The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- NATO admits Libya air strike led to civilian deaths
- Thai army takes sides as divisive election nears
- Medvedev hints he and Putin won't be 2012 rivals
| NATO admits Libya air strike led to civilian deaths Posted: 19 Jun 2011 09:36 PM PDT TRIPOLI (Reuters) - NATO has admitted it destroyed a house in Tripoli in which Libyan officials said nine civilians were killed, an incident likely to sow new doubts inside the alliance about its mission in Libya.
The air strike was the clearest case yet of NATO bombing causing multiple civilian casualties, and comes at a time when NATO is already under strain from a campaign that is taking more time and resources than it expected. A NATO statement said a military missile site was the intended target of the air strikes but that it appeared one of the weapons did not strike that target. "NATO regrets the loss of innocent civilian lives and takes great care in conducting strikes against a regime determined to use violence against its own citizens," said Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, commander of NATO's operations over Libya. "Although we are still determining the specifics of this event, indications are that a weapons system failure may have caused this incident," he said. Reporters taken to the residential area in Tripoli's Souq al-Juma district by Libyan officials early on Sunday saw several bodies being pulled out of the rubble of a destroyed building. Later, in a hospital, they were shown the bodies of two children and three adults who, officials said, were among those killed in the strike. Libyan Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi said the NATO strike was a "pathetic attempt .... to break the spirit of the people of Tripoli and allow small numbers of terrorists to cause instability and disorder in the peaceful city". "We will never forgive, we will never forget, we are here; on our land, united with our leader, ready for peace and ready for the fight for our freedom and honour," he told a news conference. But a spokesman for the rebels fighting to end Muammar Gaddafi's 41-year rule said the Libyan leader was to blame. "We are sorry for the loss of civilian life that was caused by air strikes carried out by NATO," said Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice chairman of the rebel National Transitional Council. "We hold the Gaddafi regime responsible for having placed its military (installations) near civilian areas," he said. "So these losses are to be expected." ALLIANCE UNDER STRAIN NATO has been pounding targets in Libya since March 19 in what it says is an operation to protect civilians who rebelled against Gaddafi's 41-year rule. The Libyan leader says it is an act of colonial aggression designed to steal oil. Strains are appearing within NATO member states as the campaign drags on for longer than envisaged and Gaddafi remains in power -- even making a show of defiance last week by playing chess with a visiting official. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he believed NATO should be allowed to stick at its task. "I think this is going to end OK. I think Gaddafi will eventually fall," he told CNN. At the scene of the destroyed building on Sunday, clothes, smashed crockery and a rubber duck littered the area. The building is in a neighbourhood where security forces have in the past few weeks put down anti-Gaddafi protests. "Why is NATO doing this to us? Why?" asked Ibrahim Ali, who said he lived on the same street as the wrecked building. "NATO is a big problem for the Libyan people. NATO doesn't have any business here, this is between the Libyan people." Another man, who gave his name as Tony, nodded towards the remains of the building and said: "They (local people) don't like this ... But they don't like the regime either." (Additional reporting by Matt Robinson in Misrata, Hamid Ould Ahmed in Algiers, David Brunnstrom in Brussels, Maria Golovnina in Benghazi and Washington bureau; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Jon Hemming) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. | ||
| Thai army takes sides as divisive election nears Posted: 19 Jun 2011 09:06 PM PDT BANGKOK (Reuters) - After Thailand's military removed her brother in a bloodless coup on a hot September night five years ago, the front-runner in next month's closely fought election has good reason to fear the generals will go after her. Recent rumblings from the army suggest she should be concerned. As Yingluck Shinawatra, sister of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, surges ahead in the race to become Thailand's next prime minister after elections next month, the army has cast aside its neutrality, analysts say, and looks intent on derailing her. How far they will go is unclear. If she prevails over Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's ruling Democrat Party and forms a government, a coup is one option, though an unlikely one due to the risk of drawing tens of thousands of Thaksin's "red shirt" supporters into the streets in a reprise of last year's bloody clashes with troops. Most analysts and diplomats suggest she may cut a deal with the army to preserve her government and to prevent a new round of street riots. But in the days leading up to the July 3 election, the army is doing what it can to stop her momentum and foil her plans for a general amnesty that would clear the way for Thaksin to return from self-exile in Dubai, where he lives to avoid prison following a graft conviction he says was politically motivated. Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, instrumental in the coup that toppled Thaksin and offensives to crush anti-government red-shirt street insurrections in 2009 and 2010, made a stern-faced address on two army-owned television channels last week, stressing the military would not meddle in the election. But his message had the opposite effect. Prayuth warned of threats against Thailand's monarchy and urged the public to vote for "good people" and to avoid a repeat of previous polls, a not-so-subtle reference to a decade of elections won by Thaksin allies. "If you allow the election results to be the same as before, you will not get anything new and you will not see any improvement," Prayuth said. By wading into the political fray, the army risks inflaming a sometimes-violent, five-year political crisis in which the rural and urban poor red shirts are pitted against a traditional elite of generals, royal advisers, middle-class bureaucrats and old-money families who back the ruling Democrats. Prayuth's comments were widely seen as a move to discredit Yingluck's Puea Thai Party and stem its momentum following opinion polls that show it is likely to win the most votes in the election. "For an army chief to plead with the voters to cast their ballots for 'good' parties and 'good' candidates is very inappropriate and, as such, he can be seen as taking sides in the upcoming election," Veera Prateepchaikul, a former editor of The Bangkok Post, wrote in the daily on Monday. A HISTORY OF COUPS The army has been a major force in politics