Angkhana: Military must admit mistake

Angkhana: Military must admit mistake
Bangkok Post, 31 January 2012

Angkhana Neelapaijit, chairwoman of the Justice for Peace Foundation, on Tuesday called on Deputy Prime Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa to show responsibility for giving incorrect information on Sunday's shooting incident in Pattani in which four people were killed and five others injured.

Ms Angkhana said Gen Yutthasak said in an interview on Monday that those killed and wounded in the shooting were believed to have caused unrest despite the fact that they were villagers who were on the way to prayers at a funeral.

She said the shooting took place on the route they were taking. A survivor said when their pick-up truck arrived at the checkpoint (at Ban Kayi) no security officials showed up to conduct a search but the vehicle suddenly came under fire, causing deaths and injuries.

What happened had caused local people to become angry and accentuated their distrust of government authorities, Mrs Angkhana said.

"The shooting will make it more difficult for the government to win the trust of the people. Gen Yutthasak and the Region 4 Internal Security Operations Command must come out and admit a mistake was made, and declare publicly that the culprits will be punished wkithin the justice system. They should not talk only about reparations," she said.

Mrs Angkhana said the fact that the Nong Chik district chief found it hard to reach the scene of the shooting to find out what had happened indicated that there was an intention on the part of the authorities to cover up the mistake.

She called for the government to set up a committee comprising representatives of the state, the people's sector, respected religious leaders and representatives of those affected, to investigate and establish the facts surrounding the incident.

The committee should be empowered to invite the authorities to testify and explain the shooting with scientific and forensic evidence to back them up.

A DNA test should be conducted on weapons claimed to have been found in the pick-up truck, to make it clear whether those killed and the wounded had used them, Mrs Angkhana said.

Meanwhile, an unconfirmed report citing sources in the area said that the nearly 200 paramilitary rangers at the operational base at Ban Nam Dam in tambon Pulo Puyo had been ordered to move within 24 hours to Ingkhayuthaboriharn military camp in Pattani's Nong Chik district.

They were being replaced by 200 soldiers of Company 2206 of the 15th Signal Battalion from Phaya Intira military camp in tambon Huay Nam Yen of Nong Chik district, the report said.

Obama Denies ‘Huge Number of Civilian Casualties’ in Drone War -- News from Antiwar.com

Obama Denies ‘Huge Number of Civilian Casualties’ in Drone War -- News from Antiwar.com
John Glaser, January 30, 2012

President Barack Obama readily confirmed the drone war in northwest Pakistan in an interview Monday, breaking with the protocol which normally demands U.S. officials not speak publicly about the classified program.

“I want to make sure people understand actually drones have not caused a huge number of civilian casualties,” President Obama said in an hour long interview hosted by Google. “For the most part, they’ve been very precise, precision strikes against against al-Qaeda and their affiliates.”

The claim mirrors previous attempts to downplay the civilian casualties of the drone war. John Brennan, President Obama’s counter-terrorism advisor, told the public back in June that zero civilian casualties have occurred as a result of U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan.

This was an obvious lie, but the Bureau of Investigative Journalism helped prove it so in August by cataloguing their lengthy findings on civilian casualties in the drone war, counting hundreds of civilians by name who were killed in drone strikes, including at least 168 children. Investigative reporter Noor Behram, who had been on the ground in Pakistan tallying the dead, estimated that “for every 10 to 15 people killed, maybe they get one militant.”

A Washington Post article last month explained that, although the government has dismissed “reports of collateral damage and the alleged killing of innocents” by claiming that drones “result in far fewer mistakes than less sophisticated weapons,” they have yet to provide any details to support those claims.

The Post report said that the drone war in Pakistan has resulted “in an estimated 1,350 to 2,250 deaths.” But the public simply doesn’t have a good idea of how many have been killed, because “the identities…remain classified, as does the existence of the drone program itself.”

In the same Google interview, President Obama also down-played the role of U.S. drones in Iraq, saying that “the truth is we’re not engaging in a bunch of drone attacks inside Iraq. There’s some surveillance to make sure that our embassy compound is protected.”

Both Pakistan and Iraq have publicly objected to America’s use of drones flying over their skies, saying it amounts to a violation of their sovereignty.

Thousands Come Out to See Suu Kyi in Pakokku

Thousands Come Out to See Suu Kyi in Pakokku
SAW YAN NAING / THE IRRAWADDY Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Residents of Pakokku in northern Burma's Magwe Division came out in full force on Tuesday as pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in the area to observe foreign-funded development projects.

Suu Kyi flew from Rangoon to the town of Nyaung-U in Mandalay Division via Air Bagan on Tuesday morning before heading to Myaing Township in Pakokku District, said the editor of a leading Rangoon-based journal.

As she traveled by car from Nyaung-U to project sites in Myaing, thousands of supporters came out to greet her with loud cheers, said the editor, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Nyan Win, the main spokesperson of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the trip was not part of the party’s campaign for upcoming by-elections.

“She went with people from the British Council to observe development projects financed by DFID,” said Nyan Win, referring to the UK's Department for International Development.

The projects, which are coordinated by the British Council in Rangoon, address a range of social, educational and health-related issues.

In the town of Pakokku, which Suu Kyi passed en route to Myaing, thousands of local residents flooded into the town center to welcome her.

Pakokku is a major center of Buddhist learning, with more than 80 monasteries. In 2007, it became one of the focal points of the Saffron Revolution, which was sparked in part by a crackdown on Buddhist monks in Pakokku who took part in peaceful protests against drastic fuel price hikes.

According to Nyan Win, Suu Kyi's next trip outside of Rangoon will take her to Mandalay, Burma's second-biggest city, where she will resume her campaign activities from Feb. 4 to 5.

On Sunday, Suu Kyi also attracted huge crowds in the southern city of Tavoy, the site of a massive Thai-financed deep-sea port and industrial zone project that is currently under development.

Tens of thousands of local residents came out to greet her motorcade, many waving the NLD flag and shouting “Long Live Mother Suu.”

In Tavoy, Suu Kyi said she would try to change laws in the 2008 Constitution that don't benefit Burmese citizens. She said that internal peace, the rule of law and constitutional amendments are the reasons her party decided to take part in by-elections slated for April 1.

In 2010, the NLD boycotted Burma's first election in more than 20 years, saying it was neither free nor fair. However, late last year the party sought to have its legal status restored after the Burmese government made some changes to its electoral laws.

Cambodians in bid to escape Thai boats

Cambodians in bid to escape Thai boats
Phnompenh Post, May Titthara, 31 January 2012

A desperate group of Cambodian men have made calls to their families from Indonesia asking for help to escape from forced labour aboard exploitative Thai fishing boats.

The families of 14 men from Trea commune in Kampong Thom province’s Stoung district filed a complaint to rights group Licadho yesterday pleading for help to repatriate their loved ones.

Gnan Van, 33, said yesterday that her husband Yean Phean called her while docking at an Indonesian island on Sunday pleading for help to escape a fishing boat owner who made him work “night and day” and paid no salary.

“I’ve missed my husband for two years. Since [late] 2009, I did not get any news from him,” she said. “I just got his phone call yesterday, he asked me to ask NGOs to help him and other people back to Cambodia.”

Her husband, along with 13 others, crossed into Thailand from Banteay Meanchey’s Malai district in December 2009 with a broker to work as pig farmers in Thailand despite her warnings about the risks of migrant work.

“I got some news about illegal border crossings to work in Thailand or Malaysia but my husband did not listen to me,” she said.

Oun Pheap, 59, said her son Sok Ly also ignored her when she warned him about the risks of travelling to Thailand with a broker.

