Pakistan urged to protect journalists’ safety

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/

A recent attack on celebrated Pakistani news anchor, Hamid Mir, illuminated the dangerous reality for journalists working in Pakistan, and legal experts say journalists should be protected.

For years, Pakistan has been one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists.

From feudal landlords to Taliban fighters, to sectarian groups to separatists, there are constant deadly threats to reporters.

The recent attack on celebrated news anchor, Hamid Mir, illuminated the dangerous reality for journalists working in Pakistan.

Unknown gunmen opened fire on Mir. Wounded by three bullets, he managed to survive but not everyone is as lucky.

In the past few years, local as well as foreign reporters in conflict areas have been routinely killed across the country.

Experts say regional conflict is to blame for cultivating such a dangerous situation.

"War on terror is the main cause. As far as Pakistan is concerned, it is living under the shadows of that war. The terrorist groups, they are organised here,” Mujeeb Ur Rehman Shami, senior journalist and political analyst, said.

“We can't say that one force... is threatening -- there are so many groups. Some people say some agencies are doing it, some people say some ethnic groups are doing it. As far as non-state actors are concerned, the real threat is from them but most of the journalists are not prepared to name them."

This lack of information and prevailing fear to name attackers has led the Committee to Protect Journalists to name Pakistan as one of 13 countries on its Impunity Index -- a country where journalists are targeted and their murders are most likely to go unpunished.

Umar Cheema, a reporter who had been tortured, said: "In Pakistan, journalists are free to speak, write and say anything but they have to do it at their own risk. There is no state power to help them. There is no law to offer them protection, so it's up to the limit they define for themselves."

Journalists are often forced to report without any training or safety, and while attacks may be difficult to prevent, legal experts say journalists should be protected.

Senior lawyer Nasira Iqbal said: "There must be some form of group insurance so that they are protected whenever they are in a situation like this and loss happens. Then at least their families are compensated and they can get legislation requiring the state to do certain things to protect journalists."

Violence aimed at censoring media coverage and gagging opposing voices remains largely unchecked.

While President Nawaz Sharif has suggested he is open to implementing better safety measures for reporters, there is much to be done to safeguard the fourth pillar of the state.

Geo's response to Imran Khan's allegations

A Jang Group spokesman has given the following response to the allegations leveled by PTI chief Imran Khan in a press conference on Friday.

Allegation 1:

GEO rigged the 2013 elections along with Chief Justice, bureaucracy and the PML-N. GEO announced PML-N as the winner at 11:05pm when only 19% of votes had been cast. GEO influenced the returning officers to swing the elections in favour of PML-N and showed Nawaz Sharif announcing himself as the winner at 11:23pm.

GEO’s Response 1:

Rigging can’t take place during vote count as votes are counted in front of party representative at each polling station. Rigging takes place before vote counting during the actual voting process. Voting finished between 5-6pm. There is no way GEO or any media could influence rigging or be involved in rigging at 11:05pm which was 5 hours after voting had closed. Kamran Khan and GEO News name shouldn’t be tarnished just because Kamran Khan showed partial results at 11:05pm.

In fact, Ayaz Khan of Express News said the following during Express News election transmission at 10:21 pm. Mey yeh dekh raha hoon ke PML-N centre mein hukoomat bana sakti hey or Punjab mey unki government banegi aur Sindh mey PPP government banaey gi or mein yeh dekh raha hoon ke opposition bhi PPP ki hi hogi.

Nawaz Sharif’s speech was shown by all channels and in fact GEO News was not even the first channel to show the speech.

Regarding showing partial results, whether based on 19% or 30% polling station results, a frequent was flashing on screen and being repeated verbally by our newscaster letting our viewers know that these are non-official and partial results. All over the world partial results are given in elections and in our case we were also showing per constituency what % of the polling station results have come in. This was not a projection but actual results that we were getting from our correspondents of 11,000 people that day who were getting polling station results directly from polling stations and returning officers and Election Commission sources. All channels were airing partial results and the same was done in 2002 and 2008. The method that was used to announce results was consulted by Dr. Ijaz Shafi Gilani (Gallup Pakistan) and Salman Naseer Danish (PTI) and was statistically safe. This is verified by comparing the result that GEO had given to other channels and final election results announced by the Election Commission. The difference between all channels was less than 10% though GEO was airing the results first due to its larger network and experience. If GEO had rigged the elections, were all top 5 news channels also involved as they were airing similar results? All local and international poll projections had also predicted similar trend as of the elections, does that mean they were also involved in rigging the elections with GEO?

Mudassir Rizvi, CEO FAFEN which was the largest network of voter monitoring and fraud monitoring, told GEO News on camera yesterday, “Geo News is not responsible for rigging, we can only hold those responsible that had position of authority. We had an information sharing agreement with GEO which aired much of our data regarding rigging.” GEO News also received a note of appreciation for our contribution for elections 2013 transmission from FAFEN.

Iftikhar Ahmad, Director Elections at Jang Group and senior anchorperson, has challenged Imran Khan to an open debate to prove his allegations and provide evidence. Iftikhar Ahmad also said, “Why these allegations were not part of the white paper that was released by PTI on elections rigging? Why is GEO being attacked now? And if Khan wants to improve election reforms then shouldn’t it be one year before the next elections, why now? I think Khan needs to be more mature and realise why he actually lost and show more sportsman sprit.”

However at the same time we do want to acknowledge that rigging did take place and it is most unfortunate. GEO would support any positive reforms PTI would like to recommend that will help stop rigging. In fact, GEO aired hours of footage on rigging and exposed it from morning of the elections day. At least two hours of rigging footage that went on air can be provided if required. Hamid Mir, Iftikhar Ahmad and Sohail Warraich did programmes on rigging the same night of elections. Hamid Mir did a two hours show of rigging allegations of Dr Alvi of PTI.

Allegation 2: PTI and Imran Khan have also falsely accused Jang/GEO group of receiving special favour by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to acquire rights for the cricket series against Sri Lanka through its Chairman Mr. Najam Sethi who also hosts a programme on the Network. Khan said this was done as a favour for rigging the elections.

GEO Response 2: We have already in writing told Imran Khan that the whole process was conducted in open and transparent manner and was witnessed by both bidders (GEO Super and Ten Sports) and a bid committee comprised of Ehsan Mani as chairman legal department of PCB, retired judge, member of BOG, COO, CFO of PCB and independent international auditors (Price Waterhouse and Coopers). In fact Ehsan Mani is also board member of Shaukat Khanum and a friend of Khan. We had requested please consult with Ehsan Mani if he agrees with your allegation or meet the auditors?

Ten Sports won the South Africa series rights through the bidding process and GEO Super won the Sri Lanka series rights due to higher bid amounts. Ten Sports is a 100 percent Indian owned company and yet no one raised an eyebrow against them or wrote articles one after the other. Due to interim appointments, the Supreme Court, at that time, did not allow the PCB to enter into any long-term sale of rights that is why the bidding for the matches was for two series only and not 5 years. Also Khan has alluded that we had rigged the elections and in return we got one 14 day match rights? GEO and Jang Group have lost over 600 crores for supporting the lawyers movement fighting a military dictator. Jang Group had also been shut down by Nawaz Sharif in 1998-99 and was boycotted by PPP as well in previous government who had banned all advertising to the largest media group. If GEO didn’t sell out then why would it do now, and that too for Pakistan vs Sir Lanka rights?

Allegation 3: Zara Sochiye of Geo had received sponsorship of 20 million pounds, and Aman Ki Asha was sponsored by Indians through Doordarshan. This was in the Supreme Court Media Commission report.

GEO Response 3: Yes this was in the Media Commission report but it was not part of the main report but as part of minutes with PEMRA, which GEO had been suing because of its partiality. In fact Supreme Court had asked the government to confirm these allegations and after receiving a response asked chairman PEMRA to prove these allegations after which chairman PEMRA denied the charges and also apologised in writing. It is interesting to note that all these allegations have been raised in past and categorically denied with evidence and a clarification. Aman Ki Asha has been praised by Imran Khan in Parliament. Regarding Indian funding, why would RAW want Pakistan to want peace with India? Jang Group would also like to put on record that Aman Ki Asha and Zara Sochiye (education effort) was started after consultation and feedback of senior most members of the Armed Forces. Aman Ki Asha is an independent project conceived by Jang Group to promote peace with India while respecting our core interests.

