New York Times
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and MICHAEL SLACKMAN
For decades, Egypt’s authoritarian president, Hosni Mubarak, played a clever game with his political opponents.
He tolerated a tiny and toothless opposition of liberal intellectuals whose vain electoral campaigns created the facade of a democratic process. And he demonized the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood as a group of violent extremists who posed a threat that he used to justify his police state.
But this enduring and, many here say, all too comfortable relationship was upended this week by the emergence of an unpredictable third force, the leaderless tens of thousands of young Egyptians who turned out to demand an end to Mr. Mubarak’s 30-year rule.
Now the older opponents are rushing to catch up.
“It was the young people who took the initiative and set the date and decided to go,” Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Wednesday with some surprise during a telephone interview from his office in Vienna, shortly before rushing home to Cairo to join the revolt.
Dr. ElBaradei, a Nobel prize winner, has been the public face of an effort to reinvigorate and unite Egypt’s fractious and ineffective opposition since he plunged into his home country’s politics nearly a year ago, and he said the youth movement had accomplished that on its own. “Young people are impatient,” he said. “Frankly, I didn’t think the people were ready.”
But their readiness — tens of thousands have braved tear gas, rubber bullets and security police officers notorious for torture — has threatened to upstage or displace the traditional opposition groups.
Many of the tiny, legally recognized political parties — more than 20 in total, with scarcely a parlor full of grass-roots supporters among them — are leaping to embrace the new movement for change but lack credibility with the young people in the street.
Even the Muslim Brotherhood may have grown too protective of its own institutions and position to capitalize on the new youth movement, say some analysts and former members. The Brotherhood remains the organization in Egypt with the largest base of support outside the government, but it can no longer claim to be the only entity that can turn masses of people out into the streets.
“The Brotherhood is no longer the most effective player in the political arena,” said Emad Shahin, an Egyptian scholar now at the University of Notre Dame. “If you look at the Tunisian uprising, it’s a youth uprising. It is the youth that knows how to use the media, Internet, Facebook, so there are other players now.”
Dr. ElBaradei, for his part, has struggled for nearly a year to unite the opposition under his umbrella group, the National Association for Change. But some have mocked him as a globe-trotting dilettante who spends much of his time abroad instead of on the barricades.
He has said in interviews that he never presented himself as a political savior, and that Egyptians would have to make their own revolution. Now, he said, the youth movement “will give them the self-confidence they needed, to know that the change will happen through you and not through one person — you are the driving force.”
And Dr. ElBaradei argued that by upsetting the old relationship between Mr. Mubarak and the Brotherhood, the youth movement posed a new challenge to United States policy makers as well.
“For years,” he said, “the West has bought Mr. Mubarak’s demonization of the Muslim Brotherhood lock, stock and barrel, the idea that the only alternative here are these demons called the Muslim Brotherhood who are the equivalent of Al Qaeda.”
He added: “I am pretty sure that any freely and fairly elected government in Egypt will be a moderate one, but America is really pushing Egypt and pushing the whole Arab world into radicalization with this inept policy of supporting repression.”
The roots of the uprising that filled Egypt’s streets this week arguably stretch back to before the Tunisian revolt, which many protesters cited as the catalyst. Almost three years ago, on April 6, 2008, the Egyptian government crushed a strike by a group of textile workers in the industrial city of Mahalla, and in response a group of young activists who connected through Facebook and other social networking Web sites formed the April 6th Youth Movement in solidarity with the strikers.
Their early efforts to call a general strike were a bust. But over time their leaderless online network and others that sprang up around it — like the networks that helped propel the Tunisian revolution — were uniquely difficult for the Egyptian security police to pinpoint or wipe out. It was an online rallying cry for a show of opposition to tyranny, corruption and torture that brought so many to the streets on Tuesday and Wednesday, unexpectedly vaulting the online youth movement to the forefront as the most effective independent political force in Egypt.
“It would be criminal for any political party to claim credit for the mini-Intifada we had yesterday,” said Hossam el-Hamalawy, a blogger and activist.
Mr. Mubarak’s government, though, is so far sticking to a familiar script. Against all evidence, his interior minister immediately laid blame for Wednesday’s unrest at the foot of the government’s age-old foe, the Muslim Brotherhood.
This time, though, the Brotherhood disclaimed responsibility, saying it was only one part of Dr. ElBaradei’s umbrella group. “People took part in the protests in a spontaneous way, and there is no way to tell who belonged to what,” said Gamal Nassar, a media adviser for the Brotherhood, noting the near-total absence of any group’s signs or slogans, including the Brotherhood’s.
“Everyone is suffering from social problems, unemployment, inflation, corruption and oppression,” he said. “So what everyone is calling for is real change.”
The Brotherhood operates a large network of schools and charities that make up for the many failings of government social services. Some analysts charge that the institutional inertia may make the Brotherhood slow to rock the Egyptian ship of state.
“The Brotherhood has been very silent,” said Amr Hamzawy, research director at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. “It is not a movement that can benefit from what has been happening and get people out in the street.”
Nor, Dr. ElBaradei argued, does the Muslim Brotherhood merit the fear its name evokes in the West. Its membership embraces large numbers of professors, lawyers and other professionals as well as followers who benefit from its charities. It has not committed or condoned acts of violence since the uprising against the British-backed Egyptian monarchy six decades ago, and it has endorsed his call for a pluralistic civil democracy.
“They are a religiously conservative group, no question about it, but they also represent about 20 percent of the Egyptian people,” he said. “And how can you exclude 20 percent of the Egyptian people?”
Dr. ElBaradei, with his international prestige, is a difficult critic for Mr. Mubarak’s government to jail, harass or besmirch, as it has many of his predecessors. And Dr. ElBaradei eases concerns about Islamists by putting a secular, liberal and familiar face on the opposition.
But he has been increasingly outspoken in his criticism of the West. He was stunned, he said, by the reaction of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the Egyptian protests. In a statement after Tuesday’s clashes, she urged restraint but described the Egyptian government as “stable” and “looking for ways to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people.”
“ ‘Stability’ is a very pernicious word,” he said. “Stability at the expense of 30 years of martial law, rigged elections?” He added, “If they come later and say, as they did in Tunis, ‘We respect the will of the Tunisian people,’ it will be a little late in the day.”
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Egypt unrest enters third day, ElBaradei to return
Activists trying to oust Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak played cat-and-mouse with police on the streets into the early hours of Thursday, as unprecedented protests against his 30-year rule entered a third day.
Prominent reform campaigner Mohamed ElBaradei, who lives in Vienna, was expected to return to Egypt on Thursday, an arrival that could galvanize protests that so far have lacked a leader.
At least three protesters and one policeman have died in clashes since they erupted on Tuesday. The protests, inspired by a popular revolt in Tunisia and unprecedented during Mubarak's strong-handed rule, have seen police fire rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators throwing rocks and petrol bombs.
In central Cairo on Wednesday demonstrators burned tires and hurled stones at police. In Suez, protesters torched a government building.
Demonstrations continued well into the night. By the early hours of Thursday, smaller groups of protesters were still assembling in both cities and being chased off by police.
Protesters are promising to hold the biggest demonstrations yet on Friday after weekly prayers.
"Egypt's Muslims and Christians will go out to fight against corruption, unemployment and oppression and absence of freedom," wrote an activist on a Facebook page.
Protesters say they have seen demonstrators dragged away, beaten and shoved into police vans. The Interior Ministry said on Wednesday that 500 had been arrested. An independent coalition of lawyers said at least 1,200 were detained.
REGROUPING
Sometimes police have scrambled to find the means to respond to the protests. In one spot in central Cairo, angry policemen rammed sticks into pavements to break up pieces of concrete for use as projectiles to hurl at protesters.
Protesters have constantly regrouped, using Facebook and Twitter to galvanize and coordinate their demonstrations.
The arrival of ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, gives the opposition a leader of international stature.
"I am going back to Cairo and back onto the streets, because, really, there is no choice. You go out there with this massive number of people and you hope things will not turn ugly, but so far, the regime does not seem to have gotten that message," he said in remarks on U.S. website The Daily Beast.
He said many Egyptians would no longer tolerate Mubarak's government even for a transitional period, and dismissed as "obviously bogus" the suggestion that authoritarian Arab leaders like Mubarak were the only bulwark against Islamic extremism.
"If we are talking about Egypt, there is a whole rainbow variety of people who are secular, liberal, market oriented, and if you give them a chance they will organize to elect a government that is modern and moderate."
Calls for another big protest on Friday gathered 24,000 Facebook supporters within hours of being posted.
Web activists seem to have acted largely independently of more organized opposition movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, widely seen as having Egypt's biggest grassroots network with its social and charity projects.
"Participation has no religious direction, it is an Egyptian movement," wrote an activist about Friday's planned protest.
Washington, which views Mubarak as a vital ally and bulwark of Middle Eastern peace, has called for calm and, increasingly, urged Egypt to make reforms to meet the protesters demands.
"We believe strongly that the Egyptian government has an important opportunity at this moment in time to implement political, economic and social reforms to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
Like Tunisians, Egyptians complain about surging prices, a lack of jobs and authoritarian rulers who have relied on heavy-handed security to keep dissenting voices quiet.
After decades in which Mubarak's rule has never been seriously challenged, Egypt's large, youthful population has grown increasingly restive and bolder in demanding change.
"The people want the regime to fall," protesters chanted.
Egypt's population of some 80 million is growing by 2 percent a year. Two thirds of the population is under 30, and that age group accounts for 90 percent of the jobless. About 40 percent live on less than $2 a day, and a third are illiterate.
A presidential election is due in September. Egyptians assume that the 82-year-old Mubarak plans either to remain in control or hand power to his son Gamal, 47. Father and son both deny that Gamal is being groomed for the job.
Prominent reform campaigner Mohamed ElBaradei, who lives in Vienna, was expected to return to Egypt on Thursday, an arrival that could galvanize protests that so far have lacked a leader.
At least three protesters and one policeman have died in clashes since they erupted on Tuesday. The protests, inspired by a popular revolt in Tunisia and unprecedented during Mubarak's strong-handed rule, have seen police fire rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators throwing rocks and petrol bombs.
In central Cairo on Wednesday demonstrators burned tires and hurled stones at police. In Suez, protesters torched a government building.
Demonstrations continued well into the night. By the early hours of Thursday, smaller groups of protesters were still assembling in both cities and being chased off by police.
Protesters are promising to hold the biggest demonstrations yet on Friday after weekly prayers.
"Egypt's Muslims and Christians will go out to fight against corruption, unemployment and oppression and absence of freedom," wrote an activist on a Facebook page.
Protesters say they have seen demonstrators dragged away, beaten and shoved into police vans. The Interior Ministry said on Wednesday that 500 had been arrested. An independent coalition of lawyers said at least 1,200 were detained.
REGROUPING
Sometimes police have scrambled to find the means to respond to the protests. In one spot in central Cairo, angry policemen rammed sticks into pavements to break up pieces of concrete for use as projectiles to hurl at protesters.
Protesters have constantly regrouped, using Facebook and Twitter to galvanize and coordinate their demonstrations.
The arrival of ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, gives the opposition a leader of international stature.
"I am going back to Cairo and back onto the streets, because, really, there is no choice. You go out there with this massive number of people and you hope things will not turn ugly, but so far, the regime does not seem to have gotten that message," he said in remarks on U.S. website The Daily Beast.
He said many Egyptians would no longer tolerate Mubarak's government even for a transitional period, and dismissed as "obviously bogus" the suggestion that authoritarian Arab leaders like Mubarak were the only bulwark against Islamic extremism.
"If we are talking about Egypt, there is a whole rainbow variety of people who are secular, liberal, market oriented, and if you give them a chance they will organize to elect a government that is modern and moderate."
Calls for another big protest on Friday gathered 24,000 Facebook supporters within hours of being posted.
