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Showing posts from June 10, 2012

Torture, Murder & Exclusion: Ireland’s first 10 years of Independence

The 1916 proclamation, the manifesto of the 1916 rebels, states: “The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all the children of the nation equally, and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien government, which have divided a minority from the majority in the past.” Torture, Murder & Exclusion: Ireland’s first 10 years of Independence Irish Anarchist Review #5 The 1916 proclamation, the manifesto of the 1916 rebels, states: “The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all the children of the nation equally, and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien government,

Regime troops fire teargas at protesters in Bahrain

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Bahrainis run for cover from the teargas fired by regime troops in the village of Belad al-Qadeem in a suburb of Manama on June 2, 2012 during a demonstration in solidarity with the political prisoners. Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have fired teargas at people staging a protest rally close to tourist areas near the capital Manama. The rally against the rule of the Al Khalifa regime was organized by Bahrain's largest opposition group al-Wefaq on Friday. Anti-government activists and protesters defied authorities' warnings and gathered near tourist areas, shopping centers and hotels just west of Manama. The peaceful rally turned violent after government forces used force to disperse protesters. Bahrain is in the grip of a revolution which began in February 2011. The regime's crackdown has left scores dead. Bahrainis hold King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa responsible for the death and arrest of protesters. Source: http://www.presstv.com/detail/2012/06/16/2464

'Qatar, Saudi Arabia smuggle tons of weapons into Syria: Analyst

A political analyst says Qatar and Saudi Arabia are smuggling tons of weapons into Syria to help terrorist armed groups fighting the Syrian government, Press TV reports. “We have many [Persian] Gulf countries openly, they are not denying it, they are sending hundreds of tons of weapons everyday to Syria like Saudi Arabia and Qatar,” Intifadh Qanbar told in an interview with Press TV. “And we have the United States not denying either sending equipment to the rebels in Syria, to the [terrorist group which calls itself] Syrian Free Army,” he added. Qanbar said that he believes the current ongoing unrest in Syria should be resolved through political means. “I think this is not right. I think all parties should hold their fire and sit around a table and I always believe it is never late for a peaceful solution, never,” the analyst said. “So it is very clear. This basically makes the situation very dangerous. I do not think any of the Western countries is really takin

Death of trooper pushes US death toll in Afghanistan to over 2000

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Afghan soldiers walk past an American trooper outside of a military base in Panjwai, Kandahar Province, south of Kabul, Afghanistan. (File photo) Another US Marine has been killed in Afghanistan, raising America’s death toll during the 11-year Afghan war to over 2000, the Pentagon says. According to a Thursday announcement, out of the 2000 fatalities recorded by the Pentagon, 1,577 were killed in combat operations in Afghanistan. Thirty four of them were women. Around 16,402 US troopers have also sustained injuries during the 11-year war, the report said. The independent website icasualties.org, however, has put the US fatalities in Afghanistan at 2,008. A total of 418 US troops died in Afghanistan in 2011. The year 2010, however, remains the deadliest year for the US forces with a death toll of 499. The high number of military casualties in Afghanistan has intensified opposition in the United States and other NATO member states to the US-led war in the violen

'ETA trained perpetrators of Bogota bombing'

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Officials in Colombia 's Prosecutor Generals Office said Wednesday that the Basque separatist group, the ETA, trained the FARC to carry out last month's terrorist attack on former Minister Fernando Londoño. The ETA allegedly advised the FARC on explosives so they could carry out the May 15 bombing which killed two people and injured 54 more after Londoño's armored car exploded in downtown Bogota . According to the Prosecutor's Office, "the different fronts of inquiry suggest that the guerrillas of the FARC were responsible for the terrorist attack but this does not rule out the interference of other illegal armed groups." The attackers used a "sticky bomb," a weapon commonly used by the ETA, which was affixed to the outside of Londoño's car. Colombia's Technical Investigation Team believes the explosive materials were imported from abroad but that members of the ETA were not actually present at the bombing. Military sourc

