The Burmese riot police dispersed thousands of protestors using phosphorus shells, tear-gas and water cannons, claimed activists and local media sources. The villagers were protesting against a vast copper mining project that is currently underway. Activists on the ground said that at least 50 people were injured. Local media reported the use of ‘phosphurous bombs’. Describing the brutal attack of the riot police, student activist, Myo Thant said, “The stuff from these canisters got caught on the clothes and bodies of the victims. When they shook their robes to remove this stuff, fire started.”
The British Foreign Secretary William Hague has said that the UK will not vote against Palestinian non-member observer status at the UN. However, Mr Hague demanded assurances from the Palestinians that they would enter talks without setting conditions and that Palestine will not seek membership of the International Criminal Court. "Up until the time of the vote itself, we will remain open to voting in favour of the resolution, if we see public assurances by the Palestinians on these points," he said. "However, in the absence of these assurances, the UK would abstain on the vote. This would be...
Several EU nations have vowed to support the Palestinian bid for UN recognition of statehood. States include: Austria, Denmark, Norway, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. Reports indicate the UK is likely to abstain, whilst Germany has made clear it will not support it. Undecided EU states include: Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden.
The Colombian government has announced its decision to cease recognising the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice based at The Hague. The decision comes after the court redrew maritime borders, reducing an expanse of sea that the country claims in favour of Nicaragua. President Juan Manuel Santos commented , "The highest national interests demand that territorial and maritime limits are set by agreements as has always been the case in Colombian judicial tradition, and not via rulings uttered by the International Court of Justice," "This is the moment for national unity. This is...
The French foreign minister Laurent Fabius has confirmed that france will vote in support of Palestine’s bid to become a non-member state at the United Nations General Assembly. "You know that for years and years France's consistent position has been the recognition of the Palestinian state," Fabius said to the lower house of parliament. "That is why when the question is raised on Thursday and Friday, France will respond with a 'yes'." "It's only with negotiations between the two sides that we demand immediately, without any preconditions, that a Palestinian state can become a reality," he...
20 Tibetan students were sent to hospital, with at least 5 in critical condition, after Chinese security forces put down a large protest on Monday, according to reports . The protest, reportedly involving more than 1,000 students and teachers, comes after 5 recent self-immolations this week. The total number of self-immolations for this month alone stands at 22, with 86 having been reported since 2009 according to Radio Free Asia. The protests allegedly occurred after booklets were distributed that condemned self-immolations as well as belittled the Tibetan language. Protestors marched into...
Unidentified gunmen, thought to be separatist rebels, have attacked a police station in Indonesia’s Papua province. Three policemen were killed when dozens of gunmen attacked the station and set it alight. Indonesian security forces have been increasing security in anticipation of the independence declaration anniversary coming up on December 1. "We had identified the hotspots in Papua and even prepared additional troops from the mobile brigade," said Sr Cdr Wachjono, chief detective of the Papua police. "The modus operandi is similar to the separatists' attacks," he said.
The Spanish government has said it would not enter talks with Basque separatist group ETA, after the group offered to hold discussions to bring about a “definitive end” to its armed struggle. The country’s interior minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said that there would be no negotiations with a "terrorist organisation". “They know that we have not negotiated nor will we negotiate in any way with the terrorist organisation. "So the only statement the government demands, not requests but demands and is working for, is its unconditional dissolution." ETA steps forward to negotiate (24 Nov 2012)
The Serbian government has called for UN prosecutors to hand over evidence related to two Croatian generals who were freed earlier this week, in a move that has flared tensions between the countries. The move suggests that Serbia is considering whether to indict the two Croatian generals themselves, after a UN court reversed convictions for both Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac, over alleged war crimes that occurred during a 1995 Croatian military offensive known as Operation Storm U.N. War Crimes prosecutor Serge Brammertz stated that, "evidence collected by my office will remain available to judicial authorities in the former Yugoslavia to facilitate national prosecutions for the crimes committed in connection with Operation Storm." Meanwhile Croatian President Ivo Josipovic commented, "The fact is that it is not Croatia that freed the generals, but that the highest legal authorities in The Hague decided that our generals are not guilty… It's a matter of respect toward the international community and international law. " However Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić responded by saying, "It's not going well with Croatia… He wants us to talk — me as the president of a nation which has committed crimes, and him as the president of a nation which has not been convicted of anything." "Croatians know that the crime committed during the Storm is awful, but they still celebrate because no one was convicted… They are a nation on a wrong path." “When indictment was issued against Ratko Mladić in the Srebrenica case, we did not even wait for the guilty verdict, the (Serbian) parliament immediately passed a resolution condemning the Srebrenica crime. Our government arrested (Ratko) Mladić and extradited him to the Hague. I know it (Srebrenica) was a crime, and I will never say that it was not. "
Pro-Catalan independence parties won a majority in the region's election on Sunday. Artur Mas' centre-right CiU part won 50 sets out of 135 and the left-wing separatist ERC won 21. Speaking to reporters after the election results, Mas stressed that his disappointing result - 62 seats down from last year - was a reflection of austerity cuts and not reflective of separatism. Both the CiU and the ERC have pledged to hold an effective referendum on independence. Although said to be illegal under Spanish law at present, the parties have said they plan to circumvent this by announcing a public...