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Showing posts from July 1, 2012

UN highlights child recruitment by extremists

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Maoist rebels have taken to abducting and indoctrinating children, the UN says in a new report which also scrutinises child abuse by the Pakistan-based TTP and other armed groups across the region. By Chandan Das for Khabar South Asia in Jamshedpur Maoist insurgents in northern India have resorted to using children as support staff, according to a UN report that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon submitted to the Security Council this month. Schoolgirls ride a bicycle past police patrolling a road near Lalgarh, West Bengal. According to a UN report, Maoist insurgents in India are recruiting child combatants as support staff. [Parth Sanyal/Reuters] The report, "Children and Armed Conflict", found that minors are being recruited from Chhattisgarh and adjoining states such as Jharkhand and Odisha. It cited a December 2011 Indian government report, which found that Maoists "were recruiting and indoctrinating chi

Top rebels out on bail rejoin NPA BY GILBERT BAYORAN

CADIZ CITY – The military reported yesterday the two arrested top leaders of the New People’s Army in Negros island, who were freed on bail, have rejoined their comrades in the revolutionary movement. Maj. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr., 3rd Infantry Division commander, claimed that Karapatan-Negros facilitated the posting of bail for Romeo Nanta, regional commander of the NPA in Negros island, who was released from jail on Feb. 21. Lt. Col. Efren Morados, 62nd Infantry Battalion commander, reported that Karapatan also facilitated the posting of bail for arrested couple, Hernando Llorente, commander of the NPA Kilusang Larangan Northern Negros, and his wife, Faith Roseen Basergo, a political instructor, who were released on April 27. Nanta is facing a string of criminal cases in court, including rebellion, robbery-in-band, robbery with homicide, two counts of arson, murder and attempted murder, in the death of three civilians in Brgy. Salamanca, Toboso, in 2

Relatives and supporters of killed communist rebel Armando Albarillo view his remains during his wake in Quezon City

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Relatives and supporters of killed communist rebel Armando Albarillo view his remains during his wake in Quezon City, Metro Manila July 5, 2012. Albarillo, whose remains were brought to Manila, was one of the 11 New People's Army (NPA) members killed in an encounter with the Armed Forces of the Philippines on June 30 in Quezon province south of Manila, local media reported. REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo (PHILIPPINES - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) Credit: REUTERS Published date: 07/05/2012 Source: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/multimedia/pictures/detail.dot?mediaInode=2a391146-d808-4c37-a6ae-6ba519df6ed1

NPA rebels abduct 3 in attack on Agusan mining firm

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/5 July) – Communist rebels attacked a mining camp in Agusan del Sur province dawn today and kidnapped three persons, including the son of the owner of a mining company, sketchy military reports said. Maj. Eugene Osias, spokesperson of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said some 30 New People’s Army rebels attacked the mining camp of VTO Company in the Ridge Mountain in Purok 11, Barangay Bayugan 3 in Rosario town around 5 a.m. Osias said the rebels ransacked the office of the mining firm and carted away some money, computers and unspecified number of firearms. The rebels also disarmed the company security guards, he added. When the rebels fled, Osias said they took a certain Dodo Ocipe, 27, son of Engr. Vivencio T. Ocipe, the owner of the mining company. The rebels also took two company workers with them. It was not known if the younger Ocipe is also an employee of the company. Osias said the rebels told the rest of the workers that th

CRPF-Naxal gunfight again, no casualty

The CRPF engaged in an encounter with suspected Maoists at the same spot in Sarkeguda village where 19 people were killed last week. Around 100 CRPF men who were on patrolling duty ahead of the day-long bandh called by the Maoists in the area on Thursday to protest against the killings, engaged in the gunbattle. “A team of CRPF men including CoBRA forces had gone to the area for patrolling when they were fired at. For about half-an-hour the encounter continued but no one was injured or killed,” said Pankaj Kumar Singh, IG (Operations), Delhi. The operation was planned to build continuous pressure on the Maoists and thwart their attempts for a comeback in the area. Security officials said the Maoists held meetings with the villagers on Wednesday urging them to make the bandh a success. Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk/

If it wants its people back, the State has to bring the healing development of water, roads... Not the fear of guns

DOCTOR-ACTIVIST Binayak Sen, infamously jailed on concocted charges, once described the Maoist-State conflict as two locomotives hurtling towards each other at breakneck speed while well-wishers could only look on helplessly. The horrific massacre of 18 tribals in Bastar last week — some of them mere children — by a joint CRPF and Chhattisgarh Police operation recalls that image in all its urgency. This is a war doomed in its very conception. It has to be withdrawn. It can never be won. It is inherently designed to lead to an endless series of senseless collisions in which both combatants will always be brutally bruised and leave trails of mangled victims in between. There are many reasons why this is an inevitability: all of them pervade this latest tragic incident. Three dominant characteristics mark the operational aspect of the war in India’s red corridors: fear, the absence of accurate information, and relentless false propaganda. In fact, the colour palette i

