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| Thousands of Tunisian lawyers on strike after jobless youth - Trade unionists said strikes, protests, even attempted suicides also took place in other parts of the country.
Friday, 07 January 2011
Thousands of lawyers in Tunisia went on strike Thursday, a week after a police crackdown on demonstrations they staged in support of protestors against unemployment in the tightly-controlled country.
Trade unionists said strikes, protests, even attempted suicides also took place in other parts of the country.
Street protests by students, professionals and youths angry at a shortage of jobs and restrictions on public freedoms have grown into the most widespread flare-up of popular dissent in President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's 23-year rule.
The protests were triggered last month when a young man set himself on fire in front of a government building in the central town of Sidi Bouzid, saying he was driven to the act by police who had seized his fruit and vegetable cart over a permit.
His self-immolation was embraced as a cause celebre by jobless graduates, trade unionists and human right activists. Protests spread to other towns including the capital Tunis.
The man, Mohammed Bouazizi, 26, died on Tuesday of his burns. Demonstrations had tapered off last week but resumed on Wednesday after his burial.
Three eyewitnesses in Sidi Bouzid said a woman had climbed an electric pole after Bouazizi's burial and threatened to commit suicide with her three children in protest against poor living conditions. Officials persuaded her to abandon the idea.
In the western town of Thala, police used water cannons to disperse protesters. Many of the demonstrators were students, some of whom pelted police with firebombs, witnesses said. The protesters demanded that the police force leave the town and release people detained during the protests.
Authorities later ordered the closure of schools and colleges in Thala until further notice, said representatives of the teachers' union there. Government officials could not immediately comment on these accounts.
"Police beatings"
In Tunis, lawyers in robes gathered at the main courthouse on Bab Bnet Avenue, where a strong force of police stood guard but did not intervene.
The national council had called the strike after lawyers across the country staged actions on New Year's Eve in support of residents of Sidi Bouzid, a centre of mass protests against unemployment since December 19.
The council last week condemned the "unprecedented" use of force to "silence the lawyers who are determined to defend freedom of expression and the rights of Sidi Bouzid and other regions that are devoid of jobs and dignity."
Lawyers were "beaten, chased and insulted" in Tunis, Grombalia, Sousse, Monastir, Mahdia, Gafsa et Jendouba. One lawyer had his nose broken and another had an eye seriously injured, the council said.
Abderrazek Kilani, Chairman of the Bar, told Reuters 95 percent of Tunisia's 8,000 lawyers had joined the strike, called in protest against beatings they received from police at sit-ins in Tunis and other towns last week.
"The strike carries a clear message that we do not accept unjustified attacks on lawyers," he said. "We want to strongly protest against the beating of lawyers in the past few days."
Government officials could not immediately comment.
Apart from Bouazizi, three people are reported to have died in the unrest. Two civilians were killed last month when police fired to quell rioters in the southern town of Bouziane.
According to media reports, a jobless graduate also killed himself by clinging to a high-voltage electric cable to protest against "misery and unemployment".
Agencies
7.01.2011
www.worldbulletin.net |
| Eritrea - Mogadishu - Somali government troops entered the outskirts of Mogadishu on Thursday in a convoy of scores of military vehicles, a witness said.
"People are cheering as they wave flowers to the troops," resident Abdikadar Abdulle told reporters, adding that they had passed Somalia National University, west of the city centre.
He said dozens of infantrymen were walking ahead of about 100 "technicals" - pick-up trucks fitted with heavy weapons.
"I can see governments troops are greeting people. I was greeted by some of them," Abdulle said by telephone. "They told me thank you for welcoming us."
Rival Islamists earlier fled the capital as a joint force of Ethiopian and government soldiers advanced.
REUTERS
Eritrea is the only African country and one of the few in the world without privately-owned media. Afeworki, president since independence in 1993, remains deaf to the protests of the international community and the authorities dismiss as “traitors” the 14 or more journalists they have imprisoned in secret since April 2002 and who are under threat of execution. Dawit Isaac, editor of the closed weekly Setit, who has dual Swedish and Eritrean nationality, was freed at the end of 2005. But two days later he was returned to prison for reasons unknown.
