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Creation Of Civil Society Platform For A Democratic Ukraine

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By Eurasia Review

Tuesday witnessed the creation of a Civil society platform composed of non-political Civil society actors from Ukraine, whose goal is a long-term strategy for the democratic development of a European Ukraine.

Scheduled to be named “Democracy for Ukraine”, the platform was launched at a press conference in Strasbourg by Ruslana Lyzhychko, Ukrainian singer and face of the Maidan civil protest movement, and Henri Malosse, president of the European Economic and Social Committee.

Formed in the aftermath of the Maidan movement, the non-political platform will aim to tackle the mechanisms of corruption in Ukraine, to keep the country united, and to lead the citizens closer to embracing a democratic identity and European values.

“I have been approached by many devoted, apolitical society leaders, who are ready to volunteer their efforts for the good of their country, including the council of Ukrainian churches”, Ruslana Lyzhychko declared that the platform will be composed of employers, trade union representatives, students, intellectuals, artists, and various religious leaders from across Ukraine.

Henri Malosse, president of the EESC, which represents the civil society of the European Union, engaged to offer its support and expertise, as well as the cooperation of the other European institutions: “the most important action right now is to truly involve Ukrainian citizens in the long-term strategy for eradicating corruption, and stimulating reform and development of their country”.

After meetings with Guy Verhofstadt and Mariella De Sarnez at the European Parliament, Mr Malosse and Ms Lyzhychko also met with the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks. They discussed the necessity for investigations in the human rights violations in Ukraine in order to bring the people responsible to justice. They agreed that the priorities facing Ukraine include anti-corruption schemes and reforms in the police, prosecution and judiciary systems. “We cannot build democracy on top of blood, as long as the criminals are not punished”, Henri Malosse said.

The article Creation Of Civil Society Platform For A Democratic Ukraine appeared first on Eurasia Review.


Blood Pressure Should Be Measured In Both Arms

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By Eurasia Review

As heart disease continues to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States, practitioners and patients alike are looking for ways to cut risk factors and identify new clues to assist with early detection. New research published in the March issue of The American Journal of Medicine suggests that there is an association between a difference in interarm systolic blood pressure and a significant increased risk for future cardiovascular events, leading researchers to recommend expanded clinical use of interarm blood pressure measurement.

While blood pressure is a widely used medical metric, most measurements are taken only using one arm. Measuring interarm blood pressure involves taking two readings, one for each arm. Increased interarm systolic blood pressure differences are defined as 10 mmHg or greater, and while a link between interarm blood pressure and cardiovascular risk was suspected, little data existed to support the hypothesis until now.

This new study examined 3,390 participants aged 40 years and older from the Framingham Heart Study. All subjects were free of cardiovascular disease at baseline, but investigators found that participants with higher interarm systolic blood pressure differences were at a much higher risk for future cardiovascular events than those with less than a 10 mm Hg difference between arms.

“In this large prospective, community based cohort of middle-age men and women free of cardiovascular disease, an increased interarm systolic blood pressure difference was found to be present in nearly 10% of individuals and is associated with increased levels of traditional cardiovascular risk factors,” explains lead investigator Ido Weinberg, MD, Institute for Heart Vascular and Stroke Care, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. “Furthermore, an increased interarm systolic blood pressure difference is associated with an increased risk for incident cardiovascular events, independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors.”

Researchers also found that participants with elevated interarm blood pressure difference were older, had a greater prevalence of diabetes mellitus, higher systolic blood pressure, and a higher total cholesterol level.

According to these findings, investigators suggest practitioners should consider including blood pressure readings in both arms in order to get the most accurate readings possible and detect any differences in interarm blood pressure. “Even modest differences in clinically-measured systolic blood pressures in the upper extremities reflect an increase in cardiovascular risk,” says Weinberg. “This study supports the potential value of identifying the interarm systolic blood pressure difference as a simple clinical indicator of increased cardiovascular risk.”