“I told my son, ‘Don’t believe people who urge you to work in Thailand,’ but he did not listen to me, he just said to me that he can earn a lot of money working in Thailand,” she said.

Chhoung Run, Licadho’s Banteay Meanchey provincial coordinator, said yesterday’s complaint was the second he had received in relation to the case.

“[A court official] already sent this case to the head office for them to contact our embassy in Indonesia to help them,” he said.

Mao Naream, a consular affairs official at the Cambodian embassy in Indonesia, said he was unaware of the case but would look into it.

More than 100 Cambodian men have been rescued from Indonesia, Malaysia and Mauritius since December after they were trafficked onto fishing boats in Thailand.

Anwar Betrays Palestinians And World's Muslims

Anwar Betrays Palestinians And World's Muslims
Malaysian mirror, 31 January 2012

KUALA LUMPUR -- Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's statement, expressing support for actions in protecting Israel's security, is a betrayal to the Palestinians and Muslims all over the world.

Perdana Global Peace Foundation adviser Muhkriz Mahathir said each time Israel's zionists killed Muslim or Christian Palestinians, they used the excuse of protecting Israel's security.

"Now someone with a big ambition to become the prime minister of Malaysia is using the same excuse in supporting the oppressive country, Israel.

"Should we be sympathetic towards the oppressors or the victims?" he said in his SMS text message to Bernama, here on Monday.

Mukhriz who is also International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister, said the same excuse was used when Israel's bulldozers flattened Palestinian homes in the West Bank and when Israeli soldiers killed Palestinians in Gaza.

He said the excuse was also used to violate the numerous United Nations resolutions and during the fatal attack on humanitarian activists on the freedom flotilla.

Meanwhile yesterday, the Pertubuhan Sukarelawan Pembangunan Sosial, Pencegahan Jenayah dan Anti Dadah Kuala Lumpur (Pencegah) or Kuala Lumpur Social Development, Crime Prevention and Anti-Drugs Voluntary Organisation lodged a police report over Anwar's statement on Israel.

The report made by its president R. Jeevan at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters here, among others, urged the Home Ministry and police to investigate Anwar's statement which appeared in The Wall Street Journal recently.

"The statement is regretted and it is against Malaysia's policy which condemns Israel's brutal zionist regime," Jeevan told reporters.

(Bernama)

Thailand welcomes Twitter censorship tool

Thailand welcomes Twitter censorship tool
Bangkok Post, January 30, 2012

Thailand, which regularly cracks down on Internet content deemed critical of its revered monarchy, on Monday welcomed social media giant Twitter's controversial new censorship policy.

 

Thailand, which regularly cracks down on Internet content deemed critical of its revered monarchy, welcomed social media giant Twitter's controversial new censorship policy.

The San Francisco-based networking website announced last week that it can now block tweets on a country-by-country basis if legally required, enraging many users, but Thailand said it supported the move.

"It's a good idea that Twitter has this policy to take care and prevent its users from violating the law, because freedom of expression must not violate other people's rights or the laws in each country," Thai Information and Communication Technology Minister Anudith Nakornthap told AFP.

"The ICT ministry will continue to ensure no person or group uses social networks to violate the law. I agree with Twitter's new policy but we will not be involved with Twitter's censorship."

The Thai government has removed tens of thousands of web pages in recent years because they were considered insulting to the royal family, an extremely sensitive subject in the politically-divided country.

A boom in online discussion on social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter is fuelling political debate and challenging Thailand's long-standing taboo against openly discussing the royal family.

In November Thailand asked Facebook to delete more than 10,000 pages of content containing images or text deemed offensive to the monarchy.

Anyone convicted in Thailand of insulting the king, queen, heir or regent can been jailed for up to 15 years for each offence, and rights groups have expressed concern about a series of convictions under the tough rules.

Thailand deep south: 4 killed, 4 wounded in Pattani

Thailand deep south: 4 killed, 4 wounded in Pattani

Four villagers were killed and four others injured when gunmen attacked a pickup truck in Pattani's Nong Chik district on Sunday night.

(Photos by Abdulloh Benjakat)

Pol Col Chonvee Chamarerk, the Nong Chik police chief, said the attack on the pickup happened about 10pm after an M79 grenade was fired at the operational base of a ranger unit at Ban Nam Kham in tambon Pulo Puyo in Nong Chik.

The M79 grenade explosion slightly injured a ranger.

The rangers at the base contacted patrol units to set up checkpoints on Highway 418 (Yala-Pattani) to check vehicles passing along the road.

At Ban Kayi, about 2km from the base, an Isuzu pickup which was spotted travelling against the traffic flow was attacked by an unidentified group of armed men and an exchange of fire followed.

Four people in the pick-up truck were killed and four others wounded. The dead were identified as Ropa Buraheng, 18, Isman Dueramae, 55, Saha Samae, 65, and Ahama Saning, all from Ban Tanyong Pule in tambon Pule Puyo. The wounded, from the same village, were admitted to Nong Chik hospital.

Nong Chik district chief Luechai Charoensap and Pol Col Chonvee led a team of police and defence volunteers to examine the scene. They found 26 spent AK47 shells and 30 spent M16 shells on the road.

An AK47 rifle was found in the pickup.

Ya Dueramae, the driver of the pickup, told police he was taking nine passengers from Ban Tanyong Pule to the funeral of a former village chief, who died of old age, at Ban Thungpho in tambon Lipa Sango.

At Ban Kayi, they saw a number of defence volunteers. At that moment the pickup came under attack from many directions, killing and wounding the villagers. The vehicle was riddled with bullet holes.

Mr Luechai, the district chief, said he had ordered district officials to arrange a funeral for the victims and promised relatives that the police would investigate the incident and ensure them justice.

Former defence minister Yutthasak rejected the involvement of military rangers in the shooting.

He said initial investigations did not support the claim they were innocent villagers.

He said that according to a report he received a pickup truck and a motorcycle were involved in the attack on the ranger base.

The motorcycle from which the grenade was fired managed to escape, but the pickup skidded off the road as it fled and came under fire.

A number of weapons were found in the pickup, he said.

It was not yet known which group the people in the pickup belonged to, Gen Yutthasak said.

He said the pickup driver's account to police that the people in the vehicle were on their way to a funeral might not be true. People going to prayers did not need to carry weapons.

It appeared they were fleeing after the M79 attack, he added.

"Authorities are sceptical that those in the pickup truck were ordinary villagers," Gen Yutthasak said.

Maj-Gen Acra Thiproj, deputy director of Region 4 Internal Security Operations Command, said no conclusions had yet been reached about the group or whether they were involved in the attack on the ranger base. A forensic examination would help determine the facts, he said.

Lt-Gen Udomchai Thammasarorat, the Region 4 Army commander, promised justice for the families of those killed, Maj-Gen Acra said.

He said officials had been sent to meet the relatives of the victims to prevent any misunderstanding.

Iran FM: IAEA Inspectors Free to Inspect All Nuclear Sites -- News from Antiwar.com

Iran FM: IAEA Inspectors Free to Inspect All Nuclear Sites -- News from Antiwar.com
Jason Ditz, January 29, 2012

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has dispatched a team of inspectors to Iran this weekend, and they began an intensive three-day inspection visit today under growing threats of an Israeli attack against Iran’s civilian nuclear sites.

The visit was being loudly welcomed by top Iranian officials, with their nuclear chief saying that the inspection would finally end international allegations that the program was anything but a legal, civilian program. Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi added that the IAEA inspectors would be given free and full access to any nuclear sites they requested.

