VOA News: Middle East

Explosions Rock Northern Syrian City, 28 Dead, 235 Wounded

Edward Yeranian — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:54:15 GMT

Syrian state television says twin explosions at security compounds in northern Syria Friday killed at least 28 people and wounded 235 others as a government crackdown on opposition protests spiked nationwide.

The blasts targeted a military intelligence building and a security force base in Syria's northern city of Aleppo, which had been relatively quiet since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime erupted in March.

Television reports showed images of government buildings in central Aleppo with windows blown out and rubble strewn in the streets. It said that there were two blasts, one targeting a “military security” branch and a second targeting the “state security brigade” headquarters.

The reports are blaming armed terrorists for the attacks, showing live footage of mangled, bloodied bodies on the pavement outside the shattered buildings.

But rebel Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad, who heads the loosely-knit Free Syrian Army that is fighting government forces, denied responsibility for the blasts and accused the government.

The colonel said the Free Syrian Army had led an attack on the government buildings before the explosions, but had withdrawn by the time the bombs went off.

An opposition activist in Aleppo told Alhurra TV that he thinks the blasts were the work of Syria's secret police. He claims the police blamed the Free Syrian Army by calling a French television station to say the rebels were behind the bombings.

In an interview with VOA's Kurdish Service, human rights activist, Mahmoud Hamdush, said from near Aleppo that government forces are blocking roads in and out of the city center to prevent people from traveling to Aleppo's suburbs where large protests are being held against the government.

Homs remains under siege

In Syria's third largest city, Homs, witnesses say heavy shelling targeted the Baba Amr district for a seventh day. Opposition videos showed the bodies of several children they say were killed by government shells.

One witness in the outskirts of Homs says security forces opened fire on worshippers leaving a mosque, and that several people are reported to be injured.

The activist told says that despite a relentless government assaults, rebels plans no surrender.

"I am, as an activist, being pursued after they issued a ruling to execute me immediately if I am arrested," said the man, who asked for anonymity and was interviewed via Skype. "Our colleagues are advising us not to turn ourselves in because the ruling stipulates that we will be executed."

Because of restrictions on reporting in Syria, VOA cannot confirm government or opposition reports.

The activist said supplies and food are running short in the Homs region.

"We are sharing whatever available from food and the humanitarian situation is so miserable that it can’t be described," he said. "While as youth we can manage, the kids and the elders cannot bear severe hunger. There [are] no medical supplies or milk for the kids and some bakers stopped making bread due to the shortage of wheat."

Another activist in Homs said that government attacks are not letting up and that even walking one block can be deadly.

"Every day is worse than the day before," he said of the assault, "more deaths, more injured, more destroyed buildings." He said hospitals are overflowing with the wounded.

Activists say hundreds of people have died since the offensive in Homs began early Saturday.

"Homs is becoming a ghost city," one of the activists told VOA on Friday. "No one is walking in the streets... Our situation is miserable."

Attacks nationwide

Opposition activists in Damascus also report heavy government shelling in the outer suburbs and a fire at a hospital in Douma. Other reports tell of government attacks in several locations nationwide.

At a Damascus mosque, a cleric appointed with government backing claimed in a Friday prayer sermon that "outside forces" were responsible for sowing chaos and death in Syria.

Sheikh Ahmed Saleh said that money coming in from outside Syria is sowing chaos. He said government opponents do not want reform, but are trying to destroy Syria.

Syria analyst Nadim Shehadi of Chatham House in Britain says the Syrian government is stepping up its military onslaught to show that the protest movement is not peaceful.

"What the government is trying to do is convey the message that Syria is going into a civil war and that this is no longer a non-violent or peaceful protest against the government, and that this will certainly frighten any outsiders from intervening and will convey the image of another Iraq," he said.

Sectarian divisions have been rising as killings have increased on both sides of the conflict. Pro-government forces are led by members of President Bashar al-Assad's Shi'ite Alawite minority. Syrian authorities have blamed what it calls "armed terrorists" for the revolt, and said they are responsible for several sectarian attacks in recent days.

Saudi response

Early Friday, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah criticized the United Nations for failing to pass a resolution against Syria's crackdown on protests. Speaking on Saudi television, he said "there is no doubt that the confidence of the United Nations has been shaken."

China, which joined Russia in vetoing the U.N. resolution, said it wants to maintain contact with Syrian activists after an opposition delegation visited Beijing last week. Moscow, a staunch ally of Damascus, has insisted any solution to end the bloodshed must come from within Syria.

The 22-member league withdrew its monitors in late January to protest the Syrian government's continued crackdown on protesters calling for an end to Assad's 11-year autocratic rule. The observer mission had begun in December as part of an agreement with Damascus to halt the violence.

Arab League foreign ministers are due to meet in Cairo Sunday to discuss a new plan to send a joint U.N.-Arab League observer mission to Syria.

President Assad has pledged to assign his deputy to hold a dialogue with the opposition, but such groups have rejected talks with the government.

Turkey says its government is ready to host an international conference to support the Syrian people, either in Istanbul or another regional country. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is in Washington to meet U.S. congressional leaders and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for talks likely to focus on Syria.

Washington has been exploring the possibility of providing humanitarian aid to Syrians in cooperation with U.S. allies. Western powers and Arab nations have said repeatedly they do not want to intervene militarily in the conflict.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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Arab World Faces Serious Poverty, Food Security Challenges

Joe DeCapua — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:49:09 GMT

A new report says Arab countries face a serious food security challenge and that poverty rates are much higher than official numbers suggest. It blames the situation on vulnerability to volatile food prices, natural disasters and water scarcity.

The International Food Policy Research Institute, IFPRI, says its report shows a more realistic picture of the Arab world.

“In general, we know way too little about the food security and poverty in the Arab world and that has several reasons. And one of the major reasons is that the access and availability to data is really limited,” said Clemens Breisinger, an IFPRI research fellow and lead author of the report.

IFPRI said its report – Beyond the Arab Awakening – uses “innovative research methods and diverse sources of information.”

“The first message of that report is essentially the poverty and food security situation may be much worse than suggested by official numbers. And the kind of policy implication out of this is [that] in the wake of the Arab awakening and the whole drive for more transparency, a major issue to tackle is also data availability and access in order to improve decision making and information of the people,” he said.

Breisinger said the Arab world has a number of factors that make it distinct from other regions.

“Number one, it’s the most food import dependent region in the world. It imports more than 50 percent of its food consumption and is by far the highest [such rate] in the world. At the same time, agriculture potential is somewhat limited. That is severely constrained mainly by water and exacerbated by climate change,” said Breisinger.

Adding to that is a high population growth rate, second only to sub-Saharan Africa. So consumer demand puts a strain on food supplies.

“Given the supply constraints – more demand no matter what – they will further drift apart. So the food gap will increase, which obviously increases the vulnerability of that region to global food price shocks – the ones that we saw in 2008 and to some extent in 2010,” he said.

The IFPRI report also raised concerns about high child “under nutrition” rates. Breisinger described children as the most vulnerable segment in society, while at the same time being society’s greatest asset.

“If children are malnourished at any time between zero and 5 years, that actually has long-term implications. Reduces their IQ, their productivity and thus overall the prospects for the country,” he said.

The report said Egypt has seen an increase in child “under nourishment” over the past 8 years.” A very high prevalence of child “under nutrition” rates is reported in such countries as Sudan, Somalia, Comoros and Yemen.

It says, often, not enough of the household income is spent on food, saying in Yemen, for example, 25 percent is spent on Khat. U.S. narcotic experts say chewing Khat leaves “can induce a state of euphoria and elation, as well as increase alertness and arousal.”

The International Food Policy Research Institute recommended that Arab countries collect better data on their populations regarding poverty and food security. It also says greater emphasis should be placed on creating jobs by increasing exports other than oil. Finally, it says government spending on agriculture, education, health, infrastructure and social protection is “most critical.”

The IFPRI report was released in Beirut at the Food Secure Arab World conference (2/6-7) sponsored by IFPRI, the U.N. and the Social Commission for Western Asia.

Hit Film 'Zenne Dancer' Explores Turkish Gay Community

Dorian Jones — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:47:42 GMT

A controversial and groundbreaking film has hit movie theater screens in Turkey. Zenne Dancer is inspired by the true story of a gay man, Ahmet Yildiz, who police suspect was murdered by his father in 2008, in what the media describes as Turkey's first gay "honor killing." Its haunting soundtrack can be heard in cinemas across Turkey, as Zenne Dancer continues to enjoy box office success.

Slain Yildiz was a close friend of the co-directors Caner Alper and Mehmet Binay. According to Alper, until the murder they had no plans to make a feature film.

"One night we came across a 'Zenne dancer', a male belly dancer, and we were working with him to make a documentary, and our close friend was shot dead by his own father. And I went to my partner Mehmet and we discussed the possibility of combining the two characters in a feature film," explained Alper.

_{A scene from "Zenne Dancer"}

Under the banner "honesty can kill," the film explores the fictitious relationship of Yildiz and the Zenne dancer. It portrays their conflicting experiences of declaring their sexuality to their family and close friends.

While Zenne Dancer is in part aimed at Turkey's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, co-director Binay says they have far wider goals for the film.

"We tried reaching people in the streets, people who have kids or colleagues or school friends who are a bit different than themselves, we tried to show them, that there are different identities in society," Binay said. "And we received very positive and encouraging feedback from them. So, I believe if you tell your story right, people are ready to hear the story you tell them."

At Turkey's most prestigious film festival, the Antalya Golden Orange, Zenne Dancer won five major awards and received widespread critical acclaim. Due to the media attention, Zenne Dancer broke out of the festival circuit and into the mainstream - a rare achievement for a small independent movie.

In its third week at an Istanbul cinema, Zenne Dancer is holding its own against Turkish and U.S. mainstream films. Audience members are showing appreciation of the film.

One woman said it is a very brave film, because for the first time a taboo subject has been made into a movie. She explained that it is too difficult to tell such stories in Turkey, but said the country is definitely changing. She feels sure there will be many more films about this issue.

_{A scene from "Zenne Dancer"}

Zenne Dancer has not been without controversy. The pro-Islamic daily Akit called the film "homosexual propaganda" by gays seeking to "legitimize perversion by art."