The article Blood Pressure Should Be Measured In Both Arms appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Bullying Black Holes Force Galaxies To Stay Red And Dead

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By Eurasia Review

Astronomers have used the Herschel Space Observatory to discover massive elliptical galaxies in the nearby Universe containing plenty of cold gas, even though the galaxies fail to produce new stars. Comparison with other data suggests that, while hot gas cools down in these galaxies, stars do not form because jets from the central supermassive black hole heat or stir up the gas and prevent it from turning into stars. The researchers publish their results in a paper in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Giant elliptical galaxies are the most puzzling type of galaxy in the Universe. Since they mysteriously shut down their star-forming activity and remain home only to the longest-lived of their stars – which are low-mass ones and appear red – astronomers often call these galaxies ‘red and dead’.

Up until now, it was thought that red-and-dead galaxies were poor in cold gas – the vital raw material from which stars are born. While cold gas is abundant in spiral galaxies with lively star formation, the lack of it in giant ellipticals seemed to explain the absence of new stars.

Astronomers have long been debating the physical processes leading to the end of their star formation. They speculated that these galaxies somehow expelled the cold gas, or that they had simply used it all to form stars in the past. Although the reason was uncertain, one thing seemed to have been established: these galaxies are red and dead because they no longer possess the means to sustain the production of stars.

This view is being challenged by the new study, based on data from ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory.

“We looked at eight giant elliptical galaxies that nobody had looked at with Herschel before and we were delighted to find that, contrary to previous belief, six out of eight abound with cold gas”, explains Norbert Werner from Stanford University in California, USA, who led the study.

This is the first time that astronomers have seen large amounts of cold gas in red-and-dead galaxies that are not located at the centre of a massive galaxy cluster.

The cold gas manifested itself through far-infrared emissions from carbon ions and oxygen atoms. Herschel’s sensitivity at these wavelengths was instrumental to the discovery.

“While we see cold gas, there is no sign of ongoing star formation,” says co-author Raymond Oonk from ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy.

“This is bizarre: with plenty of cold gas at their disposal, why aren’t these galaxies forming stars?”

The astronomers proceeded to investigate their sample of galaxies across the electromagnetic spectrum, since gas at different temperatures shines brightly at different wavelengths. They used optical images to probe the warm gas – at slightly higher temperatures than the cold one detected with Herschel, and X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to trace the hot gas, up to tens of millions of degrees Celsius.

“In the six galaxies that are rich in cold gas, the X-ray data show tell-tale signs that the hot gas is cooling,” says Werner.

This is consistent with theoretical expectations: once cooled, the hot gas would become the warm and cold gas that is observed at longer wavelengths. However, in these galaxies the cooling process somehow stopped, and the cold gas failed to condense and form stars.

In the other two galaxies of the sample – the ones without cold gas – the hot gas does not appear to be cooling at all.

“The contrasting behaviour of these galaxies may have a common explanation: the central supermassive black hole,” adds Oonk.

In some theoretical models, the level of a black hole’s activity could explain why gas in a galaxy is able – or not able – to cool and form stars. And this seems to apply for the galaxies studied by Werner and his colleagues, too.

While the six galaxies with plenty of cold gas harbour moderately active black holes at their centres, the other two show a marked difference. In the two galaxies without cold gas, the central black holes are accreting matter at frenzied pace, as confirmed by radio observations showing powerful jets of highly energetic particles that stem from their cores.

The jets could be an effect of the hot gas cooling down, and flowing towards the centre of the galaxies. This inflow of cold gas can boost the black hole’s accretion rate, launching the jets that are observed at radio wavelengths.

The jets, in turn, have the potential to reheat the galaxy’s reservoir of cold gas – or even to push it beyond the galaxy’s reach. This scenario can explain the absence of star formation in all the galaxies observed in this study and, at the same time, the lack of cold gas in those with powerful jets.

“These galaxies are red, but with the giant black holes pumping in their hearts, they are definitely not dead,” comments Werner.

“Once again, Herschel has detected something that was never seen before: significant amounts of cold gas in nearby red-and-dead galaxies,” notes Göran Pilbratt, Herschel Project Scientist at ESA, “nevertheless, these galaxies do not form stars, and the culprit seems to be the black hole.”

