U.N. says children tortured, raped in Syrian catastrophe

U.N. says children tortured, raped in Syrian catastrophe

Valerie Amos said Children have been murdered, tortured and subjected to sexual violence. Many do not have enough food to eat. (AFP)

Syrian families have been burned in their homes, people bombed waiting for bread, children tortured, raped and murdered and cities reduced to rubble in Syria's two-year-old war that has sparked a humanitarian catastrophe, the United Nations said on Thursday.

A quarter of Syria's 22 million people are displaced within the country and 1.3 million have fled to other states in the Middle East and North Africa, U.N. aid chief Valerie Amos and U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres told the U.N. Security Council.

It was a rare public briefing of the Security Council on the conflict in Syria, which was called for by Australia, and Amos pleaded for the 15 council members to "take the action necessary to end this brutal conflict."

"The situation in Syria is a humanitarian catastrophe with ordinary people paying the price for the failure to end the conflict," Amos said. "I do not have an answer for those Syrians I have spoken to who asked me why the world has abandoned them."

The Security Council has been deadlocked on how to end the conflict. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's close ally Russia, with the aid of China, has used its veto power to block any condemnations or attempts to sanction Assad's government.

The United Nations says the war in Syria, which began as peaceful protests that turned violent when Assad tried to crush the revolt, has claimed more than 70,000 lives.

"Children are among the ones who suffer most," Amos said. "Children have been murdered, tortured and subjected to sexual violence. Many do not have enough food to eat. Millions have been traumatized by the horrors ... This brutal conflict is not only shattering Syria's present, it is destroying its future."

U.N. envoy on sexual violence in conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, and U.N. envoy on children and armed conflict, Leila Zerrougui, also briefed the council on the Syrian conflict.

Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari blamed terrorism and sanctions imposed by the European Union, the United States and others for the plight of its people and accused neighboring countries of preventing refugees from returning to Syria.

"Syrian people will not forgive facilitating the movement of thousands of European and Western terrorists and jihadists, sponsored by well-known intelligence agencies ... to the Turkish, Lebanese and Jordanian borders with Syria," he said.

"They are accommodated in training camps to then enter my country and spread destruction and sabotage, and shed innocent blood," Ja'afari told the Security Council in comments that echoed what Assad said in a television interview on Wednesday.

Starving children

Guterres said that since February, there have been 8,000Syrians a day fleeing across the country's borders and at that rate the number of refugees was forecast to more than double by the end of the year to 3.5 million.

"This is not just frightening, it risks becoming simply unsustainable. There is no way to adequately respond to the enormous humanitarian needs these figures represent," he told the Security Council. "And it is difficult to imagine how a nation can endure so much suffering."

He warned of the conflict spilling over into Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq - Syria's neighbors bearing the refugee burden. He said that taking into account only registered refugees, Lebanon's population had grown by 10 percent.

"But taking into account refugees who are not seeking registration, and Syrian migrant workers, some even estimate that up to a quarter of the population of Lebanon may now be Syrian," Guterres said.

Amos said there were 6.8 million people inside Syria in need of aid.

She said that of the $1.5 billion pledged by international donors to cover Syria's humanitarian needs until June, only about half had been paid. She also painted a dire picture of international efforts to deliver aid within Syria.

Bureaucratic obstacles make it almost impossible for aid to be distributed and the Syrian government has reduced the number of aid groups approved to work in the country to 29 from 110,Amos said, adding that aid convoys were also regularly attacked or shot at and staff intimidated or kidnapped.

"People in opposition-held areas are in the most urgent need," she said. "I was horrified to hear accounts during my recent visit to Turkey of children dying from hunger in theseareas. We need to get aid into these hard-to-reach areas."

Amos warned that the limitations on the ground have left theUnited Nations "precariously close to suspending some criticalhumanitarian operations."

"Members of the international community, particularlymembers of this council, must urgently come together in supportof the Syrian people," she said.

