Opinion: Bad times for pragmatists

The constant feud between India and Pakistan is fueled by spy agencies, the militaries and religious fanatics that repeatedly sabotage any reconciliation efforts launched by prime ministers, writes DW's Florian Weigand.

Let's compare last week's headlines: India's PM Narendra Modi consults with US President Barack Obama and pays a highly publicized visit to the site of the Brussels bombings. In Pakistan, by contrast, Christians are killed in a suicide attack on Easter Sunday while going for a walk in a park.

Moreover, Islamists held a demonstration in the capital, demanding that the Pakistani government declare an executed murderer a martyr. The convict had killed a high-ranking politician who wanted to scrap Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

Considering such developments, India was the clear winner.

Let's be honest: We like to see India as a colorful country full of ashrams, holy men, Bollywood, and an increasingly stronger economy. We associate Pakistan, in turn, with long beards, terrorism and extremism. None of these images are technically inaccurate; they are just not very nuanced.

DW's Florian Weigand

The fact of the matter is that these two countries have more similarities than differences. Their cuisine, clothing, languages and traditions have much in common, and there are frequent stories about families living on both sides of the border.

In this context, film star Shahrukh Khan can be seen as representative for millions of people on the subcontinent. Khan, who is also a well-known actor in the West, was born in India to a Muslim family that has its origins in Peshawar, Pakistan.

But the two countries also share a dark side. The history of independence from the British in 1947 was hemmed on violence. The Mahatma Gandhi's pacifist project failed from the start. Muslim leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah proclaimed Pakistan - the "Land of the Pure" - a home for the Muslim minority in the subcontinent. Following the partition, Hindus were banished from Pakistan, and many Muslims from India.

Unheard atrocities were committed on both sides of the new border. And then there is the Kashmir issue. The Hindu prince, who used to rule the Muslim-majority region, opted to join India. Nowadays, Kashmir is divided and is the scene of repeated skirmishes. India and Pakistan have fought four wars, one of which Pakistan lost in its eastern enclave - today's Bangladesh.

These gloomy events still determine the narrative on both sides of the border. Today, both countries are nuclear-armed powers. While this represents a mutual threat, it can also lead to a policy of rapprochement as a matter of survival. The governments of Narendra Modi in New Delhi and Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad understand this and, as a result, have taken a cautious path towards reconciliation. Both have the economy in focus, both are business people and see the potential of a market with nearly 1.5 billion people.

A real prospect for peace could be determined by the two pragmatists. But currently, the chances of it happening are quite bleak. Whenever the two premiers shake hands, militant attacks take place somewhat magically.

Recently, terrorists attacked a military base in India, and some observers accused Pakistan's spy agency ISI of masterminding the assault. This week, Pakistani authorities arrested an "Indian intelligence official," who they say was helping separatists in Pakistan's volatile Balochistan Province
It appears that the Pakistani military has no intention of dealing with the threat the country faces. Actually, the army thrives on the perception of threats from a powerful, anti-Pakistan eastern neighbor. Without the projection of an arch-enemy, the Pakistani military cannot keep dominating the country's affairs.
In addition, the military does not entirely depend on defense-related matters. Over the past few decades, it has become the South Asian country's largest employer, operating hospitals and schools. The military families live in protected cantonment areas that provide them with a privileged standard of living in an impoverished country.
Apart from that, there are a lot of similarities between India and Pakistan, but they, unfortunately, divide the two nations rather than connect them. The entire world is familiar with the level of Islamist terrorism originating from Pakistan, but India, too, has to deal with a surge in Hindu extremism.
PM Sharif appears to be in a dilemma. He cannot rein in Islamist groups because he came to power with the help of conservative voters. Same is the case with PM Modi in India. In Pakistan, extremists justify the foundation of the country in the name of an Islamic discourse, but the fact is that there are more Muslims living in India than Pakistan.
The main issue with India and Pakistan and their complex ties is related to a crisis of identity. Extremists in both countries are trying to find an answer in their own ways. The Pakistani right-wing groups want to purge everything "un-Islamic" from the country, whereas Hindu nationalists in India are simultaneously trying to impose the supremacy of religion over a growing Muslim population.
These are not good times for the pragmatist politicians. And the danger that the extremists could get close to the nuclear weapons is also rising.
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Nasty NATO and resentful Russia

Russia says the West is spreading nasty stories about it and that its damaging relations between the two sides, but is there any basis to them? Fiona Clark takes a look.

Russians have been speaking in a conciliatory tone recently. Take Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's article published a few weeks ago in the magazine "Russia and Global Affairs."

"We are not seeking confrontation with the United States, or the European Union, or NATO. On the contrary, Russia is open to the widest possible cooperation with its Western partners," he wrote.

He argued Russia was misunderstood and still viewed in the now obsolete pre-WWII view of a totalitarian aggressor.

"The notion of the 'clash of two totalitarianisms,' which is now actively inculcated in European minds, including at schools, is groundless and immoral. The Soviet Union, for all its evils, never aimed to destroy entire nations."

His views were echoed this week by Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov. In an interview with DW, the minister said this "spreading of scary stories has to stop - rumors that Russia will send its tanks into the Baltics, into Sofia or into Budapest. No one intends to do that. There are no such plans, nothing. Russia does not want war. The very idea of it is ridiculous."

Crying wolf

He laid the blame at the feet of the Baltic nations - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, whose tactic of "screaming 'the Russians are coming, run for your lives'" had "proved very effective in securing more military spending from the government and also gaining the attention of financial backers in Western Europe."

