[Onthebarricades] Pro-democracy and human rights protests, October 2007

[Andy]

(NOTE:  In police-state terms, Singapore is only a step or two ahead of 
Myanmar; basically standard protest activities are illegal and suppressed 
there.)

*  SINGAPORE:  Opposition protests Myanmar deals
*  EGYPT:  Newspapers pulled in protest over government harassment
*  BALOCHISTAN/PAKISTAN:  Journalists protest abduction, allege state 
involvement
*  IRAN:  Students denounce president at campus event
*  IRAN:  Students rally against sentences for activists
*  UK/ZIMBABWE:  London protest targets Mugabe
*  UK/SAUDI ARABIA:  British visit of Saudi ruler protested
*  SWITZERLAND/CHINA:  Olympics in China protested over human rights
*  AUSTRALIA/CHINA:  More Olympics protests
*  BELARUS:  Opponents rally against Lukashenko
*  PAKISTAN:  Lawyers clash with police during "state of emergency"
*  INDIA:  West Bengal protest over state, Maoist clashes in Nandigram
*  GEORGIA:  Mass protests call for elections
*  HUNGARY:  Protesters battle police, march on parliament on anniversary of 
unrest
*  NIGERIA:  Workers start anti-corruption protests
*  BURMA:  Monks begin to regroup, stage first protests since crackdown
*  MANIPUR:  Burmese exiles march
*  ZIMBABWE:  Women, lawyers stage protests
*  BAHRAIN:  Locals battle police, block roads in dispute over access to 
islands
*  AUSTRALIA:  Taxi drivers protest airport arrest, police abuse
*  GLOBAL:  Pants protest over Burma

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSSIN30196720071008

Singapore arrests opposition members in Myanmar protest
Mon Oct 8, 2007 10:18am EDT


SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A Singapore opposition party leader and several of his 
supporters were arrested on Monday as they gathered outside the presidential 
palace to protest the city-state's trade ties with Myanmar's ruling junta.
The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), in a statement on its Web site 
(http://www.singaporedemocrat.org/index.html), said that four of its people, 
including Chee, were arrested by plain-clothes police as they began the 
protest in front of the presidential palace, also called the Istana.
Singapore police confirmed that Chee Soon Juan was taken into custody, but 
said a total of five SDP supporters had staged an unlawful demonstration in 
the park facing the main entrance of the Istana.
Under Singapore law, an assembly of five or more people requires a permit.
"The police seized the placards and arrested Chee and others," said a police 
statement emailed to Reuters.
The police statement also warned the "public not to participate in an 
assembly or procession that does not have a permit, as it is an offence to 
do so.
"The public should also stay away from the vicinity of such illegal protest 
activities. Our laws apply equally to all, whether local or foreigners. But 
Chee considers himself to be above the law," the statement said.
Singapore is one of Myanmar's biggest foreign investors and its trade with 
the country formerly known as Burma was worth S$1 billion ($680 million) 
last year.
European Union parliamentarians last week urged Singapore to ease strict 
bank secrecy laws to avoid becoming a financial haven for organized crime. 
It also urged Singapore to punish the Myanmar generals that ordered the 
bloody crackdown on anti-government protests by seizing their assets in 
Singapore.
Singapore's prime minister on Friday denied accusations that it is a 
money-laundering centre for members of Myanmar's military regime in a CNN 
interview broad cast on Friday.
"We don't play dirty money, we don't condone money laundering," Singapore 
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said. "Our rules against that are as strict 
as any other financial centre - London, Hong Kong, New York," Lee said.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_article.php?article_id=94606

Singaporean activist resumes Myanmar protest

Agence France-Presse
Last updated 07:22pm (Mla time) 10/15/2007
SINGAPORE -- A pro-democracy activist began a one-man vigil on Monday over 
Singapore's ties with military-run Myanmar, one week after he and others 
were arrested for a similar demonstration.
Chee Soon Juan, 45, stood across from a gate to the presidential palace 
holding a placard that read: "No arms no deals with the junta."
His demonstration follows the deadly repression of recent mass 
anti-government protests in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. The junta's 
crackdown there killed at least 13 people and more than 2,000 were detained.
Chee is one of a few people in Singapore, where protests are rare, to have 
spoken out against the ruling People's Action Party. He is secretary-general 
of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), which does not hold a seat in 
parliament.
Chee and three other SDP officials, along with their cameraman, were 
arrested in the same spot on October 8 during a protest. Police said the 
group had gathered in an area where assemblies are forbidden for security 
reasons.
Chee vowed to continue his one-man protest until Friday in a bid to get the 
government to clarify whether government-linked firms do business in 
Myanmar.
"We want them to tell us. What is going where? How much?" Chee said while 
police filmed him from a distance.
His sister, Chee Siok Chin, said later that police had warned Chee that he 
needed a license under the Public Entertainments and Meetings Act to 
continue his vigil.
"He's staying put," the sister said.
Chee said earlier that he and his party colleagues also gave palace police a 
petition with more than 1,100 signatures, asking Prime Minister Lee Hsien 
Loong to clarify Singapore's relationship with Myanmar.
Lee has expressed "revulsion" at the Myanmar junta's actions.
Singapore strongly denies allegations that it allows banks based in the 
city-state to keep illicit funds on behalf of Myanmar's secretive generals.
But human rights activists and other Myanmar experts say companies from 
Singapore still do business in the Southeast Asian nation.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7033460.stm

Egypt press protests 'harassment'

The trials of newspaper editors have been criticised internationally
More than 20 independent and opposition newspapers in Egypt did not publish 
on Sunday in protest at what they say is government harassment of the press.
Seven journalists have been sentenced to prison recently for defaming the 
president and misquoting a minister.
One editor is on trial for harming national security after his paper 
questioned President Mubarak's health.
Trials of newspaper editors have been strongly criticised by the US and 
international human rights groups.
The independent newspaper, al-Masry al-Youm, said it was also protesting 
against the journalists' association, which it said had failed to deal with 
the crisis facing its members.
Pro-government newspapers criticized the protest. One said the protest was a 
result of "pressures from an unknown power".
Another pro-government newspaper said that the protest was driven by 
"personal issues" .

