De Juana goes home

If yesterday, we knew that the Government wants to sanction Foro Ermua for convoking some demonstrations -when he didn’t-, today we have known that the bloodiest of all ETA terrorists is going home, with an electronic device in his wrist, as had been announced. The decision comes after the elections and has provoked a real uproar in Spain. Lately he was going out of the hospital on a daily basis, costing the security of those strides 120€ daily in security.

Meanwhile, the PSOE negotiator with ETA, Eguiguren, the man who was condemned for beating his wife, is now counselling Zapatero to make a pact to lead Navarra’s Government’s with ANV, ETA-Batasuna’s party at last elections, telling him “you will be remembered for ending terrorism“.

Etiquetas de del.icio.us: De Juana Chaos, España, ETA, terrorismo, Zapatero, PP, PSOE

Etiquetas de Technorati: De Juana Chaos, España, ETA, terrorismo, Zapatero, PP, PSOE

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As UN approves the creation of a special tribunal to try suspects, Hezbulah and Syria take positions

The United Nations Security Council has approved the creation of a special tribunal to try suspects in the killing of Rafiq Hariri, Lebanon’s former prime minister.

UN sets up tribunal over Hariri killing

Reuters – Syria could spark trouble in Lebanon in response to a U.N. Security Council vote to set up a tribunal to try the killers of Rafik al-Hariri, the former prime minister’s son said on Thursday.

Syria may trouble Lebanon after U.N. vote: Hariri (Reuters)

But the situation turns out to be ridiculous when you see that both Hezbullah and Syria have accused the new tribunal of violate the Lebanese sovereignty, when even the Lebanon Government have asked twice for the existence of the tribunal.

Today also another Lebanese soldier has been killed, with shots coming from inside of the camp.

Christian Science Monitor reports that inside the camp the population is turning over the Islamists. The subtitle says blames the recent battles between Lebanese police and Fatah al-Islam for the anger of the residents. But you continue reading you see that is not exactly true:

Tripoli, a traditionally conservative Sunni Muslim city, has long been fertile ground for the growth of Islamic radicalism. And analysts and religious leaders here say that dozens of foreign militants – many of them veterans of the war in Iraq – have relocated to Tripoli in recent months, some of them joining Fatah al-Islam, a new Al Qaeda-linked faction bottled up in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp, 10 miles to the north.

The presence of foreign fighters and the week-long battles between the Lebanese Army and Fatah al-Islam are giving rise to concerns that groups inspired by Al Qaeda are seeking to take advantage of Lebanon’s political turmoil to establish a foothold here.

“I used to say that there was no Al Qaeda in Lebanon. And I believed that until last week. Now I am convinced that Al Qaeda is here in Tripoli and northern Lebanon,” says Sheikh Omar Bakri, a cleric who runs a religious library in the Abi Samra district of Tripoli.

So, how many time the preparation of this has taken Al-Qaeda?

In line with this, yesterday was arrested a high-rank member of Al-Qaeda in a Beirut hotel:

According to this reliable source, this very dangerous terrorist had illegaly crossed into Lebanon from Syria overland. He had come over the weekend to coordinate with Fatah al Islam militants currently barricaded in the Nahr el Bared Refugee Camp and battling the Lebanese Army.

Go over and read it all (You can also read Gateway Pundit). It’s worth to see another reason why Syria considers illegal the Tribunal…

Just to see how unhappy Lebanese are with UN resolution, Jim aka Gateway Pundit posts this photo:

Young Lebanese men dance to celebrate the U.N. resolution on the Rafik Hariri tribunal in the predominantly Sunni area of Tariq el-Jadidah in downtown Beirut, Lebanon Wednesday, May 30, 2007. Supporters of slain former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri cheered and wept — and some even danced in the streets — late Wednesday to celebrate the U.N. Security Council approval of the international tribunal to prosecute suspects in his killing. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

You can also check Chaim’s Blog:

Mahmoud Khalil Taha, 85, who fled the Nahr el-Bared camp in the morning, is checked by a nurse on his arrival at a school turned center for the displaced in Bedawi refugee camp where many residents of the besieged Nahr el-Bared refugee camp have sought shelter, near the city of Tripoli in Lebanon – Tuesday, May 29, 2007
(Photo from: Yahoo)

 

Related posts:

1. Lebanon vs. AlQaeda and Fatah al Islam (II).
2. Lebanon vs. AlQaeda and Fatah al islam (I).

Etiquetas de del.icio.us: Lebanon, Syria, UN, Hariri, Hariri’s assasination

Etiquetas de Technorati: Lebanon, Syria, UN, Hariri, Hariri’s assasination

[En Español].

