[Onthebarricades] Miscellaneous protests

Tue Oct 9 14:30:34 PDT 2007

 Various protests and social unrest...

*  NEPAL:  Bomb protest shuts schools
*  NEPAL:  Pogrom victions block roads

*  NEPAL:  Maoists leave camps for protest

*  NEPAL:  Thirteen killed in clashes between Maoists, anti-Maoists

*  INDIA:  Maoists coordinate unrest in Bihar, three killed

*  ALGERIA:  Protest against terrorism - tens of thousands urge peace

*  BRITISH-OCCUPIED IRELAND:  Unrest in Derry against "SS" RUC

*  UK:  Police get comeuppance as woman pelts with objects

*  INDIA:  Unrest after train runs over pilgrims

*  POLAND:  Cod fishermen protest EU ban, demand quota or compensation

*  NIGERIA:  Locals besiege university, demand local appointment

*  INDIA:  Murder victims stage hunger strike, protest over compensation

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/06/asia/AS-GEN-Nepal-Schools-Strike.php

Bomb protest strike shuts schools in Nepal's capital

The Associated Press
Published: September 6, 2007

KATMANDU, Nepal: A student strike to protest bomb blasts that killed two 
high school pupils closed down schools and colleges Thursday in the Nepalese 
capital.
All educational institutes were shut in Katmandu, said the High School 
Students Welfare Council, the student group that organized the strike.
Two of the three people killed in Sunday's three bombings in Katmandu were 
12th grade students at a local school. Twenty people were hurt in the 
blasts.
The student group is also demanding government financial compensation for 
the families of the students killed and improved security around schools.
Police are still investigating the bombings. Three little-known groups 
pushing for more autonomy in Nepal's restive south have claimed 
responsibility for the blasts. Police detained at least eight people, but 
have yet to say if any are suspects.
Ethnic minority groups in the south want greater autonomy, more seats in the 
national legislature, and a guaranteed number of representatives in the 
government.

http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?nid=124467

Kapilvastu riot victims call off highway banda, continue other protests
Kantipur Report
KATHMANDU, Oct 3 - Traffic on the east-west Mahendra Highway resumed 
Wednesday as Kapilvastu riots victims agreed to call of their highway banda.
However, the riot victims said that they would continue their other protest 
programmes until their demands were met.
The highway has been reopened till October 10, said Keshav Pandey, 
coordinator of the struggle committee, adding, all other protest programmes, 
however, will be continued till the demands are met.
The judicial committee formed by the government to probe the incident has 
reached the most affected Chadrauta area today.
In a meeting held today, the committee convinced the victims to call off 
their protest programmes including the highway banda. The meeting was 
attended by representatives of the political parties, local administration 
and locals.
The general strike had grounded all the vehicles plying across Chandrauta in 
the the Mahendra Highway.
Posted on: 2007-10-03 09:01:03 (Server Time)

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jaRWUY4EbRNzOcP_PTAgbbXCDyug

UN protest as Nepal Maoists leave camps
Sep 14, 2007
KATHMANDU (AFP) - Thousands of Nepal's former Maoist rebels briefly left 
their United Nations-monitored camps for a protest Friday, drawing strong 
condemnation from the world body.
Around 5,000 uniformed Maoists left their camps in Nawalparasi for around 
two hours Friday to protest about their conditions and push for integration 
into Nepal's national army, their division commander told AFP.
That was "a serious violation of commitments made in the agreement on the 
management of arms and armed personnel reached between the Maoists and their 
partners in the Interim Government," the UN said in a statement.
About 31,000 people said to be former fighters are confined to 28 camps 
around the country as part of a landmark peace deal reached between the 
government and Maoists late last year.
"We left the camps to put pressure on the government," division commander 
Pratikchhya said from the camps 130 kilometres (80 miles) southwest of 
Kathmandu.
"The government has agreed to give 3,000 rupees (45 dollars) per month to 
each of our fighters but so far we have not received any money. We also want 
integration into the Nepal Army," he said.
Nepal is due in November to elect a body that will rewrite the country's 
constitution and decide its political future, but peace deal violations 
could endanger the holding of the elections, the UN statement said.
"Implementing the commitments in relation to the management of arms and 
armed personnel, without exception, is essential to ... preparing a free and 
fair atmosphere for the Constituent Assembly election," it said.
Nepal's Maoists launched their "people's war" aimed at toppling the monarchy 
and establishing a one-party communist state in 1996.
After the end of the civil war that killed at least 13,000 people, the 
rebels signed a peace deal and have been given seats in parliament and 
ministerial portfolios.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200709191440.htm

