of Burma, yet hardly mentioned abroad, have been the legislative changes.

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Neither Western sanctions nor Asian constructive engagement should be credited for what we are witnessing today”

The passing of new labour laws allowing the formation of labour unions is a big step and according to the ILO at least the draft they saw was up to international standards. As Burma's industries develop, workers will now have rights they have not had since 1962.

Many other issues have been debated in parliament since August.

They include education in ethnic languages for ethnic states, the legality of private education and the peace process with ethnic insurgent groups.

Not all motions are passed, but they are raised and debated, again something quite new. Internet controls have been relaxed and press censorship is now far less strict.

Why the change?

Burma is well set on a reform path and many ask why. In fact many, especially in the West, will say that it was tough policies such as sanctions which brought these changes about.

In India we are also hearing those who say their policies brought about the changes - here it was not sanctions, but quiet constructive engagement which set Burma off on the right path.

The fact is that neither Western sanctions nor Asian constructive engagement should be credited for what we are witnessing today.

The new government needs to be given credit for re-assessing the country's position in light of three phenomena: Burma wants the Asean chair in 2014, needs the Asean free trade area in 2015 for its economy to thrive, and the current government wants to win the 2015 elections.

Overarching these objectives though is the major interest of assuring the security and stability of the state which is now thought best achieved through reform rather than repression.

Where now?

Despite all these quiet successes and new policies, issues remain.

Fighting in ethnic areas, especially in Kachin state, continues. However more recently various groups such as the Wa and the Mongla have taken up Nay Pyi Taw's new structure for negotiation - the peace committees at state level.

There have also been talks between other Shan groups and the New Mon State Party (NMSP). The issue of the Border Guard Force, the major stumbling block in the previous negotiation, seems to have been put on the back burner.

Hopefully in the near future the new structure for negotiation will bear fruit across the country, including Kachin State.

So where does Burma go from here?

Burma is not about to turn into a Western-style democracy, but Nay Pyi Taw has set out on a strong path for reform which will benefit the Burmese people.

The first priority for the government is now to set the economy right, both with regard to exchange rates to boost trade as well as with regard to employment and wages so as to improve the living standards of ordinary Burmese.

The government is well aware of the economic problems the country is facing. If the government is allowed to continue on its present path change will be gradual but life-changing for those living inside the country.

Marie Lall is a Reader in Education Policy and South Asian Studies, Institute of Education, University of London.

NC, UML press Maoists to return seized properties

REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, Nov 5: The Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML have mounted pressure on the UCPN (Maoist) to take immediate steps for returning the land and other properties seized by the former rebels during the insurgency to the rightful owners.

The NC and UML leaders at a three three-party meeting held at Singha Durbar on Saturday discussed implementation of the seven-point peace deal reached among the major political parties on November 1.

“We raised mainly two issues -- return of the seized properties and dismantling of the paramilitary structure of Maoist´s Young Communist League,” UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal told Republica.

According to Nepal, the Maoist leaders assured that they would issue a circular to the party rank and file for implementation of the agreement on returning the seized land and properties to the rightful owners immediately. “We have asked them (Maoist leaders) to provide us a copy of the circular,” said Nepal.

Also, the top leaders entrusted a team of three leaders -- Krishna Sitaula of NC, Barshaman Pun of UCPN (Maoist) and Bhim Rawal of UML -- with the responsibility of monitoring the implementation of the seven-point deal. Sitaula, Pun and Rawal are among the key negotiators of the seven-point deal.

The leaders, however, didn´t discuss the proposal about the formation of a high level taskforce for forging consensus on key political issues. “We didn´t enter into that agenda at today´s (Saturday) meeting,” said Nepal.

According to Deputy Prime Minister and UCPN-Maoist Vice-chairman Narayankaji Shrestha, they also decided to send survey teams to all the seven cantonments by November 16.

Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Vice-Chairman Shrestha, NC President Sushil Koirala, Vice-President Ram Chandra Paudel, UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal and former Prime Minister Nepal, among others, were present at the meeting.

Source: republica

MILF rebels mull holding dialogue with critical Catholic bishops

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) -- The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said Sunday it was planning to hold a dialogue with three Catholic bishops who have been critical on the P5-million fund given by the Philippine government to the Muslim rebels' foundation.