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In the case of the Britons’ kidnapping

about which I blogged yesterday, look who is being investigated. And just not to waste the time, also threatens women who do not wear the veil…

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PSOE considers as "administrative" the decision to close Radio Caracas Televisión

European Parliament passed a resolution on May 24th in which they considered as an “alarming precedent” the decision by Chávez to shut Radio Caracas Televisión, because of their critics to Chávez. But the Venezuelan President, as Castro, has a very good defensor in Europe: PSOE (Spanish Socialists). The Spanish Socialists voted against the resolution and their secretary for International Relations, Elena Valenciano, repeated Chávez’s arguments: “it is an administrative decision” and the defense of freedom of expression is “a campaign of the right“. This Wednesday, when the closing of RCTV is a fact, Popular Party has asked for a rectification to PSOE.

Source: El PSOE califica de “decisión administrativa” el cierre de Radio Caracas Televisión – Libertad Digital

This happens the same day that Chávez has laughed about international condemnation, specially about EU resolution because of the 784 MPs, only 65 voted it. And the same day in which Chávez has named as enemies of the Venezuelan country, Globovisión TV and the students who demonstrated these past days, saying the latter “are brainwashed by their parents and teachers“.

This happens the same day international Spanish moonbat and gay politician -he is not a moonbat for being gay, he is a moonbat because he is a moonbat-, Zerolo, has asked for the expulsion of Poland from EU after considering that Poland is in the EU only for receiving money. “The EU is not a bank to receive money from. If you don’t respect some civic and republican values, out of the EU!“. The reason? Poland is not accepting the Zapatero’s model of promoting homosexuality in the schools (attention: this link contains very bad taste images. But this book is the one which is being promoted by Spanish Minister of Education to educate minors in schools).

The statement is even worse because Zapatero is going to visit Poland. And because Spain has received (a lot of) money specially for infraestructures from Europe, something that has been pointed out by the Polish Ambassador in Spain, Grazyna Bernatowicz.

Of course, he is not revolving against what is happening in Malasia today….

Just making Spanish people proud of the Government…

(UPDATE): My friend Thymoumai has also written about this “support” and is as outraged as me:

there is no such thing as strategies or administrative decisions when we are talking about freedom of speech. But I guess I forgot that for some people, the ideal government model is the Chávez/Catro regime. [attention people, THAT IS THE REAL REASON why I am so worried and why some people are so wrong when they think that Zapatero is supporting Castro and Spanish democracy at the same time. If you support Castro, you don’t support democracy, whatever you say]

del.icio.us tags: Spain, Zapatero, Chávez, Venezuela, RCTV, Poland

Technorati tags: Spain, Zapatero, Chávez, Venezuela, RCTV, Poland

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Where is the international community

 when it’s needed??

Lina Joy is a Malaysian woman who converted to Christianity and wanted to marry a Christian man. Before she was a Christian she was a Muslim. As we all know, it is not allowed, according to the Sharia, to leave Islam.

Source: Stone Her! « Michael P.F. van der Galiën

Go over to read it. it’s disgusting: the Malaysian court has voted that a Muslim cannot convert. So this brave woman will be probably condemned to death.

And the Muslim cheered at hearing the verdict:

“The issue of apostasy is related to Islamic law, so it’s under the sharia court. The civil court cannot intervene.”

Disgusting.

Now, where is the international condemnation for this?

[En español]

del.icio.us tags: Malaysia, Lina Joy, Christianity, Christian persecution, Islamism, apostasy

Technorati tags: Malaysia, Lina Joy, Christianity, Christian persecution, Islamism, apostasy

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Government sanctions Foro de Ermua for protesting against anti-terrorist policy

I have just now received this:

12.000 € OF SANCTION TO FORO ERMUA FOR PROTESTING AGAINST THE EXCARCERATION OF ETA TERRORIST IGNACIO DE JUANA AND THE PROSECUTOR’S DECISION OF NOT ACCUSING OTEGI

The sanctions were proposed more than 2 months ago, but have been notified today, May 29th, only after the elections.