19 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/19/U-N-says-children-tortured-raped-in-Syrian-catastrophe.html
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North Korea lays out tough pre-conditions for talks

North Koreans attend a rally held to gather their willingness for a victory in a possible war against the United States and South Korea in Nampo, North Korea. (Reuters)

North Korea offered talks Thursday with South Korea and the United States, but laid out pre-conditions that Seoul and Washington dismissed and analysts said would do little to reduce soaring tensions.

The demands laid out by the North's main military body included the withdrawal of U.N. sanctions and a permanent end to South Korea-U.S. joint military drills.

The offer followed a month of increasingly hostile exchanges between Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington that have included threats of nuclear war and precision missile strikes.

The North's conditions were swiftly rejected by South Korea which, together with the United States, has made any talks conditional on the North putting its nuclear weapons program on the table.

"North Korea's demands are totally incomprehensible. It's absurd," foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai-Young told reporters.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also dismissed the North's conditions, which emerged after an offer from the diplomat during his weekend visit to the Korean peninsula for Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table.

"That's the first word of negotiation or thought of that we've heard from them since all of this has begun," Kerry told U.S. lawmakers.

"So I'm prepared to look at that as... at least a beginning gambit -- not acceptable, obviously, and we have to go further."

Dialogue has become the new focus of the blistering rhetorical battle that has trapped the Korean peninsula in an escalating cycle of military tensions ever since the North carried out its third nuclear test in February.

South Korea's new president, Park Geun-Hye, has made tentative -- and conditional -- offers of talks, but the North's initial response was to swat them away as a "crafty trick".

Some analysts see the North's engagement in a debate over dialogue -- no matter how unrealistic the conditions -- as a welcome shift from the apocalyptic threats that have been pouring out of Pyongyang.

"It's an initial show of strength in a game of tug-of-war that at least shows a desire to have a dialogue down the line," said Yang Moo-Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

But others like Daniel Pinkston, a North Korea expert with the International Crisis Group, ruled out any softening of Pyongyang's position and said those hoping for dialogue were being willfully naive.

The North, Pinkston argued, had bound itself to a course that could only end with its recognition as a nuclear power -- a status that is anathema to the United States and its allies.

"So what is there to even talk about?" Pinkston said.

"The North is committed. It's burned its bridges. Any reversal could only be made at immense domestic cost to the regime.

"And there is simply no way any U.S. administration is going to sit down and confirm a change in the status quo with the North as a nuclear state," Pinkston said.

"We're still firmly on a collision course, and it's not going to end well," he added.

The first step demanded by the North's National Military Commission was the withdrawal of "cooked up" U.N. sanctions that were imposed after the nuclear test in February.

North Korea has repeatedly cited the sanctions as a prime trigger for the current crisis.

The other main bone of contention has been ongoing South Korea-U.S. military drills, which have involved the deployment of nuclear-capable B-52s and B-2 stealth bombers.

Both countries must provide international guarantees that such "nuclear war drills" will never be repeated, the commission said.

"Dialogue and war games can never go together," it added.

President Park's dialogue overtures to the North received the backing of Kerry during his recent Northeast Asia tour and U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon urged Pyongyang to "seriously" consider Seoul's offer.

Both Park and Kerry stressed any talks would have to be predicated on signals from North Korea that it would "change its ways" and respect its international obligations, especially with its nuclear program.

But in Thursday's statement, the North stressed it had no intention of bargaining away its nuclear weapons.

"Nothing is more foolish than pressurizing (North Korea) to show its will for denuclearization first," it said.

The North's statement made no mention of a possible medium-range missile test -- the expectation of which has kept South Korean and U.S. forces on heightened alert for the past week.

Intelligence reports suggest the North has two Musudan missiles primed to fire from its east coast, and most observers had predicted a launch on or around April 15, the birthday of the North's late founder Kim Il-Sung.

