Blog Archives

New York Mayor, Police Chief Sued Over Post-9/11 Muslim Surveillance Programs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Civil rights lawyers say they plan to ask a federal judge to declare the New York Police Department’s spying programs directed at Muslims to be unconstitutional, and to order police to stop their surveillance and destroy any records in police files.

In a lawsuit being filed Tuesday, the lawyers say the spying has hindered residents from freely practicing their religion. It is the third significant legal action filed against the NYPD Muslim surveillance program since details of the spy program were revealed in a series of Associated Press reports in 2011 and 2012.

The lawsuit says Muslim religious leaders in New York have modified their sermons and other behavior to not draw additional police attention.

The NYPD did not immediately respond to a phone call and email asking for comment.

Assyrian International News Agency

Scores detained in Turkey police swoop

Police in Turkey have arrested 87 people following raids across several cities, local media says.

Muammer Guler, the country’s interior minister, said 62 people have been arrested in Turkey’s biggest city Istanbul while many others were detained in the capital Ankara.

NTV television said the raids targeted left-wing groups.The arrests followed two weeks of anti-government protests.

Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Istanbul, said the detained people were accused of damaging public property and inciting violence.

Earlier, police detained a dozen people who stood still at Istanbul’s Taksim Square in a form of passive defiance against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s authority after activists were ousted from a sit-in at a park over the weekend.

The wave of anti-government protest that has swept through Turkey starting May 31 has shaken the country’s secular democracy.

130

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

Kurdish General and Police Officer Lead Attack on Assyrian Village

Northern Iraq (AINA) — New information has surfaced on the recent attack by Kurds on the village of Rabatki, in the Dohuk province in Northern Iraq (AINA 6-13-2013). According to observers in the area who have spoken to AINA on condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals, the attack last Thursday was headed by a general in the Kurdish Peshmerga forces. General Aref Habib Al Zebari was identified by witnesses as leading the attack along with his brother Hares Habib Al Zebari, a police officer in the nearby city of Aqra. The Assyrians of the village of Rabatki maintain that most of the armed Kurds who attacked them were actually Peshmerga soldiers wearing civilian clothes.

The Peshmerga is the Kurdish Regional Government’s (KRG) military force tasked with the security of the three provinces carved out for Kurds. The force is financed with money from the Iraqi national budget. Assyrians are systematically discriminated against in the armed forces in Iraq. In the Nineveh plain, for example, Assyrians have almost no presence in the police force despite constituting the major ethnic group in several municipalities. Calls for more Assyrians in the local police force where many of them live have been opposed by the KRG since 2008.

No one has been arrested for the attack and the villagers don’t expect any of the assailants to face any kind of consequences because of their background and because the victims are Assyrians. Exemplifying the marginalization Assyrians face in all aspects of life in Northern Iraq were the words of general Aref Habib Al Zebari during the attack on Rabatki: “We are the authority around here and we will take what we want.”

Assyrian International News Agency

Turkish Police Warn Striking Workers At Demonstrations

Riot police have warned some 1,000 striking trade unionists to stop blocking a major avenue in central Ankara or face intervention.

The workers were trying to march as part of a national strike called by several labor groups to protest what they saw as harsh treatment of antigovernment protesters at Istanbul’s Taksim Square.

On June 17, Turkey’s interior minister warned that the strike is illegal and protesters would “bear the legal consequences” if they participate.

The one-day work stoppage on June 17 is backed by the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions as well as the unions for public sector workers, engineers and architects, doctors, and dentists.

The unions say Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government “launched an offensive against the nation” by forcibly evicting protesters from Taksim Square on June 15.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, “Hurriyet,” and the BBC

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Afghan Provincial Police Chief Survives Suicide Attack

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan — The police chief of Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province has escaped a suicide car bomb attack on his convoy.

A provincial government spokesman said Mohammad Nabi Ilham was on his to way to work on the morning of June 17 when the car bomber struck on a main road in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.

Ilham’s armored car was badly damaged.

The spokesman said the police chief was unharmed, but two guards sustained minor injuries.

Ilham told reporters, “I will continue fighting against enemies of Afghanistan and hostile elements that have put our people’s life at risk.”

In a telephone call to RFE/RL, a Taliban spokesman said the militant group was behind the attack.

Insurgents frequently attack police and civilian officials working for the Afghan government.

With reporting by AFP and AP

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Afghan Provincial Police Chief Survives Suicide Attack

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan — The police chief of Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province has escaped a suicide car bomb attack on his convoy.

A provincial government spokesman said Mohammad Nabi Ilham was on his to way to work on the morning of June 17 when the car bomber struck on a main road in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.

Ilham’s armored car was badly damaged.

The spokesman said the police chief was unharmed, but two guards sustained minor injuries.

Ilham told reporters, “I will continue fighting against enemies of Afghanistan and hostile elements that have put our people’s life at risk.”

In a telephone call to RFE/RL, a Taliban spokesman said the militant group was behind the attack.

Insurgents frequently attack police and civilian officials working for the Afghan government.

With reporting by AFP and AP

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Police and protesters clash in Istanbul

Clashes have taken place between police and anti-government protesters in the streets leading to a central square in Istanbul, as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has displayed a show of strength in a rally organised by his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party only a few kilometers away from the violence.

Thousands of protesters have been trying to reach Taksim Square on Sunday after overnight police intervention at an Istanbul park where anti-government protests were first ignited more than two weeks ago.

Spotlight

Follow Al Jazeera’s coverage of growing political unrest

Riot police fired bursts of tear gas and water cannon on Sunday after a night of unrest to try to prevent demonstrators from regrouping and keep them away from Taksim Square, where Gezi Park is located.

Bulldozers removed barricades and municipal workers swept the streets around the central Taksim Square, sealed off by police, after thousands took to the streets overnight following the raid on the park.

Meanwhile, speaking at his party’s pro-government rally in Istanbul, Erdogan accused international media of “lying”, apparently referring to the coverage of the recent protests. He said that foreign media sources were not portraying an accurate representation of Turkey.

“Come on BBC, CNN and Reuters… Display this differently as well,” he told tens of thousands of supporters. ”This is the real picture of Turkey, despite international media.” 

He also targeted the European parliament over a resolution it adopted regarding the protests. “Turkey is not a country that can be convicted by parliaments that do not know about Turkey,” Erdogan said, adding the EU should “know [its] place!”.

In a resolution passed on Thursday in Strasbourg, the EU institution warned the government against the use of “harsh measures” against peaceful protestors and urged Erdogan to take a “unifying and conciliatory” stance. It also expressed its “deep concern” at the disproportionate and excessive use of force by Turkish police.

Erdogan on Sunday rejected protesters’ allegations that he had been dictatorial in his actions, asserting that the demonstrators in Gezi Park were “not sincere”.

Throughout Saturday night, police forces entered hotels and other buildings harbouring injured protesters in Istanbul, using tear gas inside buildings and detaining demonstrators.  

There have been rallies and clashes in cities such as capital Ankara, Izmir, Eskisehir, Bursa, Antalya and Adana following police’s intervention in Gezi Park in Saturday evening.

Hundreds of police officers have poured into Istanbul in order to work around Taksim Square and Kazlicesme, where the pro-government rally is taking place.

‘No access to Taksim Square’

Meanwhile, Istanbul’s governor said on Sunday that the planned gathering by an anti-government protest group in Taksim Square would not be allowed to go ahead.

“There is a call for gathering in Taksim at 4:00pm [local time; 13:00GMT],” Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu told reporters. “Any call for Taksim will not contribute to peace and security. After the current environment becomes stable, they can continue exercising their democratic rights. Under current circumstances we will not allow any gathering.”

Mutlu said two police officers were shot during Saturday’s riots by live ammunition, adding that they are in good condition.

He also confirmed the reports that doctors helping protesters were arrested. “Yes, doctors have been arrested but they are acting in conjunction with the protesters,” he said.

He also rejected reports claiming that water sprayed from water cannon at protesters contained any additional chemicals.

In Ankara, police forces have prevented a large group of people from entering capital Ankara’s central Kizilay Square. Water cannon and tear gas have been used by riot police against protesters.

The group was trying to enter the square following protester Ethem Sarisuluk’s funeral in order to commemorate him where he died.

The government says the demonstrators are being manipulated by illegal groups seeking to sow instability while the movement says that the government has been acting increasingly authoritarian.

Turkey has been in turmoil since late May after a sit-in protest against an urban development project at Gezi Park of Istanbul transformed into countrywide anti-government demonstrations.

693

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

Police and protesters clash in Istanbul

Streets leading to a central square in Istanbul have been subject to clashes between the police and anti-government protesters, as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan prepares for a show of strength in a rally organised by his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party.

Thousands of protesters are trying to reach Taksim Square on Sunday after overnight harsh police intervention to an Istanbul park that ignited the anti-government protests in the first place more than two weeks ago.

Spotlight

Follow Al Jazeera’s coverage of growing political unrest

Riot police fired bursts of tear gas and water cannons on Sunday after a night of unrest to try to prevent demonstrators from regrouping and keep them away from Taksim Square where Gezi Park is located.

Bulldozers removed barricades and municipal workers swept the streets around the central Taksim Square, sealed off by police, after thousands took to the streets overnight following the raid on the park.

Throughout the night, police forces have entered hotels and other buildings harbouring injured protesters in Istanbul, using tear gas inside buildings and detaining demonstrators.  

There have been rallies and clashes in cities such as capital Ankara, Izmir, Eskisehir, Bursa, Antalya and Adana following police’s intervention in the Gezi Park in Saturday evening.

Hundreds of police officers have poured to Istanbul in order to work around Taksim Square and Kazlicesme where the pro-government rally will take place.

‘No access to Taksim Square’

Meanwhile, Istanbul’s governor said on Sunday a planned gathering by an anti-government protest group in the city’s central Taksim Square would not be allowed to go ahead after a night of unrest.

“There is a call for gathering in Taksim at 16:00 (13:00GMT),” Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu told reporters. “Any call for Taksim will not contribute to peace and security. After the current environment becomes stable, they can continue exercising their democratic rights. Under current circumstances we will not allow any gathering.”

Mutlu said two police officers were shot during Saturday’s riots by live ammunition, adding that they are in good condition.