It's also been very effective in gaining the attention of NATO with the US Defense Department announcing it would boost its troop numbers in Europe up to three fully-manned Army brigades as part of its "commitment to increased assurance and deterrence." It also announced it would begin storing equipment, known as 'Army pre-positioned stocks,' within Europe for contingency operations. The reason given for what it described as a "big step" was "reassuring our NATO allies and partners in the wake of an aggressive Russia in Eastern Europe and elsewhere."

Russia blames NATO's plans on the Baltic nations

Asymmetrical response

This has not gone down well in Moscow, prompting anything but conciliatory words in response. Russia's envoy to NATO, Aleksandr Grushko, retaliated by vowing a "totally asymmetrical" response if the alliance stands by a plan and deploys new armoured units to Eastern Europe.

"We are not passive observers, we consistently take all the military measures we consider necessary in order to counterbalance this reinforced presence that is not justified by anything," he told the TV channel Russia-24. "Certainly, we'll respond totally asymmetrically."

But is such a response justified? While the country claims it's not an aggressor, its actions speak louder than its words. Crimea and Ukraine aside, its violations of European air and sea space suggest anything but a peace-loving, friendly attitude.

In the nine months between April and November 2014 there were 39 incidents involving armed Russian fighter jets or naval craft between the UK and the Baltics. A further eight incidents were reported between November and May 2015, some involving near misses with civilian aircraft and diversions of passenger planes.

Russia may argue this show of strength is a natural response to what it sees as an aggressive NATO on its border, but somewhere along the line the two sides are going to have to sit down and sort this out. And that won't be easy, US president, Barack Obama wants to talk about reductions in nuclear arsenals before he leaves office, but with a build-up of US troops in Europe it's not likely Russia will be listening.

Propaganda war

Testing times for Putin and his aides

In fact Russia is expecting relations between it and the West to deteriorate even further. The Kremlin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, has warned Russians to expect an avalanche of negative press about President Vladimir Putin as the West continues its bid to "destabilize" the country, and the deputy foreign minister, Sergey Ryabkov, has criticized US presidential candidates for "blackening" Russia's name to boost their ratings without considering the effect on bilateral relations.

"Many US presidential candidates … behave like Cold War troopers when they 'ride' the anti-Russian rhetoric. This is regrettable and it does not promise any changes for the better in our relations with the United States after the elections there," Ryabkov told the newspaper Izvestia.

Lavrov hopes that Germany, France, Italy and Spain understand that it's impossible to solve the security issues affecting Europe, the Middle East and Asia without Russia's help and will push for closer cooperation. The UK, however, may not join that bandwagon - not yet anyway.

Foreign secretary Philip Hammond recently told Reuters he wasn't convinced Russia was a reliable partner and if Reuters is right in its report that claims Russia is shipping more military hardware to Syria than its pulling out, Hammond may well be right in thinking that the conciliatory rhetoric is little more than hollow platitudes.

Brussels fallout: Flemish right vs. francophone left

If ever the mayor of Brussels and Belgium's interior minister needed to work together, it's now. Instead, they are tearing strips off each other. Why? Mark Hallam reports from Brussels.

This far-right demo in Brussels after the attacks prompted a war of words in mainstream politics

Suicide bombs at the airport and on the underground, apparent security shortcomings and then far-right protesters being ushered out of the city center by police: The need for political unity between the city of Brussels and Belgium's government has never been clearer.

Jan Jambon (left) and Yvan Mayeur don't make for great bedfellows

Perhaps unfortunately, this required Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur, one of Belgium's most blunt French-speaking Socialists, to work with Flemish nationalist pit bull Jan Jambon, the interior minister. They represent the country's two largest parties in terms of seats - one in the coalition, the other leading the national opposition after decades in power. It's almost the Belgian equivalent of putting the American democratic socialist Bernie Sanders and leaders of the right-wing Tea Party in a room and ordering them to find common ground.

After Sunday's far-right protest, Mayeur accused Jambon's New Flemish Alliance of sending the hooligans to Brussels - later telling francophone TV that he had lost all confidence in the interior minister. Jambon's office hit back, saying what had happened on Place de la Bourse was Mayeur's responsibility, as Brussels' city mayor. Another far-right demo, planned by a francophone group in Brussels for Saturday, has since been banned.

"With the extreme-right protests last Sunday, both Mr. Jambon and Yvan Mayeur were partly responsible," Piertjan Desmet, spokesman for Belgium's Groen (Green) party, told DW. "But, because of their lack of cooperation, things got slightly out of hand - and now they are just pointing fingers at each other."

PM can only watch

Prime Minister Charles Michel voiced the same opinion on Friday, lamenting the "political games" being played at such a difficult time. "I regret these polemics and will do everything to try to avoid them," Michel said.

While Walloon Charles Michel heads the government, his coalition is chock full of powerful Flemish parties

But the prime minister is unlikely to go any further than a public reproach - and perhaps a sterner ticking-off in private. Despite holding the top job in government, as leader of the coalition's only francophone party his political base is smaller than that of either of the feuding factions; his practical power is therefore limited.

Belgian parties, perhaps more so than the electorate at large, remain polarized between the country's two principal languages.

"Now, one of the problems in Belgium, and it's also one of the reasons for the tensions, is that we have no major national parties," said Dave Sinardet, politics professor at the Free University of Brussels. "We are actually the only federation without federal parties of importance. Even federal ministers in the end only have to be elected or re-elected in one of the language communities. That, of course, creates a system where you don't have politicians who are stimulated to pursue, let's say, a broader Belgian federal interest."

Change in the wind?

