[Onthebarricades] Global uprisings and unrest, Apr-Aug 2008
Andy
ldxar1 at tesco.net
Wed Aug 27 14:05:03 PDT 2008
ON THE BARRICADES: Global Resistance Roundup, April-August 2008
https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/onthebarricades
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/globalresistance/
* CANADA: Mass unrest in North Montreal over police racism and murder
Police killing sparks a night of looting, shooting and Molotov cocktails
* IRAN: Baloch protesters clash with regime forces
* KASHMIR: Protesters demand investigation of unmarked graves
* NIGERIA: Unrest feared over murder of youth
* SERBIA: Local police chief's car torched
* KUWAIT: Protesters throw stones over ban on tribal elections
* YEMEN: Protesters try to free detainees in the south, one killed
* NIGERIA: Police killing sparks revolt by bus workers in Enugu
* THAILAND: Farmers block roads over rice price, overdue payments
* INDIA: Lawyers torch bus over death in custody
* MALAYSIA: Locals tear down checkpoints in dispute over toll road
* INDIA: Gorkha minority demands separate province, stages strike,
blockades
* INDIA: Police kill farmer in clashes over fertiliser dispute
* FRANCE: Winemakers burn cop cars, trash supermarkets in price protest
* NIGERIA: Soldiers "on the rampage" in protest at unpaid wages
* NIGERIA: Military pensioners block roads in protest over unpaid pensions
* SOMALILAND: Protests and clashes hit separatist regime over water rig
* KASHMIR: Fire at shrine leads to unrest
* PAKISTAN: Armed clashes between police and opponents in Quetta
* EGYPT: Hundreds of Sinai Bedouin protest against arrests, block roads,
burn tyres
* DR CONGO: Unrest in eastern town over rumours of handover to warlord
* FRANCE: Youths torch cars in unrest after murder
* GHANA: Youths besiege police post to free detainees
* GERMANY: Relatives revolt after death in hospital
* ALGERIA: Berbers in clashes with police, Arabs in Oran
* GUINEA: Week-long unrest as soldiers mutiny over prime minister
dismissal, unpaid wages
* UGANDA: Uprising narrowly averted over Kiseka Market
* GERMANY: Dozens injured during Kurdish demonstration
* UGANDA: Taxi drivers strike, revolt over police mistreatment
* NORTHERN IRELAND: Police targeted during uprisings
* INDIA: Bus torched over crash death
* INDIA: Road blockaded over killing
* UK: Insurrection after Notting Hill Carnival - police repression meets
with response
* US: Youths fight back against police persecution at Pocono carnival
* NIGERIA: Unrest after bus crash
* NEW ZEALAND: Youths defy repression, organise underground Undie, battle
police
* BANGLADESH: Political opposition group stages militant protests
* JAMAICA: Estate blockaded in protest at police murder
* INDIA: Police attack power cut protesters blocking roads at Kottakuppam
http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=n081115A
Montreal rioters fire on cops, loot stores to protest police shooting
August 11, 2008 - 7:58
Andy Blatchford, THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL - Propane tank fireballs, Molotov cocktails and gunfire lit up a
Montreal neighbourhood as marauding youth gangs responded to the shooting
death of a young man by police.
The rampage erupted in the city's north end after residents took to the
streets for a community demonstration to protest the police shooting.
Hundreds of officers in full riot gear were still marching through the
Montreal North neighbourhood early Monday morning, trying to bring calm to
the area.
Police said two officers were injured during clashes with the street gangs.
They said one suffered a gunshot wound to the leg.
An ambulance technician was injured when he was hit in the head by a Molotov
cocktail.
The violence started when protesters torched several cars parked outside a
fire station Sunday night in the district.
The rioters then set dozens of fires in the streets and pelted fire trucks
with bottles when firefighters arrived to put them out.
The rampage continued through town before close to 100 people gathered in a
commercial area.
Dozens crawled through the smashed windows of a pawn shop, convenience store
and butcher shop. Most grabbed anything they could.
Men and women of all ages could be seen running down the street clutching
TVs, cigarette cartons and slabs of meat.
A backdrop of three-metre high fireballs from about a dozen flaming propane
tanks illuminated the looters' paths as they headed down the darkened
streets.
An elderly woman carrying her newly acquired stereo laughed with her friend
as they made their escape.
Some looters stood on the sidewalk and watched the action, drinking freshly
swiped beer from the store.
Meanwhile, along the residential streets, riot-squad officers were forced to
dive for cover at least three times, after blasts of what sounded life
gunshots went off around them.
"It was sick," said Patrick Parent, who lives on the street behind the
store.
"I had a guy shoot a gun next to me, that's how bad it was. The guy shot two
shots, I ran home. It was terrifying. This was bad. I never thought I would
see this in my life."
Parent, who has lived in the area for six years, thought he had grown
accustomed to his neighbourhood's gritty reputation.
"Once in a while there will be a gunshot," he said. "Usually it's quiet
though. There's never nothing bad. This is bad.
"I thought I would see this only on TV, never in real life."
The catalyst for the violence was the shooting by police on Saturday of
three people, including an 18-year-old man who died.
The man, identified by his sister as Freddy Alberto Villanueva, died from
his wounds in hospital.
The other two, an 18-and a 20-year-old, were listed in stable condition.
Montreal police say the officers were trying to arrest an individual during
a routine intervention in Henri Bourassa Park when they were surrounded by a
group of about 20 youths.
A few individuals allegedly broke away from the group and rushed the
officers.
According to police, one of the officers then opened fire.
The officers were not injured in the Saturday incident.
Quebec provincial police have taken over the investigation into the
shootings.
Early Monday morning, heavily-armed Quebec provincial police officers
escorted firefighters as they dosed dozens of fires. Police helicopters
surveyed the sector from above.
Police took some people into custody, but could not provide details.
Meanwhile, curious citizens walked the streets, scanning the wreckage of
fallen bus shelters, trashed phone booths and burned-out cars.
"It's crazy," said a shaken Richard Christie, a longtime resident.
"All night you could see explosions."
Christie said he heard three gunshots as he sat on the front porch of his
home.
Photo caption:Montreal police stand guard over a person arrested during
rioting in Montreal early Monday morning. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter McCabe
"A little further down the road there were two fires and the kids were
massacring our town," he said.
"After 30 years in Montreal North, I'm wondering if I should move."
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/aug2008/mont-a20.shtml
Canadian media covers up the social roots of the Montreal riot
By Richard Dufour
20 August 2008
In the wake of the riot that erupted earlier this month in the north end of
Montreal after the police shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old immigrant from
Honduras, the big business media are trying to whitewash the killing and
cover up the social roots of the underlying repression of minority youth.
André Pratte, chief editor of the Montreal daily La Presse, commented
Saturday "no one can say today whether the police officers committed a
tragic blunder or if they were acting in legitimate self-defense." A few
days earlier, an editorial in the Toronto Globe and Mail asserted, "The
circumstances around the fatal shooting ... remain murky."
Those claims fly in the face of the eyewitness accounts of the fatal event,
all of which paint a clear, consistent picture of what took place.
The evening of the shooting, Fredy Villanueva was playing dice in a public
park with his brother Dany Villanueva and some friends when they were
approached by two Montreal police agents, who proceeded to arrest Dany for
no apparent reason. When Fredy protested the arbitrary arrest of his
brother, one of the cops drew out his gun and fired four shots, killing
Fredy and injuring two of his friends, Denis Méas and Jeffrey Sagor
Metellus.
Hours after the shooting, police spokesmen began circulating a totally
different version of the events, claiming the two officers were surrendered
by up to twenty people. "At a certain point," according to a police press
release, "a great number of individuals rushed toward the police agents and
attacked them. One of the police agents then opened fire toward the
suspects, hitting three of them."
Samuel Meideiros, 18, was skateboarding nearby when he saw the police pair
approach the group of youth. "I don't know what ran through the mind of the
police agents, but it is really unfair," he said. "They were six. One can't
know for sure what the young man could have done or said, but it doesn't
matter. They were not twenty, and they didn't grab the police agents."
Claude Laguerre, one of the young people involved in the incident, told the
Montreal Gazette that no one in the group was armed nor made physical
contact with the police agents. "We were six guys and two girls. We
approached, but we didn't touch them." Laguerre said the officers became
aggressive within thirty seconds of getting out of their car. "They didn't
ask (our) names, they just got aggressive," said Laguerre, who said the
policeman fired without any warning. He added that after the police agent
shot, he continued to point his gun at the group.
In a TV interview, Dany Villanueva gave a detailed account of the police
killing of his brother. "There was a game of dice. We were having fun,
myself, my brother and his friends ... A police car emerged behind us. We
were in the middle [of the park], we moved back. The police agent came right
at me and told me: 'I saw you play dice, come here'. He wanted to arrest
me... I had initially maintained a distance from him, then I got closer. He
grabbed my hand, he wanted to handcuff me. I said, 'Why are you doing this?
I didn't do anything wrong.' He was pressing hard. At a certain point, my
arm began to hurt. I was also struggling to straighten up my arm. The other
police agent came and they threw me on the hood of the car. I managed to get
up. The police agent took me by the neck and tripped me up. It's at this
point that my brother came. He said, 'What are you doing, let go of my
brother. Why are you doing this?' And then, I just heard gun shots. I saw my
brother down on the ground."
Government officials have refused to call a public inquiry on the police
shooting of Fredy Villanueva and no disciplinary action has been taken
against the police agents responsible for his death. A bogus internal
investigation was handed over to the provincial police force, the Sûreté du
Québec. Its aim is to whitewash the two Montreal cops involved and the city's
police force as a whole. "I don't even know what progress the investigation
has made, what is going on, nothing," said Patricia Villanueva, the sister
of the young victim and spokesperson for the family.
There is also an attempt by the ruling establishment to deny any connection
between the fatal police shooting of the Latino teenager and the on-going
police harassment of minority youth.
In the aforementioned La Presse editorial, Prate goes out of his way to
reassure his readers that "absolutely nothing indicates that Montreal's
police agents are a pack of racist thugs." The latter phrase is an apt one.
"The relationship between young men and the police in these hot areas is
very difficult," Maria Mourani, a sociologist and Bloc Quebecois MNA,
commented to the Gazette August 12. "If you are male, a member of a visible
minority and drive a sports car, you can be targeted," Mourani said. "One
youth told me he was stopped 10 times in one day. That is a lot and I think
the young people are fed up."
This is particularly the case-and has been for years-in the heavily
immigrant neighborhood of Montreal-North, nicknamed "the Bronx," where Fredy
Villanueva was killed. The area has highly concentrated pockets of poverty
and all the associated social problems, including gang and drug-related
violence. These problems are coupled with police repression and
criminalization of the population.
Jacques Hébert, a professor of social work at Montreal's UQAM university,
said of the area: "A study I co-directed in 1996 to understand the social
trajectory of young Haitians living in this neighborhood found that a
majority of them had been 'aggressively' called over by police agents during
routine checks. The term most frequently used by law-enforcement officers
was the word 'nigger'."
In a similar observation, Pierreson Vaval, a youth-group leader in the
Montreal-North neighborhood, told the press of youth "in revolt because they
don't like the way they are being treated. They don't like how authorities
interact with them."
This remark was singled out for condemnation in the aforementioned Globe and
Mail editorial as an attempt to "dignify the stealing of meat from small
butcher shops or the burning of cars as an expression of oppressed youth."
The mouthpiece of Canada's financial establishment wants no examination of
the social roots of last week's riot in the north end of Montreal because of
what would be exposed: mounting police brutality and racism as the response
of a ruling class that has no progressive solution to the acute social ills
generated by its profit-based system.
Statistics for the Montreal-North neighborhood are staggering in that
regard: 40 percent of its 85,000 inhabitants live below the official poverty
line, double the provincial rate; 46 percent of its tenants spend about a
third or more of their income on rent, as opposed to 35 percent in the city
as a whole; the unemployment rate is 12 percent, as opposed to 8 percent in
the province; and among those aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate jumps to
16 percent, as opposed to 13 percent in the province.
Marie Manseau, a teacher at a primary school attended mostly by
Montreal-North pupils, described to La Presse the social process through
which poor children are being denied a future. "It's normal that things boil
over when so many kids lack goals and occupations. They must be motivated by
engaging them in activities. It's impressive to see how one can revive the
flame thanks to a school journal, a theater piece or a visit to the museum.