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/866/op4.htm

Day of protest
By Salama A Salama



Last Sunday, 22 independent and party- affiliated newspapers declined to 
appear in protest against the sentencing of editors for publication 
offences. The day of protest did little to alleviate the crisis between the 
ruling party and the press. The National Democratic Party has its own views 
on the freedom of the press. It claims that certain reporting can jeopardise 
the stability and security of the nation and is therefore punishable by 
imprisonment. Under current laws, journalists can be imprisoned under 18 
provisions of the penal code, something that doesn't exist in advanced 
countries where publication offences are punishable by fines.
In a democratic country, a protest staged by such a large number of 
newspapers would shock the entire political system. Not here. Not when the 
government owns more newspapers than all the independent publications 
combined. What happened, instead, was that the crisis escalated into a 
quarrel among journalists. Some wanted the Journalists' Syndicate to take 
action against the wrongdoers. Others called on the government to abolish 
imprisonment for publishing offences and pass a law ensuring the release of 
information vital to the public. Ordinary citizens found the whole thing too 
complex to merit their attention.
It is easy to forget that the public's interest in the printed press is not 
what it used to be. According to a recent study, over 55 per cent of 
Egyptians rely on television and electronic media for information. A large 
portion of Egyptian households who used to buy one or two papers a day is no 
longer buying any. This is why the independent media often resorts to 
sensationalism to court readership.
There is a media explosion going on. This explosion has confused everyone: 
the government, the public, and publishers. The confusion is so acutely felt 
because for decades the government had absolute control on the news and the 
media. The government can not keep the media on a tight leash, nor can it 
prevent news from being leaked to our news-hungry media. Consequently, a 
schism of credibility began taking shape, with the government and its papers 
operating on one side of the schism and the independent and private media 
operating on the other. The government is simply unused to the press 
exposing its failures or attacking it without mercy. So a strong lobby 
emerged in the corridors of power and the ruling party. This lobby wants all 
legal, security and political means to be used against the press.
It is hard to understand the current crisis without looking at the 
professional situation of journalists themselves. For years, the state has 
tried to tame them. Using a mixture of carrot-and-stick methods, the 
government bought loyalties and ultimately succeeded in weakening the 
independence of the press. No wonder journalists were so divided during the 
recent crisis.
What is the solution? Some may say that the answer is in doing things the 
old way, taming the media and keeping it on its toes. The government's stand 
on the media certainly reminds one of how it used to treat the public 
sector, before it opted for free economy. Recently, Safwat El-Sherif said 
the press was doing fine and freedom of expression is unassailable. His 
remarks make one doubt the possibility of change coming anytime soon. But 
change will have to happen. Sooner or later, everyone will have to change: 
the ruling party, journalists, and the syndicate.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C10%5C10%5Cstory_10-10-2007_pg7_13

Journalists protest reporter's kidnapping
* Involvement of govt official alleged
* Reporter abducted after filing reports on stolen-vehicle mafia, received 
threats

Staff Report

QUETTA: Journalists in Quetta and Khuzdar district staged rallies on Tuesday 
to protest the kidnapping of a Khuzdar-based journalist, allegedly on the 
directives of a senior government official.

The journalist, Riaz Mengal, has been missing for a week, and the government 
has not been able to trace his whereabouts. Members of Mengal's family 
indirectly hinted that a senior federal government official was involved in 
Riaz' kidnapping.

Stolen-vehicle mafia: The journalist was abducted shortly after filing 
reports against a mafia involved in smuggling stolen vehicles. When the 
journalist persisted with his professional duties despite threats by 
influential local people, he was kidnapped.

Journalists in Quetta, headed by Quettta Press Club President Shahzada 
Zulfikar, staged a rally to protest the government's inability to recover 
the abducted reporter. Protestors carried placards, photographs of the 
missing journalist, and banners demanding press freedom. They also chanted 
slogans against the government as they marched on various roads in the 
provincial capital.

They demanded the immediate intervention of the Balochistan High Court, 
human rights organisations and international media watchdog bodies for the 
recovery of the abducted journalist.

In Khuzdar district, journalists boycotted an official function organised 
under Federal Petroleum Minister Mir Nasir Mengal in protest.

Riaz Mengal is the second journalist from Balochistan - the other being 
Baloch Voice TV managing Director Munir Mengal - who are missing.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g2YgY2ppO_diSEl3NN0g85tl4oRwD8S5B3181

Rare Protest Targets Iranian President
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI - Oct 8, 2007
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - About 100 students staged a rare protest Monday against 
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, calling him a "dictator" as he gave a 
speech at Tehran University marking the beginning of the academic year.
While the demonstrators and hard-line students loyal to Ahmadinejad scuffled 
in the auditorium, the president ignored chants of "Death to the dictator" 
and gave his speech on the merits of science and the pitfalls of 
Western-style democracy, witnesses said.
The hard-line students chanted "Thank you, president" as police looked on 
from outside the university's gates without intervening. The protesters 
dispersed after Ahmadinejad left the campus.
Students were once the main power base of Iran's reform movement but have 
faced intense pressure in recent years from Ahmadinejad's hard-line 
government, making anti-government protests rare.
The president faced a similar outburst during a speech last December when 
students at Amir Kabir Technical University called him a dictator and burned 
his picture.
Organizers hoped to avoid a similar disturbance Monday with tightened 
security measures. They checked the identity papers of everyone entering the 
campus and allowed only selected students into the hall for the speech, but 
the protesters were somehow able to gain entrance.
Iran's reform movement peaked in the late 1990s after reformist Mohammad 
Khatami was elected president and his supporters swept parliament. But their 
efforts to ease social and political restrictions were stymied by 
hard-liners who control the judiciary, security forces and powerful 
unelected bodies in the government.
Reformists, who also favor better relations with the United States, were 
further demoralized and divided after Ahmadinejad won the presidency in 2005 
elections.
In recent months, dissenters have witnessed an increasing crackdown, with 
hundreds detained on accusations of threatening the Iranian system. Numerous 
pro-reform newspapers have been shut down and those that remain have muted 
their criticism.
At universities, pro-government student groups have gained strength and 
reformist students have been marginalized, left to hold only low-level 
meetings and occasional demonstrations, usually to demand better school 
facilities or the release of detained colleagues.
Some dissenters blame the crackdown on the regime's fear of a U.S. effort to 
undermine it as tensions over Iran's nuclear program intensify. Others say 
the intent is simply to contain discontent fueled by a faltering economy.
Ahmadinejad's popularity at home has fallen since he was elected, with 
critics saying he has failed to fix the economy and has hurt Iran's image 
internationally.
Elected on a populist agenda, Ahmadinejad has not kept campaign promises to 
share oil revenues with every family, eradicate poverty and reduce 
unemployment. Instead, housing prices in Tehran have tripled, and prices for 
fruit, vegetables or other commodities have more than doubled over the past 
year. Inflation worsened after a 25 percent hike in fuel prices in May.
Last December, Ahmadinejad's allies were humiliated in municipal elections, 
with some reformists gaining seats. He was dealt another blow when a rival, 
former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, was chosen as chairman of the Assembly 
of Experts, a powerful clerical body, over a close Ahmadinejad ally.
Conservatives who once supported the president have increasingly joined in 
the criticism, saying that he needs to pay more attention to domestic issues 
and that his inflammatory rhetoric has needlessly stoked tensions with the 
West.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/world/middleeast/23iran.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin

Students in Iran Protest Sentences for 3 Activists

By NAZILA FATHI
Published: October 23, 2007
TEHRAN, Oct. 22 - Students at one of the most politically active 
universities in Tehran demonstrated Monday amid high security to protest 
jail terms for three student activists, an Iranian student news agency 
reported.
Students from different universities gathered at Amir Kabir University to 
protest sentences of up to three years issued last week for the activists, 
Ehsan Mansouri, Majid Tavakoli and Ahmad Ghassaban, the student news agency, 
ISNA, reported.
Authorities accused the three, all from Amir Kabir University, of publishing 
articles insulting to Islam in student publications. The students denied the 
charges and said their publications had been forged to frame them.
Mr. Mansouri's mother said in August that the three men were tortured at the 
notorious Evin prison in Tehran.
Pictures distributed by ISNA showed a few hundred students, whose faces were 
digitally blurred to maintain their anonymity, holding photographs of the 
jailed students. The news agency also reported that the protesters walked 
around the campus chanting slogans and giving speeches in front of its 
central building.
"The student movement is under pressure and needs unity," said Rashid 
Esmaili, a student activist from Alameh Tabatabai University in Tehran.
Two weeks ago, students at Tehran University protested during a speech given 
by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. More than 100 students clashed with 
supporters of Mr. Ahmadinejad, where he was speaking to mark the start of 
the school year.
Students and professors there were angered when Mr. Ahmadinejad appointed a 
cleric as the university's president.
In December, a small group of students at Amir Kabir chanted "Death to the 
Dictator!" during a visit to the university by Mr. Ahmadinejad.
The Web site of the Islamic Association of Students, a student organization 
at Amir Kabir, reported that protesters were chanting "Down with the 
dictator" and "Political students must be freed," according to Agence 
France-Presse.

http://voanews.com/english/2007-10-14-voa9.cfm

London Protest Condemns Zimbabwe Leader
By VOA News
14 October 2007

Demonstrators in London have held a protest against Zimbabwe's President 
Robert Mugabe and urged other African countries to condemn him.
The protest marks the fifth anniversary of the first rally, called the 
Zimbabwe Vigil. It has been held outside the Zimbabwean embassy in London 
every Saturday since October 2002.
Demonstrators chanted and waved banners saying "No Mugabe No."
One of the coordinators of the demonstration (Dumi Tutani) said the 
protesters are trying to raise awareness of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
A member of Britain's Parliament, Kate Hoey, attended the rally and received 
a petition from the protesters. It urged southern African nations to speak 
out against the Zimbabwean president and called on European Union countries 
to suspend aid to southern African nations until human rights conditions in 
Zimbabwe have improved.
President Mugabe has come under international criticism since 2000, when the 
government began seizing white-owned commercial farmland.
Rights groups have also denounced Mr. Mugabe's government for a crackdown on 
opposition leaders, alleged election fraud, and a massive eviction of slum 
dwellers.
President Robert Mugabe blames his country's woes on Western nations that 
have frequently criticized his rule and have imposed sanctions against his 
government.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hURRsSgOtGIzlYVWrn9rA6pc2mCAD8SJQ5DG0

Britons Protest Visiting Saudi King
By D'ARCY DORAN - 4 days ago
LONDON (AP) - Queen Elizabeth II welcomed Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah 
Tuesday with an honor guard and rode with him to Buckingham Palace in her 
gilded carriage, passing protesters who condemned the oil-rich kingdom for 
alleged human rights abuses.
Before arriving Monday for the first state visit by a Saudi king in two 
decades, Abdullah accused Britain of failing to act on intelligence that 
might have prevented the 2005 London transit bombings. Analysts said the 
comments appeared to be an attempt to distance himself from the extremists 
and at the same time pre-empt attacks on Saudi Arabia's record of fighting 
terrorism.
"I don't think the U.K. should be hosting human rights abusers," said Anna 
Jones, 26, who donned a mask of Queen Elizabeth as she joined a row of 
dozens of other protesters along the procession route.
Other protesters yelled and waved banners condemning the British 
government's "hypocrisy" and saying: "You can't do this in Riyadh."
Vince Cable, acting leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats boycotted the 
visit, claiming the kingdom has a poor human rights record, especially 
regarding torture, public executions and discrimination against women.