Web activists seem to have acted largely independently of more organized opposition movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, widely seen as having Egypt's biggest grassroots network with its social and charity projects.
"Participation has no religious direction, it is an Egyptian movement," wrote an activist about Friday's planned protest.
Washington, which views Mubarak as a vital ally and bulwark of Middle Eastern peace, has called for calm and, increasingly, urged Egypt to make reforms to meet the protesters demands.
"We believe strongly that the Egyptian government has an important opportunity at this moment in time to implement political, economic and social reforms to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
Like Tunisians, Egyptians complain about surging prices, a lack of jobs and authoritarian rulers who have relied on heavy-handed security to keep dissenting voices quiet.
After decades in which Mubarak's rule has never been seriously challenged, Egypt's large, youthful population has grown increasingly restive and bolder in demanding change.
"The people want the regime to fall," protesters chanted.
Egypt's population of some 80 million is growing by 2 percent a year. Two thirds of the population is under 30, and that age group accounts for 90 percent of the jobless. About 40 percent live on less than $2 a day, and a third are illiterate.
A presidential election is due in September. Egyptians assume that the 82-year-old Mubarak plans either to remain in control or hand power to his son Gamal, 47. Father and son both deny that Gamal is being groomed for the job.
Egypt's anti-Egyptian protests enter 2nd day, increasing threat to regime
Thousands of Egyptians have vented their rage against President Hosni Mubarak's autocratic government for two straight days of protests that defied a ban on public gatherings. Baton-wielding police responded with tear gas and beatings in a crackdown that has shown no tolerance for dissent.
Egypt's largest anti-government protests in years echoed the uprising in Tunisia, threatening to destabilize the leadership of the most important U.S. ally in the Arab world. The ability of the protesters to sustain the momentum for two days in the face of such a heavy-handed police response was a rare feat in this country.
One protester and a policeman were killed Wednesday, bringing the two-day death toll to six. Some 860 people have been rounded up, and Facebook, Twitter and cellphones — key to organizing protests — have been disrupted.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on Egypt to adopt broad reforms and not crack down on the anti-government crowds. She urged the Mubarak regime to "take this opportunity to implement political, economic and social reforms that will answer the legitimate interests of the Egyptian people."
Still, there was no indication that Mubarak, who has ruled with an iron fist for nearly 30 years, intends to relinquish power or make democratic or economic concessions, and no sign he would rein in his security forces.
The defiant demonstrations continued late into the night Wednesday. In Cairo, dozens of riot police with helmets and shields charged more than 2,000 marchers on a downtown boulevard along the Nile. Smaller clashes broke out across the capital. In one, protesters stoned police, who responded with a volley of tear gas from a bridge over the Nile.
One protester, businessman Said Abdel-Motalib, called the civil unrest "a red light to the regime. This is a warning."
In cities across Egypt, protesters incensed by Egypt's grinding poverty, rising prices and high unemployment hurled rocks and firebombs at police and smashed the windows of military vehicles.
The Interior Ministry warned Wednesday that police would not tolerate any gatherings, and thousands of security forces were out on the streets poised to move quickly against any unrest. Many were plainclothes officers whose leather jackets and casual sweat shirts allowed them to blend in easily with protesters.
Thousands of policemen in riot gear and backed by armoured vehicles also took up posts in Cairo, on bridges across the Nile, at major intersections and squares, as well as outside key installations, including the state TV building and the headquarters of Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party.
Police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of several hundred activists on a main thoroughfare, chasing them through side streets as both sides pelted each other with rocks while hundreds of onlookers watched. Plainclothes officers shoved some into waiting vans, slapping them in the face.
Observing the clashes, Omima Maher, a 37-year-old housewife lamented her money woes. "Everything is so horrible. I hope we can change it," she said.
A policeman and a demonstrator were killed Wednesday when a car ran them over during a protest in a poor central Cairo neighbourhood, security officials said. Earlier, three demonstrators died in clashes in the city of Suez and one policemen was killed in Cairo violence.
In Suez, east of Cairo, a peaceful gathering turned violent at sunset when protesters threw rocks at a morgue where they were waiting for the body of a man killed a day earlier. Police broke up the crowd with tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition fired into the air.
Women screamed as they called their sons home, and men vomited in the streets from the acrid white tear gas that filled the air.
Protesters also firebombed the ruling party headquarters and a police station, damaging both buildings as burning trash littered the streets.
In the southern city of Assiut, witnesses said riot police set upon some 100 activists, beating them with batons and arresting nearly half of them. "Down, down Hosni Mubarak!" chanted the crowd. "Oh, people, join us or you will be next."
Although Wednesday's demonstrations were smaller than the tens of thousands who rallied Tuesday, the unrest follows repeated public outcries in recent months over police brutality, food prices, corruption and, more recently, sectarian strife between Christians and Muslims.
Parliamentary elections in November were widely decried as fraudulent, rigged to allow candidates from Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party to win all but a small fraction of the chamber's 318 seats.
Many in Egypt see the events as a sign of the authoritarian leader's vulnerability in an election year. There is speculation the 82-year-old Mubarak, who recently experienced serious health problems, may be setting his son Gamal up for hereditary succession.
There is considerable public opposition to a father-son succession and, according to leaked U.S. diplomatic memos, such a scenario does not meet with the approval of the powerful military. Still, the regime's tight hold on power has made it virtually impossible for any serious alternative to Mubarak to emerge.
Nearly half of Egypt's 80 million people live under or just above the poverty line set by the World Bank at $2 a day. Combined, the poverty, corruption and social disparity pose a threat to Mubarak's regime at a time when he and his son have been unable to improve the lives of the country's poor.
A persistent rumour that Mubarak's family has fled the country was denied Wednesday as "baseless" by a senior ruling party official. However, the fact that such a rumour found legs speaks to the widely held perception that Mubarak could follow the example of Tunisia's longtime authoritarian ruler, who fled the country with his family in the face of that country's popular uprising this month.
While that is unlikely, failure to rein in the unrest could tempt the military to intervene to take charge of the streets and restore order, or even realign the political order and put forward one if its own as a presidential candidate.
Amr Moussa, the outspoken head of the Arab League once seen as a viable successor to Mubarak, painted a picture of an Arab world that is in turmoil when asked about events in Egypt.
"The Arab citizen is angry, is frustrated. That is the point. So the name of the game is reform," he said at Davos, where he is attending the World Economic Forum meetings.
Many Egyptian protesters say they have been inspired by the uprising in Tunisia — even invoking the same slogans heard in the north African nation.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle invoked Tunisia Wednesday, saying the unrest in Egypt "underlines the necessity of democratization, of respect for human and civil rights."
"We are seeing in the last few weeks that a country's stability is not endangered by granting civil rights. It is through the refusal of civil and human rights that societies become unstable," he said.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt weighed in on Twitter, writing: "Worried by reports on restrictions on social media in Egypt. Rights of everyone to peacefully express views must be respected."
___
Egypt's largest anti-government protests in years echoed the uprising in Tunisia, threatening to destabilize the leadership of the most important U.S. ally in the Arab world. The ability of the protesters to sustain the momentum for two days in the face of such a heavy-handed police response was a rare feat in this country.
One protester and a policeman were killed Wednesday, bringing the two-day death toll to six. Some 860 people have been rounded up, and Facebook, Twitter and cellphones — key to organizing protests — have been disrupted.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on Egypt to adopt broad reforms and not crack down on the anti-government crowds. She urged the Mubarak regime to "take this opportunity to implement political, economic and social reforms that will answer the legitimate interests of the Egyptian people."
Still, there was no indication that Mubarak, who has ruled with an iron fist for nearly 30 years, intends to relinquish power or make democratic or economic concessions, and no sign he would rein in his security forces.
The defiant demonstrations continued late into the night Wednesday. In Cairo, dozens of riot police with helmets and shields charged more than 2,000 marchers on a downtown boulevard along the Nile. Smaller clashes broke out across the capital. In one, protesters stoned police, who responded with a volley of tear gas from a bridge over the Nile.
One protester, businessman Said Abdel-Motalib, called the civil unrest "a red light to the regime. This is a warning."
In cities across Egypt, protesters incensed by Egypt's grinding poverty, rising prices and high unemployment hurled rocks and firebombs at police and smashed the windows of military vehicles.
The Interior Ministry warned Wednesday that police would not tolerate any gatherings, and thousands of security forces were out on the streets poised to move quickly against any unrest. Many were plainclothes officers whose leather jackets and casual sweat shirts allowed them to blend in easily with protesters.
Thousands of policemen in riot gear and backed by armoured vehicles also took up posts in Cairo, on bridges across the Nile, at major intersections and squares, as well as outside key installations, including the state TV building and the headquarters of Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party.
Police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of several hundred activists on a main thoroughfare, chasing them through side streets as both sides pelted each other with rocks while hundreds of onlookers watched. Plainclothes officers shoved some into waiting vans, slapping them in the face.
Observing the clashes, Omima Maher, a 37-year-old housewife lamented her money woes. "Everything is so horrible. I hope we can change it," she said.
A policeman and a demonstrator were killed Wednesday when a car ran them over during a protest in a poor central Cairo neighbourhood, security officials said. Earlier, three demonstrators died in clashes in the city of Suez and one policemen was killed in Cairo violence.
In Suez, east of Cairo, a peaceful gathering turned violent at sunset when protesters threw rocks at a morgue where they were waiting for the body of a man killed a day earlier. Police broke up the crowd with tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition fired into the air.
Women screamed as they called their sons home, and men vomited in the streets from the acrid white tear gas that filled the air.
Protesters also firebombed the ruling party headquarters and a police station, damaging both buildings as burning trash littered the streets.
In the southern city of Assiut, witnesses said riot police set upon some 100 activists, beating them with batons and arresting nearly half of them. "Down, down Hosni Mubarak!" chanted the crowd. "Oh, people, join us or you will be next."
Although Wednesday's demonstrations were smaller than the tens of thousands who rallied Tuesday, the unrest follows repeated public outcries in recent months over police brutality, food prices, corruption and, more recently, sectarian strife between Christians and Muslims.
Parliamentary elections in November were widely decried as fraudulent, rigged to allow candidates from Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party to win all but a small fraction of the chamber's 318 seats.
Many in Egypt see the events as a sign of the authoritarian leader's vulnerability in an election year. There is speculation the 82-year-old Mubarak, who recently experienced serious health problems, may be setting his son Gamal up for hereditary succession.
There is considerable public opposition to a father-son succession and, according to leaked U.S. diplomatic memos, such a scenario does not meet with the approval of the powerful military. Still, the regime's tight hold on power has made it virtually impossible for any serious alternative to Mubarak to emerge.
Nearly half of Egypt's 80 million people live under or just above the poverty line set by the World Bank at $2 a day. Combined, the poverty, corruption and social disparity pose a threat to Mubarak's regime at a time when he and his son have been unable to improve the lives of the country's poor.
A persistent rumour that Mubarak's family has fled the country was denied Wednesday as "baseless" by a senior ruling party official. However, the fact that such a rumour found legs speaks to the widely held perception that Mubarak could follow the example of Tunisia's longtime authoritarian ruler, who fled the country with his family in the face of that country's popular uprising this month.
While that is unlikely, failure to rein in the unrest could tempt the military to intervene to take charge of the streets and restore order, or even realign the political order and put forward one if its own as a presidential candidate.
Amr Moussa, the outspoken head of the Arab League once seen as a viable successor to Mubarak, painted a picture of an Arab world that is in turmoil when asked about events in Egypt.
"The Arab citizen is angry, is frustrated. That is the point. So the name of the game is reform," he said at Davos, where he is attending the World Economic Forum meetings.
Many Egyptian protesters say they have been inspired by the uprising in Tunisia — even invoking the same slogans heard in the north African nation.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle invoked Tunisia Wednesday, saying the unrest in Egypt "underlines the necessity of democratization, of respect for human and civil rights."