The Groen party, led by 29-year-old Kristof Calvo, has started to rail against this status quo.

"What marks out the Groen party in Belgium is that we are the only ones whose French and Flemish members work together," Desmet said. "Structurally, I mean. We have the Flemish Socialists and French Socialists, the Flemish and French Liberals, but only one Green faction for the entire country. Our plea is for more cooperation across the languages and less confrontation."

Calvo, 29, is among those hoping to break down the language barrier

Calvo, not unlike Professor Sinardet, is among those who argue that Belgium should consider a more centralized approach to its elections, one of the platforms he put forward in a 2015 book whose title translates to "F*** the Sideline."

"About 10 or 15 years ago, this idea was only discussed in some academic circles. It was considered an unrealistic proposition," Sinardet told DW. "But in the meantime it's evolved and become part of political debate. The Greens and the Liberals on both sides have declared themselves in favor, and also some figures in other parties. Although certainly, there's still not the two-thirds majority you'd need to introduce it."

Post-attack parliamentary review

So far, Sinardet said, the security shortcomings that have emerged since March 22 do not concern Belgium's language barrier - but rather the "lack of communication, lack of information-sharing and probably also to some extent a lack of means - certainly for state security this is probably the case."

Unusually, the Francophone Socialists are not part of Belgium's current four-party coalition

Oliver Paasch, state premier for Belgium's oft-forgotten German-speaking contingent in Eupen in the east, does not believe that the attacks will stir up Belgium's language feud, pointing out that the various anti-terror units are all federally structured, although "they did not cooperate effectively."

"In the course of the investigations, for instance, we have learned that these services work with different databases and that these databases were not interlinked," Paasch said, also urging more investment in troubled areas such as Molenbeek: "The gap between rich and poor is greater in these city districts than anywhere else."

Paasch said having six separate local police services looking after Brussels "is simply no longer acceptable," adding that the conflicts between police forces have "very little to do with language" and more to do with funding and occasional sloppiness.

Sinardet warned that even looking into issues such as funding for security services in Belgium could turn into a political football.

"For instance, Flemish nationalists were never necessarily big fans of Belgian state security - because this could also turn against them, or at least against the more radical elements within the movement who wanted to do away with the Belgian state," Sinardet said. "It's the same for a number of left-wing parties, who traditionally also had a bit of a negative feeling towards state security."

The silver lining could lie within Belgium's electorate, who seem increasingly tired of the nationalist bickering and would prefer to vote on such issues as financial policy, immigration and security.

"What I see, certainly among the population - and I'm glad about this - is a big feeling of unity and a great desire for politicians to cooperate and get this over and done with," Groen party spokesman Desmet said. "The call for cooperation is now loud and clear."

South Africa anti-apartheid veteran calls for President Zuma to step down

Lifelong rights activist and former Mandela adviser Ahmed Kathrada has called for President Jacob Zuma to leave South Africa's government. A court has ruled that Zuma misused public funds to upgrade his private home.

Veteran South African activist Ahmed Kathrada has joined a growing chorus of voices calling for the resignation of President Jacob Zuma.

The 86-year-old, who was jailed with Nelson Mandela in the 1960s, asked Zuma to "submit to the will of the people" after a court ruled on Thursday that the president had violated the constitution.

"Today I appeal to our president to submit to the will of the people and resign," Kathrada wrote in an open letter published by local media.

"I know that if I were in the president's shoes, I would step down with immediate effect," Kathrada wrote.

Kathrada added that Zuma should be aware that his "outstanding contribution to the liberation struggle stands to be severely tarnished if the remainder of your term as president continues to be dogged by crises and a growing public loss of confidence in the ANC and government as a whole." He was referring to the ruling African National Congress party, of which Zuma is currently head and Kathrada is a longtime member.

Kathrada left school at 17 to begin work against the unfair treatment of minorities in what was then white-ruled South Africa

Zuma defiant

South Africa's Constitutional Court found Zuma guilty of having used public funds to renovate his private home, a property valued at some $24 million (21 million euros) in 2014. He added a swimming pool and a cattle enclosure but wrote them off as necessary "security" measures.

The court ordered Zuma to repay $14.6 million to the public coffers.

After long denying that he had done anything wrong, Zuma apologized for the transgression, the latest in a series of scandals to hit his presidency. But he has so far refused to step down.

Zuma continues to face criticism over his close relationship with wealthy business magnates from the influential Gupta family, who are said to play an undue role in influencing policy.

The president's financial scandals are seen by some as a signal of how widespread corruption has become within the ANC, which has ruled since South Africa's first free elections in 1994.

A member of South Africa's ethnic-Indian population, Kathrada began working as a peace and anti-Apartheid activist as a teenager. In 1964, he was sentenced alongside Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, and several others to life imprisonment for continuing the activities of the then-banned ANC.

Like Mandela, Kathrada spent his time in jail on the infamous Robben Island and was finally released in 1990. He later served as an adviser to Mandela during his presidency.

es/jm (AFP, dpa)

Runners take to the streets in Paris' annual marathon

Tens of thousands of participants from 160 countries have gathered to participate in the 40th Paris marathon. The city is on high alert following recent terror strikes in Brussels and two big attacks in France last year.

The city of Paris tweeted the start of the run from its official Twitter account.

