Vatican abuse cover-up bid revealed

Letter to Irish bishops documents church's emphasis on handling in-house all child-abuse allegations. Last Modified: 19 Jan 2011 08:31 GMT

Victims' groups say the letter reveals a Vatican-led culture of covering up suspected child-abuse by priests [AFP] Irish broadcaster RTE have uncovered a 1997 letter from the Vatican discouraging Ireland's Catholic bishops from reporting on all suspected child-abuse cases to police. The letter, revealed on Wednesday, documents the church's emphasis to handle in-house all child-abuse allegations and determine punishments instead of delegating that responsibility over to civil authorities. Signed by the late Archbishop Luciano Storero, Pope John Paul II's diplomat to Ireland, the letter came an year after the Vatican's rejection of a 1996 Irish church initiative to assist police identify pedophile priests when Ireland's first wave of publicly disclosed lawsuits. Any bishops who tried to impose punishments outside the confines of canon law would face the "highly embarrassing" position of having their actions overturned on appeal in Rome, Storero wrote. 'Smoking gun' In a statement issued by the Vatican on Wednesday, Reverend Federico Lombardi said: "This circumstance brings about serious problems of a moral and canonical nature that require extreme prudence with the question of mandatory reporting." Child-abuse activists in Ireland said the disclosed document demonstrates that the protection of pedophile priests from criminal investigation was not only sanctioned by Vatican leaders but also ordered by them. Joelle Casteix, a director of the US advocacy group Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, described the letter as "the smoking gun we've been looking for." She said the letter was certain to be cited by victims' lawyers seeking to pin responsibility directly on the Vatican rather than local dioceses. "We now have evidence that the Vatican deliberately intervened to order bishops not to turn pedophile priests over to law enforcement," Casteix said. And for civil lawsuits, this letter shows what victims have been saying for dozens and dozens of years: What happened to them involved a concerted cover-up that went all the way to the top," she said. Claims refuted Jeffrey Lena, the Vatican's US lawyer, said the letter did no such thing. "The letter nowhere instructed Irish bishops to disregard civil law reporting requirements," he said in a statement. Al Jazeera's Tania Paige reporting from London, said: "For the Vatican's part, they say the letter was written a long time ago and that the document was not a policy but a study draft. Yet without a doubt, the document will do them more harm at a time when they don't need it." To this day, the Vatican has not endorsed any of the Irish church's three major policy documents since 1996 on safeguarding children from clerical abuse. Irish taxpayers, rather than the church, have paid most of the $2 billion to more than 14,000 abuse claimants dating back to the 1940s. In a 2010 pastoral letter to Ireland's Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI faulted bishops for failing to follow canon law and offered no explicit endorsement of Irish child-protection efforts by the Irish church or state. But in his January 1997 letter, Storero told bishops that a senior church panel in Rome, the Congregation for the Clergy, had decided that the Irish church's policy of "mandatory" reporting of abuse claims conflicted with canon law. Storero warned that bishops who followed the Irish child-protection policy and reported a priest's suspected crimes to police risked having their in-house punishments of the priest overturned by the Congregation for the Clergy, which oversees matters regarding priests and deacons not belonging to religious orders. Legal limbo Colm O'Gorman, the Ireland director of Amnesty International, said: "The letter is of huge international significance, because it shows that the Vatican's intention is to prevent reporting of abuse to criminal authorities. And if that instruction applied here, it applied everywhere." O'Gorman, who was raped repeatedly by an Irish priest in the 1980s when he was an altar boy and was among the first victims to speak out in the mid-1990s, said evidence is growing that some Irish bishops continued to follow the 1997 Vatican instructions and withheld reports of crimes against children as recently as 2008. Today, the Vatican's child-protection policies remain in legal limbo. While the Vatican does advise bishops worldwide to report crimes to police in a legally nonbinding guide on its website, this recourse was omitted from the official legal advice provided by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and updated last summer. However, the powerful policymaking body continues to stress the secrecy of canon law.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Haiti prosecutors charge 'Baby Doc'

Haitian authorities have filed corruption and theft charges against former president Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier. Last Modified: 19 Jan 2011 00:14 GMT

