[Onthebarricades] Miscellaneous protests, October 2007

[Andy]

*  ITALY:  Anarchists dye fountain red
*  JORDAN:  Villagers clash with police over water contamination

*  CHINA:  Social tensions threaten "harmony"

*  ITALY:  Mass unrest after police murder football fan

[NOTE:  When a cop is killed by fans, the state goes into overdrive, 
cancelling football indefinitely and passing draconian laws.  When a fan is 
murdered by a cop, the state tries to play it down.  This is not the first 
time Italian police have been caught shooting into crowds.  Before the 
well-known murder of Carlo Giuliani during the Genoa protests, there had 
been a wave of such incidents in the 1970s.  There is a simple way to 
prevent incidents of this kind:  disarm the police.]

*  NEW ZEALAND:  Protests target "terror" arrests of activists

*  PAKISTAN:  Bandh, unrest after assassination attempt against opposition 
leader

*  INDIA:  Tribal peoples protest over extension of scheduled caste status

*  US:  Christian singer faces gay rights protest

*  PAPUA NEW GUINEA:  Magistrate stoned to death over hit-and-run

*  INDIA:  Death of student sparks candlelit protest

*  US:  Marchers protest over undiscovered bodies

*  US:  Students wear holsters in protest for campus gun rights

*  INDIA:  Anger and delight over campus traffic ban

*  NIGERIA:  Students protest running-over of colleague, trash vehicles

*  NEPAL:  Pogrom survivors start then call off bandh

*  BELGIUM/EUROPE:  Turks in Belgium and elsewhere stage protests and fight 
police in rallies against PKK

*  NEPAL:  Journalists protest abduction of reporter

*  BOSNIA:  Ethnic protests by Serbs over reforms



http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jDwQ5kjHntuhAdLy-KewG1MGdSYQ

Rome's Trevi Fountain flows blood-red in 'anarchist' protest
Oct 19, 2007
ROME (AFP) - Self-described anarchists on Friday poured dye into Rome's 
Trevi Fountain, turning the water in the tourist magnet a bright blood-red, 
an AFP reporter witnessed.
Leaflets left around the fountain referred to the RomeFilmFest which opened 
Thursday in the Italian capital: "You wanted just a red carpet; we want a 
city entirely in vermilion" before denouncing the event's 15-million-euro 
(21-million-dollar) budget.
They added: "Today we give birth to a new violent conception of life and 
history, which exalts the battle against ... the toadies of false power, 
slaves to the global market."
The statement was signed "FTM Azionefuturista 2007," in what appears to be a 
reference to a futuristic art movement founded in 1909 which Mussolini 
embraced as the official art of fascism.
The tract said the group opposed "this grey and bourgeois society ... We who 
are vulnerable, old, ill, students, workers, we come with vermilion to 
colour your greyness."

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/29/africa/ME-GEN-Jordan-Poisoning-Riots.php

Jordanians clash with riot police angered over poisoning in northern village

The Associated Press
Published: October 29, 2007

AMMAN, Jordan: Dozens of villagers clashed with riot police in northern 
Jordan on Monday, two days after some 400 people from the area were 
hospitalized for poisoning.
The riots erupted at sundown, with Sakeb villagers pouring into the streets, 
burning tires and hurling stones at the local government office, said Ahmed 
al-Zoubi, the mayor of the town of al-Murab, which also oversees Sakeb.
Earlier Monday, Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit, accompanied by health, 
water and environment ministers, toured Sakeb, visiting a handful of the 
patients who remain in a local hospital there.
Some 400 people from Sakeb were admitted to the area's hospitals on Saturday 
with diarrhea, vomiting and high fever. Local officials and doctors in the 
region had said Saturday that over 160 were hospitalized, but health 
officials Monday said the toll was much higher.
The incident was the third such case of mass affliction in the region in 
four months.
Health officials have said the latest poisoning was being investigated, 
adding that initial reports pointed to either contaminated water or food 
items sold at a fast food joint in Sakeb.
"They're upset because they think the drinking water in Sakeb is 
contaminated," al-Zoubi told The Associated Press over the phone. "We told 
them that test samples taken from the water and the local restaurant aren't 
out yet and they shouldn't jump into conclusions, but nobody wanted to 
listen."
According to al-Zoubi, the rioters also blocked the main highway outside 
Sakeb, which links the nearby Roman-ruin city of Jerash with Ajloun, further 
north.
When police moved to reopen the road, the villagers briefly clashed with the 
troops. "Now, the situation is under police control," al-Zoubi said. It 
wasn't clear if any arrests were made.
Sakeb, with a population of 20,000, lies near Jordan's famed Jerash and 
about 48 kilometers (30 miles) north of the capital, Amman.
In July, a waterborne virus gave some 500 people in a Mafraq city suburb, 
north of Jerash, diarrhea and high fevers. Officials said the episode was 
caused by a water pipe that became contaminated with animal dung.
In August, 204 people were poisoned because they ate sandwiches with 
undercooked chicken in the Palestinian refugee camp of Baqaa, just outside 
Jerash. Health authorities shut down the restaurant and banned the sale of 
chicken shawerma sandwiches and homemade mayonnaise, which often uses raw 
eggs.
Despite being economically well off, the north of Jordan, health officials 
say, suffers from lax health inspection standards.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jKIIrcnGkXMomzaY8K8W-gkfLonAD8S9QHN80