But according to Binay, the criticism only generated more interest in the film. Still, Binay admits he had concerns about the reception he and his film would receive in provincial cities, like Bursa, which have a reputation of being religiously conservative.

"In Bursa there was an older couple, the lady was covered, veiled. And I always wondered what they would say about it. And at the end the gentleman wanted to say something, and we said please go ahead. And he said, 'I got pigeons and I breed them, and I raise them. There are always some male couples who fall in love with one another, this is part of nature,' " the man explained, "and his covered wife was nodding and she was saying, 'Yes this true.' And I was prejudiced against them, when I was looking at them, I really felt ashamed."

The success of Zenne Dancer is seen as an indication of wider changes towards Turkey's homosexuals.

Last year, thousands attended the country's largest gay pride march in Istanbul. A few years ago such gatherings were invariably broken up by the police. A recent Amnesty International report documented ongoing hate crimes, along with brutality and discrimination by the government and police.

Co-director Binay believes the success of Zenne Dancer signals changes in Turkish society.

"All sorts of minorities are coming out of the closet now, the Pandora's box has been opened," Binay noted. "Whether it is Armenians, Alawites, the Kurds, everybody has things to say that they could not have said for last several decades or centuries. So the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] issue is part of the bigger picture."

The filmmakers say their hope is that the film will help contribute to building a society in which people are not murdered because of their sexuality.

Activists: Assad Forces Kill 60 in Syria's Homs, Hospitals Overwhelmed

Edward Yeranian — Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:14:20 GMT

Syrian rights activists say government forces have bombarded the rebellious central city of Homs for a sixth day, killing at least 60 people and leaving makeshift hospitals overwhelmed as divided world powers struggled to end the violence.

The activists said Thursday relentless government shelling and rocket strikes on Homs were creating a worsening humanitarian crisis, with rebel-dominated neighborhoods lacking water and electricity and running low on basic supplies. They said the onslaught that began early Saturday has killed hundreds of people, making it the deadliest attack on Homs of the 11-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's autocratic rule.

U.S.-based rights group Human Rights Watch said those responsible for "horrific attacks" on residential neighborhoods "will have to answer for them."

VOA spoke with a Syrian activist in Homs who goes by the alias Abo Emad to conceal his identity. He said Syrian security forces are not letting up on their assault, adding that even walking one block from the building where he is hiding can be deadly.

“Everyday is worse than the day before," he said of the government assault. "More deaths, more casualties, more injured people, more destroying buildings every day.”

Abo Emad said there is very little access to mobile phones or land lines. He added that hospitals are overflowing with injured people and there are not enough doctors or medical supplies to care for the wounded.

Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in London told Alhurra TV that sporadic shelling is affecting parts of Homs, including Khaldiyeh and Bayadah, but that the heaviest onslaught is on the Baba Amr district, where conditions are extremely difficult.

Government forces are focusing on Baba Amr as it has been a center of the opposition.

In an opposition video, Muhammad al Muhammad, a doctor who is treating the wounded in Baba Amr, urged Syrians and the world community to protest the shelling attacks. He pointed to five children who appear to be wounded and called on Syrians to take to the streets to protest.

VOA cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the video's contents.

U.S. President Barack Obama called for an end to "outrageous bloodshed" in Syria in his latest condemnation of Mr. Assad's crackdown on the revolt. He was speaking Thursday after talks with visiting Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti.

Mr. Obama has agreed to work with Washington's European and Arab allies to organize a group of nations known as Friends of Syria to explore ways of further isolating and pressuring the Assad government to stop the violence. Western and Arab nations decided to try to form the group after seeing Russia and China block their efforts to pressure Mr. Assad through the U.N. Security Council.

Moscow and Beijing vetoed a Western and Arab-backed Syria resolution on Saturday, the second time they have done so since October. Both powers said they do not want the Council to take sides in a domestic conflict and create a possible pretext for foreign intervention in Syria.

Video footage from Homs

Arab League foreign ministers were preparing to meet in Cairo on Sunday to discuss their next moves in the crisis. Officials said the ministers will discuss whether to recognize the opposition Syrian National Council as the legitimate representative of Syria and whether to send a joint Arab League-United Nations observer mission to the country.

In other developments Thursday, Libya said it ordered Syria's top envoy and embassy staff to leave the country within 72 hours. Germany also said it is expelling four diplomats from the Syrian Embassy in Berlin after authorities arrested two men suspected of spying on Syrian opposition groups.

Rebel Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad, who heads the loosely-knit Free Syrian Army that is fighting government forces, called the Syrian regime a tyranny and asked for help to defeat it.

Hilal Khashan, who teaches political science at the American University of Beirut, says the Syrian government is trying to retake Homs in hopes of crushing the popular revolt at a key hub.

"They have been bombarding the city for the past six days," he said. "The bombarding is so heavy that it is clear that it is setting the stage for a ground offensive. The regime has made up its mind on conquering Homs, because they feel that if they conquer Homs, much of the uprising in the country will abate.”

Wire services and VOA reporter JulieAnn McKellogg contributed to this report.

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Israel Debates Possible Fallout From Attack on Iran

Scott Bobb — Thu, 9 Feb 2012 15:38:42 GMT

In recent months, Israeli leaders have stepped up their rhetoric about Iran’s nuclear capabilities and increasingly are warning that Israel might attack Iranian nuclear installations to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Lately they are warning that such an attack could come this year. This is sparking widespread debate in Israel, where memories are still vivid of missile attacks on the country two decades ago during the Iraq war.

Bitter memories

Lawyer Moshe Meiron, 86, sits in the living room of his house in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan. He was deputy mayor of the town when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, under attack by a coalition of Western and Arab states because of his invasion of Kuwait, 21 years ago launched Scud missiles against Israel.

Meiron recalls the night after a siren alert when he was huddled with his wife in a safe room, wearing gas masks. A missile struck their car parked in the driveway nine meters away.

“Everything, five or six villas, were completely destroyed," Meiron said. "All the cars were burned up. And it's a miracle that we are here alive, my wife and I.”

Photo Gallery: Iran's military assets

Global threat

Such memories of retaliation by Israel's enemies have not deterred Israel's senior leaders from warning that they are prepared to attack another country in the region, Iran, to prevent it from gaining nuclear weapons. They say a military attack is a last option but that they are prepared to go it alone if the international community hesitates.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a nuclear Iran would pose a global threat.

"A nuclear-armed Iran is a threat to Israel, to the region, to the world. Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. Period," Netanyahu said.

How Israel is planning to stop Iran from doing so has been the subject of a number of media reports in recent weeks.

Time running out

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak recently told a conference of military strategic experts in Hertzliya near Tel Aviv that time is running out for an effective military strike, possibly before the end of this year, and the problem must be dealt with soon.

Experts say Tehran is moving important nuclear facilities into an underground fortress that is not likely to be seriously damaged by even the heaviest bombs.

Iranian leaders deny any intent to make nuclear weapons and say their nuclear program is for peaceful uses: power generation and medical research.

But Iran has warned it would retaliate for any attack. Tehran possesses ballistic missiles that can reach Israel and as far as Europe. One expert at the conference said Tehran is working on a missile that could reach the United States.

Missile range

Iran specialist David Menashri says the repercussions of an Israeli attack could also de-stabilize the region.

“Using such an option can have devastating consequences for a long time and for the sake of peace in the Middle East it's better to find other solutions," he said. "I think other solutions exist.”

Menashri believes sanctions and international pressure should be ratcheted up until the Iranian government agrees to negotiate an end to any nuclear weapons program.

The United States and European Union have imposed economic sanctions on Iran, including restrictions on its Central Bank and an embargo on Iranian oil exports, which make up one-half of its domestic product.

Retaliation

Iran has responded by saying it will cut off oil supplies to Europe and might block the Strait of Hormuz, a transit point for crude oil exports from other Gulf oil producers.

Some analysts believe Israel does not intend to attack Iran unilaterally but is talking about it to marshal public opinion and pressure its allies to enact even stiffer sanctions.

But, according to media reports, senior Israeli officials do not believe sanctions will ultimately persuade Iran to abandon its supposed nuclear ambitions.

Others, like military history professor Martin van Creveld, say a military attack would only delay Iran's nuclear program by a few years. He says the international community should accept that Iran will one day acquire a nuclear weapons capability.

"There is the possibility that the Iranians will say, look, this nuclear business is causing us so much trouble let's get the bomb as soon as we can; tell the whole world; and then no one will be able to touch us," he said.

Regional stability

But allowing Iran to develop a nuclear capability would be a disaster, according to other analysts, such as Ephraim Kam of Tel Aviv's Institute for National Security Studies.

“It will make the Middle East less stable. It might induce other countries in the Middle East to join the nuclear race, countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia or Turkey, or Syria, in the long run perhaps even Iraq," said Kam. "The Middle East is going to be a much less safe place for many countries.”

Even if Israel launches a military strike against Iran, critics say it does not have the capability to successfully destroy Iran’s nuclear installations.They note that attack planes would need to refuel to reach Iran, 1,000 kilometers away. And they would need some kind of agreement to fly over Iran's neighbors.

US urges restraint

While U.S. President Barak Obama says Washington will not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran and that all options are on the table, U.S. officials have urged restraint to allow the sanctions to work.

Public opinion surveys show the Israeli public is divided over attacking Iran. In a recent poll, 43 percent of respondents said they support an attack, while 41 percent said they oppose it.

However, nearly two-thirds of the respondents (62 percent) said they believe Iran will eventually develop nuclear weapons.

Lasting effects

On a street in Jerusalem, salesman Jonathan Fisher believes war is inevitable.

"Of war, I'm sure about it," said Fisher. "A war in Israel is just a matter of time. It will surely happen. When? I do not know."

Recent immigrant Pascal Roy says he feels safe in Israel.

"I wish there was a compromise before reaching," said Roy. "I'm totally opposed to a military attack before talking."

Student Oriyana Spitzer, 14, is worried about the future. She wants a peace that will allow people to live together with no more wars.

Yaniv Shemesh was 14 years old when a Scud missile hit his apartment's neighborhood in Ramat Gan 21 years ago, wounding dozens of people. He still suffers from the trauma (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and cannot work.

He says he has nightmares, nervousness and tension. He avoids leaving his tiny apartment and anything that reminds him of the attack. He says he is obsessive and suspicious.

Like many Israelis, he hopes the confrontation between Israel and Iran will not go beyond saber rattling.