Olympic protest staged over China's human rights
Mon Oct 15, 2007 1:00pm EDT

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Media freedom group Reporters Without 
Borders protested outside Lausanne's Olympic museum on Monday over what it 
said was a crackdown on human rights in China ahead of next year's Beijing 
Games.
Some 15 activists from the Paris-based body held up black-and-red banners 
showing the five Olympic rings in the form of manacles and chanted slogans 
calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take a stand on the 
issue.
"Today in China there is no political, religious, trade union or media 
freedom," founder and general secretary of the group Robert Menard told 
journalists.
"There are thousands of political prisoners and thousands of executions 
every year. All this is the total opposite to the Olympic spirit."
Menard said his organization, also known under its French name Reporters 
Sans Frontieres or RSF, set up the protest to coincide with the opening on 
Monday of the 17th Congress of China's ruling Communist Party and of an IOC 
technical meeting.
The museum, on the shores of Switzerland's Lake Leman, is run by the IOC 
which also has its headquarters in Lausanne.
In a statement on the protest, RSF said that the run-up to the Congress in 
China had seen new restrictions slapped on all sectors of the media, 
including newspapers, television, radio and the Internet, as well as on 
foreign journalists.
Menard called on IOC President Jacques Rogge to make good a pledge in 2001 
when Beijing was given the Games that there would be changes for the better 
in the rights situation in China.
IOC officials say that in dealings with the Chinese authorities they 
routinely point out a host country's obligations to observe human rights and 
dignity.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/china-protest-in-sydney/2007/10/27/1192941401765.html

China protest in Sydney
October 28, 2007
A TORCH relay that aims to bring attention to human rights violations in 
China in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics arrived in Sydney yesterday.
Hundreds of people followed the torch from Town Hall down George Street to 
Circular Quay, where it roared into First Fleet Park on a Harley-Davidson 
motorcycle ridden by Randall Nelson of the Kings Cross Bikers Social and 
Welfare Club. The torch was carried by 1964 Olympian Jan Becker.
The relay included a yacht leg on Sydney Harbour and a motorcade to Manly.
Inspired by the Olympic torch relay, the flame was first lit in Athens in 
August and will visit more than 100 cities on five continents before the 
Games begin in August next year.
Groups such as Darfur Australia Network, Democracy for Burma, Tibetan and 
Vietnamese communities and a Chinese pro-democracy movement attended the 
event, organised by practitioners of the Falun Gong religion.

http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2007-10-14-voa25.cfm

Peaceful Protest in Belarus Against Lukashenko
By VOA News
14 October 2007

Belarus opposition protest in downtown Minsk, 14 Oct 2007
Thousands of Belarusian opposition supporters marched in Minsk Sunday 
against the authoritarian policies of President Alexander Lukashenko.
At least 5,000 people heard opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich demand 
closer ties to Europe, saying Europe means free elections and free citizens.
He said Belarusians will keep demonstrating as long as they are not free.
The demonstration was peaceful. But the Belarusian opposition website 
Charter 97 says authorities kept European Parliament Vice President Janusz 
Onyszkiewicz from entering the country to speak to the crowd.
Belarusian authorities have marchers the rare permission to demonstrate, 
although they were only allowed to gather in a remote park in Minsk instead 
of the city center.
Riot police warned demonstrators who did gather in the central square that 
they were breaking the law, but made no moves to stop them.
The European Union and United States have imposed travel sanctions on senior 
Belarusian officials, including President Lukashenko, for suppressing human 
rights and free speech. Mr. Lukashenko claims he has widespread support in 
Belarus and accuses the West of interfering in Belarusian internal affairs.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

http://news.uk.msn.com/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=6577416

Meanwhile, at least 350 people were arrested as riot police clashed with 
lawyers in Pakistan in the wake of Musharraf's declaration of a state of 
emergency.
They joined another 500 opposition leaders and activists placed in custody 
as security forces across Pakistan blockaded courts to quash the protests 
which have been banned.
Pakistan's main stock market dropped 4.3% on rumours that Musharraf had been 
put under house arrest by the vice-chief of the army, which he "laughed 
off," according to deputy information minister Tariq Azim. He said the 
president was at his official residence in Islamabad.
Unrest broke out in the eastern city of Lahore and the southern city of 
Karachi as lawyers attempted to stage anti-Musharraf protests. In addition, 
Pakistan's largest religious party Jamaat-e-Islami reported that more than 
500 of its workers and supporters were held on Sunday.
General Musharraf imposed the emergency ruling on Saturday despite Western 
allies urging him not to. The move has worsened Pakistan's political 
uncertainty. General Musharraf's government said that parliamentary 
elections, due in January, could now be delayed by up to a year.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200710271940.htm

Mamata calls for West Bengal `protest' on Oct. 31
Kolkata (PTI): Stopping short of calling it a Bangla bandh, Trinamool 
Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturdaysaid all activities would be 
paralysed from dawn to dusk in West Bengal on October 31 in protest against 
"state-sponsored terrorism" in Nandigram.
She also demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee 
and his arrest for the "state sponsored terrorism" in Nandigram, where one 
person was killed and another injured in a fresh outbreak of violence with 
bombs and guns being used.
Asked whether she was calling a bandh, Banerjee said, "I am not using the 
words bandh and hartal. What I am saying is that all activities in West 
Bengal will be paralysed for 12 hours on October 31".
She said that it would also be to protest the death of computer graphics 
teacher Rizwanur Rehman and corruption in the public distribution system.
Referring to violence in Nandigram, she said "the situation in Nandigram is 
very serious. We are shocked. We have tolerated it for long. There is a 
limit to everything. We will not take it lying down any more."
She alleged that armed CPI(M) cadres from the marxist stronghold of Khejuri 
were attacking adjacent Nandigram.
Incidentally, Left opposition party Socialist Unity Centre of India has 
called a 12-hour 'Bangla Bandh' on October 30 over Rizwanur's death and the 
corruption in the PDS.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/11/01/stories/2007110155801200.htm

Trinamool protest affects normal life
Special Correspondent
KOLKATA: Normal life was affected in West Bengal on Wednesday during the 
12-hour bandh, called by the Trinamool Congress to protest against the spurt 
in violence in the Nandigram area and support the demand for "the rule of 
law."
Stray incidents of clashes between Trinamool Congress supporters and those 
opposing the call were reported from some areas. There were reports of road 
blocks and attempts to disrupt train services.
A six-year-old girl was seriously injured when she was caught in a group 
clash in north Kolkata. Those opposing the stir protested when a medical 
store was attacked.
In all, more than 2,000 people were arrested in the city and districts.
Transport services were hit in Kolkata. Some long-distance trains were held 
up at different stations. State buses and taxis were virtually off the 
roads. Though air services were unaffected, passengers had trouble in 
getting vehicles to and from the airport.
Commercial establishments, shops and educational institutions remained 
closed. Attendance in offices was thin. The industrial sector, however, 
remained largely unaffected.
Leaders of the Trinamool Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) 
made conflicting claims regarding the effect of the agitation.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said that the "people's peaceful, 
absolute and spontaneous response to the call was a no-confidence [vote] 
against the State Government."