Unfortunately, the budgets are never there and, with the [education] reform,
artistic-oriented activities were slashed. Half of the professionals lost
their jobs."
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080818/national/mtl_riot
Montreal police say 35 arrested following Montreal North riot
Module body
Mon Aug 18, 6:15 PM
MONTREAL - Thirty-five people have been arrested by Montreal police as part
of their investigation into a riot last weekend following the fatal police
shooting of a teenage boy.
Montreal police Chief Yvan Delorme said Monday that security has also been
beefed up at the station serving Montreal North, where the riot happened.
Security cameras have been installed around the building along with other
measures Delorme wouldn't describe. He said an additional 30 officers have
been assigned to the station, which is in what police are calling a hot
zone.
Police have released pictures of numerous people caught on security cameras
during the riot and gotten tips from the public. The tactic also proved
fruitful during the Stanley Cup riot downtown earlier this year.
Montreal North erupted into a riot last Sunday during a demonstration to
protest the police shooting of 18-year-old Fredy Villanueva, who was killed
last Saturday as police moved in on a group of men in a local park.
Villanueva was shot three times and bled to death.
Under provincial policy, the investigation of the shooting was turned over
to Quebec provincial police, who say they have interviewed 70 witnesses.
They say they expect to turn the file over to a Crown prosecutor soon to
determine if charges will be laid.
Delorme also said efforts have been made to reach out to the Montreal North
community in the wake of the riot.
In his briefing, Delorme insisted that Montreal remains a safe city and
pointed out that the level of youth crime is below the Quebec and Canadian
average.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080812/Montreal_riots_080812/20080812?hub=Canada
Inquiry into teen's death will be 'fair': Que. police
Updated Tue. Aug. 12 2008 8:02 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Quebec provincial police say that their criminal investigation into the
police shooting of an 18-year-old in Montreal will be public and will
establish who was "responsible" for the incident.
Freddy Alberto Villanueva's death sparked riots Sunday in the northern
Montreal community where the shooting occurred. He was shot by a Montreal
police officer during a confrontation Saturday night.
Anti-racism groups have been calling for a public inquiry into the shooting,
amid appeals from the police and government officials for calm in the
community.
In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Lt. Francois Dore of the Quebec
provincial police said in French, "We trust that we will do this inquiry
well."
"The goal of a criminal investigation is to establish responsibility, if
there is, of each and every one (involved) -- which is not the goal of a
public inquiry," he added in English.
He said that the conclusion of the investigation will be made public and
there will be regular communications from the provincial force on the
matter.
"The investigation will be complete, will be impartial . . . (it) will be a
fair investigation," Dore said in response to a question about political
pressure on the case.
He said that more than 30 witnesses have been interviewed so far and police
have met with the family of the victim.
"We can feel the confidence between them and us," he said.
Dore said the investigation should be complete in eight to 10 weeks.
New information on officers involved
The fatality occurred when police attempted to arrest an individual at a
city park in north Montreal Saturday night. Police said two officers were
conducting what appeared to be a routine intervention.
When the officers got out of their vehicle, Montreal police said that they
were surrounded by a group of youth, who then rushed the officers.
The officers -- one female, one male -- were both white.
Dore confirmed that four shots were fired by a single officer, one which
killed Villaneuva. Two others were injured and are still in hospital.
Both officers are now on sick leave.
He said that neither officer has been questioned by Quebec police yet, which
he said was normal for an investigation. But he did say they would be
interviewed within a "few days."
Dore refused to give any information on the officers involved, saying that
it would "contaminate" the investigation.
Montreal police have dismissed criticism that its officers had other
alternatives than to use lethal force.
"The ideology of Hollywood movies is that you can take on eight people with
martial arts courses and that everyone can be neutralized just like that --
it's not that easy," Chief Insp. Paul Chablo told CTV Montreal.
Some residents of the community feel the shooting incident erupted amid
heightened racial tensions between police and community members in the area,
which is troubled with high unemployment, a lack of education and poverty.
Pierreson Vaval, who heads a youth group in the city's north end, told The
Canadian Press the community members are in revolt because they don't like
the way they are being treated by authorities.
Public inquiry wanted
A public inquiry would allow witnesses to testify, said a spokesperson for
the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations.
"The advantage of a public inquiry is that it will look for the motives that
feed this hatred of the police system," lawyer Jacky-Eric Salvant told a
news conference.
"The other advantage of a public inquiry is that we will be able to analyze
the intervention methods of police."
Minister of Public Security, Jacques Depuis, told CTV Montreal that he has
met with community groups and leaders, and that he wants people to stop
taking violent action to make their point.
"Police (are) doing work that is not easy," Depuis said.
The police wants a good relationship with the community but also has to be
able to fight crime, he said.
"They are well-inclined to keep a peaceful atmosphere, to keep an open
communication...with the communities, and the population should have
confidence in the police department."
One Montreal radio host says many of his callers continued to express anger
and resentment at a police force they say has been harassing them for too
long.
"This is not only about gang street members, it's about ordinary citizens
who live peacefully in Montreal North," Jean Fils-Aime, CPAM radio host told
Canada AM Tuesday. "Whenever police see a black man or just see a young man,
police will stop him and try to get information from them and arrest them."
With files from CTV Montreal
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/montreal-riots-whats-root-cause-all
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=716369
Montreal Riots: What's the root Cause in All this?
by Barry Artiste | August 11, 2008 at 09:12 pm
What's the root of the Montreal riots?
Canwest News Service Published: Monday, August 11, 2008
Photo Inset, By John Morstad/Canwest News Service A propane tanks shoot
flames during rioting in Montreal, following the earlier shooting of Fredy
Villanueva by a Montreal police officer.
MONTREAL - As it appealed for calm after a Sunday night riot sparked by the
police shooting death of a teen, the Montreal police force's track record on
race relations came into sharp focus on Monday.
The force says the problems are mostly gang-related, but community leaders
say the problems go deeper than that. "The relationship between young men
and the police in these (hot) areas is very difficult," said Maria Mourani,
a sociologist and Bloc Quebecois MNA who wrote a book about street-gang life
in Montreal.
"The police are on edge because when they get out of their cars they don't
know what is going to happen. The young people are on edge because they feel
they are being harassed.
" Much of the tension stems from what young people say is racial profiling
by police officers who are trying to crack down on street-gang activity.
But in doing that, community leaders say police are harassing too many black
and Latino youths with no ties to street gangs and with no criminal record.
"If you are male, a member of a visible minority and drive a sports car, you
can be targeted,
" Ms. Mourani said Monday. "One youth told me he was stopped 10 times in one
day.
That is a lot and I think the young people are fed up."
http://www.ncr-iran.org/content/view/5269/128/
Iranian Resistance calls for salvage of detained protesters in Zahedan
Thursday, 12 June 2008
NCRI - Following demonstrations and clashes which started last Sunday
between the Iranian regime's suppressive forces and angry residents in
Zahedan, provincial capital of Sistan-Baluchistan in southeast Iran, a large
number of people were arrested. Among the detainees there are many young
people whose whereabouts and state remain unknown.
The reason behind the angry protest and demonstration, which the regime is
trying to blame on division between Sunnis and Shiites, is the brutal
repression of the deprived people in the province and specially the cruel
discrimination against the Sunnis.
During the protests, the angry crowd attacked suppressive agents of the
State Security Forces (SSF) and set fire to their vehicles. They also
blocked the streets by setting fire to tires. The SSF agents and the
Revolutionary Guards anti-riot special units attacked the protesters by
firing into the crowd, throwing tear gas and beating them by batons.
To control the riots, the SSF and special units have been stationed in
different parts of the city and an undeclared martial law is in force in
Zahedan.
The Iranian Resistance calls on all human rights organizations, advocates of
freedom of belief and religion as well as the relevant UN rapporteurs and
competent bodies to condemn the systematic suppression prevailing in
Sistan-Baluchistan. It also calls for urgent actions to free detained
protesters in Zahedan.
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=140069
Hundreds of Kashmir protesters clash with police, demand investigation of
unmarked graves
Hundreds of protesters clashed with police Friday in Indian Kashmir,
demanding an investigation into the recent discovery of more than 900
unmarked graves as India's prime minister visited the troubled territory.
At least 10 policemen were injured _ three critically _ as protesters threw
rocks, said local police officer Pervez Ahmed. It was not immediately known
if any protesters were hurt.
Police fired tear gas and used bamboo batons to disperse the protesters,
Ahmed said.
Mirwaiz Omer Farooq, the chief Muslim cleric and chairman of the main
separatist alliance in the Indian-controlled section of divided Kashmir, led
a vehicle convoy of nearly 2,000 protesters to hand over a petition to the
U.N. office in the territory's main city, Srinagar. The petition called for
an investigation into alleged human rights violations by Indian authorities
amid the territory's separatist conflict.
During a sermon he preached at a mosque before the protest Friday, Farooq
demanded an investigation into the unmarked graves, believed to be those of
people killed by India's security forces during the territory's nearly
two-decade uprising against Indian rule.
Farooq was detained at a police station later Friday, another police officer
said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to
media.
About a dozen militant groups have been fighting since 1989 for
Muslim-majority Kashmir's independence from mostly Hindu India or a union
with predominantly Muslim Pakistan. The territory is divided between India
and Pakistan, which both claim it all and fought two wars over it.
Four senior leaders of Indian Kashmir's main separatist alliance were placed
under house arrest hours before Friday's protests, said police officer
Shabir Ahmed.
He had said that they were detained as a preventive measure because police
anticipated law and order problems during Indian Prime Minister's Manmohan
Singh's trip to Kashmir.
Last month, the Association of Parents of Disappeared People, an Indian
Kashmir rights group, issued a report saying it found 940 unmarked graves
near Uri, one of Kashmir's most violent areas. Uri is near the Line of
Control, the de facto frontier that divides the parts of Kashmir controlled
by India and Pakistan.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804210487.html
Nigeria: Tension As Youths Protest Killing of Student
This Day (Lagos)
21 April 2008
Posted to the web 21 April 2008
Toba Suleiman
Ado-Ekiti
Tension is mounting in the Odo-Oro area of Ekiti State as angry youths in
the town are protesting the gruesome murder of one Polytechnic student, Dele
Awogbemi by people suspected to be hired cultists.
The youths under the agies of Odo-Oro Ekiti Patriotic Front (OOEPF), have
sent a Save Our Soul (SOS) message to the Inspector-General of Police (IG),
Mr Mike Okiro, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Yomi Onashile and other
well-meaning indigenes of the state to intervene in the crisis that is daily
assuming a dangerous dimension.
The incident, which occured on April 5 during the installation of one Chief
Victor Onipede as the new Alara of Odo-Oro Ekiti has continued to generate
serious unrest among the youths, who now dress in black attire to mourn the
gruesome murder of one them.
Until his death, Awogbemi, was a 26-year old ND 11, Accountancy student of
Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja.
Briefing the press at the weekend in Ado-Ekiti, leader of the Front, Mr Suyi
Ayodele said trouble started following a misunderstanding during which
Awogbemi was beaten to a state of unconsciousness and later matcheted
severally on his body, before he was later rushed to the nearby Ikole-Ekiti,
general hospital, where he later died the following day.
As the news of the death of Awogbemi filtered into the town the following
Monday, youths in their multitude mobilized themselves, and matched to the
palace of the monarch of the community, the Onise of Odo-Oro, Oba Ibiloye
Ogunsakin Oyegbadebo, to register their grievances.
The state Police boss, Mr Onashile confirmed the incident, saying his
command is on the trail of those alleged to have had a hand in the gruesome
murder of the student.
https://xs4.b92.net/eng/news/in_focus.php?id=119
Novi Pazar police chief's car set alight
3 August 2008
The Novi Pazar MUP traffic police chief's car was set on fire this morning,
reports say.
The vehicle belonging to Enes Dakovic, parked close to his family home in
the largest Sandzak town, burned completely.
"Police directorate is undertaking all necessary measures in order to find
the perpetrators," local MUP directorate chief Dragan Terzic told
journalists on Sunday.
http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=w050455A
Kuwaitis protest crackdown on illegal tribal parliamentary election
primaries
May 4, 2008 - 16:50
Diana Elias, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KUWAIT CITY - Thousands of Kuwaitis have demonstrated against a government
crackdown on illegal tribal primaries, with some of them throwing stones at
a security building before storming it, the Interior Ministry said Sunday.