Zara Sochieye education campaign has been declared openly and its sources of funding (majority of which is funded by Jang Group related companies) have also been shared and its accounts audited by Price Waterhouse Coopers. The campaign to promote education reform was appreciated by all political parties and education related NGOs including scores of PTI representatives. All editorial control and project conception was done by MKRF, local NGO affiliated with founder of Jang Group. Zara Sochieye campaign was aired on PTV, and four regional channels and 4 radio stations apart from GEO channels.

Imran Khan seems to be alluding to foreign funding as an evil. One can ask him if PTI government itself in KP accepts 100s of millions of dollars’ worth of aid from US and UK governments. Recent polio campaign was also funded from international sources and PTI itself is funded in part by US, UK, Indian citizens. Most of these funds are used for good purposes and have done a lot of social good. Imran Khan also in previous interview suggested GEO has taken foreign funding and in return maybe doing campaigning against peace negotiations with the Taliban and Government of Pakistan. Imran Khan should note that GEO has done several transmission called Aman Kay Liye Kardalo where Jang Group and GEO have openly been supporting negotiation to operation as a policy.

Allegation 4: Group aired Voice of America from a fund for supporting democracy.

GEO Response 4:

Again Khan seems to be alluding to American influence.

Geo is a part of the Jang Group of Publications, Pakistan’s media powerhouse with a proud history. Geo has no connection with the USA, either financial or political. Geo had sold air time to the Voice of America under a transparent commercial contract which total value was less than 3%-5% of its revenue at any given time. GEO made sure that the VOA logo is on screen throughout its broadcast. A disclaimer stipulates that the views expressed in the broadcast are not GEO’s. There was no attempt to camouflage the VOA broadcast and its contract was given to PEMRA also. GEO’s senior management also asked General Musharraf and General Shuja Pasha if they had any problem with us airing the programme and they both said no at the time. However GEO decided on its own to stop airing the programme when drone attacks frequency increased in Pakistan and has not aired the programme for over 3 years. VOA programme had aired on PTV, Express and Aaj TV but surprisingly Imran Khan has not suspected them of any wrongdoing.

It should be noted that GEO has aired (Fahrenheit 9/11, bush’s Brain, Loose Change, Cartoons about Bush, Obama, and frequently makes fun of American presidents and leadership in Hum Sub Umeed Se Hein. At the same time it has also educated viewers about the strengths of the US democratic traditions by covering the US elections, dubbing in Urdu the presidential debates and confirmation hearings. This is in line with our policy of learning from best practices.

Geo has been critical of the drone attacks, questioned US policies in Iraq and Afghanistan and exposed excesses like those taking place in Guantanamo and Abu Gharaib. In Khuda Ke Liye, released by GEO Films, American torture techniques and atrocities were openly shown and debated in a dramatic fashion. Late Ambassador Holbrooke, who was known for his abrasive side, in his stiff unemotional tone scolded the GEO reporter once on his trip to Pakistan. After telling the reporters how much USA is doing for Pakistan, Holbrooke looked towards GEO reporter and said, “US has given half of the support pledged by (the world). Please make sure that GEO reports that! GEO has reported a lot of anti-US stuff. Now you should tell the truth to the people of Pakistan that US is on your side”. In Wikileaks it was revealed that US Embassy has written a cable to Washington saying GEO is working against the interests of the USA. It complained that Hamid Mir had done a programme exposing that Blackwater was in Islamabad among other things.

We would like to ask Imran Khan why he doesn’t ask owners of a channel that aired in India, which earns a lot of money. It is pertinent to mention that when no Pakistani TV channel is allowed to be aired in India, then how come that particular group manages to run its transmissions there. The particular TV channel and its anchorperson also tried to label us traitors by terming a genuine investigative story on Ajmal Kasab as propaganda. We stand by our story and believe that the truth, no matter how bitter, is more patriotic than a lie, no matter how sweet.

Another competitor who was in smoking business makes most of its money from business partnerships which are with American and Indian companies. Similarly they have an agreement with an American media outlet, whereby they provide a foreign newspaper along with their daily newspaper, which is owned by Jews, with their own local newspaper. Will Khan ask why Shireen Mazari will never ask them any questions? Will she tell Khan that three mainstream news channels bureaus in Washington DC were paid by US State Department funds and GEO News is the only one that funds its own bureau in Washington DC, NY and London.

We would like to clarify here that we are not against any such business partnerships as long as they are legal and transparent but are mentioning this only to underline double standards. We request our viewers and readers to ask why is that you will not see a single conspiracy theory about these other media groups in social media but only bashing of one media group? What has GEO and Jang Group been doing that it gets punished for? Zara Sochieye.

Lastly and sadly we had approached Imran Khan through Asad Umar and Jehangir Tareen in writing to please arrange a meeting with Imran Khan. After this couldn’t be done and Khan was still attacking GEO we gave the following offer on 20th February 2014-

“Kindly please form a committee that will investigate the accusations against us, please give it a 30 days deadline, and let the committee review all the contents and they can ask us any questions or hear our point of view as well and then if it feels we are guiltily we will give you an hour of our prime in which PTI can make its findings shard with our audiences.

Our request would be that that committee contains only neutral people and not people have a known biased against us.You need to know that these allegations are serious and personal for us.”

But instead of confronting us with questions and evidence Shireen Mazari has convinced Imran Khan to attack us through press conferences and certain sections of the media with competing interests.

Sipah-E-Sahaba , LeJ & TTP Involved In Killing Of Pakistan Journalists, Amnesty Reports

Journalists in Pakistan live under the constant threat of killings, harassment and other violence from all sides, including intelligence services, political parties and armed groups like the Taliban, Amnesty International said in a new report today.

‘A bullet has been chosen for you’: Attacks on journalists in Pakistan, describes how the Pakistani authorities have almost completely failed to stem human rights abuses against media workers or to bring those responsible to account. Amnesty International has documented 34 cases of journalists being killed in Pakistan in response to their work since the restoration of democratic rule in 2008, but only in one case have the perpetrators been brought to justice. But these killings are just the most brutal statistic – many more journalists have been threatened, harassed, abducted, tortured or escaped assassination attempts in the same period.

“Pakistan’s media community is effectively under siege. Journalists, in particular those covering national security issues or human rights, are targeted from all sides in a disturbing pattern of abuses carried out to silence their reporting,” said David Griffiths, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director.

“The constant threat puts journalists in an impossible position, where virtually any sensitive story leaves them at risk of violence from one side or another.”

The report is based on extensive field research into over 70 cases and interviews with over 100 media workers in Pakistan. It examines several recent cases where journalists have been targeted for their reporting by a range of actors.

Numerous journalists interviewed by Amnesty International complained of harassment or attacks by individuals they claimed were connected to the feared military spy agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). While some are featured in the report with names changed, others could not be included even under a false name because they feared for their lives. The spy agency has been implicated in several abductions, torture and killings of journalists, but no serving ISI officials has ever been held to account – allowing it to effectively operate beyond the reach of the law. Human rights violations against journalists by the ISI often follow a familiar pattern that starts with threatening phone calls and escalates into abductions, torture and other ill-treatment, and in some cases killings.

Journalists are also victims of human rights abuses by non-state groups across the country. Aggressive competition for media space means that powerful political actors across the country put severe pressure on journalists for favourable coverage. In Karachi, supporters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) religious group and others stand accused of harassing or killing journalists they consider critical.

In conflict-ridden regions in the northwest and Balochistan province, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and ethnic Baloch armed groups openly threaten reporters with death and attack them in retaliation for seeking to highlight their abuses or not promoting their ideology. Journalists in Pakistan’s heartland of the Punjab have also faced threats from the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi-linked groups.

Despite the wave of violence and attacks, the Pakistani authorities have largely failed to hold perpetrators to account. In the overwhelming number of cases researched by Amnesty International, authorities rarely adequately investigated threats or attacks or brought those responsible to justice.

Only in a handful of high-profile cases have more thorough investigations been carried out, and only after public outrage has made it impossible for authorities not to act.

“The government has promised to improve the dire situation for journalists, including by establishing a public prosecutor tasked with investigating attacks against journalists. But few concrete steps have been taken,” said David Griffiths.

“A critical step will be for Pakistan to investigate its own military and intelligence agencies and ensure that those responsible for human rights violations against journalists are brought to justice. This will send a powerful signal to those who target journalists that they no longer have free reign.”