Maoists activity could not be contained in 3 states

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday admitted that Maoist activity could not be contained in three states, while stating that there has been unprecedented improvement in the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and in the northeastern states. "Maoists are active in the three states of Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand," Chidambaram said at a media interaction here. On the other hand, he said, "Never before has there been such an improvement in the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast." Chidambaram, however, complimented the West Bengal government saying that Maoist activities have declined in the state. "Thanks to the policies we followed during both the previous Left Front government and the new government now, Maoist activities have been wiped out in the affected districts of West Bengal," he said. On the question of withdrawing central forces from 'junglemahal' area, he said it was not a polic

45 Filipino seafarers still held captive by Somali Pirates

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DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez. CATHY MIRANDA/INQUIRER.net MANILA, Philippines–The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday said that about 45 Filipino seafarers on board five ships were still being held captive by Somali pirates. “We are monitoring and we let the government help us in that area and we are also supporting owners of  the ships as well as the manning agencies to monitor negotiations and other actions that would ultimately free our seafarers,” Raul Hernandez, DFA spokesman, said in a press briefing. Hernandez added that DFA continued to hold discussions with international partners to address the problem, as well as conducting training for Filipino seafarers. “We are conducting training for our seafarers before they leave for their assignments and make sure that they only follow the route that is safe for these ships to pass through,” Hernandez said. Source: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/42667/45-filipino-seafarers-still-held-captive-by-somali

Somali judges learn to prosecute pirates

DUBAI //A group of 31 Somali judges and prosecutors will travel to the UAE in October for training in holding piracy trials. The workshops are part of a UAE-French initiative to equip the Somali judicial system to try its own piracy cases, rather than relying on other nations to prosecute them. "We are working with the UAE to train judges, prosecutors and clerks to set up a strong framework for trying cases related to pirates," said Jocelyne Caballero, special anti-piracy representative from the French ministry of foreign and European affairs. "We want to support Somalia to prosecute pirates on their own. Being judged by their own authority will have much more effect than prosecutions abroad." The first group to undergo two judicial training sessions will be chosen from Somalia and the semiautonomous regions of Somaliland and Puntland. "The curriculum and the programme will be taught in the UAE," said Ms Caballero. An official from

The MI6-Al-Shabaab Connection

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British security analysts fear that the militant Islamic Somali group Al-Shabaab, which has admitted to carrying out acts of terrorism, may attack the London Olympic Games. The military and its secret services count on the media to “set the agenda” (Chatham House) 1 and to “shape perceptions” (Ministry of Defence). 2 It is not surprising, then, that the government’s terrorism claims are repeated uncritically by the media, which specialise in “white propaganda” (an official term for establishment messages). 3 Al-Shabaab foreign forces are recruited and trained by MI5 agents. In reality, Al-Shabaab was infiltrated by old MI6 assets long ago, and its foreign forces are recruited and trained by MI5 agents (see below). If there is an attack on the Olympic Games carried out by Al-Shabaab, it will almost certainly be a false-flag designed to propel a war-weary public into supporting yet more bloodshed in

Seychelles' fishing industry recovering from piracy

(Reuters) - Seychelles' vital fishing industry is starting to recover after international anti-piracy efforts and boats carrying armed guards deterred attacks by Somali pirates, Natural Resources and Industry Minister Peter Sinon said on Thursday. The Indian Ocean islands' economy depends on tuna exports and tourism, both badly hurt after pirate attacks sent foreign fishing boats out of its waters in 2010. "The boats which had stopped fishing in our waters when piracy was at its peak are now coming back. We are once again doing a lot of bunkering for them," Sinon said. Port sources said the number of boats entering Port Victoria slumped to 60 a year at the height of the crisis. It would receive that number in a single month at peak times. "Before piracy there were so many more ships because we had Korean and Japanese ships as well, now we do not," a port source said. Port officials said about 40 Taiwanese and Spanish tuna ships of 1,000

'China waiting for Dalai Lama to die'

Born in Taktser of Qinghai on July 06, 1935, Tenzin Gyatso was declared the reincarnation of the 13 previous Dalai Lamas in 1937. The 14th Dalai Lama is the living emblem of Tibetans-in-exile. Albeit he has resigned from political role, yet he continues to be the spiritual leader of some five million Tibetans. In an exclusive interview with Kamna Arora of Zeenews.com, Tim Johnson, an expert on Tibetan issues, discussed the role of the Dalai Lama in Tibet’s struggle for freedom, future of Tibet and self-immolations. Tim Johnson, a former Beijing bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers, is the author of "Tragedy in Crimson: How the Dalai Lama Conquered the World but Lost the Battle with China”. Kamna: Dalai Lama has stepped down as Tibet's political leader. But do you think he failed to achieve enough in that role? Or are we expecting too much from the spiritual leader? Tim: I first heard the Dalai Lama speak about his "