since Thailand became a democracy in 1932, staging 18 coups -- some successful, some not -- and several discreet interventions in forming coalition governments, almost all with the tacit backing of Thailand's royalist establishment. Since the last coup, the military's budget has nearly doubled and it has stood firm behind Abhisit, aiding his rise to power in a 2008 parliamentary vote and battling with pro-Thaksin red shirt demonstrators. The last face-off in April and May last year killed 91 people and wounded at least 1,800. "The general image of the military has not exactly complemented Thailand's democratic process," said Worajet Phakhirat, a law professor at Bangkok's Thammasat University. "Making these comments so close to the election can have a negative reaction." Kan Yuenyong, an analyst at the Siam Intelligence Unit, said the stakes are high for the military, which faces a possible purge if Yingluck becomes premier and remains influenced by Thaksin, who may seek a military reshuffle in revenge for his ouster. "A coup is the worst-case scenario but that can't be ruled out if Thaksin regains power," he said. "The military has learned from the past and knows Thaksin will want his revenge." Since Yingluck's May 16 nomination, the 43-year-old businesswoman has championed Thaksin's populist legacy and energised his urban and rural working class supporters, who elected his now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party twice in landslides in 2001 and 2005. Yingluck says she will pursue reconciliation if she becomes prime minister, vowing not to interfere with the armed forces. But not everyone is convinced. Mistrust of Thaksin runs deep and her assurances are unlikely to be enough. TALK OF A DEAL WITH THE ARMY Some expect the generals to intervene discreetly to prevent Puea Thai from forming a government if, as many expect, it wins the most seats in parliament but falls short of an outright majority and must form a coalition to govern. That's where the army could wield its influence by trying to persuade smaller parties to shun Puea Thai and side with Abhisit's Democrats. That may not work. If Puea Thai wins by a landslide, or wins comfortably, it could govern with just one medium-sized party in a coalition. A tougher step, such as a coup, is difficult. The red shirts are far stronger and more organised than in 2006 when the generals removed Thaksin. If tanks rumbled into Bangkok, thousands would likely flood the city's streets in protest. "Another coup is an option Prayuth doesn't want to take because more red shirts than ever before would come to shut down Bangkok," said an analyst with close knowledge of the military who requested anonymity. "But a coup becomes likely if Prayuth gets word of a planned purge by a Puea Thai government. There might be no other option." Sources close to Puea Thai and the military say that could be averted, and that Thaksin and the generals are discussing an arrangement under which Puea Thai could govern in return for an assurance the top brass would not be purged. Abhisit told Reuters last week he was aware the military had been approached by Puea Thai with a view to a deal. Thaksin declined to comment on any such arrangement, but conceded in an interview with Reuters in Dubai last Wednesday that his return to Thailand hinged on talks with the military. Anthony Davis, a security analyst with IHS-Jane's, said a deal was almost inevitable if Puea Thai won handsomely. But in return, he said, Puea Thai would have to scrap its plans for an amnesty to allow Thaksin's return, appoint a defence minister sensitive to the army leadership and guarantee the party would not get involved in the military's affairs. (Additional reporting by Vithoon Amorn; Editing by Jason Szep and John Chalmers) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. | ||
| Medvedev hints he and Putin won't be 2012 rivals Posted: 19 Jun 2011 09:06 PM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed talk of a deepening rift with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in remarks published on Monday, strongly hinting they would not run against each other for president next year.
In a Financial Times interview, he also said he hoped Barack Obama, who has helped improve Russian-U.S. ties, would win a new term as U.S. president next year. Medvedev, steered into the Kremlin by Putin in 2008 when he was barred from a third straight term, has made veiled criticism of his predecessor and emphasised the need for change, stoking speculation of growing discord ahead of the March 2012 election. In what many investors saw as a campaign speech on Friday, he warned against one-man rule and hinted that the stability Putin boasts of bringing to Russia could lead to stagnation. But in the Financial Times interview conducted the next day, Medvedev said he and Putin were "different people" with different ideas about how to reach some goals, but were on the same side. "To believe some sort of rift is deepening between us is absolutely wrong," he said, according to a Kremlin transcript. He sounded less combative than on some occasions, when he has targeted Putin by criticising his cabinet. While he said Russia needed more political plurality, he made clear he advocated only gradual change in electoral legislation. "I do not think that disagreements between us are growing," Medvedev said. He repeated a promise to announce soon whether he would run for a new term -- six years this time -- and suggested he wanted to do so, saying that "any leader who is in a position such as president is simply obliged to want to run". "Whether he will take this decision or not is another question," he added. Many analysts, however, believe it is Putin who will decide whether to return to the country's top job or endorse his protege for a second term. With a marginalised opposition, either one would be likely to win. There has been speculation that Putin and Medvedev could break the unwritten rules of their "tandem" leadership and run against one another, but Medvedev said that "probably would not be the best scenario for our country". "It is hard to imagine that for one reason at least. The thing is, Vladimir Putin and I, after all, to a significant degree represent one and the same political force," he said. "Competition between us could undermine the tasks and the aims that we have been realising in recent years." Medvedev sounded far less equivocal about the U.S. election in November 2012, praising Obama and accusing some of his opponents of turning Russia into a scapegoat. "There are representatives of a very conservative wing who are trying to resolve their political tasks in part by whipping up passions about Russia," he said. He suggested a Republican victory could chill ties after a period that included the signing of a new nuclear arms reduction pact and U.S. support for Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organisation. "I would like Barack Obama to be elected to the office of president of the United States a second time," he said. Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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