The inspection team includes weapons experts, with the expectation that they will grill Iran over the alleged military ambitions of their program. Previous inspections have failed to uncover any solid evidence that there is any military program at all, which has only fueled further accusations from Western nations that Iran is hiding them. The IAEA’s current chief Amano Yukiya, has mostly gone along with these allegations, issuing a report warning that they couldn’t prove Iran didn’t secretly have a weapons program.

This time, however, the fear that Israel might start a massive regional war over the accusations is likely going to color any official IAEA statements coming out of the visit. Unfortunately any statement could theoretically be used as an excuse for a war, as Israel’s current government could spin any allegation as the “last straw” or present a lack of accusations as proof that the international community will never attack Iran and that they must do so unilaterally.

Belgium Hit by General Strike Over Austerity Measures | Common Dreams

Belgium Hit by General Strike Over Austerity Measures | Common Dreams
, January 30, 2012 by Common Dreams

Belgium Hit by General Strike Over Austerity Measures

"You don’t get growth when you suck the oxygen out of the economy by austerity"

- Common Dreams staff

Unions staged a general strike in Belgium today in protest of austerity measures. The strike coincides with a summit by EU leaders in Brussels.

A woman holds a paper reading "It's their crisis, let's make them pay" as Belgian workers block access to the industrial area of Houdeng-Goegnies during a national 24-hour general strike January 30, 2012. (REUTERS/Sebastien Pirlet)

The Guardian reports:

The issues behind the strike are the same as those on the agenda for the summit. Greece's desperate plight hovers over the meeting, although formally there is no mention of Greece on the agenda or in the statements drafted for the meeting.

Instead the leaders of the 27 governments will discuss how to underpin an EU recovery – of which there is absolutely no sign – with "smart growth" policies, which would entail medium-term structural reforms, cutting labour costs, reshaping labour markets and redirecting surplus EU budget funds towards the eurozone periphery, where the debt crisis is hitting hardest.

The leaders are also to finalise two new treaties directly dealing with the euro crisis.

The first is the German-led "fiscal compact" which supersedes the currency's rulebook, the stability pact, by enshrining debt and deficit ceilings across the eurozone, giving Brussels greater powers to enforce compliance and penalise offenders, and making the fines imposed on delinquents more automatic and less open to political abuse.

The second treaty sets up the eurozone's new permanent bailout fund, the European stability mechanism (ESM), which is to come into operation a year earlier than planned in July with a kitty of €500bn (£420bn). The two treaties are explicitly linked, at Berlin's insistence. From March next year, a country in need will not be able to tap the bailout fund unless it has signed up to the other treaty and the stiff new fiscal and budgetary rules.

Reuters adds this voice from a protester:

"We are angry because they want to attack our pensions," said Philippe Dubois, a railway union member outside Brussels' Midi station. "We want to make some noise."

"And you don’t get growth when you suck the oxygen out of the economy by austerity, austerity, and then some,” said Christian Democrat union leader Marc Leemans.

And the Associated Press adds this from a protester fighting austerity:

“What we need is growth. Growth creates jobs. And you don’t get growth when you suck the oxygen out of the economy by austerity, austerity, and then some,” said Christian Democrat union leader Marc Leemans.

“At this stage, the poor members states are left in misery and the rich stand by and watch,” said Leemans.

Police Use Teargas on Occupy Oakland; 300 Arrested | Common Dreams

Police Use Teargas on Occupy Oakland; 300 Arrested | Common Dreams
Common Dreams staff , January 29, 2012

Police fired tear gas and used flash-grenades to disperse hundreds of people after Saturday's peaceful 'Occupy Oakland' demonstration.

Members of the Oakland Police department form a line during a confrontation with Occupy Oakland demonstrators near the Oakland Museum of California in Oakland, California January 28, 2012. Police fired tear gas at hundreds of Occupy Oakland protesters who tried to occupy a shuttered convention center on Saturday, arresting 19 people in the latest clash between anti-Wall Street activists and authorities in the California city. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

Protesters gathered at a central plaza and then over 2,000 marched through the city streets planning to take over the vacant Henry Kaiser convention center. Occupy Oakland said last week that they planned to move into the building and turn it into a social center and political hub.

When the protesters started tearing down sections of the fence surrounding the vacant convention center, police issued a warning to disperse, and when protesters failed to do so, police officers went on to disperse them by force.

Late Saturday night, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, who faced heavy criticism for the police action last autumn, called on the Occupy movement to "stop using Oakland as its playground."

* * *

UPDATE: This morning Occupy Oakland issued the following statement:

Oakland Police Violate Their Own Policies

Oakland, CA – Yesterday, the Oakland Police deployed hundreds of officers in riot gear so as to prevent Occupy Oakland from putting a vacant building to better use. This is a building which has sat vacant for 6 years, and the city has no current plans for it. The Occupy Oakland GA passed a proposal calling for the space to be turned into a social center, convergence center and headquarters of the Occupy Oakland movement.

With all the problems in our city, should preventing activists from putting a vacant building to better use be their highest priority? Was it worth the hundreds of thousands of dollars they spent?The police actions tonight cost the city of Oakland hundreds of thousands of dollars, and they repeatedly violated their own crowd control guidelines and protester’s civil rights.

With all the problems in our city, should preventing activists from putting a vacant building to better use be their highest priority? Was it worth the hundreds of thousands of dollars they spent?

The OPD is facing receivership based on actions by police in the past, and they have apparently learned nothing since October. On October 25, Occupiers rushed to the aid of Scott Olsen who was shot in the head by police, and the good Samaritans who rushed to his aid had a grenade thrown at them by police. At 3:30pm this afternoon, OO medics yet again ran to the aid of injured protesters lying on the ground. Other occupiers ran forward and used shields to protect the medic and injured man. The police then repeatedly fired less lethal rounds at these people trying to protect and help an injured man.

Around the same time, officers #419, #327, and others were swinging batons at protesters in a violation of OPD crowd control policy, which allows for pushing or jabbing with batons, but not the swinging of them.

In the evening, police illegally kettled and arrested hundreds of protesters. Police can give notices to disperse, if a group is engaged in illegal activity. However, if the group disperses and reassembles somewhere else, they are required to give another notice to disperse. Tonight, they kettled a march in progress, and arrested hundreds for refusing to disperse. Contrary to their own policy, the OPD gave no option of leaving or instruction on how to depart. These arrests are completely illegal, and this will probably result in another class action lawsuit against the OPD, who have already cost Oakland $58 million in lawsuits over the past 10 years.

OPD Crowd Control Policy: “If after a crowd disperses pursuant to a declaration of unlawful assembly and subsequently participants assemble at a different geographic location where the participants are engaged in non-violent and lawful First Amendment activity, such an assembly cannot be dispersed unless it has been determined that it is an unlawful assembly and the required official declaration has been adequately given.”

“The announcements shall also specify adequate egress or escape routes. Whenever possible, a minimum of two escape/egress routes shall be identified and announced.”

“When the only violation present is unlawful assembly, the crowd should be given an opportunity to disperse rather than face arrest.”

At least 4 journalists were arrested in this kettling. They include Susie Cagle, Kristen Hanes, Vivian Ho who were arrested and then released, and Gavin Aronsen who was taken to jail.

One woman was in terrible pain from the cuffs. Dozens of fellow arrestees shouted at the OPD to check her cuffs. But, contrary to their own policy, the OPD refused and simply threw her in a paddy wagon.

OPD Crowd Control Policy: “Officers should be cognizant that flex-cuffs may tighten when arrestees’ hands swell or move … When arrestees complain of pain from overly tight flex cuffs, members shall examine the cuffs to ensure proper fit”

“Through everything that has happened since September, from Occupy to the acceleration of “Bills” — NDAA, SOPA, PIPA, ACTA — never have I felt so helpless and enraged as I do tonight. These kids are heroes” -- Cathy Jones, attorney, National Lawyers GuildNumerous protesters were injured: some shot with “less lethal” rounds, some affected by tear gas, and some beaten by police batons. There are no totals yet for the numbers of protesters injured. One 19 year old woman was taken to the hospital with internal bleeding after she was beaten by Officer #119.