He also confirmed the reports that doctors helping protesters were arrested. “Yes, doctors have been arrested but they are acting in conjunction with the protesters,” he said.

He also rejected the reports claiming that the water sprayed from water cannons contain chemicals.

Pro-Erdogan rally in Istanbul

Meanwhile, Erdogan is to deliver a speech at a political rally in the Kazlicesme district of Istanbul about 10 kilometres away from the square.

In an AK Party rally in Ankara on Saturday, Prime Minister Erdogan issued a Sunday deadline for those occupying the park to leave or face eviction.

He also accused “a network of treachery” of being responsible for the unrest that has gripped the country for more than two weeks.

Erdogan said that the protests are not about the environment, as those in Taksim Square say, but are part of a plot “coordinated inside and outside” Turkey.

“I will reveal this network of treachery with the documents proving [it],” he added.

In Ankara, police forces have prevented a large group of people from entering capital Ankara’s central Kizilay Square. Water cannons and tear gas have been used by riot police against protesters.

The group was trying to enter the square following protester Ethem Sarisuluk’s funeral in order to commemorate him where he died.

The government says the demonstrators are being manipulated by illegal groups seeking to sow instability while the movement says that the government has been acting increasingly authoritarian.

Turkey has been in turmoil since late May after a sit-in protest against an urban development project at Gezi Park of Istanbul transformed into countrywide anti-government demonstrations.

634

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

Turkish police clear Istanbul sit-in

Riot police have fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters in Istanbul’s Taksim Square and Gezi Park, dispersing them just hours after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a Sunday deadline for those occupying the park to leave or face eviction.

Lines of police backed by armoured vehicles sealed off Taksim Square in the centre of the city on Saturday as officers stormed the adjoining Gezi Park, where protesters had been camped in a ramshackle settlement of tents for more than two weeks.

Residents in surrounding neighbourhoods took to their balconies or leant out of windows banging pots and pans, while car drivers sounded their horns in support of the protesters.

Several people were brought out of the park on stretchers as ambulances waited to receive them.

Earlier, PM Erdogan addressed a rally of thousands of supporters in the capital Ankara.

“We have our Istanbul rally tomorrow. I say it clearly: Taksim Square must be evacuated, otherwise this country’s security forces know how to evacuate it,” he said.

Spotlight

Follow Al Jazeera’s coverage of growing political unrest

Erdogan flexed his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s muscles in the rally organised hours after sit-in protesters in Gezi Park rebuked the government’s calls for them to leave their position.

Turkey has been in turmoil since late May after a sit-in protest against an urban development project in the heart of Istanbul transformed into countrywide anti-government demonstrations.

In the AK Party rally in Ankara, the prime minister also accused “a network of treachery” of being responsible for the unrest that has gripped the country for more than two weeks.

Erdogan said that the protests are not about the environment, as those in Taksim Square say, but are part of a plot “coordinated inside and outside” Turkey.

“I will reveal this network of treachery with the documents proving [it],” he said.

He blamed the protesters for vandalism both towards AK Party buildings and public property. He also accused the protesters of attacking women wearing headscarves and entering mosques with their shoes on.

Reporting from Ankara, Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra said that Erdogan was very defiant in his speech, lashing out at protesters. “Now we have to wait the reaction of the protesters at Gezi Park to Erdogan’s ultimatum,” our correspondent said.

Erdogan’s ruling party has organised a series of rallies in Ankara and Istanbul this weekend in order to show the support he continues to enjoy. The rally in Ankara on Saturday was entitled “Respect for the National Will”.

The prime minister frequently makes remarks about his party’s legitimacy and the fact that it won 50 percent of the votes in 2011 elections, referring to “the ballot box” as the base of democracy.

Sit-in action continues

Meanwhile, in Gezi Park itself, protesters have refused to vacate the siteof the sit-in despite a call from the president

for them to withdraw and a pledge from Erdogan to wait for a final court verdict to decide on the urban development project that ignited the protests in the first place.

“We will continue our resistance in the face of any injustice and unfairness taking place in our country,” the Taksim Solidarity group, seen as most representative of the protesters, said in a statement on Saturday.

The decision came a day after Erdogan met with members of the group, along with artists and actors.

President Abdullah Gul, who has struck a more conciliatory tone than Erdogan throughout the protests, has called on the protesters to return home.

“The fact that negotiation and dialogue channels are open is a sign of democratic maturity,” he said via his Twitter account.

Following the meeting with protesters early on Friday, Erdogan accepted to delay the redevelopment of Gezi Park pending a court decision on its legality. He also said a referendum would be held to determine the park’s fate, even if the court ruled in favour of re-development.

Earlier on Saturday, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), called on the government to respect the decision taken by the sit-in protesters at Gezi Park to continue their action.

“The youths have taken the decision to go on with their sit-in protest. They have been discussing [to continue or not] for a while. We have to respect their decision as it is supposed to be in democracies,” Kilicdaroglu, who met foreign media members at a hotel in Istanbul, said, stressing that in his opinion the sit-in action is legal.

766

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

Turkey: Police Expel Protesters From Park

Riot police have used tear gas and water cannons to force anti-government protesters out of Istanbul’s Gezi Park.

The police moved in on the evening of June 15 after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave an ultimatum to protesters to end their occupation of the park.

After protesters fled, bulldozers and cleaning crews arrived to clear the area of tents and barricades.

The protesters had remained in the park, even after officials offered assurances that the government has suspended its plan to cut down trees in the park to enable construction there.

Officials say the government will await a court ruling on the legality of the redevelopment plan, as well as hold a referendum on the question, before taking action.

The past two weeks of protests have marked the biggest unrest in Turkey in decades.

Based on reports from Reuters, AFP and AP

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Turkish Police Begin to Clear Istanbul’s Taksim Square

ISTANBUL — In a tear-gas-filled conclusion to two weeks of anti-government protests in Turkey, riot police on Saturday stormed a central Istanbul square and park that had formed the heart of a broad challenge to the 10-year-rule of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Within an hour of a warning from Turkey’s leader to clear Taksim Square and adjoining Gezi Park, security forces using loudspeakers told protesters to leave and hundreds of black-clad riot police wearing gas masks started to rush the park, using tear gas and water cannons to chase protesters from the area. Remaining was mess of soggy tents, banners and debris that sanitation workers quickly moved to clear from the park. It had turned into a symbol of defiance against Erdogan, who wants to build a replica of an Ottoman-era barracks on the site.

It was unclear what the next steps of the opposition would be. Erdogan had invited a delegation of protesters into his Ankara home Friday and offered concessions substantial enough that some organizers appeared to be considering standing down Saturday and leaving only a symbolic tent behind. But as thousands of protesters on Saturday crowded the streets that feed into Taksim Square, the crossroads of Istanbul, they were defiant even after having lost the physical emblem of their movement.

The assault on protesters came hours after Erdogan gave a fiery speech in Ankara to tens of thousands of cheering supporters. Many in Istanbul had vowed to remain in the park, and on a warm Saturday night it was unusually crowded.

“I am putting it very clearly: Taksim Square is vacated or else,” Erdogan said. “If not, this country’s security forces know how to vacate.”

On Istiklal Street — or Freedom Street — a grand pedestrian boulevard that leads into the square, crowds of protesters confronted a line of police three deep. One man ran toward the police with a red banner of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey. He was beaten back with a sharp blast of water from a truck-mounted water cannon. His banner was quickly blown off its pole.

“The prime minister is not communicating with people right now,” said Pinar Yuksel, 43, a choir head who was standing in packed Istiklal Street, just yards from the police battalion. “He resists understanding us and he is trying to make us enemies with the Turkish police.”

“Yes, I am afraid right now,” Yuksel said. “But I will stay here because I love my country.”

Inside the park, security forces were using excavators and bulldozers to clear away an encampment where just hours earlier protesters had been listening to a concert of folk music from Turkey’s revolutionary era. Dozens of sanitation workers put debris into a front-end bucket loader.

Earlier in the day, those in Gezi Park appeared to be taking small steps toward compromise.

“We are not leaving Gezi Park,” the Taksim Solidarity umbrella group had said on Twitter. Organized political groups and unions had decided Saturday to unite their previously fractured demands under the banner of the group and to try to open the park to ordinary Istanbul residents, as well. They cleared many of the barricades of debris that they had placed at park entrances to protect themselves from police, and some demonstrators said it was only a matter of time before the protests quieted.

Erdogan on Friday offered protesters the outline of a plan to quell the demonstrations. He announced that he would not push forward with the demolition of Gezi Park while a court reviewed the legality of the plans. And even if the court approved his efforts, Erdogan said he would put the choice to a referendum in Istanbul.

The status of that offer was not clear Saturday after police entered Gezi Park. But many protesters rejected it, saying that their demands had long ago moved beyond the survival of the park and were instead about basic freedoms under what they think is an increasingly authoritarian conservative Islamist rule.

“It’s more than Gezi. This is an explosion of what people have accumulated against the government for 10 years,” said Ozlem Deneri, 28, a managerial assistant who was sipping tea in Gezi Park hours before the police invaded. “It has started from one tree and spread to the whole nation,” she said.

Erdogan planned a rally Sunday in his home town of Istanbul. The leader remains tremendously popular in a country that awarded his Justice and Development Party 50 percent of the vote in the 2011 general elections. Many praise his efforts to rid Turkey of the threat of military coups and to liberalize rules against religious practice that had long discriminated against practitioners of conservative Islam, such as women who wear head scarves.

But even many of his supporters have criticized police violence over the past two weeks. And among the other 50 percent of the population — the many people who flocked to squares and public places in dozens of cities across Turkey in the last two weeks — many complained of efforts to impose what they said was a conservative Islamic lifestyle that they did not desire. In recent months Erdogan has pushed to restrict alcohol consumption and constrict access to abortions. He has also urged newlyweds to have at least three children.

By Michael Birnbaum
Washington Post

Asli Sozbilir contributed to this report from Istanbul.

Assyrian International News Agency

Turkish PM Defends Police Actions Against Demonstrators

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended the actions of police against antigovernment protesters, accusing Western countries of having a “double standard” in their criticism.

Erdogan said on June 14 that “the whole world is attacking” Turkey’s police for the way they use “certain methods” to “intervene” and “disperse unlawful actions.”