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| Mortars fired at Abbas's Gaza office - GAZA (Reuters) - Gunmen fired mortar bombs at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's office in Gaza on Sunday after Abbas forces took over two ministries run by the ruling Hamas movement, which has dismissed his call for new elections.
Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas leader, accused Abbas's security men of attempting a "military coup" by overrunning the ministries. He demanded they leave or else be arrested, a move that could provoke further violence.
Forces loyal to Hamas and Abbas's Fatah fought street and rooftop gunbattles across Gaza through the day. A senior paramilitary commander loyal to Abbas was found dead after being abducted. Residents said it was the heaviest bout of internal fighting in living memory.
The mounting unrest followed Abbas's call on Saturday for fresh presidential and parliamentary elections, a dramatic move that sought to lift crippling Western sanctions imposed on the 9-month-old Hamas government.
"What is happening is a real military coup, assassinations, attempted assassinations, the occupation of headquarters and ministries," a visibly angry Zahar told a news conference.
Jamal Abul Rub, a Fatah lawmaker, countered that Hamas gunmen were staging a "coup against the elected president (and) pushing things toward civil war" by attacking Abbas's offices.
A Palestinian security source said two mortar bombs landed less than 100 metres (yards) from Abbas's office, wounding at least five members of his personal guard. The president was not in Gaza at the time.
Abbas's forces had earlier sealed off the area around his home in Gaza.
A 19-year-old university student was shot during a gunfight near the president's compound as she took cover and later died of her wounds, hospital officials said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the abduction and killing of the paramilitary commander.
At least 15 other people were wounded besides the presidential guards in clashes, including a French journalist for the Liberation newspaper, who was shot in the leg.
Abbas's 4,000-strong presidential guard, backed by militants loyal to Fatah, took over the Hamas-run Agriculture and Transport ministries, moving to secure parts of Gaza City.
Earlier, a convoy carrying Zahar was fired on. Zahar was unharmed in the attack, blamed by his aides on Abbas's forces.
In his first public comments since Abbas called for early elections, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas leader, said new polls could cause greater unrest and urged calm. Hamas has said it will boycott new elections.
"The Palestinian government calls on all people to show restraint and to alleviate tensions," Haniyeh said.
After months of factional violence that has raised fears of civil war, Abbas said early polls should be held as soon as possible. But he also said efforts to form a unity government should continue, despite repeated failure.
As the fresh violence flared, British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in Israel for talks on Monday with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
DAWN RAID
The security clampdown by Abbas's special guard followed a dawn raid by masked gunmen on a training camp they use in which one guard was killed and at least five were wounded.
The raid involved dozens of gunmen in uniforms similar to those worn by Hamas fighters, a senior member of the presidential guard said. Hamas denied involvement.
On Sunday, Abbas met members of the Palestinian electoral commission to work on planning for a new vote, which officials said was not expected to take place until mid-2007.
Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, took office in March after beating the long-dominant Fatah in parliamentary elections, prompting the West to cut direct aid.
Hamas has insisted it will never recognize the Jewish state, making it unclear how any unity government could get off the ground and satisfy the West, which has demanded that Hamas recognize Israel and renounce violence.
The Palestinian basic law, which acts as a constitution, has no provision for early elections. Fatah says Abbas can call them through a presidential decree. Hamas says that would be illegal.
A poll released on Sunday said if elections were held today, Fatah would win 42 percent to 36 percent for Hamas. It also showed 61 percent of Palestinians favored early elections, with 37 percent opposed.
(Additional reporting by Wafa Amr in Ramallah)
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| President's brother escapes deadly suicide blast in Sri Lanka - by Amal Jayasinghe
Fri Dec 1, 9:40 AM ET
COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lanka's defence secretary, the brother of the president, narrowly escaped death when a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber blew himself up in the heart of Colombo, police said.