Cathy Jones, an attorney with the NLG gave the following statement to Occupy Oakland’s media team: “Through everything that has happened since September, from Occupy to the acceleration of “Bills” — NDAA, SOPA, PIPA, ACTA — never have I felt so helpless and enraged as I do tonight. These kids are heroes, and the rest of the country needs to open its collective eyes and grab what remains of its civil rights, because they are evaporating, quickly. Do you want to know what a police state looks like? Well, you sure as hell still do not know unless you were watching our citizen journalists.”

Today, Occupy Oakland events continue all day with a festival in Oscar Grant (Frank Ogawa) Plaza:

http://occupyoakland.org/2012/01/occupy-oakland-rise-up-festival-has-been-moved-to-oscar-grant-plaza-tomorrow/

Occupy Oakland is an emerging social movement without leaders or spokespersons. It is in solidarity with occupations currently occurring around the world in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street. Occupy Oakland Media is a committee of Occupy Oakland, established by the Occupy Oakland General Assembly.

CONTACT:

Occupy Oakland Media Committee
(510) 473-6250
media@occupyoakland.org

http://hellaoccupyoakland.org

* * *

Occupy Oakland demonstrators run over a fence in an attempt to escape from the police encirclement during a day-long protest in Oakland, California January 28, 2012. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

ABC news reports:

Kristin Hanes of ABC News San Francisco station KGO was one of several reporters briefly arrested.

“We were all walking down the same street and they kind of – they came at us from both sides, issued us a dispersal notice but there wasn’t really, you know, anywhere to go,” said Hanes.

“They kind of herded us all into this little area, pushed up to this building and I heard a bullhorn saying that you are being arrested and we are essentially surrounded, kind of pushed together like sardines here,” Hanes added.

Hanes was eventually released and de-handcuffed.

* * *

Women of FEMEN Crash "Gangsters Party in Davos" | Common Dreams

Women of FEMEN Crash "Gangsters Party in Davos" | Common Dreams
Common Dreams staff, January 28, 2012

The Associated Press reports:

Three topless Ukrainian protesters were detained Saturday while trying to break into an invitation-only gathering of international CEOs and political leaders to call attention to the needs of the world's poor. Separately, demonstrators from the Occupy movement marched to the edge of the gathering.

After a complicated journey to reach the heavily guarded Swiss resort town of Davos, the Ukrainians arrived at the entrance to the complex where the World Economic Forum takes place every year.

With temperatures around freezing in the snow-filled town, they took off their tops and tried to climb a fence before being detained. "Crisis! Made in Davos," read one message painted across a protester's torso, while others held banners that said "Poor, because of you" and "Gangsters party in Davos." [...]

The activists are from the group FEMEN, which has become popular in Ukraine for staging small, half-naked protests to highlight a range of issues including oppression of political opposition. They have also conducted protests in some other countries.

"We came here to Switzerland to Davos to explain the position of all poor people of the world, to explain that we are poor because of these rich people who now sit in the building," said Inna Schewcenko.

# # #

Suu Kyi galvanizes once-repressed Myanmar politics | Asian Correspondent

Suu Kyi galvanizes once-repressed Myanmar politics | Asian Correspondent
AP News Jan 30, 2012

DAWEI, Myanmar (AP) — Euphoric seas of supporters waved opposition party flags and offered yellow garlands. They lined crumbling roads for miles and climbed atop trees, cars and roofs as Aung San Suu Kyi spoke at impromptu rallies. Some cried as her convoy passed.

Cheered by tens of thousands, the 66-year-old opposition leader electrified Myanmar’s repressive political landscape everywhere she traveled Sunday on her first political tour of the countryside since her party registered to run in a historic ballot that could see her elected to parliament for the first time.

“We will bring democracy to the country,” Suu Kyi said to roaring applause as her voice boomed through loudspeakers from the balcony of a National League for Democracy office in the southern coastal district of Dawei. “We will bring rule of law … and we will see to it that repressive laws are repealed.”

As huge crowds screamed “Long Live Daw Aung San Suu Kyi!” and others held banners saying “You Are Our Heart,” she said: “We can overcome any obstacle with unity and perseverance, however difficult it may be.”

Suu Kyi’s campaign and by-elections due April 1 are being watched closely by the international community, which sees the vote as a crucial test of whether the military-backed government is really committed to reform.

The mere fact that Suu Kyi was able to speak openly in public in Dawei — and her supporters were able to greet her en masse without fear of reprisal — was proof of dramatic progress itself. Such scenes would have been unthinkable just a year ago, when the long-ruling junta was still in power and demonstrations were all but banned.

Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, center, waves her hand to supporters on her arrival in Dawei, about 615 km (380 miles) south of Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Pic:AP

Suu Kyi’s visit was equivalent to waking a sleeping dragon, said environmental activist Aung Zaw Hein.

“People had been afraid to discuss politics for so long,” he said. “Now that she’s visiting, the political spirit of people has been awakened.”

Looking into the giant crowds, Hein added: “I’ve never seen people’s faces look like this before. For the first time, they have hope in their eyes.”

Businesman Ko Ye said he was ecstatic that Suu Kyi came, and like most people here, he welcomed the recent dramatic changes that made her trip possible. “We are all hoping for democracy,” the 49-year-old said, “but we’re afraid these reforms can be reversed at anytime.”

After nearly half a century of iron-fisted military rule, a nominally civilian government took office last March. The new government has surprised even some of its toughest critics by releasing hundreds of political prisoners, signing cease-fire deals with ethnic rebels, increasing media freedoms and easing censorship laws.

Suu Kyi’s party boycotted the 2010 election as neither free nor fair. It sought to have its legal status restored after the government amended electoral laws. Her party has been cleared to offer candidates in the April vote, and an Election Commission ruling on Suu Kyi’s candidacy is expected in February.

Some critics are concerned the government is using its opening with Suu Kyi to show it’s committed to reform. The government needs her support to get years of harsh Western sanctions lifted.

On Sunday, Suu Kyi said the opposition had struggled for democracy for decades, but the best way to do that now was to fight “from within parliament.” But she also expressed caution over the challenges ahead. “It’s easy to make problems, but it’s not easy to implement them,” she said. “We have a lot to do.”

An NLD victory would be highly symbolic, but her party would have limited power since the legislature is overwhelmingly dominated by the military and the ruling pro-military party. Up for grabs are 48 seats vacated by lawmakers who were appointed to the Cabinet and other posts.

Suu Kyi has spent 15 of the past 23 years under house arrest, and as a result, has rarely traveled outside Yangon. Although she conducted one successful day of rallies north of Yangon last year, a previous political tour to greet supporters in 2003 sparked a bloody ambush of her convoy that saw her forcibly confined at her lakeside home.

She was finally released from house arrest in late 2010, just days after the elections that installed the current government and led to the junta’s official disbandment.

Suu Kyi met with party members in Dawei, including one running for a parliament seat. She will make similar political trips to other areas, including the country’s second-largest city, Mandalay, in early February before officially campaigning for her own seat, party spokesman Nyan Win said.

Suu Kyi is hoping to represent the constituency of Kawhmu, a poor district just south of Yangon where some villagers’ homes were destroyed by Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

Lay Lay Myint, a 35-year-old grocery store manager, said Suu Kyi’s platform in parliament would allow her to “let the world know what is happening” in Myanmar.