He said there are dozens of examples of tear gas and other similar tactics being used by police in the United States, the European Union, and Russia.

He said European Union efforts to “denigrate Turkey” over police crackdowns “will be useless.”

The European Parliament on June 12 passed a resolution condemning the heavy-handed response by Turkish police to demonstrators.

At least four people have been killed and hundreds injured by police crackdowns during the past two weeks.

Based on reporting by Reuters and CNN

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Daghestani Police Thwart ‘Anti-Azerbaijani’ Protest

Police intervened on June 8 to prevent a protest by Derbent residents against the renaming of a street in honor of deceased Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev, even though the municipal authorities had raised no objection to holding the demonstration. Fourteen protest participants were briefly detained. Traffic police intercepted others on the outskirts of the city and prevented them from proceeding to the square where the demonstration was to take place.

The organizers now plan to convene a republic-level protest in Makhachkala. They stress that the protest is not directed against the Azerbaijani people, but against a perceived policy of discrimination and forced assimilation of Azerbaijan’s ethnic minorities, including the Avars, Lezgins, Tsakhurs, and Aguls who are among Daghestan’s 14 titular nationalities. So too are the Azerbaijanis, who account for an estimated 20 percent of the population of southern Daghestan, and an even larger share of the population of Derbent.

The incident has triggered an impassioned discussion among Daghestan’s bloggers, and expressions of concern from public figures at the possible negative repercussions. Those comments focus on both the domestic political and the geopolitical aspects of the situation.

The Derbent municipal authorities, in particular Mayor Imam Yaraliyev, are criticized for having decided to rename Sovetskaya Street without having consulted with residents, 274 of whom reportedly signed a petition in protest. Some bloggers imply that Yaraliyev may have accepted inducements from the Azerbaijani leadership, or been won over by promises of investment.

The decision to rename the street in honor of Heydar Aliyev was reportedly made on May 8, prior to the arrest of powerful Makhachkala Mayor Said Amirov, with whom Yaraliyev is allegedly allied. That putative alliance led one blogger to suggest Yaraliyev decided to quash the protest to curry favor with acting Republic of Daghestan President Ramazan Abdulatipov. Prior to his arrest, Amirov was widely regarded as the most serious potential challenger to Abdulatipov in the event of direct election for republic head.

Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev, who is deputy editor of the independent Daghestani weekly “Novoye delo,” inferred that “there are clearly people in Daghestan, in particular in Derbent, who no longer consider themselves Daghestanis” and instead are lobbying the interests of a foreign country.

But it is also possible that the Derbent municipal authorities gave the green light for the renaming of Sovetskaya Street under pressure from the Russian leadership, which intends the gesture as an olive branch in the wake of the prolonged and acrimonious dispute with Baku over the continued use by Russia of the Qabala over-the-horizon radar station. 

Azerbaijani Influence In Daghestan

Other bloggers protest the planned glorification of a foreign political figure who, they claim, implemented a long-term policy of forced assimilation of ethnic minorities, in particular the Lezgins, in Azerbaijan. As part of that policy, during national censuses members of ethnic minorities are reportedly pressured to identify themselves as Azerbaijanis.

Those commentators also recall the removal of the plaque with the name of the unique 12th-century Lezgi mosque, and the destruction of a monument in Azerbaijan’s northern Zakatala district to Daghestan’s national hero, Imam Shamil.  They note that while ethnic minorities in Azerbaijan are deprived of education and TV and radio broadcasting in their native languages, Heydar Aliyev had transmitters built to ensure that the Azerbaijani population of southern Daghestan could watch Azerbaijani state TV. He also provided free of charge Azerbaijani-language textbooks for Azeri schools in southern Daghestan.

Some Lezgin commentators argue that since current President Ilham Aliyev succeeded his late father in 2003, that cultural assimilation has been parlayed into systematic geopolitical and economic expansion. They adduce as an example the border treaty signed between the Russian Federation and the Azerbaijani Republic in September 2010, under which Azerbaijan secured the right to the lion’s share of the water from the Samur River that marks the border. One analyst commented that the Samur now provides drinking water for the entire Azerbaijani coast as far south as Baku, while Daghestan’s share of the water is not enough to provide irrigation in the predominantly agricultural southern districts where unemployment is high.

Commentators also point to the transfer to Azerbaijani jurisdiction of two villages in Azerbaijan close to the border that until the signing of the 2010 treaty were designated Russian exclaves. The predominantly Lezgin inhabitants of Khrakhuba and Uryanuba were faced with the choice of applying for Azerbaijani citizenship or selling their homes and moving to Daghestan, where the authorities claimed to be unable to provide them with alternative accommodation. 

Other bloggers, however, argue that the Azerbaijani authorities’ interest in Derbent is not an entirely negative phenomenon. They note the 10 truckloads of humanitarian aid provided in October 2012 to victims of flooding in the town, and predict that the renaming of Sovetskaya Street may lead to large-scale Azerbaijani investment in the region.

Even before the signing of the September 2010 border treaty, two Daghestani journalists had argued that Ilham Aliyev was already the most influential political figure in southern Daghestan by virtue of his close personal ties with then-President Magomedsalam Magomedov and with other prominent Daghestani politicians.  Whether he enjoys the same rapport with Abdulatipov is not clear.

In the case of the current altercation over renaming Sovetskaya Street Heydar Aliyev Street, it is the widely-held perception, whether accurate or not, that Baku has territorial ambitions in Daghestan that poses a threat to the harmonious coexistence in Derbent of the Azeris and Lezgins, who together account for the majority of the city’s estimated 100,000 population. The renaming is scheduled to be formalized at a ceremony on June 15 in the presence of a government delegation from Azerbaijan.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Turkish riot police clear Istanbul square

Riot police using tear gas and water cannon have removed protesters from Istanbul’s Taksim Square, reoccupying the heart of Turkey’s biggest city, just hours after Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, demanded an immediate end to 10 days of demonstrations.

Coinciding with the crackdown in Istanbul, riot police clashed with protesters in Kizilay, the government quarter of the capital, Ankara, firing tear gas. The police intervention on Tuesday night came as up to 5,000 people took to the streets in Ankara’s business district chanting: “Government, resign!”

Earlier, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, Istanbul’s governor, appeared on television declaring that police operations would continue day and night until Taksim Square – focus of the ongoing demonstrations against Erdogan – was cleared.

Police fired volleys of tear-gas canisters into a crowd of thousands – people in office clothes as well as youths in masks who had fought skirmishes throughout the day – scattering them into side streets and nearby hotels.

Spotlight

Follow Al Jazeera’s coverage of growing political unrest

Water cannon swept across the square targeting stone-throwers in masks.

The protesters, who accuse Erdogan of overreaching his authority after 10 years in power and three election victories, filled the steep narrow lanes that lead down to the Bosphorus waterway that divides Istanbul into Asian and European quarters.

Many drifted gradually back into Taksim Square and lit bonfires, only to be scattered by more tear gas.

Erdogan had earlier called on protesters to stay out of the area, where a heavy-handed police crackdown on a rally against development of the small Gezi Park abutting the square touched off a wave of protest.

Gezi Park has been turned into a ramshackle settlement of tents by leftists, environmentalists, liberals, students and professionals who see the development plan as symptomatic of overbearing government.

The protests, during which demonstrators used fireworks and petrol bombs, have posed a challenge to Erdogan’s authority and divided the country.

Concern over troubles

Protesters accuse Erdogan of authoritarian rule and some suspect him of ambitions to replace the secular republic with an Islamic order, something he denies.

Western allies have also expressed concern about the troubles in an important NATO ally bordering Syria, Iraq and Iran.

Victor in three consecutive elections, Erdogan says the protests are engineered by vandals, terrorist elements and unnamed foreign forces.

Despite the demonstrations, he remains unrivalled as a leader in his AK Party, in parliament and on the streets.

His critics, who say conservative religious elements have won out over centrists in the AK Party, accuse him of inflaming the crisis with unyielding talk.

Erdogan, who denies accusations of authoritarian behaviour, declared he would not yield.

“They say the prime minister is rough. So what was going to happen here? Were we going to kneel down in front of these [people]?” Erdogan told a meeting of his AK Party’s parliamentary group on Tuesday as action to clear Taksim Square began.

“If you call this roughness, I’m sorry, but this Tayyip Erdogan won’t change.”

In an indication of the impact of the protests on investor confidence, the central bank said it would intervene if needed to support the Turkish lira.

The lira, already suffering from wider market turmoil, fell on Tuesday to its weakest level against its dollar/euro basket since October 2011.

The cost of insuring Turkish debt against default rose to its highest in 10 months, although it remained far from crisis levels.

“A comprehensive attack against Turkey has been carried out,” Erdogan said in his speech.

“The increase in interest rates, the fall in the stock markets, the deterioration in the investment environment, the intimidation of investors – the efforts to distort Turkey’s image have been put in place as a systematic project.”

The police action in Taksim Square came a day after Erdogan agreed to meet protest leaders involved in the initial demonstrations over development of the square.

“I invite all demonstrators, all protesters, to see the big picture and the game that is being played,” Erdogan said.

“The ones who are sincere should withdraw … and I expect this from them as their prime minister.”

Mutlu, the Istanbul governor, said 30 people had been wounded on Tuesday.

Turkey’s Medical Association said that as of late Monday, 4,947 people had sought treatment in hospitals and voluntary infirmaries for injuries, ranging from cuts and burns to breathing difficulties from tear-gas inhalation, since the unrest began more than 10 days ago.

Three people have died.

782

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

UK police scuffle with anti-G8 protesters

Hundreds of riot-police have surrounded a building occupied by anti-G8 protesters in central London, before a summit of world leaders in Britain next week.

The squatting activists had taken over the unused office block in Beak Street as a temporary base.

London’s Metropolitan Police said it had a search warrant for the address.

“People inside the property…are free to leave but will be searched,” the police said on Twitter on Tuesday.

The police operation came as around 150 protesters paraded through central London, banging drums in a “Carnival Against Capitalism” organised by the group Stop G8.

About 70 police in riot gear were at the scene of the protest and there were several scuffles between officers and demonstrators.

Companies targeted

Stop G8 issued a map of 100 potential targets for people to “show their anger” last month.

The anti-capitalist group identified offices of financial organisations such as banks, hedge funds, defence manufacturer BAESystems and mining and energy companies including ArcelorMittal and BP.

