Yearly Archives: 2017

US ‘close to training Syrian rebels’ Officials say President Barack Obama may soon sign off on project to assist rebels in bid to end Syrian civil war.

US President Barack Obama may soon sign off on a project to train and equip Syrian rebels not affiliated with al-Qaeda, administration officials said.


Officials speaking on condition of anonymity on Tuesday, said the project would mean sending a number of US troops to Jordan that would help instruct carefully vetted members of the Free Syrian Army on tactics, including counterterrorism operations.

The White House did not confirm or deny the plan, but said it was “constantly considering available options to combat the terrorist threat emanating from Syria and to facilitate an end to the crisis”.

The State Department would also not comment. 

Spokeswoman Jen Psaki, however, told reporters that an array of options to support Assad’s foes remains under consideration. She also highlighted the terrorism threat, according to the Associated Press news agency.

“We have been clear that we see Syria as a counterterrorism challenge, and therefore certainly we factor that in, in options we consider,” she said.

“The current policy approach continues to be strengthening the moderate opposition, which offers an alternative to the brutal Assad regime and the more extremist elements within the opposition.”

The unnamed officials said Obama had yet to give his final approval for the initiative, and that there was still internal discussion about its merits and potential risks.

In a foreign policy speech on Wednesday to the US Military Academy, Obama is expected to frame Syria as a counterterrorism challenge and indicate that he will expand assistance to the opposition, according to the officials cited by the AP.

However, he is not likely to announce the specific programme, the officials said.

The State Department, Pentagon, intelligence community, along with many in Congress who back the move, have concluded that Assad will not budge without a change in the military situation on the ground, according to the officials.

At the same time, there are growing fears about the threat posed by al-Qaeda-linked and inspired fighters waging war in Syria, the officials said.

The Senate Armed Services Committee last week passed a defence bill that authorises the defence department to provide training and equipment to vetted elements of the Syrian opposition.

The United States already has covert support operations in place for the Syrian opposition, and it is not yet clear how the new programme would work.

Washington has also spent $287m so far in non-lethal aid on Syria’s civil war, now in its fourth year.
Rebel commanders have been asking the US for lethal assistance as they have seen gains wiped out one after another. However, the US has been reluctant to move to that kind of aid for fear weapons could end up in the hands of what it calls extremist rebels who might then turn on neighbouring Israel or against US interests.

Russia sympathisers vent anger at Ukraine Odessa deaths

Russia sympathisers vent anger at
Ukraine Odessa deaths
3 May 2014 Last updated at 18:37
Pro-Russia supporters in the
Ukrainian city of Odessa have
voiced their anger a day after 42
people were killed.


Friday’s clashes culminated in a
major fire at a trade union building
where most of the deaths occurred.
Hundreds of people gathered there
on Saturday.
The protest comes as Ukraine says it
has seized a security building from
rebels in the east of the country.
Seven international monitors held by
pro-Russian activists in eastern
Ukraine were released earlier.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and
his Russian counterpart, Sergei
Lavrov, have again spoken by phone
about the crisis.
Mr Lavrov urged Mr Kerry to put
pressure on Kiev to stop its military
operation, which he said risked
“plunging the country into a
fratricidal conflict”.
Mr Kerry said Moscow should stop
backing the pro-Russian separatists.
Both men also discussed the
possibility of greater involvement by
the Organization for Security and Co-
operation in Europe (OSCE) in trying
to find a solution to the crisis.
Grief and anger were evident outside
the burned out trade union building
in Odessa


Ukrainian troops man checkpoints
round the rebel-held town of
Sloviansk
The Ukrainian government claimed
some success in its military
operation in Kramatorsk
The violence in Odessa was the most
serious in Ukraine since February
when more than 80 people were
killed during protests in Kiev against
the ousted President Viktor
Yanukovych.
Groups sympathetic to Russia, some
armed, are reported to have attacked
a larger protest against separatism.
Skirmishes between the two groups
then broke out in several parts of
the south-western city.
Pro-Russia protesters are later said
to have sought refuge in the trade
union building after their
encampment was burned down.
Petrol bombs were thrown leading to
the deaths of at least 36 people
inside, according to official figures.
The blackened trade union building,
its windows broken, was ringed by
police on Saturday as the crowd
assembled. Some laid flowers; others
chanted pro-Russian slogans.
There were isolated scuffles between
rival groups and Ukrainian flags were
burned or bundled away.
Military operation
Early on Saturday, the Kiev
government resumed military action
against Russian separatists in the
east of the country, with fighting
reported in some areas.
In Kramatorsk, south of rebel-held
Sloviansk, Ukrainian forces
recaptured the headquarters of the
SBU security service from pro-
Russian separatists, according to the
interior ministry.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said
the “active phase” of the military
operation was continuing, with
Ukrainian forces also taking a
television tower in Kramatorsk.
The defence ministry also reported
“serious fighting” on Friday night in
Andreevka, some 6km (4 miles) west
of rebel-held Sloviansk, with two
Ukrainian soldiers killed.
Ten separatists were killed in
Andreevka, a spokeswoman for the
pro-Russian force in Sloviansk said.
‘Without conditions’
The seven international military
observers freed early on Saturday
were captured a week ago and held
in Sloviansk.
Separatist leader Vyacheslav
Ponomaryov (left) said the observers
left after celebrating his birthday
German Col Axel Schneider praised
his observer team’s attitude
There was a heavy police presence in
Odessa as hundreds gathered
outside the burned out trade union
building
A pro-Russian activist and a pro-
Ukraine supporter scuffle for a
Ukrainian flag in Odessa on Saturday
Five Ukrainian officers captured with
the observers, who are linked to the
OSCE, were also released.
Pro-Russian separatists in Sloviansk
say they released the observers
“without conditions”.
“As I promised them, we celebrated
my birthday yesterday and they left.
As I said, they were my guests,” the
self-proclaimed mayor of Sloviansk,
Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, said.
Russia had sent an envoy to
negotiate the releases. Vladimir
Lukin said he hoped the “voluntary
act” by the separatists would be
reciprocated by Kiev, adding: “I
would very much like military actions
to end.”
One of the observers, German Col
Axel Schneider, said the team had
been treated “as good as possible”
in what was a “miserable situation”.
Western leaders had condemned the
abductions.