“People have been living in fear here,” Myint said. “Just seeing her hear makes us braver, more courageous.”

Anwar Is "Politically Dead"

Anwar Is "Politically Dead"
Malaysian Mirror, 30 January 2012

KUALA LUMPUR -- Ibrahim Ali, president of the Malay right-wing group Perkasa, said Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is no longer relevant in national politics.

The people have grown tired of Anwar's political games, he said, adding that the latest is his remarks on Israel in an interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

"I wish to urge all Malaysians to forget Anwar. The time has come for us to forget Anwar and move forward for the sake of our future. It is also not necessary for the media to get excited about him.

"As a friend of Anwar, I regard him as politically dead. Anwar is no longer relevant for many reasons," he told reporters at the Chinese New Year "open house" hosted by Perkasa at the Sultan Sulaiman Club in Kampung Baru, here on Sunday.

Ibrahim claimed that Anwar's statement on Israel showed that the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor's stand is similar to the policy of the United States.

"They want a Palestinian state; at the same time they want to safeguard the security of Israel," he said.

Anwar had said that the needs and rights of the Palestinian people must be guarded and that includes the right to their own country and to not be victimised. He had also stated that if this is met, then Israel’s rights should also be respected.

Ibrahim also said that accusations by certain quarters that Perkasa is a racist organisation have been proven unfounded with the presence of hundreds of Chinese from Kuala Lumpur at yesterday's event.

"This is the first time that Perkasa has organised a Chinese New Year open house since its formation three years ago.

"We did not expect the large number of people, so much so that the food ran out and we had to order more. Some of the people have yet to get their 'ang pow' (cash packets)," he said.

(Bernama)

Twitter Enables Censorship, Boycotts Begin | Common Dreams

Twitter Enables Censorship, Boycotts Begin | Common Dreams
Common Dreams staff , January 27, 2012

Social media website Twitter announced Thursday that it will begin blocking certain messages (tweets) on a country-to-country basis. Twitter has been known as a vehicle for free speech as well as a source for social and political organizing -- notably during the protests in 2011 from the Egyptian uprising to Occupy Wall Street. Governments will now request Twitter to take down certain 'illegal' tweets, which will be blocked from its citizens but may still be visible by users outside of the censored country. Many have now raised concerns that this will open the door for repressive governmental censorship, in some ways defeating the benefits of Twitter all together.

This is a sudden reverse in policy for Twitter who has previously boasted its capacity for free speech.

Users across the world are beginning the protest and a Twitter boycott has been planned for tomorrow.

* * *

The UK Independent reports:

In a statement published online the San Francisco-based company told users that it could now “reactively withhold content from users in a specific country.” Twitter defended the technology as a way of ensuring the maximum possible audience could view its content whilst adhering to specific laws in different countries.

Previously when Twitter was forced to delete a tweet it would be taken down worldwide. Now individual tweets can be blocked in specific countries with Twitter promising to flag when a comment is taken offline.

An example Twitter gave was Germany where glorification of Nazism or publishing Hitler’s Mein Kampf, for example, is illegal. If a tweet broke German law, Twitter could block users in Germany from reading the tweet but continue to allow others worldwide to see it. [...]

Free speech advocates expressed concerns that the new technology would encourage repressive governments to insist that Twitter take down critical content especially given the website’s role in helping to organize mass protests during last year’s Arab Spring.

“Whilst censoring tweets that break the law in individual countries is preferable to taking down the content altogether, we’re going to be monitoring this very closely to ensure that Twitter’s commitment to free speech isn’t watered down,” said Mike Harris, head of advocacy at Index on Censorship.

* * *

UK's Sky News reports:

The move to censor certain tweets is a significant change from its position during the Arab Spring in 2011, where protesters in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere used Twitter to co-ordinate demonstrations.

As the protests gathered momentum last January, Twitter signaled it would take a hands-off approach to censoring content in a blog post entitled The Tweets Must Flow.

"We do not remove tweets on the basis of their content," the blog post read.

Some users are calling on fellow Twitterers to silence their tweets on January 28 as a way of expressing their opposition to Twitter's plan. They are using the hashtag #TwitterBlackout to organize the boycottIt added: "Our position on freedom of expression carries with it a mandate to protect our users' right to speak freely and preserve their ability to contest having their private information revealed."

But now a new blog post by Twitter said: "Starting today, we give ourselves the ability to reactively withhold content from users in a specific country while keeping it available in the rest of the world."

* * *

A boycott of Twitter has now been planned and will go into affect tomorrow. Huffington Post writes:

Twitterers have a message: Tomorrow, turn off the tweets.

Users of the social media site are planning a Twitter boycott to protest the company's new ability to censor tweets on a country-by-country basis. [...]

Some users are calling on fellow Twitterers to silence their tweets on January 28 as a way of expressing their opposition to Twitter's plan. They are using the hashtag #TwitterBlackout to organize the boycott, and tweets tagged with the hashtag are rolling in at a clip of about 12 per minute. The tweets span a range of languages, including English, German, Spanish and Arabic.

The protest follows less than two weeks after thousands of websites, including Wikipedia, Google, and Reddit, protested two controversial anti-piracy bills, the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act, by shutting down or posting notices outlining the downsides of the proposed legislation. Google alone managed to secure more than 7 million signatures for an online petition opposing the bills, and tweets about SOPA and PIPA numbered in the hundreds of thousands the day of the protest.

Yet this online protest, and others like it, have relied on Twitter as a means of communicating between protestors and buttressing support for their movements.

# # #

Despair, crackdowns breed more violence in Tibet | Asian Correspondent

Despair, crackdowns breed more violence in Tibet | Asian Correspondent
AP News, Jan 28, 2012

BEIJING (AP) — Three clashes between Tibetan protesters and police in western China in the past week have left several Tibetans dead and dozens injured. They mark an escalation of a protest movement that for months expressed itself mainly through scattered individual self-immolations.

In one case, a young man posted his photo with a leaflet demanding freedom for Tibet and telling police, come and get me. Police opened fire after people tried to stop them from taking him away.

The unrest is the result of growing desperation among Tibetans and a harsh crackdown by security forces that scholars and pro-Tibet activists contend only breeds more rage and despair. Tibetans want greater freedom and a return of their Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Cop gunned down during patrol in Papua

Cop gunned down during patrol in Papua

The Jakarta Post,  Sat, 01/28/2012

An officer with the Papua Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob), First Brig. Sukarno, was killed while on patrol with six other men led by Comr. Sinulingga, after being ambushed by unidentified armed assailants on Saturday morning in Wandenggobak, Puncak Jaya, Papua.

Puncak Jaya Police cheif Adj. Sr. Comr. Alex Korwa confirmed the deadly ambush, which took place at 8:55 a.m..

Alex said that Sukarno, along with his team, were patrolling on foot in Wandenggobak when the gunmen attacked them from higher ground.

Sukarno sustained a shot to the head. The other officers survived the attack.

Sukarno's body has been taken to Mulia City Hospital from where it will be transported by plane to Jayapura, Antara reported.(dmr)

Temple Objects To Anwar's Presence For Thaipusam

Temple Objects To Anwar's Presence For Thaipusam
Malaysian Mirror, 28 January 2012

SUNGAI PETANI -- The management committee of the Sri Subramaniam Swami Devasthanam temple here has lodged a police report to object to the presence of Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim at the temple on Feb 7 in conjunction with the Thaipusam celebration.

The committee's chairman S. Dorai Singam said they did not want Anwar to come there for fear his presence could lead to untoward incidents.

"We are worried as more than 100,000 people will be turning up for the celebration...anything can happen because of political differences. Who will be responsible for the safety of the devotees," he told reporters after lodging the report at the Kuala Muda police station here on Friday.