Media enterprises operating in Pakistan must also ensure they provide adequate training, support and assistance to journalists, in an important, practical step towards addressing the risk of abuses while they are at work. “Without these urgent steps, Pakistan’s media could be intimidated into silence. The climate of fear has already had a chilling effect on freedom of expression and the broader struggle to expose human rights abuses across Pakistan,” said David Griffiths.

Uncertain haven: Pakistani Asylum-seekers in Sri Lanka

For minorities fleeing Pakistan, Sri Lanka is at best a temporary refuge

KNOWN more for generating asylum-seekers than receiving them, Sri Lanka is providing shelter to growing numbers of would-be refugees from Pakistan. Twice a week the pews of the Holy Rosary church in Negombo, just north of Colombo on Sri Lanka’s west coast, are filled with Pakistanis attending the country’s only Urdu mass, conducted by a Sri Lankan priest. More than 1,000 Christians flock there on festive occasions, says Father Eric Lakman, who worked in Pakistan for 15 years.

The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, reports an increase in asylum-seekers arriving from Pakistan to 1,489 last year, up from just 102 in 2012. Most are Christians or members of Ahmadiyya, an Islamic sect that is regarded as apostate by Sunni Muslims in Pakistan.

Sri Lanka’s attraction for the asylum-seekers is that they can enter the country on 30-day tourist visas, obtainable online, and stay on after registering with the UNHCR, while their cases are examined. Sri Lanka does not allow them to settle, but the process often takes up to two years. The UNHCR in Colombo, which has to record and cross-check each applicant’s story, is ill equipped to handle so many cases. To date, only 125 have been recognised as refugees.

Barred from working, and with their children out of school, many Pakistanis rely on handouts from churches and mosques. Every week the priest at another Catholic church in Negombo supplies needy Christians with biscuits, rice, noodles and other provisions. It is not enough for families such as that of Jameel Parvaiz, a 48-year-old Methodist pastor with eight children, who fled Pakistan 15 months ago. His wife, who has a bullet in her leg from 2012, when gunmen attacked their prayer centre, recently suffered a stroke.

Sri Lanka’s government gives the asylum-seekers no financial help. Pakistan maintains they are economic migrants fabricating stories. And the churches and mosques cannot keep supporting the increasing numbers. Already some are working illegally for a fraction of local wages.

In April Iftikhar Ahmad Ayaz, a London-based human-rights activist and Ahmadi scholar, met asylum-seekers in Negombo and urged them to discourage any more Ahmadis from coming to Sri Lanka until the UNHCR clears the backlog of asylum applications. In the meantime, as more Pakistanis arrive, residents are beginning to doubt their tales of persecution.

Just How Similar are Pashtun and Jewish People?

http://www.sharnoffsglobalviews.com/

By Yasmin Eliaz

The Pashtun people who live in Afghanistan and Pakistan have common historical, linguistic and cultural similarities with Jewish people.

we can look for similarities that originate from the Torah or from the Bible that do not have necessarily something in common with the Pashtunwali.

There are some recognized stories of Pashtun practices virtually identical to Jews: Lighting candles on Friday night, separation of meat and dairy, and covering graves with stones.

Moreover, some Pashtu names derive from Hebrew. For example, Asif, Assaf, Binyamin, Kenan, and Barak (Barak is the name of the known Barakzai tribe, which traces after Barak son of Avinoam, officer- warrior of the ancient Israeli Kingdom.

Barak means glance, sparkling, flash. The other names mentioned in the Torah: Asif (harvest in Heberew), Assaf (gather in Hebrew), also known as the compositor of the Levi’s (Liwan tribe) choir, Binyamin (fool of power), the 12th Israeli tribe, and Kenan (lamenter in Hebrew) the fourth generation of the humanity.

These names are quite ordinary in Israel and in Pashtun areas. Names that do not originate from the Torah, like Tameer (high in Hebrew/hideen in Aramaic) and Timor (carved decorating shape of palms found at the Jewish temple), are also common among the two groups, as well as Shir and Sahar.

Religious names and tool share common characteristics.

In Pashtu, names of God are known as Khudai; while in biblical Hebrew God is referred to as (El) Shadai. The Jewish prayer shawl (talit) issue also has a great resemblance to the Pashtu/Urdu word tolia which means towel.

Many Pashtun wear scarves which look like a talit: a wide white scarf decorated with blue stripes on both sides of it. The only thing that is missing in the knotted fringes (tzitzit) attached to its four corners.

Saturday in Pashtu is called Shanbay and Hebrew, Shabbat – the holy day of the week for Jews. During Shabbat, Jews are commanded to abstain from labor and reflect. Shabbat is the Jewish symbol of loyalty for God. In Pashtu, Sabat means loyalty, and on Shanbay work is also not allowed.

Furthermore, Pashtu and Hebrew prefixes originate from the ancient Semitic language Aramaic. For example, the prefix “De” which used in Hebrew and Pashtu literature means “from” or “of.”

There are probably more common words, names and phrases between the Pashtu, which belongs to western Iranian language group, and Hebrew which belongs to west Semitic language group. And yet both groups still have much in common, as the Pashtuns originate from the lost tribes of Israel.

Balochistan: families demand release of their loved ones abducted by Pakistani forces

http://balochwarna.com/

Baloch families mostly women and children took out a protest rally in Pasni area of Balochistan on Wednesday against military operation and abduction of around a dozen people by Pakistani forces.

The businesses and educational institutions remained closed in the city in protest against the arrests.

At least 15 men have reportedly been arrested from ward six of Pasni town in Balochistan. Their whereabouts remain unknown since their arrest and disappearance three day ago.

The abducted men have been named as following: Abdul Rasool S/o Ghulam Rasool, Ghulam Rasool, Mastir Riaz Testi, Arshid, Zarif , Baba Mir Rahmat , Yaseen Mir Rahmat, Haji Hahmat, Faisal Haji Rahmat, Zobair Haji Rahmat, Janzahib Ameen, Junaid Ameen, Ali amen, Zafaar Malang and Zafar.

According to locals, a heavy contingent of Pakistani security forces surrounded the area from five o'clock in the morning until eight o'clock and carried out an offensive military operation.

The residents complained that women and children were beaten up and harassed during the operation. Meanwhile on Thursday large number of Baloch women and children took out a protest rally in Balgatar area of Balochistan to demand immediate release of BSO-Azad leader, Zahid Baloch who was abducted on 18 March 2014 from satellite town area of Quetta.

A CC member of BSO-Azad has started a hunger strike till death on 22nd April at Karachi Press Club to demand the release of his organization’s leader.

Despite appeals from Baloch social media activists, Baloch intellectuals including Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur, Dr Badal Khan Baloch, Hafeez Hasanabadi and veteran Baloch activist Abdul Samad Ameeri to end his hunger strike – he has refused to end his strike and vowed to continue the protest till death or the release or discovery of Zahid Baloch.

Pakistan: Press Freedom Day Must Recognize the Plight of Journalists in Balochistan

By Mir Behram Baloch

May 3 is universally celebrated as press freedom day to raise the voice for freedom of expression and create awareness about the importance of press freedom.

The United Nations General Assembly declared this day to remind governments about their obligation to respect the right of free expression. However, when we observe Pakistan’s treatment of press freedom we find a bloody scenario, mainly, in Balochistan regarded as a battlefield for journalists.

Currently, Pakistan is being named a front-runner for violence against journalists, where journalists are facing life threats, attacks and extra-judicial murders in extreme cases.

Almost 70 journalists have been killed in the last six years in Pakistan.

Unfortunately, nearly 34 journalists killed were from Balochistan, the most agitated province of Pakistan, where Baloch nationalists are struggling politically and by means of armed struggle for their rights and ownership of natural resources. Right now, the profession of journalism has become a troubling field.

Young journalist Yousaf Ajab Baloch, editor-in-chief of the Balochistan Point, an English language online newspaper in Pakistan, has documented the murder of 33 journalist in his book: A Battle Field for Balochistan. Regarding press freedom Yousaf in his book writes,

“Balochistan has been transformed into a battlefield for Baloch journalists in order to prevent them from covering unabated human rights violations in the province. The murder of Baloch journalists is an inordinate loss for Balochistan which can never be compensated. It is hard for journalists and activists of civil liberties to practice their responsibilities in Balochistan without any fear.”