The confrontation Saturday evening was the third between authorities and
tribesman over the banned parliamentary primaries since Kuwait's leader
dissolved the legislature in March and ordered early elections on May 17.
No injuries have been reported from any of the protests.
The crowd of several thousand gathered in front of a security building south
of Kuwait City on Saturday, demanding the release of members of the Mutair
tribe arrested for carrying out the primaries, the Interior Ministry said in
a statement.
"There were mobs among them who pelted stones at the building, breaking the
glass of its facade, and some of them stormed it," said the statement.
Officials called in special forces, but tribal elders were able to mediate
the confrontation before they were used, it added.
Kuwait criminalized the primaries in 1998 because authorities believe they
encourage allegiance to tribes rather than the state. Most Kuwaitis come
from tightly nit Bedouin tribes.
The state argues that the primaries also deprive many Kuwaitis from having a
fair chance to compete in a district if they are not supported by the local
tribe.
However, tribes insist they have the right to choose whom to field in the
parliamentary elections. The government has detained scores of people for
taking part in the primaries.
The tribes have been trying to get around the crackdown by holding votes in
secret or by calling them "consultations" instead of actual primaries.
Also Sunday, the Interior Ministry warned foreigners in a separate statement
against demonstrating and threatened to deport any of them who organize
protests.
Many Asian labourers have held sit-ins in recent weeks to protest nonpayment
of salaries. Some two-thirds of Kuwait's population of over 3 million are
foreign workers. Unskilled labourers, mostly from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka,
often complain of lack of payment and poor living conditions.
Kuwaiti law gives the interior minister the right to deport any foreign
resident believed to be a threat to security.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1402548.php/Protester_killed_in_clash_with_police_in_southern_Yemen
Protester killed in clash with police in southern Yemen
Apr 29, 2008, 13:40 GMT
Sana'a, Yemen - A protester was killed in a clash between police forces and
protesters trying to free detained opposition activists in the southern
Yemeni province of Lahj on Tuesday, witnesses said.
They said the clash broke out after dozens of armed protesters stormed into
a detention centre in the Habeel Jabre twon of Lahj, some 300 kilometres
from the capital Sana'a.
Another protester and two police officers were injured in the clash, they
said.
The detained activists were among dozens of people arrested after violent
protests in several southern cities in the past three weeks by disgruntled
youths demanding army jobs.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200805160572.html
Nigeria: Protest As Police Kill Bus Conductor
This Day (Lagos)
16 May 2008
Posted to the web 16 May 2008
Francis Ugwoke
Enugu
The serene environment of the coal city, Enugu, yesterday erupted in a riot
as transporters protested the killing of a bus conductor by the Police.
The conductor who was simply identified as Obiajulu in his twenties met his
untimely death from a stray bullet said to have been fired by policemen who
were chasing hoodlums at a notorious hideout somewhere in Obiagu.
Obiajulu, according to an eye witness was standing on the road side on
Wednesday night when the stray bullet from the Police who were said to have
fired into the air apparently to scare the hoodlums hit him on the waist.
Following the incident, it was gathered that the bus drivers organized
themselves as a group to protest the killing.
Our source said that the police team who killed the bus conductor had
attempted to take his corpse but was stopped by the protesters who blocked
the road to stop movement of vehicles.
The police team had on noticing the mounting tension mobilized more officers
to ensure that the protesters did not go beyond Obiagu.
It was gathered that the aggrieved relations of the late conductor took his
corpse to the mortuary late Wednesday night.
However, drivers and conductors regrouped early yesterday morning to
continue the protest, a development that made movement in the city
difficult.
In a bid to ensure that the protest was not hijacked by miscreants to cause
serious mayhem in the city, the Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Suleiman
Fakai was forced to come to the scene to pacify the relatives of the
deceased and the commercial bus drivers and conductors.
Fakai who admitted that it was a mistake from the Police urged the
protesters not to take the laws into their hands.
He promised that the Police were carrying out full investigation into the
matter, and will bring to book the officers responsible for the killing.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30072877
Chiang Rai farmers protest
Chiang Rai - More than 1,000 farmers blocked main roads in this northern
province Monday in protest against the falling price of their crop.
According to the protesters, middlemen had now agreed to buy the unmilled
rice at just Bt9,600 per tonne. Last year, the price was at Bt10,000 per
tonne.
"The cost of growing rice has risen. How can our crop get less money than
before? Rice can be exported," Banyat Thongdeenok, 54, said.
He was among the protesters demanding that Chiang Rai Governor Traisit
Limsomboonthong help raise the issue with Commerce Minister Mingkwan
Sangsuwan or relevant officials.
The Nation
http://www.mathaba.net/rss/?x=593256
Thailand: Chiang Rai farmers protest for second day
Posted: 2008/05/25
From: MNN
Farmers in the northern province of Chiang Rai have blocked more main roads
on the second consecutive day of their protest against the low price they
are paid for the sticky rice they produce.
The demonstrators called on the government to guarantee glutinous rice at a
price of eight baht per kilogramme as it earlier promised.
The protesters blocked three roads including a highway. Motorists heading to
Bangkok are advised to use Chiang Rai-Toeng road to bypass the area and
avoid traffic congestion.
The protesters said they will not disperse unless the government enforces
their bid to have millers buy their glutinous rice paddy at the earlier
guaranteed price. The farmers also plan to block more main roads to paralyse
the traffic in an attempt to pressure the government. (TNA)
http://www.bangkokpost.com/260608_News/26Jun2008_news13.php
Protesting farmers block road
THEERAWAT KHAMTHITA
About 300 rice farmers blocked the Chiang Mai-Phrao road in Chiang Mai's San
Sai district yesterday to demand overdue payments worth 16 million baht from
millers who bought their rice last month. The farmers from San Sai, Mae Rim,
Mae Taeng and Phrao districts set up tents occupying one lane of the road.
They demanded millers and state agencies pay the outstanding amount.
The farmers sold their unhusked rice to the millers at a
government-guaranteed price. The rice stock is kept at mills selected by the
government.
Some millers, however, were late making their payment, claiming they had
difficulty securing loans from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural
Cooperatives (BAAC) to pay the farmers.
This is their second time out on the roads. Earlier protests by the farmers
in Chiang Mai were called off after they were promised prompt payments.
But the millers fell behind on payments again this week, so the farmers
renewed their protest.
They say they will stay put until they get paid. They also plan to file
complaints with police.
Another group of rice farmers rallied in front of the BAAC's Chiang Mai
branch, urging the bank to grant them loans.
The farmers said their rally would grow if the bank ignored their request.
They did not benefit from the recent surge in rice prices, they said.
In neighbouring Chiang Rai, about 10 rice farmers have filed a complaint
with Crime Suppression Division police in Bangkok, about overdue payments
worth 35 million baht, allegedly owed to farmers by Pichet Tonitiwong, owner
of the Siripinyo rice mill.
The Chachoengsao-based mill set up points to buy rice from the Chiang Rai
farmers.
Farmer Weerapol Somsripaeng said the miller had bought rice worth about 40
million baht from over 4,000 farmers in Chiang Rai but had paid only five
million baht to them.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/13/asia/AS-GEN-India-Prison-Death.php
Angry lawyers in northern India torch bus in protest after colleague's death
in custody
The Associated Press
Published: May 13, 2008
LUCKNOW, India: Hundreds of angry lawyers in northern India torched a bus
and damaged other vehicles after a lawyer serving time for contempt of court
died in custody Tuesday.
S.K. Awasthi, 45, was sentenced to serve one month in prison for contempt of
court by a judge in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh state. He died in a state-run
hospital after serving 10 days in prison, local police officer Piyush
Srivastav said.
Awasthi complained about feeling unwell Monday night and was taken to the
hospital by jail officials, Srivastav said. He gave no other details.
A representative of the Allahabad Bar Association told The Associated Press,
however, the lawyers believe Awasthi was beaten in prison and that is what
caused his death.
"That's why he fell unconscious and died without gaining consciousness,"
lawyer Chotey Lal Pandey said.
Angry lawyers took to the streets, setting fire to one bus and damaging two
others, Srivastav said.
The lawyers demanded that Awasthi's family be compensated and that the state
government investigate his death, Pandey said.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/10/nation/21212228&sec=nation
Saturday May 10, 2008
IGP sounds warning after protest over Cheras access road turns ugly
PETALING JAYA: Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said there
should be no mob rule in this country.
He said police would act against those who organised or incited residents to
break the law by gathering illegally and demonstrating.
He was commenting on the protest by about 1,000 demonstrators at Bandar
Mahkota, Cheras, against a barricade at a traffic-light junction leading to
the area on Thursday night. The residents have twice brought down the
barricade.
The demonstration turned ugly at about 10.30pm and police had to fire water
cannons and tear gas to control the crowd.
Unsafe driving: Drivers using the access road after the barricade was
brought down a second time by irate residents.
"We are concerned as the toll-free access road has yet to be gazetted. If
there is an accident, we will not be able to investigate and motorists will
have to file a civil suit for compensation," he said.
"To me, all parties concerned should sit down and find an amicable solution
without resorting to mob rule. They should go to the courts and fight for
their rights, instead of damaging property and inconveniencing other
motorists and residents."
Police arrested four people after the demonstration. During the commotion,
Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng was allegedly assaulted and later warded at the
Selayang hospital.
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/5/10/central/21207929&sec=central
Saturday May 10, 2008
Folks have the right to use access road without paying toll, says Khalid
By WANI MUTHIAH and GEETHA KRISHNAN
SELANGOR Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said the state government will
be holding a meeting with Cheras-Kajang Highway concessionaire Grand Saga
Sdn Bhd and the Federal Government next week.
He said the meeting was to find a solution for the tussle between the
concessionaire and Bandar Mahkota Cheras residents over the barricade
erected by the former on the toll-free access road belonging to the Selangor
government.
"We understand the problem as well as the plight of the people and will seek
a quick solution,'' said Khalid when met by Bandar Mahkota Cheras residents
at the state secretariat building yesterday.
All ears: Liu (left) explaining the situation to Khalid at the SUK building
in Shah Alam as Ean Yong (second from right) and Tan (right) look on.
He said the residents had the right to use the access road without having to
pay toll but added that the problem could only be settled when all relevant
parties had discussed the matter.
The residents arrived at the secretariat building yesterday at about 11am in
a chartered bus and five cars to hand over a memorandum to Khalid. It was
received by the his special duties assistant Mohd Yahya Sahri.
The crowd was also met by state executive councillors Ronnie Liu and Ean
Yong Hean Wah.
Liu, who met reporters after speaking to the residents, said the
concessionaire did not have the right to barricade the access road as it
belonged to the state government.
He lambasted the police for taking sides and said that the police should
maintain law and order instead of manhandling the residents on behalf of the
concessionaire.
Under control: Bandar Mahkota Cheras residents watching the site in case
Grand Saga blocks the road again.
"We have all the proof to show that the land belongs to the state government
and we have informed the police about this but the police, which is under
the control of the Federal Government, is not paying heed,'' said Liu.
He added that he had spoken to the Selangor CPO Deputy Comm Datuk Khalid Abu
Bakar over the phone but the latter had remained stubborn.
More than 100 policemen, including personnel from the Light Strike Force and
the Federal Reserve Unit, were dispatched to the area on Thursday when the
residents held a demonstration to protest against Grand Saga Sdn Bhd.
Police personnel fired water cannons several times to ward off the
protestors who were riding motorcycles and speeding towards the police
barricades.
Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng was allegedly assaulted when he pulled the plug of a
generator before standing in front of a water cannon to prevent the police
from aiming it at the crowd. He is presently recovering at the Selayang
Hospital.
"The police must be neutral and not help Grand Saga Sdn Bhd put up the
barricade. Since when did the police force go into construction?'' asked
Liu.
He said that he would be speaking to Khalid as well as state legal adviser
Datin Paduka Zauyah Be T. Loth Khan to see what action could be taken
against the concessionaire.
Liu said the residents also had the right to seek an injunction against the
concessionaire as well as seek damages from it through legal recourse.
Bandar Mahkota Cheras residents had been maintaining a 24-hour vigil at the
crossroads where the concrete barricade put up by Grand Saga was first
dismantled on April 21.
