Analyst says enforced disappearances in Iraq touch whole population, irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity or religion. | |||||
| Middle East Online | |||||
MADRID - Asma Al-Haidari, an Amman-based Iraqi human rights analyst and advocate, says the phenomenon of enforced disappearances in Iraq touches the whole population, irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity or religious belief. The number of missing persons in Iraq ranges from 250,000 to over one million, according to the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP). The length of time over which enforced disappearances have occurred in Iraq, starting with the Iraq-Iran war (1980-88), render this issue particularly complex, according to International Committee of the Red Cross spokesperson for Iraq Layal Houraniyeh. The issue of enforced disappearances in Iraq represents, according to IMCP, “a major long-term challenge”. Article 2 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance defines enforced disappearance as “the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law.” The Convention entered into force on 23 December 2010, 30 days after Iraq became the 20th state to ratify it on 23 November. It provides that “no one shall be subjected to enforced disappearance” and that “no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification for enforced disappearance.” According to the UN Human Rights Council, “secret detention amounts to an enforced disappearance.” “No safe place” Focusing on enforced disappearance in Iraq since 2003, Dirk Adriansens, an expert on Iraq and member of international anti-war group the Brussels Tribunal, gave a presentation at a 9-12 December conference in London organized by the International Committee Against Disappearance (ICAD). Citing 2009 surveys by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), he said 20 percent of internally displaced and 5 percent of returnee families reported cases of missing children. Further, UNHCR published findings in 2009 showing that “many communities reported missing family members - 30 percent of IDPs, 30 percent of IDP returnees, 27 percent of refugee returnees - indicating that they were missing because of kidnappings, abductions and detentions and that they do not know what happened to their missing family members,” he said. Adriansens added in his presentation: “A rough estimate would therefore bring the number of missing persons among the refugee population and the internally displaced after ‘Shock and Awe’ [2003 US-led military operation to invade Iraq] to 260,000, most of them enforced disappearances.” Adriansens went on to say that by extrapolating UNHCR figures to cover the Iraqi population which had not suffered displacement, the total number of missing persons since 2003 “could be more than half a million”. Jordan-based analyst Al-Haidari believes this number is higher, placing it in the range of 800,000 to one million. “There is no safe place in Iraq. People can be disappeared and sent to secret, illegal detention centres anywhere in the country, without the knowledge of the family or the person’s lawyer,” Al-Haidari said. “Many are assassinated and buried in secret. Many others are charged with trumped-up terrorism charges.” Amnesty International report A recent Amnesty International report said “an estimated 30,000 untried detainees are currently being held by the Iraqi authorities, although the exact number is not known as the authorities do not disclose such information.” In addition, there are detainees held at secret facilities, at which torture is common, it said. A further 23,000 previously held without charge or trial by US forces are currently being transferred to the Iraqi authorities or released, though Amnesty International believes “[a state cannot] claim to be treating detainees humanely while knowingly handing them over to torturers, any more than it can knowingly `release’ detainees in a minefield and claim that their safety is no longer its responsibility.” |
Friday, 14 January 2011
Enforced disappearances in Iraq a long-term challenge
ordanians call for sacking government
Thousands of Jordanians take to streets of Amman to warn government against their starvation, fury. | |||||
| Middle East Online | |||||
AMMAN - Thousands of Jordanians took to the streets of Amman and other cities on Friday to protest soaring commodity prices, unemployment and poverty, calling for the sacking of the government. Carrying national flags and chanting anti-government slogans in downtown Amman, demonstrators that included trade unionists and leftist party members, called Prime Minister Samir Rifai a "coward" and demanded he resign. "Jordan is not only for the rich. Bread is a red line. Beware of our starvation and fury," read one of the banners carried after mid-day Muslim prayers, amid a heavy police presence, according to an AFP reporter. "Down with Rifai's government. Unify yourselves because the government wants to eat your flesh. Raise fuel prices to fill your pocket with millions," the protesters chanted as they marched in the city centre. Similar demonstrations took place in the cities of Maan, Karak, Slat and Irbid, as well as other parts of the country. On Tuesday, Jordan announced a 169-million-dollar plan to reduce prices of commodities, including fuel, and create jobs in a bid to face rising popular discontent. But the protesters say these measures are not enough, complaining of growing unemployment and poverty as inflation last month reached 6.1 percent. They say government economic policies "have made the poor poorer and the rich richer." The measures to control prices and create jobs follow widespread violent protests and fatal clashes with police in Algeria and Tunisia over inflation. "We want government to meet people's fair demands as quickly as possible, ease their burdens and start a dialogue with national powers to launch true and comprehensive reforms," the powerful Islamist opposition said in a statement. The Muslim Brotherhood, its political arm the Islamic Action Front (IAF), and the country's 14 trade unions said they will hold a sit-in outside parliament on Sunday to "denounce government economic policies." "God knows where this tension would lead the country," the unions said. "We demand a solution to this problem to avert any negative repercussions through reforming policies and carry out true and fair economic and political reforms." |