On the international silence over crimes in Balochistan, Yousaf says,

“There are no reports about the cold blood murders of Baloch journalists and the silence of mainstream media organizations translates into endorsement of these undemocratic actions. It is surprising as why the international media or the champions of the balanced media in Pakistan have adopted a tacit role on the target killings of Baloch journalists so here the role of international media and journalist organizations becomes objectionable.”

Describing the government’s role, Yousaf states, “It is obvious the government has failed to protect journalists. The failure of responsible authorities to protect journalists can easily be judged that more than 33 journalists have been target killed but none of the killers have been arrested nor government made any effort to arrest perpetrators.”

Irfan Saeed, the president of Balochistan Union of journalists said, “Now the situation is deterioration day by day, before there would be incidents of assaults on journalists on monthly or quarterly bases, however, now the occurrences take place weekly. We are compelled to continue the series of protests for safety of our fellows.” Balochistan’s Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch vowed on January 19, 2014, to establish a judicial commission to probe the murder of different journalists across the province.

He also promised to provide financial assistance to the families of slain reporters. However, Kazim Mengal , the Reporter to BBC in capital city of Quetta said that many government committees and judicial commissions had been formed to ensure protection of reporters and journalists but no tangible measures were taken. “The responsible authorities have not been able to make situation in favor of professionals to let them perform their duty smoothly,” said Mengal Rasheed Baloch, Bureau Chief of Vsh News, the first Balochi TV channel, said,

“In Balochistan the Baloch journalists are in trouble compared to the other ethnic groups. In the last six years a large number of Baloch journalists have been killed. Not only has the government failed to ensure their safety, but has also failed to provide financial compensation to family victim journalists.” The Committee to Protect Journalists has described Balochistan as the “epicenter of attacks on Pakistani press,” the far-flung areas of the province remain the lethal regions to report from. The current situation in Balochistan mirrors no existence of press freedom.

The lives of journalists are at risk if they apply journalistic ethics and do balanced reporting of the situation. However, the silence of the international media and media organizations in Pakistan over disappearances of Baloch journalists and their murder becomes objectionable.

Pakistan: #HungerStrikeTillDeath......Balochistan hunger strike

Bilawal Bhutto: PPP to stand with media in case of any attack

http://thefrontierpost.com/

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) patron-in-chief, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Saturday said that his party would not tolerate any compromise over freedom of expression (FoE) and added it would stand steadfast with the journalist community in case of any attack, Local TV reported.

In a statement issued on the World Press Freedom Day, Bilawal Bhutto recalled that PPP and the journalist community together had faced the martial law curbs on freedom of expression during the last four decades. He said that free media has played a key role in strengthening the democracy and upholding the constitution.

Bilawal Bhutto said that PPP has always condemned any maltreatment to journalists. He said that the Kalashnikov culture of General Zia era still haunting every peace professing segments of the society.

Pakistan: TTP Activities

Another blast in Swat injured three members of the security forces on Friday, though this is only to be expected, considering that attacks from the terrorists did not abate even while the ceasefire was ongoing. The government has now received intelligence reports about militants planning to use the Indus River to transport arms, people and equipment between provinces. This means they would be able to avoid security checkpoints on highway routes. Amidst all this, a tribal Jirga arranged by the JI in FATA, made another call for ceasefire by both parties, and blamed corruption, unemployment and America, naturally, for all of Pakistan’s problems. Their call for ceasefire with a non-state actor which blatantly refuses to accept the writ of the state and refuses to hold by the terms of the ceasefire is astounding, considering that the ceasefire was also nothing more than a farce.

As for the worrying news about the Indus River as a possible militant route, it should be noted that only three checkpoints exist throughout the entire channel, and those too, purely to protect reservoirs. There is no real high security check post on any part of the river, and arrangements will have to be made. The mere size of the river is perhaps the most daunting part; still it will have its logistical disadvantages that the government can use against militants. Apart from the speed of travel by boat, just how much these supply runs will be able to transport is an added obstacle that challenges efficiency. Perhaps it is not yet time to panic.

It must be said however, that any security arrangements that the government and the security forces make will need to be vigilant. What exactly will “river security” entail? How many checkpoints are sufficient on waterways? Where will they be installed, and how expensive and practical will the exercise be? The greatest problems will be logistical, for both the terrorists and for counter-terrorism procedures in place.

On the other hand, the “talks-fight” strategy, is more than purely logistical. It is ideological, and it is political. It reflects the national attitude of “anything goes” which is prevalent in every social and state institution of the country. Anything goes, no matter how many die, no matter how many are dying, no matter how many hideouts we bomb or how many negotiation committees we draw up. Anything goes. It is time perhaps, to call this sham for what it is; an exercise in futility, an incoherent, destructive marriage with the devil.

Pakistan: April witnesses increased terror acts

During the month of April 2014, security situation in the country increasingly became volatile in which upsurge in violent incidents in Balochistan played a major part followed by expiry of ceasefire deadline by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on 10th of April. According to the Conflict Monitoring Centre (CMC) statistics, a total of 209 violent incidents related to anti-state militancy and counter-insurgency operations from security forces were reported in which 271 people were killed and 412 others injured. While security forces arrested 218 suspected militants, 54 were kidnapped by militants. There were 72 security forces operations in which 85 people were killed including 79 militants and six civilians while 36 people were injured including 12 security forces personnel, 20 militants and four civilians. As many as 218 suspected militants were arrested by the security forces. Out of total 209 incidents, there were 137 militant activities across the country in which 186 people got killed and 376 others injured while 54 persons were kidnapped. As compared to the previous week, there was almost 19 per cent increase in militant activities, almost 41 per cent increase in casualties while almost 53 per cent increase in injuries. Highest numbers of incidents were reported from Baluchistan where militants carried out 38 attacks in which 50 people were killed including two SFPs, seven militants and 41 civilians while 78 people were injured including five SFPs, one militant and 72 civilians. Sindh and KP witnessed 35 incidents each. In KP 35 militant attacks, 33 people were killed including 10 SFPs, eight militants and 15 civilians while 88 people were injured including 25 SFPs, one militant and 62 civilian. In FATA, 25 militant attacks were reported in which 58 people were killed including three SFPs, 4 Razakars, 48 militants and 3 civilians while 33 people were injured including 6 SFPs, 5 Razakars, 11 militants and 11 civilians. The only incident in Islamabad was the deadliest of all the incidents of the country, in which 24 people were killed and 115 others were injured in blast in fruit market. In three incidents in Punjab, no causality was reported. On the other hand, security forces actions came down from 89 to 72 in April. Numbers of casualties in security forces actions went up as compared to that of the previous month as 85 people were killed (including 79 militants and six civilians) as compared to 17 in the previous month while 36 people were injured as compared to 10 in the previous month. Thus, a decrease of almost 19 per cent was witnessed in number of operations, however, number of casualties and injuries went up with a percentage of almost 400 per cent and 260 per cent, respectively. Security forces arrested 218 suspected militants as compared to 1078 in the previous month. Two suicide attacks, 53 bomb blasts, 28 physical militant assaults were also reported during the month. Armed clashes between rival groups of TTP in Waziristan claimed at least 49 lives in 8 reported incidents.

Pakistan:Hamid Mir among ‘Information Heroes’ of Reporters without Boarders

Reporters Without Boarders announced '100 Information Heroes' a day before World Press Freedom Day on May 3. The list of journalists which has been issued for the first time also included Pakistan’s senior journalist and Geo News anchor Hamid Mir who survived an assassination attempt last month in Karachi. The non-profit international organization described Hamid Mir as Star Reporter. Besides the assassination attempt in which Mir sustained six bullets a bomb was also found under his car in Islamabad last year.

Pakistan: FAFEN rejects Imran’s allegations against Geo News

Brushing aside Imran Khan’s allegations against Geo News, Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) Chief Executive Mudassir Rizvi has said that the TV channel was not involved in poll rigging in last year elections. The FAFEN chief executive said that only an organization having authority could be involved in election rigging.

The ISI, Taliban and the media

Fifteen media persons, other than Hamid Mir, suffered different forms of violence during this year but none of those incidents could generate as much uproar in the country as did the attack on Mr Mir

Leaving aside as to who conspired for an attack on Hamid Mir, let us review the role played by the media and the government in leading the country to the point where we are today. Hamid Mir is not the first media person to suffer an assassination attempt on his life during this year; there were at least 13 media persons who went through the same experience and seven of them were not as lucky as Mr Mir. They are now part of history. Four of them belonged to a private television channel. Three out of the six wounded media persons belonged to a media group in the troubled tribal area of South Waziristan and the remaining were from other media houses. Besides these attacks, one media person (Imtiaz Alam) received death threats and the other (Jamshed Baghwan) was lucky to have a bomb defused before it could have exploded outside his house. Both of them were from the same news channel.