Leaders of the world’s richest economies including US and Russian presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin are due to meet at Lough Erne golf resort in Northern Ireland on June 17-18.

A huge security operation has been launched ahead of the summit, with more than 3,500 officers drafted in from the British mainland.

No-fly zones will be imposed over parts of Northern Ireland during the summit and surveillance drones will be used to guard key sites.

In 2009, British police made more than 100 arrests after protests by tens of thousands of people to coincide with a G20 summit in London turned violent.

264

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

Turkish police move in to clear Taksim Square

Turkish riot police fired volleys of teargas canisters into Istanbul’s Taksim Square, the epicentre of protests against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, driving thousands into narrow side streets.

Police and water cannon vehicles advanced across the square, entirely clearing the north side after a day of skirmishes that had defied the authorities’ efforts to restore full control on Tuesday.

Moments before their advance, police were confronted by protesters jeering and calling for them to leave the square.

Protests began two weeks ago over a proposed redevelopment of Gezi Park in Taksim Square escalated into nationwide anti-government demonstrations following a police crackdown.

The prime minister has urged the peaceful protesters to leave the square, saying he will meet those with “legitimate demands” on Wednesday.

He warned that  warning that the environmental campaign was being hijacked by “an illegal uprising against the rule of democracy”.

Police first re-entered Taksim Square early afternoon on Tuesday to remove signs of “occupation” erected by protesters. They fired tear gas and water cannon while being pelted with petrol bombs, fireworks and stones by a small number of protesters.

In a speech to MPs, Erdogan said protesters still in Gezi Park should understand they were being used in a “dirty game” by anti-government groups.

“It’s not a place to be occupied…there is a big game being played using Gezi Park as an excuse,” he said. 

“They are trying to damage the Turkish economy, shut down the growth of Turkey. I want the Gezi Park protesters to understand that they are being used in a dirty game.” 

After days of blaming extremists and foreigners for provoking the protests, Erdogan extended his ire to “capitalist groups, interest groups and media groups”, adding that Gezi Park protesters were “being used openly by people who want to damage the economy, investment and tourism”.

Banners removed

The governor of Istanbul, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, said on Twitter that police were in Taksim Square only to remove banners and placards and the action was not targeting the removal of those people in the area. 

A statement from Mutlu’s office said the aim of the intervention was to remove the banners of various groups in the square, which were making it look as though it was under “occupation”. This was “negatively affecting our country’s image in the eyes of the world opinion and leading to reaction from within the society”.

Mutlu later said  that police would only remain in the square to prevent anyone surrounding the Ataturk Cultural Centre and Republic Monument.

In his to his MPs, Erdogan said that three young people had “lost their lives” in the protests, and a policeman had been “martyred”.

515

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

Turkish Riot Police Move in on Protesters

Istanbul (CNN) — Turkish riot police in sizable numbers moved into Taksim Square on Tuesday morning, where they engaged in a game of cat-and-mouse with a small, hard-core group of protesters.

A handful of protesters lobbed Molotov cocktails at armored vehicles, which responded by spraying water cannons.

The demonstrators, using wooden boards as shields, would pull back — only to return again, lobbing cocktails and firecrackers and flashing “victory” signs.

Smoke from tear gas and fireworks wafted through the air as the armored vehicles shoved away makeshift barriers set up by the demonstrators.

The small group reappeared, this time in larger numbers and surrounded an armored vehicle.

Police deployed multiple canisters of teargas and fired water cannons, sending them scattering again.

“If you stop throwing rocks, we will not use tear gas,” the police told the raucous group over loud speakers. “We don’t want you to get hurt, please obey.”

For the most part, however, the situation was relatively calm, particularly at Gezi Park — the seat of the protest.

There, demonstrators milled about as officers in full riot gear huddled together.

“Look we are not coming into Gezi Park,” the loud speakers said.

A show of force

The police movement came one day before Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan planned to meet with protest organizers. The presence appeared more to be a show of force at the square than an effort to flush out protesters who have been camped there for days.

The demonstrations in Turkey started as a small sit-in over plans to bulldoze the park — the last green space in central Istanbul — and replace it with a shopping mall.

But they have grown into a protest across the political spectrum.

Demonstrators have demanded Erdogan’s resignation, accusing his government of creeping authoritarianism.

The result has been the biggest challenge to Erdogan and his governing Justice and Development Party during their decade in power.

Erdogan fights back

And the prime minister has fought back.

In speeches, Erdogan has said he has no tolerance for what he calls illegal demonstrations.

Sunday, he slammed protesters, warning that “even patience has an end.”

He criticized protesters’ tactics and challenged them to beat him at the ballot box.

“All they do is destroy. They attacked public buildings; they burned public buildings. They burned the cars of civilians,” he said.

“Let’s face off at the ballot box in seven months. If you are saying democracy and freedom, if you are saying rights and freedoms, you cannot achieve that with violence. Only within the laws, you can achieve it.”

Violence at past protests

Previous protests have met with a harsher police response, garnering broad criticism from inside and outside of Turkey’s borders.

Since the demonstrations started May 31, two protesters have been killed. One was hit by a car in Istanbul; the other was shot in the head by unknown assailants in Antakya, near the border with Syria.

A police captain died after falling from a bridge last week, the Adana governor’s office said.

The Turkish Medical Association claimed that more than 4,300 people were injured in clashes last week. Only a few dozen sustained serious injuries.

By Nick Paton Walsh. Gul Tuyuz and Ben Brumfield

CNN’s Ivan Watson and Gul Tuysuz reported from Istanbul; Ben Brumfield wrote from Atlanta.

Assyrian International News Agency

Turkish police storm Taksim Square

A defiant Turkish prime minister has called on protesters in Istanbul’s Gezi Park to disperse, hours after police moved into the adjoining Taksim Square, the cradle of ongoing demonstrations against his government.

Addressing party MPs on Tuesday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the ongoing protests targeted at Turkey’s image and economy.

Hours earlier, the police backed by armoured vehicles and wielding shields, moved past barricades set up by protesters, and blocked all exits as small groups of demonstrators fought back against the early morning intervention.

Protesters responded by throwing stones, petrol bombs and fireworks.

Taksim Square has been at the heart of anti-government demonstrations over the past two weeks.

The protests were intially triggered by opposition to government plans for redeveloping the Gezi Park adjoining the square, before escalating into nationwide demonstrations against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Spotlight

Follow Al Jazeera’s coverage of growing political unrest

The governor of Istanbul, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, said on Twitter that police were there only to remove banners and placards and the action was not targeting the removal of those people in the area. Banners from far-left groups were removed by the police.

A statement from Mutlu’s office said the aim of the invervention was to remove the banners of various groups in the square, which were making it look as though it was under “occupation”. This was “negatively affecting our country’s image in the eyes of the world opinion and leading to reaction from within the society”.

Mutlu later said that police would only remain in the square to prevent anyone surrounding the Ataturk Cultural Centre and Republic Monument.

Interior Minister Muammer Guler said 25 protesters had been taken into custody, and denied reports that ”undercover cops” were among the protesters. 

Al Jazeera’s Emre Rende in Istanbul said police claimed they were not targeting those who were there to resist the redevlopment of the park.

He said police were repeating this statement on loudhailers: “People in Gezi Park, we will not hurt you or intervene. We want to help you”, while telling protesters in Taksim Square to “stop throwing stones, stop throwing bottles and we will stop the teargas”.

In his address, the Turkish prime minister said that three young people had “lost their lives” in the protests, and a policeman had been “martyred”.

440

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

Turkish Riot Police Move On Protesters In Taksim Square

Turkish riot police fired water cannons and tear gas at hundreds of protesters in Istanbul’s Taksim Square on June 11, entering the square for the first time since demonstrations against plans to develop a park there turned violent 11 days ago. (Reuters video)

In Turkey, hundreds of riot police have moved past barricades into Istanbul’s Taksim Square, which antigovernment protesters have been occupying for more than a week.

Police have fired tear gas and stun grenades and are using water cannons to push protesters out of the square.

ALSO READ: The ‘Marxist Muslims’ Of Taksim Square

A small number of protesters have responded with fire bombs and fireworks.

The protests erupted May 31 after a violent police crackdown on protesters demonstrating against a construction project in Taksim Square’s Gezi Park.

The protests are the most significant challenge to the government by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) since it came to power a decade ago.

Earlier, Erdogan said he would meet on June 12 with antigovernment protesters, who see his rule as increasingly authoritarian.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and CNN

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Turkish Riot Police Move On Protesters In Taksim Square

Turkish riot police fired water cannons and tear gas at hundreds of protesters in Istanbul’s Taksim Square on June 11, entering the square for the first time since demonstrations against plans to develop a park there turned violent 11 days ago. (Reuters video)

In Turkey, hundreds of riot police have moved past barricades into Istanbul’s Taksim Square, which antigovernment protesters have been occupying for more than a week.

Police have fired tear gas and stun grenades and are using water cannons to push protesters out of the square.

ALSO READ: The ‘Marxist Muslims’ Of Taksim Square

A small number of protesters have responded with fire bombs and fireworks.

The protests erupted May 31 after a violent police crackdown on protesters demonstrating against a construction project in Taksim Square’s Gezi Park.

The protests are the most significant challenge to the government by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) since it came to power a decade ago.

Earlier, Erdogan said he would meet on June 12 with antigovernment protesters, who see his rule as increasingly authoritarian.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and CNN

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Turkish police storm Taksim Square

Hundreds of Turkish police have stormed Istanbul’s Taksim Square, the site of ongoing demostrations against the government.

Reuters news agency quoted witnesses as saying on Tuesday that police, backed by armoured vehicles, fired teargas to scatter small groups of protesters who have been occupying the square against plans to redevelop an adjoining park.

However, the governor of Istanbul, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, said on Twitter that police were there only to remove banners and placards.

The police, wielding shields, moved past barricades set up by the protesters in Taksim Square, and blocked all exits.

Spotlight

Follow Al Jazeera’s coverage of growing political unrest

Police fired water cannons and teargas in response to hails of stones, Molotov cocktails and fireworks from protesters.

Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from the square, said that protesters outside the area were trying to converge on Taksim. 