19 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2013/04/19/North-Korea-lays-out-tough-pre-conditions-for-talks-.html
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Iraqi official says Baghdad coffee shop bombing kills 15, wounds 32

A late-night bombing at a coffee shop in west Baghdad killed at least 15 people on Thursday. (Courtesy: AP)

A late-night bombing at a coffee shop in west Baghdad killed at least 15 people on Thursday, according to AP.

This is the latest spike in violence and comes just days ahead of Iraq's first elections since U.S. forces withdrew from the country.

The 10:00 pm (1900 GMT) blast struck in the mostly-Sunni Amriyah neighborhood and also wounded 32 people, security and medical officials told reporters.

Among the dead were at least three children, according to AFP.

An estimated 13.5 million Iraqis are eligible to vote for more than 8,000 candidates standing in Saturday's provincial elections, with 378 seats being contested.

Iraqi forces are solely responsible for polling day security, the first time they have been in charge without support from American or other international forces during elections since dictator Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003.

U.S. forces eventually withdrew from Iraq in December 2011.

19 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/19/Iraqi-official-says-Baghdad-coffee-shop-bombing-kills-15-wounds-32-.html
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Germany ready to keep up to 800 troops in Afghanistan

Franz-Josef Jung, Germany's defense minister, talking in late January with German soldiers in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. (Reuters)

Germany on Thursday offered to keep 600-800 troops in Afghanistan for two years from 2015, after the end of NATO combat operations there, to help train and advise the national army in its battle against the Taliban.

The offer comes with several conditions, including a formal request from the Afghan government, because "we want to be welcome" and a UN Security Council resolution, said Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere.

It would also require a reasonable security situation and matching commitments by NATO allies in other parts of the country, he said, adding that he had informed major German parties of the plan that would require parliamentary approval.

"The government is ready to offer, from 2015 and for initially two years, sending about 600 to 800 soldiers for expected training, advisory and support missions," De Maiziere said at a press conference.

"This offer is a declaration of intent by the federal government. Germany is taking an early and timely position on this important question."

Germany -- where memories of World War II aggression make deploying soldiers abroad an especially sensitive topic -- has sent combat troops to northern Afghanistan but earned criticism from allies for failing to join the 2011 NATO mission in Libya.

If the 2015 deployment goes ahead, Germany would base its military personnel in Kabul and in the country's north around Mazar-i-Sharif, the minister said, warning however of the "evolving security and political situation" in the country.

From 2017, Germany would be ready to deploy 200-300 troops in the capital Kabul only, he said. They could help the Afghan army and allies in fields such as training, logistics, medical support, transport, security and evacuation, he said.

Germany now has the third-biggest foreign troop deployment in Afghanistan after the United States and Britain, but has drawn down numbers from more than 5,000 to 4,200 now.

NATO plans to end by late-2014 its combat operations in the country, launched after the 9/11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which had sought sanctuary with the radical Islamist Taliban.

The alliance plans to keep 8,000 to 12,000 troops in the country from 2015 to support the Afghan army as it seeks to maintain security and stability.

 

19 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/18/Germany-ready-to-keep-up-to-800-troops-in-afghanistan-.html
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Moroccon diplomant 'leading candidate' to succeed Brahimi as Syria envoy

Canadian national of Moroccan origin, Mokhtar Lamani, will succeed Lakhdar Brahimi as the Arab League Syria envoy. (Courtesy: BBC)

A Canadian national of Moroccan origin, Mokhtar Lamani, is just one of the 'leading candidates' that may succeed Lakhdar Brahimi as the Arab League Syria envoy, according to Al Arabiya's correspondent in New York.

Lamani is currently heading Brahimi's Damascus office, serving as the UN-Arab League representative in the country.

Lamani has also worked as a special Arab League envoy to Iraq and was the Organization of the Islamic Conference's ambassador to the U.N. in New York from 1998 to 2002.

Earlier today, diplomatic sources told Al Arabiya that Brahimi intented to resign.

Brahimi informed U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Arab League head Nabil al-Arabi, according to those sources.

