AU envoy fails in Ivorian mission

The political crisis deepens in Cote d'Ivoire as military intervention is considered to solve the crisis. Last Modified: 22 Jan 2011 01:16 GMT

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga (L) says that force is a "last resort" to solve Cote d’Ivoire's crisis [EPA] Kenyan Prime Minister has said that force was a "last resort" to solve Cote d’Ivoire's crisis, but warned that time was running out for a peaceful settlement. "The window for a peaceful negotiation is closing very fast," Raila Odinga told reporters on returning to Kenya on Friday after leading a failed African Union mediation bid. "We will continue to walk the extra mile to find a peaceful resolution... The use of legitimate force is there and we will say that it is the ultimate resort, the very last resort if everything else has failed," he added. Ivorian incumbent Laurent Gbagbo has defied calls to quit after UN-certified results showed him the loser of a November 28 election, prolonging a stand-off with rival Alassane Ouattara. AU disunity There is little appetite among African nations for armed intervention that could cause more bloodshed in a country where 260 have already died in violence linked to the deadlock. Nations such as Ghana say they will not offer troops. Leaders of the 53-state African Union will discuss next steps at a summit at the end of the month, and signs are emerging of cracks in an official AU line insisting that Gbagbo immediately make way for Ouattara to take power. Odinga made a detour to Angola and South Africa on the way back to Kenya, holding talks with the leadership of two states seen as potential weak points in AU unity. South African President Jacob Zuma said there were "some discrepancies" in the election result and dismissed a proposal by diplomats for Gbagbo to go into exile. Odinga said a recount, suggested by Gbagbo, would be pointless. "I told Gbagbo and the two presidents that it is an exercise in futility. Even if you are to open the ballot boxes and do a recount, no one would believe you," he said. UN complains Meanwhile, the United Nations denounced as unacceptable on Friday an order to Cote d’Ivoire’s armed forces loyal to Gbagbo to stop and search UN peacekeeping vehicles in the West African country. Ivorian army spokesman Colonel Babri Gohourou said earlier on state television that the country's armed forces were "under instruction to stop and search vehicles marked with a 'UN' in circulation." "I want to make clear that the call of the Ivorian defense and security forces loyal to Mr. Gbagbo to stop and search United Nations vehicles is a serious violation of the status of forces agreement and Security Council Resolution 1962," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said. "It is therefore unacceptable," Nesirky told a regular news briefing. Nesirky also condemned what he said was continuing use of Ivorian state broadcaster RTI to spread false information about the United Nations and UNOCI, as well as continued obstruction of "legitimate actions" by the peacekeeping mission. UN patrols trying to reach areas where clashes have been reported have repeatedly been blocked by pro-Gbagbo forces and have also been prevented from going to reported sites of mass graves, UN officials say. Nesirky repeated previous UN warnings that attacks on civilians or international peacekeepers were crimes under international law, and those who carried them out "will be held responsible." He did not elaborate.

Source: Agencies

Almost 99 percent choose south Sudan split

Reuters

Sat, 22/01/2011 - 02:07

Photographed by أ.ف.ب

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Juba--Almost 99 percent of south Sudanese who voted in an independence referendum chose to split away from the north, the first official but incomplete figures published by the vote's organizing commission showed Friday.

The results were the latest indication of a landslide vote for southern independence in last week's referendum, promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of north-south civil war. The final official figures are expected in February.

The website for the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission showed a 98.6 percent vote for secession, with more than 80 percent of the votes from the south counted, and 100 percent counted in other areas.

The commission earlier confirmed the turnout had passed the 60 percent mark needed to make the result binding.

Officials from the oil-producing south have so far given a measured response to the early results and warned voters not to stage early celebrations to avoid antagonizing the north.

The calm, controlled mood in the southern capital Juba has been in sharp contrast to the jubilant scenes that greeted the start of voting, when campaign posters described independence as a liberation from war and northern oppression.