But the tents and garden chairs which residents used while keeping an eye on
the road were no longer there on Friday morning. Also missing were
self-appointed traffic marshalls who helped to ensure the traffic situation
was under control since the traffic lights were not synchronised.
Although small groups of residents were present at the site, the crowd was
not as big as the 1,000-odd people who converged on Thursday night where
four people including the Bandar Mahkota Cheras Open Access Road Committee
chairman Tan Boon Wah were arrested.
To-date, Grand Saga has re-built the barricade twice and on both occasions,
residents had broken down the barrier.
"They can keep building the barricade but we will keep destroying it," said
Tan when contacted.
He was released from police custody after a few hours.
With the highway concessionaire and the Selangor state government claiming
right of way, the issue is still far from being settled.
One resident, Suraya Haris Ong, said authorities should also view the
socio-economic impact on the township with low rentals and vacant shoplots
since the barricade was put up in 2005.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20080612-0712-india-darjeeling-.html
Strike hits tea, tourism in India's Darjeeling hills
By Sujoy Dhar
REUTERS
7:12 a.m. June 12, 2008
KOLKATA, India - Protesters clashed with police in India's rolling
Darjeeling hills on Thursday as a strike over demands for a separate state
hit the region's tea and tourism industries, police and officials said.
Gorkhas, who are ethnic Nepalis, demand a separate 'Gorkhaland' be carved
out of the eastern state of West Bengal to protect their culture and
heritage.
Supporters of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Gorkha People's Liberation Front)
urged tourists to leave the hills, a popular destination as temperatures
soar on the plains below, to avoid getting caught up in the protests.
They have eased a ban on tourist buses for two days.
In the foothills to the south near the town of Siliguri, supporters of the
ruling communist government of West Bengal said tourists had been beaten up
by Gorkhas.
They called a parallel strike, blocked roads heading north and ransacked
Nepali homes, officials and a Reuters photographer said.
'The communist government in the state is trying to starve us by cutting
supplies,' said Bimal Gurung, who is leading the Gorkha agitation.
'We will not back out from our demands and our agitation will continue
peacefully.'
Ethnic Nepalis were singled out and police used batons and tear gas to
contain clashes in which dozens of people were injured, police said.
'The Gorkhas were chased away by the Bengali speaking people from the plains
who are opposed to the statehood (demand),' K.L. Tamta, a senior police
officer said.
The violence has badly hit another mainstay of the local economy, the
region's vast tea gardens which ship highly-prized and fragrant brews around
the world.
'This is the best time to pluck the high quality leaves, but the strike has
hit us hard and we are losing 20 million rupees ($470,000) a day,' Rajiv
Lochan, secretary of the Siliguri Tea Traders' Association, told Reuters.
At least 1,200 people died in the first Gorkhaland campaign in the 1980s,
but protests ended a few years later after Gorkha leaders accepted limited
autonomy.
Tour operators have warned tourists to avoid Darjeeling for the time being.
(Additional reporting by Debiprasad Nayak in Mumbai and Rupak De Chowdhury
in Siliguri; Editing by Bappa Majumdar and Mark Williams)
http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php?sid=369970
Eight tourists hurt in attack by West Bengal protesters
IANS Thursday 12th June, 2008
A group of Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) activists Thursday attacked a
tourist vehicle and injured eight people in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri
district.
'A tourist vehicle was attacked by some GJM activists who entered Dooars
area from Kalimpong sub-division (of Darjeeling district). The local people
chased away the GJM supporters. While escaping, they came across a vehicle
carrying tourists from Darjeeling and they vented their ire on the
passengers,' West Bengal Inspector General (North Bengal) K.L. Tamta told
IANS.
He said: 'The incident took place near Khunia in Dooars. Eight tourists
received minor injuries in the attack.'
Tourists continued to have a harrowing time in the Darjeeling hills as
transport kept off the roads and food became scarce.
Shops, markets and government offices remained closed and normal life came
to a standstill as the three hill sub-divisions - Darjeeling, Kurseong and
Kalimpong - and some portions of Dooars continued an indefinite shutdown
since Tuesday morning.
Thousands of tourists were stranded in Sikkim Wednesday as the National
Highway No. 31-A, linking the state with the nearest railhead and civilian
airport at Siliguri, remained cut off because of a blockade by GJM
activists.
Darjeeling was the summer capital of British India till 1911, when the
capital was shifted to Delhi from Kolkata. The verdant hills and the
Himalayan toy train service are a prime tourist attraction, particularly
during the summer.
But the stranded tourists did get a breather as the GJM leaders relaxed
their indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling for 60 hours, from 6 p.m. Wednesday
to 6 a.m. Saturday. Many of them arrived in Kolkata Thursday morning by the
Darjeeling Mail and Teesta-Torsa Express.
The GJM, led by its president Bimal Gurung, has been spearheading a movement
in the hills for a separate state, besides opposing the Sixth Schedule
status for Darjeeling district.
The central government in 2005 conferred the Sixth Schedule status on the
Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF)-led Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council
(DGHC) that ensures greater autonomy to the district's governing body.
The DGHC was formed in 1988 through a tripartite agreement between the
central and state governments and the GNLF after a two-year bout of violence
in the hills in support of the greater autonomy demand.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/06/11/stories/2008061157170100.htm
Farmers' protest turns violent, man killed in police firing
Karnataka Bureau
Yeddyurappa says it's an organised conspiracy to sully his Government's
image
To his rescue: A man rushes to help an injured person during farmers'
protest in Haveri on Tuesday.
HAVERI/BANGALORE: One person was killed and 13 were injured in police firing
and lathi-charge when farmers in Haveri district resorted to violent
protests on Tuesday.
Deputy Commissioner of Haveri P.S. Vastrad gave the name of the deceased as
Siddalingappa Choori (34) of Haveri. However, he denied that there was
police firing and said that only tear-gas shells were lobbed to disperse the
crowd.
When contacted, District Surgeon Marekkanavar told The Hindu that some of
the injured had sustained bullet injuries. He said seven injured persons
were shifted to Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) Hospital. Of
the seven, the condition of three was serious.
According to eyewitnesses, the main reason for the protests was that in
spite of having been issued tokens, the farmers were not given fertilizers.
Hundreds of farmers had lined up in front of the fertilizer shops. When
fertilizers were not given to them, they resorted to a "rasta roko."
Violent protests were reported in Bankapur, Shiggaon, Motebennur and Haveri,
which are connected by the Pune-Bangalore National Highway. Consequently,
vehicular movement was paralysed for almost half a day.
The protesters torched two buses in Motebennur and one bus in Haveri. They
also pushed two buses into a roadside ditch and damaged several buses by
throwing stones.
Several shops, including fertilizer shops, were looted during the protests
at Shiggaon and Bankapur. The police had to lob tear gas shells to control
the mob. In Motebennur too, the police had to lob tear gas shells to
disperse the crowd and to bring the situation under control.
At Haveri, trouble started after the police resorted to lathi-charge to
disperse the crowd which had started pelting stones at shops around the
NWKRTC Bus Stand.
When the protesters didn't budge the police lobbed tear gas shells. But the
protestors continued throwing stones. According to eye witnesses, at this
juncture the police resorted to firing. Mr. Vastrad, who denied this, said
that the situation was brought under control by 6 p.m. He said prohibitory
orders had been clamped in the city as a precautionary measure.
Meanwhile, a defiant Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa did not express regret
over the incident. Maintaining that "genuine farmers" were not involved in
the ongoing violent protests against shortage of fertilizers, the Chief
Minister warned that stern action would be taken against those who try to
take the law into their own hands.
Mr. Yeddyurappa, who convened a meeting of top-ranking officials and senior
Ministers to review the situation told presspersons that the protest was "an
organised conspiracy to sully his Government's image and to create
confusion".
He ordered an inquiry by the Belgaum Divisional Commissioner Amita Prasad
into the police firing and gave her a deadline of 10 days to submit a report
to the Government.
He also ordered a compensation of Rs. 2 lakh to the family members of the
deceased and Rs. 50,000 to those who were seriously injured. Those who
suffered minor injuries will get Rs. 25,000 each.
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/french-winemakers-riot-violent-protest
French winemakers riot in violent protest
by julianw | June 26, 2008 at 05:16 pm | 364 views | 6 comments
This story's just coming in from the wires. We want some other perspectives
on the protest, so look out for reports and photos from people in the area.
Winemakers in southern France have burned two police cars and vandalized
supermarkets during protests to demand government aid.
Vintners in France's Languedoc-Roussillon region have been protesting
plummeting prices for their regional wines as well as rising fuel costs.
Top regional official Cyrille Schott says protesters broke windows at the
courthouse in the city of Montpellier. In nearby Montagnac, protesters
wielding baseball bats chased police from their vehicles and set the cars on
fire.
Schott says protesters damaged four bank buildings.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807050006.html
Nigeria: Soldiers Rampage in Akure
This Day (Lagos)
5 July 2008
Posted to the web 5 July 2008
James Sowole
Akure
For several hours beginning from around mid-afternoon yesterday, rampaging
soldiers took over some streets of Akure, the Ondo State capital setting up
bonfires that totally blocked the entrance to the metropolis through Ondo
axis.
The soldiers, drawn from across the country, had been quartered at the Owena
Barracks of the 323 Artillery Regiment of the Nigerian Army. It was learnt
that their grouse was the non-payment of their entitlements since they came
back from Liberia on peace-keeping mission.
Civilians living around the barracks, which is located on the outskirts of
the town, ran helter skelter and most were forced to trek long distances as
no vehicular movement was allowed to and from the metropolis.
Elsewhere in town, palpable fear gripped residents as news filtered in that
the soldiers were on rampage, resulting in abrupt paralysis of social and
economic activities. THISDAY checks revealed that panic-stricken traders
hurriedly closed shop in the state capital.
The riotous situation was the same inside the barracks as hundreds others
held hostage the Commanding Officer (CO), Gabriel Umelo, a Lieutenant
Colonel, and other senior officers of the military in his office.
Some of the peace-keeping soldiers said they were drawn from across the
country to participate in the operations and that instead of the 1,228 USD
that the global body approved to be paid to them on monthly basis,
authorities of the Nigerian Army were shortchanging them by giving then only
3,000 USD for the six-month period.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807010769.html
Nigeria: Policeman Shoot Protesting Military Pensioners in Ibadan
Vanguard (Lagos)
1 July 2008
Posted to the web 1 July 2008
Ola Ajayi
THE problems of military pensioners who trooped the major streets in Ibadan
were compounded yesterday as a man who claimed to be a policeman from Asaba,
Delta State, reportedly shot one of them during protest.
The no fewer than 200 pensioners had, in the early hours of yesterday,
trooped to the streets in the Dugbe area to protest non-payment of their 13
months arrears by the Federal Government.
They had blocked the roads leading to the popular commercial area hindering
the free flow of vehicular and human traffic.
But about 11 a.m, a gun-totting man, who was apparently hindered by the
protesting pensioners, in annoyance fired warning shots into the air to
scare them.
The shots, however, did not scare the ex-militarymen who refused to remove
the barricade off the road.
According to a witness, when the pensioners refused to leave the roads, the
man who was in company of other five people, shot at them during which the
bullets reportedly hit one of the pensioners.
After the shooting they attempted to flee the scene but the pensioners
pursued them. They succeeded in getting three of them and beat them to a
pulp. The melee caused the traders in the market to close their shops and
run for dear lives.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807080016.html
Somalia: Three Killed As Somaliland Police Open Fire On Protestors
Garowe Online (Garowe)
7 July 2008
Posted to the web 8 July 2008
Hundreds of protestors burned tires and blocked roads in the capital of
Somalia's breakaway republic of Somaliland, Radio Garowe reported Monday.
The protestors, mostly young men, walked in hordes and started from the
southern neighborhoods of Hargeisa, Somalia's second-largest city and the
seat of power for Somaliland's separatist government.
Somaliland police attempted to disperse crowds by firing bullets into the
air, but witnesses said the protestors continued their march towards
downtown, where government offices are located.
Soldiers aboard armored vehicles later joined the police effort to stop the
protestors, leading to a number of deaths.
One protestor told Radio Garowe that locals were angered by the Somaliland
administration's to remove a water rig in south Hargeisa.
According to local speculation, the rig will be taken to Awdal, the home
region of Somaliland leader Dahir Riyale.
Mohamed Dubad, Somaliland's chief of police, told the media that 2 civilians
were killed and 5 wounded, while 9 police officers sufferend injuries during
the protest which ended in the afternoon.