Around 57,000 runners from 160 countries had registered for the 42.19-kilometer-long (26.7 miles) race, beginning at the Champs-Elysees and ending at the Bois de Vincennes in Paris' east.
Tens of thousands of spectators were also expected to line the streets. Special festivities were planned at the 40-kilometer mark, in honor of the original race run in 1976.
Last year's winners, Ethiopian Meseret Mengistu in the women's category and Kenyan Mark Korir in the men's category, were taking part in the run and would be the first runners in the marathon's history to defend their titles.
Life goes on
Despite the recent terror attacks in Brussels and strikes on Paris last year, runners seemed to be keen to join the marathon.
"There is absolutely no psychosis … After the events of November 13, we received a lot of emails asking if the marathon was going ahead. Notably emails from Americans and foreigners. This phenomenon was not repeated after the dramatic events of recent weeks," marathon Director Edouard Cassignol said.

57,000 people have registered to participate this year

"We also plan spotters, people trained to detect any abnormal behavior and finally we briefed our nearly 3,000 volunteers on being vigilant on D-day," Cassignol added.
The Prefecture of Police said in Paris that several hundred police officers were deployed for the run and special teams would be present at the start and finish zones to protect participants.
"They will carry out checks in support of an important filtering system set up by the organizers. There will be systematic pat downs of the public with bags checked. Similarly, patrols will be mobilized to secure the entire route taken by the runners," police said in a statement.
On average, around 10,000 runners registered for the marathon fail to turn up every year. Official figures for this year have not yet been released, but it remains to be seen if recent terror attacks have had any impact.
Paris has been on high alert after terrorists struck Belgium's capital Brussels last month, killing 32 people. The French capital itself has been the target of several strikes. Last November, 130 people were killed in coordinated strikes, including at the Stade de France football stadium and the Bataclan concert hall. In January 2015, 17 people were killed at a Jewish supermarket and the office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
mg,blc/jlw (AFP, AP)

Survey: Support for Chancellor Merkel and CDU drops

Only about 33 percent of respondents in recent opinion polls would choose Germany's ruling CDU and CSU, its Bavarian sibling faction. The surveys also found increased support for the anti-immigrant AfD party.

An opinion poll by Insa that attempted to predict the percentage of votes a party would receive "if elections were to happen next Sunday," showed Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian partner, the Christian Social Union (CSU), with only 33 percent support, down one percentage point from the previous survey.

Two other opinion polls, by Emnid and electoral research group Forschungsgruppe Wahlen, showed the CDU-CSU alliance with 35 percent support, also down by one point from polls earlier in March.

Despite the small dip in support for the chancellor, the poll by Forschungsgruppe Wahlen found that 53 percent of respondents support Merkel's refugee policy. Forty-two percent expressed dissatisfaction with the refugee situation in Germany, down from 50 percent in a similar poll conducted in February this year.

The Forschungsgruppe poll found that 55 percent of respondents believed that the country could manage the challenges posed by the arrival of large numbers of people - the first time a majority had expressed such optimism since December, when 51 percent said Germany was up for the task. In January, 57 percent of respondents said the country could not handle it However, 42 percent of Germans remain skeptical of the idea that Germany is up for such a challenge.

Support for AfD

All three opinion polls found a rise in support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD). An average of 13 percent of respondents said they supported the party. However, 72 percent of the participants said they felt that AfD was shifting further to the right.

Interestingly, only 55 percent of AfD supporters consider themselves right-wing, according to the surveys. Forty-four percent call themselves centrist, and 2 percent say they are left-wing, according to Forschungsgruppe's survey results.

Support for other parties in Germany remains unchanged, according to the polls. Merkel's coalition partners, the Social Democrats , had 22 percent support. The opposition Greens had support from 13 percent of respondents. The liberal Free Democrats were at 6 percent. And the Left party polled an average of 8 percent in all three surveys.

Trapped civilians slow Iraqi military advance against 'Islamic State' (IS)

Iraq's military offensive to recapture territory from the "Islamic State" has been complicated by the presence of civilians trapped in areas previously held by IS. Former prisoners are being freed.

Iraqi security forces recaptured parts of the city of Hit late Saturday. It was one of the largest population centers still held by the "Islamic State" (IS) in Anbar province.
Malallah al-Obeidi, an official in Anbar province, said Iraqi troops had managed to free about 1,500 prisoners who held by IS. Most of the captives were civilians.
But, as fighting continues, an estimated 20,000 civilians are trapped in and around the city of Hit, according to Iraqi military officers. That has left many people trapped, hemmed in by the advancing troops and by heavily armed IS fighters who have dug in to resist them.

Iraqi forces have launched a bid to retake the city of Hit from IS fighters in Anbar province

"They honestly are just looking for a safe place they can reach quickly," a captain with Iraqi counterterrorism forces who is overseeing the Hit operation told the AP news agency. "They don't care if it is IS-controlled or not."
The captain said his soldiers were struggling to avoid civilian casualties when coordinating airstrikes. "We're telling the civilians to mark their houses in a certain way so we can tell who is and who isn't a fighter," he said.
The captain said his forces had initially asked civilians in Ramadi to carry white flags as they fled, but the symbol was quickly adopted by IS fighters. "It's not easy always coming up with new signs," the captain said, "the last time I saw a white flag it turned out to be a (car bomb)."
Trapped civilians complicate advance
Iraqi officers are now blaming the presence of great numbers of civilians for their relatively slow progress against IS.
"Militarily we could liberate Hit in just one day," General Abdul-Ghani al-Asadi told AP, "but we are having problems with the families stuck inside."
Large swaths north and west of Baghdad were captured by IS in 2014, but government forces have so far regained significant territory.
Iraqi forces began a broad offensive to retake Hit in mid-March, but a significant number of troops were diverted to Baghdad, which has been racked by political instability.
jar/jm (AP, AFP)

Azerbaijan announces unilateral cease-fire after clashes with Armenian forces

Azerbaijan has said it's ceasing fire following fierce clashes with Armenian forces in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Many have been reported killed since fighting broke out on Saturday.