This development comes during a week full of developments at the United Nations on the Syrian conflict.

Brahimi will not announce his resignation until Arabi arrives in New York next Monday.

Then, Brahimi, Arabi and Ban Ki-moon will hold a tripartite meeting to specify how to deal with this resignation.

On the other hand, there were reports that Brahimi hopes to revamp his role as an international peace mediator in the Syrian conflict as a United Nations envoy without any official link to the Arab bloc, U.N. diplomats told Reuters on Tuesday.

Brahimi has become increasingly frustrated with the league's moves to recognize the Syrian opposition, which he feels has undermined his role as a neutral mediator, diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

"The joint special representative feels that the Arab League approach makes it difficult for him to carry out his mandate," a diplomat said.

"He feels that it would be best to be associated only with the United Nations at this point to ensure his neutrality."

Another U.N. diplomat confirmed the remarks. There have been rumors circulating for weeks that Brahimi might resign, though diplomats said his preference was to remain involved in Syrian peace efforts through the United Nations, an organization he has worked with for decades.

18 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/17/Moroccon-diplomant-to-succeed-Brahimi-as-Syria-envoy.html
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Lebanese tribunal pledges action on witness list leak

The president of the international tribunal investigating the death of ex-Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri said those responsible for leaks will face justice. (Courtesy: http://www.haguejusticeportal.net/index.php?id=12404)

The president of the international tribunal investigating the death of ex-Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri said on Thursday that those responsible for leaking witness details would be brought to justice.

"We are... determined, in the interests of Lebanon as a whole, to bring to justice those who currently seek to hide behind a cover of anonymity," Sir David Baragwanath said in a statement at the end of a four-day trip to Lebanon.

His comments came after the publication last week of a list of 167 alleged witnesses for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, along with photographs and details of their professions and addresses.

The publication was claimed by a previously unknown group identified as "Journalists for the truth" who said they sought to "unveil the corruption" of the court.

"This concerted campaign by a few to undermine the work of the tribunal makes us more determined to fulfill our mandate," Baragwanath said.

"The tribunal has condemned such interferences in the proper administration of judicial proceedings," he added.

"I informed Lebanese officials of our actions in this respect and in turn I received their reassurance of Lebanon's cooperation with the STL's response."

After the list was published, the tribunal insisted it was not incomplete but warned those behind the publication were "potentially endangering the lives of Lebanese citizens."

The STL was set up by the United Nations at Lebanon's request and seeks to try four members of the powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah for the attack that killed Hariri and 22 others in Beirut on February 14, 2005.

Hezbollah accuses the court of being part of an "Israeli-US" plot, and has yet to hand over the four.

The STL has given rise to fierce debate in Lebanon, which is sharply divided into the camp led by Hezbollah and its rivals in the March 14 movement.

Although it was meant to begin on March 25, the judicial process has been postponed indefinitely as the defense team has argued it has not received the necessary documents from the prosecution.

19 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/18/Lebanese-tribunal-pledges-action-on-witness-list-leak-.html
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Iraqi challenged over torture allegations against British troops

Khudur Al-Swaiedi told the inquiry, which is investigating alleged crimes by British soldiers after a battle in southern Iraq in 2004, that he had seen the evidence with his own eyes. (Reuters)

An Iraqi man who says his nephew was tortured and executed by British troops was told at a public inquiry in London on Thursday he had "convinced himself" of those accusations.

Khudur Al-Swaiedi told the inquiry, which is investigating alleged crimes by British soldiers after a battle in southern Iraq in 2004, that he had seen the evidence with his own eyes.

Swaiedi, 48, is considered an important witness because he has for years led efforts to have the allegations investigated.

But a lawyer for the inquiry suggested that in his zeal to obtain justice for men he describes as martyrs, Swaiedi may have allowed his recollection of events to be influenced by what he was trying to achieve.

"It is a reality and not an illusion," Swaiedi countered.