The graffiti may welcome exiled president Jean-Claude Duvalier, but human rights groups say he should face trial [AFP] Haitian prosecutors have charged Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, a former president, with several crimes, including corruption, theft and the misappropriation of funds during his 15-year rule. Police took Duvalier from the hotel where he was staying in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, less than 48 hours after he returned to his homeland having spent 25 years in political exile. "His fate is now in the hands of the investigating judge. We have brought charges against him," Aristidas Auguste, Port-au-Prince's chief prosecutor, said. The charges must now be investigated by the judge who will decide whether a judicial case should go ahead. Duvalier was allowed to go free after several hours in a closed-court session on Tuesday, although he is not allowed to leave the country. Duvalier was ousted by a popular revolt in 1986 after his family and supporters were accused of plundering tens of millions of dollars of state funds. The Tonton Macoutes, a secret police force loyal to Duvalier and his father who ruled before him, have been accused of kidnapping, torturing and killing up to 30,000 suspected opponents during the 1960s and 1970s. Goals unclear Al Jazeera's Seb Walker, reporting from Port-au-Prince, said that a few hundred people had gathered to protest against Duvalier's detention, but this was not indicative of a wider popularity in the country. "His political support is not widespread, he is not seen as a figure who is relevant to the Haitian political landscape right now," he said. "The question everyone is asking is why is he actually here? The timing of his return comes at a time when Haiti's political process has ground to a halt. "I don't think he is a key player when it comes to Haitian politics but we haven't heard anything from him at all so we don't know what his political ambitions might be." Haiti's political process has been stalled since disputed presidential elections, which have sparked violence between the backers of rival camps leaving at least five people dead. There are also rumours that Duvalier, 59, is ill and that he wants to see his country once more before he dies. Duvalier had earlier told a Florida radio station he was not returning as a presidential candidate, saying: "This is not the order of the day." In 2007, Duvalier called on Haitians to forgive him for the "mistakes" committed during his reign. 'Slap in the face' Human rights groups criticised his return on Monday, saying he should be arrested and prosecuted. "Duvalier's return to Haiti should be for one purpose only: to face justice," Jose Miguel Vivanco, the Americas director of Human Rights Watch, said. "Under the presidency of Duvalier ... thousands were killed and tortured, and hundreds of thousands of Haitians fled into exile. His time to be held accountable is long overdue. "Haiti has enough troubles without Duvalier. Duvalier's presence - unless he is immediately arrested - is a slap in the face to a people which has already suffered so much." Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake in January 2010, followed by a cholera outbreak and a hurricane in November, which flooded the country's coastal towns.

Source: Al Jazeera and Agencies

Afghan civilians killed in blast

An improvised explosive device went off as a rickshaw hit it, killing women and children. Last Modified: 19 Jan 2011 10:14 GMT

There have been three roadside bombings in the last four days in Afghanistan In Afghanistan, a roadside bomb has killed 13 civilians, including women and children, according to an official. The device went off as a rickshaw hit it on Wednesday morning. The incident took place in Nawi Kali area, Khoshamand district of Paktika province, which is on Afghanistan's border region with Pakistan, where Taliban fighters have hideouts. Afghanistan's interior ministry has blamed the attack on "enemies of Afghanistan's people", a phrase often used by officials to refer to the Taliban. Afghanistan National Police has launched an investigation into the case. A total of 28 Afghan civilians have now been killed in three roadside bombings in the last four days. The latest incident comes three days after nine civilians, including six women, two men and a child, died in a roadside bombing in northern Afghanistan when they were travelling to a wedding on a road often used by foreign forces. A day earlier, another roadside bomb killed six people travelling in a minibus in the Sangin district of Helmand province in the troubled south. Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or home-made bombs are the weapon of choice for insurgents and are a frequent cause of death for civilians as well as foreign troops in Afghanistan. Afghan officials say that last year 2,043 civilians died as a result of Taliban attacks and military operations targeting the fighters.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Deaths in Iraq suicide blast

Bomber in a vehicle packed with explosives rams into an ambulance in the city of Baquba. Last Modified: 19 Jan 2011 08:41 GMT

At least 12 people have been killled after a suicide bomber driving a vehicle packed with explosives rammed into an ambulance in central Iraq, officials say. Fifty-tive people are also said to be wounded in the attack on Wednesday. The attack occurred at around 10am, in the middle of the ethnically-mixed city of Baquba, north of the capital Baghdad. "There are more bodies buried in the ruins," Samira al-Shibli, a spokeswoman for the provincial governor of Diyala province, told Reuters news agency. The blast also occurred near the front gate of the Facilities Protective Services compound, which houses the local headquarters and some training grounds for the Iraqi security force tasked with guarding government buildings. Baquba is the capital of Diyala province, which was an al-Qaeda stronghold as recently as 2008. While violence has dropped both in Diyala and nationwide since then, the province remains one of Iraq's least secure. Insecure It was the second attack by a suicide bomber in two days. At least 49 people were killed in former leader Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit on Tuesday when a suicide bomber attacked a line of police recruits. Hundreds of recruits had gathered outside a police station to be among the first applicants for 2,000 newly created interior ministry jobs. Authorities said the suicide bomber joined the crowd, then detonated his explosives-packed vest. Police also found an unexploded grenade at the scene, indicating the bomber was using other weapons to maximise the blast. Tikrit is located 130km north of Baghdad.