Bilbao, May 30th 2007

The excarceration of De Juana and the prosecutor’s decision of not accusing Otegi of a clear crime of apology of terrorism –what obliged the Tribunal not to condemn him- provoked once again a justified reaction of popular indignation that caused several citizens’ demonstrations of protest in the Interior Ministry surroundings. The Government Delegation of Madrid has blamed the FORO ERMUA of both demonstrations and proposes 2 sanctions of 6.000 Euros for not soliciting approval for them.

These proposes of santion should be interpreted as a step further in the politics of soft hand towards ETA and of coaction and intimidation against democratic citizens who are opposed to the Government policy: the killing-freedom attitudes are inevitable when we are searching for an intermediate point between democracy and terror.

So, when the Government twists the law systematically in favour of the killers to bring them satisfaction and to maintain alive the dialogue with them (De Juana’s excarceration, the decision of stopping the accusation against Otegi, reduction of petitions of punishments for the members of ETA and of the street terrorism^[1], to ask for stopping the cause against Egunkaria, tolerance to the acts of Batasuna, the negative to illegalise ANV, etc.). But at the same time they use the law and the institutional power to try to force the citizens and associations opposed to their policies of appeasement and caving into ETA. Those are the consequences of the negotiation.

So, the proposal of 12.000€ of sanction to FORO ERMUA (association which has, on the other hand, only received 2.341,61 € from the Interior Minister) is incardinated in the strategy of negotiation and has as main objective to coerce and undermine the citizen movement to make us cease in the actions against the wiched process of dialogue and cession to ETA.  But they have failed already: whatever the efforts of ETA and Basque Government have employed, we have never ceased in speaking and now Zapatero is going to obtain the same results.

The Government should know that, the more he attacks the FORO ERMUA, the bigger will be our strength. If in the end this felony is achieved and they impose the sanction, FORO ERMUA will appeal the citizens to have enough funds to pay it and will use the rest to strengthen the citizen’s movilization against the ignominous process of dialogue, cession and pact with the terrorist band ETA. A band that has already 900 deaths in their backs, thousands of hurt people, dozens of thousands of menaced citizens and hundred of thousands of displaced [is the one] with which the General Secretary of PSOE and nowadays President of the Government prefers to dialogue better than with us: it is not that Rodríguez Zapatero treats democrats opposed to the Government as terrorists, the situation is that he treats us worst. And we are not going to tolerate.

Don’t need any comments. This is the most accurate painting of nowadays Spain. But there is something very clear: if the Government would not feel itself menaced by Foro de Ermua and other organizations, it would not act this way.

And the reason is that there are problems with the Navarra’s Government: if the Socialists at last sign a pact with Nafarroa Bai (nationalists) and ANV (Batasuna, substantially) that is not going to be very well seen in other parts of Spain. Anyway, they do not want to pact with PP because they have been insulted “and socialists also have dignity“, Zapatero dixit. WOW, ZP the noble. Don’t make me laugh…

More about todays’ session:

“The president has not answered my question. And it is so grave that he can’t answer me in a so important subject“, stated Rajoy in his second time to speak. “The majority of the Navarros want Navarra to continue existing. I’m not in favour to let UPN (PP in Navarra) govern to see what happens; I do not agree with a pact with someone, as the fist elected of Na-Bai, who wants Navarra’s independence“, stated PP leader.

Rajoy also stated that if UPN and Socialists in Navarra will reach an agreement for the next 4 years, it will guarantee that Navarra “has stability and certitude“. “I am enormously worried because the President of the Government is unable to have a judgement in this subject and to express it in this Parliament“, he concluded.

In his next time to speak, Zapatero continued with his reproaches to Rajoy. “I understand that Rajoy is now worried. But he could have done another policy related to Navarra and PSOE“, he insisted. He said that “PSOE is open to dialogue for the coexistence and integration, not for diving the Navarros and the Spanish“.

The reason of this angry revolting of the President is Madrid: not only Socialists have not won in the capital and in the Autonomous Community but also the PP’s victory has caused a crisis on PSOE: three PSOE councillors don’t want Sebastián -ZP’s candidate- to take his seat. “That the one who named him, takes his responsibility in the defeat“. Yes, please, let him take the responsibility.

For a retrospective about Sebastian, click here.