Jun Mantawil, head of the MILF peace panel secretariat, said the MILF peace panel led by Mohagher Iqbal was seriously considering to invite Bishops Leonardo Medroso of Tagbilaran, Ilagan Bishop Elenito Galido and Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Colin Bagaforo, after they separately expressed critical views on the donation to the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute.

"We will reach out to them first through a mutually acceptable go-in-between. We have very reliable line of communication with the Catholic Church," Mantawil said.

The government, through the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, handed down in August to the MILF the fund to assist the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute.

But some sectors, including the prelates, criticized the government following the Oct. 18 encounter in Al Barka town, Basilan province between government troops and MILF militants, resulting to the death of 19 soldiers.

Critics have accused the MILF of using the fund to buy weapons against the government, but the MILF denied the allegation.

The MILF has been fighting government troops for decades to establish a self-rule Muslim sub-state in the south of the predominantly Catholic country. Peace talks between the government and the MILF stalled in August 2008 following the aborted signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.

A final peace deal with the government will touch the issues of autonomy and the civil settlement of the rebel group's 11,800- strong guerrilla fighters.

Fishermen freed themselves, retook boat after pirate hijacking in Indian Ocean, Taiwan says

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan says fishermen on a Taiwanese boat fought back against Somali pirates and freed themselves after a hijacking in the Indian Ocean.
Some of the 28 crew on the Chin Yi Wen overcame the hijackers then the boat met up with British anti-piracy vessels nearby. Three crew had minor injuries.

The government news agency said the fight happened about 4 a.m. Sunday Taiwan time (2000 Saturday GMT). That was some 48 hours after the boat was reported missing.
The Central News Agency report cited the island’s Fisheries Agency. It said the 260-ton Chin Yi Wen is now heading to Port Victoria in the Seychelles.
Piracy is rife off the Somali coast. Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: washingtonpost

13 killed in continued Syria crackdown

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (Sana) shows President Bashar al-Assad praying at Al Nour Mosque in Raqqa province, northeast Syria, on the first day of Eid al-Adha yesterday Syrian forces shot dead at least 13 civilians yesterday in a continued military assault on the restive city of Homs and in attacks on pro-democracy demonstrations that erupted after prayers marking Eid al-Adha, activists said.
Qatar’s prime minister called for Arab states to meet next Saturday to weigh Syria’s failure to implement a deal struck with the Arab League to end bloodshed that was touched off by the popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
The Egyptian official news agency Mena said the gathering would address “the continuing violence and the government’s failure to stick to its obligations under the Arab Action Plan to solve the crisis in Syria”.
Damascus has described increasing Arab criticism as unproductive and based on false media reports.
It says the unrest has arisen largely from a foreign conspiracy to divide Syria and that security forces are using legitimate means to confront “terrorists” and Islamist militants bent on wrecking a reform drive by Assad.
Opposition leaders say the protests are driven by broad discontent with a corrupt, repressive elite, not by violent extremists, and that Assad’s promises of reform have been discredited by his continuing military crackdown on protesters.
The official Syrian news agency said Assad went to the eastern provincial capital of Raqqa yesterday where he joined Eid prayers with “a number of notables and popular, union and party organisations and a crowd of Raqqa citizens.”
“The stand Syrians are making against terrorism and outside intervention is the basis for Syria’s steadfastness,” the Sana agency quoted Assad as saying.
Most of the deaths yesterday occurred in Homs, 140km north of Damascus, where a main district has been under tank bombardment since the day before Syrian authorities agreed in Cairo to the Arab League initiative on Wednesday.
Under the deal, the army was supposed to pull out of turbulent cities, political prisoners would go free and talks with the opposition would begin within two weeks.
A demonstrator was shot dead when security police fired at a protest in Hama, north of Homs, demanding the removal of Assad, and three were killed in the northwestern province of Idlib, said the activist Syrian Revolution General Commission.
The organisation said in a statement that at least 10 protesters were injured in the town of Talbisah near Homs and in Harra in the Hauran Plain in Syria’s south.
Fifty protesters were arrested after a demonstration in the Damascus district of Kfrar Souseh. Troops and militiamen loyal to Assad deployed in several Damascus suburbs, surrounding mosques to prevent crowds from rallying after the early morning prayers for Eid al-Adha, the commission said.
“Idlib saw big demonstrations across its towns and villages this morning. There is disillusionment that the Arab League agreement has failed to curb the repression,” local activist Raed Ayham said by phone.
“The army is escalating the crackdown in the hope of wrapping this uprising up before the Arabs take more steps against the regime. Assad has not understood that the killings are only feeding the opposition against him.”
Syrian authorities have banned most non-official media since the revolt against 41 years of rule by the Assad family and their Baath Party erupted in March, making independent verification of events difficult.
Activists and residents said tank fire killed at least 13 civilians and wounded dozens in Homs on Saturday. The day before security forces killed at least 19 people and wounded dozens across Syria, mostly in shootings at protests. State media denied that any protesters had been killed on Friday.
The Syrian official news agency said a group of what it described as Homs notables met the provincial governor and agreed to “work together to achieve more stability and stopping armed terrorist groups from messing with the security of citizens and the homeland”.
Sana quoted the governor as saying that the authorities were “serious” about implementing an amnesty announced last week to anyone with weapons if they were not involved in killings.
He said four soldiers and police, including two from Homs, killed in violence were buried yesterday.
The authorities say Islamist militants and foreign-backed armed gangs have killed 1,100 members of the security forces during the uprising. The UN says more than 3,000 people have been killed in Assad’s crackdown.
In Cairo on Saturday, the head of the Arab League said it was seriously concerned by the violence in Syria, and appealed to Damascus to abide by steps agreed with Arab states to protect civilians and set Syria on a course of political dialogue.
In an address to Syrians aired live on Al Jazeera television, prominent opposition figure Burhan Ghalioun said the Syrian National Council, formed in Istanbul two months ago, had asked the Arab League and UN to help protect Syrian civilians by sending in international human rights monitors.
Western leaders have called for Assad to make way for a democratic succession. He has rejected such calls as interference.
The opposition has so far rejected talks with Assad as long as violence continues and has said the only way to restore peace is for the president to step down immediately.
“How can we talk about a dialogue when Syrians cannot meet each other, express an opinion or an ideology without being in danger? These rights have to be guaranteed for participation in public issues,” said dissident Aref Dalila, a prominent economist who was jailed for eight years after criticising a mobile phone concession that was awarded to a cousin of Assad.
Source http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=468737&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17