But local newspapers reported a death toll of 3 people and more than 10
wounded civilians, citing information from Hargeisa hospitals.
The Somaliland regions, in northwestern Somalia, have enjoyed a stable
government in the past decade while much of south Somalia remains embroiled
in domestic armed conflicts and foreign military interventions since the
collapse of the central government in 1991.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/06/stories/2008070659530800.htm
Shrine fire triggers protests
Shujaat Bukhari
Many injured as police, CRPF use force to disperse demonstrators
- PHOTO: Nissar Ahmad
The Jinab Sahib Soura where a fire broke out on Saturday.
SRINAGAR: Several people were injured when the police and the Central
Reserve Police Force used force to disperse demonstrators who were
protesting against "laxity" on the part of authorities in preventing a fire
in a shrine here on Saturday.
Some journalists were also injured.
Eyewitnesses said nine people were injured as they struggled to douse the
flames in the shrine, Jenab Sahab Soura, which houses a relic of the Holy
Prophet. Both locals and the police confirm that the relic is safe.
The shrine caught fire after a blast at 12.45 p.m., and it engulfed the
ceiling on the second storey.
"We tried to douse the flames. But, it was difficult as the fire spread
quickly," said a resident.
"One of the youths fell down while removing sheets, and several others were
injured as debris on them," he said.
The locals blamed the police for "failing to protect" the premises despite
round-the-clock guard in the shrine. They attacked the guardroom where the
police have been stationed, burnt the belongings of the guards and snatched
two rifles.
Later, the people gathered in Soura and other parts and staged protests. The
police resorted to a lathi charge and burst teargas shells. The pitched
battles continued for some time. At least 10 people were injured.
CRPF personnel attacked journalists who had gone to the shrine to cover the
incident. Many of them were beaten up with rifle butts and canes.
Photographers' equipment was damaged. Fifteen journalists were injured, some
of them seriously. They have been admitted to hospital.
The journalists have condemned the CRPF action and demanded a high-level
inquiry.
http://www.myantiwar.org/view/157442.html
Five die as protesters, police clash in Quetta
Sunday, July 20, 2008
By Muhammad Ejaz Khan
QUETTA: Tension gripped the provincial capital on Saturday morning when five
people were killed and 10 injured in armed clashes between the police and
some protesters.
The tragedy began with the killing of Ghulam Rasool by some unknown armed
men in the Kirani area of the Brewery Road on Saturday morning. Following
the incident, dozens of people blocked the Brewery Road and protested
against the killing.
As the police reached the spot to defuse the tension, some of the protesters
reportedly opened fire on personnel of the law-enforcement agency. The
police retaliated and as a result four people were killed and 10 others were
injured.
The bodies and the injured were rushed to the Bolan Medical Complex. The
injured policemen were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) for
treatment. Some of the injured are in critical situation, hospital sources
told The News.
Later, the protesters, armed with sophisticated weapons, moved on to the
nearby mountains and started firing on the police. The exchange of fire
between the police and the protesters continued for several hours. The
attackers had not vacated their positions till the filing of this report.
Large contingents of the Anti Terrorist Force (ATF) and the police were
deployed in the area. Contingents of the Frontier Corps (FC) also patrolled
the area. On the same evening, when a four-member reconciliatory committee,
headed by provincial ministers Jan Ali Changezi and Shafiq Ahmad, reached
Kirani, their vehicles came under attack. However, they remained unhurt.
Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Mohammad Aslam Raisani has strongly
condemned the incident, directing the IG Police to probe the tragic event.
The Balochistan government has also constituted a judicial commission headed
by a judge of the Balochistan High Court to probe the event.
http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=14815
Sinai Bedouins protest against arrest of tribesman
By AFP
First Published: July 2, 2008
AL-ARISH: Hundreds of Sinai Bedouins protested on Wednesday against the
detention of one of their tribesmen, burning tires and blocking roads on the
peninsula, a security official said.
"Hundreds of Bedouins from north Sinai have blocked roads in the Mahdia area
near the Israeli border to protest against the detention of one Bedouin,"
the official told AFP, adding that they were setting tires ablaze.
The man, Mahmoud Hassan Al-Menei, 40, was held on Tuesday without charge.
A Bedouin source told AFP that police routinely carried out arrests in north
Sinai and that Bedouins felt under threat of having their car licenses
confiscated or homes searched at any time.
A spate of bombings that hit popular tourist destinations in Sinai between
2004 and 2006 lead to massive sweeps of the peninsula with thousands of
Bedouins arrested.
The Egyptian government has regularly promised to pump money into the
impoverished north Sinai and there have been several attempts in recent
months at a rapprochement between authorities and the Bedouins. -AFP
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=78936
DRC: Aid activities suspended after riots in North Kivu
Photo: IRIN
MONUC staff have been targeted by rioters in Rutshuru, near Goma
KINSHASA, 25 June 2008 (IRIN) - Humanitarian agencies have suspended all
travel to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo town of Rutshuru after
two days of riots against the UN Mission in the Congo (MONUC), UN sources
said.
"The humanitarian consequences are dramatic as unfortunately humanitarian
activities have been suspended because of insecurity," MONUC spokeswoman
Sylvie Van Wildenberg told IRIN on 25 June.
Patrick Lavand'Homme, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in North Kivu, said aid agency travel to
Rutshuru, 60km north of the capital Goma, and the nearby village of Kiwandja
had been suspended "in light of the crowd, the roadblocks, all the security
problems".
On the nights of 23 and 24 June, residents set upon MONUC personnel,
throwing stones at the blue helmets.
"These demonstrations followed the recent retreat of government forces from
Mutabo, which seems to have caused some confusion among the population.
Mechanisms have been set up to ensure the ceasefire [agreed in January by
most parties to the conflict in North Kivu] is respected," said Alan Doss,
the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative in DRC and head of MONUC.
"MONUC played its role of facilitation," he added.
MONUC military spokesman Col Jean-Paul Dietrich said five civilians had been
injured in the riots, some by gunshots. He added that a laden World Food
Programme (WFP) truck had been destroyed.
Doss said MONUC troops had deployed in the area after government troops
(FARDC) had pulled out at its request, which was in line with the January
conference that delivered the widely ignored ceasefire.
The government forces clashed with troops loyal to renegade Gen Laurent
Nkunda on 18 June in Mutabo, near Rutshuru.
A delegation of ambassadors from countries sponsoring the peace process in
eastern DRC found that both parties - FARDC and Nkunda's troops - had acted
against the spirit of the undertakings made at the January conference.
"The riots followed a campaign to manipulate the population via local
radio," said Van Wildenberg.
"People did not understand FARDC's withdrawal because there had been rumours
that [Nkunda's forces] were going to retake this territory occupied by
MONUC," said Dietrich.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=78981
DRC: Aid work in Rutshuru town resumes after riots
Photo: IRIN
The blue helmets deployed after the withdrawal of government forces
NAIROBI, 27 June 2008 (IRIN) - Travel to and work in the adjacent eastern
Democratic Republic of Congo town of Rutshuru and Kiwanja village have
resumed after riots curtailed such activities on 23 and 24 June, according
to the UN.
"Humanitarian organisations were not able to travel to the towns because of
the crowds, demonstrations and barriers that had been erected," Patrick
Lavand'Homme, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) in North Kivu province, told IRIN by telephone on 27 June.
"After 25 June, the situation improved and some movement restarted. By the
end of the week, things were back to normal even though tension could still
be felt," he added.
There are several camps for displaced people in the area as well as large
numbers of displaced civilians living with the host population.
"Access to fields is very difficult due to the insecurity all around the
town and this has dramatically reduced food production and the economy of
the two towns," said Lavand'Homme.
Several humanitarian organisations, including the UN's Refugee Agency,
UNHCR, and NGOs such as the French branch of Médecins Sans Frontières, the
International Rescue Committee, Secours Catholique, Saving Lives through
Alternate Options and Solidarités, operate in the area, providing services
ranging from camp coordination and management to water and sanitation, as
wealth as health and nutrition, to both the displaced and resident
populations.
Earlier in the week residents of the towns had set upon personnel of the UN
Mission in DRC, MONUC, after the blue helmets deployed there in the wake of
the withdrawal of government forces (FARDC).
FARDC withdrew at MONUC's request following clashes with troops led by
renegade general Laurent Nkunda.
http://story.australianherald.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/c08dd24cec417021/id/371250/cs/1/
French youths riot in the streets
Australian Herald
Sunday 15th June, 2008
Dozens of youths and police have clashed in northern France, leaving nine
people injured.
Around 60 cars went up in flames as youths went on a rampage in the streets
of Vitry-le-Francois, some 200 kilometres north of the capital Paris.
The youths, armed with baseball bats and Molotov cocktails, were only
scattered after dozens of security forces quelled the unrest.
The scuffles broke out after a young man was murdered on Saturday evening.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200805140111.html
Ghana: Breach of Peace at Abla-Adjei Rioters to be Put Before Court
Accra Mail (Accra)
14 May 2008
Posted to the web 14 May 2008
Atiku Iddrisu
Accra
The serene community of Abla-Adjei near Pantang in the Ga East Municipality
was thrown into confusion last Sunday afternoon when a number of armed youth
believed to have been transported from Teshie went on rampage, causing
injuries to persons and damaging property running into millions of cedis.
The rioting youth besieged the Agbogba-North-Legon Extension Police Post, to
free two of their colleagues who were arrested earlier during the riot with
the help of a soldier who chanced on the incident.
A police reinforcement managed to quell the tension at the police post and
arrested two more young men, adding to four the number of suspects rounded
up in connection with the rioting.
They were named as Ablorh Abordo, 25, a carpenter, Eric Sowah Abordo, 28,
mason and Samuel Sowah Abordo, 35, driver, and Adjetey Abordo, 23,
carpenter.
The Madina District Police Commander, C/Supt. Paul Aryeetey, who confirmed
the incident to the media, mentioned a long standing land dispute as the
remote cause of the disturbances.
He said the dispute is being engineered by a group of people from the
Abla-Adjei Family at Teshie on one hand and some members of the same family
who had lived all their lives on the disputed land on the other, each of
whom wanted to take control of the Abla-Adjei land.
C/Supt. Aryeetey said the power struggle had led to a series of
confrontations between the two groups over the years and cited one of such
incidents last year during which a family member's BMW saloon car was burnt
to ashes.
He said the police were still doing their best to bring peace to the area
when they got the information of a possible clash there. "We quickly sent
our men there and some arrests were made. The suspects were granted bail
after which we sat with both factions and they agreed to exercise restraint
as their claims over the land is being determined by the relevant
authorities", he said.
Mr. Aryeetey told the ADM that he was "disappointed" to see a faction
resorting to violence after they had all agreed to keep the peace. He warned
the public to refrain from taking the law into their own hands and rather
channel their grievances through the appropriate channels.
"Since they have ignored our advice to keep the peace, we have no option
than make them face the law. We are putting them before court as soon as
possible", C/Supt. Aryeetey said.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/206256,forty-relatives-riot-in-german-hospital-after-patient-dies.html
Forty relatives riot in German hospital after patient dies
Posted : Sun, 18 May 2008 17:57:00 GMT
Author : DPA
Iserlohn, Germany - Some 40 relatives of a female patient who died in a
German hospital rioted Sunday and attacked police. After the woman died in
the intensive care unit of the hospital in Iserlohn in the state of
North-Rhine-Westphalia of natural causes, relatives are believed to have
started kicking in doors and ripping paintings from the walls, police said.
They attacked police called to the scene with wooden slats and broken
medical equipment.
Twenty police officers tried for 90 minutes to bring the situation under
control.
One officer was injured.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7408063.stm
Monday, 19 May 2008 10:42 UK
Ethnic riots rock Algerian town
The Algerian security forces have sent hundreds of officers to the southern
town of Berriane to end three days of fighting between Arabs and Berbers.
Two people have reportedly been killed in clashes between rival gangs of
hooded young men in the Saharan town.
A number of homes and shops have been petrol-bombed.
Correspondents say long-running tensions between Arabs and Berbers in
Algeria have been worsened by high unemployment and a shortage of housing.
"The town is in turmoil, but it is controllable," provincial governor Yahia
Fehim told Reuters news agency.
Ethnic Berbers claim to pre-date the Arabs, who now account for the majority
in Algeria, and are concentrated in two provinces of the north-eastern
Kabylie region.