Social Tensions Confront China's Harmony
By AUDRA ANG - Oct 15, 2007
XIAMEN, China (AP) - It was a sight to behold: Thousands of protesters 
massed on the streets of one of China's most prosperous cities, demanding 
that construction of a chemical plant close to their homes be stopped.
Demonstrators, many wearing yellow bands of cloth in a show of unity, faced 
down a wall of policemen, marching past skyscrapers and shopping malls as 
onlookers passed out bottles of water under the hot June sun.
The protest led the government to halt construction of the $1.4 billion 
facility, at least for now, and became emblematic of the simmering 
discontent facing Chinese leaders.
As Communist Party leaders gathering in Beijing this week call for creating 
a "harmonious society," signs abound that the country is far from it. In 
China's wrenching transformation from a poor, largely agricultural society 
to a prosperous industrial one, the party is wrestling with changes that 
have angered many Chinese.
"Farmers have lost their land, workers of state-owned companies have gotten 
laid off, people living at the bottom of society struggle in their daily 
lives, there is a huge difference in incomes of the rich and the poor, and a 
large amount of violence exists," said Ai Xiaoming, a professor at Sun 
Yat-sen University and an advocate for human rights and legal reform.
"These are signs of a disharmonious society," she said from Guangzhou, the 
capital of prosperous Guangdong province, where rising land prices have 
touched off disputes between farmers and developers.
The tensions pose a challenge for the authoritarian communist government, 
which often tries to suppress dissent, and especially for President Hu 
Jintao. In power for five years, Hu has made a priority of distributing the 
benefits of recent decades of speedy economic growth more evenly.
He has used the phrase "creating a harmonious society" and a related phrase, 
"the scientific outlook on development," as slogans for this campaign. 
Senior Communist Party members are expected to weave the ideologies into a 
final draft of a document outlining priorities for the next five years.
"We will spare no effort to solve the most specific problems of the utmost 
and immediate concern to the people and strive to create a situation in 
which all people do their best, find their proper places in society and live 
together in harmony," Hu told more than 2,200 delegates Monday in the 
weeklong conclave's opening speech.
Hu's government has set aside billions of dollars in new farm subsidies, 
increased spending on social security, education and health care, and made 
public efforts to root out rampant corruption. But it is an uphill task to 
ease social tensions.
According to the most recent figures from the Ministry of Public Security, 
87,000 "mass incidents" were reported in 2005, including a deadly clash 
between police and villagers over the seizure of land for a power plant. And 
just last month, thousands of demobilized soldiers sent to railway training 
centers rioted in at least three cities.
Then there's the emerging middle class, whose investments in homes, cars and 
their children's education gives them a growing stake in society and an 
awareness of their rights.
"The amount of demonstrations is growing as social issues of instability are 
increasing. People's sense of safeguarding their rights is awakening," wrote 
Wen Yunchao, a columnist for the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper, who 
witnessed the June 1-2 protests in Xiamen. "I will slap anyone who says 
today's China is harmonious."
In Xiamen, a tropical port city once known in the West as Amoy and once a 
haven for pirates and the opium trade, the demonstrations centered around 
construction of a Tenglong Aromatic PX (Xiamen) Co. plant in the coveted 
Haicang district, a breezy suburb west of the city of 1.6 million.
The plant would have made the petrochemical paraxylene, which is used in the 
production of plastics, polyester and film; it can cause eye, nose or throat 
irritation and chronic exposure may result in death.
Residents say they were kept in the dark about the project until details 
started trickling out in March. Soon, text messages, blogs, Internet 
bulletin boards and computer messenger services were abuzz. One phone 
message likened the plant to an atomic bomb being dropped on Xiamen. Talk of 
protest gathered steam.
"I felt that if everyone went, we could make a change," said Wu, a 
32-year-old resident who did not want his full name used for fear of 
reprisals and who carried his 3-year-old son to the protest. "If my son asks 
me in the future 'Where were you when the project was being built, Dad?' I 
would feel ashamed if I had not dared to join the march."
After the protest, the State Environmental Protection Administration said it 
was conducting a new environmental assessment for the entire city, including 
the paraxylene plant.
Less than two miles from the construction site, many apartments now sit 
empty because no one wants to live there, and real estate prices have 
plunged. Residents are not sure if their victory was final or temporary.
Telephones at state and city government offices were not answered. Company 
officials refused to release any information and hung up the telephone 
repeatedly.
In calling for social harmony, Hu seems to be trying to juggle rising 
expectations by meeting demands for better living standards while 
forestalling any chance for meaningful political change, experts said.
"It does not in any way imply a real democratic change," said Steve Tsang, 
an expert on Chinese politics at Oxford University. "If anything, it 
pre-empts the need for political reform."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7090017.stm

Last Updated: Monday, 12 November 2007, 00:41 GMT

Italy fans rampage after killing

Rioters set vehicles alight near Rome's Stadio Olimpico
Italian football fans have reacted violently inside and outside stadiums 
following the police shooting of a Lazio supporter.
Gabriele Sandri, 26, was shot in what police called a "tragic error" as they 
tried to stop violence between rival fans at a motorway stop in Tuscany.
A match between Atalanta and AC Milan was stopped as fans and police 
clashed. There was violence at other games.
Later hundreds of fans rampaged in Rome and there were more protests in 
Milan.
Police chiefs, politicians and football administrators will be meeting on 
Monday to seek to limit the damage from the weekend's incidents.
Bus torched
The worst violence was in the capital, where hundreds of armed fans attacked 
a police barracks and the Italian Olympic Committee headquarters.
Sunday's late match between AS Roma and Cagliari had been postponed as a 
precaution but fans wielding rocks and clubs turned up outside the Stadio 
Olimpico.
Security guards in the Olympic headquarters barricaded themselves in as fans 
outside smashed windows and burned vehicles as they clashed with police.
The mob blocked off one end of a bridge over the Tiber and ordered motorists 
to leave the area.
A bus was torched and several people including police were injured.
There were also angry scenes in central Milan near the offices of the 
broadcaster RAI, as fans hurled rocks at a police station and beat up two 
journalists.
In Bergamo, where Atalanta were playing AC Milan, police and fans clashed 
ahead of the match.
The game was abandoned 10 minutes after kick-off, when fans tried to smash 
down a barrier and force their way onto the pitch.
In Siena, supporters shouted "murderers" at police.
There was also violence at lower league games in southern Italy.
Seven of the top league games started 10 minutes late with players wearing 
black armbands although atmospheres remained tense.
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi called for a full investigation into the 
shooting and said the violence was "very worrying".
'Tragic error'
Mr Sandri, a 26-year-old disc jockey from Rome, was a Lazio fan on his way 
to a match with Inter Milan.
Lazio fans and supporters of Juventus on their way to a match at Parma 
reportedly clashed at the service station near Arezzo.
Mr Sandri was apparently shot while in a car outside the motorway 
restaurant.
Police suggested he may have been killed by a warning shot.
The exact details of the shooting are unclear and an investigation is under 
way.
"It was a tragic error," said Arezzo police chief Vincenzo Giacobbe.
"Our agent had intervened to prevent the brawl between these two groups, who 
had not been identified as fans," Mr Giacobbe said, according to the Italian 
news agency Ansa.
The Inter-Lazio game was postponed.
In April the Italian government introduced a law aimed at stamping out 
football hooliganism.
It was enacted after a policeman was killed in rioting at a match in Sicily 
in February.
The BBC's Frances Kennedy in Rome says that despite the new anti-hooliganism 
measures, Sunday's explosion of anger shows that violence is never far from 
the surface.

