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DHAKA TRIBUNE
International
Friday, January 3, 2014
Kerry arrives in Israel to revive flailing peace talks n Reuters, Jerusalem US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Israel on Thursday in his latest bid to reenergize peace negotiations and find scarce common ground between pessimistic Israeli and Palestinian officials. His visit, the 10th to the region in under a year, aims to lay the foundations of a “framework agreement” that addresses the core issues of the decades-old conflict and open the way for an independent Palestine, according to US officials. But on the question of borders, security, refugees and the status of Jerusalem, leaders from both sides have sounded far apart this week. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin on Thursday rejected the creation of a Palestinian state based on the lines pre-dating the 1967 Six Day
Uganda president ‘won’t be pressured’ to sign anti-gay law
n AFP, Kampala
Uganda President Yoweri Museveni will not rush to approve a controversial anti-gay draft law, widely criticised internationally but overwhelmingly backed by local political and religious leaders, his spokesman said Thursday. Uganda’s parliament adopted the bill on December 20. It will see repeat offenders jailed for life, sparking an international outcry as lawmakers hailed it as a victory against “evil.” Deputies voted overwhelmingly in favour of the text, which has been condemned by rights activists and world leaders – with US President Barack Obama describing it as “odious” and Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu comparing it to apartheid. But gay rights activists in Uganda say the legislation has widespread support in the fiercely homophobic nation. An earlier draft not approved by parliament had proposed the death penalty for repeat offenders. Some Ugandans have raised concerns that donor aid could be restricted if the bill is signed into law, while British tycoon Richard Branson has urged companies to boycott Uganda over the draconian bill. l
Rwandan ex-spy chief found ‘murdered’ in S Africa
n
War, in which Israel captured and occupied Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank. “The Jordan Valley must be under Israeli sovereignty forever,” he said, referring to the border area with Jordan, from which Palestinians want a full Israeli withdrawal. “The 1967 borders are Auschwitz borders,” Ha’aretz newspaper quoted him as saying, suggesting that any such move would lead to the destruction of Israel. On Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas renewed a call for all Israeli settlers and soldiers within the 1967 lines to be evacuated, saying he would not hesitate to reject a bad deal. “We will say “yes” to any ideas suggested to us which meet our rights. But we will not fear and will not hesitate for a moment ... to say “no,” whatever
the pressure, to any proposal which detracts from or doesn’t fulfil the higher national interests of our people,” he said in a speech. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat last month said a framework agreement could allow the talks to be continued for another year. However, earlier this week, he said the US-brokered talks were “failing” and threatened to haul Israel before the International Criminal Court. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, a senior US State Department official said Kerry was not expecting a breakthrough during his latest visit, when he is due to see Netanyahu and Abbas separately on several occasions. The official, who declined to be named, said an eventual framework accord would act as a guideline for reaching a full peace treaty by the end of April. l
Somali residents look at the wreckage of two cars on January 2, 2014 in Mogadishu after they exploded the day before
Deposed CAR leader denies Somali Islamists claim Mogadishu bombing n orchestrating violence Reuters, Mogadishu
n AFP, Paris Francois Bozize, the former Central African leader, denied backing Christian militias that have wreaked havoc in the country and called on the current president who deposed him to resign in an interview broadcast Thursday. The Central African Republic has plunged into chaos since mainly Muslim Seleka rebels staged a coup in March, prompting French forces to intervene last month after hundreds died in violence pitting the former rebels against Christian militias known as the anti-balaka (anti-machete). Michel Djotodia, the Seleka leader who was installed as president of the former French colony, has accused Bozize of supporting the Christian militias battling his former rebels – a claim the latter denies. “It is the Seleka who brought disorder to the country, misery and death. The anti-balaka phenomenon has appeared following abuses committed by the Seleka in the country,” Bozize – who is in exile in an undisclosed lo-
cation – said in a telephone interview on RFI radio. “That’s what triggered the appearance of the anti-balaka. From my position, I did not create a so-called anti-balaka rebellion.” Asked whether he condemned the atrocities perpetrated by the Christian militias, he responded: “That’s what you say. I’m not on the ground. That’s what the press says. If they have committed (atrocities), then I condemn them.” The sectarian violence in the Central African Republic, an unstable and impoverished country, is believed to have killed more than 1,000 people last month and sent tens of thousands fleeing. Bozize called on Djotodia to resign “so that the situation be brought under control once and for all.” French President Francois Hollande, who gave the green light for 1,600 French troops to be deployed in the country, has called for new elections to be held. Bozize did not rule out returning to the country and running in any future vote. l
Islamist militants in Somalia said on Thursday that they carried out the triple bombing on a Mogadishu hotel that killed at least 11 people. Al Shabaab, who are battling African peacekeepers for control of territory in southern and central Somalia, said its bombers had targeted intelligence officials who were meeting at the Jazira hotel at the time. “The apostates are the eyes and the ears of the invaders and these attacks
serve as a well-deserved punishment for their role in guiding and assisting the invading forces in their crusade,” al Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage said in a statement. Al Shabaab said it had killed more than a dozen people in Wednesday’s attack. A private ambulance service director said his medics had recovered at least 11 bodies. The assault on the Jazira hotel, one of the securest places in the coastal capital, underscored worries in neighbouring countries and beyond that
n AFP, Prague The Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic died after a blast at his Prague home, which police said was likely caused by the explosion of an anti-theft system on a safe he was opening. Jamal al-Jamal, 56, suffered “very serious injuries” in the blast on Wednesday – believed to be an accident rather than a terror attack – and was
taken to Prague’s military hospital in an artificial coma, said Jirina Ernestova, spokeswoman for the emergency services. Daniel Langer, surgeon at the Prague military hospital to which Jamal was taken, told Czech television the ambassador had suffered devastating “head, belly and chest injuries following an explosion.” Jamal, who took office in October, had only recently moved to the new residence
on the northern outskirts of Prague. The Palestinian foreign ministry said the blast occurred on Wednesday morning as Jamal “was opening an old safe which had been brought from the previous embassy (building) to the new one.” “Minutes after opening the safe the explosion took place, causing serious injury to Jamal, who was taken to hospital and operated on,” the ministry said in a statement. l
OTHER NEWS
FLOODS IN EUROPE
Baby dies after being shot in Philippine New Year revelry
A three-month old baby boy has died after being accidentally shot during raucous New Year celebrations in the Philippines, police said Thursday. The revelry left nine other people across the country wounded by stray bullets, while 793 were injured by firecrackers, said Health Department Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag. The infant was hit in the head by a stray bullet from a gun that was being fired into the air as part of festivities in the northern town of Caoayan in the early hours of January 1. The child died in hospital later, Modequillo added. Police are looking for the person who fired the gun, while the governor of Ilocos Sur province has offered a reward for information that could lead to the suspect’s arrest, the police chief said. Last year’s revelry left one dead and 25 wounded by stray bullets, and a further 800 injured by firecracker explosions.
‘Only’ 1,067 vehicles torched in France over New Year’s Eve
This long time exposure picture taken on January 2, shows the city center of the western city of Quimperle flooded by the Laita river. Britanny is placed under flood warning because of heavy rains and high tidal coefficient AFP
Turkey seizes arms in truck bound for Syria
Canadian MP threatened with arrest, expulsion from Sri Lanka
n AFP, Istanbul
n AFP, Colombo
Turkish security forces have seized a truck laden with weapons bound for Syria and arrested three people including a Syrian, local media reported on Thursday. Acting on a tipoff, security forces on Wednesday stopped the truck in the southern province of Hatay on the Syrian border, Hurriyet newspaper reported. A significant quantity of ammunition and weapons were discovered in the truck, whose drivers claimed they were carrying aid on behalf of the pro-Islamic Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH).
Somalia could slip back into anarchy if recent military gains against rebels are not consolidated. An attack on a Kenyan shopping mall in September in which dozens of people were killed highlighted the militants’ ability to strike beyond Somalia’s borders. Islamist suicide bombers struck the Jazira hotel in September 2012 as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was giving a news conference just two days after his election by lawmakers.
Exploding safe kills Palestinian envoy to Prague
AFP, Johannesburg
Rwanda’s former spy chief has been found strangled after attending a meeting at a hotel in Johannesburg, where he had been living in exile, officials said on Thursday as police launched a murder probe. The body of Colonel Patrick Karegeya, 53, was found slumped on a hotel bed, his neck swollen, in the upmarket area of the city on New Year’s Day, police said. “A towel with blood and a rope were found in the hotel room safe,” police said in a statement. “There is a possibility that he might have been strangled.” Karegeya was the former head of Rwanda’s external intelligence service and has lived in exile in South Africa for several years. His party was first to announce the death early on Thursday, saying that he was strangled after attending a meeting at the Michelangelo Towers in Johannesburg’s upmarket Sandton district. It was not immediately clear if he was killed on Tuesday night or on Wednesday. Karegeya leaves behind his wife Leah and three children. l
AFP
But IHH dismissed the allegations as “slanderous.” “Our organisation has nothing to do with this case,” a spokesman for the relief group told AFP. Turkey is a vocal critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has openly supported the rebels fighting his regime, but has always denied arming them. In December, local media reported that Turkey had shipped 47 tonnes of weapons to the rebels since June. But Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz denied weapons of war had been sent to Syria, saying only hunting rifles had been exported. l
A Canadian lawmaker said Thursday she was intimidated and warned she could be deported during an ongoing visit to her birthplace of Jaffna, the war-battered Tamil heartland of Sri Lanka. Rathika Sitsabaiesan, an ethnic Tamil, was subjected to “political intimidation” and warned of possible arrest and deportation, according to a statement on her New Democratic Party’s (NDP) website. “My experiences since arriving in Sri Lanka are a reminder that defend-
ing principles of human rights is not easy,” she said in the statement, adding: “I was warned I could be subject to arrest and deportation.”
Sitsabaiesan, 32, said she look forward to ‘learning more about the country of my birth’ The statement did not say who had intimidated her, but added that Sri Lankan authorities had informed the Canadian High Commission (embassy) in Colombo that there was no order to arrest her.
However, Tamilnet.com, a group sympathetic to the former Tamil Tiger rebels, said she was virtually under house arrest at her hotel in Jaffna on Tuesday, a claim vehemently denied by police. Sitsabaiesan, 32, said she look forward to “learning more about the country of my birth.” Sitsabaiesan, who immigrated to Canada with her family when she was five years old, was elected to the House of Commons in 2011. She has been a fierce critic of the Sri Lankan government, according to Canadian media. l
Some 1,067 vehicles were torched in France over New Year’s Eve, Interior Minister Manuel Valls announced, a marked drop from last year in what has become a turn-of-the-year tradition in rundown areas. Every year, the night of December 31 to January 1 sees hundreds of cars set ablaze across the country in an orgy of vandalism – as much a tradition as champagne and oysters in more affluent parts of France. Briefing reporters late on Wednesday, Valls said the number of cars torched over this New Year’s Eve had dropped by more than 10%. The Seine-Saint-Denis department that neighbours Paris, the poorest in France, was the clear winner with a total of 80 burnt cars, he added. Authorities had stopped publishing official figures of the number of burnt cars after it was discovered a district-by-district breakdown was fuelling a destructive competition between rival gangs. But last year, Valls had promised to publish the figures again. Some 53,000 policemen were deployed across the country during New Year’s Eve to try and avoid any violence, but three people were knifed and died, including one in Paris.