MORSi ROAStS IRAN - Kuwait Times

FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2012
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security
Council warned yesterday against
attempts to threaten the security and
stability of Lebanon amid outbursts of
violence and escalating tensions in the
country fueled by the 17-month conflict
in neighboring Syria. The warning
was contained in a resolution unanimously
passed by the council to renew
a 11,500-strong UN peacekeeping force
in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL and based
in a Hezbollah stronghold in the south
to monitor a cessation of hostilities
with Israel.
The resolution condemned “all
attempts to threaten the security and
stability of Lebanon, reaffirming its
determination to ensure that no such
acts of intimidation will prevent UNIFIL
from implementing its mandate.” A
roadside bomb wounded five French
peacekeepers in southern Lebanon in
December, one of several attacks on
the UN force last year. France blamed
Syria for the attack, saying it had acted
through its Lebanese ally, powerful
Shi’ite Muslim militant group
Hezbollah.
Syria, which has had far-reaching
influence in Lebanon for decades,
denied any links to the attack. Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad withdrew
troops from Lebanon in 2005 after a 29year
presence and Hezbollah remains a
strong ally. France, Lebanon’s former
colonial power, has contributed the
largest number of troops to the UN
peacekeeping force and is increasingly
concerned the Syrian crisis-which
International
UN warns against threats to Lebanon
Fall of Maldives
president not a
‘coup’, claims panel
COLOMBO: A Commonwealth-backed investigation in the
Maldives yesterday dismissed claims that a coup forced
Mohamed Nasheed from the presidency in February and
declared it was a legitimate transfer of power. The panel’s report
concluded that Nasheed, who alleged he was ousted in a coup,
had resigned voluntarily-a judgment promptly rejected by his
party which staged another street protest and clashed with
police.
The Commission of National Inquiry (CoNI), consisting of four
nationals named by political parties and a Singaporean judge
nominated by the Commonwealth, found the change of president
was “legal and constitutional”. “The resignation of President
Nasheed was voluntary and of his own free will,” it said in a 62page
report which was also signed by a Canadian and New
Zealander who functioned as observers for the UN and the
Commonwealth.
Nasheed’s departure “was not caused by any illegal coercion
or intimidation,” the report said. Nasheed has previously told his
supporters that it would be legitimate to challenge the current
government through “street action” if the report rejected his
claims that he was overthrown in a military and police coup.
Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) activists took to the
streets yesterday night in a repeat of protests that have gripped
the capital Male for the past six months.
Police Superintendent Abdulla Nawaz said they arrested at
least 23 activists. “They have assaulted one of our officers and
damaged the windows of a police vehicle,” Nawaz said when
contacted by telephone. MDP activists said about 50 of their supporters
had been arrested within a two-hour period and accused
police of clamping down on their nightly street demonstration.
“We will keep up our campaign to press for early elections,”
MDP spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor told AFP by telephone.
He rejected the CoNI report as a “total outrage”. However, both
the Commonwealth and the United States welcomed the report.
“We urge all parties to respect those findings, to exercise
restraint, obey the rule of law, and continue to express themselves
in a peaceful and non-violent manner,” the US state
department said in a statement.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said that
“the task ahead for all Maldivians must be to strengthen democracy”.
“An atmosphere of peace and public order is essential for
that to happen,” he said. Nasheed’s nominee on the CoNI panel
resigned late on Wednesday saying that it had ignored vital evidence,
including photographs and videos. —AP
MALE: A supporter of former president Mohammed
Nasheed is detained during a protest after the commission
of national inquiry released its report yesterday. — AP
SYDNEY: Rescuers plucked 55 survivors
from the ocean yesterday, more than a
day after an asylum-seeker boat heading
for Australia disappeared off the
Indonesian coast with 150 people
aboard. After Indonesia abandoned its
search, six people were rescued
overnight by a cargo ship and 49 more
were pulled from the water by an
Australian navy crew after being located
by spotter planes late yesterday. “The
vessels have recovered 55 survivors.
Three have serious injuries but are in a
stable condition,” the Australian
Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said,
adding that the search was being scaled
back.
“Vessels will remain on scene
overnight, but have limited search capability
until daylight Friday.” The head of
Indonesia’s rescue mission at Merak port
in western Java said it appeared that
one of the survivors had been bitten by
a shark. Indonesia’s National Search and
Rescue Agency (Basarnas) received an
alert from AMSA early Wednesday that a
boat was in distress between Java and
Sumatra, 220 nautical miles from the
Australian territory of Christmas Island.
Basarnas sent two police rescue
boats and a helicopter but found noth-
ing and returned to base, only for AMSA
to task the cargo ship APL Bahrain,
which responded to an earlier broadcast
to shipping, to attend a broader search
area. The captain of the Bahrain said
screams and whistles alerted his crew as
it scoured the Sunda Strait in darkness.
“We were doing scheduled searching.
At the last moment when I was
thinking to abort, I heard some noises,
and we spotted them in the water,”
Captain Manuel Nistorescu told the
Sydney Morning Herald’s website. “I
(sent) a crew to get them and it was not
easy... It was dark.” He said the rescued
men appeared to be in good condition,
adding that they said the pump on their
boat failed and the vessel began taking
on water. “They had an engine break
and the water was coming, and the
pump for pumping out the water was
not working and the boat sinks. This is
what I understand from them,” he said.
Australian Home Affairs Minister
Jason Clare said there were serious concerns
for those still missing, who include
women and children. “We have grave
fears for a lot more,” he said. “Don’t
underestimate how hard it is to find
people in the middle of the sea.” AMSA
said the survivors were expected to be
began as peaceful pro-democracy
protests-could spread into Lebanon.
In an annual foreign policy speech
on Monday, French President Francois
Hollande said a solution to the Syrian
crisis had to be found before it spread
beyond its borders.
“I realize the difficulty of the task
and the risks, but what is at stake goes
far beyond Syria,” he said. “It concerns
the entire security of the Middle East
and especially the independence and
stability of Lebanon.” —Reuters
SYDNEY: A poster promoting an Australian television documentary “Go back to where you came from” a campaign for
refugee rights are dispayed on a street board yesterday. — AFP
55 rescued from missing
Indonesia asylum boat
Rush of asylum-seekers before Australian crackdown
taken to Merak in Indonesia’s Java for
medical attention. An Indonesian rescue
boat carrying doctors was steaming to
the area where the boat sank along with
a police ship.
Four merchant vessels were continuing
the search alongside HMAS Maitland
and two Australian P3 Orion aircraft.
Australia is facing a steady influx of asylum-seekers
arriving by boat, many of
whom use Indonesia as a transit hub,
paying people-smugglers for passage
on leaky wooden vessels after fleeing
their home countries.
Canberra this month said 300 boatpeople
had died en route to the country
this year, with vessels being intercepted
by the Australian navy on almost a daily
basis. Two weeks ago, Canberra
announced its intention to transfer asylum-seekers
to Nauru and Papua New
Guinea in the Pacific as part of a tough
new policy to deter them from making
the dangerous sea voyage. But more
than 1,000 boatpeople have arrived
since the policy was adopted. “My message
to them is, don’t get on the boat,”
said Clare. “What we’ve seen today is
there is a real risk people will die... that
people will end up at the bottom of the
sea.” — AFP