INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2011
EU leaders urge dialogue, end to violence in Egypt Cameron slams Egyptian govt
In this handout photo, actress Hayden Panettiere portrays US student Amanda Knox in the made for TV film about the murder of British student, Meredith Kercher. — AP
TV re-enactment of Italy murder draws parents’ ire LONDON: The father of slain British student Meredith Kercher yesterday harshly criticized a US television movie that shows a re-enactment of his daughter’s murder. The Lifetime movie, due to air later this month, is based on the trial that followed the stabbing death of Meredith Kercher on Nov 1, 2007, a killing for which Kercher’s roommate, University of Washington student Amanda Knox, was eventually found guilty. “Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy” has “Heroes” star Hayden Panettiere in the title role. A preview posted to Lifetime’s website shows scenes from the run-up to the murder - including a split-second scene showing Kercher, wearing a gray bra, being attacked by Knox’s thenboyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, and another man, Rudy Guede, both of whom were also convicted in the killing. John Kercher was quoted in Britain’s The Sun newspaper as calling preview clips “absolutely horrific.” “To actually see it like this is very distressing,” he said, according to the tabloid. “It’s awful what these film people have done.” The case - which involved lurid sex allegations and two photogenic, educated young women - became a media sensation from the moment Kercher’s body was found with her throat slit in the bedroom of her house in Perugia, a university town in Umbria, central Italy. Prosecutors said the Leeds University student was the victim of a violent, drug-fueled sex game. According to the prosecutors, Sollecito held Kercher by the shoulders while Knox touched her with a knife. At one point, they say, Guede tried to sexually assault Kercher and Knox fatally stabbed her in the throat. All three deny wrongdoing. Knox is appealing her 26-year sentence and Sollecito is appealing his 25-year sentence. Italy’s highest criminal court has already upheld Guede’s conviction and his 16year-prison sentence. The movie was filmed last year in Rome and Perugia. Producers didn’t talk to any of the families, and instead worked from courtroom documents, including a 400-page report written by the judge in the case, and media reports. Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden, who plays Knox’s mother, Edda Mellas, said Knox’s innocence or guilt was a daily topic among the cast. Panettiere, meanwhile, focused on staying true to who she believes Knox was before the trial. “This wasn’t a dark, angry girl,” she told The Associated Press last month. “She was a young girl with dreams and aspirations. I don’t think guilty or innocent takes away from that.” The film airs on Feb 21. Following the movie, Lifetime will air an hour-long documentary “Beyond the Headlines: Amanda Knox” that features interviews with Knox’s mother, father, friends, investigators and prosecutors discussing the legal evidence and allegations. — AP
BRUSSELS: British Prime Minister David Cameron said that if the Egyptian regime uses violence on protesters in Cairo yesterday it will lose any remaining international credibility it has left. The steps the Egyptian government has taken so far have failed to meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people, Cameron said as he arrived in Brussels for a European Union summit that was supposed to be dominated by economic matters. The EU has been criticized for lagging behind United States President Barack Obama in distancing itself from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and Cameron appeared to challenge his fellow European leaders to take a stronger stand. “Above all, the message is this: if we see on the streets of Cairo today statesponsored violence or the hiring of thugs to beat up protesters, then Egypt and its regime would lose any remaining credibility and support it has in the eyes of the watching world, including Britain,” Cameron said. Other EU leaders arriving for the summit yesterday called for a national dialogue between Egypt’s government and the opposition, but shied away from echo-
ing the Obama administration’s calls for Mubarak to step down. The summit is expected to adopt a call for an orderly transition to democratic rule in Egypt, including early elections. It may also ask the EU’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton - who has been criticized for inaction on the issue - to travel to Cairo and press Mubarak to relinquish power peacefully. As violent protests in Egypt’s major cities continued, Ashton said it was essential that the government and people “move forward together.” The EU has had a close relationship with Cairo as part of its partnership with other Mediterranean nations. Critics have said it has been too timid in supporting pro-democracy demonstrations and is trailing behind the US in distancing itself from Mubarak’s regime. Mubarak, in power for nearly three decades, has been under heavy pressure from demonstrators to leave office, and everyday life in Cairo has been turned upside down by Egypt’s largest anti-government protests in decades. In Washington, US officials said Thursday that talks were under way between the Obama administration and top Egyptian officials regard-