The country's defense ministry said on Sunday it was putting an end to fighting after a day of clashes in the disputed region.
"Azerbaijan, showing good will, has decided to unilaterally cease hostilities," the ministry said in a statement, according to the AFP news agency.
Fighting erupted with Armenian troops on Saturday afternoon, with both sides accusing the other of starting the hostilities. An Azerbaijani defense official said Armenian forces had fired artillery across the front line, although the Armenian Defense Ministry's account of the situation contradicted that.
Tens of thousands dead since 1991
Azerbaijan claimed 12 of its soldiers had been killed, while Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian said 18 ethnic Armenians had lost their lives and 35 others had been injured.
The clashes were in violation of a decades-old cease-fire put into place following the outbreak of war in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Despite attempts by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to resolve the dispute, sporadic clashes have erupted since.
All in all, some 30,000 people have lost their lives since the conflict began in the early 1990s.
blc/jlw (AFP, AP)

'Fortress Austria' and guarding the external EU borders

Austria and several states from Central and Eastern Europe intend to collaborate more closely to keep refugees out. In the future, military personnel could be deployed to help guard the EU's external borders.

Austria has benefited from the closing of the Balkan route for refugees, Defense Minister Hans-Peter Doskozil said at a meeting of the Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) countries in Vienna on Friday. The defense ministers of Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Serbia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro attended the meeting.
The ministers quickly reached agreement on a basic concept of a mixed civil police and military mission that could act swiftly and flexibly at the EU's external borders in order to support Frontex. "Everyone present is prepared and willing to work on proposals for a common European solution," Doskozil said, adding that no country should be left to fend for itself as refugees arrive: "If a nation asks for support, we want make a joint effort to help."
The resolution outlining this common approach to border control will also be submitted at a meeting of EU defense ministers in Luxembourg. "It is only as a second step that we will look at the actual nature of this civil-military mission and which country will send how many troops where," Doskozil said. "Now our aim is to find a common European position with a focus on border security, registrations and deportations."
On Thursday, Austria's government announced a tightening of existing asylum laws. Doskozil and Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner said the continued arrival of refugees could endanger "public order and internal security." Therefore, Austria could apply restrictions on asylum eligibility: "We will not accept any applications for asylum unless we have to due to certain criteria such as Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights," Mikl-Leitner announced. The ECHR protects the private and family life of individuals against interference by public authorities and regulates family reunions.

Hans-Peter Doskozil

Others eligible to make asylum claims include people who, after being turned away from neighboring transit countries, would face threats to their safety or even death if returned to their nations of origin. In all other cases, refugees are to be returned to the country from which they entered Austria.
Policy of rigor
Vedran Dzihic, a political analyst from Vienna, is no fan of the closed-door approach. "This is going to develop into the policy of rigor which we're witnessing now," he said. "On this issue, the western Balkan states can rely on Austria's support, as long as the practical implementation of blockading the western Balkans route is at stake."
Dzihic said the military should not be deployed. "The images of the border crossings, for example from Idomeni, are very disturbing, unsettling and brutal, even without a military mission," he said. "At any rate, Europe's friendly face is completely absent there." In the current situation, Austria and several other states intend to make preparations - including military ones - to ensure that now, and in the future, the western Balkan route remain closed. "The states of the region will comply," he said. "In return, they will ask, as before, for formal support on their way into the EU, and, informally, demand support for the respective governments and their political course."
Austrian officials intend to stick to the tightened course. Thus far, refugees have been able to apply for asylum not only at the border, but also at every police station across Austria. In the future, this will only be possible in purpose-built registration centers along the border, where refugees may be held for up to 120 hours while their applications are checked. For the country's media, "Fortress Austria" has already come into being. Defense Minister Doskozil also plans to tighten border controls. His message to Germany: "Where we conduct border controls, there'll be no more waving through."

Russia claims Turkish NGOs are 'main supplier' of extremists in Syria

Russia has accused Turkey of using three humanitarian organizations to funnel weapons and supplies to IS and other jihadist groups in Syria. Moscow also called for Turkey close the porous border to extremists.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin on Friday sent a letter to the UN Security Council saying three Turkish humanitarian organizations were fronts for the country's intelligence service to send weapons and supplies to extremists in Syria.

"The main supplier of weapons and military equipment to ISIL fighters is Turkey, which is doing so through non-governmental organizations," Churkin said in a letter dated March 18, referring to the self-declared "Islamic State" (IS) group by another acronym, ISIL.

Churkin accused the Besar Foundation, the Iyilikder Foundation and the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms (IHH) of shipping "various supplies" on behalf of Turkey's MIT intelligence agency.

Turkey accused of supporting extremists

It is not the first time Russia has accused Turkey of backing extremist groups in Syria, where Moscow is backing the regime against rebels and the IS group. Russia and the Syrian government consider all rebels fighting against the regime to be terrorists.

Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been the main backers of rebels, several of them hard-line Islamist groups, seeking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey denies supplying extremist groups, but has often been accused of having turned a blind eye, if not actively supporting fighters crossing the border, as well as providing supplies and weapons to various groups.

Some Turkish-backed groups such as the jihadist Ahrar al-Sham have ties to al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, the al-Nusra Front.

As the conflict in Syria has progressed, fighters from some rebels groups have broken off to join with more radical jihadists, including al-Nusra and IS. Adding to the complexity, the Syrian Kurds have accused Turkey of backing extremist groups to thwart their efforts in self-governance and military advances.