"We are seeing in the last few weeks that a country's stability is not endangered by granting civil rights. It is through the refusal of civil and human rights that societies become unstable," he said.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt weighed in on Twitter, writing: "Worried by reports on restrictions on social media in Egypt. Rights of everyone to peacefully express views must be respected."
___
Egypt braces for further day of protests
Authorities in Egypt are bracing for the possibility of further protests, following two days of unrest that have left at least four people dead.
Monday, January 24, 2011
VEENA MALIK..............WOMAN OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
pukhtunkhwa times declares veena malik,''woman of the year'' for her outstanding social work in pakistan,for her boldness and courage to stand and defend herself in front of a conservative Pakistani mullah.
Veena Malik takes a lot of interest in social work and feels her responsibility for helping the poor and needy.
Veena Malik has worked for World Health Organization (WHO).
Veena Malik sponsors two children from SOS children's village, their names are Zain and Zafar.
Veena Malik also donated 5 lac rupees for IDP's fund.
Veena Malik has called a spade a spade, and for that I salute her!!!
WAQAR
Ripple protests could topple U.S. allies
By Nic Robertson, CNN
Tunisia has brought a blast of reality to Mideast politics. Aging autocrats have been put on notice they can no longer count on docile citizens.
But is an era of unrest approaching? Will the winds of change sweep east along the Maghreb and bring down regimes from North Africa to the Levant and even the Arabian Peninsula?
Beyond doubt, those winds are blowing. Across the region they are being driven by the same social and economic factors, including high unemployment, a booming birth rate, and exploding food prices.
According to the International Monetary Fund, if chronic unemployment and the social tensions that accompany it are to be avoided the Middle East needs to create another 18 million jobs in the next 10 years. From where they stand today that's a very tall order indeed.
Amre Moussa, the Arab League secretary-general and former Egyptian foreign minister, warned regional leaders last week: "It is on everybody's mind that the Arab spirit is broken. The Arab spirit is down by poverty, unemployment and the general decline in the real indicators of development."
Regional parties like the moderate Islamists in the Muslim Brotherhood, scent opportunity.
"The same disease is in all Arab countries, we have different degrees only but the same origin of the disease, it is the same dictatorship, lack of democracy, lack of freedom restrictions on civil society," Esam el-Erian, spokesman for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said.
In Egypt as in other countries in the region the Muslim Brotherhood faces constant government harassment.Hosni Mubarak, the 82-year-old Egyptian president, fears their populist power. He allows them and other opponents of his regime a very limited political voice, enough he hopes to defuse anger at the monopoly of power he has exercised over 30 years in power.
It is a balancing act that is now in peril, according to his critics. Ayman Nour, an opposition leader jailed by Mubarak and only released following U.S. pressure, believes Tunisia's revolt has shortened Mubarak's days in power.
He said: "How change happened in Tunisia was the last resort after all peaceful methods were no longer an option. This is what happened in Tunisia and this is what could happen in Egypt. It is the only solution to a situation that never changes."
There is a presidential election scheduled in Egypt in September this year. The situation is primed, Nour says, everything is ready, all it needs is something to ignite popular passions.
El-Erian of the Muslim Brotherhood talks in more revolutionary terms. "Without solving the main problems we can only delay the revolution, delay the intifada" or uprising he says.
But for all the rhetoric -- and despite several incidents -- the government in Egypt remains very much in control.
In Tunisia the revolt was triggered by anger at the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi, a young vegetable market trader who torched himself over his dire economic plight.
In the week following the flight of Tunisia's President Zein al-Abidine Ben Ali to sanctuary in Saudi Arabia, more than half a dozen Egyptians set fire to themselves like Bouazizi.
None triggered wider protests, never mind opened the floodgates to the very real reservoir of anti-regime anger.
But Ibrahim Houdaiby, a savvy young analyst from a family with a long political pedigree, says it is too early to draw conclusions. "There is a lot of anger, and there is a lot of frustration, and if this frustration is not yet tangible and did not yet manifest itself in violent and big forms it is possible that it might happen and it is in nobody's interest that it does."
At a funeral near Egypt's second city Alexandria, where the Egyptian police have an unenviable reputation for brutality, I got a strong sense of just how far away that spark for revolt may be.The gathering was tiny, just family and close friends. Twenty-five-year old Ahmed Hashem Sayed was the only one of the recent self-immolation cases to die of his burns.
As his slender shroud-wrapped body was being laid to rest only yards away on the other side of the high walls surrounding the tiny cemetery plot crowds going about their daily routines thronged the streets, none but a couple of curious kids joined the mourners.
Sayed's neighbor said his death had nothing to do with Tunisia and everything to do with his own poverty.
Later, on the muddy street of the slum where he lived with his family, his father told me his son was out of work more than he was in it. He didn't want to talk to us, didn't want to attract international attention, didn't want to make a martyr or national hero out of his son.
Houdaiby is sure Sayed was aware of Tunisian burn victim Bouazizi, who like Sayed was young and set himself on fire in economic despair, and although he may not have emulated him, he may well have been influenced by his actions.
The big regional lesson of Tunisia, according to Houdaiby, is that people have learnt they can bring about change themselves.
"What happened in Tunisia will of course impact the way people think. They know if they want things to change, at one point they will be able to change things"
But he adds Mubarak's regime has also learnt lessons, offering to subsidize bread and other essentials, albeit Houdaiby suspects, only until the current crisis seems over.
No doubt though, he says, the government's vehement denials ironically show how troubled it is by the Tunisian revolt.
"When you have the minister of foreign affairs saying that Tunisia could not be compared with Egypt and the situation is completely different and it is ridiculous that people are making any sort of comparison that says that they are worried."
And if they are worried in Egypt, with its large, tough state security forces, then other regional leaders may well be troubled too, warns El-Erian, spokesman for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. "If Egypt tumbles then watch the region follow, if change comes in Egypt, not in Tunisia, it will be domino sequences."
Indeed in the long run the United States may be the big loser. Many of the regimes on the defensive, like Mubarak's, are long-standing US allies.
And that says El-Erian -- who calculates that in a democratic Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood would have a large say -- could have serious implications for the United States.
"We are reflecting the opinion of the people and opinion and sentiments here are against the politics and policies of the United States in the region," he said.
It may sound like a bold statement, but on the streets of Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt to name but a few, U.S. credibility has taken a hammering over the past decade.
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have only served to fuel popular anger with the U.S. over the regional autocrats they support.
The implication is if the winds of change do blow down one or two of the region's rulers the political voices emerging may well bring a new dynamic to such intractable problems as Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
That alone could reset the region in a way unimaginable today.
Tunisia has brought a blast of reality to Mideast politics. Aging autocrats have been put on notice they can no longer count on docile citizens.
But is an era of unrest approaching? Will the winds of change sweep east along the Maghreb and bring down regimes from North Africa to the Levant and even the Arabian Peninsula?
Beyond doubt, those winds are blowing. Across the region they are being driven by the same social and economic factors, including high unemployment, a booming birth rate, and exploding food prices.
According to the International Monetary Fund, if chronic unemployment and the social tensions that accompany it are to be avoided the Middle East needs to create another 18 million jobs in the next 10 years. From where they stand today that's a very tall order indeed.
Amre Moussa, the Arab League secretary-general and former Egyptian foreign minister, warned regional leaders last week: "It is on everybody's mind that the Arab spirit is broken. The Arab spirit is down by poverty, unemployment and the general decline in the real indicators of development."
Regional parties like the moderate Islamists in the Muslim Brotherhood, scent opportunity.
"The same disease is in all Arab countries, we have different degrees only but the same origin of the disease, it is the same dictatorship, lack of democracy, lack of freedom restrictions on civil society," Esam el-Erian, spokesman for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said.
In Egypt as in other countries in the region the Muslim Brotherhood faces constant government harassment.Hosni Mubarak, the 82-year-old Egyptian president, fears their populist power. He allows them and other opponents of his regime a very limited political voice, enough he hopes to defuse anger at the monopoly of power he has exercised over 30 years in power.
It is a balancing act that is now in peril, according to his critics. Ayman Nour, an opposition leader jailed by Mubarak and only released following U.S. pressure, believes Tunisia's revolt has shortened Mubarak's days in power.
He said: "How change happened in Tunisia was the last resort after all peaceful methods were no longer an option. This is what happened in Tunisia and this is what could happen in Egypt. It is the only solution to a situation that never changes."
There is a presidential election scheduled in Egypt in September this year. The situation is primed, Nour says, everything is ready, all it needs is something to ignite popular passions.
El-Erian of the Muslim Brotherhood talks in more revolutionary terms. "Without solving the main problems we can only delay the revolution, delay the intifada" or uprising he says.
But for all the rhetoric -- and despite several incidents -- the government in Egypt remains very much in control.
In Tunisia the revolt was triggered by anger at the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi, a young vegetable market trader who torched himself over his dire economic plight.
In the week following the flight of Tunisia's President Zein al-Abidine Ben Ali to sanctuary in Saudi Arabia, more than half a dozen Egyptians set fire to themselves like Bouazizi.
None triggered wider protests, never mind opened the floodgates to the very real reservoir of anti-regime anger.
But Ibrahim Houdaiby, a savvy young analyst from a family with a long political pedigree, says it is too early to draw conclusions. "There is a lot of anger, and there is a lot of frustration, and if this frustration is not yet tangible and did not yet manifest itself in violent and big forms it is possible that it might happen and it is in nobody's interest that it does."
At a funeral near Egypt's second city Alexandria, where the Egyptian police have an unenviable reputation for brutality, I got a strong sense of just how far away that spark for revolt may be.The gathering was tiny, just family and close friends. Twenty-five-year old Ahmed Hashem Sayed was the only one of the recent self-immolation cases to die of his burns.
As his slender shroud-wrapped body was being laid to rest only yards away on the other side of the high walls surrounding the tiny cemetery plot crowds going about their daily routines thronged the streets, none but a couple of curious kids joined the mourners.
Sayed's neighbor said his death had nothing to do with Tunisia and everything to do with his own poverty.
Later, on the muddy street of the slum where he lived with his family, his father told me his son was out of work more than he was in it. He didn't want to talk to us, didn't want to attract international attention, didn't want to make a martyr or national hero out of his son.
Houdaiby is sure Sayed was aware of Tunisian burn victim Bouazizi, who like Sayed was young and set himself on fire in economic despair, and although he may not have emulated him, he may well have been influenced by his actions.
The big regional lesson of Tunisia, according to Houdaiby, is that people have learnt they can bring about change themselves.
"What happened in Tunisia will of course impact the way people think. They know if they want things to change, at one point they will be able to change things"
But he adds Mubarak's regime has also learnt lessons, offering to subsidize bread and other essentials, albeit Houdaiby suspects, only until the current crisis seems over.
No doubt though, he says, the government's vehement denials ironically show how troubled it is by the Tunisian revolt.
"When you have the minister of foreign affairs saying that Tunisia could not be compared with Egypt and the situation is completely different and it is ridiculous that people are making any sort of comparison that says that they are worried."
And if they are worried in Egypt, with its large, tough state security forces, then other regional leaders may well be troubled too, warns El-Erian, spokesman for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. "If Egypt tumbles then watch the region follow, if change comes in Egypt, not in Tunisia, it will be domino sequences."
Indeed in the long run the United States may be the big loser. Many of the regimes on the defensive, like Mubarak's, are long-standing US allies.
And that says El-Erian -- who calculates that in a democratic Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood would have a large say -- could have serious implications for the United States.
"We are reflecting the opinion of the people and opinion and sentiments here are against the politics and policies of the United States in the region," he said.
It may sound like a bold statement, but on the streets of Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt to name but a few, U.S. credibility has taken a hammering over the past decade.
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have only served to fuel popular anger with the U.S. over the regional autocrats they support.
The implication is if the winds of change do blow down one or two of the region's rulers the political voices emerging may well bring a new dynamic to such intractable problems as Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
That alone could reset the region in a way unimaginable today.