Sudan partition major challenge for China
China faces dependence for nearly five percent of its oil imports on new country long suspicious of its ties with Khartoum. | |||||
| Middle East Online | |||||
By Steve Kirby - JUBA | |||||
The looming partition of Sudan after this week's independence vote in the south poses challenges for China, which faces dependence for nearly five percent of its oil imports on a new country long suspicious of its ties with Khartoum. A full 80 percent of the oilfields in Sudan, which the state-run China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has pumped billions of dollars into developing, lie in the south. Beijing's arms deals with the Khartoum regime and its dogged defence of it in international forums have resulted in the former rebels who are set to lead the new state having much closer relations with Western countries that provided aid during the 1983-2005 civil war and spearheaded efforts to end the conflict. China did open a consulate in the southern regional capital Juba in 2008 three years after the peace deal. But it has only been in the past few months that it has fully woken up to the imminent prospect of independence, sending a delegation of senior Communist Party leaders to the south last October and upgrading its representation to ambassador level the following month. "The Chinese, supported by CNPC, have mounted a charm offensive in the south which has consisted of bringing several dozen political leaders... to China to visit CNPC and view the Chinese economic model in general," a Western diplomat in south Sudan said. "CNPC has also built a computer lab at Juba University which cost several million dollars," the diplomat added. "That has had some success in changing the atmosphere in the south towards them." But southern leaders are not without fears of their own. They rely on income from oil output, the lion's share of it by CNPC, for 98 percent of government income, and desperately need the Chinese production to continue uninterrupted. In an interview with AFP this week, southern oil minister Garang Diing promised: "We will respect all our contracts signed before the (2005) peace agreement." Confirmation of CNPC's rights to its concession will not come without a price, though, as south Sudan moves to draw up a national oil policy for the new state. Long-standing grievances about CNPC's environmental and human rights policies and its lack of financial transparency are likely to lead to the imposition of higher standards for firms operating concessions and to tighter monitoring. NGOs such as Global Witness have documented contamination of the wetlands of Upper Nile and Unity states, where CNPC operates, with chemicals and untreated water from the oil extraction process, leading to deaths from drinking polluted water. "In the contracts with China during the war, lots of things were not taken care of, like the protection of human rights and the environment," the southern oil minister said. "This has left many people displaced that need compensation," he said. "In terms of environment, there is water contamination." Diing is likely to find support for imposing tighter standards from Western oil majors as he pursues his longer-term ambition of diversifying south Sudan's oil sector and government receipts. A spokesman for France's Total, which holds a huge concession in the south that has remained untapped because of the civil war and US sanctions against Khartoum, said the firm would insist on the "enforcement of our standards in environmental matters, ethical behaviour and transparency." But in the short term, Western oil firms are likely to continue to be deterred from investment by the sanctions imposed against Khartoum in 1997 four years after its blacklisting as a state sponsor of terrorism. "We need to diversify the capital from some Asian countries -- China, Malaysia and India -- especially to get Western experience, the best technologies and the best practices," Diing said. "The problem with the Western companies is the sanctions." Washington has indicated that it will begin to ease some of the measures if Khartoum respects the outcome of the independence vote. And it is assumed that the newly independent south Sudan will not itself face sanctions. But sanctions against the north's state-owned oil company Sudapet, which has an interest in the CNPC-led consortium, will remain in force, preventing any Western firm with a significant US shareholding from taking up an interest in its concession. The south will also remain dependent on the pipeline to Port Sudan in the north which CNPC helped build to get the oil to market. And just six months before the date set for southern independence by the 2005 peace deal, there is still no agreement between north and south on what payment for use of the pipeline and refineries will replace the existing 50-50 sharing of receipts. Alex Vines, director of regional and security studies at Britain's Chatham House think tank, says that the pipeline gives Beijing every incentive to use its ties with Khartoum to ensure that there is a velvet divorce and no disruption to the flow of oil. "It will try and maintain good relations with both north and south, and will use its good offices behind the scenes to encourage amicable relations," he said. "The last thing China wants is renewed conflict in Sudan." He Wenping, a professor at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, agreed. "While the south has more oilfields, it still has to depend on the petroleum pipelines and oil refineries in the north," he told China's Global Times. "Oil used to be controversial between the two parts, but it may be the glue in the future." |
