http://www.youtube.com/v/3whPGMp7smw?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Read More - Pakistan Election voters face security threats
‘Pakistani government can’t guarantee election safety’
RT: Almost daily we’ve seen deadly bomb blasts targeting political party offices and candidates. Can the security forces guarantee voter safety tomorrow at the polling stations?Eugene Puryear: I think they most certainly can’t guarantee that. I mean, they’ve been deploying a massive amount of people up to 600,000 security personnel. But we’ve seen over the past period of the campaign and even before that, that the Pakistani government has not been able to offer security solutions that are definite in any way in any part of the country.RT: Why couldn’t the government postpone the polls?EP: Obviously, postponing the polls for the Pakistani government would be a major setback. This is the first democratic transition, which the country will actually have. And I think ultimately going forward with the polls is an important part of showing, in fact democracy in Pakistan is a real thing and certainly there is only a caretaking government in place now. And so to not extend what would essentially be an undemocratic technocratic force.RT:The Taliban’s been making a huge effort to undermine the vote. Do you think they’ve been effective? EP:I think the Taliban has certainly done quite a bit to destabilize the election. I think that the most successful thing in terms of their campaign has been the fact, that both candidates have discussed the issue of severing the security relationship with the US, which at least in part is very central to the struggle of the Taliban inside Pakistan and what they are looking to do. So, how much they will impact the average voter in their ability to come out – we’ll just have to see on Saturday. But certainly their policies and their military campaign has, at least so it seems, affected the way the issues have been debated by the major parties.RT:The leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N party which is expected to clinch victory, promises to pullout of the US war on terror, should it take power. How realistic is this? EP:I think potentially it could be done. And certainly Sharif, when he was a Prime Minister before, presided over the two nuclear tests that resulted in a significant downgrading of relations with the US and economic sanctions. So, Sharif can claim that he has the fortitude to stand up to the US, but given the significant amount of support inaugurated for Pakistan, I mean I believe there’s a hundred million dollars provided by the US just to help Pakistan secure their nuclear arsenal. Obviously the ability from Pakistan to gain lending from the IMF, it will require a tremendous amount of effort, because Pakistan will have to refocus and rebalance both its economic and its security policies almost 180 degrees from what they have been since 2001, when Pakistan was more or less brought in from the code by the US. So, certainly it’s possible, but either party and certainly whether Sheriff will really have the 42 and the desire to carry this through – I think is yet to be seen.RT:Meanwhile a Pakistani court has declared US drone strikes in the country illegal. Will that message be considered across the Atlantic? EP:I think it is a message that will certainly be considered across the Atlantic. It’s a sign of a growing opposition in Pakistan and to a lesser degree in Yemen, in fact even inside the US against the US drone policy. And certainly to have such a high court say that the US drone strikes should end immediately just continues to add fuel to a fire that is raging around the world about its secretive illegal criminal campaign being waged by the United States government. Obviously, they have no intention of stopping their drone campaign, but certainly I think it has to be an item of interest for them. … Read More
Iraq – In draconian move, Iraq suspends licences of 10 TV stations
Reporters Without Borders firmly condemns yesterday’s decision by Iraq’s Media and Communications Commission to suspend the licences of 10 foreign-based satellite TV channels for “inciting violence and sectarianism.” “This draconian and disproportionate decision has seriously endangered freedom of information,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Although the media must act responsibly, they are just doing their job when they cover Iraq’s current serious divisions and tension. ” “We urge the Media (…) … Read More
Afghan policewomen face assault and sexual harassment: Human Rights Watch
An international rights group called Thursday for Afghan authorities to provide separate toilets and changing rooms at police stations for women officers, saying they face harassment and assault at work. Addressing the concerns of policewomen is necessary to address the “rampant…
Columns of black smoke screen Moscow sky causing Twitter storm (PHOTOS)
The smoke was seen by ignited interest in the downtown area of the Russian capital. Social networkers uploaded photos on Twitter and Instagram accounts speculating on what caused the event.“Moscow’s burning!” tweeted some alarmed users.Others replied: “No, it’s just the Pope was not elected.”The fire originated in an unattended warehouse located between ‘Tulskaya’ and ‘Leninskiy prospect’ metro stations. Tires and garbage were reported to have been burning, as the fire spread to 50 square meters.Drivers were forced to close their windows trying to escape the toxic fumes, according to NТV.Ru.The fire was reportedly extinguished without casualties. However, the cause of the incident is yet unknown. … Read More
Venezuela’s Maduro sworn into office as vote recount looms
Thousands of Maduro’s socialist supporters gathered on the streets of capital Caracas on Friday morning to mark the occasion. The ceremony is attended by the majority of South America’s heads of state, and senior officials from Russia and China, which have already recognized Maduro’s victory. Meanwhile, opposition candidate Henrique Capriles called off a rally of his backers, to avoid escalating an increasingly fraught stand-off, and asked them to play salsa music as a symbol of their protest against a result they believe was won fraudulently. Maduro, the former second-in-command to Hugo Chavez, who died of cancer last month, won 50.8 percent of the vote on Sunday – beating Capriles by a mere 267,000 votes out of 14.9 million. Center-right coalition candidate Capriles claims that 3,000 violations took place – such as the inclusion of 600,000 dead voters on the electoral roll, expulsion of opposition observers from polling stations, and inexplicable swings in favor of Maduro in certain districts compared to the results of last October’s election, won by his significantly more popular predecessor Chavez.Venezuela’s electoral commission agreed to an audit on Thursday, the same day that a court rejected a plea to postpone the inauguration until it is complete. The commission will examine 46 percent of the ballots (54 were studied by default in the immediate aftermath of the vote). The ballot assessment – which the commission refuses to label as a recount – is likely to take around a month. The concession to the opposition was cautiously welcomed by Capriles, and appears to have lowered the temperature of the confrontation that has divided Venezuela. The aftermath of the tightly-contested vote was marred by violent clashes, with Maduro accusing the opposition of trying to stage a US-backed coup, and Capriles claiming that opposition activists are being subjected to repressive measures. At least eight people have been reported to have been killed in the violence. On Thursday, Maduro travelled to Peru for an emergency discussion on ways out of the political crisis with other South American leaders. All of them have already recognized Maduro’s victory. The 50 year-old Maduro was a bus driver and later a union leader, before rising to the post of foreign minister during the Chavez regime. He has positioned himself as a radical left-wing heir to Chavez, who Maduro says was given cancer by the United States, and routinely refers to opposition politicians as fascists. … Read More
Paraguay – Campaign marked by censorship, post-election reprisals feared
Reporters Without Borders reiterates its call for democratization of the Paraguayan media and real media pluralism as the country prepares to elect a new president and congress on 21 April. The organization also cautions against any reprisals and score-settling as a result if media allegations during the campaign about the two presidential front-runners, Horacio Cartes of the conservative right-wing Partido Colorado and Efraín Alegre of the liberal right-wing Partido Liberal Radical (…) … Read More