Lavrov and Kerry talk

Separately on Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on the phone about strengthening a ceasefire in Syria and expanding humanitarian operations.

The ceasefire, which does not include al-Nusra and IS, has largely held for several weeks as UN-backed peace negotiations between regime representatives and the opposition continue in Geneva. But the UN said this week that humanitarian supplies were only able to reach 30 percent of those in desperate need.

In the talks, Lavrov called on Turkey to seal the Turkish-Syrian border which he said was "actively used" to send Islamist fighters to Syria via Turkey.

Russia and Syria have voiced concerns that the lull in fighting could be used by rebel backers to bolster various rebel factions with weapons, supplies and fighters.

Russia's renewed accusations come as two prominent Turkish journalists are on trial for treason over a 2015 story they published with pictures of trucks alleged to have belonged to Turkey's MIT intelligence agency carrying weapons to Syria.

At the time, in January 2014, the trucks were stopped by gendarmerie. The government first said the shipments were a national secret, then said they were carrying food and medicine.

cw/jm (AFP, AP)

Washington Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) ends as Obama warns of terrorism threat

World leaders have praised efforts to promote nuclear security following an international summit in Washington. They cautioned, however, that there remained the threat of terrorists who seek to steal nuclear bombs.

In a press conference to wrap up the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in Washington on Friday, US President Barack Obama warned that "mad men" from groups like al-Qaida and "Islamic State" (IS) have long sought nuclear weapons. Should this technology fall into the wrong hands, Obama said it would "change our world."

Obama addressed the conference, speaking to the press and representatives of more than 50 nations on a range of issues related to nuclear security. The topics included the recent deal with Iran to limit its nuclear program, reducing Washington's atomic arsenal and some tangentially related problems such as US drone strikes and worrying trends threatening the free press in Turkey.

"So long as Iran is carrying out its end of the bargain, we think it is important for the world community to carry out our end of the bargain," Obama told the conference, adding that "what I would say is also important is Iran's own behavior in generating confidence that Iran is a safe place to do business."

 

Drone strike critics
Obama then turned to some criticism of US security strategy, admitting that criticism of the country's large drone program was in some parts "legitimate."
"There has been, in the past, legitimate criticism that the legal architecture around the use of drone strikes or other kinetic strength was not as precise as it should have been, and there is no doubt that civilians were killed that should not have been," Obama told reporters.
Criticism for Erdogan and Putin
Obama also spoke about the crackdown on the free press in Turkey, a nation allied with the US and crucial to the fight against IS. The president said he had urged his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to abandon his strategy of repression. Despite this, however, the US would stand by its friend in the face of enroaching terrorism, Obama added.

Obama's earlier meeting with Erdogan drew protest from supporters of a free press

The US leader also had some choice words for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who did not attend the summit. As the head of the nation with the world's largest repository of nuclear material, Obama said Putin's absence was keenly felt. Saying that Putin had put aside hard-fought nuclear disarmament in order to increase "military might," Obama contrasted Moscow's approach with his own.
"My preference would be to bring down further our nuclear arsenal," Obama said.
Wrapping up the press conference, President Obama said that the international community had made "significant, meaningful" progress but that world leaders' work to hinder further nuclear attacks and proliferation was "by no means finished."

es/jm (AP, AFP)

Nigerians still waiting for Buhari to deliver

One year ago, Muhammadu Buhari was elected president of Nigeria, making history as the country's first leader to assume office after democratically defeating an incumbent. Is he living up to voters' expectations?

President Muhammadu Buhari was elected on promises to fix Nigeria's problems - an Islamist insurgency, corruption, weak infrastructure and overdependence on oil revenues. But a year after his landslide victory on March 28, 2015, many Nigerians say they have yet to see any evidence of improvements in their lives. Joseph Blabo from the poor Makoko neighborhood of Lagos says he voted for Buhari hoping for "drastic change" for the better, but things have actually got worse.
"In my community for three months now, we have not had electricity. And look at the fuel scarcity we have had in Lagos for a while," he told DW.
Atiku Samuel, a 34-year-old mathematician, says inflation has risen since Buhari came to power, making life difficult for him and his family.
"House rent is up, almost by 50 percent. The cost of food is up. Things that we used to buy for 10,000 naira (45 euros, $50) now cost 15,000 naira," he said.

The peaceful transition of power from Goodluck Jonathan (right) to Muhammadu Buhari was heralded as a triumph for African democracy

Stanley Achonu works for the Lagos-based group Budgit, a civic organization which monitors the activities of the Nigerian government. He told DW that Buhari had failed to live up to expectations in some areas but had notched up success in others. The latter include reforms to curb corruption and improving Nigeria's image abroad.
Achonu also said Buhari was addressing the insecurity caused by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram. The insurgency has claimed thousands of lives and displaced more than two million people since it began six years ago.
"One cannot deny that there is a frontal attempt to confront this evil that is terrorizing the country," Achonu said.
Optimistic about Buhari
Agboso Bamaiyi is a political commentator in Yola, capital of Adamawa state in northeastern Nigeria, which has borne the brunt of the insurgency. He said Boko Haram's capacity has been degraded. "It has got to the point where the government can say they have won the war," he said. Bamaiyi was referring to the swathes of territory that the Nigerian army has reclaimed from the Islamist militants. But he admitted that the group was still carrying out "hit-and-run guerrilla warfare" and that the government "still has to manage the situation created by the war, the damage and the harm done to communities and individuals."
Some Nigerians like Ayomide Faleye, a 26-year-old research analyst, remain optimistic about Buhari nonetheless.
"I think he is still trying to figure out how to put things in place, especially with regard to how to improve the economy and how he can - within the democratic setting - make things better for Nigerians. One should give him the benefit of the doubt. I think he will do more, considering the time frame," she told DW.
The list of things to do includes tackling corruption, rebuilding an economy in decline and boosting falling government revenue.
Muntaqa Ahiwa contributed to this report

In Greece, uncertainty grows over stranded refugees

More than 50,000 refugees are stranded in Greece. Many there have begun to worry about what it might take to integrate them should they stay. Yanis Papadimitriou reports from Greece.