According to varying estimates, they account for between a third and a fifth
of Algeria's population of 30 million, and they have campaigned for greater
rights since the country won independence from France in 1962.
http://africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnL31308230.html
Algeria riots pose risk of wider unrest
Sun 1 Jun 2008, 11:32 GMT
By William Maclean
ALGIERS (Reuters) - Sporadic riots in OPEC member Algeria this year risk
triggering wider protests against a political elite slow to turn
unprecedented oil wealth into jobs and homes.
Street clashes are a prickly issue in Algeria, a major gas exporter to
Europe with a record of rebellion and where youth riots in 1988 forced the
authorities to abandon one-party rule.
The country of 33 million people is still searching for stability following
an undeclared civil war in the 1990s that cost more than 150,000 lives. The
violence erupted after the cancellation of a general election in 1992 which
a now-outlawed Muslim fundamentalist party was poised to win.
There is very little risk of a return to the bloodshed of the 1990s,
Algerians say. But a return to nationwide civil disturbances that shook the
north African country in 2001-02 and 1988 cannot be ruled out if violent
protests continue.
"We have settled into a rioting phase which augurs no good," wrote the
independent El Watan newspaper.
Unemployed youths in the second city of Oran last week spent three days
ransacking banks, shops, cars and bars and fighting running battles with
helmeted riot police firing tear gas.
PETTY THUGS
The immediate trigger was anger over the relegation of the town's soccer
team to the second division. Commentators said that while the instigators
may have been petty thugs, an atmosphere of despair over social ills helped
draw in other youths and spread the turmoil to central districts.
The unrest followed street protests in dozens of other towns in recent
months over worsening economic and social conditions.
Police have so far adopted a measured approach in tackling the disturbances,
using tear gas and baton charges in towns such as Chlef, Oran and Berriane,
but if rioters are killed the risk to national stability would grow,
analysts say
Former prime minister Ahmed Benbitour, a critic of what he calls the
unresponsiveness of the army-backed administration, said the unrest showed
the authorities should pre-empt more unrest by promoting transparency and
cleaner government.
"We need to work rapidly for change and set the conditions for its success
in the interest of the Algerian people, or change will impose itself by
force," he told El Khabar daily.
Power is concentrated in the presidency, with parliament seen as a
rubber-stamp. Some 75 percent of under 30-year-olds are unemployed and
despite a state pledge to build a million new homes by 2009, demands for
more housing are made daily.
"Citizens, above all the young, compare what goes on in the country to other
nations. They seek a living standard and a future akin to what they see on
foreign TV," Benbitour said.
Communications Minister Abderrachid Boukerzaza said the Oran disturbances
"were at the centre of the concerns of the public authorities" and the
government had embarked on an effort to understand the violence and identify
its causes.
Uppermost in many minds is concern to avoid a repeat of 2001, when a local
revolt in the Kabylie region triggered by the death of a youth in police
custody escalated into a national revolt against what protesters saw as
authoritarian rule.
The government only defused the unrest when it agreed to demands to withdrew
the paramilitary gendarmerie from Kabylie.
Some secular Algerians fear wider instability would present a window of
opportunity to banned Islamist groups seeking a return to active politics:
They could make political capital by using their extensive networks of
informal influence in mosques and the black market to stabilize the
situation, they argue.
(Editing by Giles Elgood)
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-05/2008-05-30-voa42.cfm?CFID=28909161&CFTOKEN=30304052
Negotiations Begin in Guinea After Weeklong Riots Begin to Calm
Dakar
30 May 2008
Shryock report - Download (MP3)
Shryock report - Listen (MP3)
Guinea military officials pleaded with young, rioting soldiers to stop this
week's violence, which has left dozens injured. On Friday morning, the
capital Conakry was calm as high-ranking officials said they were working to
negotiate with the mutinous soldiers. For VOA, Ricci Shryock has more from
Dakar.
Supporters of Guinea's President Lansana Conte rally in Kaloum neighborhood
of Conakry, 30 May 2008
Presidential guards were posted along strategic points in the Guinea capital
Conakry Friday morning, such as the November 8 bridge, leading into the
city, says local journalist Maseco Conde.
On Thursday Guinea's military had a standoff with young mutinous soldiers on
the bridge. Both sides fired shots into the air, but not at each other.
Conde says the capital was calm the next day, but gas stations and shops
remained closed in fear of further violence and looting.
Since Monday, young officers in the Guinea military, angry over unpaid
wages, have been rioting. At least one person has died and more than a dozen
were wounded in the violence.
Lansana Kouyate (8 Feb 2007)
The violence began after last week's surprise dismissal of prime minister
Lansana Kouyate. President Lansana Conte fired Kouyate in a presidential
decree read over state television last Friday.
Kouyate was appointed prime minister early last year after riots against
President Conte left more than 100 people dead. When he was appointed, the
former prime minister said he would increase military salaries. Some
soldiers say they have not been paid since 1996.
On Tuesday new prime minister, Ahmed Tidiane Souare, a member of Conte's
party, said he would begin to pay the soldiers the equivalent of $1100 US
dollars at the end of this month.
President Conte also fired the defense minister on Tuesday as part of
negotiations with the soldiers.
But the violence continued on Thursday, as some soldiers demanded the
dismissal of more top-ranking army officials.
Journalist Conde says it is just a small group of about 300 soldiers who are
asking for the additional dismissals.
Conde says Army Chief, Brigadier-General Diarra Camara, appeared on state
television Thursday to say that negotiations are open, and to plead with the
soldiers to stop the violence while they try to reach an agreement.
West African researcher for the New York-based group Human Rights Watch,
Dustin Sharp speaking from Burkina Faso, says a division between young and
old in Guinea's military has been brewing for years.
"The generational divisions within the army are probably more pronounced
than the ethnic divisions," Sharp said. "In general, you have a group of
young officers that are rising up, are frustrated by the fact that they feel
that the sort of fat cat officers at the top are not opening up the way for
new promotions, and the people at the top, at least in the eyes of the young
officers, are living handsomely while they feel like they are suffering."
Sharp adds riots within the Guinea military are nothing new, and the
government should hold the violent officers accountable. Souare has already
promised that no mutineers in this most recent incident will be punished.
"The indiscipline that we have seen in Guinea's army this week, firing in
the air and taking a high level military commander hostage, it is due at
least in part to the government's repeated refusal over the years to hold
them responsible for crimes they have committed. The government's failure to
pursue those who have committed crimes is itself a threat to the
government's own stability," Sharp said.
Sharp adds that past military riots have usually been rooted in money, but
some of his sources say this division between young and old could eventually
materialize into a concrete movement.
The West African country is home to mineral wealth. It holds more than a
third of the world's known reserves of bauxite, but most of its citizens
live in poverty.
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2329715,00.html
'Unpaid' Guinea soldiers riot
27/05/2008 08:27 - (SA)
Conakry - Guinean soldiers claiming years of unpaid wages have captured
their own chief-of-staff and taken to the streets of the capital Conakry,
say witnesses and military sources.
Soldiers carried out the actions on Monday, in a repeat of anti-government
protests staged by soldiers in May 2007 over the same issue.
Paratroops and Special Forces at the largest military base of Alfa Yaya
Diallo, near the capital's international airport, unloaded their weapons in
the morning for more than two hours in an echo of a May 2007 mutiny.
At about 14:30, they seized General Mamadou Sampil after he came to try to
negotiate with them.
Gunfire was also heard for the first time since the protests started in
Kindia, 130km further inland, which housed one of the country's biggest army
garrisons.
Govt calls for calm
Local civilians had hurried to take cover in their homes, for fear of being
hit by stray bullets.
Guinea's president, General Lansana Conte, called a meeting of his ministers
and top military officers at the presidential palace in Conakry on Monday.
It ran for four and a half hours, well into the evening.
In a statement issued after Monday's meeting and read out on television, the
government called for calm and asked for the soldiers to open dialogue and
negotiations.
Among those who attended the meeting was Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane
Souare, who was only appointed last Friday after Conte sacked his
predecessor, Lansana Kouyate.
The dismissal of Kouyate was one of the soldiers' grievances, as they said
they were now left with no one to whom they could address their complaints.
Troops launch violent protests
The soldiers were angry about what they said was $1 735 in unpaid wages, a
debt they said dated back to 1996. One soldier contacted by telephone said
they had been paid only a fraction of the sum owed.
Troops launched violent protests across the country a year ago over the same
issue, during which at least eight people died and dozens more were injured
by stray bullets.
On that occasion, soldiers rampaged across the country looting food stocks
and at times firing indiscriminately at civilians.
Conte, who had ruled the West African nation with an iron fist since 1984,
subsequently sacked the army's senior officers and his defence minister.
He only appointed 58-year-old Kouyate as prime minister in February 2007
under a deal to end a general strike and massive protests during which 186
people were killed.
Kouyate, a former United Nations diplomat, was on a list of candidates
proposed by the opposition and unions, and replaced a close aide to Conte,
Eugene Camara, whose appointment had only fuelled the unrest.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2008/05/mil-080530-voa06.htm
Negotiations Begin in Guinea After Weeklong Riots Begin to Calm
By Ricci Shryock
Dakar
30 May 2008
Guinea military officials pleaded with young, rioting soldiers to stop this
week's violence, which has left dozens injured. On Friday morning, the
capital Conakry was calm as high-ranking officials said they were working to
negotiate with the mutinous soldiers. For VOA, Ricci Shryock has more from
Dakar.
Presidential guards were posted along strategic points in the Guinea capital
Conakry Friday morning, such as the November 8 bridge, leading into the
city, says local journalist Maseco Conde.
On Thursday Guinea's military had a standoff with young mutinous soldiers on
the bridge. Both sides fired shots into the air, but not at each other.
Conde says the capital was calm the next day, but gas stations and shops
remained closed in fear of further violence and looting.
Since Monday, young officers in the Guinea military, angry over unpaid
wages, have been rioting. At least one person has died and more than a dozen
were wounded in the violence.
The violence began after last week's surprise dismissal of prime minister
Lansana Kouyate. President Lansana Conte fired Kouyate in a presidential
decree read over state television last Friday.
Kouyate was appointed prime minister early last year after riots against
President Conte left more than 100 people dead. When he was appointed, the
former prime minister said he would increase military salaries. Some
soldiers say they have not been paid since 1996.
On Tuesday new prime minister, Ahmed Tidiane Souare, a member of Conte's
party, said he would begin to pay the soldiers the equivalent of $1100 US
dollars at the end of this month.
President Conte also fired the defense minister on Tuesday as part of
negotiations with the soldiers.
But the violence continued on Thursday, as some soldiers demanded the
dismissal of more top-ranking army officials.
Journalist Conde says it is just a small group of about 300 soldiers who are
asking for the additional dismissals.
Conde says Army Chief, Brigadier-General Diarra Camara, appeared on state
television Thursday to say that negotiations are open, and to plead with the
soldiers to stop the violence while they try to reach an agreement.
West African researcher for the New York-based group Human Rights Watch,
Dustin Sharp speaking from Burkina Faso, says a division between young and
old in Guinea's military has been brewing for years.
"The generational divisions within the army are probably more pronounced
than the ethnic divisions," Sharp said. "In general, you have a group of
young officers that are rising up, are frustrated by the fact that they feel
that the sort of fat cat officers at the top are not opening up the way for
new promotions, and the people at the top, at least in the eyes of the young
officers, are living handsomely while they feel like they are suffering."
Sharp adds riots within the Guinea military are nothing new, and the
government should hold the violent officers accountable. Souare has already
promised that no mutineers in this most recent incident will be punished.
"The indiscipline that we have seen in Guinea's army this week, firing in
the air and taking a high level military commander hostage, it is due at
least in part to the government's repeated refusal over the years to hold
them responsible for crimes they have committed. The government's failure to
pursue those who have committed crimes is itself a threat to the
government's own stability," Sharp said.
Sharp adds that past military riots have usually been rooted in money, but
some of his sources say this division between young and old could eventually
materialize into a concrete movement.
The West African country is home to mineral wealth. It holds more than a
third of the world's known reserves of bauxite, but most of its citizens
live in poverty.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200805270085.html
Uganda: Town Clerk Halts New Riot
New Vision (Kampala)
26 May 2008
Posted to the web 27 May 2008
Anne Mugisa And Josephine Maseruka
Kampala
The Kampala town clerk recently met vendors of Kisekka Market to stem a
riot, she told the commission probing wrangles in the market on Friday.