A statement from Mutlu’s office said the aim of the invervention was to remove the banners of various groups in the square, which were making it look as though it was under “occupation”. This was “negatively affecting our country’s image in the eyes of the world opinion and leading to reaction from within the society”.

The protest against the redevelopment of Gezi Park escalated into nationwide demonstrations against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Al Jazeera’s Emre Rende said police claimed they were not targeting those who were there to resist the redevlopment of Gezi Park. He said police were repeating this statement on loudhailers: “People in Gezi Park, we will not hurt you or intervene. We want to help you”, while telling protesters in Taksim Square to “stop throwing stones, stop throwing bottles and we will stop the teargas”.

Al Jazeera’s Anita McNaught, reporting from Ankara, said she could understand the tactics to catch the protesters off-guard. However, “we had a statement from the government a couple of days ago saying there would not be a move on the protesters in Gezi Park and Taksim Square.”

Erdogan has taken a defiant stand against anti-government demonstrations but on Monday said he was willing to meet with some of the leaders of the dissent.

414

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

Kandahar Police Blame Taliban For Boys’ Beheadings

Afghan authorities say Taliban militants are responsible for the decapitation of two boys, aged 10 and 16.

Kandahar Province police spokesman Ghorzang Afridi say the boys were returning home after searching for food near police and army checkpoints on June 9 when they were stopped by Taliban militants “who beheaded them for being spies.”

Afridi said villagers in the Zhari district found the bodies of both boys the following day and reported the killings to authorities.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi denied his group had any part in the murders.

He said the reports were an attempt by the government to divert attention from attacks the Taliban launched in Kabul on June 10.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

U.K. Police Say Russian Whistleblower’s Death Not Suspicious

British police have said the death of a whistleblower who was a key witness against Russian officials accused of stealing some $ 230 million was not suspicious.

Aleksandr Perepilichny had documents that allegedly implicated Russian officials in a tax fraud scheme that saw money being funneled into Swiss bank accounts.

The 44-year-old was found dead outside his rented home in southern England last November, sparking rumors he had been killed.

Two autopsies were carried out on Perepilichny’s body and Surrey Deputy Chief Inspector Ian Pollard said on June 7 that, after “a full and detailed range of toxicology tests, there is no evidence to suggest” foul play was involved.

Perepilichny was cooperating as a whistleblower in the same case Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was investigating before he died after being abused in a Moscow jail in 2009.

Based on reporting by AP and ITAR-TASS

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Bomb Kills Two Pakistani Police Officers

Pakistani police say a roadside bomb has killed at least two police officers and wounded three others in the country’s restive northwest.

Senior police officer Shafiullah Khan said that the dead and injured police officers were guarding a key road on the outskirts of Peshawar city, capital of troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, when the bomb detonated.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Pakistani militants routinely target government security forces in Pakistan.

This latest incident came a day after the country’s new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was sworn in.

Sharif has called for peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban.

He has also opposed U.S. drone attacks in Pakistani tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Turkish police tear gas protesters in Ankara

Turkish police have fired tear gas and water cannon at crowds who joined mass demonstrations in Ankara, as the government hit out at US expressions of concern over its handling of demonstrations.

The latest violence in days of angry protests erupted after thousands of union workers filled the central Kizilay square in the Turkish capital on Wednesday, urging Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to resign.

Ambulances took away at least four people who collapsed as the gas blew into nearby restaurants, said an AFP news agency photographer at the scene.

Erdogan’s government earlier defended its democratic record after the United Nations, the United States and other Western powers voiced concern over allegations of police brutality.

Thousands of demonstrators also returned on Wednesday to Istanbul’s Taksim Square, the cradle of the unrest that erupted last week and has spread across Turkey.

Two people have been killed in the six days of unrest nationwide, doctors and officials said, while hundreds have been injured in protests police have sought to quell with tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons.

‘Not second-class’

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu contacted US Secretary of State John Kerry to object to recent statements from Washington expressing concern over Turkey’s handling of the protests, a foreign ministry diplomat said on Wednesday.

“Turkey is not a second-class democracy,” Davutoglu told Kerry in a phone call late on Tuesday, the diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

Spotlight

Follow Al Jazeera’s coverage of growing political unrest

Davutoglu assured Kerry an investigation had begun into the police response, the ministry source said.

The diplomat said that the foreign minister told Kerry the protests were not “extraordinary”, comparing them to the Occupy Wall Street movement that sprang up in the United States in 2011.

Deputy Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Arinc apologised on Tuesday to those injured after police used tear gas and water cannon against the protesters and said the government had “learnt its lesson”, in comments that were welcomed by the White House.

List of demands

Meanwhile, activists on Wednesday presented a list of demands they said could end days of anti-government demonstrations that have engulfed Turkey, as police detained dozens of people they accused of using social media to stoke the outpouring of anger.

At least 29 people were arrested in the coastal city of Izmir for encouraging rebellion over social media and tweeting “misleading and libellous information”, according to the state-run Anatolia news agency.

In a move to defuse the tension, the deputy prime minister met with a group whose attempt to prevent authorities from ripping up trees in Istanbul’s landmark Taksim Square has snowballed into nationwide protests against what demonstrators see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule.

The Ankara-based Human Rights Association says up to 1,000 people have been injured and more than 3,300 people have been detained over five days of protests.

It demanded that officials, including governors and senior police officials, responsible for the violent crackdown be removed from office.

The protests appear to have developed spontaneously and remain leaderless.

The group of academics, architects and environmentalists, known as the “Taksim Solidarity Platform,” was formed to protect Taksim Square from development, including the rebuilding of an Ottoman army barracks and a shopping mall.

The protests were sparked by fury over a heavy-handed pre-dawn police raid on Friday to roust activists camping out in an attempt to stop the plans.

568

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

Turkey protesters clash with police

Police have fired tear gas and used water cannon to disperse protesters in the Turkish capital on the third day of demonstrations against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Authorities took the measures to stop around 1,000 protesters who were attempting to march to the high-security prime minister’s office on Sunday.

The protesters hurled stones and other items towards the police in Kizilay district while calling for the government to step down.

Meanwhile, thousands of people gathered for peaceful demonstrations in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, where police clashed with protesters a day earlier.

The demonstrations form the biggest public outcry against Erdogan’s government since it assumed power in 2002.

The nationwide unrest began as a local protest last week against plans to redevelop a park in Taksim Square, but after a heavy-handed police response, it quickly snowballed into broader demonstrations against what critics say is the government’s increasingly conservative and authoritarian agenda.

Hundreds detained

Interior Minister Muammer Guler said more than 1,700 people had been detained in protests that have spread to 67 cities, though most have since been released.

“A large majority of the detainees were released after being questioned and identified,” he said in remarks carried by the state-run Anatolia news agency.

Protesters clashed with police in Izmir and Adana, Turkey’s third and fourth biggest cities, on Sunday.

There were also confrontations between police and protesters near Erdogan’s office in a former Ottoman palace in Istanbul.

The ferocity of the police response in Istanbul on Saturday shocked Turks, as well as tourists caught up in the unrest in one of the world’s most visited destinations.

It has drawn rebukes from the US, European Union and international rights groups.

Helicopters fired tear gas canisters into residential neighbourhoods and police used tear gas to try to smoke people out of buildings. Footage on YouTube showed one protester being hit by an armoured police truck as it charged a barricade.

‘Extreme’ response

Erdogan admitted there may have been some cases of “extreme” police action.

“It is true that there have been some mistakes, extremism in police response,” he said.

However, calling the protesters “a few looters”, the prime minister remained defiant, pledging to push forward with the plans to redevelop Taksim Square.

Erdogan singled out the Republican People’s Party (CHP) for attack over a dispute he described as ideological.

“We think that the main opposition party which is making resistance calls on every street is provoking these protests,”
Erdogan said on Turkish television.

The government is planning to revamp the Gezi Park and tear down trees to construct a new mosque and rebuild a replica Ottoman-era barracks, which protesters fear will be turned into a shopping mall.

“This reaction is no longer about the ripping out 12 trees.This is based on ideology,” said Erdogan, whose conservative
vision for the nation has angered more liberal Turks.

Referring to the planned mosque, he added: “Obviously I will not ask for permission for this from the head of CHP or a few looters.”

537

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

UK police charge second man in soldier murder

British counter-terrorism police have charged a second man with the murder of Lee Rigby, a serving soldier who was hacked to death on a London street.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, was charged on Saturday for the May 22 killing and with the attempted murder of two police officers and with possession of a firearm, a 9.4mm revolver, with intent to cause others to believe that violence would be used.

Adebolajo was remanded in custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday, police said in a statement.

Another suspect in the case, Michael Adebowale, 22, appeared at the same court on Thursday and was also charged with Rigby’s murder and possession of a firearm.

He was remanded in custody to appear at London’s Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, for a bail hearing on Monday.

A pre-trial hearing is scheduled at the Old Bailey for June 28.

Both men were shot by police at the scene of Rigby’s killing, a street in the southeast London neighbourhood of Woolwich, close to some UK army barracks.

They were then arrested and taken to London hospitals. Adebowale was discharged from hospital on Tuesday and Adebolajo on Friday.

A post-mortem gave Rigby’s cause of death as multiple cuts and stab wounds.

At the time of the attack, Prime Minister David Cameron called the act “a betrayal of Islam and of the Muslim communities who give so much to our country”, vowing that Britain would “never give in to terrorism in any of its forms”.

Police, politicians and religious leaders have appealed for calm and unity in the wake of the killing but there have been some street protests by small far-right groups.

Earlier on Saturday, police prevented about 150 protesters from the far-right British National Party from marching towards a much larger anti-fascist counter-demonstration near the Houses of Parliament in central London.

Police arrested protesters from the anti-fascist camp for refusing to remain within their designated penned area.

363

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

Turkish Police, Protesters Clash In Istanbul, Ankara

WATCH: Several thousand Turkish demonstrators amassed on streets surrounding Istanbul’s central Taksim Square on June 1. (Reuters video)

Turkish police have clashed with protesters trying to reach Istanbul’s main Taksim square on a second day of antigovernment demonstrations.

Police used tear gas and water cannon against protesters.

Some demonstrators threw stones at police.

Protesters chanted slogans like “Unite Against Fascism” and “Government Resign.”

In the capital, Ankara, police clashed with protesters who tried to march toward the parliament building.