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/11/02/georgia.protest/

Protests against Georgia president
       Story Highlights
       Thousands protest against Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili in 
Tiblisi
       Saakashvili, a U.S. ally, came to power after the 2003 Rose 
Revolution
       Political turmoil after falling out between president and ally Irakli 
Okruashvili
(CNN) -- Tens of thousands of people gathered Friday in Tbilisi, the capital 
of Georgia, to protest against President Mikhail Saakashvili and demand --  
apparently in vain -- that elections be held months earlier than scheduled.

Crowds in Tiblisi, Georgia protest against the rule of President Mikhail 
Saakashvili.

A sea of demonstrators waving Georgian flags packed into the main square in 
front of the east European country's parliament. Opposition leaders were 
insisting, among other demands, that Saakashvili bring forward to spring 
2008 parliamentary elections set for late next year.
The protesters were told a delegation of seven opposition leaders met Friday 
with the speaker of Georgia's parliament, Nino Burjanadze, to discuss the 
demands.
"We are not going to disperse unless we receive an acceptable response from 
the authorities," said Gia Tortladze of the Movement for United Georgia.
But after the talks, Burjanadze told the Georgian television network, Imedi, 
that parliamentary elections would go ahead as originally planned.
She added, however, that the government is still in discussions with the 
opposition over other issues, which include calls for changes to the 
electoral system and for the release of "political prisoners" and "prisoners 
of conscience."
The latter is thought to be a reference to the former defense minister, 
Irakli Okruashvili, who was arrested but then freed on multimillion-dollar 
bail last month after he retracted allegations accusing Saakashvili of 
corruption and a murder plot.
The president of Georgia called the allegations "unpardonable lies."
Opposition leaders claimed around 150,000 people attended the protest, but 
European media reports put the figure at an estimated 40,000.
Even so, the protests are the biggest in the east European country since a 
peaceful revolution drove then President Eduard Shevardnadze from power in 
2003.
Shevardnadze was replaced by Saakashvili, who was swept to power on a 
promise to tackle corruption in the former Soviet satellite state. However, 
the country is still struggling to recover from years of post-Soviet 
economic decay, instability and civil war.
Demonstrators accuse the Georgian leader of political persecution, abuse of 
the judicial process, and failing to tackle high levels of unemployment. 
They claim he has spent too much time trying to improve his international 
profile, including a bid for Georgia to join NATO.
Demonstrators at the rally told CNN it was being conducted in a "peaceful 
and cheerful" atmosphere. A 40-year-old protester told CNN by phone that he 
had taken the day off work to attend the protest and vowed to stay there 
until the president agreed to meet opposition demands.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7076398.stm

Fresh protests in Georgia capital

Protesters say the president has not done enough to end poverty
Up to 12,000 protesters have been on the streets of Georgia for a second day 
to demand the resignation of President Mikhail Saakashvili.
Many of the protesters had camped overnight outside the parliament building 
in the capital, Tbilisi.
The crowd swelled during the day, but did not match the 50,000-strong crowd 
seen on Friday.
The protesters want an early election, accusing the president of leading a 
corrupt, authoritarian government.
The pro-Western Mr Saakashvili came to power in January 2004 following the 
peaceful "Rose revolution", which toppled President Eduard Shevardnadze.
The country is still struggling to recover from years of post-Soviet 
economic decay, instability and civil war.
The president remains popular among much of the population, reports the 
BBC's Matthew Collin in Tbilisi - but the opposition is also hoping to 
capitalise on discontent with widespread poverty.
"Saakashvili has said absolutely nothing. How can he stay silent when tens 
of thousands of people are on the streets? It shows he thinks nothing of 
us," 23-year-old Levan Kaprindashvili told AFP news agency.
'Political blackmail'
The country's previously weak and divided opposition parties formed a united 
front last month, and began a nationwide protest campaign against the 
Georgian leader.
The government has accused the opposition of using the protest as a form of 
blackmail.
Mr Saakashvili said on Thursday that Georgia was a failed state before he 
came to power but had now become a model of democratic development and 
economic reform.
He has suggested minor changes to the electoral process to ensure more 
opposition representation in parliament - but the opposition says this is 
not enough.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iWQsqyQz_fiS1HrPB7l5DW6ZgQTg

Several hundred rally in Georgian capital ahead of mass protest
3 days ago
TBILISI (AFP) - Several hundred people rallied in the Georgian capital early 
Friday ahead of what opponents to President Mikheil Saakashvili hope will be 
the largest protest since his election.
Up to 1,000 demonstrators, many saying they had come from outlying regions 
of the country, gathered outside Georgia's parliament in the early hours of 
Friday, more than 12 hours before the planned start of an anti-government 
demonstration.
"Saakashvili's time is up," Kakha Kukava, a lawmaker with the opposition 
Conservative Party, said at the rally. "This is only the beginning. 
Thousands and thousands of people will be here later."
Hundreds of police were already on the streets of Tbilisi early Friday and a 
large part of the city surrounding parliament was blocked to traffic.
Opposition activists expect thousands of protesters will attend Friday's 
protest and say it will represent the biggest challenge to Saakashvili's 
authority since he came to power after the 2003 pro-democracy uprising 
dubbed the Rose Revolution.
Saakashvili has been praised internationally for making democratic and 
free-market reforms, but opponents say his reputation abroad masks deep 
problems in Georgia, including government arrogance, political persecution, 
abuse of the judicial process and a widening gap between rich and poor.
Opposition activists said Thursday they expected at least 20,000 people --  
some said up to 100,000 -- to attend Friday's protest to demand new 
elections and Saakashvili's resignation.
Tensions rose on the eve of the demonstration amid claims that Irakli 
Okruashvili, a former defence minister who was arrested on corruption 
charges after turning against Saakashvili, had been sent into exile against 
his will. The interior ministry quickly denied the accusation.
Georgian authorities have dismissed the opposition's demands as 
unconstitutional and say presidential and parliamentary elections will be 
held as planned late next year.
Opposition groups have built up to Friday's rally with a series of 
demonstrations in regional cities following a September protest that drew up 
to 10,000 people, the biggest anti-government rally since the revolution.

http://www.budapesttimes.hu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1649&Itemid=1