Fifteen media persons, other than Hamid Mir, suffered different forms of violence during this year but none of those incidents could generate as much uproar in the country as did the attack on Mr Mir. What caused this upheaval for one media person? Either the other media persons were not as popular and as influential as Mr Mir or they refrained from accusing anybody for the crime they were subjected to. Blaming the Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for the attack on Hamid Mir led the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) to come out with a strongly worded denial that subsided the furor to a certain extent but could not quash the debate on the subject completely.

Amid these denials and accusations a very alarming reality came to the surface. The security agencies, despite all their legal and constitutional coverage, appeared to have lacked the level of credence that most of the outlawed organisations enjoy in the country. Last year, there were at least 67 major incidents of violence that were claimed to have been committed by different outlawed organisations, leaving 650 persons dead and over 1,300 injured. Among the claimants were the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) (248 deaths), LeJ (170), TTP–Junood Hifsa (94), TTP–Ansarul Islam (123), AQ/TTP (8), Jaishul Islam (6) and Lashkar-e-Islami (2). The deaths of 650 persons could not jolt the country as forcefully as the injury of one person has shaken us. I do not mean to belittle the crime committed against Hamid Mir but I mean to show the height of our indifference towards the loss of precious human lives of our own people. Neither the press nor the government ever elevated the issue of these unfortunate people to such a level.

It also reminds me of the recent incident where three staff members of a private news channel were killed by armed men in North Nazimabad on January 18, 2014. The way the incident was reported was an example of how journalistic ethics were compromised for commercial or ideological considerations: The journalist’s community has a long history of struggling against censorship, which was once a very effective tool of the government to suppress press freedom for dissemination of information to the people. Now that the press enjoys lots of freedom, a new form of censorship is emerging that is being exercised on ideological and political grounds. Commercial interests and conflicts play their role too.

The report that appeared in a popular daily on January 18, 2014 lacked a very vital bit of information of the incident when, for some unknown reasons, it did not include the claim of the Taliban for their attack on media house employees. The following is an excerpt from the Taliban’s claim that appeared in a popular daily on the same day: “The TTP spokesman explained that ‘this is a war of ideologies and whosoever will oppose us in this war of ideologies, will play the role of enemy and we will also attack them. They were killed because they were a part of the propaganda against us. I also want to tell them that they should not work at the media channels whose names we have also mentioned. Secondly, we have sacrificed to achieve our goal.’”

Despite an open admission by the Taliban for the attack that left three innocent persons dead, the media house that employs Hamid Mir elected to censor this information. They might have tried to exercise restraint in dissemination of information that probably appeared to them as being premature. However, what compelled them not to exercise similar restraint in accusing the Director General ISI for a crime that was simply based on hearsay is incomprehensible. Does this mean that the ISI’s credibility is not as good as the Taliban’s credibility in the eyes of a leading newspaper?

Deviations from good journalistic practices have landed the news media community in a turmoil that has no precedent. They are now reaping what they have sown and it is a lesson for all those who prefer their problems over others’. The history of the news media is full of events that played prominent roles in restoring democracy in the country. What we are witnessing now is an unfortunate situation where the news media appears to have been divided on lines that either support the militants or the armed forces, whereas the basic question is of principles. All institutions, whether the government or the media industry, should avoid censoring facts or maligning any person(s) or institutions, civil or military, on flimsy or unsubstantiated proofs. All other debates or discussions are irrelevant.

Pakistan: PPP berates Shahbaz Sharif for frequent foreign visits

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Punjab President Mian Manzoor Wattoo has said that Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif should become a foreign minister as he spends most of his time on foreign tours, leaving the province of Punjab at the disposal of his sons to run it.

In a statement on Friday, Wattoo said that it would be appropriate if the largest province of Pakistan was administered by a full-time and dedicated chief minister to immediately address pressing issues pertaining to law and order, power outages and heinous crimes that had registered unprecedented surge more recently.

Himself a former chief minister, Wattoo pointed out that the incumbent chief minister was unable to provide leadership to the province because of his ‘other preoccupations’; therefore, he should be given responsibilities measuring up to his ‘new interest’. He said that members of the ruling party were equally allergic to the treatment meted out to them by the chief minister as they were hardly taken into confidence on matters relating to their constituencies or other important national or provincial issues.

He said that treasury members were annoyed over the obstinacy of chief minister that was unfortunately limitless also.

He said that Shahbaz Sharif’s chief ministership was confined only to Ferozepur Road in Lahore while the rest of the province was suffering due to his indifference to carrying out development in other regions.

Pakistan: May Day reflections

In a hopeful sign, the weakened workers’ trade union movement put on a better show than has been the case for some years in its rallies this May Day. Naturally, the pivot for most of the rallies was the large cities hosting the bulk of industry, commerce and the professions. The slogans, demands and pledges were not anything new though. Repetition of more or less the same demands every May Day reflects the stubborn continuing sameness of the problems that afflict the working class but also inevitably lend a ritualistic air to the proceedings. May Day commemorates the sacrifices of the 1886 Chicago martyrs killed by police firing for taking part in a working class rally demanding an eight-hour working day. The day is marked as a holiday in about 80 countries, and informally celebrated in many others. Two significant exceptions to the traditional labour rallies currently are Turkey and Iran, in both of which May Day rallies are banned. For the first time since the Soviet Union imploded in 1991, Russia held a May Day parade in Moscow’s Red Square. Throughout Europe, the day found the greatest traction in rallies protesting unemployment. In Pakistan, a Labour Policy was enunciated by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s government in 1972 amidst the first flurry of reforms introduced by him. The Policy provided for social security, old age benefits, and set up a Workers Welfare Fund. The 1973 constitution too upholds labour rights in various Articles. In addition, there is no dearth of labour laws. However, the present struggle of the much weaker working class movement is for legislation in areas where there are gaps, but even more for the implementation of the existing laws, which are practiced more in the breach. Various ILO conventions have been signed by Pakistan, some are still to be signed, but here too the implementation part is far from satisfactory.

The incremental rollback of workers’ rights since General Ziaul Haq’s reactionary regime have been exacerbated in recent years by the ‘attack’ of the employers. To overcome the effects of socialisation of the workers through concentration in large factories and learning class solidarity in struggle, employers have managed over the years (with help from successive governments) to circumscribe the right of collective bargaining by placing limits on trade union formation (any workplace employing less than 50 workers is disallowed a union), a contract labour regime through labour contractors, depriving the workers of all protections, outsourcing production to home-based workers, etc. Domestic labour goes unrecognized, unprotected, abused, even murdered. Child labour remains widespread despite its abolition in the early 1990s. If anything, its incidence has steadily risen in the middle of the recession. How can the well-meaning universal school enrolment drives succeed in the face of this rising phenomenon owed to increasing poverty? The minimum wage of Rs 10,000 remains a fiction confined to paper, especially in the private sector. Safety and working conditions issues have become an increasing concern in recent years, with the Baldia Town fire that consumed 250 workers’ lives bringing us as a society to a new low.

All this and the lived experience of the working class from day to day inevitably compels the May Day rallies to once again raise voice against unemployment, inflation, utilities’ load shedding, terrorism, lawlessness, privatisation, gender discrimination and the exploitation of the working class generally, but especially in the agricultural and informal sector. The long standing demand for working class representation in parliament seems like pie in the sky given the wealth-based game elections are. This demand can perhaps only be fulfilled by reservation of seats exclusively for the working class in parliament.

The ‘triumph’ of capitalism in the Cold War has left the world without a coherent alternative to unbridled capitalism. The result is owners of wealth are able to drive down wages (even more so in the current recession because of lack of jobs) and deprive, through various manipulations, the workers of their legally given and inherent rights as human beings. Capitalism triumphant has bared its ugly fangs and swallowed up generation after generation of the poor, marginalised and oppressed working masses all over the world. Unless the workers of the world overcome their weaknesses, including disunity based purely on rivalries and ambition, they will prove no match for the vastly superior resources and cunning of the capitalist class. In Pakistan in particular, a return to the heyday of working class resistance to exploitation is only possible if principled unity and the bigger cause inform the thinking and practice of the working class.