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Two army guards were killed along with the bomber who slammed his explosives-packed three-wheeled autorickshaw against the heavily armed convoy as it slowed down at a busy intersection, police said.
Defence ministry secretary Gotabaye Rajapakse, the younger brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse, later showed photographers blood stains on both sleeves of his white shirt.
The secretary, the top bureaucrat in the ministry, emerged with just a graze on his right eyebrow and said that "through the blessings of good fortune" he escaped assassination by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
"I am not ready to abandon the responsibility we have towards the country, in the face of such cowardly attacks by the LTTE," he said in a statement. He added he was committed to the "national need to defeat the LTTE's terrorism."
"I ask you to raise your voice for the cause of peace, to realize your expectations of a peaceful and harmonious Sri Lanka," he said.
The United States condemned the assassination bid and urged the LTTE to enter talks.
"The attack bears all the hallmarks of an operation by the LTTE," the US embassy in Colombo said in a statement.
"We once again call on the LTTE to renounce terrorism, to give up violence and to join in negotiating a peaceful solution to Sri Lanka's conflict," it added.
The Nordic truce monitors made a similar appeal to both sides and said the attack had the hallmarks of methods used by the Tigers.
The defence ministry secretary was in a convoy of limousines escorted by troops and was en route to a security council meeting with the president at the official Temple Trees executive residence, a source at the president's office told AFP.
"The defence secretary was in the convoy ... He drove straight to Temple Trees and the first thing he did was to hug the president," said the source, who asked not to be named.
Police said the body of the suicide bomber, with the head destroyed beyond recognition, was found on the back of a pick-up truck that was caught up in the powerful blast at the high-security Dharmapala Mawatha road.
The defence ministry secretary, a former Sri Lankan army colonel who returned last year from a decade in the United States, was inside a bullet-proof vehicle, one of four identical grey limousines in the convoy, police said.
The president, who holds the defence ministry portfolio himself, reiterated his commitment to bring peace to the island despite the bloodshed.
"President Mahinda Rajapakse remains unshaken in his resolve to achieve peace in Sri Lanka and is undeterred in his efforts to combat all forms of terrorism and violence," said a statement from his office.
"The LTTE is known to have carried out such cowardly and brutal attacks even earlier," it added.
The LTTE has been fighting for a separate state for Sri Lanka's 2.5 million Tamil minority for three decades.
The suicide bombing came as Norway's top envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer was in Colombo for talks with Sri Lankan leaders on reviving a stalled peace bid.
There was no immediate reaction from peace broker Norway, but Hanssen-Bauer was due to travel to the rebel-held north Monday for talks with the Tamil Tigers.
A female suicide bomber, pretending to be pregnant, tried to kill army chief Sarath Fonseka in Colombo on April 25. The bomber and 11 others died but the lieutenant-general survived with serious injuries.
Troops and police had stepped up security after LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran on Monday announced a Norwegian-brokered 2002 truce was "defunct" and that he was resuming the struggle for an independent Tamil state.
More than 3,400 people have been killed in the past year alone as the truce unravelled and two rounds of peace talks failed.
Over 60,000 people have been killed in the island's separatist campaign since 1972.
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| Fiji military chief stages coup - Fiji's military commander has seized control of the country, marking the fourth coup in two decades.
Commodore Frank Bainimarama said in a televised address he had assumed executive powers and dismissed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase.
Cmdr Bainimarama accused the prime minister of corruption and leading Fiji on a path of doom.
Mr Qarase, who said he would now retire from politics, accused the military of bringing "shame to the country".
He said Cmdr Bainimarama was feeding the country lies about his government.
I urge all citizens to remain calm, and maintain the peace that currently prevails
Cmdr Bainimarama
Profile of army chief
In pictures: Fiji coup
Press reflects unease
"What the military has done is raped our constitution," Mr Qarase said.