Qatar, Saudi Arabia conspire to topple Iraqi government: Maliki

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Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has accused Qatar and Saudi Arabia of hatching plots against his government to overthrow the political system of the country. “Toppling the (political) system of Iraq, not me, is their objective,” Maliki said in an interview with Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen satellite channel which was founded by journalists who left the al-Jazeera news channel. The Iraqi premier noted that both Arab states are trying to topple his government through financing opposition groups, holding anti-government meetings and inducing that a “tribal system” is governing the country. Maliki noted that major political posts in the country have been equally distributed between all Iraqi ethnic and religious groups under the constitution. "Look at your nations and see whether your people have the rights and privileges that Iraqi people have," Maliki asked the Qatari and Saudi authorities. Both regimes in

Iran devising strategic plan to enhance cyber defense: Official

The head of Iran's Passive Defense Organization says Iranian computer experts are preparing a strategic cyber defense plan to defend the country against any possible cyber attack. The country’s cyber command was established in the last Iranian year (ended March 19, 2012) and now the formulation of the “cyber defense strategy is on our agenda,” Brigadier General Gholamreza Jalali said on Thursday. "The important point is that we devise cyber defense mechanisms in such a way as to enable us to defend the country against new viruses in the future as well," Jalali added. He defined Iran's cyber defense as a measure to reduce the vulnerability of the country's key infrastructures, adding that Iran has no plan to carry out cyber attacks against any country. The Iranian official went on to say that over the past few years, the country was the target of numerous cyber attacks aimed at disrupting the country's nuclear energy program, but the Irani

4 high-ranking PKK members killed in southeastern Turkey

Turkish security forces have killed four high-ranking members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) who had illegally crossed into southeastern Turkey from Syria, Turkish officials say. The four PKK members were killed near the border town of Alakamis in Sirnak province on Wednesday, AFP reported on Friday. A clash broke out between security forces and the PKK members after the four refused to surrender. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community, including Turkey, Iran, the United States, and European Union member states. Over 40,000 people have lost their lives since the PKK launched its armed campaign against Ankara in 1984. Source: http://www.presstv.com/detail/2012/06/16/246407/4-highranking-pkk-killed-turkey/

Nigerian troops kill 4 Boko Haram militants in Kano

The Nigerian military’s Joint Task Force has killed four members of the Boko Haram militant group during a raid on one of the group’s hideouts in the northern city of Kano. According to a military statement, the attack was launched early on Friday in the Unguwa Uku district on a building where propaganda material was produced, AFP reported. The statement added that security forces also seized a number of items, including improvised explosive devices, a pistol, ammunition, lap tops, scanners, a printer, uniforms of security forces, and four police identity cards. On June 5, Nigerian troops shot and killed 16 members of the militant group in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, Boko Haram’s stronghold. On May 11, Nigerian security forces arrested Suleiman Mohammed, Boko Haram's head of operations in Kano, along with his wife and five children, during a raid on his house in the northern city. The extremist group has claimed responsibility for a number of deadl

Possible to discuss house arrest for PKK leader, Turkish deputy PM says

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Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arınc has speculated about a possibility of discussing house arrest for the jailed leader of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as part of a road map to end the terrorism Today`s Zaman reproted "This is not an isolated subject to discuss," Arınc told aHaber TV in an interview on Friday, when asked about his comments on the suggestion of Leyla Zana, independent pro-Kurdish deputy. Zana, the deputy from Diyarbakır, made rare statements in an interview with the Hürriyet daily on Thursday in which she said she believes Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will solve the Kurdish issue. She also spoke about the house arrest for jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. Arınç said the issue could be discussed as part of a road map to end the terrorism and said that it could be discussed only in the case the PKK lays down its arms. Arınç dismissed discussing the house arrest for Ocalan today, adding

From shining path to darkness of memories

More than a decade after the guerilla movement in Peru largely ceased, the rebels' attempt to move into politics has reopened a searing national debate During a scorched earth military campaign that threatened to topple the Peruvian government, the Maoist guerilla group known as the Shining Path terrorised Peru with assassinations, bombings, beheadings and massacres. So Peruvians were rattled last year when a group of former guerillas began collecting signatures to create a political party to participate in the democratic process they had once sought to destroy. Among their goals was an amnesty for crimes committed during the war, which lasted from the early 1980s to 2000; it would allow the release of jailed Shining Path leaders, including the group's reviled founder, Abimael Guzmán Reynoso. More than a decade after the struggle largely ceased, the rebels' attempt to move into politics has stirred emotions that are still raw and reopened a searing