Fanis, the owner of a kiosk in Athens, was skimming the day's papers: Headlines about attacks in Brussels, refugees drowning in the eastern Mediterranean and, of course, his own country's continuing credit woes - long the subject of heated discussion. Right now, though, refugee policy is the main topic of public debate in Greece. Fanis is quite knowledgeable about the situation; his colorful kiosk is the neighborhood information point and meeting place. "It is actually strange," he told DW. "Many people here in the area show a great deal of understanding for the refugees, and they find what is going on in Syria awful. But, when it comings to taking in refugees in their own neighborhood, it is a different story."
Traditionally, Greeks are well-disposed toward Syrians. Many Syrians are Orthodox Christians, and after Greece lost the 1920s war to Turkey, large numbers of Greeks sought refuge in Syria. "I know that most Syrians do not wish to remain in Greece and would rather go to northern Europe, but I would not hold it against them if they stayed here," Fanis said. "Frankly, I do not believe that these people can really live in northern Europe," he added. "The cultural differences are simply too great - that is what I think, anyway."
Right now, many refugees are asking themselves whether they wish to stay in Greece. The question has become urgent now that the so-called Balkan route that led north from Turkey via Greece has been officially declared closed. Even if sending back refugees according to an agreement that the European Union made with Turkey works smoothly, 50,000 people who had arrived in Greece before the agreement went into effect have not been registered.

Fanis says refugees would probably be better off in Greece than elsewhere in Europe

Refugees need help
Greece's government plans to open more reception centers for refugees on the mainland and new centers on the eastern Aegean islands. Not everyone likes that idea. In the northwestern village of Doliana, turbulent clashes occurred last week when hundreds of residents protested the arrival of 210 refugees, blocking the road to their new lodgings. The protesters claimed that they were already full. They did not want to allow camps to be set up in their village, like the ones in Idomeni or on the port grounds in Piraeus. After long discussions, the refugees were first taken to the nearby city of Ioannina, the capital of the Epirus administrative region, and then, 24 hours later, they were sent to Giannitsa, in Greece's Macedonia region.
Egyptian-born Eloni Mohamad cannot understand such reactions. He is practically Greek: He has built a life as a construction worker over 22 years of living in Piraeus. When he can, the 52-year-old visits the tent settlement at the port of Piraeus and helps Arabic-speaking refugees. "I come here sporadically, and am surely not the only one works here for free," Mohamad told DW. "Whenever I do not have any work, I drop by and ask if anybody needs anything - whether I can help translate or help by contacting authorities," he added.

Mohamad drops by the camp to offer translation services in his spare time

Right now, refugees need all the help they can get. Disputes have arisen in the overfilled camps, where supplies are short. Recently, refugees caused an uproar in Greece when they vociferously demanded the opening of the borders to let them out. Last week, there was speculation that the UN refugee commission would pull out of the village of Idomeni for security reasons. Doctors Without Borders temporarily stopped its work there in protest. But, a few days later, the situation was clarified; UNHCR staff member Petros Mastakas announced that his teams would not desert refugees Idomeni.

The Red Cross does most of the heavy lifting in Piraeus

It is mostly the Red Cross that attends to refugees on the port grounds in Piraeus. "We have been working here since May," said Ioanna Fotopoulou, the local coordinator. "In recent months, our volunteer doctors and nurses, in particular, are needed here in Piraeus." In the morning, the children are provided with a playground, she said. In addition to that, blankets, dry foods, 1,000 bottles of water and information material in several languages are distributed on a daily basis.

Mali arrests two linked to Ivory Coast attacks

Authorities in Mali have arrested two men believed to be linked to a deadly attack on a beach resort town in neighboring Ivory Coast. The March 13 grenade and gun assault on three hotels left 19 people dead.

Authorities in Mali said Sunday that two men believed to be connected to an al-Qaeda-linked attack in the resort Grand-Bassam had been detained.
The Grand-Bassam rampage - the first of its kind in the Ivory Coast - was claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which has also carried out similar assaults on tourist hotspots in the West African states of Mali and Burkina Faso.
Fifteen suspects have been arrested over the Grand-Bassam attacks, with Ivorian investigators backed by anti-terror specialists and judicial experts from Paris.
Eleven Ivorians - including three special forces troops - died in the attack. Four French citizens were killed and other foreign victims included citizens of Germany, Lebanon, Macedonia and Nigeria.
Germany, France and the United States are also assisting with the investigation.
The latest suspects were identified as Ibrahim Ould Mohamed - arrested Friday in the northern town of Goundam - and Midy Ag Sodack Dicko, who was picked up in Gossi on Thursday.
"The information concerning the arrests of two suspects in the north of Mali is true," said Lt. Col. Modibo Nama Traore, an Ivorian military intelligence officer who said they had been captured by gendarmes and intelligence agents.
Ivorian officials said that Mohamed was believed to be closely linked with the attacks' suspected mastermind, Kounta Dallah, who remains at large. Officials said Dicko had denied any role in the attacks, but investigators remain skeptical.
Islamist militancy on the rise

Al-Qaeda in Maghreb has also claimed credit for attacks in Mali's capital, Bamako, and neighboring Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, that killed dozens of civilians.