Washington monitoring 'closely' Lebanon crisis
Department of State spokesman says military support is ‘critical’ for an independent Lebanon. | |||||
| Middle East Online | |||||
WASHINGTON - The United States is keeping a close eye on the situation in Lebanon after the Beirut government collapsed following the resignation of Hezbollah, US officials said Thursday. "We do know that political tension, unrest and especially any violence that might follow are threats to regional stability and security," said Pentagon spokesman David Lapan. Asked whether Washington would send any warships to patrol the waters off Lebanon, he said none had been sent yet. The Department of Defense and "the US government desire that all parties use peaceful means to resolve the situation. We continue to monitor the situation very closely," Lapan said. The United States, which is a major supplier of military aid to Lebanon, "has a valuable relationship with Lebanese armed forces and we're committed to do what we can to strengthen the sovereignty of the institutions as well as of the government of Lebanon." Department of State spokesman Philip Crowley said the military support is "critical" for an independent Lebanon. "I don't think that we see a need at this point to review our assistance," Crowley said. "We expect a new government will emerge through constitutional procedures, and at this point, there's just no reason to speculate." In a sweep led by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, 11 ministers withdrew from Prime Minister Saad Hariri's government on Wednesday evening, providing the minimum number of resignations to automatically dissolve the 30-member cabinet. The move was linked to a long-running dispute over the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is reportedly set to indict high-ranking Hezbollah operatives in the 2005 assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, Saad's father. The resignations came after a Saudi-Syrian bid to defuse tensions over the tribunal failed to find a compromise between the two rival camps. Meanwhile, US officials said the new ambassador to Syria was set to leave for Damascus on Saturday. Robert Ford is the first American ambassador to Syria since 2005. His predecessor was recalled after Rafiq Hariri was killed. |
iPad reading could cut into TV's time
 |
- Main bulk of iPad text content consumption is from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Data doesn't reveal if folk are multitasking by watching TV at the same time
- It's something of a return to a traditional leisure hour image
(Fast Company) -- The iPad is changing how folks read stuff online -- no surprise if you think how different a gizmo it is to a PC.
But a new study shows it's moving online reading into primetime TV hours, which is big news. Is evening reading coming back, just in a digital style?
The study comes from internal data acquired by ReadItLater, a web service that lets users bookmark web content for perusal at a different time. Though you may think this slightly colors the dataset, the way this service works gives the company unique access to time-coded data on how iPad users (and traditional computer users) read content online.
By looking at how traffic moves through their servers, normalized for global time differences, the ReadItLater team worked out how traditional PC users spread their online reading out during the day.
As you may expect, given how deeply into our everyday lives the computer has penetrated, the curve of content consumption is pretty stable -- not much happens in the wee small hours of the day, then as people wake and go to work there's more traffic, with a small peak spread out around traditional lunch hours and another around 8 p.m. after the evening meal.
When you look at iPhone and iPad user traffic, distinct from "normal" PCs, everything is suddenly very different.
Quest reviews his iPad iPhone users have distinct peaks in their reading habits, timed to correspond with the morning routine of breakfast, then a commute to work, the end of the work day and homeward journey, and then last thing in the evening.
This matches the iPhone's status as a handy, portable, always-on Net browser that's good for quick content consumption.
But it's with the iPad that the statistics get very odd indeed: With minor usage spikes first thing in the morning, at lunchtime and then dinner time, the main bulk of iPad text content consumption is from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m..
Fast Company: iPad 2 rumor round-up
This is prime-time TV's slot, and it seems that as well as settling back on the sofa to watch TV, people are taking their iPad with them too. The data doesn't reveal if folk are multitasking (spending some time ogling their favorite shows, some looking data up on the Web) or are ignoring the TV altogether--but the data will still be of concern to TV execs who expect uninterrupted attention from TV watchers, in order to maximize ad revenues.
Plus it's something of a return to a traditional leisure hour image: People settling down on the couch after the evening meal to read the paper or a book, possibly to listen to the radio at the same time.