"They have brought shame to the country... and all right-thinking people should stand up and fight for our democracy - by peaceful means of course," he said.
"Fiji has now become a laughing stock in the international arena."
Fiji's largest daily newspaper, the Fiji Times, says it has suspended publication after refusing to accept censorship.
Cmdr Bainimarama had repeatedly threatened to unseat Mr Qarase, expressing anger at the prime minister's proposed legislation to offer an amnesty to those responsible for a 2000 coup which Cmdr Bainimarama helped put down.
FIJI TENSIONS TIMELINE
2000: Brief coup put down by army chief Bainimarama
July 2005: Bainimarama warns he will topple government if it pardons jailed coup plotters
May 2006: PM Laisenia Qarase wins re-election
31 Oct: Qarase tries - and fails - to replace Bainimarama
November: Qarase says he will change law offering clemency to coup plotters - Bainimarama warns of coup
5 Dec: Military declares coup
Fiji voices: Coup impact
Fears for future
History of coups
Cmdr Bainimarama warned that more troops would be seen on the streets but said there was no curfew and he urged the population not to be intimidated.
He said Fiji had reached a "crossroads" and that the government had been "unable to make decisions to save our people from destruction".
"I urge all citizens to remain calm, and maintain the peace that currently prevails," he said.
Cmdr Bainimarama named a doctor, Jona Senilagakali, as caretaker prime minister and said he would next week ask the Great Council of Chiefs to restore executive powers to President Ratu Josefa Iloilo.
The president would then appoint an interim government and elections would follow at an unspecified date, the military chief said.
Cmdr Bainimarama said the prime minister had created tension in the army by trying to have him removed.
Acting commissioner of the largely unarmed police force, Moses Driver, condemned the takeover.
"The military has now indulged in a very serious criminal act and... we are not going to support the military," he said.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark also condemned Mr Bainimarama, saying he had "taken leave of his senses and the power has certainly gone to his head".
Britain said it had suspended military assistance to Fiji and was "considering further measures with our international and Commonwealth partners".
Troop request
Fiji has a population of only 900,000 but is a major tourist destination and attracts up to 400,000 visitors a year.
Bainimarama is a man with power and intelligence who is not joining hands with the corrupt but is going against them to help the people of Fiji
Trot, Suva
Send us your comments
It has also witnessed considerable political tension over the past 20 years between ethnic Fijians, who make up about 50% of the population and ethnic Indians at around 44%.
The military takeover will add to the concerns of Australia and New Zealand about political instability in the wider Pacific islands region.
Australia, Britain and New Zealand had advised their citizens to stay away and warned of dire social, economic and diplomatic consequences if the military completed its coup.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard earlier said he had turned down a request from Mr Qarase to send troops to prevent a coup.
"The possibility of Australia and Fijian troops firing on each other in the streets of Suva was not a prospect that I for a moment thought desirable," Mr Howard said.
BBC News
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| Rwanda: Rwanda Breaks Off Diplomatic Ties With France - By REUTERS
Published: November 25, 2006
Rwanda broke off diplomatic ties with France, angry at a French judge’s call for President Paul Kagame to face trial over the 1994 downing of a plane that killed Rwanda’s leader and unleashed a genocide. Mr. Kagame, a Tutsi, has long accused France of training and arming Hutu militias who were the main force behind the slaughter. France denies the charges.
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| Sudan hails new peacekeeping agreement - Chartúm - President Omar al-Bashir's government on Monday hailed a new agreement with the United Nations over peacekeepers in Darfur as a diplomatic breakthrough for Sudan, but said serious differences remain over the force's makeup and command.
20.11.2006 |
| COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - The bodies of 11 Muslim men were found hacked to death in a remote jungle in eastern Sri Lanka on Monday, the military said, blaming Tamil Tiger rebels for the killings.
The men had apparently gone to repair an irrigation system when they were attacked, said chief military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe. One man is believed to have survived the massacre and was being treated in a hospital, he said. 18.09.2006
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