Trouble started in Istanbul on May 31 when police used tear gas and pressurized water to disperse thousands protesting against plans to develop one of the city’s remaining green areas.

Word of the police crackdown in Istanbul sparked protests in Ankara and the coastal city of Izmir, as the demonstrations widened to include the perceived authoritarianism of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party.

Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Police Detain Protesters In Moscow, St. Petersburg

Russian police have detained about two dozen opponents of President Vladimir Putin who tried to protest in Moscow and St. Petersburg against restrictions on freedom of assembly.

Opposition figure Eduard Limonov and at least 14 activists from his Other Russia group were detained when they tried to stage a protest on Moscow’s central Triumph Square without permission from authorities.

At least seven protesters reportedly were detained in St. Peterburg.

Since 2009, activists have tried to hold protests on the last day of every month that has 31 days in order to draw attention to what they say is government suppression of the right to free assembly.

The right to assemble is enshrined in Article 31 of the Russian Constitution but frequently is denied as officials refuse to issue permits.

With reporting by Reuters and Interfax

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Turkish police break up Istanbul park protest

Riot police in Istanbul used tear gas and water cannon to rout a peaceful demonstration by hundreds of people staging a sit-in to prevent the demolition of what many are calling the city’s last green public space.

The demonstrators occupied the Gezi park since May 28 to prevent bulldozers from completing the demolition, part of the government’s redevelopment plan for central Taksim Square.

Several protesters were injured on Friday when a wall they climbed collapsed during a police chase, and a prominent journalist was hospitalised after being hit in the head by a tear gas canister, the private Dogan news agency reported.

Police moved in to disperse the crowd on the fourth day of the protest against a government plan to revamp the square. Officers then clashed with angry demonstrators in surrounding areas.

Al Jazeera’s Rawya Rageh, reporting from Istanbul, said many protesters complained that the police were firing teargas indiscriminately.

“We saw a lot of tourists running to different directions. People are trying to take refuge at coffee shops and the homes around the area. Police have been firing tear gas in different directions,” Rageh said.

“Certainly the predominant complain here is that police are firing teargas indiscriminately. But they are also coming under attack from protesters. You can see them with rocks and there are injuries here.”

“People are very angry,” Rageh said describing the protesters.

Authoritarian tendencies

The protesters are demanding that the square’s park, be protected.

Many also aired grievances against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted government which has been displaying increasingly authoritarian and uncompromising tendencies in its third successive term in office.

Last week, the government enacted a law restricting the sale and advertising of alcohol which has alarmed secular Turks who fear an encroachment on more liberal lifestyles.

Earlier this week, the government went ahead with a ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a disputed third bridge across the Bosporus Strait which some say will destroy the few remaining green areas of the city.

It also named the bridge after a controversial Ottoman sultan believed to have ordered a massacre of a minority Shia Muslim group, instead of choosing a more unitifying figure.

Protesters in Gezi Park were seen holding up a large poster with a caricature depicting Erdogan as an Ottoman sultan with a caption that read: “The people won’t yield to you.”

Erdogan dismissed the protesters’ demands for the park’s protection, saying the government would go ahead with renovation plans “no matter what they do”.

The forestry minister said more trees would be planted than those uprooted at Gezi and has defended the government’s environmental record.

The dawn raid was the latest in a series of aggressive crackdown on protests. Human rights activists frequently accuse Turkish police of using inordinate force to break up protests and of excessively using tear gas and pepper spray against protesters.

On Friday, demonstrators affected by the gas sought shelter at a luxury hotel at Taksim and were tended by guests. Police removed tents and demonstrators’ other belongings and mounted barricades around the park.

508

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

Police Raid Kazakh NGO Before Award Ceremony

ALMATY — Authorities have searched the offices of the nongovernmental organization Arqa Suyeu (Support) in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, on the eve of an important award ceremony.

Murat Tunghyshbaev, an activist of Arqa Suyeu, told RFE/RL that financial authorities confiscated his mobile phone during the May 30 search.

Group chairman Mikhail Sizov had been warned by the Almaty prosecutor’s office earlier that the Liberty Award ceremony cannot be held on May 31 as scheduled.

The prosecutor’s office said the award is associated with opposition party Algha (Forward), which is officially banned in Kazakhstan, and fugitive opposition politician and banker Mukhtar Ablyazov.

The annual award was established by Kazakh opposition groups 10 years ago and is given to journalists, writers, artists, and activists for their contribution to democratic institutions in the country.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Police, Assyrians in a Cultural Dialogue

Fairfield, Australia — More than 35 members of the Assyrian community had a chance to mingle with Fairfield police for the first time last Thursday.

Traditional dishes were also shared during the morning tea meet and greet.

Organiser Margo Hawil said the meeting was a great success.

“Where we originally come from, the police were very distant with the community,” she said.

“So this was a wonderful way to know that the local police are part of the community, approachable and that they are here to help us.” See your ad here

Ms Hawil also wanted to share her culture with Fairfield police.

“There are many Assyrians living in Fairfield, so I also wanted to show our police that there are plenty of good people within our community,” she said.

Multicultural community liaison officer Dena Audicho, from Fairfield local area command, said the morning tea reinforced their ‘we are you’ message.

“We want to promote a better relationship with the Assyrian community and the ‘we are you’ message means the police are members of the community and are just like the rest of us.”

By Sally Lee
http://www.fairfieldchampion.com.au

Assyrian International News Agency

In Britain, Police Arrest Twitter And Facebook Users If They Make Anti-Muslim Statements

In Britain, Police Arrest Twitter And Facebook Users If They Make Anti-Muslim Statements

British police are arresting people in the middle of the night if they have made racist or anti-Muslim comments on Twitter following the murder of a soldier by two Muslims in Woolwich, London.

Three men have so far been taken into custody for using Twitter and Facebook to criticize Muslims.

In the Woolwich attack, Lee Rigby, a drummer in the Royal Regiment of Fusliers, was run down in a car and then hacked and stabbed to death by two men with knives and a cleaver. They told a man video recording the scene that it was vengeance for the killings of Muslims by the British Army.

One man has been charged with “malicious communications” on Facebook, the Daily Mail reports.

Two others have been arrested under the Public Order Act on suspicion of inciting racial or religious hatred. The police are now arresting people based on mere speech in social media, a detective said in a statement to the press:

‘The men were arrested under the Public Order Act on suspicion of inciting racial or religious hatred. Our inquiries into these comments continue.

‘These comments were directed against a section of our community. Comments such as these are completely unacceptable and only cause more harm to our community in Bristol.

‘People should stop and think about what they say on social media before making statements as the consequences could be serious.’

The arrests come at the behest of British Muslims, who fear a backlash against them following the death of Rigby, The New York Times says:

The police and Muslim groups have said that there have been anti-Muslim episodes in many parts of the country, the most common involving derogatory messages on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

A number of arrests have been made, with criminal charges being leveled in some cases under laws against inciting racial or religious hatred, and Muslim community leaders have reported rising concern among the estimated 2.5 million Muslims in Britain.

Two men were detained in the middle of the night after they expressed anger at Muslims on Twitter. The Independent quotes police as saying:

“We began inquiries into the comments and at around 3.20am two men, aged 23 and 22, were detained at two addresses in Bristol.

“The men were arrested under the Public Order Act on suspicion of inciting racial or religious hatred. Our inquiries into these comments continue.”

By Jim Edwards
http://us.lrd.yahoo.com

Assyrian International News Agency

Roadside Bomb Kills Five Police In Pakistan’s Northwest

A roadside bomb has exploded close to a passing police patrol in Pakistan’s troubled northwest, killing at least five police officers.

Local police said the attack took place on May 27 during a routine patrol in the remote mountainous Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, some 230 kilometers northeast of Peshawar.

A senior police officer was among those killed by the explosion.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Pakistani Taliban militants have frequently targeted security forces in the northwest.

Based on reporting by AFP and AP

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

U.K. Police Arrest 10th Suspect In Soldier’s Slaying

Police investigating an apparent Islamic extremist attack in London that killed an off-duty British soldier say they have arrested a 10th suspect in the case.

London police say the 50-year-old man was arrested to the east of London on charges of conspiring to murder the 25-year-old soldier, Lee Rigby.

Police did not provide further details about the suspect’s identity.

Rigby was walking near his barracks in southeast London’s Woolwich area last week when he was run over by a vehicle and repeatedly assaulted with knives and meat cleavers.

Nine earlier arrests in the case include two main suspects who were shot by police at the scene of the killing.

They are hospitalized and under armed guard.

Based on reporting by AP and dpa

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

U.K. Police Arrest Man After Spy Claim In Soldier-Killing Case

Police in Britain have arrested a man under antiterrorism laws at BBC headquarters.

The man identified as Abu Nusaybah was detained by the counterterrorism police on May 25.

Earlier he had told the BBC’s flagship “Newsnight” program that his friend Michael Adebolajo, one of two suspects in the horrific killing of an unarmed British soldier, was approached by intelligence officers.

Nusaybah claimed that British counterterrorism officials wanted to recruit Adebolajo after he returned from a stay in Kenya six months ago.

London’s Metropolitan Police said it had arrested a 31-year-old man on “suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.”

Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, are suspected of killing soldier Lee Rigby in broad daylight on May 22 in the southeast London district of Woolwich.

Police shot and injured them minutes after Rigby’s killing. Both men remain under armed guard at two London hospitals.

Based on reporting by Reuters,  AP, and the BBC

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Rioters continue to battle police in Sweden

At least nine cars were torched and two schools and a police station were set ablaze as riots swept through Stockholm’s immigrant-dominated suburbs for the fifth straight night, police and firefighters have said.

Early on Friday, police told Swedish news agency TT that eight people had been arrested so far for the night’s rioting, but no injuries were reported.

Police said on Thursday they would be calling in reinforcements from other parts of the country as they prepared for more trouble.

The riots have sparked a debate in Sweden about the assimilation of immigrants, who make up about 15 percent of the population.

In Rinkeby, one of the city’s immigrant-dominated areas, firefighters rushed late on Thursday to put out flames that engulfed six cars parked alongside each other.

Three more cars were torched in the Norsborg suburb, and a police station in Aelvsjoe was set on fire but quickly extinguished, police said.