[I have corrected some errors…]

del.icio.us tags: Foro de Ermua, Zapatero, ETA, política antiterrorista, España

Technorati tags: Foro de Ermua, Zapatero, ETA, política antiterrorista, España

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Pizarro asks for transparence to the Civil Guard after being followed by two agents on feb 20th

 If you haven’t heard about the turnout bid of Spanish electric firm Endesa, you should. By now, there have been three: by Spanish firm Gas Natural (who did not pay enough at all), by German E.On (which was ended after a Zapatero-Prodi summit in Ibiza) and by Italian Enel and Spanish Acciona -which the laic blessings of both Italian and Spanish Government-. The impact on Spanish energy market is going to be great: Endesa is a great firm, stabilised and with magnificent prospects. Enel is not a very efficient firm and is a public firm, which hasn’t got gas, which is one of the main products of Endesa. The main critic is then that, while Enel gains a lot by the operation, Endesa does not win anything, and can be even divided if Enel and Acciona do not agree about their results.

But the turnout bid has meant a special war between Zapatero and Endesa’s President, Manuel Pizarro. Last february he was even followed:

Endesa’s President, Manuel Pizarro, has asked today in Zaragoza “transparence and effectiveness” to the Civil Guard after being followed by two agents on Feb 20th, when took place the meeting in Ibiza between Italian President Prodi, and his counterpart, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. According to sources, it was then that was decided the entry of Enel in Endesa Al parecer, durante esa semana, se gestó la entrada del grupo Enel en la eléctrica.

According to newspaper “El Mundo”, the Government confirms that Pizarro was being followed, but does not tell about the motives. Pizarro, who took part in a post-graduates course at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Zaragoza’s University, added that both agents were later detained by Police.

“We denounced them before the Civil Guard and, through Internal Affairs, they should investigate what these 2  men were doing, not on duty, acting like that for themselves or a third party”, he stated.

Source: La Nación – Pizarro pide transparencia a la Guardia Civil por el seguimiento del que fue objeto el 20 de febrero

Don’t think I have anything more to add…

(En español)

del.icio.us tags: Manuel Pizarro, Endesa, Endesa’s turnover bid, Zapatero, Prodi

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Britons kidnapped by gunmen in Baghdad-News-World-Iraq-TimesOnline

 

Five Britons were abducted from a government building in Baghdad today in a brazen kidnapping by gunmen dressed in police uniforms.

The victims were four bodyguards and a British technology adviser working at the Finance Ministry for BearingPoint, a US consultancy firm.

This evening the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London confirmed that the five missing people were British and that diplomatic staff in Baghdad were urgently seeking their release.

“I can confirm that a group of five British nationals were abducted this morning at 0850 UK time, which is 1150 local time, in an incident at the Finance Ministry in central Baghdad,” a spokesman said. “Officials from the British embassy in Baghdad are in urgent contact with the Iraqi authorities to establish the facts and to try to secure a swift resolution.”

Source: Britons kidnapped by gunmen in Baghdad-News-World-Iraq-TimesOnline

Hope they are found quickly.

BBC considers that policemen are involved:

There are conflicting reports about exactly how Tuesday’s abduction took place.

‘Hired guns’ in Iraq

Witnesses said it was carried out by what appeared to be a police unit.

The street was sealed off at both ends and the kidnappers, in police camouflage uniforms, walked straight past guards at the finance ministry building on Palestine Street, the witnesses said.

A police source told the BBC that dozens of police vehicles were used in the operation.

The BBC’s Paul Wood in Baghdad says that if such reports are true, it could point to the involvement of a renegade police unit, possibly special commandos.

While it has been possible in the past for criminals or militants to hire police uniforms and vehicles, he says, the scale of this operation suggests real police involvement.

del.icio.us tags: Great Britain, Iraq, terrorism, Baghdad, UK

 

Technorati tags: Great Britain, Iraq, terrorism, Baghdad, UK

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Spanish elections Watch 2007: Reflections on Spanish elections

 

I honestly don’t know how I feel about the elections on Sunday…..

Spain has a  tradition: whoever wins the municipal elections, wins the generals. This would mean that by next year PSOE and Zapatero could be out. Nice.

On the other hand, there are three things that worry me, a lot:

1. The difference between PP and PSOE hasn’t really been “that” big –they have increased votes in some areas but decreased in others. I guess, we Spaniards have still to work through a lot of stuff from the past. Meaning: if you vote PSOE you are a leftist (rojo, comunista, etc) and if you vote for PP you are a fascist (facha, pro Franco, dictador, etc). Therefore, many people who have always voted left will keep on voting left and the ones who have always voted right will keep on voting right –without giving any thought to the ideas they are voting for and what those parties represent. There seem to be two extremes and people are very scared of name-calling.
2. The fact that the terrorist have won in 17 municipios. Isn’t that a big win?. I guess the reason is because half these people support ETA and the other half is just scared to death. If this split is 50/50 I am not sure. I would definitely hope it has more to do with number 2 than with number 1.
3. And finally, the huge amount of people who have decided not to vote. To me, this is almost the worst part of it all… If things are going so bad (and yes, admit it, they are) and people are not voting: what is going on in this country? Why do you prefer to watch the Formula 1 race and go to the bar for a beer, instead of making your voice heard out there?