Riot rerun

Written by Robert Hodgson
Monday, 29 October 2007
Extremists denied access to PM on eve of riot anniversary
Violence broke out again on the streets of Budapest last Monday evening when 
hundreds of right-wing extremists clashed with police. Now familiar scenes 
of water cannon, tear gas and burning vehicles were played out in central 
Budapest when a group of protesters tried to disrupt a 1956 remembrance 
evening at the Opera House attended by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány and 
President László Sólyom.
Right-wing gathering
The necessary elements for unrest gathered earlier in the form of a rock 
concert held by an assortment of extreme nationalist groups in central 
Budapest at 5pm that evening. It took place on Szabadság tér, provocatively 
held right in front of the Hungarian Television (MTV) building that was 
famously stormed during the first wave of anti-government rioting in 
September last year. The crowd of between one and two thousand youths - 
mostly a mixture of black clad rockers and "traditional" skinheads - drank 
beer and sang along to a nationalist rock band whose name translates as 
"Romantic Aggression".
The organisers had applied for a permit to march at 8pm to the Opera House, 
the scene of a gala evening to commemorate the 1956 Uprising. Permission was 
publicly refused by the police last Monday morning. People living in the 
secured area around the Opera House were told not to leave their homes and 
the yellow M3 metro line that runs along Andrássy út past the Opera House 
was closed for "technical reasons". The same reason for the metro closure 
was given the next day, as Fidesz supporters were trying to get to the House 
of Terror museum, which is on the same line.

Standoff
By about quarter to eight last Monday evening, the bottles and tear gas 
canisters were flying. A crowd of several hundred had headed for the Opera 
House but was repulsed by police in Nagymezo utca, the street which formed 
the edge of a grid that had been closed to the public for the duration of 
the event.
The police started firing tear gas when the crowd refused to disperse. 
Demonstrators surged towards the line of riot police line throwing bottles, 
stones, and fireworks. During the ensuing skirmish, petrol bombs were also 
thrown from the crowd, briefly setting alight crowd control vehicles. A 
number of cars were upturned or pushed around in an attempt to form a 
barricade. The police responded with water cannon and by continuing to fire 
tear gas grenades into the front line of rioters as well as deep into the 
crowd on Nagymezo utca. By shortly after 8pm the crowd, many smarting from 
the effects of tear gas, had been driven out of the street known as 
"Budapest's Broadway" onto Bajcsy Zsilinszky út.
At this point, with a light rain falling, some started to make their way 
home, albeit heckling, chanting and tossing the odd beer bottle at passing 
police vehicles along the way. A portion of the crowd which had reassembled 
at the end of Nagymezo utca was driven along Bajcsy Zsilinszky út towards 
Nyugati tér by a phalanx of riot police backed up by water cannon. Isolated 
outbreaks of hooliganism in the Nyugati area gradually subsided, and by 
10:30pm Budapest's latest outbreak of street violence was officially over.

Unwelcome feeling
Figures released by the emergency services last Tuesday morning had the 
number of injured at 19, of which 14 were police officers, and three were 
members of the press, including a photographer from Reuters who was struck 
on the head by a beer bottle thrown by a rioter.
The fact that there were far fewer reporters and cameramen in evidence 
during the events of Monday evening compared to the riots of 23 October last 
year partly reflects a loss of interest abroad in what is has become a 
regular side show in Budapest. There is also a growing fear for personal 
safety - particularly among photographers, who are easy to spot. Several 
cameramen reported being attacked or having their equipment smashed by 
rioters during unrest on 15 March this year. A extreme-right website listed 
which media organisations would not be welcome at events.
Not numbered among the official injury figures for last Monday night was 
this reporter, who was severely bruised after being struck on the chest by a 
tear gas grenade fired from the police line about 100 metres into Nagymezo 
utca. Standing round the corner in Bajcsy Zsilinszky út shortly afterwards, 
my colleague and I were called "stinking Jews" by a small group of 
retreating rioters. A marginally more level-headed member of the group, a 
youth in his late teens or early twenties, clearly high on adrenaline, 
recognised us as being from the press. He shooed away his companions before 
stopping to explain breathlessly in English: "You see how the police are? 
This is not democracy. This is Communism."

Assessing the damage
The police "intervened lawfully and to a necessary and proportionate 
 degree," stressed National Police Chief József Bencze in a press release 
last Tuesday morning. During his speech in the Opera House, the Prime 
Minister said "democracy is not an easy thing", although Hungarian democracy 
is not threatened by a few hundred loud voices, "but by those who believe 
they have the authority to force us to give in".
Of the twenty people apprehended during last Monday evening's disturbances, 
only László Toroczkai - head of one of the nationalist organisations that 
organised the Szabadság tér concert - was still in custody by the following 
evening. He was arrested for leading the march on the Opera House despite 
the official prohibition.
There was trouble in the neighbourhood of the prison on Gyorskocsi utca in 
Buda last Tuesday evening as a crowd of demonstrators assembled to demand 
Toroczkai's release. About 100 demonstrators, some throwing bottles at the 
police, were dispersed at around 9pm. The prisoner had already been 
transferred to Szekszárd jail in southern Hungary.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200710250741.html

Nigeria: NLC Begins Anti-Etteh Protest October 30

Daily Trust (Abuja)
25 October 2007
Posted to the web 25 October 2007
Abdullahi M. Gulloma
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said yesterday that it will on Tuesday, 
October 30, 2007 begin mass protest against Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, Mrs Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, for refusing to resign 
following her indictment by the Idoko-led panel.
This was disclosed by the acting President of the NLC, Comrade Ladi Iliya, 
in Abuja yesterday.
She said the protest was necessary in order "to demonstrate our aversion to 
corrupt and our determination to see the removal of any public officer in 
any branch of government that has an established indictment on an 
established dlinecase to answer."
Comrade Iliya said the protest, to be led by the leadership of the NLC and 
leaders of Civil Society Organisa-tions, will be peaceful and will involve 
all segments of the Nigerian people.