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/413551/1428084

Protest turns nasty at party meeting
Nov 3, 2007 6:43 PM


More than 35 police called in to tackle a crowd of angry protesters outside 
the Labour Party's annual conference in Auckland.
The violence erupted when Labour Party member Len Richards went into the 
crowd and allegedly hit a protestor following a struggle with the megaphone 
he was using.
Richards was not arrested but several protestors were taken away by police.
The relatively peaceful protest, which involved around 80 people, was staged 
in opposition to the Terrorism Suppression Act employed in recent police 
raids.
A man who tried to intervene was dragged away and taken to a police van 
where he was cuffed and searched.
The mood of the protest continued downhill when a young Maori protester 
doing the haka confronted a police officer and spat at him. Police took the 
17-year-old away. He was charged with technical assault but was later 
released.
Protesters are furious their people are being arrested while those that 
started it go free, but Richards has repeatedly said he has done nothing 
wrong.
"It didn't hit anybody. If I did it was because I felt threatened, but I 
didn't go out there to hit anybody. There was no violence...I oppose 
violence," he says.
Police spoke with Richards but showed no interest in arresting him.
A protester is understood to have laid a complaint against Richards and 
police say they are investigating

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4253363a10.html

Terror raids protest spreads
By EMMA PAGE - Sunday Star Times | Sunday, 28 October 2007
Kiwis around the world joined local protesters yesterday in calls for 
terrorism laws to be scrapped after police raids that have angered activists 
and split public opinion.
In Auckland a crowd of nearly 700, led through the city by Tuhoe visiting 
from the Bay of Plenty, chanted "stand up, fight back when human rights are 
under attack".
With his young son in a pram and carrying a sign saying "defend our civil 
rights", Aucklander Tom McMillan said he was taking part because he wanted 
terrorism laws to be dropped. "We just don't need them."
Algerian refugee Ahmed Zaoui's lawyer Deborah Manning and Harmeet Sooden, 
who was kidnapped in Iraq two years ago, were also in the crowd which 
cheered as Rongomai Bailey, who faces firearm charges and was released on 
bail last week addressed it.
While 13 New Zealand locations had noon meetings, people also rallyied 
overnight in Ireland, Australia, the US and England.
"These are Kiwis who are saying 'what the hell is going on in my country?'," 
said veteran protester John Minto.
"We're not a terrorist target. We don't have terrorists in New Zealand and 
this use of the Terrorism Act is a breach of civil rights."
Huka Williams, who co-ordinated the Tuhoe contingent that travelled from the 
Bay of Plenty, wanted people to know that Tuhoe activist Tame Iti had close 
ties to many peaceful, human rights organisations.
Meanwhile, the 250 Wellington protesters heard statements written by local 
activists currently in custody on charges over alleged links to the 
paramilitary camps. One of the arrested activists wrote, "You will hear 
tremendous lies and fabrications about us in the coming months and years. 
Beware the agenda being served: it is about controlling you and controlling 
your thoughts . . . "Organise, communicate and get ready to fight back 
against the enemies of justice and freedom among us now. We are fighting for 
our lives."
In Christchurch about 100 people staged a sit down protest, blocking traffic 
for a short time.
There were protests in Hamilton, Wanganui and Palmerston North. An event is 
planned for Dunedin today.
* Police commissioner Howard Broad is expected to decide as early as 
tomorrow whether to recommend to the Solicitor-General that charges be laid 
under the Terrorism Suppression Act.
* Most of the 17 arrested are due to re-appear in Auckland District Court on 
Thursday. Only three are remanded on bail.
* Tame Iti is fighting his transfer to Auckland at a hearing in Rotorua 
tomorrow.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C10%5C21%5Cstory_21-10-2007_pg12_1

Three-day mourning period: Angry PPP youth riot over open shops
By Faraz Khan

KARACHI: In protest against the attacks on the PPP's procession in Karachi, 
strikes were held and riots broke out in various areas of Karachi and in 
other cities throughout the province. Multiple disturbances were reported 
Saturday from arson to skirmishes.

Over a dozen bystanders were injured in Lyari because of aerial firing from, 
according to the police, PPP activists protesting Thursday's attacks on PPP's 
welcome rally.

Lyari Town SP Fayyaz Khan told Daily Times that the PPP Lyari activists, 
especially of the Shah Baig Lane, Chakiwara, rioted a lot. "They were even 
trying to target the police," said Khan. However, no policemen were hurt and 
no one has been arrested yet, he added.

The injured include Majid, Arshad, Zubair, Anas, Javaid, Rashid, Ashraf, 
Sabir, Hamza, Jafer, Rehan and Jamil. They were taken to Civil Hospital 
Karachi (CHK). The CHK emergency in-charge told Daily Times that at least 12 
injured had been brought in from Lyari and that most of the injuries were 
minor.

Protestors burnt tyres and pelted vehicles with stones in the PPP-dominated 
areas of Lyari, Pak Colony, Old Golimar, New Golimar, Teen Hatti, Baloch 
Para, Jhangeer Road, Lasbela, Patel Para, MA Jinnah Road, Malir, Khoparapar, 
Gulistan-e-Johar, Safora Goth, Baldia, Mauripur, Super Highway, Gadap Town, 
Tower and Jail Chowrangi.

Traffic was suspended because of man-made hurdles and one vehicle was 
reported burnt in Lasbela.

Protestors also tried to force a shutter-down strike in several areas of the 
city and there were reports of aerial firing in some areas such as Kharadar, 
Boltan Market, Tower, Chakiwara, Singu Lane, Kalakot and more. Saddar Town 
Police Officer Captain Tahir Naveed told Daily Times that the incidents were 
minor. SP Naveed said that the police got to the places from where there 
were reports of aerial firing and it turned out that the protestors were 
trying to force shopkeepers to close down. "We talked to them and got the 
situation under control," said Naveed.

At least 30 percent of the petrol pumps were closed. The attendance in 
offices was thin and most markets were closed at the time this report was 
filed. The protestors chanted anti-government slogans and warned of more 
protests if the culprits were not arrested soon.

Shahzad Shah adds: At least eleven people were injured Saturday in Lyari 
within the jurisdiction of the Talakot Police Station. Three of them are in 
critical condition and have been shifted to Civil hospital's emergency ward, 
informed Dr Farhan, CHK's medico-legal officer.

According to some reports there was an exchange of fire, but others said 
that it was not part of the usual gang war and just aerial firing.

A witness named Ashfaq told Daily Times that a five-hour open exchange of 
fire took place between two groups. The incident took place on the entry 
road to Shah Baig near Naghman Mosque at 3:30 p.m. The relatives of the 
injured protested at Civil hospital because proper care arrangements were 
not made.

There were only two doctors on duty in the emergency ward of Civil hospital, 
said Raheem Baloch's mother. When this correspondent tried to ask a witness 
about the events that transpired he angrily replied that there is no point 
in telling the media. "This stuff has been in the media in the past, many 
times, but nothing is being done about it," he said. He also alleged that 
the area police were behind everything.