Source: Thymoumai

Go and read the rest. Thymoumai is also an Spanish blogger writing in English. A marvellous perspective…

By the way: the Socialist candidate in Madrid, Rafael Simancas, has already announced he will not present himself again. The re-elected President of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre, has said that he was a very honorable candidate but that he has had very little help from the Nation’s Government.

Related posts:

1. Spanish Elections Watch 2007: Autonomous Communities’ results.
2. Spanish Elections Watch 2007: Alea jacta est.
3. Spanish Elections Watch 2007 (part 4): more corruption, more violence and terrorism.
4. Spanish Elections Watch 2007 (part 3): more violence and ANV.
5. Spanish Elections Watch 2007 (part 2): agressions on PP members.
6. Spanish Elections Watch 2007.
7. Corrupsoe reloaded (part 2): Sebastián, socialist candidate to Madrid’s Majorship.
8. Corrupsoe reloaded (part 1): Ibiza connection and Arenillas.

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Bolivia: Evo Morales imitates Chávez

Evo Morales has said that his main enemies are the media who are opposing the process of change the country needs, except “my friend journalists who most of them belong to the MAS [Movement to Socialism, Morales’ party]”. He also has told the intelectuals their mission is to create a popular conscience about the “importance of the values of life and not of the capital, the egoism and the individualism“.

Among the conclusions of the V Summit pf the Intelectuals and Artists in Humanity’s Defense’s Net, wants to build an observatory against private MSM and a tribunal to control them.

Some speakers at the Summit:

For the Venezuelan Carmen Bohórquez, coordinator of the Net, it is “necessary and a priority to show the illegitimacy of the actual system wheere the MSM are at the powerful’s service, and remember all that there is a great antidemocratic concentration and that there is a worrying power of the financial capital over MSM“.

What this woman does not take into account is that Chávez is now the powerful and is doing exactly the same thing she is critisizing: building huge media to protect him.

On the other hand, Abel Prieto, Culture Minister of Cuba -oops, is there culture in Communist Castro’s Cuba? Art and Culture needs freedom, totally inexistent in that country-, supported the creation of this observatory because it will “let a real evaluation of the media works, not only local, but also national and of the great machinery of disinformation in the great media of enourmous worldwide influence“.

But Morales’imitation of Venezuelan Chavez goes beyond: Bolivian VP has already spoken of the Socialism of the XXIst century.

In Bolivia it has been the VP Alvaro García who used the expression and said that “the socialism of the XXIst century is going to be impulsed not by the State but by the communities and the social movements“.
he spoke at the summit “Alternatives to Neo-Liberalism” in Cochabamba, where he stated that “in South America there is a process of pluralism, who has the Indigene people and other social movements as main actors. These same people will build the socialism of the XXIth century“.

“Imagine the socialism is to think of the enourmous capacities that the Indigene peoples have, as they fight for be given back their natural resources and better life quality“, according to the Government’s news agency ABI.

“We are finding ways to exit from neo-liberalism. The capitalism is going through one of the worst moments in its history due to the Indigene people, communities and other social organisations, who have risen at said No more! Stop!“

For a retrospective on García Linera, click here.

There have been some miners’ revolts in Bolivia: they have even destroyed houses with dynamite. And they are prepared for more if the new Decree on mines’ exploitation is passed:

To reclaim installations from foreigners is easier that to defy independent miners, who are decided to put their short and difficult lifes at stake to defend their part in the mines’ benefits.

“If we go all there [to La Paz], all the miners, we can kill the policemen with dynamite because we are prepared for that“, says Taboada, 23-year-old, during and interview in the profound parts of the Cerro Rico (Rich Hill), near the historic mining city of Potosy.

The crisis with the Judicial Power has aggravated also:

The Government and the Governors have accused each other of being the culprits of the unsuccesful summit, who had as main target, to put to an end the judicial crisis began in Bolivia as a result of the decision by Evo Morales to accuse of corruption to 4 Judges of the Constitutional tribunal.