Analysts: Iran’s Nuclear Program Could Provoke War

Meredith Buel — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:53:54 GMT

The Obama administration is talking with Israeli officials and monitoring developments about a possible Israeli attack on Iran over its controversial nuclear program. Reports say U.S. officials are hoping Israel will give Western sanctions against Iran more time to take effect before resorting to an attack.

Will Israel use its military aircraft to attack Iran? The Jewish state considers Iran’s nuclear program a threat. So does the United States.

“Let there be no doubt - America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. And I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal,” said President Obama.

Analysts say Iran could have enough enriched uranium to build an atomic bomb within a year. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but recently announced it is enriching uranium at an underground plant.

And Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's views of Israel are clear:

“The Zionist regime is truly a cancerous tumor in this region that should be removed and will be removed,” he said.

Israel is concerned that soon it might be too late to stop Tehran from building a nuclear weapon.

“Regrettably, I think that conflict is in the air - conflict triggered by Iran’s adamant refusal to accede to the wishes of every country in the world,” said Robert Satloff, Executive Director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Satloff says the United States, with aircraft carriers positioned near the Persian Gulf, would likely be involved in any military conflict with Iran.

“Our ironclad commitment, and I mean ironclad, to Israel’s security has meant the closest military cooperation between our two countries in history,” said President Obama.

The United States has supplied Israel with bunker-busting bombs, designed to destroy deep underground targets, like Iran's uranium enrichment facilities.

But the United States and its Western allies hope that tough new sanctions on Iranian banks and the country’s oil industry will deter Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons.

Iran's Supreme Leader says Tehran will not back down. “Well, this threat of war is not in the United States' favor. The actual war will be ten times not in the United States' favor,” Khamenei said.

Iran has the largest inventory of ballistic missiles in the Middle East. And it has threatened to use them.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak says his country is not willing to wait long for Iran to end it's nuclear ambitions.

“Today, unlike the past, there is a wide understanding in the world that if the sanctions will not achieve the desired goal of stopping the military nuclear program, there will be a need to consider taking action,” Barak said.

According to news reports, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says Israel could attack Iran within the next few months. Meanwhile, U.S. media report that Israel and the United States are trying to reconcile differences over how much time to give Iran to comply with international demands to end its nuclear program.

Activists Say Syrian Troops Kill 50 in Homs

Edward Yeranian — Wed, 8 Feb 2012 15:55:38 GMT

Syrian rights activists say government forces have killed at least 50 people in an ongoing assault on the central city of Homs, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has pledged to consider sending a joint U.N.-Arab League team to Syria to monitor the escalating violence.

British-based activist say troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attacked Homs with gunfire, rockets and shells on Wednesday, heavily damaging more than 20 buildings in rebel-held districts. The activists say the government bombardment of Homs has killed hundreds of people since it began early Saturday. They say at least 13 other people were killed in violence around Syria Wednesday.

Syrian state media say "armed terrorists" detonated a car bomb in Homs, killing and wounding civilians and troops. State media also accused rebels of attacking the city's oil refinery.

_{Undated citizen journalism image provided by Local Coordination Committees in Syria shows man weeping as he sits next to a man who was purportedly killed in shelling by Syrian government forces, Homs, February 8, 2012. (AP Photo)}

In an opposition video, a young man named Danny Abou Diyne, working in a field clinic in the Homs district of Baba Amr, points to the dead body of a two-year old boy. He says the child was killed when a shell slammed into his house, destroying it.

“He's about two years old," he said. "He got hit in this war zone, in his house. Is this what the U.N. is waiting for, until there are no more children left? Until they kill all the children and all the women?

VOA cannot independently confirm the video or opposition figures concerning deaths because Syria restricts independent reporting.

_{Free Syrian Army (FSA) members in Saqba, a Damascus suburb, February 8, 2012. (Reuters photo)}

Homs low on medical supplies

A doctor calling himself Mohammed Mohammed told Al Arabiya TV via webcam that he and his colleagues were working under extreme duress and that medical supplies were running low. He begged the world to pressure Syria to allow ambulances to evacuate the wounded.

Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in London told Alhurra TV that the government shelling was creating a human disaster. He added that it is difficult to get an exact casualty figure because many people were buried under the rubble.

Abdel Rahman also said pro-government militias killed 30 members of three families overnight when they stormed their homes on the outskirts of Homs. He called the killings “a massacre.”

Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches political science at the University of Paris, says Syrian military actions are taking place in a number of parts of the country and that most of the operations are under the command of President Assad's family members.

He says the military campaign is taking place in the northern district of Idlib, the southern Horan region bordering Jordan, in the outer suburbs of Damascus, as well as in Homs. He says top members of Assad's family, including his brother-in-law Assef Shawqut and his brother Maher, are directing the campaign, resembling the Gadhafi family's involvement in the fighting in Libya.

**Recent Comments on Syria**
	U.S. President Barack Obama said February 4 the citizens of Syria must know the United States is with them, and the Assad regime must come to an end.
	Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin condemned all violence "regardless of its source," but said February 8 outside forces should let Syrians settle their conflict "independently."
	Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Februray 7 the recent failure of the U.N. Security Council to pass a motion pressuring Syria was a fiasco.
	U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said February 6 no government can attack its population "without its legitimacy being eroded."
	U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay has called for urgent international action to protect civilians in Syria, saying she is "appalled" by the government's "willful assault on the city of Homs."
	French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said February 8 Mr. Assad's reform promises are merely manipulation and should not be believed.
	Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday Russia and China had set themselves apart from Arab and world opinion by voting against a U.N. resolution on Syria.

Turkey proposes conference

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday his government is ready to host an international conference to support the Syrian people. He said the conference should be held promptly in Istanbul or in another regional country. Davutoglu spoke before leaving for Washington to meet U.S. congressional leaders and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for talks likely to focus on Syria.

Washington has been exploring the possibility of providing humanitarian aid to Syrians in cooperation with U.S. allies. Western powers and Arab nations have said repeatedly they do not want to intervene militarily in the Syrian conflict.

A senior EU official said the 27-nation bloc plans to announce a tightening of economic sanctions on the Assad government at a foreign ministers meeting February 27.

The EU official said new measures against Syria are likely to include a block on financial transactions with the Syrian central bank and a ban on purchases of Syrian phosphates - one of the country's main natural resources. EU nations buy about 40 percent of Syria's phosphate exports. The EU stopped importing oil from Syria last year.

Russia opposes unilateral moves

The Kremlin said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev urged his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy to avoid "hasty unilateral moves" toward Syria. Mr. Medvedev spoke to the French president by telephone Wednesday.

Moscow used its U.N. Security Council veto last week to block a Western and Arab-backed resolution that would have endorsed an Arab League plan calling on Mr. Assad to step aside. The Syrian president is a key Russian military ally.

Mr. Sarkozy's office said he used the phone conversation to call on the Russian president to fully support the Arab League plan and increase pressure on Mr. Assad to stop brutally repressing the Syrian people.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Mr. Assad in Damascus on Tuesday and secured a pledge from the Syrian president to assign his deputy to hold a dialogue with the Syrian opposition. But Syrian opposition groups have rejected dialogue with the Assad government.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday Mr. Assad had an opportunity to talk to the opposition early in the uprising, but Washington believes that opportunity no longer exists.

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday he has "very little confidence" in the Russian-Syrian efforts, while French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Mr. Assad's promises are merely manipulation and should not be believed.

U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay called for urgent international action to protect civilians in Syria, saying she is "appalled" by the government's "willful assault on the city of Homs." Pillay also said is it time for the international community to "cut through the politics and take action" to protect the civilian population.

_{VOA Wire Services and reporter Dorian Jones in Istanbul contributed to the report.}

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Egyptian Charges Against US Groups Deepen Rift with Washington

Scott Stearns — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:15:54 GMT

Egypt's decision to bring criminal charges against 19 Americans and other activists is deepening a rift between Washington and Cairo at a time of growing instability in the Middle East. The charges are tied to an investigation into illegal foreign funding of non-governmental organizations.

The heady, early days of Egypt's Arab Spring blossomed in Tahrir Square in Cairo.

It's where thousands of Egyptians gathered daily - the square's wide expanse serving as a grand stage for the nation's democratic aspirations.

But as a new spring approaches, a new drama unfolds, just blocks away at the U.S. Embassy.

There several Americans are holed up, charged with undermining Egypt's democratic transition.

Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri defends the case against them, despite the risk of losing U.S. aid because of it. "Egypt will abide by the law and implement it. Egypt has known civilization for thousands of years, so it can never go back because there is or there is not aid," Mr. al-Ganzouri said.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Aaron Snipe says the Obama administration is deeply disappointed.

“The government of Egypt's decision to charge these Americans will have consequences. We think that we must remain engaged because we value this relationship with the Egyptian people and the Egyptian government. We've got differences, for sure, and there are some real challenges that we have got to overcome,” Snipe said.

Most of the Americans were in Cairo supporting an electoral process to choose new lawmakers following the uprising against Mr. Mubarak. U.S. officials say they were supporting elections, not specific candidates or parties.

But Egyptian Judge Sameh Abu Zaid says that's not true. "The activities were mainly political and concerned the training of political parties and rallying voters' support for one candidate or the other," Zaid said.

Prime Minister al-Ganzouri says the foreign groups interfered in Egyptian affairs. "What is happening has, to a great extent, a methodology, and there are those who are directing it, and I don't know why it is thus being directed. Is it for the purpose of toppling military rule? If so, what happens after that?," he said.

Brookings Institution visiting fellow Khaled elGindy says holdovers from the ousted Mubarark government are using the charges to distract from popular discontent in Cairo. “They have tried to pin the blame on outside influences, foreign agendas, and, basically, ginning up (creating) these conspiracy theories. And so, over time, eventually they have had to put names and places on these conspiracy theories, and the convenient scapegoats are these NGOs, who, frankly, have been working in Egypt even before last year's uprising,” elGindy said.

U.S. officials say the case has broad implications for relations between Washington and Cairo - not only military assistance, but support for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks as well as efforts to end the violence in Syria.

Turkey Wants International Conference on Syria

Dorian Jones — Wed, 8 Feb 2012 20:49:23 GMT

Turkey is calling for renewed international efforts to end bloodshed in neighboring Syria, where a government assault on the city of Homs, a center of dissent, is intensifying.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Wednesday called for an urgent meeting of regional and world players to end the ongoing violence.