The inquiry is named after Swaiedi's nephew Hamid Al-Sweady, 19, one of those who died during the events of May 14 and 15, 2004.

It is one of three major British inquiries into events in Iraq which have helped keep alive a public debate about why Britain got involved in the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, how it conducted itself there and what it achieved.

The inquiry, which has already cost British taxpayers 16.6million pounds ($25.4 million), is trying to establish the disputed circumstances of 28 deaths during or after fighting at the Danny Boy checkpoint.

A large number of Iraqis say a group of men captured a live were murdered or tortured in detention at the British army's Camp Abu Naji.

The military say the only people who died were those killed on the battlefield and their injuries were consistent with fierce close combat. They say all the allegations are false and stem from propaganda against the occupation of Iraq.

MUTILATION

If the inquiry, expected to publish its report by the end of2014, confirms the allegations, the Danny Boy events would be one of the worst atrocities of the war, on par with the abuse of prisoners by U.S. troops at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.

But Thursday's hearing suggested the Iraqi witnesses had a hard task to convince the inquiry of the truth of their account.

In a number of statements over the years, Swaiedi has said he saw evidence that his nephew Hamid was tortured and hanged in detention, and that he saw other bodies with injuries including a severed penis, a missing eye and a freshly amputated arm.

Giving oral evidence to the inquiry on Thursday through an interpreter, he was repeatedly challenged over inconsistencies between his previous statements and that of other witnesses.

Jonathan Acton Davis, counsel to the inquiry, pressed Swaiedi to explain why his description of the injuries on Hamid's body contradicted those given by Hamid's father and by other witnesses.

"You have convinced yourself, Mr Al-Swaiedi that your dear nephew was tortured and executed at Camp Abu Naji, havn't you?" Acton Davis asked.

Swaiedi denied this and blamed errors by other witnesses or by translators for the gaps between the stories.

In another exchange, Acton Davis challenged Swaiedi's assertion that he had seen a body with a severed penis and was able to establish it had been cut off while the man was alive.

"It is a very serious allegation to make, Mr Al-Swaiedi, that some unknown soldier cut off a man's penis while he was alive, isn't it?" Acton Davis said.

"This is the truth, and it is very serious," Al-Swaiedi said.
 

19 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/18/Iraqi-challenged-over-torture-allegations-against-British-troops.html
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United Nations urges halt to Iraqi executions

Iraq's big increase in executions this year has raised concern over whether the trials are fair. (Reuters)

The United Nations on Thursday called on Iraq to suspend use of the death penalty after authorities executed 21 people on the same day following their conviction on terrorism charges.

The high rate of executions, making Iraq the world's most prolific user of the death penalty after China and Iran, has put the country under fire from human rights groups. So far 32people have been executed in Iraq this month.

Executions are a sensitive issue for Iraq's Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki whose government faces rallies by thousands of Sunni Muslims against what they see as marginalization of their sect.

"I regret that repeated calls of the United Nations to suspend the implementation of death sentences were not heard, "U.N. representative Martin Kobler said.

"I urge once again the Iraqi government to immediately suspend all pending death sentences and to apply without delay the moratorium."

The justice ministry said 21 people had been executed on Tuesday for crimes linked to al Qaeda, including five accused of trying to attack Maliki's convoy.

An Amnesty International report this year said that since the Iraqi government restored the death penalty in 2005 at least 447 prisoners had been executed, including Saddam Hussein, his main associates and suspected members of armed groups.

"Hundreds of prisoners currently await execution on death row, and Iraq - where 129 prisoners were hanged last year – is now one of the world's leading executioners," the report said.

Sunni political ranks are increasingly divided over how to work with Maliki, who some critics say is amassing power at their expense of Sunni and ethnic Kurdish parties in his power-sharing government.

Negotiations to end the protests have been stalled in part because executions have continued. The government insists it will carry out the death penalty as required, dismissing complaints the law is applied unfairly to Sunnis.