The relatives of the injured also blamed the police for not taking 
responsibility. They said that the police were making excuses, saying that 
the incident was not in their jurisdiction. The police officer of the police 
station concerned, Reyaz Ahmad, arrived at the CHK to negotiate with the 
relatives of the injured, but they refused to talk to him.

The brother of one of the injured, who did not want to be mentioned, said 
that the police brush this off by saying that it is a war between the Baloch 
and 'let them fight'. The names of the injured include: Ramazan s/o Ghulam 
Hussain, Nauman Haider s/o Ghulam Haider, Jameel Ahmad s/o Imam Bux, Majid 
s/o Abdul Nawaz, Irshad s/o Abdul Sattar, Zubair s/o Javaid, Allah Bachaya 
s/o Suleman, Raheem Baloch s/o Suleman, Anas and Shahid s/o Murad Bux.

http://kuidina.blogspot.com/2007/10/tribal-protest-continues.html

Tribal protest continues
Statesman News service
PHULBANI, Oct. 14: Ignoring the appeal of the district administration, the 
Kui Samaj Samannya Samiti continued to agitate against the alleged move of 
extending certain tribal facilities to the non-tribals.
Led by Mr Lambodar Kanhar, thousands of tribals organised a rally and a 
protest meeting at Linepada under the Khajuripada police station yesterday 
without taking prior permission from the police, official sources said.
At least 3,000 tribals raised slogans against the government and 
particularly against the local BJD minister Mr Padmanab Behera and the 
Congress MP Mr Radhakanta Nayak.
Castigating the government in their speeches, the tribal leaders said that a 
section of the people like Mr Behera and Mr Nayak has started an Non 
Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Bhubaneswar and are trying to extend 
facilities meant for the tribals extended to a section of the non-tribals .
They also demanded that Mr Behera should be removed and stern action should 
be taken against the Bhubaneswar based Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) 
which had raised such a demand.
Police force were deployed in and around Linepada and the superintendent of 
police Mr N Bhol and the sub collector, Baliguda, Mr BK Mohapatra are 
closely monitoring the situation.
It may be noted that Linepada and the nearby areas had witnessed an 
unprecedented violence in the nineties, when the then Biju Patnaik 
government had failed to tackle a prolonged ethnic clash between the tribals 
and the non-tribals.
Over the years, the tribals have harboured a feeling that they are being 
exploited by the non-tribal Scheduled Caste sections.
Recently, the tribals have started regrouping themselves against yet another 
move by the non-tribals who are claiming certain benefits.
Sensing trouble, the district administration has appealed to the tribals for 
restraining themselves. However, the rally, indicated that the tribals are 
in no mood to listen to the administration.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCfKCFWxw0VUcx2kxi08srzmSHYQD8SIIODG0

Obama Singer Wins Cheers Despite Protest
By JIM DAVENPORT - 6 days ago
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A Grammy-winning singer whose role in a Barack Obama 
campaign event riled gay activists served as master of ceremonies of a 
gospel concert promoting the Democratic presidential hopeful Sunday night.
"We're here," Donnie McClurkin told a cheering crowd. "We're here and we're 
glad we're here."
McClurkin, who has angered gay rights groups by saying homosexuality is a 
choice, told the crowd the musical acts were there "in the name of unity" 
and "in the name of change."
An hour earlier, outside the concert venue, about two dozen gay and lesbian 
group supporters marched and carried a rainbow flag.
McClurkin was headlining an "Embrace the Change" concert that capped a 
weekend of gospel music that Obama, an Illinois senator, is hoping to use to 
recruit churchgoers - and music lovers - in this early voting state.
But McClurkin's presence created a rift as gay and lesbian activists tried 
to force Obama to boot the singer from the lineup. Obama wouldn't budge, but 
he tried to quell the anger by adding an openly gay pastor to the event. 
McClurkin, who has said he does not believe in discriminating against 
homosexuals, spent much of Sunday evening introducing the acts.
Obama did not attend the event, but in a video played for more than 2,000 at 
the Township Auditorium he called the evening's acts "inspirational talent" 
that were among his favorites.
The people in the crowd agreed with their feet, standing and waving and 
clapping hands to the blaring music, regularly joining in to sing.
Obama has been courting churchgoers heavily in South Carolina. Earlier this 
month, he spent two Sundays at churches in Columbia and Greenville.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22630354-663,00.html

Papua New Guinea magistrate stoned to death
A PAPUA New Guinea magistrate was stoned to death after his car crashed into 
a refugee camp in the capital Port Moresby.
Senior magistrate Ivo Cappo crashed into a tent outside the United Nations 
High Commissioner for Refugees office in the early hours of Saturday 
morning, narrowly missing sleeping women and children.
The 55-year-old was then allegedly set upon and stoned to death.
Police yesterday were photographing and fingerprinting men from the group of 
93 Papuans. The men from the western part of New Guinea, which is under 
Indonesian rule, have been camped outside the UNHCR office for four weeks 
asking to be sent to a third country.
A spokesman for the group said police were yet to lay charges, but about 37 
men would be locked up as investigations continued.
Mr Cappo and his passenger were "heavily drunk" when his car crashed about 
2.30am, the Papuan spokesman said.
Men who were not part of the refugee group attacked Mr Cappo, throwing 
stones at him and killing him but "one or two of our boys" were also 
involved, he said.
Payback attacks are still widespread in PNG, but authorities seek to 
persuade aggrieved parties to settle matters through police and the courts 
or compensation deals.
- AAP

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s2070393.htm

PNG police arrest four over magistrate killing
Last Updated 25/10/2007, 14:54:45Select text size:


Papua New Guinea police have arrested and charged four refugees from the 
Indonesian province of Papua over the alleged murder of one of PNG's senior 
court magistrates over the weekend.

Firmin Nanol reports that PNG's Port Moresby Police Chief, Fred Yakasa says 
the four men were charged for willful murder and appeared briefly before the 
court this week.

He says they allegedly stoned senior magistrate Ivvo Kappo to death at the 
week end after he crashed his car near their make shift camp site.

The men were part of a group of more than 80 refugees from the Indonesian 
province of Papua who protested and camped near the United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees Office demanding deportation to a third country, 
after a land they were living on was reclaimed by its owner for 
redevelopment.

They are now being locked inside a police station in fear of revenge attack 
by the magistrate's relatives.