The observers – four Germans, a
Dane, a Pole and a Czech – are not
part of the main OSCE monitoring
mission, which was agreed after long
negotiations by Russia, Ukraine and
the US.

 

 

 

Ese koko birashoboka ko,Urwanda barwana intambara (2) icyarimwe?

Nkuko tubicyesha bamwe mu banyamuryango ba FPR,bakorana na perezida Paul Kagame kuburyo bwa hafi,baratangaza ko,ubu ngo Urwanda rwaba rurimo kwitegura kurwana n’igihugu cya Tanzania n’Uburundi.Amakuru atangwa nabantu batifuza ko amazina yabo yashyirwa ahagaragara kumpamvu z’umutekano wabo,baratangaza yuko,ngo Urwanda rurimo gukora ibishoboka byose bagakuraho ubutegetsi bwa Peter Nkurunziza kugirango bazabona inzira yogutera Tanzania nyuma yokwima ishyaka rya IPRONA ry’Abatutsi batavuga rumwe n’ubutegetsi buriho ubu.


Tubibutse yuko iri shyaka rya IPRONA ryayoboye igihe kirekire riri kubutegetsi,nyuma rikaza gutsindwa amatora yabaye mu gihugu cy’Uburundi ku ngoma ya FRODEBU na Peter Nkurunziza,Urwanda rero rukaba rwamaze gutegura iyo ntambara kugirango rubone uko rutera Tanzania binyuze mu Burundi.

Ese bazahirwa cyngwa namaburacyindi aterwa nokugira amafaranga?

 

Iyo witegereje uburyo iguhugu cy’Urwanda gikunda intambara,wagirango babaraguriye yuko ariho bazakura umugisha,nyuma yogutsindwa intambara ya Congo,barwanye inyaka cumi n’umunani (18),bakaza gutsindwa intambara ya M23,aho bahise bakorwa n’isoni,none biyemeje no guhangana n’ibihugu by’abaturanyi byanze kubashyigikira mu ntambara z’urudaca ahubwo babasaba kumvikana nabo batavuga rumwe ariko FPR yavuniye ibiti mu matwi.

Gusa iyo dusomye mu buhanuzi dusangamo intambara izaba mu gihugu cy’Uburundi,ndetse n’igihugu cya Tanzania,aho hagaragara ko,Tanzania ishobora kuzatsindwa niyo ntambara bikagaragara ko,Urwanda rushobora gusubira akarere ka KARAGWE kahoze cyera ku Rwanda.Nyuma yubwo buhanuzi ntacyindi twaaba tuzi,usibyeko nabadaimoni nabo baraguye ko,akarere ka KARAGWE kazasubira ku Rwanda.

Ese Repubulika ya lll,itemewe n’amategeko,yaba igiye kutugarurira intara y’Urwanda yatwawe nabazungu muri 1884?

Usomye ubuhanuzi neza,ubona ko,bishoboka ko,intara z’Urwanda zigiye kugaruka ku gihugu zahozeho,ikitazwi ninde uzazigarura?Ariko kubakurikirana intambara y’akarere k’Africa y’uburasira-zuba,bavuga yuko ,ngo,Urwanda rushobora gusubirana intara za KARAGWE,MASAKA,NKORE,INTARA Y’amajyepfo n’amajyaruguru za Congo.

None se,ko ubuhanuzi buvuga yuko ,ngo ku ngoma y’Umwami hazaba amahoro,bukanavuga ko,Umwami azategeka izo ntara zose,niwe uzazigarura cyangwa umwakagara Imana yaba igiye kumukoresha ibitangaza nkuko bivugwa mubuhanuzi ko,azamera nka YOHANA mubatiza!.