"We will continue with executions against terrorists and killers whether they are Sunni or Shi'ite," Justice Minister Hassan Al-Shimmeri said. "It is a victory for innocent victims and deterrent against criminal murderers."
 

19 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/18/United-Nations-urges-halt-to-Iraqi-executions.html
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Analysts say Jordan ‘forced’ into Syria conflict

Destruction continues in Syria as U.S. troops head to neighboring Jordan. (AFP)

Jordan is being dragged into Syria's conflict as more and more U.S. troops head to Amman, analysts say, amid a warning by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad the kingdom could be engulfed by his country's war.

"The escalation has become public. At the beginning of the crisis Jordan was trying to deal with it calmly, but now things are heading towards confrontation," Labib Kamhawi, a writer and political analyst told AFP.

"We have been forced into the conflict," he said, amid reports that rebels fighting Assad's regime are being allowed to use Jordanian soil as a springboard for attacks on his troops.

Kamhawi said Jordan's deteriorating economic conditions "have been used to pressure the kingdom to play a more active role in the conflict." The kingdom is a major beneficiary of U.S. military and economic aid.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel revealed on Wednesday that some 150 U.S. military specialists have been deployed in Jordan since last year and that he had ordered a U.S. Army headquarters team to bolster the mission, bringing the total American presence to more than 200 troops.

"These personnel will continue to work alongside Jordanian Armed Forces to improve readiness and prepare for a number of scenarios," Hagel said.

The U.S. troops were deployed to Jordan to help secure chemical weapons if necessary and prepare for a possible spillover from Syria, where Assad's regime has been battling rebels trying to oust him since March 2011.

Jordanian Information Minister Mohammad Momani told AFP the U.S. deployment was "to boost the Jordanian armed forces in light of the deteriorating situation in Syria."

But Jordan's army denied this.

"The 200 U.S. troops have nothing to do with Syria's situation. They are the first of the groups that will take part of the annual Eager Lion military exercise, in which 15 countries are participating," it said in a statement on Thursday.

"The Jordan Armed Forces have the required capabilities to defend Jordan's borders, stability and security against any threat," it added, saying the drill will take place "in the coming weeks."

Political analyst Oraib Rintawi, of the Al-Quds Centre for Political Studies, warned that Jordan "is getting closer and closer to the Syrian fire."

"Jordan is denying media reports that it is allowing rebels into Syria, but clearly Amman has shifted its position, which sparked an angry threatening reaction from Syria," Rintawi told AFP.

In an interview with Syrian official Al-Ikhbariya channel Wednesday, Assad warned that the fire in Syria could spread to Jordan, which he accused of allowing Syrian rebels free movement across its borders.

"The fire will not stop at our borders; all the world knows Jordan is just as exposed (to the crisis) as Syria," said Assad.

"I cannot believe that thousands (of rebels) are entering Syria with their weapons while Jordan is capable of arresting any single person with a light arm for going to resist in Palestine," he said.

'Economic reasons'

Rintawi said Amman had resisted pressure to become involved in the Syria conflict for two years.

"But now I think it is not case although more Jordanian roles in Syria might not be in Jordan's interest. Resisting pressure, particularly from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, was costly for Jordan, but at the same time it was wise," he said.

"Jordan was forced to cross the line for economic reasons as well as fears that Syria's southern parts will turn into safe haven for jihadists."

Jordan, which is hosting more than 500,000 Syrian refugees, insists it is against any form of military intervention in its neighbor.

"Our position on the situation in Syria has not changed," Momani said. "We are still against any military intervention in Syria. We urge a political solution to end the bloodshed in Syria."

For military analyst Mamun Abu Nuwar, a retired army major-general, mobilizing US troops on Jordanian territory could provoke Damascus.

"The Syrian regime could resort to preemptive military strikes. Using chemical weapons is a possibility," Abu Nuwar told AFP.

"Jordan was dragged into all of this, mainly for economic reasons. Publicly Jordan says it is against military intervention but things in reality are different."