The March 13 attacks were the third high-profile attacks in West Africa in recent months. A November assault on a top hotel in Mali's capital killed 20 people, most of them foreigners. That followed a strike on a Burkina Faso hotel in January that killed 30 people.
France sent troops to Ivory Coast, a former French colony, in 2013 to drive out Islamist fighters who seized its desert north a year earlier. The intervention received support from Mali's regional neighbors, including Ivory Coast, which hosts a French military base.
Despite the successful intervention, violence is again rising in Mali. Islamist militants - armed with heavy weapons looted from Libyan armories captured in the chaos following the 2011 NATO-led intervention - are increasingly striking farther from their traditional desert strongholds.
jar/gsw (AFP, Reuters)

China looks to rein in military spending as economy slows

China's authorities have ordered the country's military to end all paid work outside normal service by 2019. It's part of a drive to create a more professional armed forces, but also trim costs as economic growth slows.

A Chinese military parade in Peking

The Central Military Commission (CMC) said military units would no longer be permitted to sign new contracts with non-military entities and that expired contracts could not be extended, China Radio International reported on Monday.
The reforms are part of a shift away from China's use of land forces, which now account for about 73 percent of total troop strength, and toward the navy and air force, which are seen as responsible for dealing with the main perceived threats to China's interests.
These include a conflict over control of the South China Sea and a move by self-governing Taiwan toward formal independence that China has threatened to respond to with force.
The spending reductions are also part of a process of attempting to align military costs with a slowdown in growth in the economy. Military spending will rise 7.6 percent this year, with a budget of 954 billion yuan ($146.5 billion, 131 billion euros), keeping China in second place in global defense spending behind the United States. Growth in China's economy is expected to slow to 6.8 percent this year from over 8 percent in recent years.
The ban is a "major political task concerning the overall scope of military construction and development," a Defense Ministry notice said Monday.
It is thought to cover both the regular army and the paramilitary People's Armed Police. It identified no specific fields but is reported to target military art troupes, publishing houses and hospitals that accept paying civilian patients.
This is the latest round of reforms aimed at reorganizing the military's command structure and will reduce troop numbers by 300,000. The 2.3 million-member People's Liberation Army started over a decade ago to divest itself from its vast business empire that includes factories and transport firms.
jbh/kms (dpa, AP)

Ghana government called upon to save historical sites

Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Ghana every year. But experts warn that revenue from tourism could suffer if attractions are neglected. Some sites are already crumbling and it may be too late to save them.

James Town in Ghana’s capital Accra is home to many historical edifices. Ghana’s first hotel, the C.V. Hotel, was built here. It housed the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, during her historical visit in 1961 to the first country south of the Sahara to achieve independence. But there are more Ghanaian landmarks in this part of town. They include the Ussher Fort, one of the oldest in Ghana, as well as a lighthouse, the main fishing harbor of James Town and James Fort Prison.
Tour guide Nice-One knows his way around the tourist attractions in this community. Although happy about his job, he is saddened by the current state of decay of many of these historical sites. He says the disappearance of the C.V. Hotel to make way for the building of a charismatic church is downright shocking: "A few days ago the owners of the land just came and demolished it and sold the land to the church people."

Fort James in Accra was built by the British as a trading post in 1673

Residents complain
The residents are unhappy too. One of them, Clinton Ofori, told DW that he never expected this to happen: "It is pitiful, because this was the first hotel in Ghana, and now the building has been demolished."
A lighthouse situated close to the sea, in an area notorious for slave trade in the past, is also being left to rot. The tower hasn’t seen any maintenance for years. The same goes for the Ussher Fort, which was built by the Dutch in the 17th century. Eventually it became a prison for Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah and other prominent freedom fighters, turning it into a site of great historical significance.
Tourism expert Nii Kwatey Boi Quatey is appalled by the neglect of these facilities because they are also important for tourism: "It is so unfortunate for us to see James Fort prison being neglected. There is no tourism here and things are not going well." Quatey calls on those in charge in Ghana to sit up and take notice.

The historical Rex Cinema, built on the initiative of first President Kwame Nkrumah

Lights out at the Rex Cinema
Nearby is Rex Cinema, one of the oldest movie theaters in the country. It was established by Ghana’s first president after independence. It was meant to boost the national film industry. But such hopes have now faded and the younger generation may soon not even have the chance to see this dilapidated edifice. There is an ongoing campaign to save the building but its future is far from certain.
The country is hoping to rake in $8.3 billion (7.4 billion euros) yearly from tourism by 2027. This is based on an estimate of 4.3 million international tourist arrivals. But for the tourists to come, the attractions must be properly maintained.
Abigail Hagan of the University of Ghana Business School leads a team of researchers who study the tourism sector in Ghana. She says the government has to step in to save the collapsing buildings: "It’s like a gold mine for us as a nation. We must study what others have done and then try to emulate that."Government needs to come to the aid of the people," she says, noting that the historical buildings "can be a source of revenue for both the government and the inhabitants of this town."

This colonial-era lighthouse in Accra

Ghana’s Museums and Monument Board, which is reportedly facing budget problems, stands accused of doing nothing to save the landmarks. The hope now lies with initiatives by the Ghanaians themselves to encourage their leaders to step in and save the monuments.