Firefighters meanwhile, said a school in another immigrant-heavy suburb, Tensta, was set ablaze but quickly extinguished. A nursery school in the Kista suburb was also on fire.

The previous night, the fire brigade had been called to some 90 different blazes, most of them caused by rioters.

Earlier, rioters hurled rocks at a local police station in the Kista district, near the suburb of Husby where the unrest began on Sunday night.

In the southern suburb of Skogaas, a restaurant was badly damaged after it was set on fire.

And police in Soedertaelje, a town south of Stockholm, said rioters threw stones at them as they responded to reports of cars set alight.

Husby incident

The troubles are believed to have been triggered by the fatal police shooting of a 69-year-old Husby resident last week after the man wielded a machete in public.

The man then fled to his apartment, where police have said they tried to mediate but ended up shooting him dead in what they claimed was self-defence.

Two people, including one police officer, were reported injured in the first four nights of rioting.

About 80 percent of the 12,000 residents in Husby are immigrants.

Many of the immigrants who have arrived due to the country’s generous refugee policy struggle to learn the language and find employment despite numerous government programmes.

In the past decade, Sweden has welcomed hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia and the Balkans, among others.

This is not the first time the Scandinavian country has seen riots among immigrants.

In 2010, up to 100 youths threw bricks, set fires and attacked the local police station in Rinkeby for two nights.

Integration Minister Erik Ullenhag attributed the violence to high unemployment and social exclusion in Sweden’s immigrant-dominated areas.

In Husby, overall unemployment was 8.8 percent in 2012, compared to 3.3 percent in Stockholm as a whole, according to official data.

And a total of 12 percent in Husby received social benefits last year, compared to 3.6 percent in Stockholm as a whole.

494

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

Police Raid Company Working On 2014 Sochi Olympics

SOCHI, Russia — Armed and masked police have searched the offices of a company involved in developing sports facilities for the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi.

The general director of the Mostovik Construction Company, Oleg Shishov, told journalists that police blocked off the whole area surrounding his company’s offices on May 23.

An RFE/RL correspondent said he saw law-enforcement officers seizing company documents.

Shishov denied reports that the search might be connected with an investigation launched last year into allegations that company executives embezzled 2 billion rubles ($ 64 million).

According to Shishov, the search has nothing to do with the earlier investigation.

Sochi will host the 22nd Winter Olympics in February 2014.

Russia’s Finance Ministry is providing funding worth billions of U.S. dollars for the development and hosting of the Olympics.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Salafist group clashes with police in Tunisia

A Tunisian man has died after police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds supporters of the group Ansar al-Sharia who defied a government ban.

Members of the Salafist group clashed with police in the Tunis suburb of Ettadhamen, and in the historic city of Kairouan, south of Tunis on Sunday. An annual congress for the group was due to take place there before it was banned on security grounds.

Moez Dahmani, a 27-year-old man participating in the protest was killed in the clashes with the police, said the state news agency. 

At least 14 people were injured, including 11 policemen, the interior ministry said in a statement. 

“During the protests, 11 members of the security forces were wounded, one of them seriously, and three protesters were also wounded,” it said, adding that one Islamist protester was also in serious condition.

Hundreds of Salafists erected barricades in the streets of Ettadhamen, a poor neighbourhood 15km west of Tunis, and hurled rocks at police, who responded with tear gas, an AFP news agency journalist reported.

Journalist Farah Sanmti, speaking to Al Jazeera from Tunis, said that the group was supposed to get legal permission to hold their congress which is according to the law of association.

“But they did not and they defied the government, and said they wanted to hold the congress without having legal permission,” she said.

“Right now it seems that the police have everything under control,” Sanmti told Al Jazeera.

“There were hundreds [of protesters] this morning, but right now I can only see a few groups hear and there. And I have heard the the prostest has moved to the neighbouring city.”

Leader arrested

Meanwhile, Seifeddine Rais, the group’s spokesman, was arrested at dawn on Sunday as he went jogging in front of police, according to a police source, who described his behaviour as a “provocation”.

Rais had said last week that he expected more than 40,000 people to attend this year’s annual congress, which was planned for 1500 GMT.

Police have also been monitoring traffic along main highways, singling out private minibuses that ply between Tunisian towns for checks, with special attention paid to men with beards, as worn by Salafists.

Tunisia has been rocked by attacks blamed on Islamist fighters since the uprising that toppled longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and Ansar al-Sharia is considered one of the most radical groups that emerged after the 2011 revolution.

The government has hardened its position towards the group in recent months, after the moderate Islamist party Ennahda was strongly criticised for being too lenient and failing to prevent a wave of violence around the country.

456

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

Attacks Kill 16 in Iraq, 8 Police Kidnapped

(AP) — A string of attacks killed at least 16 people in Iraq on Saturday, while gunmen abducted eight policemen guarding a post on the country’s main highway to Jordan and Syria, the latest in a wave of violence to grip the country.

The shootings and bombings follow three days of attacks that killed 130 people in both Shiite and Sunni areas in scenes reminiscent of retaliatory attacks between the two groups that pushed the country to the brink of civil war in 2006-2007. The spike in bloodshed in recent weeks has raised fears the country may be heading toward a new round of sectarian conflict.

Tensions have been worsening since Iraq’s minority Sunnis began protesting what they say is mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government, including random detentions and neglect. The mass demonstrations, which began in December, have largely been peaceful, but the number of attacks rose sharply after a deadly security crackdown on a Sunni protest camp in northern Iraq on April 23.

Majority Shiites control the levers of power in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. Wishing to rebuild the nation rather than revert to open warfare, they have largely restrained their militias in the past five years or so as Sunni extremist groups such as al-Qaida have frequently targeted them with large-scale attacks. But the sharp jump in attacks on Sunni areas, including bombings on Friday that killed at least 76 people, has fueled concerns of renewed retaliatory killings.

In Saturday’s deadliest attack, gunmen broke into the house of an anti-terrorism police captain in the southern suburbs of Baghdad, killing the officer and his family in their sleep. Police officials identified the dead as Cap. Adnan Ibrahim, his wife and two children, aged eight and 10.

The attackers fled the scene, and killed another policeman who tried to stop them at a nearby checkpoint.

Meanwhile in the western Sunni province of Anbar, gunmen kidnapped eight policemen who were guarding a post on the main highway linking Iraq to both Jordan and Syria, according to two police officials.

Earlier in the day, security forces and gunmen clashed in the area after police tried to arrest a Sunni tribal sheik suspected of being behind the killing of three army intelligence soldiers stopped by gunmen near a protest site in the city of Ramadi last month. Iraqi authorities had offered a bounty for the arrest or information leading to the arrest of the sheik, Khamis Abu Risha, and two other people they say were linked to the killings.

The fighting near Abu Risha’s house north of Ramadi left three people wounded. No arrests were made. Later, gunmen deployed near the main entrance of Anbar Operations Command headquarters in Ramadi, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad.

Hours later, Ramadi police said a bomb placed under stalls in a small stadium exploded, killing four people who were watching a local soccer match.

Shortly before sunset, a car bomb went off near a small market in in the town of Latifiyah south of Baghdad, killing three people and wounding 12.

Elsewhere, in the predominantly Shiite city of Basra in southern Iraq, gunmen shot and killed a Sunni cleric, Assad Nassir, as he was leaving his house, police said.

Two Iraqi soldiers were also killed and two others wounded when a roadside bomb struck a group of soldiers arriving to inspect the scene of a blast that took place earlier in the northern city of Mosul.

A security official said a roadside bomb hit a police patrol in the northern suburbs of Baghdad, killing one policeman and wounding two others.

Health officials confirmed the death tolls. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.

By Sameer N. Yacoub

Assyrian International News Agency

Afghan District Police Chief Killed

An Afghan police chief has been killed after two militants riding on motorcycles opened fire on his vehicle in western Afghanistan.

Abdul Ghani, police chief of Khak-e Safid district in Farah Province, was killed instantly outside his home late on May 17.

Provincial spokesman Abdul Rahman Zhawandai said that Ghani was rushed to hospital but was declared dead upon arrival.

Ghani had led an anti-Taliban campaign in Farah that had resulted in the killing or capture of several local Taliban leaders.

No one has assumed responsibility for the attack.

The attack comes as the Taliban has stepped up their attacks against international and Afghans security forces ahead of NATO’s pullout next year.

Afghan forces have assumed responsibility for security in most of the country, with foreign troops stepping back to an advisory role.

Based on reporting by AP and dpa

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Pakistan: Bomb Misses Police Chief

Officials say the police chief of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan Province narrowly escaped becoming a victim of a suicide vehicle bomb attack.

Officials said the blast May 12 in the provincial capital, Quetta, killed six people and injured more than 40 others.

Police said Inspector General Mushtaq Sukhera had just entered his residence when the bomb exploded outside the home and he was not injured.

The six dead are reported to include two police, three paramilitary soldiers and one passerby.

Reports say the blast left a crater in the ground and was heard across the city.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Islamist militants, Sunni sectarian extremists, and ethnic Baluch separatists have all carried out attacks in Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

Based on reports form AFP and Reuters

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Boston: Police Chief Says No Warning

Boston’s police chief says his department was never told about a Russian intelligence warning about one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings.

Commissioner Edward Davis told a U.S. congressional hearing that he knew of no warnings about the Tsarnaev brothers, the siblings accused of carrying out the double bombings April 15 that killed three people and injured more than 260 others.

Davis said that had Boston police had information about suspected militant Tamerlan Tsarnaev, officers would have “certainly” tried to talk to him.

But he acknowledged that even if Boston police had investigated Tsarnaev, officers still might not have been able to discover or disrupt the bomb plot.

The FBI closed its initial investigation of Tsarnaev after conducting a routine assessment of the ethnic Chechen following the Russian warning.

The U.S. FBI and CIA separately received vague warnings from Russia’s government in 2011 that Tamerlan Tsarnaev could have Islamist militant leanings. Tsarnaev visited Daghestan in Russia’s North Caucasus region in 2012.

Four days after the Boston bombings, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed in a police shootout and his brother Dzokhar, 19, was arrested.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev could face the death penalty if convicted of carrying out the bombing. The mother of the brothers has said the charges against them are lies.