Where will the workers go?

AS the country went through the motions of celebrating May Day on Thursday, representatives of labour groups across the country had a very different and painful story to tell.

Unemployment, under-employment, job insecurity, denial of workers’ rights, a state indifferent to the working class — the list of woes is long and seemingly intractable. Yet, as labour representatives have argued, the trouble for employees of public-sector enterprises may only just be beginning with the PML-N’s determination to push ahead aggressively with its privatisation plans.

Any debate about privatisation breaks down along predictable lines: one side argues that the state should not be in the business of business; the other side argues that only the state can run businesses efficiently and it also has an obligation to provide employment to the citizenry.

Yet, it is how those respective ideological positions are translated into action that is more problematic. In allegedly getting the government out of the business of business, the PML-N appears to put the rights of wealthy investors ahead of the infinitely less well-off middle- and working-class employees. As for the PPP, it appears to treat public-sector enterprises as little more than a means of disbursing patronage through granting employment to political supporters.

So now that a PML-N government has followed a PPP one, the PML-N can argue that it is the PPP’s poor policies that have left it with little choice but to sell off public-sector enterprises. Lost in all of this is the balance between the need to have a healthy job-creating economy and looking after the vulnerable sections of society.

What makes the PML-N’s line on privatisation difficult to accept is the focus on efficiency and best practices — but not across government, just when it comes to particular businesses that it wants to sell off. For example, a bitter bureaucratic war over the country’s largest social protection scheme, the Benazir Income Support Programme, has been allowed to play out without much concern for its impact on the running of the programme itself.

Or while so focused on privatisation, the government appears to have little interest in creating a reasonable regulatory environment, paving the way for monopolies and oligopolies that hurt the public interest. True, entities like the Steel Mills and PIA have too many employees and the workforce will eventually need to be rationalised.

But how much money do the vast majority of those employees really cost the state and how do those sums stack up against the extraordinary waste, corruption and leakages elsewhere in government? Would not the withdrawal of just a handful of tax SROs that favour wealthy and politically connected special interests more than compensate for this great loss the state suffers from? But those are issues the PML-N would rather not talk about.

Pakistan: Al-Qaida & TTP Militants planning to use Indus River for movement between provinces

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Security agencies have started surveillance of the Indus River on the basis of an intelligence report that outlawed militant groups were planning to use the waterway for transporting arms and ammunition and kidnapped persons between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the provinces of Punjab and Sindh.

Officials in intelligence agencies, interior ministry and the capital police told Dawn that the outlawed Al Qaeda and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had chosen the waterway in order to skip security checking on motorways, national highways and other land routes.

There are only three points where militants can be intercepted on the River Indus – Sukkur Barrage, Gudu Barrage and Kotri Barrage in Sindh, the officials said. Apart from that, there are no security pickets on the river right from KP to the Sukkur Barrage. Even at the three barrages, the security measures are aimed at protecting the water reservoirs – not countering the movement of militants.

The officials said the new tactic of the militants would put the national security at risk if it was not countered immediately. They said the possible water route was discovered early last month. The intelligence report alerted that Al Qaeda and TTP had planned to kidnap officials, especially Chinese working at the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)’s project at Chashma in the Mianwali district of Punjab.

It said the militants had completed reconnaissance to kidnap the officials during their movement between Balkasar interchange in the Chakwal district and Kundian in the Mianwali district.

“After kidnapping the officials, including the Chinese nationals, the terrorists intend to flee towards Laki Marwat in KP via the Indus River by using boats from near the shrine of Patang Baba, Ghundi Kundian Kundal, in Mianwali,” the officials quoted the intelligence report.

The report added: “The same groups may also target those Chinese officials who travel between the Thal Canal Kudian and Talagang-Mianwali Road.”

They said mounting vigilance along with setting up of checkpoints along the river was a very tough task but not impossible. Different options are under consideration, including the deployment of the Frontier Constabulary, Punjab and Sindh Rangers along the Indus River in KP, Punjab and Sindh.

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Ceasefire goes into effect in Syria's old Homs: reports

A ceasefire reportedly went into effect on Friday between the Syrian government troops and the armed rebels in the contested old quarter of the central city of Homs, Arab TV stations and activists said. The ceasefire is part of a deal between the rebels and the government troops, under which the rebels would be allowed to leave their positions to areas in the northern countryside of Homs with their light weapons only within 24 hours. The rebels have agreed upon the ceasefire following two weeks of heavy shelling by the government troops on the rebel-held districts in old Homs, which has been besieged by the latter since two years ago. The Syrian army started a wide-scale offensive to wrest back control over the few remaining rebel-held districts in old Homs two weeks ago. The ceasefire and the rebels' evacuation would be considered the latest victory of the Syrian army in Homs, allowing the Syrian troops to fully secure the city. Reports said that between 700 and 900 armed rebels, mostly Syrians, are stationing in old Homs. Homs, Syria's third largest province, was one of the first provinces to sympathize with anti-government movement in Syria. The rebels there have taken considerable swathes of land, but the government troops have stripped them of their territory over the past year. The country's three-year crisis started in mid-March 2011, when anti-government protesters took to the street calling for reforms, but rapidly evolved into a civil war. So far more than 150,000 people have been killed and about one third of Syria's population forced to leave their homes.

Night battle for Kramatorsk over, sides counting losses

http://voiceofrussia.com/

The evening battle for Kramatorsk in Ukraine's southeast has ended, leaving one defender of the city dead and nine others wounded, RIA Novosti reports. According to the agency's source, the Ukrainian army column was unable to enter the city. Hostilities broke out in the Yasnogorka area on Friday evening. The Ukrainian armor column blocked by civilians the day defore, decided to go on a break. "They were afraid that we would take away their weapons or armored vehicles," said one of the locals. There is no information about the losses in the Ukrainian army yet.

During the battle in Kramatorsk civil alert sirens were turned on, which hadn't happened in the morning, during the fight in the city of Slavyansk, 12 km from Kramatorsk. Eyewitnesses also reported that Ukrainian soldiers captured one of the militia checkpoints between Slavyansk and Kramatorsk during the day. It is reported that there will be no public transportation between the cities and within Kramatorsk tomorrow. No buses will be provided for workers from local factories, even though they have a continuous cycle of production. People finishing the night shift will have to go home by foot.

After the evening battle near the entrance to the southeastern city of Kramatorsk Friday evening, the city hospital has reported 10 individuals have been wounded and one dead. Earlier it was reported that after the attack in Kramatorsk the number of injured and dead went into the dozens and they were taken to hospitals in Kramatorsk and Slavyansk. In an area between the two cities in Yasnogorki peaceful civilians blocked a column of between 10 and 14 armored military vehicles and other equipment. After dark set in, they took action and began firing trace bullets from semi-automatic weapons. "We received 10 injured with bullet wounds. There are seriously injured and some with lighter wounds. At least on woman (aged 36), an activist, is among them. Unfortunately, one died," doctors told RIA Novosti.

Ukrainian armed units had begun storming positions of the self-defence force in the city of Kramatorsk, the Donetsk region, a Russia 24 television correspondent reported. He said volunteers had told him about the assault and wounded people taken to hospitals. The volunteers had arrived at Kramatorsk hospitals to care for wounded people. The number was not known. Local residents helped render first aid to the wounded, the reporter said in a live broadcast. The special operation also resumed in Slavyansk a few hours ago. Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_05_03/Night-battle-for-Kramatorsk-over-sides-counting-losses-4193/

Shots fired as locals stand up to Ukraine troops in the east

Obama, Merkel Vow Unity on Sanctions

Dramatic video: Odessa Trade Unions building on fire with dozens of activists blocked inside

Dozens killed in building fire and clashes in Ukraine's Odessa

38 people die after radicals set Trade Unions House on fire in Ukraine's Odessa

At least 38 anti-government activists died in fire at Odessa’s Trade Unions House after suffocating with smoke or jumping out of windows of the burning building, Ukrainian Interior Ministry reported. The building was set ablaze by the pro-Kiev radicals. Some 50 people, including 10 police officers, were also injured in the incident, the official statement said. It was not immediately clear whether those injured in Friday street clashes in Odessa were included in those numbers. According to the ministry, the Friday standoff on Odessa included “anti-Maidan” activists on one side and “football fans” from Odessa and Kharkov, as well as "euro-Maidan" activists, on the other. A criminal case on the charges of mass unrest has been opened. Earlier, a live video stream from inside the building showed disturbing scenes of supposedly dead bodies lying around the rooms with thick smoke in the air and blood stains on the floor. Most of the bodies filmed had St. George ribbons attached to their clothes, distinguishing the victims as pro-Russian or anti-Kiev activists. The person filming said he counted up to 25 dead bodies on the upper floors alone.