She said the NLC and its partners had exercised restraint hoping that the 
House rules would take precedence in the cause of resolving the current 
crisis occasioned by the N628 million renovation scam.
She said the adjournment of the House to October 30, 2007 by Mrs Etteh was a 
clear indication that the Speaker has not intention to step aside as 
demanded by majority of Nigerians.
According to her, the Speaker has left Nigerians with no other option but to 
regard her as an impediment and a liability to the country's democratic 
process.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/burma/story/0,,2202881,00.html

Burmese monks stage first protest since uprising

Ian MacKinnon, South-east Asia correspondent
Thursday November 1, 2007
The Guardian
About 100 Buddhist monks took to the streets in central Burma yesterday in 
the first protests since pro-democracy demonstrations were bloodily 
suppressed by troops in late September.
The monks, in the Buddhist religious centre of Pakokku - which provided the 
spark for the nationwide uprising that left at least 13 dead-marched 
peacefully through the town for almost an hour, chanting and praying. They 
shunned overtly political slogans but two called a dissident radio station 
to assert that their goals remained the same as those of earlier 
demonstrators, whose ranks swelled to more than 100,000.
The first flickers of defiance against the crackdown come days before the 
return of the UN special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, on Saturday. But 
analysts doubt that the demonstration will lead to a repeat of the uprising 
that took place five weeks ago, when at least 3,000 people were arrested.
The political and economic crisis spawned by the junta's mismanagement is 
likely to cause a smouldering resentment, though, and some observers believe 
it could give rise to sporadic demonstrations.
Yesterday, monks from several monasteries converged and marched three 
abreast through Pakokku's streets before convening at the Shwegu pagoda. The 
demonstration began an hour after a staged, pro-government rally in the 
town.
One monk who called the opposition-run Democratic Voice of Burma station, 
which is based in Oslo, said: "We are continuing our protest from last month 
as we have not yet received any of the demands we asked for.
"Our demands are for lower commodity prices, national reconciliation, the 
immediate release of [detained pro-democracy leader] Aung San Suu Kyi and 
all the political prisoners."
Big rises in the cost of petrol and diesel in August sparked sporadic 
demonstrations which were put down by the mass arrests of the protest 
leaders and by the pro-government thugs of the Union Solidarity and 
Development Association.
But Pakokku's monasteries joined the fray after police fired over the heads 
of protesting monks and beat other demonstrators on September 6, spawning 
the nationwide uprising as thousands of their colleagues took to the 
streets. Initially they demanded an apology, but the protests became 
political as their confidence grew.
Britain's ambassador to Burma, Mark Canning, said yesterday: "It's not a 
great surprise they have come back on to the streets because the underlying 
political and economic forces driving this have not gone away. The economic 
and political frustration that is within the population will manifest itself 
again in the coming months, but how and to what scale is unclear."
The protests came hours after the Burmese junta released seven members of 
Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, who had been held for more 
than a month in Rangoon's notorious Insein jail.
The return of Mr Gambari just a month after he met the Burmese leader, 
General Than Shwe, and Aung San Suu Kyi, will buoy hopes that he can 
persuade the junta to release political prisoners and begin moving towards 
democracy.
Mr Gambari has just concluded a six-country Asian tour that included Burma's 
most influential neighbours - China and India - in an effort to recruit them 
to the cause and use their leverage over the reclusive regime.

http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/01/2078796.htm?section=justin

Monks regroup to protest in Burma
By South East Asia correspondent Karen Percy
Posted Thu Nov 1, 2007 2:16pm AEDT

More than a month ago monks led mass demonstrations in cities across Burma. 
(File photo) (Reuters)
Monks in a small town in central Burma have defied the military junta to 
stage a peaceful march.
It is the first public gathering of monks since September's brutal crackdown 
against the monk-led protests.
As many as 250 monks reportedly marched and chanted through the city of 
Pakokku yesterday.
More than a month ago it was monks who led mass demonstrations in cities 
across Burma to demand that the government lower fuel costs and release 
political activists.
The protests lasted more than 10 days before the soldiers turned violent, 
beating and shooting the monks and their civilian supporters.
Hundreds are feared to have been killed, although the military junta says 
only 13 people died.
UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari will arrive in Burma on Saturday in a bid to put 
pressure on the junta to implement democratic reforms.

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070029161&ch=10/12/2007%206:00:00%20PM

Myanmar crisis: Exiled activists protest

Kishalay Bhattacharjee
Friday, October 12, 2007 (Kaimuanthang)
Burmese pro-democracy activists, who have been in exile in Manipur since 
they fled Rangoon after the 1988 uprising, led a protest march against the 
Burmese Junta on Friday.

It was probably the biggest protest march in India since the recent military 
crackdown on the monks.

Thousands of locals joined in, walking down Churachandpur road, shouting 
slogans. There were students from at least twenty schools and colleges.

''I've been in India since 1988, we are on the streets again for restoration 
of democracy in Burma. The students and monks will carry on their movement. 
We will return and join the movement,'' said Kothurah, Vice-chairman of 
Burmese Solidarity Organization.

This is also India's rebel zone, dotted with long drawn insurgencies, which 
have always based themselves in Myanmar.

Ironically these tribal underground outfits have also offered support to the 
anti-Junta protest.

''We will fight for democracy by all means and in our fight every 
organization, even the undergrounds have extended support,'' said Pallah, 
leader of Federation of Trade Union in Burma.

The Church has joined in too, saying that it is against the Junta.

It is a protest which may not be loud enough for the Junta to hear, but the 
activists hope that at least India will listen to what they are saying and 
pay heed.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200710151850.html

Zimbabwe: 75 Woza And Moza Activists Arrested During Protest March

SW Radio Africa (London)
15 October 2007
Posted to the web 15 October 2007
Tichaona Sibanda
At least 75 activists from Women of Zimbabwe Arise and Men of Zimbabwe Arise 
were arrested outside the parliament building in central Harare, after 
staging a peaceful demonstration against police brutality against its 
members.
Woza co-ordinator Jennie Williams was one of those arrested and taken to the 
central police station in the capital. Patuma Sonyowa who took part in the 
protest march said police needed five trucks to ferry the activists from 
parliament to the central police station.