Eid al-Adha celebrated in shadow of unrest

The world’s Muslims yesterday marked the Eid al-Adha feast which caps the Haj pilgrimage to Makkah overshadowed by the Arab Spring and deadly attacks in Africa and Central Asia.
This year the feast coincides with the turmoil of the democracy protests that swept the Arab world and led to the ouster of the autocratic leaders of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
Eid al-Adha was being observed amid fears and tears in Nigeria, two days after attacks claimed by Islamists killed at least 150 people in the northeastern city of Damaturu.
Thousands gathered for prayers to mark the feast at an open ground in Damaturu patrolled by dozens of armed police following Friday’s gun and bomb attacks, among the deadliest ever carried out by the Boko Haram Islamist sect.
“It’s a season of mourning and celebration at the same time,” said Damaturu resident Aisami Bundi.
“People are struggling to strike a balance between the merriment of the season and the losses the city has incurred from the attacks, especially the large number of people that have been killed,” he said.
In Libya, people were struggling to find the funds to mark the feast due to skyrocketing prices in the wake of an eight-month rebellion that ended with the killing of dictator Muammar Gaddafi last month.
In Syria, devotees emerged from Eid al-Adha prayers yesterday morning to rally against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime despite a protest crackdown the UN says has killed at least 3,000 people since March.
And the security forces shot dead at least another 13 civilians, most of them in the restive central city of Homs, according to human rights activists.
The latest bloodshed came as Syrian state radio reported Assad himself attended Al Nour mosque in the northern town of Raqqa for morning prayers to mark the holy day.
In Yemen, where protesters have been calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s ouster since January, dissident general Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar said his forces foiled a regime plot to blow up a car as he prayed in Sanaa.
In Gaza City, Ismail Haniya, head of the Islamist Hamas government, addressed worshippers at the Palestine Mosque, and hailed the feast as the “Eid of Freedom” for the Arab world.
“On this blessed day, we call our Eid the Eid of Freedom,” he said. “It is the Eid of Freedom for Egypt and Tunisia and Libya and all the peoples who triumphed over tyranny.”
Haniya said the feast was also an “Eid of Victory”, hailing a landmark prisoner swap deal that saw the movement free captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in return for 1,027 jailed Palestinians.
A first group of 477 prisoners was released as Shalit went home, with the second group of 550 to be freed within two months.
In Saudi Arabia, almost 3mn pilgrims began stoning pillars representing Satan after massing in a valley near the holy city of Mina, the last rite of the annual Haj.
“This ritual gives me moral strength. Right now I feel as though I’m defeating Satan,” said Mokhtar Khan, a 29-year-old who arrived at the site with dozens of fellow Bangladeshis who chanted “Allahu Akbar”.
But despite their prayers, the first day of Eid al-Adha was marred by more violence around the Muslim world.
In Afghanistan, a suicide bomber killed seven people, mostly civilians, as they returned from Eid prayers at a mosque in the northern city of Baghlan.
And in Iraq, four bombs exploded in Baghdad’s Shorjah market, killing at least one person and wounding 15, security officials said.
The blasts came despite beefed up security for the festival around mosques, parks and other public areas, including a 32,000-strong force in the central Shia shrine city of Najaf.
In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, Eid al-Adha was marked by all-night prayer, the sacrifice of goats and cows and family meals of rice cakes and meat dishes.
In line with tradition, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono offered a 1.2-tonne cow for sacrifice after prayers at Jakarta’s Istiqlal mosque, which is to slaughter 60 cows and 27 goats for meat to be distributed to 10,000 people.
Source http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=468744&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17