As the house was engulfed in flames, photos posted on Twitter showed people hanging out of windows and sitting on windowsills of several floors, possibly preparing to jump. Reports claim that those who jumped and survived were surrounded and beaten by football ultras and the Right Sector.

The riot police lines standing beside the building were apparently doing nothing to prevent the violence, the photos showed. Police officers reportedly said they cannot do anything because they were “unarmed.”

Obama, Merkel "ready and prepared" for more Russian sanctions

President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said they were united in their desire to impose costs on Russia for its actions in Ukraine, if the May 25th election is compromised.

It's not Russia that's pushed Ukraine to the brink of war

Seumas Milne

The attempt to lever Kiev into the western camp by ousting an elected leader made conflict certain. It could be a threat to us all

The threat of war in Ukraine is growing. As the unelected government in Kiev declares itself unable to control the rebellion in the country's east, John Kerry brands Russia a rogue state. The US and the European Union step up sanctions against the Kremlin, accusing it of destabilising Ukraine. The White House is reported to be set on a new cold war policy with the aim of turning Russia into a "pariah state".

That might be more explicable if what is going on in eastern Ukraine now were not the mirror image of what took place in Kiev a couple of months ago. Then, it was armed protesters in Maidan Square seizing government buildings and demanding a change of government and constitution. US and European leaders championed the "masked militants" and denounced the elected government for its crackdown, just as they now back the unelected government's use of force against rebels occupying police stations and town halls in cities such as Slavyansk and Donetsk.

"America is with you," Senator John McCain told demonstrators then, standing shoulder to shoulder with the leader of the far-right Svoboda party as the US ambassador haggled with the state department over who would make up the new Ukrainian government.

When the Ukrainian president was replaced by a US-selected administration, in an entirely unconstitutional takeover, politicians such as William Hague brazenly misled parliament about the legality of what had taken place: the imposition of a pro-western government on Russia's most neuralgic and politically divided neighbour.

Putin bit back, taking a leaf out of the US street-protest playbook – even though, as in Kiev, the protests that spread from Crimea to eastern Ukraine evidently have mass support. But what had been a glorious cry for freedom in Kiev became infiltration and insatiable aggression in Sevastopol and Luhansk.

After Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to join Russia, the bulk of the western media abandoned any hint of even-handed coverage. So Putin is now routinely compared to Hitler, while the role of the fascistic right on the streets and in the new Ukrainian regime has been airbrushed out of most reporting as Putinist propaganda.

So you don't hear much about the Ukrainian government's veneration of wartime Nazi collaborators and pogromists, or the arson attacks on the homes and offices of elected communist leaders, or the integration of the extreme Right Sector into the national guard, while the anti-semitism and white supremacism of the government's ultra-nationalists is assiduously played down, and false identifications of Russian special forces are relayed as fact.

The reality is that, after two decades of eastward Nato expansion, this crisis was triggered by the west's attempt to pull Ukraine decisively into its orbit and defence structure, via an explicitly anti-Moscow EU association agreement. Its rejection led to the Maidan protests and the installation of an anti-Russian administration – rejected by half the country – that went on to sign the EU and International Monetary Fund agreements regardless.

No Russian government could have acquiesced in such a threat from territory that was at the heart of both Russia and the Soviet Union. Putin's absorption of Crimea and support for the rebellion in eastern Ukraine is clearly defensive, and the red line now drawn: the east of Ukraine, at least, is not going to be swallowed up by Nato or the EU.

But the dangers are also multiplying. Ukraine has shown itself to be barely a functioning state: the former government was unable to clear Maidan, and the western-backed regime is "helpless" against the protests in the Soviet-nostalgic industrial east. For all the talk about the paramilitary "green men" (who turn out to be overwhelmingly Ukrainian), the rebellion also has strong social and democratic demands: who would argue against a referendum on autonomy and elected governors?

Meanwhile, the US and its European allies impose sanctions and dictate terms to Russia and its proteges in Kiev, encouraging the military crackdown on protesters after visits from Joe Biden and the CIA director, John Brennan. But by what right is the US involved at all, incorporating under its strategic umbrella a state that has never been a member of Nato, and whose last elected government came to power on a platform of explicit neutrality? It has none, of course – which is why the Ukraine crisis is seen in such a different light across most of the world. There may be few global takers for Putin's oligarchic conservatism and nationalism, but Russia's counterweight to US imperial expansion is welcomed, from China to Brazil.

In fact, one outcome of the crisis is likely to be a closer alliance between China and Russia, as the US continues its anti-Chinese "pivot" to Asia. And despite growing violence, the cost in lives of Russia's arms-length involvement in Ukraine has so far been minimal compared with any significant western intervention you care to think of for decades.

The risk of civil war is nevertheless growing, and with it the chances of outside powers being drawn into the conflict. Barack Obama has already sent token forces to eastern Europe and is under pressure, both from Republicans and Nato hawks such as Poland, to send many more. Both US and British troops are due to take part in Nato military exercises in Ukraine this summer.

The US and EU have already overplayed their hand in Ukraine. Neither Russia nor the western powers may want to intervene directly, and the Ukrainian prime minister's conjuring up of a third world war presumably isn't authorised by his Washington sponsors. But a century after 1914, the risk of unintended consequences should be obvious enough – as the threat of a return of big-power conflict grows. Pressure for a negotiated end to the crisis is essential.

China's Xi orders "crushing blow" to terrorism

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered troops stationed in Xinjiang to deal a "crushing blow" to terrorists.

Xi, chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when visiting the People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops stationed in Xinjiang.

Speaking with senior PLA officials on Sunday, Xi ordered PLA forces to assist local government and party departments in combating terrorism and safeguarding social stability.

All forms of terrorism should be rooted out in an early phase, while decisive action must be taken to stop terrorists gaining momentum, he said.

In a separate meeting with officials from the PLA and China's armed police forces in Xinjiang on Tuesday, Xi said the long-term stability of the autonomous region is vital to the whole country's reform, development and stability, as well as to national unity, ethnic harmony and national security.

He called on the PLA and the armed police to play a better role in protecting China's borders and combating violent and terrorist activities.

They must work to enhance ethnic unity and should participate in and assist Xinjiang's future development and construction, in order to contribute to the region's lasting peace and order, Xi said.

China refutes U.S. annual counter-terrorism reports

China here on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction with the China-related content in country reports on terrorism freshly issued by U.S. State Department.

In response to relevant content alleging China's cooperation in 2013 with the United States on counter-terrorism issues "remained marginal," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China always attaches great importance to international cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

"China falls victim of terrorism, and always firmly opposes terrorism in any form and terrorist acts conducted or backed by any person under any name," said Qin.

China always fights against terrorism in accordance with law while paying attention to eliminating both the symptoms and root causes of terrorism, he said, adding that China is opposed to linking terrorism to specific ethnic groups or religions.

"Terrorism is the common enemy of mankind, and the international community should make concerted efforts to fight against it," he said, noting China will continue to conduct exchanges and cooperation with other countries based on the principle of mutual respect and equality.

"On anti-terrorism issue, to make irresponsible remarks towards other countries and pursue double standards will not help international cooperation on counter-terrorism," he said.

On April 30, the U.S. State Department submitted Country Reports on Terrorism 2013 to the U.S. Congress.

Kiev authorities must 'stop killing' their citizens - Russian PM Medvedev

The authorities in Kiev should realize the folly of their actions and stop the killing of their fellow countrymen, said Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Friday. Otherwise, Ukraine’s future may be grim, he added. On Friday morning Ukrainian military launched a full-scale assault against the city of Slavyansk in Donetsk region, using tanks and military aircraft, and casualties were reported. Moscow called Kiev’s actions a punitive operation that effectively puts an end to any chance of de-escalation of the current situation in accordance with the agreement made in Geneva.