Riot toll reaches 13 in Nepal
Kathmandu, Sept. 19 (PTI): The death toll during the three days riots that 
broke following the killing of an anti-Maoist group leader in Nepal rose to 
13 today after seven more bodies were recovered in the district, police 
said.
Curfew was relaxed for four hours today after administration had passed 
shoot at sight orders in the area for the past three days to control the 
situation, in southern Nepal town of Kapilvastu near Lord Buddha's birth 
place.
Property worth millions of rupees was also damaged in the riots that 
followed the killing of Mohit Khan, a former leader of an anti-Maoist group 
by an unidentified group, that sparked clash between the Maoists and 
anti-Maoist groups since Sunday morning.
According to the police, over 100 vehicles were either vandalized or torched 
and over 300 houses in various places were set ablaze by violent groups.
In Chandrauta Bazaar itself, 85 vehicles were torched. Currently, the 
situation has calmed downed in the area.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna/Maoists_run_riot_in_Bihar_kill_three/articleshow/2396385.cms

Maoists run riot in Bihar, kill three
24 Sep 2007, 0259 hrs IST,TNN

PATNA/RANCHI: Maoists killed three persons in Gaya district of Bihar and 
blew up a railway station in Jharkhand on Sunday in a 24-hour bandh called 
by them to protest the arrest of a senior Naxal leader in Patna.

The ultras gunned down three persons including a jawan of the Special 
Auxiliary Police (SAP), the force specially created to combat Maoists in the 
state. A driver and a cleaner were also killed for "violating" the 24-hour 
bandh called by Maoists to protest the arrest of senior Naxal leader Tushar 
Kanti Bhattacharya in Patna recently. The slain policeman has been 
identified as Shankar Singh Baghel from Allahabad (UP).

Soon after the bandh became operative in the zero hour on Sunday, Maoists 
struck in a big way at two places under the Amas and Barachatti police 
station in Gaya district and torched vehicles, including a passenger bus. 
Mercifully, the passengers were allowed to disembark before the vehicle was 
torched. In all six vehicles including a bus were burnt near Amas on the GT 
Road, another eight trucks were torched in the Barachatti area. Gaya SP Amit 
Jain could not be contacted for details.

True to their operational pattern, the ultras retained the element of 
surprise in their operation as the police had apparently not bargained for a 
major offensive on the busy GT Road.

Train services in the Magadh region were also severely affected due to 
sabotage by Maoists near Parasnath in the neighbouring Jharkhand.

Movement of trains remained suspended for more than eight hours following 
the blast and subsequent track dislocation on the Grand Chord section of the 
railways. Several important trains including Rajdhani Express, Mumbai Mail, 
Puri Express and Jodhpur Express skipped Gaya on being diverted through the 
main line via Patna.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_article.php?article_id=87642