Explaining that Turkey is determined to establish a broad-based forum to promote international understanding with all countries concerned, the foreign minister said his country is ready to host such a meeting and that it should be as broadly encompassing as possible. He said the conference could take place in Istanbul or another regional center.

As a Syrian neighbor and NATO member that has worked closely with Washington on the Syrian crisis, Ankara, observers say, is well-placed to organize such a gathering.

The Turkish government has close ties with many North African and Middle Eastern countries, and Davutoglu, who said he already laid the groundwork for a broad meeting, speaking in recent days with his Italian, Qatari and Iranian counterparts, is flying to Washington Wednesday to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other officials.

His announcement follows Saturday's veto by Russia and China of a U.N. Security Council motion against the Syrian crackdown, which Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday condemned as a fiasco.

The diplomatic move is seen by some as an attempt to circumvent the U.N. impasse and build an international alliance similar to the Libya Contact Group, which helped Libyan opposition oust Moammar Gadhafi's regime.

Ankara has been backing Syrian opposition, harboring many of its leaders and providing sanctuary along the Turkey-Syria border to members of the Free Syrian Army, a militia of military defectors fighting Syrian security forces.

Turkish diplomats say they are aware that, with Syria's crackdown on the opposition intensifying, time is against them.

"We will not let tyranny continue in Syria and we [won't] let the region enter a phase of instability," said Davutoglu, who made it clear that Turkey will not stand back from Syria's deepening crisis.

Author Touts Turkish Hero's Model for Arab Spring Nations

Greg Flakus — Thu, 9 Feb 2012 20:26:40 GMT

In the wake of the Arab Spring, some see Turkey's secular democratic government as a possible model for emerging governments. A former U.S. military officer turned author is touting the course set by Turkey's national hero Kemal Ataturk in the 1920s, even as Turkey's ruling Islam-oriented party challenges some his legacy.

There is probably no bigger fan in the United States of Kemal Ataturk than Austin Bay, a former colonel in the U.S. Army, who wrote a recent biography of the great Turkish leader. Book titled Ataturk, Lessons in Leadership from the Greatest General of the Ottoman Empire.

“There is no doubt that Turkey is attractive to a number of Muslim countries," he said. "It is socially vibrant, it is culturally alive and [there is] the economic growth that Turkey has experienced.”

Bay says Turkey owes much of its success to a secular democratic government that Ataturk promoted when he came to power after the country's defeat in World War I.

“Secular democracy is Turkey's most important, strongest foreign policy asset and I also think it is its greatest domestic strength,” he said.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is from the Muslim-inspired Justice and Development Party, is sometimes seen as undermining some of Ataturk's secularist ideals at home.

But Bay says Erdogan uses Turkey's secular democracy as a model when he visits Arab Spring countries.

“When he is visiting Egypt, Tunisia and Libya in September, he says it is very important that you achieve a secular democracy and he goes right out and says, 'I am not a secular man,' and he is not, 'but I am prime minister of a secular democracy,” said Bay.

But Turkey's model may not be easily exported, says Reva Bhalla, director of Strategic Intelligence for Stratfor, a geopolitical analysis company.

“Turkey wants to present itself as the model in the Islamic world, one that can act as the liaison between The West and many of these countries that are experiencing pretty big transitions, but there is a big gap between theory and practice,” she said.

Bhalla says that while opposition groups that helped overthrow repressive regimes do seek international support, they are are also wary of outside domination.

“Many of these opposition groups do not like the idea of being dictated by a bigger power like Turkey and are more interested in their national interests,” added Bhalla.

But there are other ways these nations can follow Turkey's example and Austin Bay says Ataturk's emphasis on achieving prosperity through education is one of them.

“He gives a speech in 1923 about the necessity of prosperity and he says 'this is something we are going to bring to Turkey, we are going to create it ourselves,'”

Bay says much of the force behind Turkey's current above-seven-percent growth rate can be attributed to a large well-educated youthful population.

UN Chief: Arab League Mission to Return to Syria

Margaret Besheer — Thu, 9 Feb 2012 01:10:46 GMT

The U.N. Secretary-General said Wednesday that the Arab League has asked for U.N. help in sending its observer mission back to Syria, where the bloody anti-government crackdown has intensified in recent days. Ban Ki-moon said he and the Arab League chief are also considering creating a joint special envoy to Syria.

Ban Ki-moon used some of his strongest language yet on Syria, saying he deeply regretted the Security Council’s failure to adopt a resolution on Syria last week and that it has had disastrous consequences for the people of Syria.

“It has encouraged the Syrian government to step up its war on its own people. Thousands have been killed in cold blood, shredding President [Bashar Al-]Assad’s claims to speak for the Syrian people. I fear that the appalling brutality we are witnessing in Homs, with heavy weapons firing into civilian neighborhoods, is a grim harbinger of worse to come," he said.

The U.N. chief, who just returned from a Middle East trip, rhetorically asked reporters after briefing the U.N. Security Council on his travels, how many deaths would it take to end the “dangerous slide toward civil war and sectarian strife” in Syria? He said he is convinced that the deteriorating situation in Syria will negatively affect the entire Middle East.

Mr. Ban said he spoke with Arab League chief Nabil ElAraby on Tuesday about how to stop the violence and begin political negotiations. “He informed me that he intends to send the Arab League observer mission back to Syria and asked for U.N. help. He further suggested that we consider a joint observer mission in Syria, including a joint special envoy,” he said.

The Arab League suspended its observer mission in late January, after violence intensified. Some countries, particularly those from the Arab Persian Gulf, withdrew their monitors.

Mr. Ban said he would consult further with the 15-nation Security Council before fleshing out details on such a move, but he said the United Nations stands ready to help in any way it can.

The U.N. chief warned that as the violence escalates, the Syrian leader continues to lose legitimacy and should be held responsible for the more than 5,000 deaths that have occurred since the protests began last March.

On Saturday, Russia and China vetoed an Arab and Western-sponsored Security Council resolution calling for full support of an Arab League plan that demands President Assad transfer authority to a deputy as a prelude to multi-party elections.

Syrian Activists Say Troops Continue Deadly Homs Assault

VOA News — Wed, 8 Feb 2012 09:59:12 GMT

Syrian activists say government troops have killed scores of civilians in Homs, continuing a months-long siege of the city that has been a hub of protests against President Bashar al-Assad's 11-year autocratic rule.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the shelling Wednesday also heavily damaged more than 20 buildings in the city's Baba Amr district. The bombardment follows days of assaults on Homs that activists say killed hundreds of people.

Casualty figures cannot be confirmed because Syria restricts independent reporting.

Russian visit

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that a solution to the crisis through a national dialogue should come from Syrians themselves and that it is not up to the international community to decide the outcome of such talks in advance.

During a Tuesday meeting in Damascus, Assad said he wants Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa to head up talks with the opposition.

Efforts by the Arab League and Russia to organize talks have been rejected by Syrian opposition groups angered by the Assad government's deadly crackdown on the 11-month-old uprising.

Lavrov said Tuesday that Assad will push ahead with promised reforms and soon set a date for a referendum on a new constitution aimed at broadening political participation.

US criticism

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday it is hard to believe Assad's latest reform pledges as his forces continue to bombard civilians. The Obama administration shut its embassy in Damascus Monday as part of a Western and Arab campaign to isolate Assad diplomatically and pressure him into stopping the crackdown.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday Washington also is exploring the possibility of providing humanitarian aid to Syrians, in cooperation with U.S. allies. He did not elaborate. Western powers and Arab nations have repeatedly said they do not want to intervene militarily in the Syrian crisis.

Ambassadors recalled

France, Italy and Spain recalled their ambassadors to Syria on Tuesday, citing the Assad government's continued repression. The six Gulf Cooperation Council states, led by Saudi Arabia, also announced they are withdrawing their ambassadors from Damascus and expelling Syrian envoys in response to the worsening violence.

Syrian activists say the international community's words and actions are not enough.

Syrian activist and engineer Abo Emad, who did not want his real name to be used, spoke with VOA via Skype Tuesday from the basement of a building in Homs where he was taking cover from the shelling with about 20 other people. He said the Syrian people have lost confidence in the international community.

"They're saying that they're all partners in killing us," he said. "Even the Security Council. Even the United Nations."

He said Syrian security forces were bombing everything, including homes, schools and mosques.

"They surrounded the area by snipers, and they're shooting at everything that moves," added Abo Emad. "Even the cats."

Terrorists blamed

The Syrian government blames the violence on "armed terrorists" bent on dividing and sabotaging the country.

Turkey said Tuesday it will launch a new initiative to address the situation in Syria. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is due to arrive in Washington Wednesday for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has said the United States would work with other nations to tighten sanctions against Assad's government and deny it arms in the absence of a U.N. resolution.

On Saturday, Russia and China vetoed a Western and Arab-backed U.N. Security Council resolution that would have endorsed an Arab League plan for Assad to step aside, order his troops to stand down and enact democratic reforms. Moscow and Beijing said they blocked the measure because they perceived it as taking sides in a domestic conflict and providing a possible pretext for foreign military intervention.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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Egypt PM: Aid Cutoff Threats Won't Deter NGO Case

VOA News — Wed, 8 Feb 2012 18:27:33 GMT

Egypt's army-appointed prime minister says Cairo will not halt its investigation into foreign-funded pro-democracy groups despite what he called threats to cut off aid from the United States and other countries.

Kamal al-Ganzouri said Wednesday that Egypt would "apply the law" in the case against the non-governmental organizations and "will not back down because of aid or other reasons." He said Western countries "turned against" Egypt after the crackdown began.

Washington says U.S. military support worth $1.3 billion a year may be cut if Cairo does not drop travel bans on at least 19 American citizens charged with illegal fundraising.

Three U.S. senators warned Tuesday of a "disastrous rupture" in relations with Egypt if the case is not resolved soon. Republicans John McCain and Kelly Ayotte and independent Joe Lieberman said congressional support for Egypt is in jeopardy.

But Egypt's government says it cannot intervene in the judicial probe into whether the NGOs - three of which are based in the U.S. - violated laws such as receiving foreign cash without official approval. A total of 43 foreign and local activists are barred from leaving Egypt and their case has been referred to a criminal court.