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:96r3W4bmMsAJ:www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php%3Fdate%3D2007-10-13%26usrsess%3D1%26clid%3D22%26id%3D200625+india+%22flames+of+protest%22+rizwanur+rehman&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=uk

Flames of protest

KOLKATA, Oct 12: It was hardly seven in the evening, and the pavement 
adjoining St Xavier's College was brightly lit up. The streetlights seemed 
dim as hundreds of candles cast a glow on Rizwanur Rehman's picture, propped 
up on a small table.
The candles are not to be extinguished. At least as long as the organisers 
of the candle-light protest against Rizwanur Rehman's mysterious death do 
not run out of the number of persons volunteering to tend the flames. And 
from the look of it, they won't. Hundreds of candles were burning and most 
of the people coming to swell the number of the those mourning Rizwanur in 
silence on Park Street today, came holding a candle. The manner of 
Rizwanur's death had not only sparked off an outrage among students. Even 
the man on the street joined the students today to register his 
disappointment with the system. Volunteers armed with registers walked up to 
pedestrians with a request to join their signature campaign and more often 
than not, they were obliged. People stopped their cars to join in a silent 
prayer for the former St. Xaviers' student.
Some even offered money, only to be politely refused. The benefactor were 
told that their participation was the best contribution to the cause.
They say that a city is what its streets are. That little corner outside St 
Xavier's spoke loud and clear what Kolkata is ~ inclusive, empathic, defiant 
and united by a cause. n SNS

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071011/LOCAL/710110510/-1/LOCAL17

October 11, 2007

Marchers protest over bodies left behind
Gary -- About 20 protesters rallied outside City Hall, calling for police 
officers to be fired after two teenagers who died in a car crash were 
undiscovered for several hours until a family member found them.
Neither the mayor nor the police chief met Tuesday with the picketers, who 
held signs and delivered letters asking that the responding officers be 
fired and for the chief to resign.
Family members of Brandon Smith and Dominique Green, both 18, have been 
searching for answers about the deaths since the Sept. 15 crash.
Gary police Cmdr. Sam Roberts, a department spokesman, gave protesters a 
letter written by Chief Thomas Houston. The letter, dated Sept. 21, offered 
condolences and denied claims of insensitivity.
Mayor Rudy Clay was in a meeting and would not meet with the protesters, 
city spokeswoman LaLosa Burns said.
The bodies of Smith and Green were found by Smith's father, Arthur Smith, 
about six hours after the crash and hours after police officers left the 
scene.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,304806,00.html

Students Strap On Empty Holsters to Protest Gun Restrictions on Campus
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
By Melissa Underwood
College students across the country have been strapping empty holsters 
around their waists this week to protest laws that prohibit concealed 
weapons on campus, citing concerns over campus shootings.
"People who would otherwise be able to defend themselves are left 
defenseless when on campus," said Ethan Bratt, a graduate student wearing an 
empty holster this week on the campus of Seattle Pacific University.
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a group of college students, parents 
and citizens who organized after the deadly shootings at Virginia Tech 
University in April, launched the protest.
A national debate over gun laws on campus began in the wake of those 
shootings, in which a deranged student killed 32 people in a classroom 
building before committing suicide. It was the deadliest mass shooting in 
U.S. history.
Campuses are prime targets for people intent on harming others because laws 
prohibit concealed weapons there, Bratt said.
But others believe college is no place for firearms.
"You don't like the fact that you can't have a gun on your college campus? 
Drop out of school," said Peter Hamm, a spokesman for the Brady Center to 
Prevent Gun Violence.
When someone pulls out a gun and starts firing in a crowded environment, 
it's more likely that additional victims will be harmed, Hamm said.
"Let's be grateful that those holsters are empty," he said.
A group of 12 students chose to wear empty holsters to class this week at 
the University of Idaho as part of the nationwide protest.
Aled Baker, a junior, said he loses his constitutional right to protect 
himself and others when he steps on campus.
"It's null and void when you go on campus," the mechanical engineering 
student said.
Baker, a sportsman and hunter, has a license to carry a concealed handgun 
and hopes the protest will get people talking about the issue.
Many universities, like George Washington University, prohibit carrying 
concealed handguns on campuses.
"We do not allow weapons on campus for the safety and security of our 
student body and faculty," said Tracy Schario, spokeswoman for George 
Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Justin Turner, a senior in criminology and history at Florida State 
University, also wants the ability to carry a concealed handgun on campus.
"I'm hoping that people actually realize that this is something that college 
students are serious about moving forward and realize that it's not about 
taking the law into your own hands; it's about taking personal 
responsibility for yourself," said Turner, chairman of the Florida State 
chapter of Students for the Second Amendment.
Congress is considering legislation that would tighten background checks and 
give states funding to submit information to a national database that would 
prevent guns from being sold to dangerous buyers. House lawmakers passed the 
legislation, but it remains in the Senate.
"It fixes the problem that the states are not submitting the necessary 
records of people who have been found by a court to be dangerously mentally 
ill," Hamm said.
Family members and survivors of the Virginia Tech shootings recently visited 
members of Congress to urge lawmakers to pass the legislation they believe 
could help prevent future tragedies.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pune/Protest_joy_mark_BV_road_closure/articleshow/2488201.cms

Protest, joy mark BV road closure
25 Oct 2007, 0317 hrs IST,TNN

PUNE: There was anger and there was delight among local residents and the 
student community respectively when the city police closed down the road 
passing through the Bharati Vidyapeeth campus in Dhankawdi on Wednesday 
morning.

Heavy security was maintained on either ends of the road to avert any 
untoward incident as vehicles, including two, three- and four-wheelers were 
banned from entering the road from 6 am sharp.

The road - a length of about 700 metres - closure comes in wake of the state 
government's controversial directive, which was issued last week. Barricades 
were erected to prevent motorists from entering the road. Local residents 
have been opposing the closure of the road for the past several years.

Corporators on Tuesday had demanded that the civic administration should not 
support the ban as a PIL had been admitted by the Bombay high court. 
However, municipal chief Pravinsinh Pardeshi had said that they had received 
orders from the state government to assist the police in closing down the 
road.

Residents staying behind the massive campus are unhappy as they are now 
forced to take a two-km detour to reach their destinations.

Students of 32 institutions, which include medical, dental, engineering, 
schools and other colleges of the Vidyapeeth, have been directed to park 
their vehicles in the parking lot along the Pune-Satara road.

Shashi Shekhar (23), a student of Amplify Mindware Pvt Ltd on the BV 
premises, said the campus was meant for students and a lot of outsiders were 
using it without any reason. He did not mind walking a km to reach his 
college as it will be a good exercise in the serene atmosphere.

Similarly, Pooja Rajmane and Snehal Bhujbal - diploma students - were happy 
to know that the road had been closed
for vehicular traffic. "Pedestrians had been facing a lot of problems 
because of the increasing traffic," they said.

Nursing student Ranjan Tryambake said, "There has been a significant 
increase in vehicles in the campus leaving no difference between Satara road 
and the campus stretch". However, she added that local residents and B V 
people will be affected.