Algerians protest against terrorism after suicide attacks
By Hassen Zenati
Agence France-Presse
Last updated 06:52am (Mla time) 09/10/2007
ALGIERS -- Tens of thousands of Algerians protested against terrorism Sunday 
after two suicide bomb attacks in recent days claimed by an Al-Qaeda 
offshoot killed at least 52 people.
Demonstrations were held in Algeria's major cities, including the capital 
Algiers, where participants gathered in a sports arena, displaying banners 
saying "no to violence and crime."
Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem was among politicians attending the 
rally, where speakers denounced suicide attacks as "contrary to the values 
of Islam."
Messages of support poured in from around the world, led by UN Secretary 
General Ban Ki-moon who said he was "deeply shocked and saddened by the 
escalation of terrorist violence in Algeria."
The latest attack occurred Saturday when a blast ripped through a naval 
barracks in the port town of Dellys, 70 kilometers (45 miles) east of 
Algiers.
Most of those killed were members of the coastguard, but the interior 
ministry said three civilians also died and many of the 47 wounded were also 
civilians.
On Thursday, 22 people were killed and more than 100 wounded when a man 
exploded a device in a crowd waiting to meet President Abdelaziz Bouteflika 
in the eastern city of Batna.
It was an apparent assassination attempt against the president but the 
attacker was reportedly discovered by the crowd and set off the bomb before 
Bouteflika arrived.
Political parties, unions and civil society groups called for Sunday's 
protests with the theme: "No to terrorism. Stop instability. Don't touch my 
Algeria."
Islamic militants from Al-Qaeda's self-styled offshoot in north Africa have 
claimed credit for other recent bombings.
The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) has pledged allegiance to 
Osama bin Laden and renamed itself the Al-Qaeda Movement in the Maghreb, 
sparking Western fears of Islamist militants gaining a toehold in north 
Africa from which to launch attacks in Europe and beyond.
The United States denounced the attacks and called them a reminder of the 
threat posed by global extremism.
"We deplore the vicious attacks in Algeria. The attacks are another reminder 
of the terrorist threat faced by freedom-loving people around the world," 
White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said.
The European Union issued a statement saying "terrorism in all its forms 
constitutes one of the most serious threats to peace in the world." The bloc 
reiterated its "support for Algerian efforts to overcome the great 
sufferings of recent years and achieve national reconciliation."
Messages of condolence and condemnations of the attacks also came from 
France, Iran, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Morocco and Spain.
Bouteflika went on television after Thursday's attacks to denounce the 
"criminals" responsible but vowed to pursue his national reconciliation 
policy.
That initiative aims to integrate Islamists who renounce violence that 
rocked the country after the army intervened in 1992 to cancel elections an 
Islamic fundamentalist party was poised to win.
About 2,000 militants have been freed from prison and the authorities say 
about 300 have given themselves up, earning a presidential pardon.
But in April, car bomb attacks on the government headquarters and a police 
station in Algiers killed 33 people and injured more than 220.
Three months later, 10 soldiers were killed and 35 people wounded when a 
suicide bomber rammed a truck full of explosives into barracks at Lakhdaria, 
100 kilometers east of Algiers.
In a separate incident, Algerian security services said they had arrested 
two suspected Islamist militants "as they were preparing an attack" in the 
town of Medea, 80 kilometers south of Algiers.
The pair are part of an armed group that massacred a peasant family in 
September 2004 at nearby El-Hamdania, they said.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/1001/northviolence.html

PSNI defends actions in Derry riot
Monday, 1 October 2007 16:40
The PSNI has rejected claims by Sinn Féin that officers were heavy-handed 
during rioting in Derry city centre during the early hours of yesterday 
morning.
Police said several hundred people were involved in the disturbances and 
that the response was proportionate.
Five PSNI officers and one civilian were injured during the trouble.
However, Sinn Féin said eyewitness reports pointed to events spiralling out 
of control after a large number of police officers intervened in a 
relatively minor scuffle between two individuals.
Foyle MLA Martina Anderson has called for Northern Ireland's Police 
Ombudsman's Office to investigate what happened.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article3033594.ece

Fury as Derry riot footage is posted on the internet
Saturday, October 06, 2007
By Clare Weir
Footage of violent riots in Londonderry are today available to view by 
computer users all over the world after the images were posted on an 
internet website.
The mayor of the city said that the films give "the wrong message" to people 
who may want to visit the North West.
The trouble, early last Sunday, sparked a war of words between Sinn Fein and 
the PSNI.
Five police officers were injured as battles raged along Shipquay Street 
between 2am and 4am. Up to £10,000 worth of media equipment was damaged 
after the rioters targeted a marquee in Guildhall Square set up for a BBC 
roadshow.
The violence cast a shadow over the city's FiddleFest which had attracted 
performers and visitors from all over Ireland.
And now the city's shame is on the internet for all to see, prompting 
criticism from the Mayor and the chief of the local tourism bureau.
One of the videos is entitled: "Derry/ Shipquay street riot Sat night after 
the town".
On the footage, young people can be heard to shout "SS RUC" while a man 
stands in front of a line of riot police shouting: "Come on, you orange 
b*****s!"
In another video, Polish onlookers watch in amazement.
Mayor Drew Thompson said: "This is disturbing and is obviously sending out 
the wrong type of message. People use their mobile phones for all sorts of 
reasons these days, including to film things. But people need to be 
responsible and perhaps it would have been better if this footage was handed 
to the police rather than put on the internet where people could obviously 
get the wrong idea about the city."
Karen Houlahan, marketing manager at Derry Visitor and Convention Bureau, 
said she hoped that the footage or the riots themselves would not deter 
potential visitors.
A spokesman for the Police Ombudsman's office said no complaints had been 
lodged.