Uko biri kose reka tubitege amaso,twongeraho amasengesho,twiringira yuko,ibyo Uwiteka yavuze atazabura nokubisohoza,gusa birumvikana yuko intambra atari nziza,yangiza ibintu byinshi,ariko na none ushaka amahoro ategura intambara,birashoboka rero ko,umwakagara abandi baramuruhiye,wasanga nawe agiye kwishyura ibyo yaruhiwe,bityo nawe akaruhira abandi nabo bakajya ku ngoma.Icyo nacyo twazakimwibukiraho.Gusa ararebe neza atazamera nka Iddiamini dada waringiye ijosi rikamubyarira umwingo.

The first victim of the Islamist war in Algeria was a girl who refused the veil, Katia Bengana, who defended her choice even as the executioners pointed a gun at her head. In 1994, Algiers literally awoke to walls plastered with posters announcing t

  • Since Erdogan was elected president in August 2014 he has sued at least 1,845 Turks for insulting him. Now his judicial challenges have been exported to Europe.

  • Angela Merkel’s decision to allow Böhmermann’s prosecution hardly complies with the European culture of civil liberties.
  • “[N]ow the Turkish journalists and artists will even suffer more.” — Rebecca Harms, co-chair of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance at the European Parliament.
  • The trouble is, the more Erdogan realizes that his blackmailing works, the more willing he will be to export his poor democratic culture into Europe. Merkel has set the wrong precedent and given the prickly sultan what he wants.

The always angry Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, should have a moment of peace and wonder why is he probably the world’s most insulted president.

Since Erdogan was elected president in August 2014 he has sued at least 1,845 people for insulting him.

Now his judicial challenges have been exported to Europe.

An obscure German law, dating back to 1871, was used to silence Iranian dissidents critical of Iran’s Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in the 1960s and 1970s. Now Erdogan has become the third foreign leader taking advantage of that law after a popular German comic satirized him in crude terms.

The law allows prosecution in Germany for insulting a foreign leader, but only with the consent of the government. German Chancellor Angela Merkel granted her consent for the prosecution of German comedian Jan Böhmermann, although she promised that the law allowing legal proceedings would be repealed in 2018.

All that would be a story of no importance in Turkey, where journalists tend to weigh their words more carefully these days, several newspapers have been seized or closed in recent months, broadcasters taken off air and prominent journalists getting prosecuted on charges of insult, for being members of terrorist organization or even for being spies. But Merkel’s decision to allow Böhmermann’s prosecution hardly complies with the European culture of civil liberties.

Rebecca Harms, co-chair of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance at the European Parliament (EP), said that “[after Merkel’s go-ahead for legal proceedings] now the Turkish journalists and artists will even suffer more.”

Merkel’s support for Erdogan’s increasingly prickly psyche came after two important reports highlighted Turkey’s disturbingly autocratic regime. From across the Atlantic, the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released annually by the U.S. Department of State, provided a clear snapshot of the deteriorating human rights violations in Turkey. It said that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government’s interference with freedom of expression, arbitrary application of laws and inadequate protection of civilians in the country’s southeast pose great threats to civil rights and liberties. The report also observed that: “Impunity and weak administration of justice is another issue of concern, as certain laws were applied too broadly and inconsistently … Wide leeway granted to prosecutors and judges contributed to politically motivated investigations.”

Back in the Old Continent, the European Parliament issued sharp criticisms of Turkey and warned in plain language that the European Union candidate country was “backsliding” on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. EP Rapporteur Kati Piri said after the annual progress report on Turkey: “The overall pace of reforms in Turkey has not only slowed down but in some key areas, such as freedom of expression and the independence of the judiciary, there has been a regression, which is particularly worrying.”

Erdogan is holding Europe’s leaders hostage by threatening to scrap a recent Turkey-EU refugee deal. Under this agreement Turkey has committed itself to take back tens of thousands of refugees in return for EU cash, promises to make progress in Turkey’s accession talks and visa-free travel for Turks visiting EU’s Schengen zone.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) has boasted that he is proud of blackmailing EU leaders, including European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (right), into paying him protection money.

For many European countries, most notably Germany, where the migrant crisis has curbed Merkel’s popularity, Erdogan’s Turkey has suddenly turned into a necessary ally. The EU finds itself in a difficult situation in balancing Turkey’s newfound “face value” and the core principles of democratic culture enshrined in its legal norms. Piri adds:

“And we cannot just say, we now have the migration crisis so we don’t discuss all the other issues. This is the signal the European Parliament wants to send with this report. With Turkey as a candidate country, we will also have to look at the internal developments and openly discuss it with the government.”

European leaders will need better diplomatic skills in their increasingly difficult balancing act between the reflections of Erdogan’s autocracy in their own countries and their need for Turkey’s help in containing the continent’s worst ever refugee crisis. The trouble is, the more Erdogan realizes that his blackmailing works, the more willing he will be to export his poor democratic culture into Europe. Merkel has set the wrong precedent and given the prickly sultan what he wants.

Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

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