The article Bullying Black Holes Force Galaxies To Stay Red And Dead appeared first on Eurasia Review.

How Did The Universe Begin: Hot Big Bang Or Slow Thaw?

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By Eurasia Review

Did the universe begin with a hot Big Bang or did it slowly thaw from an extremely cold and almost static state? Prof. Dr. Christof Wetterich, a physicist at Heidelberg University, has developed a theoretical model that complements the nearly 100-year-old conventional model of cosmic expansion.

According to Wetterich’s theory, the Big Bang did not occur 13.8 billion years ago – instead, the birth of the universe stretches into the infinite past. This view holds that the masses of all particles constantly increase. The scientist explains that instead of expanding, the universe is shrinking over extended periods of time.

Cosmologists usually call the birth of the universe the Big Bang. The closer we approach the Big Bang in time, the stronger the geometry of space and time curves. Physicists call this a singularity – a term describing conditions whose physical laws are not defined.

In the Big Bang scenario, the spacetime curvature becomes infinitely large. Shortly after the Big Bang, the universe was extremely hot and dense. Prof. Wetterich believes, however, that a different “picture” is also possible. If the masses of all elementary particles grow heavier over time and gravitational force weakens, the universe could have also had a very cold, slow start.

In that view, the universe always existed and its earliest state was virtually static, with the Big Bang stretching over an infinitely long time in the past. The scientist from the Institute for Theoretical Physics assumes that the earliest “events” that are indirectly observable today came to pass 50 trillion years ago, and not in the billionth of a billionth of a billionth of a second after the Big Bang.

“There is no longer a singularity in this new picture of the cosmos,” says Prof. Wetterich.

His theoretical model explains dark energy and the early “inflationary universe” with a single scalar field that changes with time, with all masses increasing with the value of this field.

“It’s reminiscent of the Higgs boson recently discovered in Geneva. This elementary particle confirmed the physicists’ assumption that particle masses do indeed depend on field values and are therefore variable,” explains the Heidelberg scientist.

In Wetterich’s approach, all masses are proportional to the value of the so-called cosmon field, which increases in the course of cosmological evolution.

“The natural conclusion of this model is a picture of a universe that evolved very slowly from an extremely cold state, shrinking over extended periods of time instead of expanding,” explains Prof. Wetterich.

Wetterich stresses that this in no way renders the previous view of the Big Bang “invalid”, however.

“Physicists are accustomed to describing observed phenomena using different pictures.” Light, for example, can be depicted as particles and as a wave. Similarly, his model can be seen as a picture equivalent to the Big Bang. “This is very useful for many practical predictions on the consequences that arise from this new theoretical approach. However, describing the ‘birth’ of the universe without a singularity does offer a number of advantages,” emphasises Prof. Wetterich. “And in the new model, the nagging dilemma of ‘there must have been something before the Big Bang’ is no longer an issue.”

The article How Did The Universe Begin: Hot Big Bang Or Slow Thaw? appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Rapeseed-Based Animal Feed Cuts Greenhouse Gases By Up To 13 Percent

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By Eurasia Review

The use of rapeseed cake in the production of livestock feed cuts methane and carbon dioxide emissions by up to 13%, according to the initial results of the research carried out by Neiker-Tecnalia within the framework of the Life-Seed Capital project. Specifically, the incorporation of this oilseed plant into animal food cuts methane emissions by between 6% and 13% and carbon dioxide emissions by between 6.8% and 13.6%.

The introduction of this oilseed preparation into the diet of ruminants also improves efficiency in the use of digestible organic matter by between 4.4% and 10.1% and cuts the fermentation of the diet by between 6.2% and 11.8%, without adversely affecting its digestibility for this reason.

Rapeseed cake, also known as ‘oil cake’, is a by-product obtained after pressing the plant to extract its oil.

The Life-Seed Capital project is being funded by the European Union through its Life+ programme and is being led by the Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, Neiker-Tecnalia, and by the Multidisciplinary Centre for Industry Technologies CEMITEC. The project seeks to take advantage of rapeseed crops to improve agricultural productivity and, at the same time, to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The advantages of using this plant start from its use as a rotation crop, because it is capable of increasing cereal productivity and improving soil structure. Once it has been harvested, rapeseed can be used as a biofuel and added to diesel in varying proportions after simple cold pressing.