"The use of force in the south-eastern regions of Ukraine is a demonstration of the actual powerlessness of de facto rulers of Kiev. Instead of starting a meaningful dialogue in accordance with the Geneva agreements, instead of joining their opponents at the bargaining table, they launched a punitive action," Medvedev wrote on his Facebook account on Friday. The Prime Minister noted that airborne assault troops and attack helicopters are being employed by Kiev, that blood is being spilled and people are dying, and declared that "the ones responsible for waging war against their own people" are those who "make criminal decisions" in Kiev.

"The authorities in Kiev in Kiev should realize the folly of their actions and stop the killing of their fellow countrymen, otherwise, Ukraine’s future may be grim indeed," Medvedev concluded.

Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_05_02/Kiev-authorities-must-stop-killing-their-citizens-Russian-PM-Medvedev-0730/

Video: Molotovs, stun grenades in Ukraine's Odessa as pro- and anti-Maidan rallies clash

Video: President Obama Honors the 2014 Teacher of the Year and Finalists

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U.S. economy adds 288,000 jobs in April; jobless rate falls to 6.3 percent

New government data released Friday morning showed the nation added 288,000 jobs in April, a reassuring sign that the economy has picked up momentum since stalling out over the winter.

The hiring spree surpassed most analysts' expectations and is the strongest showing in more than two years. Businesses added workers across a broad array of sectors, including business services, retail and construction. The unemployment rate plunged to 6.3 percent -- the lowest level since 2008 -- though part of that was due to workers leaving the labor force. The upbeat report provided a convincing counterpoint to data released earlier this week that revealed economic growth was virtually flat during the first quarter. Many analysts attributed that weak reading to the unusually cold winter and argued that a spring thaw is already underway. The Labor Department also increased its estimates of hiring during the previous two months by 36,000 net jobs.

"This was an exceptionally strong report, and it suggests that the labor market has more than recuperated from the weather-induced slumber earlier this year," said Millan Mulraine, deputy head of U.S. research and strategy at TD Securities. ​

The construction industry provided one of the biggest boosts to job creation last month. The sector added 32,000 jobs, concentrated in heavy and civil engineering and residential building. Over the past year, it has hired 189,000 workers, with the bulk of those gains coming within the last six months.

The main hiring engine was the professional and business services sector, which created 75,000 net jobs. Retailers and bars and restaurants each added more than 30,000 jobs. The health care industry gained 19,000 positions. April’s pickup in hiring also helps validate the Federal Reserve’s decision this week to continue scaling back its support for the recovery. The nation’s central bank is reducing its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion to $45 billion -- about half the amount it was pumping into the economy every month last year. The Fed has tied its stimulus to the health of the labor market, and Friday’s data clearly show it is improving.

There was at least one ominous note in the report, however. The nation's workforce shrank by more than 800,000 workers in April, sending the labor force participation rate plummeting 0.4 percentage points to 62.8 percent. The Labor Department said there has been no clear trend of workers entering or leaving the labor force in recent months. "I would actually say that this big drop in the unemployment rate is not consistent with a really robust labor market because that labor force participation rate did not rise, and the employment-to-population ratio is shockingly low,” said Tara Sinclar, an economics professor at George Washington University and economist at Indeed.com, one of the nation's largest sites for job postings.

Some measures of the labor market remained stubbornly weak. The number of long-term unemployed fell slightly to 3.5 million in April, accounting for roughly one-third of America’s jobless. About 7.5 million people were in part-time jobs for economic reasons. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has cited those dynamics as reasons to keep the central bank’s benchmark short-term interest rate low for years to come.

But the sharp drop in unemployment could complicate the Fed's task. Several top officials, including San Francisco President John Williams and Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, have said they believe the first rate increase should come when the jobless rate falls to about 6 percent. Both officials had predicted that would not happen until next year, but that goal post is now much closer.

Forget al Qaeda, here's a bigger threat

By Andrew Hammond

Friday marks the anniversary of the assassination of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan by U.S. forces. Three years on, the core organization of al Qaeda has been significantly depleted. However, the danger from so-called "home-grown" terrorism may yet be on the rise, fuelled by foreign nationals returning from key international theatres of war such as Syria. In the United Kingdom, for instance, Charles Farr, director of the Office for Security and Counter-terrorism, recently asserted that the threat from UK nationals travelling to participate in the Syrian conflict is the "biggest challenge" to UK security services since 9/11. The total number of UK nationals who have fought in Syria is estimated at up to 366 by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at Kings College London, with a significant number believed to have been killed there.

Moreover, ICSR estimates that as many as 11,000 foreign fighters overall may have fought in Syria, from more than 70 countries, a number which is reported to be a higher concentration than anywhere since Afghanistan in the 1980s. A central concern here is that many of these individuals, which include potentially as many as 2,000 from Western Europe, plus individuals from North America, Australia, South-east Asia, and Africa, will return from Syria to their respective homelands battle hardened with significantly greater terrorist capability and resolve.

And given that the relatively large number of these foreign fighters makes them collectively difficult to track with precision, further home-grown attacks appear increasingly likely. While this offers propaganda value for al Qaeda, such individuals often lack thorough indoctrination of the network's core messages, even though some, including last year's London and Boston terrorists, appear to have been partially motivated or inspired by them.

This reflects, in part, the continued diminution of al Qaeda's central organization which is unlikely to be able to provide operational support for home-grown terrorists. It also means that these people, while highly dangerous, do not individually represent the same level of threat to international interests as larger cells and terrorist groups, and are thus less likely to be able to perform major, spectacular attacks in the mould of 9/11.

Thus, while bin Laden's successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has sought to seize on home-grown Western terrorism, and indeed the chaos in Syria, for propaganda purposes, this cannot disguise the central al Qaeda organization's declining fortunes. Al-Zawahiri lacks bin Laden's personal authority within the terrorist network, and the core has also been weakened by the assassination of numerous other senior terrorist leaders.

A fundamental challenge for al-Zawahiri is that while the central al Qaeda leadership appears to remain located largely in Pakistani tribal areas and borderlands, the wider network has becoming increasingly de-centralized and dispersed. The problems this can cause were underlined earlier this month in Syria when a jihadist group called Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) accused al Qaeda of having "deviated from the correct path," and "divided the mujahedeen in every place."

The origin of the dispute probably lies in an edict from al-Zawahiri to ISIS to confine its activities to Iraq after it was accused of abuses of civilians and rival rebels in Syria. Al-Zawahiri has instead recognized the al-Nusra Front as the official al Qaeda affiliate in Syria and called for jihadist unity behind it.

Accompanying this dispersal and de-centralization has been shifting the focus of al Qaeda groups and franchises whose attention is more on "local" national or regional issues, rather than the broader international designs of bin Laden. In part, this also reflects the greater difficulty of attacking key international targets many of whose defences have significantly hardened since 9/11.

There has also been evolution in the geographical focal points of al Qaeda activity with terrorist nodes of growing importance, for instance, in key African and Middle Eastern countries, such as Yemen, where political upheaval since bin Laden's death has allowed terrorists and other insurgents to secure greater foothold. And reflecting this changed risk pattern, U.S. forces are re-deploying as a result.

For instance, the CIA has expanded its staff in Yemen, and also enhanced its air bases in the Gulf from which it can launch drone strikes into the country. Only last week, Washington launched a major drone attack which, according to the Yemeni government, killed at least two dozen militants, including foreign fighters, in an al Qaeda training camp in the remote mountainous area of Abyan.

Meanwhile in Africa, U.S. forces have also scaled up facilities in numerous states, including Kenya, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic. This is intended to allow for greater aerial surveillance coverage and drone strikes, especially in North Africa, plus sites for military hardware storage.

So while the central core of al Qaeda has been diminished since bin Laden's demise, much of the wider terrorist network remains potent, albeit more focused on local grievances than grander international ambitions. However, danger may be growing from home-grown threats fueled by battle-hardened individuals returning from foreign theaters of war, especially Syria, with greater terrorist resolve and capabilities

UN urges Afghanistan to prioritise ‘dignified’ return of refugees

The head of the United Nations' refugee agency on Wednesday said he hopes Afghanistan will prioritise the “safe and dignified” return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and other countries. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres told journalists in Islamabad that Kabul had given “little priority” to the repatriation of refugees in the past. His comment comes as Afghans are in the process of electing a new president to replace President Hamid Karzai. Since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, some 3.8 million refugees have returned home. Nearly 1.6 million registered Afghan refugees continue to live in Pakistan.