Judge Sameh Abu Zaid, one of two judges leading the probe, said Wednesday the travel ban was imposed when some called for questioning left the country. He said the December raids on 17 NGO offices were conducted "according to the law." The judge said about 160 pages of evidence has been collected - "some of it dangerous" - and that the case involves illegal funding from the U.S., Europe and Arab countries.

In Washington, a Pentagon official said the U.S. military's top general will visit Egypt for "long planned" security talks this week with Lt. General Sami Enan and the country's military leader, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. The official said General Martin Dempsey will raise the issue if the dispute is not resolved by the time of his visit.

One of the Americans referred to trial is Sam LaHood, son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The State Department says the 19 U.S. citizens and others were working to support Egyptian elections. It says they are completely non-partisan and were not raising money to support any individual candidate.

Egypt is preparing for a presidential election aimed at replacing the interim military government with a democratically elected civilian administration. Parliamentary elections were held last month.

Thousands of Egyptians have protested, demanding a faster transition to civilian rule. Egypt has been under a military government since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising last year.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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Turkey Debates Role in Possible Syria Intervention

Dorian Jones — Tue, 7 Feb 2012 18:29:45 GMT

Turkey is hardening its stance against the Syrian leadership and its Western allies are increasingly looking to Ankara for efforts to help unseat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. There is debate in Turkey over whether international sanctions and diplomatic pressure on Syria could lead to military intervention and what role Ankara should play.

In his weekly address to his parliamentary deputies Tuesday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the U.N. Security Council's failure last weekend to pass a motion pressuring Syria was a fiasco. He said Turkey is prepared to offer an alternative plan, even if that might trigger another veto by Russia and China, whose "no" votes blocked the original resolution on Saturday

The prime minister said Turkey is helping to prepare a new initiative with Western allies that support opponents of the Syrian regime. Turkey's foreign minister is set to visit Washington this week for high-level talks.

Mr. Erdogan offered no details, but word of a new plan comes as Ankara has positioned itself at the forefront of those condemning Syria, its neighbor and once close ally, for the bloodshed the Damascus regime has inflicted on protesters.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal says despite the recent U.N. setback, Ankara is looking to diplomacy to end the Syrian crackdown, even if that means diplomacy outside the U.N. framework.

"To get grounds for other countries - of course, including Arab countries - and other key partners on what can be done because of the non-response of Syria to those unilateral regional and international efforts, should not keep us from looking for other initiatives," said Unal.

Turkey is harboring a number of Syrian opposition leaders, including some from the Free Syrian Army, a militia drawn mainly from defectors from the Syrian armed forces. Some media reports say Ankara is arming the rebels or allowing arms to be supplied to them from Arab countries.

Turkish Foreign Ministry officials deny those charges.

Semih Idiz, diplomatic correspondent for the Turkish newspaper Milliyet, says Ankara does not want to act alone against Damascus.

"Well Turkey, by nature in terms of its foreign policy, and you can underline this, has always been multilateralist," said Idiz. "So in situations like this, Turkey likes to act with the international community."

Washington and London have cited the importance of Ankara, with its 800-kilometer-long border with Syria, in resolving the crisis. Turkey's army is the second largest in NATO and could enforce a buffer zone within Syria.

The opposition Syrian National Council has been calling for intervention with Turkey playing a key role. But Foreign Ministry spokesman Unal said the international community must be in concert with Turkey.

"At the moment there is no sort of [military] project on our agenda," he said.

However, Turkish foreign policy expert Soli Ozel says military intervention is possible if the situation in Syria deteriorates further.

"[If] you end up with civil war, with massive waves of refugees, that is going to generate a lot of problems for you as well, which is when a buffer-zone idea would, I suppose, come closer to materializing than at any other time," said Ozel.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said recently that Turkey's doors are open to Syrian refugees. If need be, he pledged, they will be taken into people's homes. That offer has been interpreted by some Turks as a warning to Damascus: As Mr. Erdogan has said, Turkey will not stand by as Syria implodes.

Social Injustice Fuels Self-Immolation Protests

William Ide — Wed, 8 Feb 2012 22:55:48 GMT

A growing number of Tibetans in China have set themselves on fire in recent months to draw attention to what they consider to be Beijing’s cultural and religious repression. This wave follows the self-immolation of dozens in Tunisia and other countries swept up in the Arab Spring. The suicidal act, while making new headlines, has a long history of being used as a political tool around the world.

In 1963, Buddhists in South Vietnam were facing discrimination by the government of Ngo Dinh Diem, a member of the Catholic minority. The treatment became intolerable for many, and one monk, Thich Quong Duc, made a decision that would have a resounding impact on Vietnam and beyond.

“Thich Quong Duc sets himself on fire, and that becomes a major news story all over the world,” recalled Michael Biggs, a sociologist at Oxford University and the author of “Dying Without Killing,” a history of self-immolations.

The iconic image of the monk engulfed in flames was captured in a prize-winning photograph.

“And as a result of that, not only do other people in Vietnam start using that action, but other people in other places completely unconnected with Vietnam start using it as well,” said Biggs.

Some of these images may be disturbing.

Beyond borders

These acts of desperation have been mostly concentrated in Asia, but there have also been incidents in Eastern Europe, North Africa and the United States.

In 1969, Jan Palach set himself on fire in then-Czechoslovakia to protest the occupation of his country by Soviet troops.

In South Korea, pro-democracy and labor rights advocates used self-immolation as a political tool before the country became democratic.

And when India’s government pursued affirmative action policies in 1990, students set themselves on fire to protest the decision to give underprivileged castes more opportunities.

Personal is political

Self-immolation does not always bring about the desired reforms, but the decision to burn oneself to death is a powerful outlet, particularly in countries where there is no democratic means to address injustices.

Rodger Baker of the global intelligence firm Stratfor says there are a number of motivating factors.

“It is an attempt to draw attention to, in a very drastic manner, some form of political change or political injustice. So, when you see it with the Tibetans, it is about the Chinese domination of Tibet, but it also may be seen as an economic protest. What we saw in Tunisia, for example, was political, but it was also economically motivated,” he said.

Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in December 2010, an act widely seen as the start of the revolution that brought down the government of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and fueled the Arab Spring. Others in North Africa followed in his footsteps, showing that self-immolation has the ability to cross not only national boundaries, but religious barriers as well, said Baker.

“In Islam, as in Christianity, the concept of suicide is very much against what they do, and in some sense in North Africa, it’s sort of like saying, ‘I’d rather die in hell than live on Earth,’” he said.

Silent stoicism

Baker says one of the reasons why self-immolation is so powerful, rallying supporters to a cause and drawing international attention, is because of its visual imagery.

“You don’t see self-immolators who are running around screaming in pain. The whole point is to have that added element in many ways of stoicism. For most people, the concept of even burning yourself on the stove is something that you can already feel just by talking about, and it’s extremely painful. The idea of lighting oneself on fire is beyond the level of pain that most people are willing to endure,” he said.

Self-immolators are sometimes called “terrorists” by the governments they’re protesting. That’s not the case, according to Biggs.

He says suicide bombers rely heavily on organization, access to bomb-making techniques and logistical support. But self-immolation is different.

“It’s something that ordinary people, occasionally, almost spontaneously decide to do as a kind of an act of will of their own individual decision,” he said. “And often we find organizations condemning the act and telling the people, ‘No, no, we don’t want people to do this.’”

State action

Governments also find it difficult to respond to such actions, says Baker.

“Even when we see, for example, a group of people self-immolate, rarely are they coming out of a larger group who says, ‘Why don’t you guys go burn yourselves, and next week we’ll go burn ourselves,’” he said. “And this is one of the challenges China has had because they are trying to portray it as, ‘Okay, the Dalai Lama is telling these people to go out and burn themselves.’ But it’s a very difficult argument for them to make that that is the case.”

Beijing has, in rare cases, seen self-immolation work in its favor. When followers of the Falun Gong movement carried out a series of self-immolations in China more than a decade ago, one woman took along her daughter to Tiananmen Square, where the girl also set herself on fire.

Biggs says that is one of the only cases of self-immolation in recent history where the act hurt the cause and helped the government the activist was rallying against.

VOA News will host a Google Plus Hangout to discuss this issue and other matters relating to China. Please join William Ide for a discussion at 0330 UTC Thursday.

White House Underscores Displeasure with China, Russia Votes on Syria

Dan Robinson — Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:32:51 GMT

The White House is underscoring U.S. displeasure with China and Russia for blocking a United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria, saying it is important to continue increasing pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

As the United States works with international partners to step up pressure on President Assad, including a new plan for a "Friends of Syria" group, the White House continues to voice displeasure with China and Russia.

Watch a related video by Scott Stearns

After the veto of the Security Council resolution on Saturday, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said the United States was "disgusted" by the votes, which she said prevented members from addressing the "ever-deepening crisis in Syria and a growing threat to regional peace and security."

At Tuesday's White House news briefing, press secretary Jay Carney was asked if Mr. Obama would use the same word. The sentiments Rice expressed, he said, reflect "great disappointment" with China and Russia.

"The sentiments the ambassador was expressing reflect our great disappointment with that position taken. We will continue obviously to have these discussions with all of our partners internationally, at the U.N. Security Council and elsewhere, and we will continue to work with others, other "Friends of Syria" to put the pressure that is required on the Assad regime," he said.

Against the background of continuing violence in Syria, Carney was also asked about remarks on Capitol Hill by Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman.

Speaking with reporters, Lieberman said he believes the international community needs to take "bold" action, including providing weapons to the Free Syrian Army.

"One of the things I hope the international contact group will do is to begin to give aid to the Syrian Free Army, the opposition to Assad's army. It can begin with medical assistance, with intelligence, with training. And ultimately, I would not hesitate to give them lethal weapons, because Assad's army is using lethal weapons to kill the Syrian people, so the defenders of the Syrian people need weapons, as well," he said.

Press secretary Carney said the U.S. is not considering arming the opposition "right now" and went on to discuss what is being talked about with the "Friends of Syria" group. "We are exploring the possibility of providing humanitarian aid to Syrians and we are working with our partners, again to ratchet up the pressure, ratchet up the isolation on Assad and his regime," he said.

President Obama's spokesman declined to go into detail about options under discussion beyond humanitarian aid.

On the visit to Damascus by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Carney said Russia must realize that "betting everything on Assad is a recipe for failure."

