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Bangla Times Year 04 n Issue 15
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Bangla Times p 16 - 22 August 2013 p Page 38
16 - 22 August 2013
Cairo: Egyptian PM defends crackdown as death toll rises Egypt’s interim government and its backers remain defiant amid a rising death toll and widespread international condemnation of Wednesday’s massacre of Islamist
Salvation Front, distanced itself from his decision and saluted the police’s actions. A television host later called for ElBaradei to be placed under house arrest.
since the overthrow of Morsi. The White House said “the world is watching”, but there was still no sign that the US was prepared to characterise Morsi’s removal by
supporters of the ousted president Mohamed Morsi – the country’s third mass killing in six weeks. The prime minister, Hazem Beblawi, said the crackdown was essential to create stability, and praised security forces for what he characterised as maximum restraint – despite Egypt’s health ministry on Thursday saying 525 had died in the violence that ensued when pro-Morsi camps on either side of Cairo were cleared. “Egypt cannot move forward, especially economically, in the absence of security,” Beblawi said in a televised statement. In 2011 Beblawi resigned from a previous government after a massacre of Coptic Christians. The interior minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, said the protesters had “threatened national security, incited violence and tortured and killed people”. Protesters at both camps had been largely peaceful. The vice-president, Mohamed ElBaradei, appointed last month in an attempt to give the new military regime a respectable face, resigned in protest at Wednesday’s events. But in an indication that public sentiment remains strongly behind the military, even the liberal coalition he once led, the National
Dissenting voices were few and far between. But Egypt’s Revolutionary Socialists, active during the 2011 uprising against the Mubarak regime, said the day’s events were counterrevolutionary; “part of a plan to liquidate the Egyptian revolution and restore the military-police state of the Mubarak regime”. The first night of a dusk-till-dawn curfew – enacted under Mubarakera laws – achieved mixed results. The usually bustling streets of central Cairo were largely empty on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Military roadblocks restricted access between parts of the city. Elsewhere Islamists vowed to defy the curfew, and there were reports of clashes outside the finance ministry and other parts of Cairo. Fighting spread to several provinces. On Wednesday, several Christian churches were reported to have been attacked. Christians, who make up 10% of Egypt’s population, are blamed by some Islamists for Morsi’s downfall. The United States has led a chorus of international concern about the crackdown, publicly condemning the violence that resulted in the worst loss of life on a single day
the army as a coup – which would trigger an automatic congressional ban on $1.3bn (£834m) in annual aid to the Egyptian military. Britain’s foreign secretary, William Hague, said he was “deeply concerned” at the escalating violence and unrest. “I am disappointed that compromise has not been possible. I condemn the use of force in clearing protests and call on the security forces to act with restraint,” he said.
Lady Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief, who met Morsi in his place of detention this month, said in a statement: “Confrontation and violence is not the way forward to resolve key political issues. I deplore the loss of lives, injuries and destruction in Cairo and other places in Egypt.” The UN secretary general, Ban Kimoon, condemned the violence and urged an effort at “inclusive reconciliation”. France and Germany also called for dialogue. The strongest language came from Turkey, whose government has been a firm supporter of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. It urged the Arab League to act quickly to stop a “massacre” and the prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, called for the UN security council to meet. Iran warned of the risk of civil war. Rachid Ghannouchi, president of Tunisia’s governing moderate Islamist party, Ennahda, called the crackdown an “abject crime”. He expressed solidarity with the proMorsi backers’ efforts to “recover their freedom and oppose the coup d’etat”. At least 51 Muslim Brotherhood supporters were killed on 8 July in a raid on a pro-Morsi sit-in and at least 65 at the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque three weeks later. Source: theguardian.com, Thursday 15 August 2013 14.01 BST
Man in court charged with murder of teenager Ajmol Alom in east London
A 19-year-old man has appeared in court charged with murdering a teenager in east London. Aminur Khan, of Robin Hood Gardens, Poplar, east London, is accused of stabbing 16-year-old Ajmol Alom to death on Monday night. Ajmol, who has been described as a star pupil, was wounded in the thigh during the incident in Spey Street, Poplar. Khan is also charged with the attempted murder of Ajmol’s friend Azime Rob, 16, who was stabbed through the cheek. Both were taken to hospital, where Ajmol died. A postmortem showed the stab wound to Ajmol’s leg had been fatal. Khan, who wore a grey T-shirt in the dock at Thames magistrates court in Bow, east London, spoke only to confirm his name, age and address during the two-minute hearing. District judge Gareth Branston remanded Khan in custody and told him he will next appear at the Old Bailey on Monday. A second 19-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody at an east London police station. Det Ch Insp Andy Chalmers, from Scotland Yard, said: “Initial indications are that Ajmol was with four friends. They were peaceful; they were conducting conversations at the location. “They were then confronted by five to six other males who were wearing bandanas and were hooded.”
Former mayor of Tower Hamlets Doros Ullah said Ajmol “used to pray five times a day” and he had been told the teenager was the victim of mistaken identity. Mr Ullah said: “He was outside with some man who, we understand, had been in some trouble in the past, and three boys that came around were looking for him, so he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and became the victim.” He added that Ajmol’s family were “completely devastated”. Chris Dunne, head teacher at Langdon Park School, said Ajmol was awaiting GCSE results and was a “very, very splendid young man”. He said Ajmol was planning to take A-levels before going on to a “very good university” where he had spoken of studying medicine. “Hardworking, industrious, but also a very caring and thoughtful young man,” he said. “He was very able in all areas, but that didn’t mean he didn’t work incredibly hard. He came to all the revision classes, he worked flatout.” The teenager had recently taken part in a conflict resolution project with other young people from Northern Ireland, in which he was “hugely active”, Mr Dunne said.
Islam gaffe candidate Banister quits Australia election
An Australian election candidate who was widely mocked after she mistook Islam for a country in a TV interview has withdrawn her candidacy. Stephanie Banister, 27, was contesting a seat in Queensland for the anti-immigration One Nation Party. She had only been in politics for 48 hours. Ms Banister also confused the term “haram” (forbidden) with the Koran and suggested Jews worshipped Jesus Christ. The interview, which aired early last week, went viral on social media. ‘’I don’t oppose Islam as a country, umm, but I do feel that their laws should not be welcome here in Australia,’’ Ms Banister told Seven News
reporter Erin Edwards. She announced her withdrawal from the election on Saturday. “With the way Channel Seven edited my interview, I was left quite the fool,” Ms Banister said in a brief statement. “I’d like to apologise to One Nation, to my friends and family, for any embarrassment this has brought to them.” One newspaper headline said Ms Banister had managed to put Islam literally on the map. The leader of One Nation, Jim Savage, said Ms Banister continued to have the “full support” of the party executive. He said she had been under “enormous pressure”, including threats to her and her
family. Commentators compared Ms Banister to Sarah Palin, the gaffe-prone Republican vicepresidential candidate in the 2008 US election. Even before this interview, Ms Banister was regarded as a rank outsider to win her seat, says the BBC’s Jon Donnison, in Sydney. The mother-of-two rose to prominence when she was arrested for going into a supermarket and putting stickers saying “halal food funds terrorism” on Nestle products. She is facing charges of “contaminating or interfering with goods”. If convicted before polling day, she would have been barred from standing. Source: BBC News online