Ruth Kijjambu said the vendors had been demanding to meet her for about two
months, but she was reluctant because there was an inquiry going on.
The commission headed by city lawyer Jacob Oulanyah had put Kijjambu to task
to explain why she had met the vendors a week ago, without notifying the
probe team.
"Did you do that to undermine the commission's work? We were not happy,
especially after you told us that you were too unwell to meet us," Oulanyah
stated.
But Kijjambu said she met the vendors after the resident district
commissioner asked her to, and on learning that they were plotting another
riot.
She said the riot was meant to pressurise Kampala City Council (KCC) into
giving-in to their demands.
"I thought it was important to stem an imminent riot. There was no ill
motive," Kijjambu said.
She denied reports that she asked the vendors to give her a name to put on
the market's land title or even offering them the title.
Her submission contradicted that of the Nakivubo Road Old Kampala Kisekka
Market Vendors group, which last week told the commission that Kijjambu had
offered them a partial title for the market.
The group is fighting for the tender to renovate the market, which was last
year awarded to the New Nakivubo Road Market Vendors Association and Rhino
Investments.
Kijjambu clarified that the city council only offered the vendors a tender
to redevelop the market but not the title.
http://www2.irna.com/en/news/view/menu-234/0804203153003848.htm
Dozens injured and arrested as riots mar Kurdish demo in Berlin
Berlin, Apr 20, IRNA
Germany-Turkey-Kurds
Dozens of people were injured and arrested late Saturday afternoon when a
demonstration of Kurds in Berlin's city center turned violent, news reports
said.
At least 11 police officers were hurt and 57 people were detained, a Berlin
police spokesperson said.
Kurds and Turks clashed with each other following a series of verbal
provocations, coming from the sidelines of the demonstration.
Both sides pelted one another with bottles and stones. Germany has
repeatedly been the scene of bloody street battles between militant Kurdish
and far-right Turkish nationalist groups.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804140727.html
Uganda: Taxi Operators' Riots Rock Kampala
New Vision (Kampala)
11 April 2008
Posted to the web 14 April 2008
Kampala
HUNDREDS of passengers were left stranded in Kampala yesterday as drivers
protested what they described as "harsh treatment" by the traffic Police.
For two weeks now, the Police have been cracking down on motorcycles and
vehicles in poor mechanical conditions, drivers without permits and vehicles
that have evaded taxes, as a means of curbing the increased road carnage in
the country.
The drivers complained that Police impound their vehicles on flimsy grounds
and that the penalties are too heavy.
Among the suspects were three men accused of masterminding the chaos. The
Police nabbed them in Bweyogerere, another suburb.
The riots, which left hundreds of public transport users stranded in the
city, were sparked off by the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association
(UTODA) committee. They mobilised members to strike against what they called
harassment by traffic police.
For two weeks, the Police have been cracking down on vehicles in poor
mechanical condition, drivers without permits and vehicles whose owners have
evaded taxes, as a means to curb road carnage.
The operations kicked off on March 31.
The taxi drivers complained that Police impound their vehicles on flimsy
grounds and that the penalties are too heavy.
Kampala Extra police spokesperson, Simeo Nsubuga yesterday disclosed that 43
of the suspects were detained at the Central Police Station in Kampala.
"They are undergoing interrogation and screening," Nsubuga told Saturday
Vision, moments after the mid-morning demonstration that paralysed several
parts of Kampala.
According to Nsubuga, the detainees are suspected of theft, malicious damage
to property, simple robbery and involvement in a strike.
The Police also accused them of obstructing security officials, threatening
violence and setting up illegal roadblocks in the city and its suburbs. They
were picked from the city centre, Bakuli, Mengo, Nakulabye and other
suburbs.
Nsubuga was optimistic that the suspects would appear in court on Monday. He
said the riot, which kicked at the New Taxi Park, spread to other parts of
the city.
"Bonfires were lit on several the roads in the suburbs," he stated and cited
Bwaise and Nateete as the affected suburbs. Nsubuga said a few shops on
Namirembe Road were broken into. He insisted that there were no fatalities.
The Police identified three people, who were injured in the epicentre of the
chaos at the Old Taxi Park as Godfrey Gunira, 40, Johnson Mbeta, 33 and
Kangude, a student of Masooli secondary School, who was attacked by goons in
Mengo, a city suburb. They were rushed to Mulago hospital for treatment.
"Lawlessness will not be accepted in the city," Nsubuga said.
Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba asked motorists to point out police
officers who harass or intimidate them. "We are going to continue enforcing
the law," she stressed, adding, "the city is safe and secure."
Passengers were the worst hit by the chaos that lasted over four hours. Even
when calm returned, commuter drivers refused to operate, forcing hundreds of
people to walk homes. Lines of pedestrians formed along Jinja, Entebbe and
Bombo roads.
The strike was a blessing for boda boda operators, who ferried people with
in the city and to the suburbs. But one had to fork out between sh2,000 and
sh10,000 to get the nearest destination. By press time, the UTODA executive
was buried in an emergency meeting.
http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/?jp=mhojsngbmhau&rss=rss2
PSNI vehicles damaged during street riot in Belfast
28/04/2008 - 07:48:58
Three PSNI vehicles were damaged last night during street clashes between
rival gangs in east Belfast.
The violence broke out in the Templemore Avenue and Albertbridge Road areas
just after 11pm.
Riot police and community representatives managed to restore calm after a
number of hours.
The police say nobody was injured and no arrests were made.
http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/mhqlmhaukfsn/rss2/
PSNI probe Belfast riot
Print
Email+
Share
09/08/2008 - 14:24:00
Police in the North are investigating a riot during which officers were
attacked by a crowd in Belfast overnight.
The incident happened in the Glebewalk area of Lisburn shortly before 1am
this morning.
Up to 20 people were involved in the attack, during which a can of tear gas
was stolen from police.
One person was taken to hospital with injuries but they are not thought to
be life-threatening.
Two people were arrested in connection with the riot and one was later
charged with assaulting police officers.
http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-14159.html
350 booked for violence during protest over accident
Kurukshetra, Aug 22 : Pehowa police has registered a criminal case against
350 unidentified persons who had put a Haryana Roadways bus on fire and also
damaged a fire tender while protesting against the death of a local trader
after being hit by a state-run bus yesterday.
A police spokesman said here today, that the bus driver Harjinder Singh had
also been arrested for negligent and rash driving leading to death of the
Ismailabad-based scooter-borne trader Ved Prakash yesterday near DAV
College, Pehowa, about 30 kms from here.
Angered by the death, a mob had dragged and beat up the bus driver and put
the bus afire. They also damaged a fire tender and did not allow firemen to
extinguish the bus which was reduced to ashes.
The criminal case has been registered against the 350-odd people for
destroying the government and private property, assault on government
employees and hindering government officials from performing their duties,
the spokesman said.
--- UNI
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/17/stories/2008081753680300.htm
Other States - Himachal Pradesh
Protesters block traffic on highway
Rampur (HP): Hundreds of people on Saturday jammed the Shimla-Kinnaur NH-22
for over six hours near Nanan village in Rampur sub-division of Shimla
district in protest against killing of an ITBP jawan on Friday, the police
said.
The villagers sat on the NH-22 at Nanan village blocking the traffic since
morning, they said. An ITBP jawan, Prem Dass (33), was killed by a group of
youths after a fight in Zuri Nanan village on Friday evening.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4611991.ece
August 26, 2008
Mob runs amok at Notting Hill Carnival
Philippe Naughton
Riot police were deployed on the streets of West London last night to break
up a mob of youths intent on disrupting the Notting Hill Carnival after
running battles on the streets around Europe's biggest street party.
More than a million people enjoyed the dazzling spectacle of Caribbean
costumes, dance and music over the weekend. There was a huge police presence
to prevent a repeat of the violence that has marred carnival in previous
years and a total of 33 arrests were made for offences including possession
of drugs, offensive weapons, robbery and assault.
There was no serious crowd trouble, however, until after dark when gang of
around 40 young men started throwing missiles at police officers around
Ladbroke Grove. Scotland Yard said that at least one officer was injured
after being hit in the face with a bottle before officers in riot gear were
sent in to disperse the group.
"Our officers came under attack from bottles, bricks and other missiles for
two hours," Chief Inspector Jo Edwards told Times Online. "There are a small
minority of criminals who use the cover of darkness and crowded streets to
cause trouble."
Earlier, six miles across town, police detained no fewer than 151 youths
after encircling another mob outside the Oval cricket ground.
Police intelligence suggested that many of the youths were gang members
headed for the carnival and they were held at a South London police station
for around five hours to prevent a breach of the peace.
After race riots at the 1976 carnival and further violence in the years
afterwards, it appeared at one point that the event would be banned. But
strict and highly visible policing has managed to calm things down in recent
years and reduced the risk of party-goers getting caught up in violence.
Ms Edwards said that only a quarter of the arrests involved crimes with a
victim such as theft, robbery or assault. The remainder was the direct
result of "proactive policing techniques" such as stop-and-search and
numberplate recognition.
Those techniques extended to the seizure of 21 dangerous pit bull-style dogs
which are used by gang members as status symbols and to intimidate their
victims. Weapons seized included knives, a baseball bat and a Taser stun
gun.
Scotland Yard had been planning their operation to combat violence at the
carnival since May. Tactics included sending letters to more than 200
suspected troublemakers warning them about their conduct and using warrants
to search their homes for weapons. The two-day extravaganza, themed
Welcoming The World, saw huge crowds party in the streets of West London.
Floats - with themes including Back From Space, Tutti Frutti Sweeties,
Creatures Of The Earth and Paradise - snaked their way through the streets
as revellers danced and clapped to the sound of steel drums and Caribbean
music.
Although the Met was not claiming a completely successful operation given
last night's trouble, Ms Edwards said that there had been no serious
violence compared to previous years. "No-one got stabbed and no-one got
shot," she said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/aug/26/ukcrime.nottinghillcarnival
Notting Hill carnival ends with police battling troublemakers
. Event marred by violence on west London streets
. South London police swoop to halt gang members
James Orr and agencies
guardian.co.uk,
Tuesday August 26 2008 12:30 BST
Police arrested more than 300 people at this year's Notting Hill carnival
during a crackdown on violent gangs.
Knives, a Taser gun and a baseball bat were among weapons seized by officers
aiming to prevent a repeat of violence that has dogged the weekend-long west
London event for years.
Last night, police fought a two-hour running battle with about 40 youths
after the end of the carnival. Troublemakers threw bottles and bricks at
dozens of riot police who struggled to contain the disorder.
Chief Inspector Jo Edwards, of the Metropolitan police, said today: "It's
disappointing that each year we see a small minority of mainly young men who
don't come to the carnival until later.
"They don't come to enjoy the floats and the music; they come to fight and
commit acts of violence.
"For two hours our officers came under attack from bottles, bricks and any
debris that was on the ground.
"These people are intent on fighting but innocent members of the public get
caught up in it and their carnival is spoiled."
Police made 330 arrests within the Notting Hill area during the carnival,
which was attended by about 850,000 people. Last year, 246 people were
arrested.
Authorities said another 151 people were prevented from reaching the site
after a planned police swoop on organised gangs gathering at the Oval, south
London.
Edwards said officers acted on information to confront the gangs at 4.20pm
yesterday. "We had intelligence to suggest that people at the Oval were from
a variety of gangs and that they were on their way to the carnival to commit
crime, engage in disorder and potentially violence," she said.
"Some members were arrested for substantial offences such as possession of
weapons. Others were detained to prevent a further breach of the peace."
Edwards said teams of specialist dog handlers worked with the RSPCA to seize
21 dangerous dogs taken to the carnival in response to concerns raised after
last year's event.
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080724/NEWS/807240323/-1/rss01
Taser logs contradict families' version of 'riot'
Officers used Taser guns to disperse the unruly crowd
Thomas Peterkin, 14, from Queens, N.Y., who witnessed the Monday night
incident, and his aunt Tracy Sommerville, of Mount Pocono, talk about the
arrest of Sommerville's son.David Kidwell/Pocono Record
By Beth Brelje
Pocono Record Writer
July 24, 2008
"If the people would have just listened to police and dispersed as directed,
the incident would have been avoided completely."