 

18 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/18/Analysts-says-Jordan-forced-into-Syria-conflict.html
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Tunisian Salafists storm female student hostel to stop dancing

Tunisian women shout slogans during a protest calling for the respect of women's rights and other fundemental rights on August 13, 2012 in Tunis, Tunisia. (AFP)

Hardline Islamists threw stones and bottles at young women in a student hostel in Tunis to stop them staging a performance of dance and music, witnesses said on Thursday, in another blow to secular freedoms in the country that spawned the Arab Spring.

Since secular dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fell two years ago in the first of multiple revolts across the Arab world, moderate Islamists have won election and radical Muslims have targeted symbols of a hitherto mainly secular society.

Female university students housed at the Bardo district hostel in the capital were just starting a weekly show of dance and music on Wednesday evening when dozens of hardline Salafists broke into the premises after scaling its walls, witnesses said.

"They smashed windows on our building and threw stones and bottles at the students, stopping the performance," said Rim Nsairi, one of the students, who are aged 19 to 24.

The disturbance lasted almost an hour before the assailants fled. There were no serious injuries and no arrests.

"This is unacceptable ... The police were present and did not move. It just raises anger and fear," said Ameni, another student who did not want her last name used. The Interior Ministry, which runs the police, had no immediate comment.

Hostel administrator Raja Madyouni said the university had now tightened security. Salafists had previously threatened female students because of their Western dress and in some cases smoking and relations with young men, according to Madyouni.

It was the latest in a spate of Salafist assaults in the North African state, long among the most secular in the Arab world, over the past year.

Last week, Islamists burst into a secondary school and assaulted its principal after he barred entry to a teenage girl wearing an Islamic face veil. Police fired at Islamists, killing one, after their station came under attack in a southern town.

Tunisian police blamed Salafists for the assassination of secular opposition politician Chokri Belaid in February, which provoked the biggest street protests in Tunisia since the overthrow of Ben Ali in January 2011.

Salafists have also attacked wine sellers in several Tunisian cities, prompting secularists to accuse them of having formed a religious police and threatening the state.

Salafists intervened to scuttle the staging of several concerts and plays in several cities last year, declaring that they violated Islamic principles. Last September, hardline Islamists ransacked the U.S. Embassy in Tunis during worldwide Muslim protests over an anti-Islam video posted on the Internet.

In another sign of growing Islamist-secularist friction, Habib Kozdhogli, head of the arts faculty at Tunis university, is go on trial on May 2 charged with slapping a veiled student who insisted on entering a class last year.

Moderate Ennahda Islamists who won a free election now head a coalition government in Tunis. But Salafists are pressing for Islam to be made the law of the land and secularists say Ennahda is doing little to safeguard individual and women's rights.
 

18 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/18/Tunisian-Salafists-storm-female-student-hostel-to-stop-dancing.html
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Senior Iranian lawmaker lashes out at Al Arabiya Farsi

A top Iranian lawmaker has lashed out at Al Arabiya television and its Persian language website. (Al Arabiya)

A top Iranian lawmaker has lashed out at Al Arabiya television and its Persian language website for what he said is seeking to stimulate unrest in his country during upcoming presidential elections.

"Those involved in such moves want to prepare Iran's atmosphere to foment sedition on the threshold of the presidential election (June 14)," Mohammad Baqeri told the Parliament's website on Tuesday, according to the Fars News Agency.

"The main goal behind launching Persian-language channels is influencing Iran's public opinion," Baqeri said.

During Iran's controversial 2008 presidential elections, authorities in Tehran blocked Al Arabiya Farsi, but the website continued to be a major source of information for the Persian-speaking world.

Previously, several Iranian legislators accused Arab media of seeking to incite Arab Spring like behavior in the Islamic Republic in order to overthrow the Islamic government in Tehran.

In November 2012, Seyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, rapporteur of the parliament's national security and foreign policy commission accused Arab media of "propagating Iranophobia."