"This is the outcome we expected ... the results won't change much," the commission's deputy chairman Chan Reek Madut, a southerner, told Reuters.

The only area to show a majority for unity was a small pocket of voters in the northern Sudanese state of South Darfur. According to the figures, 63.2 percent of voters wanted to keep the country together and only 36.8 percent went for secession.

"It is not surprising because of the way they conducted their registration. Some people passed as southerners who were actually northerners from Darfur," said Madut.

"They took advantage of the lack of security in the area. It won't impact seriously on the result." Darfur is the scene of a seven-year conflict pitting rebels against the government.

A senior official from north Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) said he would wait until the final announcement before giving an official reaction.

"But the expectation is that the result will be for secession," said Rabie Abdelati. "The party is working for the post referendum period now -- the demarcation of the borders and the resolution of the Abyei problem. We are doing our best to prepare for the consequences of secession on the north."

Northern and southern officials still have to agree how they would divide oil revenues after a split and sort out the ownership of the contested border region of Abyei.

Overall, 57.65 percent of southerners voting in the north of the country chose independence, according to the figures. In countries outside Sudan, 98.55 percent chose independence.

Commission staff confirmed the authenticity of the website and the figures. "These are incomplete and provisional pending the declaration of preliminary and final results. They may be subject to change," a statement on its homepage warned.

Sudan's north-south war -- Africa's longest civil conflict -- was fueled by differences over religion, ethnicity, oil and ideology. It killed an estimated 2 million people, forced 4 million to flee and destabilized the region.

Coptic Church rejects US congressional hearing on Alex bombing

Emad Khalil

Sat, 22/01/2011 - 10:20

Photographed by عمرو عبد الله

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A congressional hearing held by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom to discuss the New Year’s Eve Alexandria church bombing was rejected by Archbishop Salib Matta Sawiris, a member of the Confessional Council.

Sawiris said that the Coptic Orthodox Church rejects foreign intervention in internal Egyptian affairs, adding that the attack has received the attention of parliament and President Hosni Mubarak.

In a statement to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Sawiris said that calls for foreign intervention tend to harm Copts by giving the impression that they draw on the power of other countries. This tends to reflect on Copts generally, he added.

Coptic Pope Shenouda III opposes any form of foreign intervention in church affairs, he said, pointing out that all problems related to Copts are debated in Egypt and receive the attention of both Muslims and Copts.

The head of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and Dina Guirguis, a Coptic activist and researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, had called for the congressional session which was held on Thursday. The attack in Alexandria church left 23 dead and scores injured.

Translated from the Arabic Edition.

Egypt's labor stronghold urges participation in 25 January protest

Arabic Edition

Sat, 22/01/2011 - 10:49

Photographed by محمد فايد

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Members of various political movements in the Gharbiya governorate organized a protest on Friday near the headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party to urge people to participate in a mass protest on 25 January.

Dozens of protesters called for the abolition of Emergency Law, the establishment of a minimum wage and the improvement of social conditions.

Surrounded by intense security, protesters raised Egyptian and Tunisian flags and applauded the Tunisian uprising that led to the ousting of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali this month. The protest lasted more than half an hour and protesters distributed leaflets calling for a general strike and collective protest on Tuesday, 25 January.

The protesters also called on Mahalla residents and textile workers to participate in Tuesday's protest.

In April 2008, Mahalla witnessed massive protests against high prices and unemployment after Facebook activists called for a general strike on 6 April in solidarity with textile workers in the city.

Mahalla has long been defined as the Egyptian labor movement's stronghold.

Translated from the Arabic Edition.