A waste product in this process is used at the same time to produce animal feed with the resulting cost-cutting for farmers and greater efficiency in the emission of greenhouse gases.

The article Rapeseed-Based Animal Feed Cuts Greenhouse Gases By Up To 13 Percent appeared first on Eurasia Review.

New Study Finds Concussion-Related Health Problems In Retired Football Players

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By Eurasia Review

Repeated concussions and mild brain trauma can result in reduced levels of growth hormone, gonadotropin, and thyroid hormones, causing disorders such as metabolic syndrome and erectile dysfunction and overall poor quality of life. The results of a new study of retired professional football players that compares number of concussions sustained during their careers and health problems associated with hormonal deficiency is published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

In the article “Prevalence of pituitary hormone dysfunction, metabolic syndrome and impaired quality of life in retired professional football players: a prospective study,” the authors report that more than 50% of the retired players evaluated for growth hormone deficiency, hypogonadism, and quality of life had suffered at least three concussions during their careers in the National Football League. Repeat concussion is common in the NFL.

John T. Povlishock, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Neurotrauma and Professor, Medical College of Virginia Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, notes that “although as emphasized by the authors, this study awaits further confirmation with expanded sample sizes and a more critical linkage to a history of concussion intensity and intervals between the concussive injuries, the findings are of considerable interest. Importantly, this study moves us away from the singular focus that repetitive concussive brain injuries ultimately lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy to the premise that such injuries can elicit pituitary dysfunction and metabolic syndrome that may be significant contributors to a poor quality of life in a subset of professional athletes.”

The article is available free on the Journal of Neurotrauma website.

The article New Study Finds Concussion-Related Health Problems In Retired Football Players appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Ukrainian Currency Hits All-Time Low Against Dollar

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By PanArmenian

Ukraine’s currency has tumbled to an all-time low against the dollar amid uncertainty over the country’s political and financial future, the Associated Press reports.

The hryvnia was down 7 percent at one point Tuesday, Feb 25, to 9.8 hryvnia per dollar, according to financial data provider FactSet. By late afternoon in Europe, it was down 6 percent at 9.71 per dollar.

Violent political protests caused the president, Viktor Yanukovych, to flee the capital. Parliament speaker Oleksandr Turchinov, who was named interim leader, has delayed the formation of a new government. The uncertainty over the country’s direction is causing investors to shy away from its currency and financial markets.

The article Ukrainian Currency Hits All-Time Low Against Dollar appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Al-Qaeda Affiliates In Syria Wrangle Over Money, Power And Oil

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By Central Asia Online

By Rachid Najm

Armed jihadist groups in Syria – al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra (JAN) and the “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL) in particular – are battling each other for control of the country’s oil, choking off supply to the Syrian people, as they engage in a public relations war.

This public relations offensive is notable as al-Qaeda in the past has sought to keep its disputes out of the public eye, analysts and experts on extremist groups told Al-Shorfa.

Earlier in February, ISIL fighters surrounded the headquarters and check-points of JAN and the jihadist group Ahrar al-Sham in al-Shaddadi, rural al-Hasakeh, an area considered to be al-Hasakeh Province’s main oil producer with numerous oil wells.

JAN had been in control of the village, which lies on the al-Hasakeh-Deir Ezzor road, for about a year, and Ahrar al-Sham has been active in the area.

Immediately after ISIL’s takeover, Ahrar al-Sham issued a statement describing ISIL as a “treacherous and betraying group,” accusing it of stealing weapons and resources and of forcing captured fighters from other groups to pledge allegiance to ISIL.

The conflict extended to oil-rich Deir Ezzor the same day, when JAN issued a statement accusing ISIL of robbing vital installations under its control such as the Conoco gas field, saying this action cut off JAN’s fighters “from their strategic depth in Deir Ezzor province.”

In the same statement, JAN also accused ISIL of stealing close to US $5m.