That is the bottom line from Chief Harry Lewis of the Pocono Mountain
Regional Police, responding to complaints that the arrest of five people at
a riot Monday night was brutal, unjust and racially motivated.
The families of some of those arrested say police randomly used Taser guns
against the crowd for no reason.
"Kids were dropping down like flies," said Tymeco Preston-Sprinkle, mother
of one of the arrested.
Preston-Sprinkle and her husband, Tony Sprinkle, had enjoyed a family night
at the carnival before witnessing the incident in which they say their son
was shot with a Taser twice.
"We moved here for a better life. I'm safer in Brooklyn dodging bullets in a
gunfight than here in Pennsylvania. At least there I know who it's coming
from. Here I don't know," said Preston-Sprinkle, who called police in the
Poconos prejudiced.
The riot took place shortly after police stopped a vicious fight at the
Pocono Mountain carnival around 11:30 p.m. Monday.
Police say some of the same people present at the fight were seen in a crowd
of 20 to 25 people gathered across the road from the carnival on Belmont
Avenue between the Rita's stand and Belmont Plaza.
According to police, the group was defiant and unruly. They were loitering
in the street, cursing and blocking traffic.
"We just had a fight. After a fight, kids often find a way to go where we're
not. When we see a group of kids in an aggressive posture, we tell them to
disperse," Lewis said. A Pocono Mountain Regional Police officer tried to
scatter the crowd.
Some walked away; others used obscene language and refused to go.
According to police, one 15-year-old threatened to kill the police and tried
to incite others in the crowd to kill the police. The officer tried to
arrest him for disorderly conduct.
"The suspect pulled away from the officer and squared up in an aggressive
manner. The single officer was completely outnumbered by a group of hostile
individuals. It was a potentially volatile situation," Lewis said.
According to police, the officer called for backup, displayed his Taser gun
and gave verbal commands to the 15-year-old. The rioting crowd, which
included adults and teens, surrounded the officer and blocked his Taser aim.
The 15-year-old took this opportunity to run. The officer chased him and the
angry crowd ran after the officer, who then deployed the Taser gun at the
boy's back to stop him.
Two other people were shot with Taser guns while interfering with the
arrest.
Of the three people hit by Tasers, police say just one felt the effects.
When a Taser is used, two prongs attached to long wires (about 25 feet) are
shot into a person's skin. An electrical charge is cycled through the wires.
The Taser can't deliver an electrical charge unless both prongs are embedded
in the skin.
Two of the three shot with tasers felt nothing but a pinprick when just one
of the prongs made the connection, according to police.
Tracy Somerville, mother of two and aunt of one of the arrested said her son
was "choked and electrocuted five times for no reason."
Eyewitness reports of as many as eight Taser shocks on multiple victims are
incorrect. Taser guns keep an electronic log of the time of deployment and
number of charges administered.
The records show a total of three Tasers were deployed by two officers.
Three electrical charges were administered, just one was successful.
"I'm looking at it as if it was real bullets. They'd all be dead,"
Somerville said.
Jermain Peterkin, 19; Erinn Walker, 18; Tyshawn Somerville, 21; and two
juvenile males, all of Mount Pocono, were charged with rioting, resisting
arrest and disorderly conduct.
The adults were placed in Monroe County Correctional Facility and the
juveniles in the Jim Thorpe juvenile detention facility.
The adults will appear in Tobyhanna District Court. The juveniles will go to
Monroe County Juvenile Court.
"They locked them up and put them in jail for no reason," Preston-Sprinkle
said.
Pocono Mountain Regional Police Chief Harry Lewis said no one would have
been arrested if they would have simply followed police commands to leave
the area.
Before the riot was under control, police assistance came from Pocono
Township, Stroud Area Regional and state police.
"Our officers adhered to department policy in using force, which they
deployed in an attempt to apprehend and de-escalate an incident. The three
individuals who were Tasered were arrested for riot, which is a felony,
resisting arrest and disorderedly conduct. Because the officers followed
departmental policy and used the Tasers to de-escalate the situation, nobody
was injured," Lewis said.
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080723/NEWS/807230318
Police quell rowdy crowd at carnival in Mount Pocono
Peterkin(nfs)
July 23, 2008
MOUNT POCONO - A rowdy crowd taunted and chased police, requiring officers
from four departments to get rioting under control Monday night.
Five young men were arrested.
At 11:22 p.m., Pocono Mountain Regional police were dispersing groups from
the Mount Pocono carnival and, across the street, investigating a vehicle
break-in at Belmont Plaza.
Police found a crowd cursing and blocking traffic on Belmont Avenue. The
crowd defied police orders to disperse. One young man tried to incite the
group. Officers tried to take him into custody but he pulled away and ran,
leading police on a foot chase. The crowd then chased police and interfered
with officers arresting the young man. They surrounded police and managed to
free one person from custody.
More police units, including some from Pocono Township, Stroud Area Regional
and state police, arrived and officers eventually regained control of the
crowd.
Jermain Peterkin, 19; Erinn Walker, 18; and Tyshawn Somerville, 21; and two
juvenile males, all of Mount Pocono, were charged with rioting, resisting
arrest and disorderly conduct. The adults were placed in Monroe County
Correctional Facility and the juveniles in the Jim Thorpe juvenile detention
facility. The adults are scheduled to appear at a future date in Tobyhanna
District Court while the juveniles are scheduled to head to Monroe County
Juvenile Court.
The chase and riot were preceded by a fight at the carnival as the event was
closing for the night.
Waylon Clarke, 24, of Tobyhanna, was punched in the head and had a cut on
his face. He was taken to Pocono Medical Center. Police arrested and later
released Dheklan John, 21, and Devon John, 27, both of Tobyhanna. Both men
were charged with disorderly conduct, banned from the carnival grounds and
are scheduled to appear at future dates in Tobyhanna District Court.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7537527.stm
Friday, 1 August 2008 16:15 UK
Mob riot in Nigeria after crash
The mob blamed the German firm's vehicle for the crash
An irate mob went on the rampage in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, after a road
accident killed at least 11 people.
A bus carrying 40 Nigerian employees of the German construction company
Julius Berger crashed into a minibus and then turned over in the morning
rush hour.
Riot police had to quell a violent crowd who then burned a rescue vehicle
sent to collect the Julius Berger bus.
Correspondents say Nigeria's roads are among the most dangerous in the
world; thousands die every year in accidents.
The minibus was overtaking a large articulated lorry carrying a sea
container converted into a bus, used for taking the construction company's
employees to work.
There were far too many of them for us to control
Wilson Inalegwa
Assistant police commissioner
Authorities said it seemed as if the two had collided and the truck over
turned on top of the minibus, crushing it.
Two out of the 40 people in the truck were killed, along with nine in the
minibus, a spokesman for Julius Berger said.
The dead in the minibus included two children; 12 others were injured, he
said.
But a rescuer told the BBC Hausa service that he counted more than 30
bodies.
Police have not confirmed the number of dead.
Blame
Julius Berger sent a crane to pick up the truck and a mob several hundred
strong, who blamed the company for the accident, burned it.
"There were far too many of them for us to control," said Assistant
Commissioner of Police Wilson Inalegwa.
A passing motorist then ran over the area commander of the Federal Road
Safety Commission (FRSC) who was at the scene to investigate the accident.
He is in hospital and responding to treatment, the FRSC said.
According to official statistics, more than 4,000 people die and more than
20,000 are injured in road accidents in Nigeria each year.
Although the true figure could be higher because in rural areas villagers
sometimes bury the dead before the authorities can arrive.
A Nigerian driving licence can be bought for 5,000 naira ($42, £21) without
needing to take a test.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/thepress/4667095a6009.html
Dunedin riots spark 35 arrests
Narelle Suisted and Matt Maguire - The Press | Sunday, 24 August 2008
A 90-minute riot in Dunedin's Castle Street resulted in 35 arrests last
night as the city's biggest student party weekend got out of control.
About 60 police, including some in full riot gear, battle a crowd of 300-400
students along Castle Street after what was a quiet night spiralled out of
control.
Police and civic leaders had opposed the annual University of Canterbury
Undie 500 car race and only a small event went ahead this weekend, but it
didn't prevent the same sort of violence that resulted in 69 arrests last
year.
The trouble started shortly after midnight when a large influx of mostly
drunk students arrived in Castle Street.
Bottles were thrown and it took the police until about 1.30am to disperse
the crowd.
Lines of riot police worked their way through the crowds of bottle throwers,
systematically clearing the street of trouble makers.
This weekend marks a mid-term break at the University of Otago and is
traditionally one of the biggest party weekends of the year.
Extra police were brought in for the weekend.
On Friday night a small rebel Undie 500 - the official event was cancelled
by the University of Canterbury Engineering Society - arrived in Dunedin and
the resulting partying saw five arrests.
Police had been expecting major problems after an anonymous email was sent
out to 2800 students Canterbury students last Saturday organising an
underground event.
The email stated that students should meet at the Bush Inn at 10pm on Friday
where there would be "drinking , along with themed cars and costumes."
There were 24 cars in the event - down from 150 last year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/world/asia/26briefs-MANKILLEDINR_BRF.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
Bangladesh: Man Killed in Riot
By REUTERS
Published: August 25, 2008
Supporters of Bangladesh's detained former prime minister, Begum Khaleda
Zia, went on a rampage in Dhaka on Monday, burning and damaging vehicles in
a protest in which one man was killed and nine were injured, the police
said. The protesters were demanding that Ms. Khaleda's son be allowed to go
abroad for medical treatment. Ms. Khaleda and Tareque Rahman, her son and
likely political heir, have been detained for more than a year and face
charges of graft and abuse of power. The protests began after television
channels reported that Ms. Khaleda's son had fallen and hurt himself in a
Dhaka hospital where he was being treated for a broken spine. Relatives of
the man killed in the rampage, above, mourned. The man was hit by hot metal
that flew off a vehicle that had been set on fire, the police said.
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080630/news/news8.html
Death of 36-year-old man sparks protest
published: Monday | June 30, 2008
Devon Evans, Gleaner Writer
Ocho Rios, St Ann:
THE FATAL shooting of a 36-year-old electrician by members of the security
forces in Orange Hill, Brown's Town, St Ann, yesterday, sparked a major
protest by residents in the town.
The Brown's Town police were forced to call in reinforcement to control the
situation after residents of Orange Hill blocked all major roads leading to
the town.
Many of the protesters wanted to know why Osbourne Smith of Orange Hill was
shot and killed.
Police raid
The incident occurred early in the morning when members of Operation
Kingfish carried out a raid in Orange Hill in search of a man, said to be on
their most-wanted list.
According to the police, Smith tried to disarm one of their colleagues and
was shot. However, the residents are disputing the police version of the
killing, claiming that Smith was killed in cold blood in the bathroom of his
house.
An alleged member of the notorious Stone Crusher gang was captured by the
police.
The protest crippled the flow of traffic in and out of Brown's Town for more
than three hours.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/16/stories/2008071653440300.htm
Tamil Nadu
Protestors driven out, caned
Special Correspondent
Photo: T. Singaravelou
USING FORCE: Police resorting to lathicharge on residents of Kottakuppam who
squatted on the road in support of their demands on Tuesday.
VILLUPURAM: At least 20 persons sustained injuries when the police resorted
to lathicharge on Tuesday to chase away residents of Kottakuppam who
squatted on the East Coast Road in protest against frequent power cuts.
In the resulting melee, the irate crowd pelted stones at police personnel
injuring woman Sub-Inspector Amularasi and Constables Kanagaraj and
Sakthivel of the striking force. Some persons also damaged the windscreen of
at least 10 buses plying on the route.
Police arrested 20 persons in this connection, invoking the provisions of
the Public Property Damage (Prevention) Act.
According to sources, Kottakuppam residents have been complaining of
frequent power cuts, which affected normal life. Farmers could not draw
water for irrigation and households found it tough to draw drinking water
from borewells. Students could not study during nights and traders were also
affected. Small units suffered badly as the unannounced power cuts hit the
production and affected quality of the products.
Repeated representations to the authorities had not yielded results, the
residents said. On Tuesday, they marched to the sub-station to urge the
authorities to ensure regular power supply. They blocked traffic when they
could not get proper response.
The Kottakuppam police tried to persuade the protestors to disperse but in
vain.
More information about the Onthebarricades
mailing list