Pakistan: Short Training for Women Workers Goes Far in Saving Newborns’ Lives
A new study suggests that “lady health workers,” as Pakistan calls them — women trained as part of a government program to give care to poor people in rural areas — can make a difference in saving the lives of newborns.
Researchers from Aga Khan University in Karachi followed almost 50,000 households in two health districts for two years. The areas where the women were assigned to work had 21 percent fewer stillbirths and 15 percent fewer newborn deaths than in other areas. That success was achieved even though the health workers generally had only 10th-grade educations and one extra week of training for the project. Also, they failed to hold almost half the planned group sessions for pregnant women and visited only a quarter of the babies within a day of birth.
The workers advised pregnant women to go to clinics for checkups and vitamins, and to give birth at clinics. They handed out “birth kits” with soap and clean razors to reduce the chance that cutting the umbilical cord would transmit tetanus. They instructed the widely used professional midwives, known as dais, in skills like getting newborns to breathe and giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. And they asked the dais to encourage mothers to keep premature babies warm instead of washing them in cold water, and to breast-feed them immediately.
Karzai bows to pressure on parliament delay
Afghan president Hamid Karzai has announced the inauguration of the new Afghan parliament will go ahead tomorrow after protests by rebel MPs.
Mr Karzai has been forced to back down after he tried to delay the opening of parliament by a month.
The lower house will be inaugurated tomorrow after MPs, the US and the United Nations warned Mr Karzai of a potential constitutional crisis if he postponed the ceremony.
He announced last week the inauguration would be delayed to give extra time to a special tribunal investigating electoral fraud.
But he now says parliament will be opened tomorrow because it is in the national interest of Afghanistan.
Mr Karzai has been forced to back down after he tried to delay the opening of parliament by a month.
The lower house will be inaugurated tomorrow after MPs, the US and the United Nations warned Mr Karzai of a potential constitutional crisis if he postponed the ceremony.
He announced last week the inauguration would be delayed to give extra time to a special tribunal investigating electoral fraud.
But he now says parliament will be opened tomorrow because it is in the national interest of Afghanistan.
Pakistan University announces scholarships for Afghan students
A university in northwest Pakistan today announced scholarships for Afghan students and scholars pursuing their Masters, MPhil and PhD studies.
An agreement was reached between a delegation of visiting Afghan university Chancellors and Vice Chancellors and officials of the University of Peshawar.
According to a formal pact, the University of Peshawar will grant admission to 48 Afghan students for Masters degree and six MPhil or PhD students from the coming academic year.
Twenty-four Masters'' students will be given fully funded scholarship and all six MPhil or PhD students will be granted full free-ships.
The joint declaration said Afghan students who do not come under the free-ship will be charged fees equivalent to those for Pakistani students.
Welcoming the Afghan delegation, University of Peshawar Vice Chancellor Azmat Hayat Khan said serving the people and students of Afghanistan would be a privilege for the varsity.
He said the University of Peshawar is currently host to over 70 Afghan students and is ready to train the faculty of Afghan universities to build their capacity to global standards.
An agreement was reached between a delegation of visiting Afghan university Chancellors and Vice Chancellors and officials of the University of Peshawar.
According to a formal pact, the University of Peshawar will grant admission to 48 Afghan students for Masters degree and six MPhil or PhD students from the coming academic year.
Twenty-four Masters'' students will be given fully funded scholarship and all six MPhil or PhD students will be granted full free-ships.
The joint declaration said Afghan students who do not come under the free-ship will be charged fees equivalent to those for Pakistani students.
Welcoming the Afghan delegation, University of Peshawar Vice Chancellor Azmat Hayat Khan said serving the people and students of Afghanistan would be a privilege for the varsity.
He said the University of Peshawar is currently host to over 70 Afghan students and is ready to train the faculty of Afghan universities to build their capacity to global standards.
Who is afraid of Veena Malik?
Yasser Latif Hamdani
Daily Times
After 63 years of independent existence, a constitution, one of the largest armies in the world and a nuclear arsenal to boot, we still feel insecure about our identity as Pakistanis when it comes to the Indians. May I ask the ghairat brigade why a country of 180 million people suddenly feels threatened by the actions of one of its citizens?
Veena Malik is our new punching bag. As I write this article, yet another TV show anchor has gathered a number of misguided and self-righteous but confident youth to bash Veena Malik, who has become the focal point of our collective honour. Voices of reason and common sense are drowned out by the thumping of hands and feet of our post-Zia populism.
Still one must attempt to talk reason and sense to this new semi-educated, completely unenlightened and socially illiterate urban ‘middle class’ high on the opium of honour and shame even if it is incapable of understanding that not everyone carries the chip of culture, tradition and honour of an entire country on their shoulder. Veena Malik went on the Bigg Boss show in her personal capacity and was not representing anyone but herself. She was not representing the indigenous cultures of Pakistan, the Muslim woman or even the working woman. Given that most of our urban middle class loves to watch Indian films and Indian television, the only possible ‘charge’ against her seems to be that she is a Pakistani woman. My suggestion is that we should think 100 times before making Pakistani citizenship a crime in Pakistan. It has already become almost that in many other countries in the world.
Let me reiterate that Veena did not do or wear anything on the show that is unacceptable in Pakistan’s media, fashion and society circles. I certainly would not want to pass judgement on the goings on in our entertainment industry. Still, the irony here is that Veena is being castigated for her “short dresses”, but only a year earlier we were ready to declare Indian tennis star Sania Mirza our collective national bahu (daughter-in-law) despite her tennis attire, which was as short if not more. Of course, we quickly backtracked after she delivered a stinging and well-deserved slap on our collective national face by saying that she was merely cricketer Shoaib Malik’s wife and not Pakistan’s bahu.
Indeed, there are many in our ghairat brigade who think that by acting like a “buri aurat” (loose woman), Veena Malik has tarnished Pakistan’s image abroad. Of course, the same guardians of Pakistan’s image are not bothered in the slightest by bloodshed and murder in broad daylight. Some of them, including leading columnists and writers in the national press, actually support murder and bloodshed. To our ghairat brigade it does not matter that the world thinks of Pakistan as a terrorist haven. It matters however that a young woman, who has chosen to earn her bread and butter through the entertainment industry and has managed against adversity to educate her siblings through it, is somehow defiling Pakistani culture by wearing clothes on an Indian television show that are considered the norm in Pakistan’s entertainment industry. Should Veena have reinforced the stereotypes of Pakistan by wearing a burqa or swimming in a burqini? Would that not be hypocrisy?
It is then argued that with India there is a special sensitivity involved. This, of course, is the crux of the matter. After 63 years of independent existence, a constitution, one of the largest armies in the world and a nuclear arsenal to boot, we still feel insecure about our identity as Pakistanis especially when it comes to the Indians. Indians, of course, have a lot to do with it, but may I ask the ghairat brigade why a country of 180 million people suddenly feels threatened by the actions of one of its citizens? Are Pakistan’s ‘ideological frontiers’ so permeable as to crumble every time an actress from Pakistan wears ‘inappropriate’ clothing in India, clothing that is a norm in the Pakistani entertainment and fashion industry? I am frankly unsure of what these ideological frontiers are. After all, the same ghairat brigade never raises an eyebrow when Maulana Fazlur Rehman and his party declare — time and again — that Jinnah was not a real freedom fighter. Instead, the ghairat brigade supports the appointment of reactionaries from his party to the highest offices of Islamic ideology.
I digress. Getting back to Veena Malik, the kind of hate that is being promoted against this one individual is a dangerous trend. We have already seen where that leads. The country cannot afford such violence anymore. The ulema and anchors who are raising a hue and cry against her have clearly forgotten the lessons of Islam, which enjoins every believer to avoid slander and libel against individuals. Making this an issue right now when the state is going through an unprecedented upheaval will only lead to further heartbreak. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) should take immediate action against all the anchors who are trying to exploit a poor woman for their own ratings. To me, Pakistan’s honour and integrity are violated by their actions and by the actions of those they condone, including those cricketers who are allegedly involved in spot fixing. My appeal to all of these champions of Pakistan’s honour is to cry “halt” before it is too late and there is nothing left to defend.
The writer is a lawyer. He also blogs at http://pakteahouse.net and can be reached at yasser.hamdani@gmail.com
Daily Times
After 63 years of independent existence, a constitution, one of the largest armies in the world and a nuclear arsenal to boot, we still feel insecure about our identity as Pakistanis when it comes to the Indians. May I ask the ghairat brigade why a country of 180 million people suddenly feels threatened by the actions of one of its citizens?
Veena Malik is our new punching bag. As I write this article, yet another TV show anchor has gathered a number of misguided and self-righteous but confident youth to bash Veena Malik, who has become the focal point of our collective honour. Voices of reason and common sense are drowned out by the thumping of hands and feet of our post-Zia populism.
Still one must attempt to talk reason and sense to this new semi-educated, completely unenlightened and socially illiterate urban ‘middle class’ high on the opium of honour and shame even if it is incapable of understanding that not everyone carries the chip of culture, tradition and honour of an entire country on their shoulder. Veena Malik went on the Bigg Boss show in her personal capacity and was not representing anyone but herself. She was not representing the indigenous cultures of Pakistan, the Muslim woman or even the working woman. Given that most of our urban middle class loves to watch Indian films and Indian television, the only possible ‘charge’ against her seems to be that she is a Pakistani woman. My suggestion is that we should think 100 times before making Pakistani citizenship a crime in Pakistan. It has already become almost that in many other countries in the world.
Let me reiterate that Veena did not do or wear anything on the show that is unacceptable in Pakistan’s media, fashion and society circles. I certainly would not want to pass judgement on the goings on in our entertainment industry. Still, the irony here is that Veena is being castigated for her “short dresses”, but only a year earlier we were ready to declare Indian tennis star Sania Mirza our collective national bahu (daughter-in-law) despite her tennis attire, which was as short if not more. Of course, we quickly backtracked after she delivered a stinging and well-deserved slap on our collective national face by saying that she was merely cricketer Shoaib Malik’s wife and not Pakistan’s bahu.
Indeed, there are many in our ghairat brigade who think that by acting like a “buri aurat” (loose woman), Veena Malik has tarnished Pakistan’s image abroad. Of course, the same guardians of Pakistan’s image are not bothered in the slightest by bloodshed and murder in broad daylight. Some of them, including leading columnists and writers in the national press, actually support murder and bloodshed. To our ghairat brigade it does not matter that the world thinks of Pakistan as a terrorist haven. It matters however that a young woman, who has chosen to earn her bread and butter through the entertainment industry and has managed against adversity to educate her siblings through it, is somehow defiling Pakistani culture by wearing clothes on an Indian television show that are considered the norm in Pakistan’s entertainment industry. Should Veena have reinforced the stereotypes of Pakistan by wearing a burqa or swimming in a burqini? Would that not be hypocrisy?
It is then argued that with India there is a special sensitivity involved. This, of course, is the crux of the matter. After 63 years of independent existence, a constitution, one of the largest armies in the world and a nuclear arsenal to boot, we still feel insecure about our identity as Pakistanis especially when it comes to the Indians. Indians, of course, have a lot to do with it, but may I ask the ghairat brigade why a country of 180 million people suddenly feels threatened by the actions of one of its citizens? Are Pakistan’s ‘ideological frontiers’ so permeable as to crumble every time an actress from Pakistan wears ‘inappropriate’ clothing in India, clothing that is a norm in the Pakistani entertainment and fashion industry? I am frankly unsure of what these ideological frontiers are. After all, the same ghairat brigade never raises an eyebrow when Maulana Fazlur Rehman and his party declare — time and again — that Jinnah was not a real freedom fighter. Instead, the ghairat brigade supports the appointment of reactionaries from his party to the highest offices of Islamic ideology.