ISIL issued a statement in response two days later accusing JAN of “straying from the right path” and of disobedience, threatening it with retaliation if it did not “come back to [its] senses”.

Money, power and oil

“The essence of the dispute between ISIL and JAN is money, for whoever controls the economic resources, especially the oil wells, will have the money and thus power and continuity,” said Maj. Gen. Yahya Mohammed Ali, a strategic analyst specialising in terrorist groups who is retired from the Egyptian army.

Ali said he expects the military and media wars between ISIL and other Islamist factions over funding sources to continue amid fears that some sources of funding “would be cut off now that the nature of these organisations and their affiliation with al-Qaeda have been exposed.”

It has become clear that the war between al-Qaeda’s affiliates in Syria is a struggle for power and wealth, especially agricultural land, grain silos and oil and gas fields and wells, said Syrian journalist Mohammed al-Abdullah.

“Armed groups have recently emerged on the ground and taken control of the oil wells in co-operation with ISIL and JAN,” he told Al-Shorfa.

ISIL has increased its military presence in the city of Deir Ezzor and has seized control of the Thayem field and Conoco plant, al-Abdullah said, adding that sometimes oil is bartered for food or weapons.

“Oil helps ISIL expand its presence on the ground,” said Regional Centre for Strategic Studies researcher Wael al-Sharimi.

In addition to al-Shaddadi oil wells, ISIL recently gained control of al-Jabsa and Rumeilan fields and the oil wells in the Badiyat Shaer area in rural Hama after fierce battles with JAN, he told Al-Shorfa.

“Both ISIL and JAN are facing major technical difficulties in extracting the oil from the wells they gained control of due to lack of required materials and machinery,” he said.

“The extracted oil is processed using very primitive methods, particularly refining it using ‘burners’ in which oil derivatives such as gasoline, diesel and kerosene are separated,” he said.

While it is not possible to know the exact amount of oil being produced by armed groups, he said, before the outbreak of the revolution, Syria extracted 385,000 barrels per day, and that has now dropped to 13,000 barrels per day, according to the Syrian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

Prices unaffordable for civilians

ISIL and JAN’s control of oil fields and refineries allowed them to control sales and distribution in most opposition-held areas of Syria, journalist al-Abdullah told Al-Shorfa.

“Petrol and fuel oil have become a rare commodity, and if available, their prices are too high for Syrian citizens to afford,” he said.

The rise of fuel oil prices has harmed Syrians in opposition-held areas, especially as these areas are witnessing a severe drop of temperatures in winter — a typical family needs at least five litres of fuel oil every day for heating, which is unaffordable, al-Abdullah said.

Food prices are also affected, al-Abdullah said, as wheat fields and storage silos are in areas controlled by armed groups that control the distribution methods and quantities.

A loaf of bread now goes for 200 liras ($1.40), as compared to no more than 15 liras ($0.10) before the revolution, he said.
Evidence of al-Qaeda’s disintegration

“What is happening now between ISIL and JAN is a major change in the way armed groups that subscribe to jihadist ideology deal with each other,” al-Sharimi said.

“Never in the past has a conflict between two factions come out in public in this manner, especially between al-Qaeda-affiliated organisations,” he added.

“Al-Qaeda and affiliated organisations rely heavily on the statements they release as they are directed not only at jihadists but also at supporters” and sympathisers, he said.

Recent statements are notable for their direct and targeted attacks, he said, in addition to the use of Koranic verses to support arguments, which represents a “dual message directed at both supporters in general and scholars to obtain their absolute support”.

The article Al-Qaeda Affiliates In Syria Wrangle Over Money, Power And Oil appeared first on Eurasia Review.


Libya: Benghazi Terrorists Slaughter Egyptian Civilians

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By Magharebia

By Asmaa Elourfi

Seven Egyptian civilians were found shot dead execution-style on a beach outside Benghazi on Monday (February 24th).

The killings in Jalluta prompted the Egyptian government to summon the Libyan ambassador to Cairo.

The slain Copts were kidnapped from their home late Sunday by an unknown group, AFP quoted Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty as saying.

Benghazi residents voiced outrage over the brutal murders of the civilians.