An autorickshaw driver said the distance covered for transporting 
schoolchildren had increased by 16 km in the five trips he has to make every 
day. "No parent is ready to pay more. How can it work like this?'' he asked

Local NCP corporator Santosh Pharande accompanied by other political workers 
took a protest morcha from Ambegaon to Pune-Satara road via the BV road. On 
their way, they brought down the barricades put up by the police and shouted 
slogans on the premises.

Pharande said the move will affect nearly 50,000 residents staying in the 
vicinity. "The road is owned by the PMC. Moreover, the stretch of road 
opening at Balajinagar from Bharati Vihar is too narrow. It has been 
encroached by Bharati Vidyapeeth and Pune Institute of Computer 
Technology,'' he alleged.

"The state government cannot take such decisions when the matter is 
sub-judice. The state recently constituted a committee to solve traffic woes 
and if political bigwigs start using their powers in such a manner, others 
will follow same practice for their own motives,'' he said. Local 
shopkeepers pulled down shutters opposing the road closure.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200710181159.html

Nigeria: Students Protest Killing of Colleague By Bus Driver

Vanguard (Lagos)
18 October 2007
Posted to the web 18 October 2007
Kolade Larewaju
Abeokuta
STUDENTS of Itori Comprehensive High School , Itori, in Ewekoro Local 
Government Area of Ogun State yesterday took to the street in protest of the 
killing of one of them by a commercial bus.
Several commercial vehicles were vandalized by the students during the 
protest which lasted for about one hour. Eyewitnesses account said that the 
bus, which was going to Abeokuta from Lagos knocked down the male student 
from behind at Agbon Junction, killing him instantly.
The eyewitnesses said that the boy simply identified as Kabiru was knocked 
down at about 7.30 am on his way to school as the bus veered off the road.
Apparently angered, other students who were also heading for school, went on 
rampage, vandalizing vehicles passing through the area.
No fewer than 15 vehicles were vandalized by the protesting students, who 
blocked one side of the road.
A policeman who witnessed the incident said "we have been warning drivers on 
this road to be patient. They are very reckless. If the driver has been 
patient the accident would not have occurred".

http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2007/nov/nov03/news09.php

Riot victims announce indefinite bandh in Kapilvastu
Victims of the deadly riots that engulfed Kapilvastu district six weeks 
earlier have announced indefinite bandh (shutdown strike) in the district 
from Saturday demanding compensation, resettlement of displaced families and 
legal action against the rioters.
The bandh has badly affected normal life as marketplaces and transport 
service remain closed throughout the district.
The protesting riot victims have accused the government of failing to 
fulfill its commitment to properly compensate the families of those killed 
during the riots, and resettle the displaced families. They have also 
demanded that the government declare the dead as martyrs.
The riot victims had gheraoed the Ilaka Police Office in Chandrauta, the 
flashpoint of the mid-September riots, and submitted a memo that warned of 
renewed protest against government's inaction.
They had agreed to put their protests on hold twice in the past after 
requests from the government.
Nearly 20 people lost their lives and hundreds of families were displaced in 
the riots that erupted after the killing of Moid Khan, the leader of a 
formerly active anti-Maoist resistance group, on Sept 16. Study reports say 
property worth over 500 million rupees was looted and destroyed during the 
riots. nepalnews.com mk Nov 03 07

http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=127419

Kapilvastu riot victims call off indefinite banda
Kantipur Report
KAPILVASTU, Nov 4 - The local businessmen have called off the indefinite 
Kapilvastu banda Sunday after an agreement was reached between the 
Kapilvastu riot victims, local administration and representatives of seven 
political parties of the district Saturday evening.
The local businessmen Saturday called indefinite Kapilvastu district bandh 
accusing the government of not providing enough compensation to the 
Kapilvastu riot victims.
The banda was called off for a few days as Tihar was around the corner, said 
Keshav Pandey, the Chairman of the Kapilvastu riot victims' struggle 
committee.
The agreement, reached during the meeting between the agitating group, local 
administration and representatives of the seven political parties, include 
severe action against those involved in the riots, declaring those killed in 
the riots as martyrs, immediate release of additional Rs 75,000 to the 
families of the riot victims and making arrangements to grant loans on lower 
interest to them.
It was also agreed that the local political parties and the administration 
would initiate efforts to ensure that the vctims' families get compensation 
amount worth one million rupees. The government had already provided Rs. 
25000 to the families of the dead.
The bandh had affected normal life in Krishnanagar and Chandrauta and 
surrounding areas yesterday while hundred of communters were stranded as 
transportation in the East-West highway was also affected.
Transportation resumed today.
At least 31 persons were killed, hundreds of houses and vehicles were 
torched and thousands were displaced in the violence that broke out in the 
district on September 16, following the murder of a local political leader, 
Mohid Khan, also the former chief of an anti-Maoist group formed during the 
King's direct rule.
Posted on: 2007-11-04 01:28:43 (Server Time)

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/7556854.asp?gid=74&sz=31801

Belgian anti-PKK protest winds up with 100 injured

A protest against the latest PKK attacks in Turkey took place yesterday in 
the Belgian capital of Brussels, with up to 800 Turkish protestors coming 
face to face with Belgian police forces sent to control the atmosphere.

At least 100 were injured in the protest, during which 3 people hit a police 
vehicle with their own cars, and during which anti-Kurdish slogans were 
shouted by the crowds. The three police in the vehicle were also injured and 
sent to the hospital. The protest took place in the Brussels neighborhoods 
of Scharbeek and Saint-Josse, known locally as "little Turkey."

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Turkish-Kurdish_conflict_reaches_Europe_999.html