Source: Agencies

US: Tunisia 'work in progress'

In first public remarks since uprising, US ambassador Gordon Gray calls for 'responsibility' on both sides. Last Modified: 19 Jan 2011 11:41 GMT

Opposition politicians Mustapha Ben Jaafar (R) and Ahmed Brahim (L) met with Ghannouchi on Monday [AFP] Gordon Gray, the US ambassador to Tunisia, has called the popular uprising in that country a "work in progress" and a "new phenomenon." Speaking to Al Jazeera on Wednesday in his first public remarks since a month of protests ended with the overthrow of longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Gray called for "responsibility" on both sides. "I think what we have in Tunisia is a situation where ... this democratic expression is a work in progress," he said. "And it's a new phenomenon and it's something that people are doing without very much experience." Gray's remarks came as people began to mass in Tunis, the capital, responding in support of an opposition call for the dissolution of Ben Ali's former ruling party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD). Gray called the protests "a constitutional right that we cherish and we engage in," but he said that demonstraters had to voice their disagreements in a peaceful manner. Gray also said that security forces - such as the police who have been blamed for dozens of deaths - must act with responsibility. The United States had remained relatively quiet about the protests in Tunisia until Friday, when president Barack Obama issued a statement after Ben Ali fled the country for Saudi Arabia. The statement called for Tunisia to hold free and fair elections in the "near future." Democratic hangups For now, Tunisia's "work in progress" seems nearly dead on arrival. On Wednesday, the opposition Democratic Forum for Labour and Unity (FDLT) party announced its refusal to rejoin the fracturing "unity" government and called for the former ruling party of Ben Ali to dissolve. On Tuesday, a day after Mohamed Ghannouchi, the prime minister, announced the makeup of the first post-Ben Ali cabinet, the FDLT withdrew three of its ministers. A fourth, party leader Mostapha Ben Jaafar, said he would "suspend" his role as minister of health. The FDLT, like many of the people continuing to mount street protests, said it was upset that so many members of Ben Ali's old administration remained in power. Ghannouchi said that it was necessary to retain them to ensure the government continued functioning in a time of crisis. He called for a meeting of the 40-member cabinet on Wednesday to try to resolve the disagreement and said he would make important concessions to the opposition, said Al Jazeera's Nazanine Moshiri, reporting from Tunis. The three opposition politicians who resigned were: Anouar Ben Gueddour, the junior minister for transportation and equipment; Houssine Dimassi, minister of labour; and Abdeljelil Bedoui, who was given the newly created post of "minister to the prime minister". Cracks within ruling party Their resignations were not the only bump in the road; also on Tuesday, Ghannouchi and Fouad Mebazaa, the interim president, both resigned from Ben Ali's RCD in an effort to appease the opposition. Ben Jaafar told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday that their resignations might be enough to keep him in government. But average Tunisians might feel differently. Their demonstrations have been met with tear gas and batons, despite government promises to allow more freedoms. "The important thing to remember about these protests is that they come when prime minister Ghannouchi has spoken of a new democratic era in this country where people can have freedom of expression and the press can have freedom of expression, but what we've witnessed on the streets is nothing like that," our correspondent said. Ghannouchi and Mebazaa were forced into the move after the opposition ministers refused to sit in a cabinet that contained eight high-ranking members of Ben Ali's government, which many Tunisians see as corrupt. "They do not want to be in the government with certain members of the ruling party," she said. Multiple resignations The government has been in a state of limbo since the resignations on Tuesday. Abid al-Briki, a representative of the UGTT union, said the union wanted to see all ministers from Ben Ali's cabinet pushed out of the new government but would make an exception for the prime minister. "This is in response to the demands of people on the streets," Briki said. The opposition Ettajdid party said it will also pull out of the coalition if ministers from Ben Ali's RCD do not give up party membership and return to the state all properties they obtained through the RCD, state television said. Ghannouchi, who has been prime minister since 1999, said that ministers from Ben Ali's party were included in the new government "because we need them in this phase." In an interview with France's Europe-1 radio, he insisted the ministers chosen "have clean hands, in addition to great competence." "Give us a chance so that we can put in place this ambitious programme of reform," he said. 'Sham' government The announcement of the new government was also met with anger by some of the Tunisian public. "The new government is a sham. It's an insult to the revolution that claimed lives and blood," Ahmed al-Haji, a student, said. Police used tear gas in an attempt to break up several hundred opposition supporters and trade union activists gathered in Tunis. Blake Hounshell, managing editor of Foreign Policy magazine, told Al Jazeera that it's clear that Ghannouchi made an error in reappointing so many ministers from Ben Ali's government. "If you see what happened on the Tunisian streets today, the people who came out rejected the idea that the same old faces are going to still run the country," Hounshell said. "I think it remains to be seen whether this new government will even be able to stand and hold these elections in 60 days, as they're required to." 'Parasite' party Meanwhile, Moncek Marzouki, a Tunisian political leader, returned from more than 20 years of exile in France to a joyful reception from supporters at Tunis' airport. Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra reported that Marzouki, a 65-year-old medical doctor and human rights activist, was met by a crowd of his supporters. Marzouki told them that he would ask Saudi Arabia to hand over Ben Ali (who has sought refuge there since Friday) who has to be prosecuted in Tunisia for "crimes committed against the people of Tunisia". He also urged fellow Tunisians to hold firm in their efforts to bring down the RCD. Marzouki called the ruling RCD a "parasite of the country". "It's a government that isn't one, they have to leave," he said.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Importers protest anti-dumping duty