http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/fife-free-press-news/Loud-music-parties--and.3179113.jp
[Police get comeuppance - pelted with objects by woman threatened with ASBO. 
The victimization of the difference based on the supposed "greater good" of 
conformists, pursuing persecution instead of conflict resolution, 
necessitates insurrection in everyday life, of which this is an example]
Loud music, parties ... and police in riot gear

Riot police called to house
Banned from returning for three months
A KIRKCALDY woman has been evicted from her Templehall home after her 
extreme anti-social behaviour caused eight months of misery for her 
neighbours.
Fife Police obtained a closure order against Karyn Gray and her partner Mark 
Somerville at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court last Friday, preventing them from 
living at their St Kilda Crescent council house for the next three months.

The order followed months of complaints about the couple's anti-social 
activities which included loud music, late night parties, shouting and 
swearing, intimidation and fighting with weapons.

Just last week police officers attended in riot gear following yet more 
complaints.

PC Ross Laing, of the Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said the trouble began when 
Gray (24) leased the property from Fife Council in January.

Mark Somerville later moved in with her, during which time her behaviour 
worsened.

PC Laing said: "It was obvious that this woman just didn't care that she was 
subjecting her neighbours to months of misery.There were regular incidents 
of loud music, drunken parties, disorder, including fighting with weapons, 
and shouting and swearing.

"Just this week, police officers had to attend
in protective clothing, complete with riot shields. Officers were pelted 
with abuse and objects from a balcony."

Sheriff Paul Arthurson granted a closure order on the property having 
considered representations made on behalf of the Chief Constable.

Sheriff Arthurson heard the couple have moved to East Wemyss and do not plan 
to return to St Kilda Crescent, having already removed most of their 
belongings.

Gray was not present in court.

As a result of the closure order being granted, Fife Council workmen secured 
the property to prevent Gray from gaining entry.

She is barred from living at the address for three months, after which she 
has the option of returning. Fife Police could also apply for an extension 
to the order to a maximum of six months.

Locality manager Mary Siskou said: "We have to think of the greater good of 
the majority of people in the neighbourhood.''
Last Updated: 06 September 2007 10:15 AM

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200709141110.htm

Train runs over 16 pilgrims, riot follows
New Delhi, Sept. 14 (Xinhua): At least 16 pilgrims were run over by a train 
while they were crossing a rail bridge to collect river water for temple 
offering, the PTI reported Friday.
Fellow pilgrims went on the rampage after the accident, carrying out arson 
attacks and violent protests at the Saryu Ghat railway station of Uttar 
Pradesh late Thursday night.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUKL1728381720070917

Polish cod fishermen protest against EU ban
Mon Sep 17, 2007 2:54pm BST

By Malgorzata Rakowiec
GDYNIA, Poland (Reuters) - Polish fishermen staged a protest in their boats 
on Monday to demand the lifting of a European Union ban on fishing for cod 
in the eastern Baltic Sea.
The Commission ordered Poland to halt trawling for cod in the area, saying 
the country had misreported its catch and exceeded its EU quota for the 
threatened species. Monday would have been the first day of the new cod 
fishing season.
Fishermen in northern Poland say the EU ban is depriving them of their 
livelihoods. They want it lifted or compensation paid instead.
"Nothing has been done to help us to survive if we are not allowed to fish 
for cod," said one of more than 200 fishermen involved. They took boats just 
offshore in the protest but did not fish.
The dispute is one of several points of friction between the Poles and the 
EU on the environment. Poland has demanded bigger carbon dioxide emissions 
quotas and is also at odds with Brussels over a planned road through a 
nature reserve.
Large discrepancies between cod catch figures reported to Brussels by Polish 
authorities and those provided by EU inspectors revealed that Poland had 
exhausted its 2007 cod quota for the area, the Commission said.
Scientists have long advised that eastern Baltic cod has been overfished to 
the point where the species might vanish from the area and have recommended 
an outright fishing ban.
Polish Marine Economy Minister Marek Grobarczyk tried to convince the 
European Commission to scrap the ban on Monday, presenting documents he said 
showed stocks of the fish were higher than estimated by the EU executive.
"We are taking action to change the Commission's decision," Grobarczyk told 
reporters after meeting EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg.
The Commission said recently that it would have to cut the amount of cod 
caught by a third in 2007 if the species is to stand a chance of surviving 
after years of overfishing.
(Additional reporting by Marcin Grajewski in Brussels)