US Skeptical of Assad Constitutional Offer to End Violence, Uprising

Scott Stearns — Tue, 7 Feb 2012 22:43:02 GMT

Syria says it is drawing up a new constitution as government forces continue to bombard opponents of President Bashar al-Assad. The Obama administration says Assad's plans for a constitutional referendum fall short of the democratic aspirations that have fueled an 11-month uprising.

Assad met Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who told reporters in Damascus that he is trying to resolve the political crisis in Syria based on Arab League calls for a national unity government and early elections.

Assad said parliamentary voting would follow ratification of a new constitution, the drafting of which Syrian state TV says is now complete.

But U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said President Assad's promises of political change are harder to believe, as his forces continue to bombard civilians.

"You can understand that the international community as a whole would be pretty skeptical if, instead of focusing on ending the violence, what we seem to have is a re-upping of this same offer that Assad has been making for months and months and months that he would put forward some sort of constitutional referendum and have people vote on it," said Nuland.

Nuland said the offer appears to fall short of the democratic aspirations of his opponents.

"It sounds like another promise by the Assad regime to put forward a piece of paper that they control for a vote that they can control. And frankly, how that gets us to the kind of peaceful national dialogue about a democratic future for Syria that we all want to see is not very clear," said Nuland.

The Russian foreign minister said Assad is ready for talks with all political forces and is prepared to put an end to violence "regardless of where it may come from."

Nuland said it is Syrian government forces that must stop attacking civilians.

"If, in fact, Assad supports the end of violence, he knows what he can do today, which he has neglected to do for these 11 months. He can stop the attacks by his forces on innocents in cities across Syria," said Nuland.

Lavrov and Assad appear to be working off a November Arab League plan that does not include subsequent calls for the president to step down. That provision, in part, led to Saturday's Russian and Chinese veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution backing the latest Arab League plan.

Blocked at the U.N., the Obama administration is organizing a "Friends of Syria" group to deepen President Assad's diplomatic isolation, increase sanctions, and bring pressure on countries that are still supplying weapons to the Syrian army, principally Russia.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed the "Friends of Syria" plan with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at the Munich Security Conference. European nations including Britain, France, and Germany are on board, as are many members of the Arab League.

Brookings Institution visiting fellow Khaled Elgindy said it is a bold move by members of the largely-conservative Arab League, which are unaccustomed to standing up to fellow member states, especially one as prominent as Syria.

"We’ve seen individual states like Tunisia and Libya have initiated the process of expelling their Syrian ambassadors in those countries. So I think there are still things that Arab League member states - I think - can do individually or collectively to further isolate Syria. I think that will be the next phase of collective Arab action - to try to isolate Syria more diplomatically," said Elgindy.

State Department spokeswoman Nuland said the "Friends of Syria" group also will look to provide humanitarian relief and political support for Assad opponents.

But she would not say whether Washington's support extends to the rebel Free Syrian Army - echoing Obama's insistence that the conflict be resolved without military intervention, and drawing a distinction between the "Friends of Syria" and the Libya Contact Group that ultimately led to NATO air strikes against Moammar Gadhafi.

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Hundreds of Children Killed in Syrian Violence

Lisa Schlein — Tue, 7 Feb 2012 19:53:29 GMT

The U.N. Children’s Fund reports hundreds of children have been killed and hundreds more detained since anti-government unrest broke out in Syria nearly 11 months ago. UNICEF’s Executive Director Anthony Lake is calling on Syrian authorities to stop the violence, as government forces continue to bombard the city of Homs, a hub of protests.

The U.N. Children’s Fund says hundreds of children have been victims during Syria's violence. It says there are reports of children being arbitrarily arrested, tortured and sexually abused while in detention.

UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado says her organization is also dismayed at shelling by government forces of civilian neighborhoods in the city of Homs over the past few days. She says this undoubtedly is causing more suffering for more children. “The latest numbers that are available through the local human rights organizations working in Syria on children dead and in detention are over 400 dead and also over 400 in detention as at the end of January. Again, these are from Syrian human rights organizations that we find to be credible," she said.

Human rights organizations report more than 6,000 people have been killed since mass protests against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad erupted in mid-March.

UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake is calling for an end to the violence in Syria. In a statement issued in Geneva, he says even one child killed is one child too many. Lake urges the Syrian authorities to allow help to all those who desperately need it.

In recent days, Syria’s third largest city, Homs, has been under what has been described as the deadliest government assault since the uprising began. Residential areas have been hit by heavy shelling and machine-gun fire by government troops determined to take control of the city.

UNICEF spokeswoman Mercado says children are being caught up in the violence. “UNICEF does not have access to the affected areas of Homs and cannot confirm the impact of the attacks there, but there are credible reports, including from international media inside Homs, that children are caught in the violence. Those injured must be given immediate and unconditional access to specialized medical care," she said.

Mercado says UNICEF is in constant dialogue with the Syrian authorities. She says the agency reminds the authorities that Syria is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Under the Convention, she says, Syria has an obligation to protect children.

Russian FM Meets Syria's Assad as Violence Continues

Edward Yeranian — Tue, 7 Feb 2012 10:04:09 GMT

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met in Damascus Tuesday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and said afterward that Syria's government wants to resolve ongoing violence and work toward political reforms. The visit came as government forces pounded Syria's third-largest city of Homs for a fifth day.

Welcoming Lavrov

Syrian state television showed the Russian foreign minister's convoy entering Damascus amid what appeared to be large crowds greeting him, despite bad weather. The report called the turnout a “million-man welcome” for Lavrov. Opposition sources question the authenticity of the footage, claiming it was digitally altered to show more people than were actually present.

Government supporters waved Russian flags at Lavrov's convoy, while others waved pictures of Syria's embattled president. A large float of balloons representing the colors of the Russian flag drifted over the crowd in central Damascus.

Violence in Homs

Meanwhile, witnesses in Homs say government troops were for a fifth day shelling parts of the city, some controlled by rebel armed forces. Videos showed smoke rising over the city, and opposition sources claim there were numerous casualties. Hundreds of people have reportedly died since the shelling began on Friday.

Following his meeting with President Assad in Damascus, the Russian foreign minister told journalists he was trying to “resolve the political crisis” in Syria, “based on the Arab League plan.” That plan calls for a national unity government to be formed under Syria's vice president, followed by early presidential and parliamentary elections.

The Russian foreign minister also indicated that President Assad was ready to hold a “dialogue with all political forces in Syria.” He said Assad was also prepared to “put an end to violence... no matter what its source.”

United Nations resolution

Hilal Khashan, who teaches political science at the American University of Beirut, believes that the Lavrov mission to Syria is an attempt by Moscow to "save face" after its Saturday veto of a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Damascus.

“Russia is very embarrassed by the stand it took with regard to Syria, when they vetoed the United Nations resolution," said Khashan. "I think the reason behind the vote goes well beyond Syria. We need to understand the veto as part of the tug of war between Russia and China on one hand and the U.S. on the other. These two countries want to be included in deciding on major issues and they don't want to abandon the scene to the U.S. I believe Lavrov will be telling the Syrian regime to do something major by way of reforms to save the face of Russia, because they're quite embarrassed. But, to tell the truth, I don't expect much to come out of the visit."

Recalling ambassadors

The United States announced Monday that it has suspended operations at its embassy in Damascus and withdrawn its ambassador. France, Britain, Italy and Spain also indicated that they were recalling their ambassadors. Gulf Cooperation Council states, for their part, said that they were expelling Syria's ambassadors.

US Closes Syria Embassy, Says UN Veto Emboldens Assad

Scott Stearns — Tue, 7 Feb 2012 01:09:01 GMT

The United States has closed its embassy in Syria, warning that President Bashar al-Assad is increasing his campaign of violence against opponents following the Russian and Chinese veto of U.N. action against his government.

After more than one month of talks aimed at improving security around the U.S. embassy in Damascus, the Obama administration withdrew its last officials from Syria Monday, saying the Assad government “failed to respond adequately” to concerns about conditions around the facility.

The State Department says the deteriorating security situation makes clear what it calls “the dangerous path” President Assad has chosen, as well as his inability to fully control Syria.

With government forces continuing to bombarded Syria's third-largest city of Homs, U.S. officials say the international community must act without delay to support an Arab League plan for President Assad to step aside.

Russia and China Saturday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution supporting that plan. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Aaron Snipe says Moscow and Beijing are encouraging President Assad's campaign of violence.

"They voted on the side of a leader who is now further emboldened to commit heinous crimes against his people," said Snipe.

Snipe says the suspension of embassy operations and the withdrawal of Ambassador Robert Ford does not mean the United States is abandoning Syria.

“The door for diplomatic ties remains open with the Syrian people and with the Syrian government," he said. "Ambassador Ford still remains the United States ambassador to Syria and its people. And though he will be now based in Washington, he will continue engaging with the Syrian people and supporting the Syrian people in whatever way that we can.”

While in Damascus, Ford made use of social media to keep in touch with Syrians. U.S. officials say he will continue to maintain his Facebook page and Twitter account from Washington. The Polish embassy in Damascus will now provide consular services for the Americans who remain.

US Urges Iranian Dissidents in Iraq to Move to Transit Center

VOA News — Tue, 7 Feb 2012 20:18:11 GMT

The Obama administration is urging a group of Iranian dissidents living in northeastern Iraq to make a decision about moving to a new transit center near Baghdad as part of a U.N.-backed process of resettling them in third countries.

U.S. State Department official Daniel Fried says U.S. and Iraqi officials discussed the proposed transit center move with a representative of the Iranian dissidents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq on Monday. In a conference call with reporters Tuesday, Fried said the officials told the Camp Ashraf representative that the Camp Hurriya center near Baghdad airport is ready to receive the dissidents and has been declared habitable by U.N. experts.

Camp Hurriya is a former U.S. military base that was known as Camp Liberty. Fried says the decision about the move is up to the Iranian dissidents, a group of 3,400 people affiliated with the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (PMOI) or MEK.

Iraq's Shi'ite-led government considers their presence in the country as an affront to Iraqi sovereignty. It signed an agreement with the United Nations in December to move the dissidents from Camp Ashraf to a temporary location where the U.N. refugee agency will process their refugee claims to help them resettle in third countries of their choosing.