The meeting between Morales and the nine Governors ended without results last Saturday at midnight in Cochabamba, center part of Bolivia. The Governors, six of which are political opponents to Mr. Morales, have asked for the meeting to end the crisis.

[…`] We dont’t see a reason to judge the magistrates, we have asked Morales to respect State of Law because democracy is debilitating itself, but the meeting was unsuccesful as we were unable to find consensus because of the totalitarian views of the Government”, said the host Manfred Reyes Villa.

The crisis arose when the Constitutional Tribunal declared illegal the extension of the temporal terms of 4 magistrates of the Supreme Court who had been named by Morales. Also Correa has problems with Ecuador’s Constitutional Tribunal.

Other news:

1. Anger Echoes in South America After FIFA Bans Games at Altitude.
2. Chile rejects Bolivia’s “gas for sea” proposal.

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Venezuela: students protest because of RCTV closing

Here is the video. It’s in Spanish but you can get an overview of what has been going on.

UPDATE: Italian blogger Paolo di Lautreamont has more videos for you to see.

Chávez closes RCTV: CNN – Reuters (Venezuela TV station says troops seized equipment) –

Workers of RCTV station cry while singing the national anthem after the channel was forced off the air in Caracas May 28, 2007. The government is not renewing RCTV’s license after 53 years on the air because of accusations that the broadcaster participated in a bungled 2002 coup against Chavez, incited violent demonstrations and aired immoral programming. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

Agora Vox (French):

“The organization of American States (OEA) and Mercosur can say that Hugo Chávez is a democrat but his acts speak otherwise”. Those are the words written in the editorial of the Venezuelan newspaper Tal Cual after the new attack on individual freedoms by president-dictator Hugo Chavez.

 

Supporters of Radio Caracas TV (RCTV) attend a demonstration outside the TV station in Caracas May 27, 2007. RCTV is being forced off the air after President Hugo Chavez’s administration refused to renew its broadcasting license which ends on Sunday. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

 

A supporters of Radio Caracas TV (RCTV) writes a message outside the TV station in Caracas May 27, 2007. RCTV is being forced off the air after President Hugo Chavez’s administration refused to renew its broadcasting license which ends on Sunday. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Protests: Yahoo! – Students protesting Chávez TV network closure clash with police.

Venezuelan policemen protect themselves when confronting students at the demonstration. El Mundo.es. 

Venezuelan policemen take position during a demonstration by government opponents in east Caracas, in the aftermath of the closure of private network RCTV (Radio Caracas Television). President Hugo Chavez’s clampdown on opposition television stations widened Monday as police used rubber bullets and tear gas on demonstrators protesting what they called an attack on free speech(AFP/Juan Barreto)

A Venezuelan protestor against the police. (El Mundo.es).

Time – At least 3 students injured in clash with Chávez.

Students protesting against Chávez with Venezuelan flags.

IHT Opposition-alligned Venezuelan TV station goes off the air -( look at this title: looks like Chávez has nothing to do with it):

Venezuelan police fired tear gas and plastic bullets Monday into a crowd of thousands protesting a decision by President Hugo Chavez that forced a television station critical of his leftist government off the air.

Police fired toward the crowd of up to 5,000 protesters from a raised highway, and protesters fled amid clouds of tear gas. They later regrouped in Caracas’ Plaza Brion chanting “freedom!” Some tossed rocks and bottles at police, prompting authorities to scatter demonstrators by firing more gas.

Venezuelan armed police follow protestors. (El Mundo.es)

Yahoo! – Venezuela moves against second opposition TV channel: This piece of news says the reason which was considered by Chávez to shut the station

Seizing on the momentum of RCTV’s closure, Communications Minister Willian Lara presented a case to the state prosecutor’s office saying experts hired by the ministry had found that opposition broadcaster Globovision was inciting assassination attempts on Chavez.

As evidence, he cited Globovision showing footage of an assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II in 1981 accompanied by the song “This Does Not Stop Here,” sung by Ruben Blades, now Panama’s minister of tourism.

“The conclusion of the specialists … is that (in this segment) they are inciting the assassination of the president of Venezuela,” Lara told reporters at the prosecutor’s office.