I digress. Getting back to Veena Malik, the kind of hate that is being promoted against this one individual is a dangerous trend. We have already seen where that leads. The country cannot afford such violence anymore. The ulema and anchors who are raising a hue and cry against her have clearly forgotten the lessons of Islam, which enjoins every believer to avoid slander and libel against individuals. Making this an issue right now when the state is going through an unprecedented upheaval will only lead to further heartbreak. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) should take immediate action against all the anchors who are trying to exploit a poor woman for their own ratings. To me, Pakistan’s honour and integrity are violated by their actions and by the actions of those they condone, including those cricketers who are allegedly involved in spot fixing. My appeal to all of these champions of Pakistan’s honour is to cry “halt” before it is too late and there is nothing left to defend.
The writer is a lawyer. He also blogs at http://pakteahouse.net and can be reached at yasser.hamdani@gmail.com
Veena Malik gets support from Miss Pakistan World
Miss Pakistan World Annie Rupani Sunday came out in support of Pakistani actress Veena Malik who is under fire from the Muslim clergy in her country for getting too close with Indian actor Ashmit Patel during her participation in Bigg Boss-4 in India.
Slamming Mufti Abdul Qawi who said in a TV interview Friday that the actor has "insulted Pakistan and Islam" by her behaviour, the Houston-based Miss Pakistan World said the mullahs have no right to pass judgment on Veena Malik.
"I fully support Veena Malik for standing up for her beliefs and values. Though unfortunate, Veena Malik's lashing out may be the only way to make her voice heard. Women are constantly being suppressed under the name of Islam, when in reality, Islam promotes the equality of men and women," the 21-year-old Boston university student, who was crowned Miss Pakistan World in Toronto in August, told IANS.
The Karachi-born beauty said: "Currently in Pakistan, a high percentage of women are abused, beaten, raped, and killed, yet men are not being held responsible for their actions. Pakistani women's literacy rates are rising, leading to their outward participation in society."
But clerics cannot stand these women, she said, who are becoming "strong-willed and passionate, and pushing the bounds of traditional norms. They are trying to project this as a religious issue, but in reality, it is only cultural. Any woman has the right to choose her friends or husband, and Pakistan being a democratic country allows any one to marry regardless of religion. So Veena has not broken any laws or the constitution of Pakistan".
She said the bold actress has shown that Pakistani women are "beginning to push past their status quo and the culture is starting to deal with consequences. But it will take some time. Veena Malik has shown India that Pakistani women are not weak and submissive".
Calling Malik's criticism a symptom of the radicalisation of Pakistani society, she said: "As the world is globalising and western ideas and beliefs are permeating all societies, some Muslims react by clinging tighter to their religious roots and condemning western ideas.
"Radicals are reacting out of fear and in defence of their religious and cultural background, but liberals like Veena should hold strong to their beliefs and help others to understand how Islam is compatible with these beliefs and ideas."
Asked if Veena Malik should again go to Indian shows despite all the turmoil her Bigg Boss entry created, she said: "As I said, Veena did not commit any wrong actions on the show. Therefore, she should continue to proudly represent Pakistan on Bigg Boss. She has changed the radical face of Pakistan in front of India. Not all Pakistanis are terrorists or support terrorist acts. And India knows that now."
Added her mentor and Miss Pakistan World pageant pioneer Sonia Ahmed: "Veena Malik has now become an icon for progressive and modern Pakistan women. She is one of the very few women who have stood up to the clerics."
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Liberation march in Tunis wants interim PM out
Workers stormed out of the state-run shipping company the other day. For decades, they had lived quietly in relative poverty as their bosses, all members of the former ruling party, drove luxury cars and owned mansions.
Only 10 days ago, the police would have suppressed this mini-uprising and arrested them. Now, it was a new order. Pumping their fists, the workers accused the company's chairman of embezzlement and demanded his resignation.
Across this nation, Tunisians are experiencing a blossoming of freedoms after a popular uprising ousted President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali from power on Jan. 14, ending his autocratic rule
Yemeni woman activist arrested
Yemeni police have arrested a woman activist for leading anti-government protests, setting off a second day of street demonstrations.
Police used tear gas and batons to disperse hundreds of students, activists and lawmakers who demonstrated in the capital Sanaa to demand the release of Tawakul Abdel-Salam Karman, who was arrested early Sunday.
Interior Minster Mouthar al-Masri said on state television Sunday that people have the right to express their views but demonstrations, gatherings and marches should be staged within the boundaries of the law.
Karman is a senior member of the opposition Islamic fundamentalist Islah Party.
Veena Malik credits 'liberal Pak people' for her emergence as "hero"
Veena Malik, a Pakistani actress who faced conservative censure for appearing on an Indian reality TV show, has credited the "liberal people" of her country for her emergence as a "hero" after she defended herself on a news channel.
"Credit goes to all the liberal people of Pakistan. I have been receiving messages and phone calls from the fashion industry and other people from all walks of life, telling me that I am their hero. I had to come on television and defend myself because no one else was defending me," the Express Tribune quoted Veena, as saying in an exclusive interview.
When asked about what she achieved by participating in the Indian reality show, she candidly replied: "Before I went to "Bigg Boss," people showed videos of women being publicly beaten up by men to represent the condition of women in Pakistan. I showed the world that Pakistani women are not the ones that get beaten up; I showed that a Pakistani woman wears modern clothes at home and at the same time she can cook and serve others. The culture of Pakistan is not limited to wearing shalwar kameez and this changed the negative perceptions attached to Pakistani women."
If presented with an opportunity, Veena said, she would like to change the "double standards and hypocrisy" in Pakistan.
On being asked if Pakistan had to host "Bigg Boss" and she had to handle its affairs, who she would choose as its contestants, Veena named former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, politicians Sheikh Rashid, Jamsheed Dasti, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Shiv Sena[member], actresses Meera, Aishwarya Rai, Nargis, and pop artiste Britney Spears.
Talking about her future plans, she revealed: "I have a lot of offers from India, USA, UK and Australia. I am going to focus of television mainly and would do films only if I get good offers. I am not going to do some typical 'B' or 'C 'class Bollywood films."
In her message to the people of Pakistan, Veena said: "The youth is my hope. We have to open our minds and change things around us. I am sure the youth of my country will support me wherever I go. And wherever I go, I am going to represent the entertainment industry of my country."
Pakistan, blasphemy, and a tale of two women
”
For all the bad news coming out of Pakistan, you can’t help but admire the courage of two very different women who did what their political leaders failed to do — stood up to the religious right after the killing of Punjab governor Salman Taseer over his call for changes to the country’s blasphemy laws.
One is Sherry Rehman, a politician from the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, who first proposed amendments to the laws. The other is actress Veena Malik, who challenged the clerical establishment for criticising her for appearing on Indian reality show Big Boss. I’m slightly uncomfortable about grouping the two together — the fact that both are Pakistani women does not make them any more similar than say, for example, two Pakistani men living in Rawalpindi or London. Yet at the same time, the idea that Pakistan can produce such different and outspoken women says a lot about the diversity and energy of a country which can be too easily written off as a failing state or bastion of the Islamist religious right.
Sherry Rehman is living as a virtual prisoner in her home in Karachi after being threatened over her support for amendments to the blasphemy laws. She has refused to leave the country for her own safety, nor indeed to accept the position adopted by her party leaders — that now is not the time to amend the laws. Their argument appears to be that trying to amend the laws now would just add more fuel to the fire after religious leaders defended Taseer’s killing and organised huge protests in favour of the current legal provisions.
“There’s never a right time,” Britain’s Guardian newspaper quoted her as saying. “Blasphemy cases are continually popping up, more horror stories from the ground. How do you ignore them?”
“We know from history that appeasement doesn’t pay. It only emboldens them,” said Rehman.
For background, here is the text of the original law introduced into the Indian Penal Code by British colonial rulers in 1860:
Section 295: Injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class:
“Whoever destroys, damages, or defiles a place of worship, or any object held sacred by any class of persons with the intention of thereby insulting the religion of any class of persons or with the knowledge that any class of persons is likely to consider such destruction, damage or defilement as an insult to their religion, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.”
Here is the version of one of the added clauses which have caused so much acrimony in Pakistan, as amended in 1986 by Pakistan’s then military ruler, General Zia-ul-Haq:
Section 295-C: Use of derogatory remarks, etc, in respect of the Holy Prophet (pbuh)
“Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.”
The amendment loses any acknowledgement of intent. Yet intent is not only a fundamental part of any legal system but also an essential attribute of faith. Indeed when Britain abolished its own archaic blasphemy laws in 2008, and these were replaced with laws against inciting religious and racial hatred, the idea of intent was retained.
The row which caused Taseer’s death was about amending the Pakistani penal code to reintroduce the concept of intent and end the death penalty. It was never about repealing the laws, nor about allowing people to insult Islam or the prophet Muhammed.
That is the reasoned argument. The leaders of the religious right in Pakistan who have brought thousands out into the street in defence of Taseer’s killer would know that both the original colonial law and its amendment were man-made. They would know too, since they are also scholars, the significance of the meaning of intent. But reasoned argument does not work against street power.
Then there was Veena Malik, who according to the Express Tribune, became the first Pakistani woman to reach the top 10 trends on Twitter after she went on television to defend her performance on the Indian reality show. During a popular talk show , she talked back, or even over, her clerical detractors, and accordng to Pakistan newspaper reports, demanded to know why they were so ready to criticise her while failing to condemn suicide bombings or honour killings.
Even those who are probably not fans of reality television (and I’d count myself among them) praised her courage for speaking up at a time when so many have been silenced.
“Her response to the Mufti and the host, brought to the forefront the harassment women have to face that has conveniently been camouflaged as ‘honour and dignity’. But what really pushed me to write this blog was a question Veena asked Mufti Abdul Qawi: ‘Why am I being treated this way? Why am I being questioned? What is my fault, Mufti sahab? Because I am a woman? A soft target?’ wrote Sana Saleem at Dawn.
“I recall thinking at one point during the show, how Veena Malik did not represent me … But after watching her response to the slurs being hurled her way, I take it back. Veena Malik represents me and many, many women in this country who have been subjected to moral policing. In a country where rape is justified, murderers glorified and women threatened by fatwas, Veena speaks for me and many others.”
At the Express Tribune, blogger Saad Zuberi described her as “the only person in Pakistan’s ultra-holy green-tinted limelight right now who isn’t afraid to say it like it is.”
“She’s bold, honest and pretty straightforward, which is something I can’t say for many Pakistanis out there. Sad, I know, but true. We’re all busy being pathetic and jealous and confused, while this woman has, as a friend aptly pointed out, displayed something lacking from not only our so-called saviours but the country at large: balls.
One is Sherry Rehman, a politician from the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, who first proposed amendments to the laws. The other is actress Veena Malik, who challenged the clerical establishment for criticising her for appearing on Indian reality show Big Boss. I’m slightly uncomfortable about grouping the two together — the fact that both are Pakistani women does not make them any more similar than say, for example, two Pakistani men living in Rawalpindi or London. Yet at the same time, the idea that Pakistan can produce such different and outspoken women says a lot about the diversity and energy of a country which can be too easily written off as a failing state or bastion of the Islamist religious right.
Sherry Rehman is living as a virtual prisoner in her home in Karachi after being threatened over her support for amendments to the blasphemy laws. She has refused to leave the country for her own safety, nor indeed to accept the position adopted by her party leaders — that now is not the time to amend the laws. Their argument appears to be that trying to amend the laws now would just add more fuel to the fire after religious leaders defended Taseer’s killing and organised huge protests in favour of the current legal provisions.
“There’s never a right time,” Britain’s Guardian newspaper quoted her as saying. “Blasphemy cases are continually popping up, more horror stories from the ground. How do you ignore them?”
“We know from history that appeasement doesn’t pay. It only emboldens them,” said Rehman.