Fried is the Obama administration's special advisor on Camp Ashraf. Last week, he and U.N. envoy Martin Cobler were in Europe to try to persuade EU nations to accept the Iranian dissidents. Fried said Washington supports the resettlement of the dissidents for humanitarian reasons.

The United States and Iran both officially consider the PMOI to be a terrorist group.

PMOI members first moved to Camp Ashraf in the 1980s at the invitation of then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The group is dedicated to the overthrow of Iran's Islamic government and sided with Saddam in his 1980 - 1988 war against Tehran. The PMOI also carried out bombings and assassinations against the Iranian government in that period, but says it renounced violence in 2001.

Camp Ashraf came under American military protection after Saddam's ouster in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. U.S. forces handed over security responsibilities for the site to the Iraqi government in January 2009.

Iraqi troops raided the camp in April 2011 in an operation that the United Nations said killed 34 people. Iraq's government said the troops confronted stone-throwing protesters resisting an operation to reclaim land from the camp and return it to farmers. The PMOI said the raid was an unprovoked Iraqi military assault with armored vehicles against unarmed civilians.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

Syria's Assad Learns Lessons from Arab Spring, Recent History

Henry Ridgwell — Tue, 7 Feb 2012 02:25:02 GMT

With Russia and China blocking a U.N. resolution condemning the crackdown on protests in Syria, the prospects for a quick end to the conflict seem bleak. President Bashar al-Assad can also rely on support from some other key players in the region. Our correspondent reports from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on some complex histories and alliances in the Middle East that are shaping the response to Syria's uprising.

Syrian protesters on the streets of Damascus send their message to the United Nations, burning the Iranian, Russian and Chinese flags - all allies of the Syrian government.

The uprising is proving long and brutal. Analysts say the Syrian government has learned lessons from across the Arab world.

Analyst Paul Salem directs of the Carnegie Middle East Center.

“The regime in Syria has calibrated, has learned from the Libyan experience and has calibrated its response to be brutal but not flamboyantly so; and not to speak of it openly," said Salem. "To carry a big stick but speak softly ... they looked at countries like Egypt which had made compromises with the opposition ... and they concluded that if you compromise first, you will end up losing everything second.”

There are history lessons too in neighboring Lebanon, which fought a civil war in the 1970s and 80s.

Like Lebanon, Syria is made up of a mosaic of different religions - Sunnis and Shias, Alawites, which includes President Bashar al-Assad and much of the ruling class, along with Christians and Druze.

Beirut, now home to some of Syria’s exiled opposition, still bears the scars of that brutal conflict.

It is a war that reverberates in Syria today, says Salem.

“They have used the lessons in the reverse way," he said. "The regime is effectively threatening the Syrian people that if they get rid of the regime they will have a civil war on their hands.”

Looking east, Syria can count on Iran as its main ally. There, President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has repeatedly berated Arab countries for pressuring Syria to end the crackdown.

He says one of the bitter and ridiculous scenarios is that in the region Arab leaders who do not have any concept of election and freedom in their culture, have gathered and want to issue freedom and democracy decrees for Syria.

With Syria’s President Assad enjoying some regional support, it will be difficult for the international community to isolate Damascus. Russia and China have also made it clear they will not support regime change through the United Nations.

Only violence on an even greater scale could prompt foreign intervention, says analyst Paul Salem.

“If something happens that is of a dramatic nature and if the Western press gets hold of it and it impacts public opinion, at the end of the day politicians are politicians and they have to respond to what the mood of the public is," said Salem. "This is effectively what happened largely in Libya, it is what happened eventually in Kosovo.”

For now, analysts say international divisions mean there is little hope of a quick solution to Syria’s conflict.

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Egyptian Military, Under Pressure, Advances Election Timetable

Peter Clottey — Tue, 7 Feb 2012 10:40:46 GMT

An Egyptian scholar says calls by Egypt’s military administration for a presidential election are a calculated attempt to dilute a groundswell of pro-democracy demands to hand over power to a civilian government.

The military announced that nominations for presidential candidates will be accepted beginning March 10, a month earlier than planned.

Monday's protests in Cairo

Said Sadek, professor of political sociology at the American University in Cairo, said the military administration seems to have failed to accelerate the transitional process following protests that forced long-time leader Hosni Mubarak to step down.

“Of course, they would never have made this concession unless there was popular pressure,” said Sadek. “This just shows how the culture of fear has been defeated. There are lots of demonstrations targeting the [head of the ruling military council] Field Marshal [Mohamed Hussein Tantawi] himself, and they want the entire military council to be subjected to investigation for mishandling the transitional period.”

Tantawi called for a quick completion of nomination procedures in a Monday meeting with the head of a judicial election supervisory committee.

Observers, however, said the ongoing protests pressured military rulers to move up preparations for a presidential vote aimed at reinstating civilian rule.

The move, analysts say, seems to be an apparent concession to opposition activists engaged in street battles with police outside the Interior Ministry. Protesters also held a sit-in demonstration Monday at the parliament building demanding presidential elections are held in the coming weeks, rather than in June.

Sadek says the protesters are still suspicious of the military administration, despite the announcement to expedite the presidential vote.

“The street protests are much mobilized against the military and the Ministry of Interior and we have had one of the worse riots that even a parliamentary committee is claiming might have been a conspiracy,” said Sadek. “In the last protests in Tahrir, we have noticed a systematic attempt by thugs to harass women deliberately, to demonize and to discredit Tahrir Square and make it difficult for people to go there.”

The military pledged to hold a presidential election in June, but speeding up the nomination process could allow for an earlier vote in April or May. The presidential election would be Egypt's first since last year's popular uprising ousted Mubarak.

Some Egyptians have expressed concern there would not be enough time to approve and implement a new constitution before the presidential vote. But, Sadek said the country’s leaders can expedite the process to ensure the constitution is in place before the vote.

China Defends its Veto of UN Resolution on Syria

Stephanie Ho — Mon, 6 Feb 2012 14:59:19 GMT

China strongly defended its veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria again Monday, saying its decision was ultimately aimed at avoiding more casualties.

Monday's Foreign Ministry briefing was dominated by China's decision, along with Russia's, to block the resolution condemning Syria's crackdown on anti-government protesters and calling for President Bashar al-Assad to resign.

VOA’s Ira Mellman spoke about the Chinese veto with Clayton Dube, Executive Director of the US-China Institute at the University of Southern California.

Dube said the move by Beijing follows “a well-established pattern of resisting calls for regime change.”

Spokesman Liu Weimin said China has been actively involved in U.N. efforts to address the Syrian crisis, but sees the latest resolution as divisive and ineffective.

China vetoed the resolution, said Liu, because it feels that supporters pushed through the vote while different sides were still "seriously divided." Thirteen of the 15 council members voted in favor of the measure.

This kind of practice, Liu added, does not help maintain unity within the U.N. Security Council nor does it solve the Syrian issue. Liu went on to say China is paying close attention to the situation in Syria and is calling on all sides there to stop violence. Beijing's ultimate goal, he said, is to avoid casualties of innocent civilians and restore normal order in Syria.

The spokesman did not directly respond to questions for comment about the rising death toll in Syria, where the opposition accuses government troops of regular attacks in the Syrian city, Homs.

He also rejected Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's description of the Chinese and Russian vetoes as “a travesty.”

Liu said China does not accept the accusation, adding that China is not trying to favor any side in Syria's civil conflict. China sees itself as “a responsible major country,” and will continue to work with the international community for a positive outcome, Lui said.

Sun Zhe, international studies professor at Tsinghua University, believes there is still still room to negotiate stronger international action on Syria. If the situation deteriorates even further, China and Russia could still change their positions, said Sun, arguing that Western countries that are calling for sanctions should continue their discussions.

China is following Russia's lead on the Syria issue, but Sun acknowledged that Beijing also has its own concerns. Chinese leaders see the Syrian government's actions as “extremist,” he said, but are afraid of Western intervention because, they do not want to see another Libya or another Egypt.

Russia's foreign minister is due in Syria on Tuesday. The Chinese spokesman said he had no information as to whether Chinese officials would be heading to Damascus anytime in the immediate future.

Kremlin Defends Its Veto at UN on Syria

Jessica Golloher — Mon, 6 Feb 2012 18:41:53 GMT

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is sharply criticizing the U.N. Security Council for its handling of a controversial resolution on Syria, which Russia and China blocked by using their veto power. Lavrov says the resolution should not have come to a vote before his visit to Damascus, which begins Tuesday.

The Russian foreign minister says Russia specifically asked the Security Council to delay voting on the resolution until after his talks in Damascus. Lavrov contends the decision to go ahead with a vote at the U.N. Saturday was disrespectful.

The senior Russian official says foreign policy and diplomacy must be conducted through all-party discussions, not just by communicating through mass media.

Speaking in Moscow Monday after talks with Bahrain’s visiting foreign minister, Lavrov said the Security Council resolution backed by the Arab League and Western powers was one-sided when it called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to cede power, and that's why Russia used its veto power. China also vetoed the resolution.

What made the resolution one-sided, Lavrov says, was its demand for an end to violent action by the Damascus government, without also imposing special, specific obligations on the armed groups battling the Assad regime.

Russia has consistently resisted Western-backed sanctions against Syria. The foreign minister says Russia is pressing the Syrian government to implement democratic reforms. He says other countries are trying to use the issue of violence against protesters to justify sudden, violent changes in that country's government.

Obama Orders New Sanctions on Iran

VOA News — Mon, 6 Feb 2012 17:31:45 GMT

U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered stricter sanctions on Iran's government and central bank, citing "deceptive practices" by Iranian banks to conceal transactions.

In an executive order released Monday, the president said other factors for imposing the new restrictions include deficiencies in Iran's anti-money laundering regime, and the "continuing and unacceptable risk" that Iran's activities pose to the international financial system.

The order freezes assets in U.S. control.

The United States and European Union have tightened economic sanctions on the Iranian central bank and oil industry in recent weeks to pressure Iran to stop uranium enrichment -- a process that has military and civilian applications.

Iran recently said it started enriching uranium at its underground Fordo complex, which has the capacity to speed up the production of weapons-grade material.

Israel is reported to be increasingly anxious about Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program and at least one U.S. official is reported to be warning that an Israeli attack is not far off.

Iranian officials deny any intention to build nuclear weapons, and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned last week that Iran will retaliate in full force if its nuclear facilities are attacked.