Nazis Left To Thrive In Parts of Eastern Germany

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/article-on-neo-nazis-in-eastern-german-state-of-saxony-a-838231.html "Before, Kerstin Krumbholz didn't know much more about right-wing extremism than what she heard on the news, for example if a home for asylum-seekers was burned down somewhere, or when the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) took seats in a state parliament. But those things had little to do with her own life -- until a neo-Nazi injured her son so badly that he nearly died. A right-wing extremist attacked Florian, then 15 years old and a member of the punk scene, at a gas station in May 2010, fracturing his skull. Florian now lives with a titanium plate in his head, and he's moved away from Geithain. His mother wasn't a political person before Florian's attack, but now she studies far-right Internet forums and blogs, attends demonstrations and founded a group called the Initiative for an Open-Minded Geithain. Krumbholz has made ba

Basque youth group close to ETA says it has dissolved

Madrid. Segi, an outlawed youth group linked with the armed Basque separatist organisation ETA, said Friday it had disbanded, AFP reported. Segi, which was declared a terrorist group by Spain's Supreme Court in 2007 over its suspected ties to ETA, said it "has ended its course", in a statement published in Basque newspaper Gara. Its members have in the past thrown Molotov cocktails at symbols of Spain such as post offices, banks and political party offices. The Spanish government had accused it of being a "recruiting ground" for ETA. ETA itself announced what it said was the "definitive" end to its four-decade campaign of violence in October 2011. Source: http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n280642

Mayo brothers accused of IRA membership bailed by court

Two Mayo brothers who were charged earlier this week with explosives and IRA membership offences were freed on bail by the Special Criminal Court today. Colin Mannion (aged 31) and his brother Brian Mannion (aged 29) of Burriscarra, Clogher, Claremorris, were both charged on Monday with membership of an unlawful organisation , namely Oglaigh na hÉireann, otherwise the Irish Republican Army, otherwise the IRA, on June 9 last. They were also charged with the unlawful possession of explosive substances- RDX, PETN, one loaded detonator, two unloaded detonators and three electrical component parts at their home on the same date. Today the court freed both men on bail. Brian Mannion was granted bail on his own bond of €100 and an independent surety of €20,000, provided by his parents Denis and Margaret Mannion. Colin Mannion was freed on his own bond of €100 and an independent surety of €14,000 provided by his mother, Mrs Margaret Mannion. Both men were ordered to sign on

Kashmir's ex-jihadists face frosty homecoming

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The Hindu GREENER GRASS? Life remains profoundly difficult for those who turn their back on militancy. A file picture of the LoC near Poonch. Photo: V.V. Krishnan Former insurgents returning to the Valley from across the LoC need more help from the government to make a new life Late one evening 25 years ago, when the rickety minibus he worked on pulled into Kupwara at the end of a bone-rattling ride from the market town of Sopore, Syed Bashir Ahmad decided he was done selling tickets. From the bus station, he began walking up over the Dudhniyal forests, across the Line of Control (LoC). His passengers, that day, had included a group of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) cadre, headed for training at Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)-run camps in Pakistan. Mr. Ahmad decided to go along, he says, more or less on a whim. Frostbitten and exhausted, his journey ended in a hospital. Three months later, Mr. Ahmad moved in with relatives in Muzaffarabad,

UN Report: Use of child warriors in conflicts increased

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THE number of child warriors involved in the long-running Communist and Muslim rebellions have increased in the two years that the Aquino Administration has been in power, and they have been casualties in explosions and shootings, a United Nations report said Friday. Boys at war. A child combatant of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has a finger on the trigger in this undated photo. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the children, with ages ranging from seven to 16 years, were working as guerrillas of the New People’s Army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or serving as messengers and intelligence gatherers for the Armed Forces and para-military units. “These children are not only casualties of explosions, shootings and attacks, but they are also kidnapped, killed or maimed,” Ban said. “Last year, 26 children were killed in armed conflict.” Ban submitted his report to the UN General Assembly last month, but it was  cleared for release to the public only on