Dorai Singam said the committee had not received any official application from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), of which Anwar is the de facto head, for permission for Anwar's presence at the temple except for an e-mail stating that he would be coming there to deliver a talk on that day.

"They did not seek permission from the temple's management. We will not allow any political talk at the temple... the day is for prayers and religious activities, not for political activities which we vehemently object to," he said.

He added that he hoped that the police would take the appropriate action to stop Anwar from coming to the temple so as to ensure that nothing untowards happen.

(Bernama)

Israeli Finance Minister Pushes Naval, Aerial Blockade of Iran -- News from Antiwar.com

Israeli Finance Minister Pushes Naval, Aerial Blockade of Iran -- News from Antiwar.com
Jason Ditz, January 26, 2012

In an interview today with Bloomberg Businessweek, Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz rejected the European Union’s ban on importation of Iranian crude oil, insisting it doesn’t go nearly far enough.

Instead, Steinitz called for the international community to impose a full naval and aerial blockade across all of Iran so that “no one can even go out [sic].” This is the only option with any chance of success, he said.

Steinitz said a good model for his plan was the Cuban blockade by the United States in 1962, an effort which nearly ended with the annihilation of all life on earth in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

“Sometimes it might work. You have to at least try,” Steinitz added. It is unclear how he imagines the full aerial blockade in the north could be imposed, since it would presumably be opposed by Russia.

Mass Demonstrations as EU Countries Sign on to Controversial ACTA Treaty | Common Dreams

Mass Demonstrations as EU Countries Sign on to Controversial ACTA Treaty | Common Dreams
Common Dreams staff , January 27, 2012

Yesterday 22 EU member states signed the controversial trade agreement known as ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

Protesters in Poznan, Poland, march during a demonstration against the ratifying of Acta. (Photograph: Marek Zakrzewski/EPA)
According to the EUobserver:

EU countries sign unpopular anti-counterfeit treaty

The European Commission and 22 EU member states have signed up to a controversial trade agreement in a move marked by cyber attacks and street protests.
Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands and Slovakia were the only EU countries not to put pen to paper at the signing ceremony in Tokyo on Thursday (26 January) of the so-called Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta).
The European Commission told EUobserver the hold-up is "purely procedural" and that they will come on board shortly.

The Guardian explains:

Acta is a far-reaching agreement that aims to harmonise international standards on protecting the rights of those who produce music, movies, pharmaceuticals, fashion, and a range of other products that often fall victim to intellectual property theft.
Acta also takes aim at the online piracy of movies and music; those opposed to it fear that it will also lead authorities to block content on the internet.

Wired UK adds:

Acta -- which is supported by many rights owners -- has been met with widespread criticism from open rights activists, who argue that the legislation has been rushed through the legal system under the guise of being a trade agreement, when in fact it is a new copyright law. They also argue that it blurs the distinction between piracy and counterfeiting and that it criminalises copyright infringement when there are civil sanctions already.

RT reports:

Thousands wage war against ACTAck on Internet
In order to become law, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement must first be voted in by parliament. In a bid to stop this from happening, the hacktivist group Anonymous has targeted official websites in the countries that have already signed it. They struck the Polish, French and Czech government websites, as well as the sites of the Irish ministries of justice and finance, the European Parliament, Ireland’s Innovation Minister Sean Sherlock and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Anti-ACTA sentiment reached the Polish parliament, too, where some opposition MPs put on Guy Fawkes masks to signal that they won’t vote for an agreement that has drawn so much criticism from citizens.
Anonymous is threatening that it will reveal sensitive information on officials, should Poland proceed with adopting ACTA. Prime Minister Tusk called the demos and hacker attacks “blackmail”.

After the signing, there were widespread protests in Poland as the BBC notes:

Thousands march in Poland over Acta internet treaty
Later on Thursday, hundreds of people took to the streets of the eastern city of Lublin to express their anger over the treaty.
Several marches had taken place in cities across the nation on Wednesday, says the BBC's Adam Easton in Warsaw.
Crowds of mostly young people held banners with slogans such as "no to censorship" and "a free internet".

The Guardian adds:

Poland's support for Acta has sparked attacks on Polish government websites by the hacking collective Anonymous that left several of them unreachable off and on for days. Street protests of hundreds, and in some cases thousands of people, have broken out across Poland for the past three days.

* * *

In protest of what he saw as lack of transparency in treaty negotiations French MEP Kader Arif has resigned as rapporteur of the controversial anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA).

“I want to denounce as the greatest of all the process that led to the signing of this agreement: no association of civil society, lack of transparency from the beginning of negotiations, successive postponements of the signing of the text without any explanation being given, setting aside the claims of the European Parliament [despite those views being] expressed in several resolutions of our Assembly,” Arif said in a strongly-worded statement on his website.

* * *

Techdirt notes this on how ACTA can affect public health:

There are serious health risks associated with ACTA, especially in the developing world. In this case, Europe pushed strongly to include patents under ACTA (something the US actually preferred to leave out). This has complicated matters for some countries. Under existing international agreements, countries can ignore pharmaceutical patents to deal with health emergencies. That is, if you have an outbreak and need a drug that pharmaceutical companies are unwilling to supply at a reasonable price, governments can break the patent and produce their own. That becomes much more difficult under ACTA, which could be a real threat to health around the globe.

* * *

President Obama has already signed the treaty.

* * *

Egyptian Youth Vow to Sit-In Until Military Rulers Relinquish Power | Common Dreams

Egyptian Youth Vow to Sit-In Until Military Rulers Relinquish Power | Common Dreams
Common Dreams staff , January 26, 2012

A day after hundreds of thousands of Egyptians took to Tahrir Square to commemorate the one year anniversary of the uprising that led to Hosni Mubarak's ouster, many of those same youth say they will reinvigorate their revolutionary efforts by once again staging rallies and sit-ins until the military council that now rules Egypt cedes power.

Reuters reports:

An Egyptian youth shouts slogans during a protest in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians have marked the first anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak with rallies in major squares across Egypt that turned into a show of strength by secular groups in their competition with the country's powerful Islamists over demands for an end to military rule. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

Scores of youths [on Thursday] occupied the square surrounded by dozens of tents pitched on traffic islands. Vendors sold hot drinks and some activists huddled round open fires to keep warm in the morning air.

"The military council commits the same abuses Mubarak committed. I don't feel any change. The military council is leading a counter-revolution. We will protest until the military council goes," said 23-year-old student Samer Qabil.

The army council took over when Mubarak was ousted and is led by his defense minister for two decades, Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi. It has insisted it will hand power to civilians after a presidential election in June.

But many activists say they fear it wants to hold onto power behind the scenes.

And the Egypt Independent adds:

The 25 January Revolution Youth Coalition has called upon the Egyptian people to take part in a million-man protest next Friday, dubbed the "Friday of Dignity," to confirm the continuation of the revolution and demand that the military council hand over power to civilians. It has also called for a sit-in in Tahrir Square until power is handed over to civilians and the military regime falls.

The coalition said in a Wednesday statement that the military mismanaged the transition period and has failed to preserve the dignity of the Egyptian people. It chided it for killing protesters at Maspero in October, on Mohamed Mahmoud Street in November and during cabinet clashes in December.

Other revolutionary movements and parties on Wednesday announced the beginning of a sit-in in Tahrir Square and other squares throughout Egypt. They demand the prompt handover of power to civilian rule.

The April 6 Youth Movement tweeted that it will stage a sit-in in Tahrir Square calling for a speedy transfer of power.

Independent news website Youm7 cited April 6 spokesperson Mahmoud Afifi as saying that the movement will hold sit-ins until the army transfers power to Parliament or holds presidential elections.