For background, here is the text of the original law introduced into the Indian Penal Code by British colonial rulers in 1860:
Section 295: Injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class:
“Whoever destroys, damages, or defiles a place of worship, or any object held sacred by any class of persons with the intention of thereby insulting the religion of any class of persons or with the knowledge that any class of persons is likely to consider such destruction, damage or defilement as an insult to their religion, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.”
Here is the version of one of the added clauses which have caused so much acrimony in Pakistan, as amended in 1986 by Pakistan’s then military ruler, General Zia-ul-Haq:
Section 295-C: Use of derogatory remarks, etc, in respect of the Holy Prophet (pbuh)
“Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.”
The amendment loses any acknowledgement of intent. Yet intent is not only a fundamental part of any legal system but also an essential attribute of faith. Indeed when Britain abolished its own archaic blasphemy laws in 2008, and these were replaced with laws against inciting religious and racial hatred, the idea of intent was retained.
The row which caused Taseer’s death was about amending the Pakistani penal code to reintroduce the concept of intent and end the death penalty. It was never about repealing the laws, nor about allowing people to insult Islam or the prophet Muhammed.
That is the reasoned argument. The leaders of the religious right in Pakistan who have brought thousands out into the street in defence of Taseer’s killer would know that both the original colonial law and its amendment were man-made. They would know too, since they are also scholars, the significance of the meaning of intent. But reasoned argument does not work against street power.
Then there was Veena Malik, who according to the Express Tribune, became the first Pakistani woman to reach the top 10 trends on Twitter after she went on television to defend her performance on the Indian reality show. During a popular talk show , she talked back, or even over, her clerical detractors, and accordng to Pakistan newspaper reports, demanded to know why they were so ready to criticise her while failing to condemn suicide bombings or honour killings.
Even those who are probably not fans of reality television (and I’d count myself among them) praised her courage for speaking up at a time when so many have been silenced.
“Her response to the Mufti and the host, brought to the forefront the harassment women have to face that has conveniently been camouflaged as ‘honour and dignity’. But what really pushed me to write this blog was a question Veena asked Mufti Abdul Qawi: ‘Why am I being treated this way? Why am I being questioned? What is my fault, Mufti sahab? Because I am a woman? A soft target?’ wrote Sana Saleem at Dawn.
“I recall thinking at one point during the show, how Veena Malik did not represent me … But after watching her response to the slurs being hurled her way, I take it back. Veena Malik represents me and many, many women in this country who have been subjected to moral policing. In a country where rape is justified, murderers glorified and women threatened by fatwas, Veena speaks for me and many others.”
At the Express Tribune, blogger Saad Zuberi described her as “the only person in Pakistan’s ultra-holy green-tinted limelight right now who isn’t afraid to say it like it is.”
“She’s bold, honest and pretty straightforward, which is something I can’t say for many Pakistanis out there. Sad, I know, but true. We’re all busy being pathetic and jealous and confused, while this woman has, as a friend aptly pointed out, displayed something lacking from not only our so-called saviours but the country at large: balls.
Tunisian wind' sweeps through Arab regimes as protests erupt in Yemen
Tunisian-style protests erupted in Yemen over the weekend with thousands demanding the downfall of its autocratic president who has joined leaders from Algeria to Jordan in the crosshairs of a regional revolt.Pressure for regime change in the stagnant Arab dictatorships has shifted across the Middle East and North Africa since Tunisia's Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali fled in the face of demonstrations in Tunis on January 14.
Yemen police on Sunday arrested Tawakel Karman, a female Islamic activist, who had organised the 2,500-strong demonstration in the grounds of the University of Sanaa. A heavy police presence and an active role by the secret police thwarted attempts to move the demonstration to the streets of the capital.
Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president of Yemen, has been in power, like Mr Ben Ali, for more than two decades. Like his Tunisian counterpart, his government has allowed grievances over lack of jobs and freedom to fester while presiding over corrupt systems.
Tunisian police meanwhile announced on Sunday that two former allies of Mr Ben Ali were placed under house arrest.
The news came as protesters in Tunis turned their focus on the interim administration of Mohammed Ghannouchi, the long serving prime minister who has promised to step down only when elections are held. The government faces another test of wills on Monday when the universities open for the first time as students are threatening to take over the classrooms.The "Tunisian wind" is also being felt throughout its neighbours.
The Egyptian presidential election in September – when President Hosni Mubarak faces re-election – will this week be a focus of protests.
Even reformist regimes have been forced to respond to demonstrations.
Jordan has suspended civil service cuts and raised salaries for the public sector. Kuwait has made a one off payment of 1,000 dinars (£2,200) to reflect the cost of rising prices.
'Godfather of Taliban' killed by kidnappers
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
The former Pakistani intelligence agent who is known as the godfather of the Taliban has been killed ten months after being kidnapped by Islamist militants.
Rebels in North Waziristan still hold the body of Col Imam, the code name of 67-year-old Sultan Amir Tarar, and are demanding the release of five associates in return, according to officials.
Tarar was seized in March in one of the most dangerous parts of Pakistan's tribal belt, along with Asad Qureshi, a British filmmaker, and Khalid Khawaja, another former spy officer.
The retired officer from Pakistan's ISI military intelligence service played a central role in forming the Afghan resistance to the Soviet invasion of 1979 and then nurtured the Taliban in the 1990s.
He has since been accused of being part of a rogue faction of ISI officers who have continued to support those making attacks on Nato troops.
While running CIA-funded training camps in the 1980s, he trained many of the country's top Mujahideen commanders.
Mullah Omar passed through one of his camps in 1985, nine years before he went on to lead the Taliban movement.
Col Imam was Pakistan's consul general in Herat when the Taliban swept to power in 1995 and he was said to have advised them in their assaults on Mazar-e-Sharif and Kabul.
Mr Khawaja's body was found on a roadside in North Waziristan on April 30 with a note pinned to it saying he worked for the CIA and ISI.
Mr Qureshi, who had been making a documentary for Channel 4, was released in September.
The former Pakistani intelligence agent who is known as the godfather of the Taliban has been killed ten months after being kidnapped by Islamist militants.
Rebels in North Waziristan still hold the body of Col Imam, the code name of 67-year-old Sultan Amir Tarar, and are demanding the release of five associates in return, according to officials.
Tarar was seized in March in one of the most dangerous parts of Pakistan's tribal belt, along with Asad Qureshi, a British filmmaker, and Khalid Khawaja, another former spy officer.
The retired officer from Pakistan's ISI military intelligence service played a central role in forming the Afghan resistance to the Soviet invasion of 1979 and then nurtured the Taliban in the 1990s.
He has since been accused of being part of a rogue faction of ISI officers who have continued to support those making attacks on Nato troops.
While running CIA-funded training camps in the 1980s, he trained many of the country's top Mujahideen commanders.
Mullah Omar passed through one of his camps in 1985, nine years before he went on to lead the Taliban movement.
Col Imam was Pakistan's consul general in Herat when the Taliban swept to power in 1995 and he was said to have advised them in their assaults on Mazar-e-Sharif and Kabul.
Mr Khawaja's body was found on a roadside in North Waziristan on April 30 with a note pinned to it saying he worked for the CIA and ISI.
Mr Qureshi, who had been making a documentary for Channel 4, was released in September.
Paris Haute Couture 2011 set to be busier than ever
On Monday, Paris will open its fashion floodgates to a host of international clients as the spring/summer 2011 Couture collections are shown.
Pakistani girl 'electrocuted' in honour killing
Police got to know about the incident on Saturday when the woman's body was about to be buried. A police team reached the place and seized the body.
Saima’s relatives claimed that she had committed suicide by ingesting pesticides.
Police officer Babar Bakht Qureshi said the initial autopsy carried out by a lady doctor suggests that the victim had either been electrocuted or burnt through boiling water or both.
An uncertain Middle East
AWEEK AFTER Tunisia's popular revolution, the country's direction remains far from settled - and unrest in its Arab neighbors is rising. Seven people in Algeria and nine in Egypt have set themselves on fire, or attempted to, in imitation of the desperate man who triggered Tunisia's uprising. There were mass anti-government demonstrations in Jordan on Friday, and Egypt's opposition has called one for Tuesday. In Tunis protesters continue to march, demanding that former government ministers serving in an interim government step down. That administration has freed political prisoners and declared an end to censorship, but it has not yet agreed on a clear political strategy.
This remains a moment of great opportunity in the Middle East but also of danger. Tunisia could conceivably become the first Arab autocracy to carry out a largely peaceful transition to genuine democracy, following in the path of former dictatorships in Europe and Asia. Or, like some former Soviet republics, it could lapse back into corrupt authoritarianism. Egypt, Jordan and other Arab states could begin to open their political systems to secular democratic parties and civil society groups - or they could continue to repress or seek to buy off opponents, leaving Islamist movements as their only serious opposition.
The United States and its allies in Europe could have considerable influence on these outcomes. But so far their policies appear adrift. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a speech this month that correctly diagnosed "corrupt institutions and a stagnant political order." She called for "political reforms that will create the space young people are demanding, to participate in public affairs and have a meaningful role in the decisions that shape their lives." But what does that mean? Ms. Clinton didn't mention elections or democracy. When President Obama called Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday, he said that the United States supported "free and fair elections in Tunisia," but he didn't discuss Mr. Mubarak's own plan to hold an blatantly unfree presidential "election" this year. Nor is it clear what the administration intends to do to promote free elections in Tunisia, other than making public statements.
This situation demands a reshaping and an invigoration of the administration's Middle East policy. An immediate priority should be steps that encourage Tunisia's interim authorities to embrace genuine democracy. This must be done diplomatically, as Tunisians are suspicious of Western governments that supported the former dictatorship. But the United States and Europe can make clear that a democratic Tunisia will be rewarded with generous aid and trade programs, while those who seek to reimpose autocracy will be sanctioned. It can also offer technical advice to emerging democratic forces and insist on international monitoring of any elections.
In Egypt and other parts of the region, the administration should be pressing for tangible steps to open the political space that Ms. Clinton spoke of. That means allowing the free formation of secular political parties, removing restrictions on civil society groups and allowing peaceful public assembly. If necessary, the administration - or Congress - should link continued military and other foreign aid to such steps. The perils of the Middle East's autocratic stasis have now been vividly demonstrated. Why would the United States continue to fund that stagnant status quo?
'The King's Speech' is top film at producer awards
"The King's Speech" claimed the crown for best film at the Producers Guild of America Awards on Saturday, knocking off Golden Globes best drama winner and presumed Oscar front-runner "The Social Network."
The film also beat out nominees "127 Hours," "Black Swan," "Inception," "The Fighter," "The Kids Are All Right," "The Town," "Toy Story 3," and "True Grit."
The PGA awards, hosted by filmmaker Judd Apatow at the Beverly Hilton, are part of the steady stream of ceremonies leading up to the Academy Awards.
"The Social Network," which stars Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, appeared to be on the fast track to a best picture Oscar after dominating honors from top critics groups and winning the Golden Globe last week.
But Saturday's win solidified a spot as an Academy Award contender for "The King's Speech," which features Golden Globe best actor winner Colin Firth playing Queen Elizabeth II's father, George VI, as he tries to overcome a debilitating stammer.
The Producers Guild followed the lead of the Oscars last year and doubled its best-picture field to 10 movies.
In other PGA categories, Pixar's "Toy Story 3" won for best animated feature and the chronicle of modern education "Waiting for Superman" took top documentary honors.
On the television side, AMC's "Mad Men" won for best drama series for the third straight year, and ABC's "Modern Family" won best comedy, beating out previous two-time winner "30 Rock."HBO's "The Pacific" won for best TV movie or miniseries, and Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" won for top live entertainment or reality show.
Tunisians from provinces rally in capital
The crackdown against former cronies of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali marked the latest moves by the tenuous interim government to respond to an incessant groundswell of opposition to his old guard.
Tunisia's "Jasmine Revolution," which drove the iron-fisted Ben Ali to flee to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14, has sparked similar protests and civil disobedience across the Middle East and North Africa. Many observers are looking to see if Tunisians can complete their fervent push for democracy.