"They propagate Iranophobia because they are fearful of being overthrown," Naqavi Hosseini said according to Fars News Agency.

 

18 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/18/Senior-Iranian-lawmaker-lashes-out-at-Al-Arabiya-Farsi.html
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A leaked video shows Assad forces torturing Alawite officers

A leaked video posted online shows Syrian Regime forces beating and torturing Alawite officers. (Screen Grab from online video)

A leaked video posted online shows Syrian Regime forces beating and torturing Alawite officers, who have allegedly been accused of smuggling weapons to the Syrian opposition.

The video clip uploaded by activists shows a reporter from the official Syrian TV channel present during the Syrian regime forces interrogation. Officers can be heard asking men, who have been placed in large metal containers, questions about their alleged involvement while slapping them repeatedly.

The "officers from the Alawite sect" were blindfolded and handcuffed as portrayed in the online video.

This video is one of many that have been leaked recently, showing Assad forces torturing unarmed civilians.

It is impossible to verify the content and when the pictures were taken.
 

18 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/18/A-leaked-video-shows-Assad-forces-torturing-Alawite-officers.html
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Bahrain: Protests pose no threat to Grand Prix

Williams Formula One mechanics push one of their team's car to the scrutineering area at the Bahrain International Circuit April 18, 2013. (Reuters)

Organizers of Bahrain's Grand Prix said Thursday that sporadic protests against the race and violent unrest across the Gulf nation do not pose a threat to the premier international event in the kingdom.

Anti-government groups have stepped up protests against the race in attempts to embarrass authorities, but the demonstrations have been mostly isolated to areas that are hotbeds of opposition to the ruling royal family. Rights groups also are using the race to criticize Bahrain's arrests and other security crackdowns.

Zayed Alzayani, the chairman of the Bahrain International Circuit, said security measures in place this week at the circuit were no different than in past races. Police vehicles dotted the road leading to the circuit and there were several checkpoints before the track.

"We don't feel there is a direct threat to the track nor have we received any threats to the track," Alzayani said. "But we take everything into account. For us, we want to produce an event that is memorable for those who attended."

Alzayani insisted that Sunday's race, which is biggest event in the Gulf nation and generates as much $220 million, is a unifying force in the country and that a majority of Bahrainis were backing it. He said ticket sales were up 20 percent over last year with 25,000 fans expected at the race.

"One of the distinctions of our race, when compared to other races around world, is you have total buy in from the nation," he said. "The race has been endorsed by all members of society, including the opposition. If there are people who are against the race, that is fine. They are entitled to express their opinion within the confines of the law."

Bahrain has faced more than two years of violence between the Sunni-led government and majority Shiites seeking a greater political voice. The latest clashes occurred mostly in Shiite districts of the country, which are often scenes of unrest. Graffiti on walls said: "No F1," a reference to the Formula One event. "Don't race on our blood."

The race was postponed in 2011 after the Arab Spring-inspired uprising hit the country. The 2012 race was held, but was remembered more for massive protests before the event rather than Sebastian Vettel's victory.

One man died last year near the scene of the demonstrations, but this year there has been less attention on the race from rights groups and the protests so far have been smaller and less violent.

Still, rights groups have used the race to highlight what they contend has been the slow pace of reform on the strategic island nation, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. They also complain of widespread arrests in the weeks preceding the race in villages surrounding the circuit.

"Instead of responding to the uprising of February 2011, the last two years have seen continued killings, arbitrary arrests and alleged torture in Bahrain," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Program. "The authorities are trying to use the Grand Prix as a platform to show progress, with claims that the human rights situation has improved, whilst stepping up repression in order to ensure nothing disturbs their public image."

Several groups have called for the race to be canceled, including a group of British parliamentarians who sent a letter to Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone.

18 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/sports/2013/04/18/Bahrain-Protests-pose-no-threat-to-Grand-Prix.html
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