Seventeen killed in violent land eviction in Paraguay

(Reuters) - At least eight police officers and nine peasant farmers were killed in armed clashes on Friday during a land eviction in Paraguay, marking one of the worst such incidents in the country for two decades. Leftist President Fernando Lugo deployed troops to support local police. He ruled out any links between the incident and the Paraguayan People's Army, a small leftist group that has staged a series of raids on rural police posts in recent years. The peasants shot at the officers when they arrived to evict them from a privately owned farm in the Canindeuyu district, some 240 kilometers (150 miles) from the capital, and they returned fire, officials said. "Up until now we've seen about nine deaths among the peasant farmers who were occupying the property," Interior Minister Carlos Filizzola told reporters before handing in his resignation over the incident. Early reports of seven police officer deaths were later updated to include an eigh

NPA bomb kills army officer, wounds 3 more in Southern Philippines

DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / June 16, 2012) – An army officer was killed and three others wounded in a roadside bombing in the southern Philippines, officials said on Saturday. Officials said the attack, which occurred before midnight Friday, was carried out by the communist New People’s Army rebels. (See photo: The damaged truck of the Philippine Army as shown in this photo released by the 10th Infantry Division.) The soldiers were on heading to their camp in New Bataan town in Compostela Valley province when the explosion occurred, said Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division. He said the rebels used a landmine in the attack. “The landmine was laid on the concrete highway 100 meters away from the Iglesia ni Kristo church and about 300 meters from a school,” Paniza said. He said the rebels violated the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and the International Humanitarian Law which the communist group was a signatory.

Maoists recruiting minority youths

GUWAHATI: The arrest of a Maoist in the city on June 8 has brought to the fore the CPI (Maoist)'s new trend of recruiting minority youths in the state. Monowar Hussain, whose assumed name is Naresh, was arrested at Dhirenpara in the city, which led the police to search for another youth from the minority community, Amiruddin alias Sunil, who's still on the run. "Monowar and Amiruddin are from Dhubri district and are the trainers for Maoists' new recruits in the state," a source said. "This is something new and we were not exploring this angle of minority youths being tapped by Maoists till we arrested Monowar," the source said. The two became Maoist cadres in 2007 and were trained in guerilla fighting at Gaya in Bihar. Amiruddin is, in fact, in charge of armed training in the state, the source added. All this while security forces only had information about Ahom, Moran and Adivasi boys from the state and Khamti boys of Arunchal Pra

Nepal Maoists won't budge on ethnicity-based federalism

The ongoing constitutional crisis in Nepal is likely to prolong for some more time as ruling Maoists have ruled out compromise on single ethnicity-based federal states. Addressing a mass rally in Kathmandu on Friday, Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) leaders refused to demands by opposition parties to create new states based on multiple-ethnicity. Differences between Maoist-Madhesi coalition and opposition parties Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) on ways to restructure Nepal was the prime cause for failure to promulgate a new constitution last month. “The need of the hour is agreement among parties to draft a constitution guaranteeing single ethnicity-based federalism,” Maoist vice-chairman and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai told the rally. “We need to form a national unity government and contest the next elections. And if consensus can be reached only with my resignation, I am ready for that.” Nepal is witnessing political

Four Maoists arrested after encounter

KORAPUT: Four Maoists were arrested by members of Special Operations Group (SOG) in the district after an encounter on Friday. Those arrested are Puala Sargu, Puala Lachayya, Puala Ashu and Huika Sulaya. The securitymen also seized Maoists belongings from them. Police said a gunbattle took place on a forested road near Chinakhemu within Bandhugaon police limits around 11 am and continued for next few minutes when a group of Red rebels opened fired at the security personnel returning from an anti-Maoists operation. "Probably the Maoists had set up a transit camp at the crime spot and around 20 rebels were present at the time of gunbattle. The Maoists fired at our men prompting the SOG jawans to retaliate. Though several rounds were fired, there was no casualty or injury on either side," said SP (Koraput) Awinash Kumar. "Our men chased and arrested the four. Interrogation is on," he added. While coming across the encounter site, security p

Rs 1.5crore for security at Cyberabad

HYDERABAD: Society for Cyberabad Security Council (SCSC), which is a coordinating body between Cyberabad police and IT companies in Cyberabad, has decided to invest Rs 1.5 crore additional fund for improving the security at the various IT corridors in Cyberabad on Friday. The decision was taken during its annual general body meeting (AGM). SCSC secretary, V Srinivas Prasad , in a press release said that a decision was taken to invest Rs 1.5 crore for procuring HD cameras and to increase coverage in other areas of IT corridors to be commissioned latest by October 2012. The companies which are part of the council will provide the funds to Cyberabad police for improving security. The employees of several prominent institutions - Infosys, Deloitte , Cognizant, Microsoft, Facebook, Dell, GE and ISB - participated in the meeting. The honorary president of the council and Cyberabad commissioner , Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao , also participated in the meeting.  Source: http