State news agency TAP said former Ben Ali allies Abdallah Kallel and Abdelaziz Ben Dhia have been placed under house arrest, and police are looking for a third man, Abdelwaheb Abdallah.
Kallel, the Senate president and a former government minister, was stopped from leaving the country after Ben Ali fled. A Geneva-based legal advocacy group, Trial, said torture was widespread in Tunisia while Kallel was interior minister in the early 1990s.
Ben Dhia is considered one of Ben Ali's most influential advisers, and Abdallah was a top political adviser to the former president who kept tabs on communication — notably on Tunisia's powerful state-run media.
Hundreds of protesters — many from Tunisia's provinces south of the capital — rallied in the capital, Tunis, to press on with their demands that holdovers of Ben Ali's repressive 23-year regime be kept out of power.
The demonstrators scattered throughout the capital — near the prime minister's office, and the finance and defense ministries, and a city office building — waving banners and photos of a young man who set himself on fire and triggering the uprising that ended Ben Ali's rule.
"Bouazizi gave his life for his country," read one banner honoring 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire in central Sidi Bouzid last month to protest harassment under Ben Ali.
The pilgrimage billed as the "Caravan of Freedom" left Saturday on a 320-kilometer (200-mile) trek to Tunis by car, truck and motorcycle from around Sidi Bouzid, protester Tahri Nabil said. Some hitchhiked or walked.
"We don't want Sidi Bouzid to continue to be marginalized like it was in the previous decades," said Nabil, a French language teacher who lives in the town of Menzel Bouzayane near Sidi Bouzid.
Weeks of public upheaval and the shooting deaths of some protesters by police on orders from Ben Ali's government helped send him fleeing to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14. Since then, demonstrators have led peaceful protests daily in Tunis to call on the caretaker government to rid itself of his old guard.
Some at the Tunis protest Sunday carried a makeshift coffin that was draped in a Tunisian flag — in a symbol of those who died as "martyrs" of the uprising.
Many marchers in the predominantly Muslim country chanted the line "There is no God but God, and the Martyr is God's Beloved" and some held aloft signs saying "Long live a Free Tunisia" and urging Ben Ali's former RCD party to be banned from power.
"We have gotten rid of the head of the snake but the tail is still alive — and we need to completely kill it," said protester Nizar Bouazziz, a 24-year-old student who said he walked to the rally from Sidi Bouzid.
"We are here to support our people and the revolution," he added. "We don't want to see one party gone and then another same oppressive party in its place. We want the Tunisians who have been forced into exile and who have good education and money to come back and invest in this country."
Weeks of public upheaval and the shooting deaths of some protesters by police on orders from Ben Ali's government helped send him fleeing. But daily peaceful protests have continued to try to force the old guard from power.
Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, who took that post in 1999 under Ben Ali and has kept it through the upheaval, has vowed to quit politics after upcoming elections. But he has insisted that he needs to stay on to shepherd Tunisia through a transition to democracy. Many other Cabinet members are also Ben Ali-era holdovers.
Afghan lawmakers drop Karzai court demand
Afghan lawmakers set aside a demand for President Hamid Karzai to scrap a controversial court probing election fraud on Sunday, paving the way for parliament to convene in three days after weeks of in-fighting.
Karzai on Saturday abandoned a decision to delay the opening of the assembly by a month, bowing to international and domestic pressure after lawmakers threatened to convene the assembly with or without him on January 23, as originally scheduled.
The standoff threw the government into chaos at a time when insurgent violence is at its worst since the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban government by U.S-backed forces.
After marathon talks on Saturday, MPs said Karzai had offered to open parliament on Wednesday, but lawmakers also demanded that he abolish the special poll court that sparked the dispute.
It was set up by Karzai, ostensibly to ensure a speedy final check of complaints from the fraud-riddled September 18 election, but last week officials asked for more time to complete their probes.
Furious lawmakers slammed the court, its ruling and Karzai's granting of an extension as illegal, sparking the crisis.
But although Karzai has relented on the inauguration date, and hinted he might relinquish the court, on Sunday he said "no."
A majority of more than 200, from the 249 MPs in the lower house, hunkered down at Kabul's Intercontinental hotel, agreed on Sunday to set aside the issue of the court and to go ahead with the Wednesday inauguration, a Reuters reporter at the scene said.
Senior lawmaker Younus Qanuni argued MPs would be protected from the court by parliamentary immunity, and that they would raise the issue of the court's legality once in parliament.
The United Nations envoy to Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, was present at the hotel and had called for a "speedy" agreement to resolve the crisis.
"I know what the concerns of everyone are, and (at) the same time we are hoping that on the 26th as has been announced the parliament can be opened, but we are still working on it," he told reporters.
Afghanistan's Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Humayoun Azizi, had earlier told the lawmakers that Karzai would never scrap the special court, saying the presidential decree could not simply be overturned. "Now it's up to you to decide," he said.
Lawmakers said Karzai was also seeking a written guarantee that they would abide by the law and step aside if the justice system finds they stole votes. MPs were unimpressed.
"We cannot give him this as it will damage our dignity," said Qanuni. "We are not criminals so why should we give him this?"
State of the Union speech to focus on jobs: Obama
President Barack Obama said on Saturday he would use his annual State of the Union address to urge both parties to act to lift U.S. growth and create more jobs.
"My number one focus is going to be making sure that we are competitive, that we are growing, and we are creating jobs not just now but well into the future," he said in a video e-mailed to members of his Organizing for America grassroots movement.
Obama's speech on Tuesday to a joint session of the Congress will show how he plans to rise above the political gridlock that marked his first two years in the White House, shaping his 2012 re-election prospects.
[ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ]
With unemployment at 9.4 percent, Obama said deficits and debt must be dealt with in a "responsible way," acknowledging the need to cut spending without undermining the country's gradual recovery.
"We're up to it, as long as we come together as a people - Republicans, Democrats, Independents - as long as we focus on what binds us together as a people," the Democratic president said.
Obama's approval ratings have improved in recent weeks, in part because Americans seem pleased with his decision to strike deals with Republicans to extend tax cuts and spur growth after his party's heavy losses in the November 2 elections.
Republicans took control of the House of Representatives and gained seats in the Senate.
FISCAL DISCIPLINE
But voters are also worried by the budget deficit and rising debt, and the White House has said fiscal discipline will be an important part of Obama's speech.
Republicans have called for $100 billion in cuts to government spending, and a bipartisan presidential debt commission has urged a bold overhaul of the U.S. tax code, alongside stiff curbs on federal spending.
The White House will lay out its full fiscal plans in an annual budget expected during the week of February 13. It has emphasized the need to make targeted choices that protect priorities like education, infrastructure investment and innovation.
Obama, whose video gave no details of measures to be outlined during his speech, has been pushing for ways to spur job creation and ease unemployment in the wake of his party's recent election defeat.
He stirred some Democratic opposition by agreeing with Republicans to extend Bush-era tax cuts, while making several key staffing choices that signaled a shift toward the political center.
On Friday, he named General Electric Co Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt as his top outside economic adviser in a bid to improve strained White House ties with big business.
Immelt, whose appointment was cheered by the powerful U.S. Chamber of Commerce, will chair a presidential council on competitiveness and jobs that is designed to encourage private investment and hiring.
"We're going to have to out-innovate, we're going to have to out-build, we're going to have to out-compete, we're going to have to out-educate other countries," Obama said.
Pakistan Red Crescent Society: Workers accused of corruption
The Express Tribune
Workers of a leading humanitarian organisation have been accused of nepotism during distribution of relief goods in Swat.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday in Swat Press Club, Mian Hassan Ahmad, representing Madyan near Swat, alleged that workers of Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) had “set new records for corruption”.
Ahmad claimed, “The organisation’s staff distributed relief packages on the basis of nepotism and favouritism and the deserving people were deprived.”
He alleged the workers, instead of distributing the tokens for relief provision among deserving people, sold them and pocketed the money.
“The workers openly sold each token from Rs3,000 to Rs8,000 while the package given [on showing the token] sells in the open market for Rs20,000. Those workers who refused to get involved were dismissed.”
Ahmad demanded the chairperson and donors of PRCS to take immediate steps against the corruption by investigating the matter and helping the helpless flood victims.
...............................................................................................
Swat rehabilitation: Robbed by the Taliban, denied by the banks.......
People, returning home from their self-imposed exile, came back to empty bank lockers in Swat.
The contents of bank lockers prior to the Maulana Fazlullah-led insurgency is estimated to be worth more than Rs100 million. Jewellery, prize bonds, precious metals, cash and other important documents were stored in these lockers, according to the Bank Lockers Association Swat.
During the military operation, when most people were away from their homes, nearly all the banks in the region were plundered by the Taliban, and the contents of lockers were no exception.
When people came back home in July, bank lockers users demanded access to the things they had left behind in the lockers. But the bank administrations refused to comply.
Even written appeals to the chief justice, the president, the prime minister, chief minister and governor State Bank of Pakistan bore no results, according to the association.
Haji Iqbal Mand, vice-president of the association, told The Express Tribune, “We had secure lockers in Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) and United Bank Limited (UBL) before the displacement. We regularly paid the bank fee but after we returned and asked for our belongings, the banks refused. We don’t know where to go for help, we suffered a lot.”
Even though Allied Bank did pay a compensation of up to Rs700,000 to those who were able to prove the value of their belongings, other banks have not been so co-operative.
According to Iqbal Mand, the value of jewellery alone was Rs27.87 million in UBL, Rs42.62 million in HBL and Rs22.91 million in MCB.
“We have struggled enough, now we cannot stand by and accept the attitude of the banks’ staffs,” he said.
Zahoor, a resident of the Ghalegey area, said, “I had a locker in MCB, where I had kept about two kilograms of gold. The bank administration told me to fill-in a claim form when I went to them. But after I had submitted the documents they completely refused to reimburse me [for my losses].”
“Security forces have even recovered looted windows and doors, so why were they unable to recover the jewellery?” Zahoor said.
He added, “The banks were looted in front of thousands of people so it should be very easy to trace the culprits.”
Officials of the banks, when approached, refused to discuss the subject saying they first needed permission from their superiors.
Analysts say banks might not be liable for these losses because insurance coverage often does not extend over war.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2011.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday in Swat Press Club, Mian Hassan Ahmad, representing Madyan near Swat, alleged that workers of Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) had “set new records for corruption”.
Ahmad claimed, “The organisation’s staff distributed relief packages on the basis of nepotism and favouritism and the deserving people were deprived.”
He alleged the workers, instead of distributing the tokens for relief provision among deserving people, sold them and pocketed the money.
“The workers openly sold each token from Rs3,000 to Rs8,000 while the package given [on showing the token] sells in the open market for Rs20,000. Those workers who refused to get involved were dismissed.”
Ahmad demanded the chairperson and donors of PRCS to take immediate steps against the corruption by investigating the matter and helping the helpless flood victims.
...............................................................................................
Swat rehabilitation: Robbed by the Taliban, denied by the banks.......
People, returning home from their self-imposed exile, came back to empty bank lockers in Swat.
The contents of bank lockers prior to the Maulana Fazlullah-led insurgency is estimated to be worth more than Rs100 million. Jewellery, prize bonds, precious metals, cash and other important documents were stored in these lockers, according to the Bank Lockers Association Swat.
During the military operation, when most people were away from their homes, nearly all the banks in the region were plundered by the Taliban, and the contents of lockers were no exception.
When people came back home in July, bank lockers users demanded access to the things they had left behind in the lockers. But the bank administrations refused to comply.
Even written appeals to the chief justice, the president, the prime minister, chief minister and governor State Bank of Pakistan bore no results, according to the association.
Haji Iqbal Mand, vice-president of the association, told The Express Tribune, “We had secure lockers in Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) and United Bank Limited (UBL) before the displacement. We regularly paid the bank fee but after we returned and asked for our belongings, the banks refused. We don’t know where to go for help, we suffered a lot.”