“These horrific acts can only be done by al-Qaeda,” engineer Ahmed al-Warfalli said.

Doctor Amina al-Darsi, 42, also blamed the terrorist group for the killings.

“Al-Qaeda is the number one suspect in murders and heinous crimes,” al-Darsi said. “We reject them because we as Libyans are moderate Muslims and know no extremism,” she added.

Wessam Massoud, 45, expressed his shock over what he called “this disgraceful act”.

“Crimes are now targeting our Arab brothers in Libya,” he added.

“Those Egyptians who were killed are poor people; they were strangers looking for a living,” remarked Bassem al-Agouri, a 38-year-old teacher. “By God, these are heinous acts against humanity which we condemn, and we’ll only face problems that we don’t need with sisterly Egypt because of that.”

Mohamed al-Fitouri, 28, a salesman, said, “Those who committed these horrible acts can’t be described as humans; there is no bit of humanity, morals, or religion about them. I can only describe them as dirty, cowardly and mean. There is no power but from God Almighty.”

Ayman Beshr, 29, a teacher, said: “We can’t yet say that they were killed because they were Coptic Christians.

“Unfortunately, killing in Libya these days doesn’t spare old or young, Christians or Muslims,” he said.

Abou Bakr Younis, a 62-year-old lawyer, said, “May God damn those criminals who affiliate themselves with Islam and God.”

“Is their god the God we know or do they have another god who is bloodthirsty? It’s a god that they created in a certain way to suit their crimes and lust for power, but Islam has nothing to do with them,” he added.

Meanwhile, other foreigners kidnapped by Benghazi gunmen on Sunday have been found alive.

“Investigation elements located the kidnapped Bangladeshi workers in co-operation with young men from Om Mabroka, Gwarsha district. They are in good condition,” Col. Ahmed al-Hasi of the special operations forces said.

The article Libya: Benghazi Terrorists Slaughter Egyptian Civilians appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Making Sense Of Global Terrorism Now – Analysis

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By Elcano Royal Institute

By Fernando Reinares

Al-Qaeda used to be a unitary centralised jihadist organisation. But post 9/11 it evolved into a decentralised terrorist structure within which it is now possible to identify a central nucleus –known as al-Qaeda Central (AQC) and still located in Pakistan’s tribal areas and adjacent territories in Afghanistan– and a number of branches or territorial extensions. These al-Qaeda branches include, for instance, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

Until recently, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) –previously an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Iraq and subsequently the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI)– was an official territorial branch of al-Qaeda. But recent disputes between the ISIL and the organisation finally adopted by al-Qaeda as its affiliate in Syria –Jabaht al Nusra– led Zawahiri, al-Qaeda’s Emir, to deprive the ISIL of its status as a branch of al-Qaeda. This shows that jihadist organisations, despite having a common ideology, can cooperate but also compete with each other.

The relations between AQC –core al-Qaeda– and its territorial extensions vary markedly from case to case. There is no single model or intensity of interaction, since they depend on the circumstances, the profiles of their leaders and the contrasting strategies with respect to particular conflict zones, among other relevant variables. The Letters from Abbottabad, partly declassified and released by West Point’s Counter Terrorism Center, have very interesting examples of these different connections between the AQC leadership and the directorates of al-Qaeda’s territorial branches.

To be an official al-Qaeda branch is qualitatively different from simply being considered an al-Qaeda associate or affiliate. An al-Qaeda branch is formalised only after its Emir pledges loyalty to the Emir of AQC, who then accepts the former’s pledge of loyalty. The process is different from other links between AQC and associate or affiliate entities, which might range from a simple expression of ideological affinity to an exchange of human and material resources or the facilitation of concrete terrorist campaigns and operations.

Jihadist entities, however, can decide to associate directly not with AQC but with al-Qaeda’s territorial extensions or branches and thereby only indirectly with AQC. This was clearly evident in the case of the Movement for Unification and Jihad in Western Africa (MUJWA) and Ansar al-Din, both of which became subordinate to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb during 2012, when they jointly established a Jihadist condominium extending over the north of Mali.