###

US-Backed Libyan Militias Accused of Widespread Torture: Reports | Common Dreams

US-Backed Libyan Militias Accused of Widespread Torture: Reports | Common Dreams
Common Dreams staff , January 26, 2012

Two separate reports this morning shine a troubling spotlight on torture - some resulting in death - being carried out 'by officially recognized military and security entities as well by a multitude of armed militias operating outside any legal framework' in post-Gaddafi Libya.

An MSF physiotherapist works in one of Misrata's detention centers, where MSF is suspending operations due to evidence of systemic torture and abuse of detainees. (Libya 2011 © MSF)

Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders (widely known by their French acronym MSF) both report widespread evidence of abuse in several Libyan cities. The abuse MSF witnessed in Misrata was so bad the physician-led relief organization has closed its operations in the town. As Agence France-Presse reported today:

[MSF] said its doctors were increasingly confronted with patients who suffered injuries caused by "torture" during questioning.

"The interrogations were held outside the detention centres," it said.

Its general director Christopher Stokes said some officials have sought to exploit and obstruct its work in Misrata.

"Patients were brought to us in the middle of interrogation for medical care, in order to make them fit for further interrogation. This is unacceptable," he said.

"Our role is to provide medical care to war casualties and sick detainees, not to repeatedly treat the same patients between torture sessions."

According to the Amnesty report:

Detainees, both Libyan and foreign nationals from sub-Saharan African countries, told Amnesty International they had been suspended in contorted positions, beaten for hours with whips, cables, plastic hoses, metal chains and bars and wooden sticks, and given electric shocks with live wires and Taser-like electro-shock weapons.

The patterns of injury observed by the organization were consistent with their testimonies. Medical reports seen by Amnesty International also confirmed the use of torture on several detainees, a number of whom died in custody.

The majority of detainees being targeted are Libyans believed to have stayed loyal to Colonel al-Gaddafi during the recent conflict. Foreign nationals, mostly sub-Saharan Africans, also continue to be randomly detained, including in connection with their irregular legal status, and some are tortured.

The organization found that detainees were usually tortured immediately after being held by local armed militias and subsequently under interrogations, including in officially recognized detention centres. To date detainees have not been allowed access to lawyers. Several told Amnesty International they had confessed to crimes they had not committed just to end the torture.

As Glenn Greenwald notes this morning, these are not the first reports of torture and abuse in post-Gaddafi Libya:

In this March 29, 2011 file photo, a Libyan rebel urges people to leave, as shelling from Gadhafi's forces started landing on the frontline outside of Bin Jawaad, 150 km east of Sirte, central Libya. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

In July, Human Rights Watch accused NATO-backed rebels of widespread looting, arson and abuse of civilians. Throughout the latter part of 2011, there were numerous reports of black migrant workers being detained without charges, tortured and even executed en masse. In October, a U.N. report detailed widespread lawless detentions and torture; the same month, an Amnesty International report documented “a pattern of beatings and ill-treatment of captured al-Gaddafi soldiers, suspected loyalists and alleged mercenaries in western Libya. In some cases,” the report continued, “there is clear evidence of torture in order to extract confessions or as a punishment.” The incoming President of the U.N. Security Council, South African U.N. Ambassador Baso Sangqu, accused NATO of exceeding the scope of the U.N. Resolution on Libya and called for an investigation into human rights abuses by all sides, including NATO bombers and rebel forces.

More poignant, however, is what these reports of abuse say about the much touted "success" of the Libyan bombardment by NATO fighter jets that facilitated the overthrow of Gaddafi. As Greenwald explains:

Obviously, the Gadaffi and Saddam regimes were horrible human rights abusers. But the point is that one cannot celebrate a human rights success based merely on the invasion and overthrow of a bad regime; it is necessary to know what one has replaced them with. Ironically, those who are the loudest advocates for these wars and then prematurely celebrate the outcome (and themselves) bear significant responsibility for these subsequent abuses: by telling the world that the invasion was a success, it causes the aftermath — the most important part — to be neglected. There is nothing noble about invading and bombing a country into regime change if what one ushers in is mass instability along with tyranny and abuse by a different regime: typically one that is much more sympathetic to the invading regime-changers.

That last point underscores the other key lesson from these types of invasions. They are almost always sold by appeal to human rights concerns — Iraqi babies pulled from incubators and Saddam’s rape rooms — but that is very rarely their actual objective. When the West invokes human rights concerns to justify an attack on a dictator whom it has long tolerated (and often even supported), that is rather compelling evidence that human rights is the packaging for the war, not the goal. The fact that it is not the goal means more than just another war sold deceitfully based on pretexts: it means that human rights concerns will not drive what happens after the invasion is completed. The materials interests of the invaders are highly likely to be served, but not the human rights of the people of the invaded country. It is still early in the post-Gaddafi age, but those who supported the war in Libya — which (like the war in Iraq) included numerous people who did so out of a genuine, well-intentioned desire to see a vile tyrant vanquished — have a particular responsibility to ensure that the same tyranny is not replicated by the forces supported by the invading armies.

###

Euro zone crisis puts Asean model into question

 Euro zone crisis puts Asean model into question

Pana Janviroj, ANN/The Nation, Davos | Fri, 01/27/2012 9:45 PM

Asean, the European Union--regional blocks in general--are they an endangered species?
Pailin Chuchottaworn, CEO of PTT Plc, told the audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the crisis in the euro zone has suddenly thrown the Asean model into question.

"Asean 10, which is starting an Asean Economic Community, was modelled after the euro zone...which is facing a meltdown...Suddenly, we lost our way," he told a session on East Asia.

The PTT chief executive officer's question about Asean was later underscored by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in her opening address, in which she said that Europe was well in need of a new model. She reiterated that further integration and fiscal policy coordination were needed.

Nonetheless, Asia remains a bright spot and talking point at Davos 2012. Asia continues on a high-growth path alongside Brazil and Russia to help the world economy make up for the slump in the US and European economies.

Karim Raslan, CEO of KRA Group from Malaysia, said some smaller economies, such as the Philippines, are also doing surprisingly well.

Jason Li Yat-Sen from China's George Institute for Global Health reiterated that China's 8-per cent growth target for 2012 will be achieved and the country has a very good balance sheet to deal with any external shocks.

Chang Dae-Whan, chairman of Maekeyung Media Group from Korea, said the West could learn from Asia about shortening the implementation period of its policies. It is something the Europeans don't understand, he said.

In another session, Michael Spence, an economics and business professor from New York University, echoed this belief in the benefits of the policy pragmatism found in Asian economies.

Spence said the US now has a broad understanding of the structural changes it needs to make in the medium and long terms to get the economy back on track. But politics poses an obstacle.

Asked in the Asian session about the devastating floods at the end of last year, PTT's Pailin said the crisis is over and the economy is back on the growth path with retail, tourism and manufacturing picking up momentum, although investor confidence is still down.

His view was supported by Hiroyuki Ishige, CEO of the Japan External Trade Organisation, who said that both the Thai and Japanese economies--following their respective natural disaster--proved quite resilient through the strength of their management supply chains.

Pailin said that to Asean, as a group of satellite of economies, China and South Korea "will prove critical for our future".

Southeast Asia can leverage different networks including those in India, Raslan said.
Yat-Sen did not rule out a Chinese-Japanese economic axis if their historical differences can be overcome.

Clashes, Torture on the Rise in ‘Disillusioned’ Libya -- News from Antiwar.com

Clashes, Torture on the Rise in ‘Disillusioned’ Libya -- News from Antiwar.com
Jason Ditz, January 25, 2012

In “liberated” Libya, violence is on the rise as militias attack one another on a regular basis and seemingly everyone accuses everyone else of being a Gadhafi ally. Arrest, in this environment, often means open-ended detention without charges. And torture.