Turkish-Kurdish conflict reaches Europe

disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only
by Stefan Nicola
Berlin (UPI) Oct 29, 2007
As the Turkish-Kurdish conflict threatens to escalate into a military 
invasion of northern Iraq, the violence has reached other countries in 
Europe.
Over the weekend tens of thousands of Turks and a smaller number of Kurds 
demonstrated in Western Europe.
Some 7,000 Turks from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany took to the 
streets in the Dutch city of Utrecht; though windows were smashed, the 
demonstration remained largely peaceful, and police managed to keep the 
situation under control.
Yet in Brussels some 100 protesters of Turkish origin were arrested Sunday 
after an illegal demonstration ended in clashes with Belgian police.
In Berlin, a city home to an estimated 200,000 Turks, a protest against the 
Kurdistan Workers Party, known by its acronym PKK, on Sunday also turned 
violent.
The demonstration in Berlin's immigrant-dominated districts of Kreuzberg and 
Neukoelln was organized under the slogan "Unity and fraternity between Turks 
and Kurds," but that changed when a group of young Turks began to yell 
extremist chants and throw stones into Kurdish restaurants.
According to the Berliner Zeitung newspaper, the situation escalated when a 
small group of protesters believed to be members of the extremist Turkish 
nationalist group Gray Wolves tried to free a man arrested by police. A 
street battle ensued around Kottbusser Tor, an urban square dotted with 
Kebab restaurants and Turkish cafes. Demonstrators injured 18 police; 15 
protesters were arrested.
This reporter tried to reach the scene of the demonstrations via subway, yet 
several trains were canceled because subway stations were overcrowded with 
young Turkish protesters waving Turkey's flag and chanting anti-PKK, 
pro-Turkey and pro-Islam slogans.
On Saturday some 500 Kurds demonstrated in Berlin's posh Charlottenburg 
district against a Turkish military operation in Iraq, but things remained 
peaceful.
On Monday German security officials said they expected more violence if the 
conflict between Turkey and the Kurdish rebels hiding in mountainous 
northern Iraq continues.
Claudia Schmid, head of Berlin's Office for the Protection of the 
Constitution, a domestic intelligence and security agency, said Berlin is 
home to some 1,000 members of the Kurdish rebel group PKK, branded by the 
United Nations and the European Union a terror organization.
"The conflict in the border region of Iraq has come to Berlin, and we need 
to be very careful and keep our eyes open," she told a Berlin-based radio 
station.
While some criticized police for arriving at the scene too late and in too 
few numbers, police officials said officers were able to prevent an even 
larger outbreak of violence. They spoke of Turkish gangs armed with 
machetes, ready to use them against Kurds.
The violence in Europe demonstrates how tensions are rising in the conflict 
that started on Oct. 21 when 12 Turkish soldiers were killed in an ambush by 
PKK fighters, some 3,500 of whom are believed to be hiding in mountainous 
northern Iraq, right at the border with Turkey.
The public pressure in Turkey to act against the PKK rebels is increasing 
each day, reflected by massive -- partly violent -- demonstrations in 
several Turkish cities with hundreds of thousands of participants.
Iraqi and U.S. authorities have not been able to stop the violence 
originating from northern Iraq; they have also denied Turkish calls to hand 
over PKK leaders.
Faced with little progress within Iraq, Turkish lawmakers earlier this month 
gave the formal green light to a Turkish military operation against the 
rebels. Senior Turkish politicians, however, have said they would not rush 
into a military mission but would rather lead an operation together with the 
United States. Experts have also said the PKK is doing everything it can to 
provoke Turkey into marching across the Iraqi border.
Washington is trying to defuse tensions between some of its staunchest 
allies in the region: On the one hand NATO member Turkey, which fosters 
close ties with the United States, and on the other hand the Iraqi Kurds, 
who after years of oppression after the U.S.-led Iraq war established a 
self-governed, pro-American, pro-business province in northern Iraq.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit Istanbul on Friday, and 
President Bush will visit the Turkish capital three days later. The U.S. 
diplomatic offensive intends to prevent a military one, which all observers 
agree would have terrible consequences for the entire region.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/03/europe/EU-GEN-Belgium-Turkish-Protest.php

Ethnic Turks in Brussels protest against Kurdish rebel group

The Associated Press
Published: November 3, 2007

BRUSSELS, Belgium: About 2,000 ethnic Turks demonstrated in front of 
European Union headquarters on Saturday to protest recent Kurdish rebel 
attacks on Turkey and to seek tougher action by EU countries against the 
separatists.
The EU's executive, the European Commission, has sided with Turkey against 
the Kurdish rebels, but has cautioned Ankara against sending troops into 
Iraq to pursue them to their bases.
Mehmet Alparslan Saygun, head of the Union of European Turkish Democrats, 
which helped to organize the protest, said the rally was also meant to speak 
out against violence and to try to improve Turkish communities' damaged 
reputation in Belgium after rioting by Turkish youths last month.
"There is no such thing as bad terror or good terror; terror is terror, ... 
we have to name it as it is," he said.
About 100 youths were detained two weeks ago by police after rioting in 
several neighborhoods. The violent protests damaged cars, trams, buses and 
bus shelters, and several businesses also were ransacked.
Belgian government officials have appealed to Belgium's ethnic Turkish 
community to show restraint in their outrage over the Kurdish rebel attacks 
and to respect Belgian law.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/30/asia/AS-GEN-Nepal-Journalists-Protest.php

Journalists in Nepal protest abduction of reporter

The Associated Press
Published: October 30, 2007

KATMANDU, Nepal: About 200 journalists demonstrated in the Nepalese capital 
Tuesday to protest the disappearance of a reporter who is believed to have 
been abducted by former communist rebels.
Protesters carried photographs of Birendra Shah, who was last seen Oct. 5, 
as they marched near Singha Durbar, the complex that houses the prime 
minister's office, parliament and most government offices.
Shah, who has written critical stories about the rebels, disappeared while 
on a reporting trip near Unjanpipariya village, about 160 kilometers (100 
miles) south of the Katmandu.
"Our protest rally is to condemn the abduction and demand that Birendra Shah 
be immediately freed," said Mahendra Bista of the Federation of Nepalese 
Journalists, the umbrella body of media rights groups in Nepal.
The government and independent investigations have blamed the former 
communist rebels, widely known as Maoists, for Shah's abduction.
The journalists federation says dozens of witnesses said they saw Maoists 
taking Shah away.
The Maoists have denied any involvement but formed their own investigating 
team to probe the allegations.
Shah, a stringer for the Katmandu-based Nepal FM news radio station and 
several local newspapers, had written about the rebels' alleged profiteering 
via timber smuggling and also their alleged beatings and abuse of opponents.
The Maoists last year gave up their decade-long armed revolt, which had 
resulted in the deaths of at least 13,000 people. There have been 
allegations of continued violence.
During the insurgency, Maoists were known to frequently threaten, beat and 
even kill journalists who wrote critical reports about them.

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/10/c8f20343-416d-4886-abf8-093aaa9be1c3.html

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Serbs Protest Imposed Reforms, But Is It Smoke Or Fire?
By Patrick Moore

A Bosnian Serb holds a banner saying "Lajcak is a Bosnian Muslim lobbyist" 
at a protest in Pale on October 29
(AFP)

October 30, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- The Bosnian Serbs' parliament voted 
overwhelmingly today to condemn administrative reforms introduced on October 
19 by the international community's high representative as contravening the 
1995 Dayton peace agreements, which ended the 1992-95 conflict in 
Bosnia-Herzegovina. The 12-point parliamentary resolution also called for 
sharply curbing Miroslav Lajcak's powers.