Israeli Army, Intel Sites Down After ‘Anonymous’ Threat

The Israeli army and intelligence agencies’ websites were offline on Sunday, two days after hacker group Anonymous warned it would “strike back” for Israel’s capture of Gaza-bound ships on Friday.

Anonymous, a network of online activists who have attacked government and financial websites around the world, released a statement Friday warning that the group would take action against the navy’s seizure of two ships aiming to break Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip.

“Your actions are illegal, against democracy, human rights, international, and maritime laws,” the statement addressed to the government of Israel and posted on Youtube and Anonymous-affiliated sites said.

“Justifying war, murder, illegal interception, and pirate-like activities under an illegal cover of defense will not go unnoticed by us or the people of the world.”

Websites for Israel’s army, internal Shin Bet security service, and Mossad spy agency could not be accessed on Sunday. It could not be confirmed that Anonymous was responsible.

An Israeli army spokesman said it was a “strange coincidence” but he could not confirm that hacking was responsible.

“Initial investigations conducted by the internet company indicate problem with the internet servers,” a military spokeswoman added. She said they did not know whether it came as a result of a hack.

In its statement Anonymous slammed Israel’s deadly raid on a flotilla heading to Gaza last year, which killed nine Turkish nationals.

“If you continue blocking humanitarian vessels to Gaza or repeat the dreadful actions of May 31st, 2010 against any Gaza Freedom Flotillas then you will leave us no choice but to strike back. Again and again, until you stop,” the statement said.

Organizers of the ‘Russell Tribunal on Palestine’ also reported that their website had been hacked on Sunday.

Prominent British lawyer Michael Mansfield, speaking at the international law hearing, noted “I leave you to your own conclusions as to how that has come about.”

On Tuesday, the Palestinian internet cable-network was outed in what officials called a “serious act of sabotage.”

The Palestinian Authority minister of telecommunications said hackers from more than 20 countries attacked the network, which was restored on Wednesday.
Source http://www.eurasiareview.com/author/maan/

Iraq: At Least 12 Killed As Blasts Rock Baghdad

(RFE/RL) — Three explosions rocked a busy market in the Iraqi capital today, resulting in what police and hospital workers are describing as a large number of casualties.

The blasts occurred in Shurja, a commercial district in central Baghdad on the first day of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.

Initial reports said at least 10 people were killed by the blasts.

In a separate attack, a bomb attached to a minibus exploded in the Shi’ite neighborhood of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, killing one civilian.

In the Zayouna area of eastern Baghdad, gunmen using silencers assassinated a police brigadier general in a drive-by shooting today.

Meanwhile, in the town of Taji, about 20 kilometers north of Baghdad, four bombs exploded today near the home of Yassin Essa Dawoud, a local leader in the government-backed Awakening Councils which turned against Iraq’s insurgency.

Four people were killed by the explosions, including Dawoud’s wife and brother.
source http://www.eurasiareview.com/author/rfe-rl/

Satire in Iran Mocking the mullahs

A satirical television programme is undermining the rulers’ authority

THEIR irreverent sense of humour is a source of pride to Iranians, a way to puncture the gloom of successive repressive regimes. It is no surprise that a satirical television programme called “Parazit” that delights in skewering Iran’s politicians is going down a storm.