Even though Allied Bank did pay a compensation of up to Rs700,000 to those who were able to prove the value of their belongings, other banks have not been so co-operative.
According to Iqbal Mand, the value of jewellery alone was Rs27.87 million in UBL, Rs42.62 million in HBL and Rs22.91 million in MCB.
“We have struggled enough, now we cannot stand by and accept the attitude of the banks’ staffs,” he said.
Zahoor, a resident of the Ghalegey area, said, “I had a locker in MCB, where I had kept about two kilograms of gold. The bank administration told me to fill-in a claim form when I went to them. But after I had submitted the documents they completely refused to reimburse me [for my losses].”
“Security forces have even recovered looted windows and doors, so why were they unable to recover the jewellery?” Zahoor said.
He added, “The banks were looted in front of thousands of people so it should be very easy to trace the culprits.”
Officials of the banks, when approached, refused to discuss the subject saying they first needed permission from their superiors.
Analysts say banks might not be liable for these losses because insurance coverage often does not extend over war.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2011.
Pakistani Actress Slams Cleric for Criticism
A Pakistani actress castigated for appearing to cuddle with an Indian actor on a reality show lashed out at a Muslim cleric who had criticized her during a widely watched television exchange this week.
The unusual outburst, punctuated by tears, came at a sensitive time in a country where Islamic fundamentalism is spreading and liberals are increasingly afraid to express their views.
"What is your problem with me? You tell me your problem!" an angry Veena Malik asked the Muslim scholar, who accused her of insulting Islam.
Earlier this month, a liberal Pakistani governor was shot dead for opposing the country's harsh laws against blasphemy. In the aftermath, his killer was cheered as a hero among many in the public, shocking the country's small liberal establishment.Malik, 26, participated recently on Bigg Boss, an Indian version of "Big Brother." Clips of the show on the Internet include ones in which she appears cozy with Indian actor Ashmit Patel. Those scenes, and her involvement with a show in Pakistan's archrival India, prompted criticism online and on the air.
"You have insulted Pakistan and Islam," Mufti Abdul Qawi accused her on the Express TV channel talk show via a television link. The exchange first aired Friday and then again Saturday.
A furious Malik shot back, saying Qawi targeted her because she is a woman, reminding him that the Quran admonishes men not to stare at a woman's beauty beyond a first glance, and telling him there were bigger problems in Pakistan, including the alleged rape of children at mosques.
During the exchange, Qawi admitted he had not seen the clips of the show but had heard about it from others.
"What does your Islam say, mufti sir?" the actress asked. "You issue edicts on the basis of hearsay."
Malik said she had read the Quran and she knew what lines not to cross as a Muslim as well as an entertainer in South Asia. She pointed out that she never kissed Patel, for instance."I am a Muslim woman, and I know my limits," she said. The cleric seemed unable to respond to her flood of words.Malik's fierce outburst sparked a barrage of comments on Twitter. While some writers said they didn't agree with her and one called her a "porn star," others said she was brave for standing up to the Pakistani clerical establishment, especially when such an act can mean personal danger.
Wrote one supporter: "The only way to talk to these bloody clerics is to talk down to them. Veena Malik did just that, and how. Good for her!"
Veena wants Musharraf in Pak Bigg Boss
Actress Veena Malik has said that she want former President Pervez Musharraf to appear in a Pakistani version of Bigg Boss.
According to sources, Veena was asked in an interview about the contestants she would choose if Pakistan were to host the reality show.
“Former President Pervez Musharraf, former minister Sheikh Rashid, parliamentarian Jamsheed Dasti, Nargis, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Aishwarya Rai, actress Meera, Britney Spears and Indian extremist party Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray”, Veena said, naming her dream list of contestants.
Asked if she would repeat any contestant from Bigg Boss 4, she said, “Dolly Bindra. Even the very thought of this show is very funny. This could be hilarious.”
Veena said she had plenty of film offers but plans to focus on television for now.
Remote-controlled bomb kills cop, wounds three others in Peshawar
A remote-controlled bomb exploded near a police van in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Sunday, killing one constable and injuring three others, including a passer-by.
According to police, the blast took place when the police van was passing through the Sarband Bara Road in an area close to Khyber Agency, SAMAA TV reports.
Rescue teams reached the scene and shifted the dead and injured to Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar.
Later, the police cordoned off the area and collected evidence from the site. The blast was caused by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) placed beside the road, the police said
According to police, the blast took place when the police van was passing through the Sarband Bara Road in an area close to Khyber Agency, SAMAA TV reports.
Rescue teams reached the scene and shifted the dead and injured to Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar.
Later, the police cordoned off the area and collected evidence from the site. The blast was caused by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) placed beside the road, the police said
'Red Shirts' rally in Thai capital
Thousands of Thai "Red Shirts" gathered in Bangkok on Sunday, police said, to mark eight months since a deadly military crackdown on their mass anti-government protest last year.
Wearing their trademark colour and singing the "Red in the Land" anthem, protesters waved banners reading "Liar State!" and held aloft pictures of their hero, fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Police said around 27,000 people joined the peaceful demonstration by the Reds, whose April and May rally last year calling for snap elections ended in clashes between troops and protesters that left more than 90 people dead.
Jatuporn Prompan, a prominent figure in the movement, said Red Shirts would continue to gather twice a month, calling for the release of many of their leaders, who are in prison on terrorism charges following the 2010 unrest.
He said the protest would continue until midnight but there would not be a telephone address from Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup and lives abroad, having been sentenced in absentia to prison for corruption.
The controversial Thaksin, who draws support among the mainly poor and working class Red Shirts but is loathed by the urban elite, spoke to another demonstration earlier this month.
Jatuporn said the demonstrations' "style will be changed to make less trouble for people who live and work around the protest sites".
The rally began in the upmarket central shopping district of Ratchaprasong but later relocated to the Democracy Monument in the historic district -- the site of a deadly clash between protesters and authorities on April 10.
The move is part of an agreement with retailers, who had complained about a loss of business caused by the twice-monthly demonstrations.
In an open letter to Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva earlier this month, the Ratchaprasong Square Trade Association (RSTA) said 2,088 businesses lost 11 billion baht ($362 million) last year due to the mass rally, which attracted 100,000 people at its peak.
After the army crackdown in May, small bands of militant protesters set dozens of buildings ablaze across Bangkok, including Ratchaprasong's glitzy CentralWorld shopping mall.
The Red Shirt movement has shown increasing strength in recent months -- a rally earlier in January saw around 30,000 demonstrators in Bangkok.
Even before emergency rule -- which banned gatherings of more than five people -- was lifted in the capital last month, Red rallies in Bangkok had begun to regularly attract thousands.
Political uncertainty looms in Afghanistan as lawmakers' meeting ends
(CNN) -- Political uncertainty lingered in Afghanistan on Sunday after a meeting of elected members of the country's parliament ended with a decision to send a proposal back to President Hamid Karzai.
The proposed resolution sets parliament's inauguration for Wednesday and also would dissolve the special court established in December to probe hundreds of fraud allegations brought forward by losing candidates.
Karzai earlier rejected the proposal to dissolve the special court, lawmaker Baktash Siawash said. Karzai's office has not returned repeated calls from CNN for comment.
Members of parliament did not reach consensus over what to do if Karzai rejects the proposal again.
"What is clear is that if the president does not participate in the inauguration, it could create a huge political crisis that will seriously affect the government," parliament member Ahmad Behzad said.
The proposed resolution sets parliament's inauguration for Wednesday and also would dissolve the special court established in December to probe hundreds of fraud allegations brought forward by losing candidates.
Karzai earlier rejected the proposal to dissolve the special court, lawmaker Baktash Siawash said. Karzai's office has not returned repeated calls from CNN for comment.
Members of parliament did not reach consensus over what to do if Karzai rejects the proposal again.
"What is clear is that if the president does not participate in the inauguration, it could create a huge political crisis that will seriously affect the government," parliament member Ahmad Behzad said.
Tunisia's Rural poor rally , seeking change
Tunisia's poor rural heartlands demonstrated in the capital on Sunday to demand that the revolution they started should now sweep the remnants of the fallen president's old guard from power.
A week after Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi took the reins of an interim coalition following the overthrow of veteran strongman Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, he and other former loyalists of the feared ruling party face mounting pressure to step down.
For days, protesters have gathered at the premier's office in Tunis, limited in numbers but tolerated by a police force wary of its own fate after Ben Ali and enjoying wider support among a population that is unused to free political expression.
On Sunday, amid a weekend calm, hundreds of people who had been driven to the capital in a "caravan of freedom" surrounded Ghannouchi's building in central Tunis. Many were from Sidi Bouzid, the bleak central city where the "Jasmine Revolution" was sparked a month ago by one young man's suicide.
"We are marginalised. Our land is owned by the government. We have nothing," said Mahfouzi Chouki from near the city, which lies 300 km (200 miles) south of Tunis and a world away from the opulent coastal resorts favored by Ben Ali's rapacious elite.
Demonstrators said they would not let the legacy of Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself alight in protest at poverty and oppression, end with Ben Ali's flight to Saudi Arabia and the establishment of a government dominated by his lieutenants.
"The people want this government to fall," the chanted.
"I WANT JUSTICE"
Amin Kahli, also from the Sidi Bouzid region, said he was honouring the memory not just of Bouazizi but of dozens who died facing down Ben Ali's armed police on the streets.
Kahli himself had lost a brother in the revolt, which stunned the world by felling an autocrat who had enjoyed solid backing from Western powers and fellow Arab leaders since he had eased out the first post-colonial president in 1987.
"My brother was leaving home for work when a sniper shot him in the chest," Kahli said. "He was only 21. I want justice for him and I want this government to fall."
Former members of Ben Ali's RCD ruling party retain key ministries, notably interior, defense and foreign affairs. Politicians from small opposition parties previously tolerated under Ben Ali were allowed to join the government in less vital posts, such as higher education and regional development.
Five such appointees quit the cabinet within a day of Ghannouchi forming it.
Tunisians' revolt has electrified millions across the Arab world who suffer similarly from high unemployment, rising prices and repressive rule, often by governments back by Western powers as a bulwark against radical Islam. Arab leaders have responded to such pressures by both concessions and police measures.
In Yemen, the poorest Arab state, hundreds of students demonstrated on Sunday after the arrest of a woman who had led previous protests demanding a Tunisian-style uprising.
CRIMES
In an emotional interview on state TV on Friday, Ghannouchi said he intended to retire from politics after organizing elections. But despite signs many Tunisians would like to see a return to calm, his words have failed to stem the protests.
Ghannouchi also sought to distance himself from the former leader. He vowed to track him down and promised compensation for the families of victims of human rights abuses.
Authorities have said they arrested 33 members of Ben Ali's family for crimes against the state but have only named one of them -- Imed Trabelsi, a nephew of Ben Ali's wife Leila.
"This revolt is not the Jasmine Revolution, because jasmine is a flower that anyone can just pick," said Mohamed Ali Zdini, a Tunisian who lives in Italy. "This revolution is more like an olive tree, because it has deep roots and no one can uproot it."
Sunday was the last of three days of national mourning declared by the Ghannouchi government for the victims of the unrest that convulsed Tunisia for several weeks.
Officials said on Saturday they would investigate the interior ministry's role in the deaths of protesters and revise laws to prevent the rise of another strongman. Police themselves demonstrated in Tunis on Saturday to declare their innocence of crimes against the people and to portray themselves as victims.
The interior minister has said 78 people had been killed since the start of the demonstrations in December, but the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights put the number at 117, including 70 killed by live fire.
The government said schools and universities would begin reopening from Monday and sporting events, also on hold since last week, would resume soon. A night curfew remains in place.
It has released political prisoners, set up commissions to investigate corruption and theft of state property during the Ben Ali era, and offered a blanket amnesty to all political groups, including Islamists whom Ben Ali had long demonized.
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