Remembering a study last year that showed how much time users devote to reading magazines on an iPad, we have to wonder is the iPad causing a renaissance in reading -- just digitally, and with Web content as well as digital books content?
Fast Company: More technology coverage
If this is true, then Rupert Murdoch's Daily iPad newspaper is arriving with pinpoint timing. And the hordes of Android tablets that have just arrived should accentuate the effect.
This is thus something that PR and advertising executives need to pay careful attention to, because the attention focus of the average consumer may be switching away from the TV to their other (newer) powerful glowing screen--in their laps.
French smoker creates commotion on plane
- French passenger handcuffed on Delta flight from Nice, France, to New York
- Flight crew suspected Franck Lebrun was smoking in a lavatory
- When they confronted him, Lebrun allegedly pushed a flight attendant
- Federal air marshals on the flight restrained the man
(CNN) -- A brawling smoker who turned his trans-Atlantic flight from France into something resembling a bar fight is facing criminal charges.
Franck Lebrun was on a Delta Air Lines flight from Nice, France, to New York last Saturday when things became tense, according to a complaint filed at the U.S. District Court in New York.
The account reads like something out of a movie to scare air travelers.
During the flight, the crew suspected that someone had been smoking cigarettes in one of the lavatories. Other passengers said it was Lebrun, so the crew confronted him once, and then a second time when he again headed for the bathroom. Lebrun looked intoxicated and smelled of cigarettes and alcohol, according to the complaint.
He then approached a flight attendant "in an aggressive manner" and pushed her away, according to the complaint. When she told him not to touch her, Lebrun pushed her away again, court papers say.
After more tense moments, a federal air marshal identified himself to Lebrun and told him to return to his seat.
As Lebrun walked toward the back of the plane "he continued to shout and waive [sic] his arms in an excited manner," according to the complaint.
Two other air marshals identified themselves to Lebrun and asked him to show his passport.
Lebrun continued to scream and yell expletives and then "aggressively positioned himself toward one of the federal air marshals in a fighting stance," court papers say. The marshals then handcuffed him and seated him in the back of the plane.
"Lebrun continued to verbally abuse individuals around him, yelling in substance 'I'm French, f*** you!'" according to the complaint.
He also became more agitated and "flailed his arms and legs," striking one of the marshals in the leg with his foot, court papers say.
After Lebrun was detained, the crew found a one-liter bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream liquor in his carry-on bag that was almost empty, according to the complaint. Earlier during the flight, Lebrun had purchased a bottle of the liquor and one miniature bottle containing vodka, court papers say.
Lebrun is accused of interfering with a flight crew. He was released this week on a $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on January 24.
His attorney has not responded to a request for comment for this report.
Opening of Spider-Man musical delayed until March
- The delay marks fifth time show's opening date has been postponed
- New opening night scheduled for March 15
- Producers say they want more time to "fine-tune" aspects of show, including new ending
(CNN) -- The opening of the Broadway musical "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark" has been postponed for the fifth time, making the new opening night March 15, its producers said.
The scheduled opening of February 7 was pushed back to allow for more time to "fine-tune aspects of the show, including the new ending," producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris said in a statement Thursday.
Describing the $65 million production as "10 times more complicated" to technically rehearse than "anything else," Cohl said the preview schedule only allowed 12 hours a week for rehearsals.
"We simply need more time to fully execute the creative team's vision before freezing the show. I picked a date in March that allows me to ensure that this will be the final postponement."
Scheduled preview performances on January 18 and January 25 have been canceled, they said. Ticketholders for those performances will be offered refunds or exchanges. All other preview performances will go on as scheduled.
'Spider-Man' swings into action 
'Spider-Man' a 'trainwreck,' critic says The announcement is the latest setback in a series of delays, cast injuries and technical difficulties to beset the ambitious production, which involves the biggest budget in Broadway history, lots of aerial stunts and U2 front man Bono.
In December, actor Christopher Tierney became the third performer to suffer an injury while wearing a Spidey mask (nine actors play the role of Spider-Man while he's in full superhero costume). He fell more than 20 feet during an aerial stunt, leading to new safety measures for the production.
Earlier this month, an actress who suffered a concussion offstage during the first preview night was replaced.
But the high-profile troubles have not negatively affected the box office. The New York Times reported this week that the show had the highest weekly gross on Broadway, knocking "Wicked" out of its usual top spot.
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