http://allafrica.com/stories/200709260522.html

Nigeria: Villagers Besiege Benue Varsity Over VC's Appointment

Daily Trust (Abuja)
26 September 2007
Posted to the web 26 September 2007
Hir Joseph
Makurdi
Dozens of angry villagers Monday besieged the Federal University of 
Agriculture Makurdi (UAM), Benue state, paralyzing academic activities in 
protest over the federal government's refusal to appoint a vice chancellor 
from the area.
Tiv natives from mainly the host community of Mbagwen in Makurdi Local 
Government Area, mostly elderly men, insisted that the federal government 
appoints one of their own, Professor Emmanuel Kucha as the new Vice 
Chancellor.
Professor Kucha was one of the applicants for the job after the tenure of 
the last VC, Professor James Ayatse terminated on September 15, 2006. Since 
then the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo refused to appoint 
a substantive VC to replace Professor Em-manuel Ogunwole who remained in 
acting capacity until the rumoured appointment of Professor Dafwang from the 
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Before the present development, the appointment of a VC was stalled by 
internal problems fueled by petitions and counter petitions by interest 
groups particularly those opposed to the appointment of anyone other than 
Kucha or the other two who were nominated.
The protesters blocked the entrance to the university and chased away both 
academic and non-academic staff, including the acting VC. They, however, 
allowed students into the campus.
It was observed that scores of students and staff were stranded at the SBS 
junction which links the university with the metropolis, where commercial 
buses are boarded. The protesters blocked the road and prevented access to 
the campus and promised never to vacate until their demand was done.
This they remained there from as early as 7am till at about 2pm when anti 
riot policemen were drafted to the scene to forestall further breakdown of 
law and order as well as prevent the protest from escalating. Police 
spokesman, Samuel Jinadu (ASP) told Daily Trust that his men successfully 
contained the protest.
Leader of the protesters, Ukeyima Beetse told newsmen that they donated 
their land for the establishment of the university, but have been denied all 
privileges that should accrue to them as host community.
According to him, they have been deprived of employment even for junior 
cadre jobs normally reserved for indigenes and the trend of deprivation 
heightened during the tenure of Professor James Ayatse, when a few of their 
sons employed as security men were sacked.
They claimed that the Acting VC, Ogunwole has consolidated the practice of 
oppressing them to the extent that even access to water from the University 
is denied them.
At press time efforts to get to the acting Vice Chancellor Professor 
Ogunwolo proved abortive as he was said to have fled with other principal 
officers of the University.
University authorities could not be reached for comments either, as the 
spokesperson, Mrs Rosemary Waku refused to pick calls.

http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14537162

Nithari victims' kin go on protest fast Thursday, 04 October , 2007, 01:42 
Noida: Relatives of the Nithari victims on Wednesday went on a hunger strike 
at a village here protesting the Uttar Pradesh government's alleged laxity 
in providing the promised compensation.
Five members of different families including Pappu Lal, Jhabbu Lal, Ashok 
Kumar and others went on a protest fast alleging that the state government 
was not keeping its promises.
The families of children killed in the Sector 31 house of Moninder Singh 
Pandher by his domestic help Surindra Koli, the two accused in the CBI 
cases, said they were given free plots of land with registry done but the 
sub-registrar's office was now demanding Rs 26,000 in stamp duty.
They also complained that they were yet to be given jobs as promised by the 
state government. 