ing Mubarak’s possible immediate resignation. That would in theory be followed by the formation of a militarybacked caretaker government that would prepare the country for free elections later this year. But speaking to reporters before the European Union summit, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said it would be “gratuitous and arrogant” for the EU to follow US’ moves. “We have to be very practical about things,” he said. “Look, Obama has influence with Mubarak; that is what (Obama) has to take care of.” In the European Parliament, lawmakers blasted the EU for choosing the “easy option” of simply condemning the violence and calling for restraint. “They need to be much tougher and make it clear that Europe will not tolerate Mubarak clinging desperately to office,” the German Socialist leader in the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, said yesterday. “On foreign policy issues, the EU too often behaves like a frightened rabbit in the headlights of a car,” he added. “The EU summit should use all its weight to ensure that today is Mubarak’s day of departure.” — AP
New anti-government protests in Albania TIRANA: Thousands of Albanians converged on central Tirana yesterday to demand the government step down over corruption allegations, two weeks after a similar antigovernment demonstration turned violent and left three people dead. Protest marches were also being held in another three cities, including the town of Lezha northwest of Tirana, Vlora to the southwest and Korca to the southeast. The demonstrations come two weeks after three protesters were shot dead in clashes with security forces during anti-government protests in Tirana. Another 150 were injured in the violence. The opposition Socialists are demanding that conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha hold early elections over allegations of corruption and vote rigging in the previous 2009 general election. But Berisha has refused to resign, accusing the opposition of trying to stage a coup. The Socialists are seeking “an Albania that is freed from the escalating corruption,” opposition leader Edi Rama told the AP during the demo, adding that the government had “transformed itself into a regime that wants to make of Albania something completely different of the European dream.” Tensions rose sharply last month when the country’s deputy prime minister, Ilir Meta, resigned amid allegations he tried to influence a state tender for a hydropower station. Chanting “We want Albania without Sali” and carrying banners with slogans such as “Berisha, thief,” at least 5,000 protesters marched through the center of the capital, but avoided the main government building, outside of which the Jan. 21 riots occurred. “The only way out is that Berisha should leave. He has plunged the country deep into poverty, unemployment,” said Ruzhdi Hoxha, a middle-aged demonstrator. Police and opposition figures for the numbers of demonstrators were radically different, with police saying a total of about 9,000 people demonstrated in all four cities, and the opposition Socialists putting the total figure at 100,000. Police said about 3,000 protesters marched in Tirana, another 3,500 in Vlora, about 2,000 in Korca and up to 600 in Lezha. — AFP
LEHZE: Opposition supporters carry banners during an anti-government opposition protest yesterday. — AP
Uganda war of words stokes violence fears KAMPALA: A war of words between Uganda’s main presidential candidates escalated yesterday, sparking fears of Egypt-style street violence should the opposition say the poll was rigged. Uganda’s main opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, repeated a warning he made to Reuters last week that Ugandans may overthrow long-standing President Yoweri Museveni with mass public protests if a Feb. 18 poll is not fair. The once close ally of Museveni elaborated yesterday, saying he would appeal to the public and not to the Supreme Court if he suspected foul play. “The struggle for change is not mine alone. It belongs to all our supporters across the country,” Besigye told a news conference in the capital Kampala. “If our victory is stolen, it is to the court of public opinion that I will appeal.” Besigye told journalists Uganda had become a “ruthless dictatorship.” Government spokespeople were unavailable to comment. The 2001 and 2006 polls were judged flawed by the Supreme Court but it upheld Museveni’s win, saying that irregularities were not substantial enough to affect the overall result. — Reuters