Wed, 19/01/2011 - 14:56

Reporter:

Mostafa Bahgat

Videographer:

Mostafa Bahgat

Editor:

Mahmoud Metwally

Director:

Mary Joseph

Dozens of business owners specializing in imported household appliances protest outside of parliament, calling for the release of their goods, which have been held at entry ports for 95 days. Authorities will not release the goods until importers pay an anti-dumping duty.

Tunisia overshadows Arab economic summit

18 January 2011 - 18H41

People march along a street during a demonstration in Tunis. A meeting of Arab leaders to discuss trade and development has been overshadowed by the Tunisian uprising, which has emboldened the region's dissidents and led to protesters setting themselves ablaze.

Illustrated chronology on Tunisia as a new government of national unity with Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi at the helm, is installed in an attempt to restore order after the overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

A demonstrator tries to catch a tear gas canister during a protest in Tunis. A meeting of Arab leaders to discuss trade and development has been overshadowed by the Tunisian uprising, which has emboldened the region's dissidents and led to protesters setting themselves ablaze.

AFP - A meeting of Arab leaders to discuss trade and development has been overshadowed by the Tunisian uprising, which has emboldened the region's dissidents and led to protesters setting themselves ablaze.

The Wednesday summit will be the first time Arab heads of state gather since veteran Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced to flee last week after days of mass protests sparked by the fiery death of a young Tunisian.

"The Arab world is witnessing today unprecedented political developments and real challenges in the sphere of Arab national security," Kuwait's Foreign Minister Mohammad al-Sabah said on Tuesday.

He told foreign ministers meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh to prepare for the summit: "Countries disintegrate, people conduct uprisings ... and the Arab citizen asks: 'Can the current Arab regime meet these challenges dynamically?'"

He questioned: "Can the regime address the humanitarian suffering of the Arab citizen?"

The uprising in Tunisia was sparked in December by the self immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old who was complaining of unemployment, one of the regional problems that the last Arab economic summit in 2009 was meant to alleviate.

Nine other people have set themselves ablaze in protests across the region.

Even as the foreign ministers were meeting on Tuesday, a man set himself ablaze outside government headquarters in Cairo, an Egyptian security official said. Another, unemployed and described as suffering mental problems, set himself on fire in the northern city of Alexandria.

The incidents follow a similar one in Cairo on Monday in which a man poured fuel on himself and lit it on a busy street in front of the People's Assembly.

He was hospitalised but expected to be released in a day or two, officials said.

A Mauritanian man who told journalists he was unhappy with his government also torched himself outside the senate, following five self immolations in a week in Algeria, which saw protests this month over rising prices.

The foreign minister of Tunisia's newly appointed transitional government, Kamel Morjane, arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday to brief his counterparts hours after he was sworn in.

On Tuesday, he said his transitional government's only ambition was to prepare for a free election and reforms.

"The Tunisian people have had their say and won in this popular uprising," he told reporters in Sharm El-Sheikh.

He said the transitional government's term was limited by law and by agreement among all parties.

"Its goal is to set up free presidential elections with integrity ... that will have foreign monitors or observers," he said, adding that those behind armed clashes would be investigated.

The removal of Ben Ali, who rigidly dominated his country for 23 years, encouraged dissidents in the region, where most leaders are either unelected or defeat their harried opponents in disputed polls.

Arab governments have downplayed any comparison with the North African country and its despised ex-president.

But many Arabs complain of poverty and restrictions on freedoms similar to the grievances of Tunisian protesters.

On Monday, Tunisian Interior Minister Ahmed Friaa said 78 people had been killed in the protests and losses to the economy amounted to 1.6 billion euros ($2.2 billion).