Oh, yes? That is the conclusion? Wow, you have an imagination… Comparing John Paul II with Chávez is a little difficult. Not only Chávez is not the Pope, but also Chávez is not related with the Catholic Church at any level…

New State Station: ABC News: Chávez launches New Venezuela TV Station:

The new channel, TVES, launched its transmissions with artists singing pro-Chavez music, then carried an exercise program and a talk show, interspersed with government ads proclaiming, “Now Venezuela belongs to everyone.”

Thousands of government supporters reveled in the streets as they watched the changeover on large TV screens, seeing RCTV’s signal go black and then be replaced by a TVES logo featuring Venezuela’s national colors. Others launched fireworks and danced to the classic salsa tune “Todo tiene su final” “Everything Has Its End.”

In the countdown to the midnight deadline, thousands of RCTV backers banged pots in protest and played recordings of sirens. Some fired gunshots into the air.

Inside the studios of RCTV the sole opposition-aligned TV station with nationwide reach disheartened actors and comedians wept and embraced in the final minutes on the air.

They bowed their heads in prayer, and presenter Nelson Bustamante declared: “Long live Venezuela! We will return soon.”

Chavez says he is democratizing the airwaves by turning the network’s signal over to public use. His opponents condemned the move as an assault on free speech.

Germany, which holds the European Union presidency, expressed concern that Venezuela let RCTV’s license expire “without holding an open competition for the successor license.” It said the EU expects that Venezuela will uphold freedom of speech and “support pluralism.”

Employees of Radio Caracas Television, RCTV, sing the national anthem as the channel’s signal is cut in Caracas, late Sunday, May 27, 2007. Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez decided not to renew the the opposition-aligned channel’s broadcasting license which expired at midnight. (AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero)

More here. Also here -in Spanish-. Also in Fausta’s blog. Prevost -Spanish- has also posted about it.

La Razón.es (Spanish): Chávez is now targeting free radios after closing opposition TV. Also the channel 24 hours Globovisión and the US CNN in Spanish have been also sued for publishing news with errors.

As Kate posted, Chávez has also taken control of the national phone company, with the aim of converting it into a socialist firm.

Venezuelan vice-president: We don’t have any more to say: the concession has ended. Yes, of course, would have been ended if it would have told you how marvellous you are?

Venezuelan military men are ordered to salute each other with “Country, socialism or death”.

reliapundit: Venezuela’s state-sponsored land theives reveal core hypocrisy of “land reforms”.

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The real face of Communism

 

h/t: The last Ditch.

 

Technorati tags: Communism, a tribute to communism video, lack of freedom, violation of Human Rights, Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao, China, Russia, Cambodia, North Korea, Kim Il Jon

 

del.icio.us tags: Communism, a tribute to communism video, lack of freedom, violation of Human Rights, Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao, China, Russia, Cambodia, North Korea, Kim Il Jon

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The Muslim vote in yesterday’s elections

The Muslim minority in Spain will be very little involved in these Local and Autonomous Communities’ elections, because only 10% of the total amount of Muslims living in Spain have the right to vote: the Spanish converted to Islam and the foreigners who have acquired Spanish nationality.

But they all will vote for the left.

So it’s said in a report published by Spanish newspaper ABC.es this Sunday, where Jesús Bastante also writes about the position of some of the leaders of the Muslims community.

The previous speaker of the Islamic Federation of Spain, Yusuf Fernández, considers that “ the Muslims do not have any other option than to take active part in politics supporting progressist forces (like Socialists, Communist, Coalition for Melilla and others)”, among other reasons to combar the “islamophobia“, that, in his view, is based specially in PP.

Also Mansur Escudero, president of the Islamic Council, considers that PP members show themselves as “very hostile” to Muslims.

Lastly, the Islamic Spanish Commission said it very clear last Wednesday: “We should consider who have been tripping up us and preventing our children from having Islamic religion in the schools and who had been the ones who had been supporting us in our equal right to religious teachings”, in clear reference to PP and PSOE.

In Spain, there are approx. one million one hundred Muslims, the majority of which are foreginers, although there are communities of converted Spanish of some importance in Andalucía.

Source: El Semanal Digital.

[En Español]

Results here.

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Informative blog on Islamic issues, "EUROPENEWS" eliminated by force from Internet by German Provider BLOGG.DE because of alleged xenophobia

Luis, Spanish blogger, from Desde el Exilio (From Exile) -he writes on Spanish, dudes- wrote about what Islam should do to get rid of a supposed Islamophobia. Well, apart from not abuse physically, its supporters could begin by support rational criticism and not asking for the erase/crackdown on private blogs that fight against Islam. Spanish blogger Yahel tells us about Europenews, who has been deleted on charges of supposed xenophoby, nazism-extremism and supposed infractions on author’s rights.