On October 29, the Serbian Movement of Nongovernmental Organizations (Spona) 
organized demonstrations of several thousand people across the Republika 
Srpska, the Bosnian Serb-dominated entity, against the Slovak diplomat's 
reforms. In addition to carefully printed signs, some of the protesters in 
Banja Luka carried portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Lajcak's reforms are aimed at speeding up the decision-making process in the 
Bosnian government and parliament and invigorating the reform effort. The 
measures are also designed to stop politicians from blocking the functioning 
of institutions by not showing up. His move comes shortly before two 
potentially important events: the October 31 meeting of the Peace 
Implementation Council, the large international grouping that oversees 
Bosnia's postwar recovery and which appointed Lajcak; and the publication in 
early November of the EU's latest annual report on Bosnia's progress.

Blocking EU Membership

The high representative introduced the changes in response to the repeated 
failure of Bosnian politicians to agree on police reform, which is the main 
obstacle to launching a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with 
the EU, which has otherwise been ready since 2006. The SAA is the first step 
toward EU membership and the possible easing of visa requirements for travel 
to EU member states, which is of central importance to most ordinary 
Bosnians. Furthermore, many Bosnians see EU membership as essential for 
their country's economic development.

On October 28, Bosnian Muslim, Croat, and Serb leaders agreed in principle 
on a police reform, which would meet EU requirements for a single force, 
financed from the central budget and ostensibly free of political 
interference. Currently, the two entities -- the Republika Srpska and the 
Muslim-Croat federation -- each have their own force, which many consider to 
be successors to the often shadowy security bodies that date from the war 
over a decade ago. Republika Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said on 
October 28 that "we agreed that a reformed police force must reflect the 
constitution. This is an attempt to unblock the process of EU integration." 
After 30 days, the leaders will meet again to discuss constitutional reform 
and the "details" of establishing a "functional, multiethnic, and 
professional police force," as Dodik put it.

But the devil is in those details. At stake are the power relationships 
between the weak central authorities on the one hand and the two entities, 
especially the Republika Srpska, on the other. When the Dayton agreements 
were signed, then-Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic convinced her 
followers that Dayton guaranteed the "sovereignty" of the Republika 
Srpska -- and Bosnian Serb leaders have operated from that premise ever 
since.

The international community and Bosnian Muslim leaders, however, viewed 
Dayton as a stop-gap measure necessary to end the conflict and certainly not 
intended to be permanent. Western and Muslim authorities foresaw the 
evolution of Bosnia into a democratic, multiethnic state with an effective 
central government. Ethnic-Serbian and Croatian politicians feared just such 
a development, because the Muslims are the largest single ethnic group and 
could possibly outvote the others. The Serbs accordingly became suspicious 
of any move that threatened to undercut the sovereignty of their entity, 
while many Croatian leaders sought in vain to replace the federation with 
two distinct entities, one Muslim and one Croatian.

Police reform is central to these power relationships and hence has been so 
difficult to achieve. One model of reform suggested setting up new police 
districts that crossed the boundaries of the two entities. This proved 
anathema to the Serbs, who saw that model as a blow to their sovereignty as 
set down in Dayton. Another question involves defining the multiethnicity of 
the police: is a force multiethnic just because it has a joint overall 
command like the Bosnian military, even though in reality individual units 
and their commanders are still determined on an ethnic basis?

Obstructionism With Russian Backing?

Meanwhile, much attention is centered on Dodik. If Lajcak does not withdraw 
his governmental reforms, which Dodik says will undermine the authority of 
the two entities, Dodik has threatened to withdraw Serbian officials from 
all central institutions and take his Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) 
into the opposition. For his part, Lajcak has suggested that he might use 
his authority to sack Dodik if the Bosnian Serb leader continues to 
obstruct. For the international community, much has indeed changed since 
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said about a decade ago that 
Plavsic and Dodik were "a good ticket" because they were considered a sound 
alternative to politicians loyal to wartime leaders Radovan Karadzic in 
Bosnia and Slobodan Milosevic in Serbia.

Milorad Dodik speaking in Banja Luka on October 29 (AFP)On October 22, Dodik 
and Lajcak held a meeting that seemed to ease tensions. But shortly 
afterwards, the Bosnian Serb leader met in Belgrade with nationalist Serbian 
Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister 
Vladimir Titov, who has acted as Moscow's diplomatic point man in 
obstructing moves toward independence for Kosova. Following that meeting, 
Dodik's rhetoric became tough again. Britain's "The Economist" on October 27 
quoted Lajcak as saying, "They should either stop [threatening to paralyze 
the government] or reveal their real intentions." Meanwhile, Dodik has 
called for Lajcak to go and for his office to be abolished.

Much of the recent discussion hardly seems new. Several informed observers 
from the region told RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service on 
October 29 that Dodik and his followers are displaying familiar 
obstructionist tactics aimed at keeping non-Serbs from having a say in the 
affairs of the Republika Srpska and holding up Bosnia's European 
integration. Eastern Sarajevo's "Dnevni list" of October 30 quoted Rear 
Admiral Hans-Jochen Witthauer, commander of the EU's EUFOR peacekeeping 
force, as saying that "if we look into these problems and events, I believe 
the international community is well advised to keep its hands on the western 
Balkans."

One aspect that seems to be new is the possible Russian factor. Are Titov 
(and the Kremlin) encouraging Kostunica and Dodik to stonewall Western 
diplomatic efforts aimed at promoting the Euro-Atlantic integration of the 
former Yugoslavia? Does Russia have great-power ambitions in the region that 
go beyond nay-saying and obstructionism? What lies behind the appearance of 
the Putin portraits in Banja Luka, which were probably the first pictures of 
a Russian leader carried by demonstrators in former Yugoslavia in decades?

Despite Soviet leader Josef Stalin's expulsion of Yugoslav communist chief 
Josip Broz Tito from the Soviet-led bloc in 1948, many Yugoslavs, 
particularly those from a Serbian Orthodox background, maintained an 
uncritical admiration for Russia that sometimes bordered on awe. This 
complex phenomenon is still present and could provide a political basis for 
expanding Russian influence in much of former Yugoslavia.

It may also be, however, that Dodik's meeting with Titov and the appearance 
of the Putin portraits are simply aimed at providing some psychological 
support for Serbs who consider themselves embattled, even if there is not 
much substance behind the Russian "presence." Reassurance and support are 
part the aura surrounding Russia among many Orthodox of former Yugoslavia. 
According to a 19th-century British joke, an English traveler once asked a 
boastful Montenegrin exactly how many Montenegrins there are. The response 
was: "with the Russians, 120 million."