Former Senator Joseph Lieberman told the May 9 hearing of the House of Representatives’ Homeland Security Committee that he believed “it was possible to have prevented” the Boston attacks if U.S. agencies had communicated effectively.

“Could it have been prevented and stopped?” asked Lieberman, who pushed to strengthen U.S. security measures in the wake of the September 11, 2001, hijacked airliner attacks. “I believe that though it would not have been easy, it was possible to have prevented the terror attacks in Boston.”

Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Republican, said he was worried that the ability of U.S. agencies to share information had not improved enough to protect Americans, despite billions of dollars spent since September 11, 2001.

“My fear is that the Boston bombers may have succeeded because our system failed.” he said. ”We can, and we must do better.”

Boston police Commissioner Davis told the committee that major public events in the United States like the Boston Marathon need tighter security. But he cautioned against creating what he called a “police state mentality” in the wake of the bombings.

In another development, officials said the body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev has now been buried.

But officials are declining to announce the burial site over fears it could become a shrine for extremists or site of protest.

Tsarnaev’s body had been kept at a funeral parlor in the town of Worchester while one local community after another rejected having the suspected bomber buried in their towns.

Based on reports from Reuters, AP and AFP

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Suicide Car-Bomb Attack Hits Pakistani Police Station

A suicide bomb attack has struck a police station in northwest Pakistan.

Officials say at least two people died and more than 20 were wounded in the attack in Bannu district on May 8.

Police say the attacker drove his vehicle loaded with explosives into the perimeter wall of the police station.

The explosion seriously damaged the station and led to the collapse of several nearby buildings.

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Bannu is located near the border of the North Waziristan tribal district, a stronghold of Al-Qaeda- and Taliban-linked militants.

Based on reporting by dpa and AFP

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

US police probe triple kidnap mystery

US police have searched an unremarkable home in a working-class neighbourhood of Cleveland after three women who had been missing for around a decade were rescued from kidnappers.

“We have evidence response teams there, we have victims specialists working with the families, with the Cleveland police, trying to determine how it did happen,” said FBI spokesman Paul Bresson on Tuesday.

Cleveland Director of Public Safety Martin Flask said police had not been alerted to anything untoward happening at the house on Seymour Avenue.

Deputy police chief Ed Tomba said: “Obviously, there was a long period of time where nobody saw them. So we have to wait until we interview them and hopefully they are going to tell us exactly what went on in there.”

The three women who were missing for years, two of whom disappeared as teenagers, have been found alive in a house in Cleveland.

Police in the US state of Ohio said on Monday the three were found just south of town centre, within a few kilometres of where they disappeared.

The nightmare is over. Yes, law enforcement professionals do cry.

- Steve Anthony
FBI Special Agent,

Three brothers have been arrested in connection to the case. Authorities said the three suspects will be charged. 

The three women were identified by police as Gina DeJesus, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight. Police said the three were “alive, talking, appeared to be OK”.

Reports said a six-year-old child was also found with the women. The girl is believed to be Berry’s daughter.  

“The nightmare is over. These three young ladies have provided us with the ultimate definition of survival and perseverance,” said FBI Special Agent Steve Anthony.

“Yes, law enforcement professionals do cry,” he said.

A neighbour was alerted to their presence by screams from the house and rushed to the dwelling where he found the women, one of whom used his cell phone to call emergency-911, according to Cleveland police.

Frantic call

“Help me! I’m Amanda Berry. I’ve been kidnapped and I’ve been missing for 10 years and I’m here. I’m free now,” Berry is heard frantically telling a 911 emergency operator in a recording of the call, released by police and posted on the website of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

During the call, she gave the name of her alleged abductor and said he was “out of the house”.

When police arrived she told them there were two other captives in the home. Police said it was likely the three women were tied up during their decade of captivity.

All three women were taken to a hospital, where they were reported to be in good medical condition, police said.

Neighbours said on Tuesday they had called police on at least two occasions over the years to check on the house where the three women were being held.

One neighbour said she called police after her daughter saw a naked woman crawling on her hands and knees in the backyard of the house a few years ago.

Another said he called after hearing pounding on the doors and noticed plastic bags over the windows.

According to the neighbours, police arrived at the house after both reports, but never went inside.

People also said they had seen Castro walking a young girl to a nearby playground on several occasions.

“Everyone in the neighbourhood did what they had to do,” Lupe Collins, a a friend of the women’s relatives, said.

“The police didn’t do their job.”

Suspects under arrest

Among the three brothers arrested by police was Ariel Castro, 52, a bus driver for Cleveland public schools.

Police mug shots revealed Castro and his brothers — Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50 — to be thick-set men with gray beards.

Their uncle, Caesar Castro, who owns a grocery store on the same street, said his nephew Ariel owned the house where the women were found. He added that members of his family and the family of DeJesus “grew up together.”

“Everyone is shocked,” said the elder Castro. He said he had known his nephew to be “a good guy” and a musician who played the bass.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said, “I am thankful that Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight have been found alive.”

He added, “We have many unanswered questions regarding this case, and the investigation will be ongoing. Again, I am thankful that these three young ladies are found and alive.”

Berry was last seen at approximately 7:40pm on April 21, 2003, after leaving work at a fast food restaurant that was just a few blocks from her home. She was 16 when she disappeared, according to the FBI.

Her mother, Louwanna Miller, passed away in March of 2006, according to US media reports.

DeJesus was 14 when she disappeared while walking home from school on April 2, 2004.

She was last seen at a pay telephone booth, sometime between 2:45pm and 3:00pm that day, according to the FBI.

The third woman, Michelle Knight, disappeared in 2002 at age 20, according to US media. She was last seen at a cousin’s house on August 23, 2002, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

923

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

Police Make Mass Arrests At Moscow Mosque

Russian police and security agents have detained 140 people following prayers at a mosque in Moscow.

A statement from the Federal Security Agency reported by Russian news agencies said that those detained at the Dorul Arqom Islamic cultural center on April 26 included 30 citizens of unspecified foreign countries.

RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports that most of those arrested were ethnic Tajiks who were taken to various police stations.

At one station, 25 people were held, with eight later released.

Those who remained in detention at the station told our correspondent that they were being held without charges.

The detentions come a week after the two suspects in the fatal Boston Marathon bombing were identified as originating from Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Chechnya and sympathizing with Islamic extremists.

With reporting by AP

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Police Search Offices Of Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation Head

Police in Bosnia have raided government offices, including that of the president, in one of the country’s two autonomous regions.

The state prosecutor’s office said the raid on April 26 focused on Zivko Budimir, president of the autonomous Muslim-Croat Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation, as part of an anticorruption probe.

Local media reported that officers seized material from Budimir’s office in Sarajevo and blocked his offices in Mostar, in western Bosnia.

Under a U.S.-brokered peace deal to end the war, Bosnia was split into two autonomous regions joined by a weak central government.

The Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation is dominated by Bosnian Muslims, known as Bosniaks, and Croats. The other region is the Serb Republic.

Both have a high degree of autonomy.

Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Bangladesh garment workers clash with police

Thousands of garment factory workers in Bangladesh have protested for the second day over the deaths of more than 250 workers in a building collapse, even as rescuers struggled to pull out hundreds of survivors believed to be still trapped inside the rubble.

Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Friday as protesters attacked factories and smashed vehicles, forcing many garment factories to shut down operations.

“The situation is very volatile. Hundreds of thousands of workers have joined the protests. We fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse them,” M Asaduzzaman, an officer in the police control room, told the AFP news agency.

He said some of the protesters were armed with bamboo sticks and their actions had forced factories at Gazipur, just outside the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, to close for the day.

Mustafizur Rahman, the deputy police chief of Gazipur, said workers had attacked factories, smashed vehicles, burnt tyres on the roads and tried to torch roadside shops on the sidelines of the rally.

“They are demanding the arrest and execution of the owners of the factories and the collapsed building at Savar,” he told AFP.

The overnight rescue of 45 people late on Thursday who were trapped inside the debris of the eight-storey building in the commercial suburb of Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, raised hopes of thousands of relatives.

Hundreds trapped

An estimated 2,000 people had been rescued in two days, at least half of them injured, but up to 1,000 people remained unaccounted for, Reuters news agency reported.

Given the long record of worker deaths in factories, this tragedy was sadly predictable

Brad Adams,
Asia director for
Human Rights Watch

Widespread anger has been fuelled by revelations that factory bosses forced the 3,000-strong work force to return to the building on Wednesday despite cracks appearing in the building the day before.

It prompted new criticism of Western companies who were accused by activists of placing profit before safety by sourcing their products from the country despite its shocking track record of deadly disasters.

British low-cost fashion line Primark and Spanish giant Mango have acknowledged having their products made in the collapsed block, while a host of brands including Wal-Mart and France’s Carrefour are investigating.

Italy’s Benetton placed large orders with one of the suppliers, documents found by activists appeared to show, but the group has denied having links to the building.

The US said it could not confirm whether any US companies were sourcing garments from the complex, as protesters in San Francisco targeted the headquarters of Gap with banners reading “No More Death Traps”.

“But it does underscore that there’s a need for the government, owners, buyers and labour to find ways of improving working conditions in Bangladesh,”  Patrick Ventrell, a deputy State Department spokesman, said.

Human Rights Watch said the tragedy showed there was an “urgent need to improve Bangladesh’s protections for worker health and safety”.

“Reforms should include a drastic overhaul of the government’s system of labour inspections and an end to government efforts to thwart the right of workers to unionise,” the rights body said.

“Given the long record of worker deaths in factories, this tragedy was sadly predictable,” Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement published on the group’s website.

555

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

Pakistani Police Defuse Bomb Outside Musharraf’s House

Pakistani police say they have defused a bomb near the house of former President Pervez Musharraf.

Islamabad’s police chief Bani Amin said on April 23 that police found an explosive-laden vehicle parked some 150 meters from the main gate of Musharraf’s house, located in the capital’s outskirts.

The former military ruler has been held under house arrest since April 21 in connection with a case involving his decision to fire senior judges while in power. He will remain in judicial custody for two weeks.

Amin said police were investigating how the vehicle, which has been transferred to a local police station, was able to park so close to Musharraf’s house.

The Taliban have threatened on numerous occasions to kill Musharraf, who returned to Pakistan last month after over four years in self-imposed exile.

Based on reporting by AP and Geo News

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty