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Thursday, April 2, 2015
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AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed
An Iraqi soldier rests during clashes with islamic State extremists in Tikrit, 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, March 31, 2015.
Iraqi minister says Tikrit to be recaptured within ‘hours’
TIKRIT — Iraqi security forces battled the last remaining pockets of Islamic State militants in Tikrit on Wednesday and were expected to gain full control of the city “within the coming hours,” the country’s interior minister said. The remarks came a day after the Iraqi forces, with Shiite militias who rejoined the fight, pushed into the center of Saddam Hussein’s hometown, hoisted the Iraqi flag over the Salahuddin provincial headquarters in Tikrit and moved to control the entire city. The objective, Interior Minister Mohammed Salem al-Ghabban said Wednesday, is now to free all of Tikrit and restore normalcy as quickly as possible. “There are only a few pockets of resistance left and we will announce the good news within the coming hours that these pockets of resistance are eliminated,” al-Ghabban told reporters at the front-lines in the city on Wednesday. He said the government will help displaced residents return and that a civil defense unit will be combing the city for roadside bombs and car bombs. “After clearing the area from roadside bombs and car bombs, we will reopen police stations to restore normalcy in the city, and we will form committees to supervise the return of people displaced from their homes,” he added. “Daesh is completely defeated,” he added, using an Arabic name for the group.
The battle for Tikrit, 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Baghdad, is seen as a key step toward eventually driving the militants out of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city that is farther north. Extremists from the Islamic State group seized both cities last summer during their lightning advance across northern and western Iraq. Iraqi forces, including the military, federal police, Shiite militias and Sunni tribes, launched a largescale operation to recapture Tikrit on March 2. Last week, the United States launched airstrikes on the embattled city at the request of the Iraqi government. On Wednesday, Iraqi security forces fired on snipers positioned in high buildings and searched homes for remaining militants. Soldiers fanned out in circles from the charred skeletal remains of the Salahuddin provincial government complex, captured the day before. Militant mortar fire, which had
been intense over previous days, fell silent Wednesday, with commanders saying only a few militant snipers remain in the city. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations. A satellite image of Tikrit, released in February by the United Nations, observed that at least 536 buildings in the city have been affected by the fighting. Of those, at least 137 were completely destroyed and 241 were severely damaged. The current offensive also exacerbated previous damage, particularly in the south where clashes have been the most intense in recent days. Iraq’s parliament speaker, Salim al-Jabouri, called on the government to find the means to resettle residents from damaged Tikrit buildings. He said this “requires effort and support by the central government in order to financially support the people in rebuilding their houses.” (ap)
International
Adoptee from South Korea faces deportation from US
PORTLAND, Oregon — More than three decades ago, a 3-year-old South Korean boy and his sister flew to the U.S. to become the adopted children of American citizens, but their life together didn’t last long. They were abandoned, sent into foster care and separated even though he was dependent upon her. A family adopted the girl, and got her citizenship. The boy, named Adam Crapser, wasn’t as fortunate: The parents he had were abusive, and never sought the green card or citizenship for him that they should have. Now, at 39, after a life struggling with joblessness because of his lack of immigration papers, homelessness and crime, Crapser, a married father of three, is facing deportation because he’s not a citizen. “The state abandoned him when he was a child,” his attorney, Lori Walls, said. “Now the U.S. is throwing him out.”
A deportation hearing is set for April 2. Federal immigration officials say they became aware of Crapser after he applied to renew his green card two years ago: his criminal convictions, ranging from burglary to assault, made him potentially deportable under immigration law. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement wasn’t aware of Crapser’s childhood adoption history when it decided to pursue his deportation, agency spokesman Andrew Munoz said. Two U.S. senators, including Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, are proposing a stand-alone, automatic citizenship bill for adoptees like Crapser. “It was not his responsibility to fill out that immigration paperwork,” Merkley said. “He knows no other country.” Advocates say thousands of adoptees don’t know they aren’t citizens until they, for example, try to get a job. (ap)
International
Thursday, April 2, 2015
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Indonesian court to rule Monday on death row Australians’ appeal
JAKARTA - An Indonesian court will rule Monday on the appeals of two Australian drug smugglers facing execution, a judge said, as their lawyers insisted they had done their best to save the men. Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the ringleaders of the so-called “Bali Nine” trafficking gang, were sentenced to death in 2006 for trying to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia. They recently had pleas for clemency, typically a last chance to avoid the firing squad, rejected by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who has taken a hard line against traffickers. The men have mounted sev-
eral legal bids to avoid the firing squad, and in the latest their lawyers challenged Widodo’s decision to reject their mercy pleas, arguing that he failed to assess their rehabilitation or give reasons for his decision. The Jakarta State Administrative Court rejected that bid in February, saying it had no authority to rule on the matter as granting clemency was the president’s prerogative. The men’s legal team is
now appealing that decision. Wrapping up arguments in favour of the Australians Wednesday, lawyer Leonard Aritonang called on the judges to dismiss the initial verdict as the court did have the right to rule on clemency. “We ask for the most just decision,” he told the court. However, government lawyer Rusdi Hadi Teguh insisted that the court’s initial decision to dismiss the case should stand.
Following the hearing, Aritonang told reporters that he did not want to predict what decision the court would make, but said he was optimistic. “We did our best,” he said. After hearing the final arguments, presiding judge Ujang Abdullah said verdicts on the appeals would be handed down on Monday. “Everyone has been given ample opportunity to present their evidence and also their conclusions,” he said, adding that the judges would study the “arguments and evidence” before
coming to a decision. A court outside Jakarta was also due to hear the appeal of a French death row convict, Serge Atlaoui, on Wednesday. The Australians and the Frenchman are among a group of foreign convicts who recently lost their appeals for clemency and are expected to be put to death soon, despite mounting international pressure on Jakarta to halt the executions. Jakarta has not set a date for the executions, with authorities waiting for the outcome of several legal appeals. (afp)
tended the 50th AAC anniversary event in 2005 and was the main figure in the event. He was accompanied by then president Bambang Yudhoyono and took the opportunity to plant a sapling in the AsiaAfrica garden at the Tegalega area in the city of Bandung, which is the capital of West Java province.
The Merdeka Building was the venue of the AAC in 1955, during which the leaders declared “The Ten Principles of Bandung.” The building and its surrounding area is being prepared and decorated to welcome state guests and participants of the AAC anniversary event. (ant)
Merdeka Building adorned with pictures of Soekarno, Mandela
BANDUNG - The posters of two world figures Soekarno and Nelson Mandela have been put up around the Merdeka Building on Jalan Asia-Africa, Bandung, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Asia-Africa Conference (AAC), on April 24. The posters of the founding fathers of Indonesia and South
Africa respectively were displayed side-by-side along the main thoroughfare, which will be the center of the commemorative activities on Wednesday. The poster of the first Indonesian president Soekarno, with a red background, carries the words “New Asia-Africa is Born” while
that of Nelson Mandela, with a green background, carries the words “Nothing is Impossible.” The messages, which were statements from the two world leaders, had a major impact on the foreign policies of the Asian-African countries during that time. The late Nelson Mandela at-
Thai police investigates allegations of fishermen enslaved in Benjina
AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka
Korean adoptee Adam Crapser poses with daughter, Christal, 1, in the family’s living room in Vancouver, Wash. on March 19, 2015. Crapser, whose adoptive parents neglected to make him a U.S. citizen, will face an immigration judge and could be separated from his family and deported to South Korea, a country he does not know.
Ukraine refuses to extradite Georgia’s ex-president
KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine has rejected Georgia’s request for the extradition of its former president, Mikhail Saakashvili, who is facing a criminal probe at home. The Ukrainian Prosecutor-General’s office said in Wednesday’s statement that Saakashvili could face political persecution in Georgia if he is extradited. Saakashvili, who was president in 2004-2013, left Georgia in the face of abuse of power accusations leveled by his political foes.
Saakashvili’s United National Movement has been in opposition since losing the 2012 parliamentary election to a party founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Russia. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has appointed Saakashvili the head of his advisory council. Saakashvili has dismissed the accusations against him as a political vendetta by Ivanishvili, accusing him of serving Moscow’s interests. (ap)
AMBON - Thai Police has deployed its team to investigate the allegations of fishermen being compelled to work as slaves on board PT. Pusaka Benjina Resources’ fishing boat, following a recent news report on the matter. “The Thai investigation team is led by Thailand Deputy Police Lt. Siridchai Anakeveing who has scheduled the Benjina investigation for three days, starting April 1, 2015,” Acting Regional Secretary of Aru Islands Arens Uniplaitta stated when contacted from Ambon, Wednesday. Lt. Siridchai and several members of his staff have reported about the investigation plan and are heading to Benjina. “I have just met Lt. Siridchai along with several of his staff members and then escorted them to the port of Dobo to get to Benjina for the three-day investigation,” noted Arens. Arens has allowed Thailand’s police team to investigate the truth behind the slavery issue in Benjina and expects to present their find-
ings in the mass media in order to maintain Indonesia’s reputation, especially in Aru Isles. “I along with several working units (SKPD) also went to Benjina and supervised the investigation, either on the company’s site or on the ship last week, and it turns out that the investigation report from the Associated Press’ journalists cannot be justified,” Arens stated. On board the fishing boat, the supervision team only found a quarantine room for crew members who were either inebriated or involved in a brawl. “Those quarantined fishermen are not allowed to participate in the cruise, but the company is still providing meals to them,” Arens said. The Benjina supervision report would be delivered to Maluku Governor Said Assagaff and will then be forwarded to Minister of Marine and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti. Arens noted that PT. Pusaka Benjina Resources has also been affected due to the moratorium, initiated by the marine and fisheries
minister, which was applicable to fishing boats anchored in the waters of Benjina. “We have received a report that more than one thousand fishermen from 82 fishing boats of Pusaka Benjina Resources are affected by the moratorium,” said Arens. On the occasion, Arens expressed regret on the inaccurate news story on the enslaved fishermen being circulated in the mass media, which may tarnish Indonesia’s image internationally. “We support the minister’s decision in forming a special team to investigate the slavery allegations in order to clarify the corresponding facts and actual data in Benjina,” said Arens. (ant)
In this Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014 photo, Thai and Burmese fishing boat workers sit inside a cell at the compound of a fishing company in Benjina, Indonesia.
AP Photo/Dita Alangkara