Pakistani mob kills man 'for burning Koran': police

MULTAN, Pakistan — A 2,000-strong Pakistani mob snatched a mentally unstable man from a police station, beat him to death and torched his body after he allegedly burned pages from a Koran, police said Thursday. The mob ransacked the police station in a village on the outskirts of central Pakistan's Bahawalpur city, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Multan, on Tuesday after officers refused to hand him over. Local police station chief Ghulam Mohiuddin said Ghulam Abbas, in his early 40s, was taken into custody after people said they caught him burning pages of the Muslim holy book. "After some time, more than 2,000 people surrounded the police station and asked the police to hand over the man to them, and upon refusal they ransacked the police station and took the accused with them," Mohiuddin told AFP. "The protesters also set fire to several motorcycles and vehicles parked in the police station and damaged the quarters of police official

China launches Xinjian crackdown

A top Communist Party of China (CPC) official has said separatists in the northwest region of Xinjiang will be dealt with "iron fists", indicating the government's intention of a crackdown to coincide with the third anniversary of deadly ethnic riots that swept the region in 2009. The comments were made as authorities' tightened security at airports across the region. A directive was passed that the disabled should bring hospital certificates if they want to carry mobility aids like crutches on the flight. Nearly 200 people were killed in July 2009 as riots erupted between the majority Han Chinese and the minority Uighurs in the capital city of Urumqi. The region has seen sporadic violence and attacks since then. Last week, six Uighur men allegedly tried to hijack a domestic flight operating in the region with crutches and material suspected to be explosives. The attempt

Bus scare, terror arrests ramp up UK security concerns ahead of Olympics

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London (CNN) -- Britain's police swung into action Thursday as two separate incidents, one involving a security scare on a bus and the other six terror arrests, pointed to the heightened state of alert ahead of the London Olympic Games. Security is a central concern for UK authorities and the organizers of the Olympics, which start in three weeks. After launching a major response to the security alert on the bus, which led armed officers to close a major motorway, police in Staffordshire concluded the incident was not terror-related. But its officers responded "swiftly and proportionately" to credible information from a concerned member of the public, a Staffordshire police statement said. "We can now confirm that, whilst this was a genuine security alert, the significant concerns reported to us were unfounded," the statement said. "The information received concerned a report of vapor escaping from a bag which on investigation turne

Security concerns loom large ahead of Libya vote

TRIPOLI — Security concerns loom large in the minds of Libyans and international observers in the run-up to the first democratic elections after four decades of dictatorship under slain leader Moamer Kadhafi. There is no shortage of actors who have threatened to boycott or sabotage Saturday's landmark vote, raising tensions particularly in the east of the oil-rich country, cradle of the 2011 uprising that toppled Kadhafi's regime. Interim government spokesman Nasser al-Manaa has urged "all Libyans to participate, protect and take pride in these elections which are a step towards stability and development." Security services have warned that supporters of the former regime may seize the opportunity to disrupt the vote to elect a national assembly, which will be tasked with appointing a new government and a constituent authority. The weeks before the elections have been marred by fighting between different communities, with bloody clashes in weste

'I heard the biggest bang ever': terror raid near Olympics site

Six people, including three living close to the Olympic site and a former police community support officer, have been arrested over a suspected terrorist plot. The alleged plan involved Islamist extremists with potential targets in the UK, but was not linked to the Olympics, it is understood. Thursday's arrests were part of an intelligence-led operation by the Metropolitan Police counter-terror command along with armed officers, but the threat was not thought to be imminent. Five men and a woman were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism and were being held at a southeast London police station, police said. Three of the men, believed to be from a Bangladeshi family, were arrested in a raid on a house in Stratford, east London. One, aged 24, was Tasered but did not require hospital treatment. The others were aged 18 and 26. Neighbours said the occu

Why Russia locks up so many entrepreneurs

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    Businessman Alexei Kozlov has been jailed - and he says, framed - twice In the last 10 years Russia has imprisoned nearly three million entrepreneurs, many unjustly. This statistic comes from a new ombudsman for business rights, Boris Titov, who says it is "hard to find another social group persecuted on such a large scale". How has this come about? Businessmen have complained for years that people have been able to frame commercial rivals - by paying corrupt police officers to plant evidence and make arrests to order. But only now are they being taken seriously. More and more well-heeled entrepreneurs have been joining, even leading street protests in recent months, with reform of the courts one of their main demands. Perhaps those protests influenced President Putin's decision last month to create a post of "ombudsman for business rights" - but he might also have been persuaded by the $84bn in capital that left Russia last yea

The Islamists hijacking a rebellion in Timbuktu

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Some residents have been abandoning the city of Timbuktu in Mali because of the deadly unrest hitting the West African nation, but others have stayed there despite the tension. I was alone, and ambling through the cheerfully shambolic market in Timbuktu, swerving to avoid the donkeys, and stopping to chat to some of the traders. For the past week everyone, from the governor to my guide and translator, Halis, had been earnestly assuring me that Timbuktu was safe. The threats of al-Qaeda, and of kidnapping, were being wildly exaggerated. I got talking to an Arab trader in the market. Friendly enough. But when he asked me what hotel I was staying at, a small mental alarm bell rang, and I changed the subject. A few minutes later, I found my guide Halis, and mentioned the conversation to him. His smile was chased away by something close to panic. I know I said it is safe here, he said. But you need to be careful. That was 20