Western reports say Iranians are reeling under the continuing effects of sanctions.

Faced with a dropping currency, Iranian officials are struggling to stabilize the rial, which has fallen recently on announcements of U.S. and European sanctions against Iran’s banking capability and oil exports.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

Palestinian Rivals Agree to Form Unity Government

VOA News — Mon, 6 Feb 2012 15:23:38 GMT

The leaders of the rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas announced they have agreed to form an interim unity government led by Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority.

Abbas and Khaled Meshaal, head of the militant Islamist Hamas, said Monday the two groups would move forward without delay to form a government of independent technocrats, paving the way for presidential and parliamentary elections possibly later this year. No specific timetable was set.

The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who sponsored the talks, sat between the rival Palestinian leaders as they announced the deal in Doha.

Fatah and Hamas Relations Since 2007

June, 2007: After an election, Hamas takes control of Gaza. Fatah stays in control of the West Bank.

June, 2008: The two sides agree to talks, which are not held.

March, 2009: The two sides begin talks in Cairo.

November, 2010: Talks in Damascus fail to make more progress.

May, 2011: Fatah, Hamas sign a reconciliation deal.

February, 2012: Fatah, Hamas agree to form a unity government.

Fatah and Hamas had reached a reconciliation accord last year but were unable to agree on a candidate for prime minister. The current Palestinian premier, the Western-backed Salam Fayyad, would have to step down if a transitional government is formed. Fayyad said he welcomed the pact and is ready to implement it, as did Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' prime minister in Gaza.

Both sides said they are serious about carrying out the new agreement. Meshaal said it creates greater unity "in order to be free for facing the enemy," referring to Israel. Hamas is officially sworn to Israel's destruction, but says it is open to an indefinite cease-fire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday it would be impossible to hold peace talks if the Palestinians go through with the pact. He said if Abbas implements the power-sharing deal, he has chosen to "abandon the way of peace and to choose Hamas," adding, "you cannot have it both ways."

The United States, Europe and Israel all consider Hamas a terrorist organization. The West and Israel say they will not deal with a Palestinian entity that includes the Islamist group unless it recognizes Israel, renounces violence and accepts all previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.

The more moderate, Abbas-led Palestinian Authority supports a negotiated peace with Israel that would give Palestinians an independent state in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Gaza, co-existing alongside the Jewish state.

The deal, known as the "Doha Declaration," also calls for rebuilding Gaza, which has been largely cut off from the world as part of an Israeli-Egyptian border blockade, imposed after Hamas took over the Palestinian territory in 2007. The blockade was eased in the past year, but not enough to revive Gaza's economy.

Hamas won a landslide victory in Palestinian elections in 2006. It wrested control of Gaza from forces loyal to Abbas's Fatah movement after months of factional unrest, splitting the Palestinian territories into rival camps.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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Russia, China Defend Syria Resolution Veto, US Calls Move 'Travesty'

VOA News — Sun, 5 Feb 2012 17:10:31 GMT

Russia and China are defending their veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have endorsed an Arab League plan for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to transfer power to a deputy to help end Syria's months-long unrest.

The Russian government said Sunday it vetoed the Western and Arab-backed resolution the previous day because of what it viewed as "ultimatum-like" demands for the removal of Mr. Assad, Moscow's only military ally in the Middle East. Moscow accused the resolution's supporters of lacking the "political will" to reach an international agreement on resolving the Syrian crisis. Thirteen of the Security Council's 15 members voted in favor of the draft.

Moscow also said its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and spy agency chief Mikhail Fradkov will travel to Syria on Tuesday to call on President Assad to "rapidly" implement democratic reforms to stabilize the situation. Syria's 11-month opposition uprising against Mr. Assad's autocratic rule has escalated into open conflict between rebels and pro-Assad forces in recent months after a deadly government crackdown on peaceful protesters.

A commentary published by the Chinese state news agency, Xinhua, said Beijing vetoed the resolution to oppose what it perceived as an effort to promote "regime change" in Syria through "external force" in violation of international norms. It said China believes the international community should promote dialogue in Syria and "respect the ability of the Syrian people to resolve the crisis by themselves."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denounced the double veto as a "travesty" while on a visit to the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. She said the United States will work with its allies outside the United Nations to tighten "regional and national" sanctions on Syria and "dry up sources of funding and arms shipments" that keep the Assad government's "war machine going," as she put it.

Clinton also called for "friends of a democratic Syria" to coordinate assistance to the Syrian opposition and support what she said is the Syrian people's right to have a better future. She gave no details about which nations might join the effort or what specific steps they might take.

The head of the main opposition Syrian National Council, Burhan Ghalioun, called the double veto "a new license to kill ... for Bashar al-Assad and his criminal regime."

Syrian rights activists said fighting between pro-Assad troops and loosely-organized rebels killed at least 56 people across Syria on Sunday, about half of them civilians. The activists reported more shelling in the central city of Homs, where they said at least 200 people were massacred in a government bombardment late Friday into Saturday in what appeared to be one of the deadliest incidents of the revolt.

There was no independent confirmation of the casualties as Syria restricts independent reporting in the country.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said Sunday the Arab bloc will continue its efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis. He said the Russian and Chinese veto "does not negate" what he called "clear international support" for the league's plan for a Syrian transition of power.

The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Ja'afari, said the nations backing the vetoed resolution were supporting what he called "armed terrorists" that Damascus blames for the country's unrest.

The double veto sparked protests around the world Sunday. Anti-Assad activists stormed Russia's embassy in Libya's capital, Tripoli, climbing on the roof and tearing down the flag. Elsewhere, Turkish police fired tear gas to disperse protesters seeking to storm the Syrian consulate in Istanbul. In Beirut, hundreds of Syrian opposition activists and Lebanese supporters demonstrated outside the Russian embassy.

In another show of Arab anger toward the Syrian government, Tunisia's prime minister said Sunday his country is cutting ties with Damascus.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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Egyptians Protest for 4th Day at Interior Ministry

Edward Yeranian — Sun, 5 Feb 2012 14:41:24 GMT

Crowds of mostly young protesters clashed with riot police in front of Egypt's Interior Ministry for a fourth consecutive day. Protesters also held a sit-in at the nearby parliament building, demanding presidential elections be held in the coming weeks, rather than in June.

Crowds of young men dropped back periodically before charging riot police yet again, and pelting them with sticks, stones and bottles. A line of police protecting the Interior Ministry appeared to hold its ground, occasionally dodging projectiles and firing back with tear gas.

Egyptian state TV showed the young protesters skirmishing with police on several side-streets near the ministry, calling the action a "game of cat and mouse." Fires burned in the street, clouds of tear gas filled the air and the pavement was littered with rubble.

Many of the protesters call themselves "Ultras" and are supporters of Cairo's top Al-Ahly soccer team. Some Ultras accuse the government and security forces of negligence in violence that left 74 people dead after a soccer match Wednesday in Port Said.

Egypt's interim Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim Youssef told a news conference some of the protesters attacking riot police are hooligans.

He called for the youth that participated in last year's revolution not to associate with others who are looking to cause trouble and disrupt security. He urges respectable protesters to move back to Tahrir Square and away from clashes near government buildings.

TV commentators said respected elders are trying to convince the young people to put an end to the clashes near the Interior Ministry.

Interior Minister Youssef insisted local officials in Port Said had not requested reinforcements from his ministry, and no one had expected such a level of violence at the match.

American University in Cairo Political Sociology Professor Said Sadek says the protesters are attacking the Interior Ministry because they perceive justice is not being carried out following the calamity in Port Said.

"It is just a symbolic act. They want to break the prestige of the Ministry of the Interior that still remains like [it was under] the old regime. They want to break the culture of fear. They went there not to break into [the ministry], because they do not have weapons. They look at the Ministry of Interior as the Bastille of Egypt."

Meanwhile, Egyptian officials say 43 workers for non-governmental organizations, 19 of whom are American, have been "referred" to a court for trial. The workers are accused of involvement in "banned activity and illegally receiving foreign funds."

Relations between the United States and Egypt have soured over the issue, and Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces insists that it must be settled in court. No court date has been set, as yet.

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US 'Deeply Concerned' About Egypt Activist Trials

VOA News — Sun, 5 Feb 2012 19:34:41 GMT

The United States has expressed deep concern over Egypt's decision to put 43 people on trial over charges of "illegal funding" of pro-democracy groups.

A judicial source in Cairo said Sunday the cases of the 43 suspects, including 19 Americans, five Serbs, two Germans, three Arab nationals and an unspecified number of Egyptians, have been transferred to the Cairo criminal court. Among the 19 Americans is Sam LaHood, head of the Egypt office of the International Republican Institute and the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The judges overseeing the probe also accused the foreign and Egyptian activists, which have been banned from leaving the country, of "running organizations without the required licenses."

A date for the start of the trial has yet to be set.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says Washington is deeply concerned over the developments and is seeking clarification from the Egyptian government.

On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned her Egyptian counterpart the dispute may lead to the loss of more than $1.3 billion in annual military aid to Cairo. But Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr responded Sunday by saying the government cannot interfere in the work of the judiciary.

The Obama administration has strongly criticized Egypt's crackdown on the non-governmental organizations, three of which are based in Washington. An unspecified number of Americans involved have sought shelter at the U.S. embassy.

The investigation into the NGOs is closely linked with the political turmoil that has engulfed Egypt since the ouster nearly a year ago of former president Hosni Mubarak, a close U.S. ally who ruled Egypt for almost 30 years.

The military generals who took power after Mr. Mubarak's fall have accused "foreign hands" of orchestrating the protests against their rule and often say the demonstrators are receiving funds from abroad to destabilize the country.

Egyptian authorities carried out 17 raids on the NGO offices in December, confiscating everything from cell phones, documents and computers to safes, desks and money. Despite assurances given to U.S. officials, two of the organizations said that as of last month, no property or cash had been returned.

Egyptian civil society groups say the ruling military council ordered the raids to harass activists at the forefront of the anti-Mubarak revolt who have since been pressing for the army to swiftly hand power to civilians.

In a letter sent last week to Clinton and U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, 41 members of the U.S. Congress urged the Obama administration to withhold further aid to Egypt until the organizations are allowed to reopen and all seized property is returned.

The letter also called for an end to the judicial probe and that the NGOs be allowed to resume their work.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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