'We started our march from First Street right up the parliament door steps 
where we intended to handover the report on political violence against our 
activists. It was also here where police ordered us to disperse but we 
refused and instead sat on the pavement. We were singing songs that 
denounced police brutality and we also called for a new constitution and the 
return of the rule of law,' Sonyowa said.
She said police took away all their banners and protest newsletters. Their 
lawyers were denied access to the activists who were believed to be under 
interrogation from the time they were picked up by the police just after 
11.30am.
'The lawyers told us they were chased away by the police and that they were 
making frantic efforts to engage more senior practitioners to handle the 
case,' said Sonyowa.

http://voanews.com/english/Africa/Zimbabwe/2007-10-17-voa59.cfm

Zimbabwe Human Rights Lawyer Alleges Police Assault During Protest
By Chris Gande
Washington
17 October 2007

Interview With Tafadzwa Mugabe
Listen to Interview With Tafadzwa Mugabe
A lawyer representing the activist group Women of Zimbabwe Arise said 
Wednesday he was assaulted by police earlier this week and will seek damages 
in the case.
Attorney Tafadzwa Mugabe said he was assaulted by a senior police officer 
Monday after WOZA staged a demonstration in Harare to draw attention to a 
report alleging official violence against members of the organization. About 
75 members of the group were arrested and released later Monday evening with 
no charges brought.
Mugabe, a member of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, told reporter 
Chris Gande of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that Chris although he reported 
the alleged assault to higher-ups in the police administration there has 
been no indication his complaint is being acted upon, so he intends to file 
suit for civil damages.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/15/africa/ME-GEN-Bahrain-Protests.php

Anti-riot police clash with Bahrainis protesting restricted access to tiny 
islands

The Associated Press
Published: October 15, 2007

MANAMA, Bahrain: Hundreds of security troops fired tear gas and heavy rubber 
bullets on Monday to disperse Bahrainis who gathered in an attempt to visit 
the kingdom's third largest island, which the public is normally restricted 
from visiting, local officials and witnesses said.
Security troops deployed along Bahrain's western coastal line, especially in 
Shiite-dominated villages to prevent Bahrainis from approaching Um Nasan 
island, witnesses said.
Helicopters hovered above and women were seen hurrying to their houses 
fearing anti-riot police, which sealed off roads leading up to the village 
of Malikiya and other small towns on the western coast.
"They fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the people gathering," 
said Sayed Hashim, one of the protest organizers.
No one was allowed to approach the coastal line, including an Associated 
Press photographer who was threatened by a masked policeman with a pistol 
and ordered to leave.
Some young Bahrainis reacted by setting tires on fire, according to 
witnesses.
"The young protesters tried to blow up a gas cylinder, but they failed to do 
so," said Ahmed Mansour, a city council official in Malikiya.
The protests appear to have been triggered by Shiite opposition in Bahrain 
to defy a taboo by debating the royal family's ownership of some 30 Bahraini 
islands and banning citizens and residents from having access to them.
Regular Bahrainis occupy four main islands while the rest are inhibited by 
royal family palaces and some are used for military purposes.
Bahrain's Interior Ministry said in a statement that the island of Um Nasan 
is for military use and national defense.
"Therefore it's banned for anybody to approach or to carry out any activity 
close to it or he will be violating the law and will be punishable by law," 
the statement carried by Bahrain's official news agency said.
The idea for Monday's protest came after the minister of municipalities 
issued a statement saying all the islands were public property. A committee 
of residents from western villages then sent an invitation to Bahrainis to 
visit the island. On Sunday, the royal endowment warned citizens against 
visiting Um Nasan.
Discussion over the royal family's possession of the majority of Bahraini 
islands was taboo for many years until about two years ago when the 
parliament, which Shiites make up about 40 percent, began questioning it. 
Shiites, who make up more than 60 percent of Bahrain's 700,000 people, have 
long complained they are squeezed out of power by the Sunni monarchy.
Part of the controversy was also sparked when the Web browser-based mapping 
tool Google Earth was first introduced in Bahrain, showing pictures of the 
vast areas of Bahraini territories occupied by royal family palaces.
Only those who obtain a permission from the king are allowed to enter those 
islands.
Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, is a close ally of Washington.

http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/16/2060906.htm?section=justin

Cabbies protest Sydney Airport arrest
Posted Tue Oct 16, 2007 12:42pm AEST
Updated Tue Oct 16, 2007 1:48pm AEST
Map: Sydney Airport 2020
Related Story: Sydney Airport's $500m makeover begins
Dozens of taxi drivers refused to pick up passengers at Sydney Airport this 
morning to protest against the arrest of a cab driver who got into a fight 
with an Australian Federal Police (AFP) officer.
Police used capsicum spray to subdue the 39-year-old after he became angry 
when an officer asked him to move his car, which the AFP say was blocking an 
exit road at the international terminal.
The AFP say an argument ensued when the officer asked the driver to move his 
car. They say the car started moving and hit the officer's leg.
The man then allegedly got out if his car and refused to show his licence. 
Police say he became violent but was subdued with capsicum spray.
The 39-year-old has been charged with offences, including resisting arrest, 
and will face Waverley Court early next month.
Dozens of other taxi drivers protested against the arrest, one of them 
telling police the man was "bashed" and police went too far.
"It just happened here. It does happen every time," he said to an officer. 
"We can't talk to anybody. We are a human beings - we have a right. We're 
good citizens, we're serving the public."
Police say no-one was bashed.
The New South Wales Transport Minister, John Watkins, says his department is 
looking into the incident.
But Mr Watkins says he is unable to say much because the man has been 
arrested.
"The Ministry of Transport will be looking further at the matter to see if 
there's anything that the State Government through the Ministry of Transport 
has to do to assist in the resolution of this matter," he said.
Taxi Council spokesman Howard Harrison says there have been problems with 
holding area at Sydney Airport.
"The holding area in Sydney Airport does get overcrowded first thing in the 
morning," he said.
"We are talking to the Sydney Airport to see what can be done to to increase 
the holding area but that will be in the future, I'm afraid, because land is 
scarce and it costs a lot of money to build car parks and those sort of 
things."
"But at the moment, it's a police matter to be looked at by the driver and 
the police."

http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1674282007

Pants protest over Burma
WOMEN in several countries have begun sending their knickers to Burmese 
embassies in a culturally insulting gesture of protest against the brutal 
crackdown there.
"It's a strong message in Burmese culture," said Liz Hilton, who supports 
Lanna Action for Burma, an activist group that launched the "Panties for 
Peace" drive this week.
The group says the country's superstitious generals believe contact with 
women's underwear saps them of power.
This article: http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1674282007
Last updated: 20-Oct-07 00:00 GMT