Its provider blogg.de has erased the blog, an striking move, considering that the author Holger Dansk, did never comment the news, only published them with no self-comments. He linked to several German newspapers, such as “Die Welt” and “Taz”. If his posts are considered as nazis or extremists, then the culprit are the MSM newspapers from which he got the information.

The blog’s readers have also explained that the real reason has been only the wide and unconventional information offer about the subject in Europe. Several Muslims have complained to the blog provider, Blogg.de, de Europenews.

you can write to blogg.de to protest at info@blogg.de. The answer everyone gets is very important because, depending on it, some people are proposing an international boicot on the platform. In the 1st critical meeting at Wertheim on June 2nd they are going to speak about this subject.

Muslim censorship appears to be the first cause of the deletion of the blog, that was very informative for German readers. It had several subjects such as: Sharia law, mutilation of women’s genitals, Turkey, Turks in Germany, Killings due to honor issues, Women and Islam, Jihad, Terrorism, there was even a section specialized on Spain: Islam and Al-Andalus.

Source: BLOG INFORMATIVO “EUROPENEWS” ELIMINADO DEL INTERNET A LA FUERZA POR BLOGG.DE « NUEVA EUROPA h/t Ignacio.

This is not the 1st European blogger accused of xenophobia for critisizing Islam. Early this year we have also the case of Finnish blogger Mikko Ellilä.

There is also the case of Bill Warner, who has been reported by Pamela from Atlas Shrugs:

Blogger sued and facing an injunction to cease and desist publishing stories about Muslims linked to terrorism

This is a serious threat to First Amendement rights of Freedom of Speach for bloggers and news reporters everywhere, and if I lose the law suit and the injunction is enforced, it will set a precedent for future law suits and injunctions to be imposed on any blogger or news reporter who writes about Muslims linked to terrorism. 

Bill Warner

n 5/21/2007 I was served summons of Complaint and an Injunction by the Mcintrye Law Firm of Tampa Fl who represent Abdul Raouf M. Dabus in a Defamation Law Suit against myself and my company for supposedly linking Mr. Dabus and his company VIP Motors in Tampa with shipping vehicles to the Middle East for resale in support of terrorism and that Mr. Dabus had worked at the Islamic Academy of Florida with Sami Al-Arain (The School that Terrorism Built) as an instructor from 1999 to an unknown point and that Mr. Dabus was linked to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and that such information is posted on my web site www.wbipi.com .

del.icio.us tags: Germany, blogosphere, freedom of expression, bloggers’ rights, Europenews, censorship

 

Technorati tags: Germany, blogosphere, freedom of expression, bloggers’ rights, Europenews, censorship

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Spanish Elections Watch: Autonomous Communities’ results

La Razón.es:

This time it’s false that there is no winers and losers, even if it is only for the psicological charge of the results of the electoral night. The autonomic and local elections held yesterday leave a political panorama with some important data for next year’s general elections and related to the constitucional change, the possible change in the Navarra’s Government and the future of the Basque Country and more especifically, in Álava. From a global perspective and after and agonic counting, PP wins the elections in votes against PSOE, circumstance that has not happened in the last 7 years because since the absolute majority achieved in 2000, PP had not won against the socialists. Considering these elections as it were “primaries” and considered by the main party in opposition as a referendum about the Government’s policy, and more specifically about the negotiation with ETA, the simbolic valor of this victory is great, even if it is only achieved by a little number of votes, more than 150.000 as it already happened in 1999 -before PP absolute majority– and in 2003 -before PSOE won the elections although not by absolute majority-. With the 99.81% of the total vote counted, PP is the party that has received more votes (7.906.064), 35.62 % of the votes, with 23.348 councillors; while PSOE has obtained 7.746.862 votes, 34.9 %, with 24.021 councillors.

This is the first defeat of Zapatero in this term and the closing of the difficult moment which began for the PP after the dramatic and traumatic defeat on March 14^th, 2004; on the other hand, this lets Rajoy’s party held to the past sequences of votes which tells that the party which wins the local elections is the winner of the next general elections, even if yesterday’s growth is not translated in a growth in autonomical power.

The Autonomous Community results are (PP=Popular Party, center right; PSOE=Socialists; IU= United Left; Communists):

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