Police Arrest Suspect in ’95 Tokyo Attack

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Kyodo News, via Associated Press Katsuya Takahashi, a former member of the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, was taken to Tokyo's police department on Friday. TOKYO — Japanese police on Friday arrested the man thought to be the final suspect from the doomsday cult behind a 1995 deadly poison gas attack on Tokyo’s subways, at last bringing to an end a 17-year-old manhunt. ¶ The man, Katsuya Takahashi, 54, had been one of Japan’s most wanted fugitives for the role that authorities say he played in the nerve gas poisoning on the crowded subway system here that killed 13 people and sickened thousands of others. ¶ Investigators arrested Mr. Takahashi as he left an Internet cafe in Tokyo after receiving a tip that a man resembling the fugitive had been spotted there, according to the public broadcaster NHK. Mr. Takahashi faces charges of murder. ¶ Friday’s arrest brings to a close a long search for suspects behind the 1995 subway attack and a string

Bomb blast kills 20 at northwest Pakistan market

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PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- A truck bomb tore through a bustling market in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 20 people and injuring 50 in an attack that may have been directed at tribesmen who have taken up arms against local militants. The blast occurred in the town of Landi Kotal in the Khyber region along the Afghan border, a restive tribal district where Pakistani Taliban fighters and a local militant group, Lashkar-e-Islam, have long maintained strongholds. Hundreds of people were shopping in the town’s central bazaar when the bomb, planted in a pickup parked in one of the market’s narrow lanes, exploded, said Khalid Mumtaz Kundi, a local Khyber official. “Thick black smoke was billowing from the area, and there were wounded people everywhere crying for help,” said Khalilullah, a local shopkeeper at the bazaar who, like many Pashtun Pakistanis, goes by one name. Investigators believe the bomb was detonated by remote control, Kundi said. Local official

Full Focus (L-R) Fellow workers, a firefighter and doctors work together to cut steel bars which were pierced through a worker's body during an operation at a hospital in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, June 12, 2012. The worker was pierced by seven steel bars during his duty at a bridge construction site on Monday afternoon, local media reported. He survived after five hours of surgery. REUTERS/China Daily Photos of the week Our top photos from the past week. See more Images of May Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Saudi Crown Prince Nayef, next in line to throne, dies 7:31am EDT 1 Texas grand jury to review case of father who killed daughter's attacker 15 Jun 2012 2 Obama spares many illegal immigrants deportation | Video 3:37am EDT 3 "Forest boy" made up story: German police 15 Jun 2012 4 Voyager space probe reaches edge of solar system 15 Jun 2012 5 Discussed 121 Most say Bush to blame for weak U.S. economy, poll finds 108 Analysis: Obama gambles by asking for more time to fix economy 106 China could impound European planes in carbon row Watched U.S. Morning Call: Greek stocks soar; Nokia job cuts U.S. Morning Call: Greek stocks soar; Nokia job cuts Thu, Jun 14 2012 Bodies found after Peru avalanche Bodies found after Peru avalanche Thu, Jun 14 2012 New NASA telescope a black hole hunter with X-ray eyes New NASA telescope a black hole hunter with X-ray eyes Wed, Jun 13 2012 Anger, fear linger after Myanmar communal clashes

(Reuters) - Deep-seated anger and fear smolder between Rohingya Muslims and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in the aftermath of the worst sectarian clashes in Myanmar in years, raising concerns that a fragile peace may not last long. Violence has largely subsided in northwestern Rakhine state, leaving reformist President Thein Sein with the difficult task of averting another round of mob attacks that have left dozens dead and tens of thousands homeless. "The government should separate Rakhines and Rohingyas because we can no longer live together," Than Mya, a 30-year-old mother of five who lost her husband, told Reuters on Saturday at a camp for displaced villagers in Rakhine's capital, Sittwe. "My husband was at the front when the fighting started. I didn't see him die," she said, while kneeling on the ground with a huge statue of Buddha behind her. The official death toll from two weeks of attacks stands at 50, with 58 injured and more than