Nicole Kidman

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Protests hit Tunisia amid mourning

Some police officers join demonstrators demanding the dissolution of the new interim government. Last Modified: 21 Jan 2011 19:10 GMT

Thousands of Tunisians have gathered in front of their country's interior ministry, demanding the dissolution of the new interim government that assumed power after the president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, fled the country. The protesters marched down the Avenue Habib Bourguiba on Friday morning in Tunis, the capital of the north African nation, chanting anti-government slogans, Al Jazeera's Yasmine Ryan reported. Police blocked the protesters at the interior ministry and prepared water cannons, she said. Protesters soon dispersed, with many heading towards the headquarters of the main labour union, calling for a general strike. Later in the day, some police officers joined protesters in a march towards the prime minister's office, Al Jazeera's Nazinine Moshiri said. Many Tunisians are angry that several prominent members of Ben Ali's government have been included in the transitional cabinet, which convened for the first time on Thursday. National mourning The latest protests in the north African country come on the first day of a three-day period of national mourning for those who died during the month-long uprising that overthrew Ben Ali. Flags in the country have been set at half mast. Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin meets the mother of the 26-year-old whose suicide sparked the uprising Security forces used tear gas and live ammunition to disperse crowds during the protests, causing the deaths of about 100 people, according to the United Nations. Protests in Tunisia have continued even after Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on December 14 and the new interim government offered major concessions. Tayyib Al Bakouchi, a government spokesman, said the multiparty cabinet pledged to make security its top priority, to prepare for new presidential elections and speed up political reforms. The ministers also vowed to restore goods and real estate appropriated by the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD), the ruling party under Ben Ali, officials said. The transitional government says 1,800 political prisoners have already been freed this week. However, Al Jazeera's Moshiri said it was difficult to ascertain the number of detainees in the first place. "We've heard earlier in the day that some Islamist ones belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, being kept under Tunisian anti-terror laws, may not have been freed yet," she said. Under pressure Thursday's cabinet session in Tunis coincided with protests by hundreds of people outside the RCD headquarters, demanding that ministers associated with the rule of Ben Ali leave the government. Using a large steel cable, a government employee tore off the Arabic letters of the party's name from the facade. Follow Al Jazeera's coverage of the turmoil in Tunisia Amid shouts protesting against the transitional government, the crowd brandished signs reading: "We are no longer afraid of you, traitors," and "RCD out!" All ministers of the new cabinet were present in the meeting except five who resigned earlier this week, refusing to sit in a unity government with RCD members. Before the cabinet convened, all of the eight ministers in the new government who had been members of RCD quit the party, without giving up their cabinet posts. The transitional cabinet decided to recognise all banned political parties and agreed on a general amnesty for all political prisoners. "The minister of justice presented a bill for a general amnesty, which was adopted by the cabinet, which decided to submit it to parliament," Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, the development minister, said. Asked if the government had decided to lift bans on political groups, including the Islamist al-Nahda movement, Mohamed Aloulou, the youth minister, said: "We will recognise all the political movements." Rachid al-Ghannouchi, the exiled head of al-Nahda, told Al Jazeera earlier this week that he plans to return to Tunisia. However, Mohamed Ghannouchi, the interim prime minister, has said al-Ghannouchi would only be able to do so once the amnesty law is passed because he carries a life sentence for plots against the state.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Blair 'regrets' Iraq war dead

Former British PM's remarks on loss of life due to the 2003 invasion met with cries of "too late" from public gallery. Last Modified: 21 Jan 2011 16:23 GMT