“Parazit”, meaning “static” in Persian, itself a dig at the government’s tendency to block seditious broadcasts, came on the air shortly before the disputed presidential election of 2009. It is produced by Voice of America (VOA), the state-funded international broadcaster. Despite—or perhaps because of—its tie to the Great Satan, the programme has proved enormously popular in Iran.

Exact viewing figures are hard to gauge; most people watch it online through proxy servers or on bootleg DVDs, since satellite dishes are banned in Iran, though they sprout from many rooftops. “Parazit” has almost 750,000 fans on Facebook. Each of its videos posted online gets over 1m hits.

Raina Kumra, head of innovation at the broadcasting board of governors which runs VOA, says that most Iranians who watch the show either do not know it is produced by VOA—or do not care. “We’re just the holding company”, she says; “Parazit” is its own creature. The producers insist that it is not a tool of American propaganda. “Our job is to present the facts and highlight the hypocrisy,” says Saman Arbabi, one of the show’s presenters. “We’re not here to lead any movement, to lead any regime change.” If the people of Iran want to topple the regime, he says, they must do it themselves.

“Parazit” has not gone unnoticed by Iran’s government. Mr Arbabi and his co-host, Kambiz Hosseini, have been subject to character assassinations in state-run newspapers. Iran’s state television has started its own satire show called “Just for your information” to counter the invidious influence of “Parazit”. Its audience so far has been small.

Update: The original picture accompanying this article, of an Iranian actress interviewed on Parazit, was changed on November 4th 2011 for the image above of the programme's hosts.
Source http://www.economist.com/node/21536654

France and Islam :Fighting freedom with fire

WHEN the French satirical weekly, Charlie Hebdo, reprinted controversial Danish cartoons of the Prophet, Muhammad, five years ago, French political leaders were ambivalent. Jacques Chirac, then the president, called it a “manifest provocation”. “Anything that can wound the convictions of others should be avoided,” he declared. Today’s political reactions to a fresh controversy surrounding Charlie Hebdo and Islam have been far more robust.

The paper’s issue dated November 2nd and entitled "Charia Hebdo" (a play on the French word for sharia), is “edited” by Muhammad, who threatens in a front-page cartoon “100 lashes if you don’t die of laughter!” Inside are dozens of satirical stories and cartoons depicting Muhammad, as well as caricatures featuring women wearing the burqa, the face-covering veil. The idea was to “celebrate” the victory of Islamists at Tunisia’s recent election, and the introduction of sharia law in Libya. Late last night, the publication’s offices in the 20th arrondissement of Paris were firebombed.

This time, French politicians have been unequivocal. François Fillon, the centre-right prime minister, not only denounced the attack, but declared that “freedom of expression is an inalienable value”. Bertrand Delanoë, the Socialist mayor of Paris, deplored the “act of violence against the freedom of expression”.

In some ways, this is a straightforward issue of the right to free speech. France outlaws holocaust-denial, but otherwise protects free speech. Controversial cases often end up in court. Since it was founded 19 years ago, Charlie Hebdo’s editor told Le Monde, his paper has been sued 13 times by various Catholic organisations, offended by the depiction of Christianity—but only once by Muslim groups, which went after Charlie Hebdo over the 2006 caricature issue and lost the case.

Yet the controversy comes at a delicate time for France’s efforts to reconcile its secular tradition with the demands of its Muslim minority of some 5m, which is Europe’s biggest. France has banned the wearing of the burqa in public. It recently cracked down on Friday prayers in the streets of Paris. A permit to build a big new mosque in Marseilles has just been refused on technical grounds. Any pretext can be used these days to spread (and amplify via social media) outrage at the mere hint of Islamophobia.

Hence, presumably, the more cautious reaction today of French Muslim leaders. Mohammed Moussaoui, leader of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, an official body, condemned the attack, and stated his “profound attachment” to freedom of expression. But he also “strongly deplored the very caricatural tone” of the newspaper towards Islam.

Many Muslims will indeed find the cartoons offensive, not least because they breach a convention in Islam that the Prophet should not be depicted. But Nicolas Sarkozy, the current French president who was then interior minister, put it well in 2006 during the previous controversy: he preferred, he said, “an excess of caricature to an excess of censorship”.
Source http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/11/france-and-islam