Nominally under the control of the US and NATO-backed National Transitional Council (NTC), this new Libya is a nation awash in arms and grudges, the product of an ugly civil war and an international community that seems determined to throw its weight behind any interested party still alive on the ground.

In one instance, a knife fight at a market between two men from neighboring towns culminated in the massing of troops and the kidnapping and torture death of an uninvolved resident of one of the towns. His wife has just given birth the day before. Each side claims the other are pro-Gadhafi fighters.

Western diplomats are shrugging off the problems as a “country coming down off a victory high.” But Libyans don’t trust their new interim government and mass protests are breaking out against the brand-new regime.

The NTC is looking to placate the public with a few token resignations, but the issue goes well beyond the unpopularity of a few late-in-the-game defectors from the old regime. The protests against the Gadhafi regime began with the hope of a free country, and the realization that the NTC commandeered their revolution — possibly replacing one tyrant with another — is not something that can be easily tamped down.

Dystopia: Corporate Rule Breeding 'Global Class War' | Common Dreams

Dystopia: Corporate Rule Breeding 'Global Class War' | Common Dreams
Common Dreams staff , January 25, 2012 by Common Dreams

Dystopia: Corporate Rule Breeding 'Global Class War'

- Common Dreams staff

The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, normally an opportunity for the global elite to congratulate one another on their continued dominance of world economic matters and policy victories, has been unable this year to ignore the growing popular movements that have risen to challenge many of the forum's fundamental prescriptions for growth and economic stability.

Additionally, this year's forum has been unable to shirk the pessimistic predictions among its own participants. According to a survey of this year's attendants, fears of a "major geopolitical disruption over the next 12 months has risen significantly to 54%." However, as the survey showed, "respondents from the private sector are marginally more confident about the [world's financial] prospects for 2012 than those from the public, civil society and academic sectors" but are "more worried about the possibility of a social, geopolitical, environmental or technological disruption than their peers."

Further proving that the forum has taken a more pessimistic tone this year is the title of one of today's sessions, 'Seeds of Dystopia,' which mirrors the WEF's Global Risks 2012 Report, released earlier this month. Among those who share the financial worries of a continued economic slump and predict further social and political upheaval, is Nouriel Roubini. An economist and co-author of the book Crisis Economics -- and also known as Dr. Doom for some of his (accurate) predictions of past economic events (read 'meltdowns') -- Roubini spoke on today's panel. The Business Insider delineates some of Roubini's key points:

Roubini & Co. Scare The Crap Out Of Davos

'Social unrest, Roubini says, is tied directly to economic uncertainty'

• What is connecting everyone in the world these days is economic and financial insecurity, the rise of income and wealth inequality, challenges from poverty, unemployment effects of financial crisis.
• Freakouts about debt loads, moreover, are leading to budget cuts — which, in Europe, at least, are making the recession worse.
• 225 million people worldwide are unemployed
• 1 in 3 people on the planet are poor or unemployed
• 1% of the world's families own 40% of the wealth
• Wages as a percent of GDP are at an all-time low
• Corporate profits as a percent of GDP are at an all-time high
• Current policies will lead to explosions
• This inequality is "Great Gatsby revisited"
• We're in a "vicious circle"... fiscal austerity to solve debt problem is making everything worse

These points, most notably his critique of fiscal austerity, follow recent comments Roubini made on Indian television in an interview on NDTV:

Amnesty International, also represented on the 'Seeds of Dystopia' panel, challenged the governing global economic paradigm in a statement by Secretary General Salil Shetty on Tuesday:

Occupy WEF

The economic crisis, and how governments have chosen to address it, poses a clear and unambiguous risk to the rights of people in many countries. Davos cannot afford to be a congratulatory club for the rich and powerful. We must use this opportunity to challenge the orthodoxy of the policies being pursued and ensure governments meet their responsibilities.

Corporate malpractice has been allowed to flourish by government policies of deregulation and limited oversight. In the pursuit of profit, financial institutions have been given a free pass to create systems that expose the most vulnerable groups to exploitation as corporate greed takes precedent over accountability and transparency.

Most governments do not see the connection between financial systems, economic policy and human rights. But wherever you go today you can see people who have lost their jobs, their homes and are struggling even to afford food, you cannot fail to see the devastating impact on people’s basic rights.

Rather than ensuring their policies protect human rights, governments are retreating to old approaches and cosy relationships that will lock in long term inequalities for generations. This is a man-made crisis and the solutions being offered by leaders risk repeating the gross failures of the past.

In a similar vein, Roubini criticizes a world economic system that is institutionally geared toward short-term gains at the top, but shows little regard for shared prosperity and long-term economic security throughout. Roubini makes this point in an interview published today in Foreign Policy:

It's about income and wealth inequality, but it's also about jobs -- whether your children are going to be better off than you. It's about economic insecurity, about whether the benefits of social security, health care are going to be there. It's about underemployment, or unemployment. So it takes different manifestation in different places, of course. There's the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, the riots in London, the middle class in Israel demonstrating because they cannot afford their homes, the Chilean students that cannot afford good education, anti-corruption in India, people saying enough of what's going on in Russia, and in China where people cannot go out on the streets to protest so they turn to the microblogs to voice anger about corruption and inequality.

So it's a whole nexus of things that have to do with economic insecurity, whether it's poverty, education, skills, the ability to compete in a global economy, keeping your old-age benefits, and then inequality. The manifestation of them can be class warfare as opposed to nationalism, or religious warfare as opposed to inter-generational cleavages between young and old. But I think there's a complex nexus of economic concerns that are at the basis for many of the things that are happening in different ways in different countries.

And stressed that the "issue of inequality" cannot be ignored if there's a desire to avoid a 'global class war':

We must make sure that growth is inclusive -- in China, in India, in Latin America -- and that we do create opportunities for young people in Europe and United States to have jobs and succeed in life. We have a huge amount of social and political instability. The issue you raised is usually couched as the bottom of the bottom, meaning the starving people in sub-Sahara Africa. But there is a bigger issue because now we have several billion people in the world working in advanced economies, in emerging markets, who feel very insecure about their own future.

And unless we're going to address that, everything that happened in the last year -- from the Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street to riots throughout Europe -- is going to get worse. Even in sub-Saharan Africa, you could start to see a lot of social and political instability. We've seen, for example, what happened in Nigeria, when they started to phase out subsidies on oil, and prices went up by 200 percent. Which is why there are now riots in the streets.

So we have to think about these issues; we have to discuss them and figure out how to address them. Not only are a lot of people starving, but actual social and political instability comes from potentially middle class people who see their hopes being dashed.

So what did the 'Seeds of Dystopia' panel think should be done? The Business Insider made the following list, as suggested by the participants:

• More unionization, more power to the worker
• More investment in education
• More investment in "human capital"
• More investment in infrastructure
• Less austerity, more investment in growth (Europe)
• Redistribution of power in society — power to the working people
• Mandated standards instead of voluntary codes of conduct (for business, presumably)
• Need a "Tahir Square" moment in corporate board rooms to get away from short-termism
• Mandate that 50% of boards must be women
• Deal with massive CEO-to-employee pay inequality with taxation
• Be courageous with financial regulation

And, as noted by Shetty:

Business and political leaders need to recognize the need for a new approach that is fair and inclusive. Instead of entrenching the divide between rich and poor, they need to adopt growth plans that address this divide. They must place people’s rights at the heart of any solutions. Otherwise, the recent social unrest unfolding in countries across the world could only be the beginning.

###