Opponents of the Iraq invasion accuse Blair and Bush of being set on war regardless of its legality [EPA] Tony Blair has told an inquiry into Britain's role in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq that he profoundly regretted the loss of life in the conflict. His remarks to the inquiry - the second time the former British prime minister has appeared before the investigation - sparked angry shouts of "too late" from dead soldiers' families attending the proceedings in London. Blair said that his comments at his first hearing last year when he said that he had "no regret" had been misunderstood. "That was taken as my meaning that I had no regrets about the loss of life and that was never my meaning or my intention," he said. "I wanted to make that clear that of course I regret deeply and profoundly the loss of life, whether from our own armed forces, those of other nations, the civilians who helped people in Iraq or the Iraqis themselves." His words sparked an angry response from the packed public gallery, where a number of relatives of British soldiers killed in Iraq were sitting. Blair sent 45,000 British troops as part of the US-led invasion in March 2003. Several shouted out that his words were "too late" and two women stood up, deliberately turning their backs to Blair, before they were asked to be quiet. "Your lies killed my son, I hope you can live with yourself," shouted Rose Gentle, whose 19-year-old son Gordon was killed in 2006 while serving in Basra, southern Iraq, as Blair left the hearing. 'Questions to answer' Outside the central London venue, dozens of anti-war demonstrators gathered held up banners calling Blair a liar and chanting "Tony Blair to The Hague," where war crimes tribunals are held. Alan Fisher, Al Jazeera's correspondent at the inquiry, said: "This hearing was all about nailing down some specific points after Tony Blair's initial evidence more than a year ago. "Really it was about looking at the legality of going into Iraq without a second UN resolution. "Tony Blair admitted his senior law officer had said it probably would be against the law to do that, but he [Blair] took a political position. "Also we heard that after 9/11 Tony Blair decided there and then that if the Americans were intent on regime change in Iraq, then he would stand shoulder to shoulder with them. "It's expected the report [of the inquiry] will be published in a few months ... but for Tony Blair there are many people who believe he still has questions to answer." Bush pledge Earlier, Blair told the inquiry that he had privately assured George Bush, the US president at the time, that "you can count on us", eight months before the invasion. While Blair stopped short of saying he had promised Bush unconditional military support in early 2002, as critics claim, he said he had always agreed that Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi leader, had to be dealt with. "I accept entirely I was going to be with America in handling this," he told the London inquiry into Britain's role in the Iraq war, describing conversations between himself and Bush in summer 2002. "What I was saying to President Bush was very clear and simple, you can count on us, we are going to be with you in tackling this. But there are difficulties." The private note to Bush remain secrets, despite calls for it to be published by John Chilcot, the inquiry chairman and a former civil servant. 'Up for it' The timing of the decision for military action is an important issue for opponents of the war, who accuse Blair and Bush of being set on invasion regardless of its legality or whether it had backing from the UN. Blair sent 45,000 British troops as part of the US-led invasion in March 2003, was making his second appearance at the inquiry after being recalled to clarify evidence he gave at a hearing in January last year. He repeated his message from his January 2010 appearance that the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US had changed the calculus of risk, meaning they had to deal with Saddam as he posed a threat to the world and was refusing to comply with the UN. Facing a far more forensic probe of decisions he had taken, Blair said regime change in Iraq was on the cards immediately after the 9/11 attacks unless Saddam changed tack. "If it became the only way to deal with this issue then we were going to be up for it," Blair said. He said he had persuaded Bush to seek UN backing. A statement he gave to the inquiry also revealed he had disregarded advice from the government's top lawyer, given in January 2003, warning an invasion of Iraq would be illegal without a specific UN resolution. Peter Goldsmith, the attorney general, only changed his mind shortly before the invasion, and Blair said he viewed the earlier advice as "provisional" and believed it would change when Goldsmith became aware of the UN negotiations. Controversial episode The decision to go to war was one of the most controversial episodes of Blair's 10-year premiership which ended in 2007, leading to massive protests and accusations he had deliberately misled the public over the reasons for the invasion. Alistair Campbell, Blair's former communications chief and one of his closest advisers until he resigned in late 2003, said people still felt angry about the war. "Some people who actually really liked Tony Blair when he became prime minister ... they will never forgive him for Iraq," he told Sky News. The inquiry, which began in November 2009, was set up by Blair's successor Gordon Brown to learn lessons from the conflict and is not designed to assign guilt or blame to any individual. Hostility over Iraq continues to dog Blair, 57, now an envoy for the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers - the US, Russia, the European Union and the UN.

Source: Agencies