In addition to, on the one hand, al-Qaeda as a global terrorist structure, including AQC and its territorial branches, and, on the other hand, the heterogeneous and changing array of their associate or affiliate jihadist entities, there is a third broad component in the current global terrorist network inspired by salafist jihadism. This comprises local independent cells and individuals that lack historical, organisational or personal bonds with any jihadist organisations.

In summary: global terrorism has evolved from al-Qaeda as a unitary centralised organisation to a polymorphous phenomenon. This evolving phenomenon currently includes AQC, its territorial branches, their associate entities and, additionally, independent actors.

Fernando Reinares is Senior Analyst on International Terrorism | @ F_Reinares

This article was published at Elcano Royal Institute and may be accessed here.

The article Making Sense Of Global Terrorism Now – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Morocco, Counter-Terrorism, And The US-Africa Summit – Analysis

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By Published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute

By Ahmed Charai

In the wake of unprecedented Islamist explosions and attacks across North Africa, the foreign ministers of 19 states–including France and much of North Africa—launched an equally unprecedented response. Meeting in Morocco’s capital this past November, they vowed to pool their intelligence efforts against al Qaeda and its salafi fellow travellers. Their agreement, known as the “Rabat Declaration,” creates a counter-terrorism intelligence fusion center and formalizes its plans to share secret reports on terrorists. This is a major blow against al Qaeda’s North African affiliates, which have long exploited intelligence gaps among neighboring nations.

The Rabat Declaration has gotten little notice in Washington, but it signals that some major changes are underway in Europe and Africa.

France and Morocco have acted with vision and boldness. France sent French forces in Mali to combat al Qaeda affiliates there. For the first time in nearly 50 years, French ground forces fought the terrorists of Sahara and routed the Islamist enemy.

Morocco’s efforts were largely diplomatic, but, if anything, more dramatic. While the kingdom is America’s oldest ally in the region, it had been largely ostracized by neighboring Algeria. Algeria’s influence has long kept Morocco out of the African Union, the only nation on the continent to be excluded, and Morocco has been excluded from most major regional security initiatives. But when Islamist-inspired civil war ravaged neighboring Mali, Rabat did not stand idly by.

At first, the European Union and North African nations looked to Algeria to lead efforts to stabilize Mali. As Algeria’s francophone southern neighbor, Mali has largely been seen as part of Algeria’s sphere of influence. But Algeria did nothing. Algiers was consumed by a power struggle between the powerful Department of Intelligence and Security and the ruling FLN party. The battle turned on who would ultimately replace nation’s aging president, Abdel Aziz Bouteflika. So Algiers turned a blind eye as suffering in Malian cities mounted and refugees poured desperately into the desert. All Algeria could manage to do was patrol its own vast borders with Mali.

With Algeria on the sidelines, Morocco charged onto the field. The Moroccan king saw a chance to partner with the new French leader and forge a regional alliance to defeat the Islamists in Mali and contain the contagion of radical Islam. This is a major reversal. Long excluded, Morocco emerged to lead an African-French coalition against Jihadists in Mali. The king knew that, due to North African migration patterns from 1960 onward, the North African jihadist threat actually stretches from Congo to Belgium. That requires a broad strategy, encompassing intelligence and military operations, economics and, most controversially, religion. The regional intelligence sharing partnership, the “Rabat Declaration,” is now underway.

Morocco has also launched initiatives to boost trade and investment across the region. In the past decade, Morocco signed free-trade accords with the European Union and the United States. Now it is looking south. Morocco’s Attijariwafa Bank, which recently acquired a majority stake in Mali’s Banque Internationale, has innovative approach to emerging market banking. Many of its clients have opened their first bank accounts or taken their first bank loans in the past five years. Where Western banks only see risk, Moroccan banks see high-margin opportunities. Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP), the Moroccan phosphates company, increased mining operations in Mali (while its phosphate-made fertilizers have boosted food production there). These investments are creating economic growth, which should also minimize the appeal of radical Islam.

The third pillar of Morocco’s strategy is religion and it is the one that makes Western policy makers most uncomfortable. Raised in a culture that separates religion and politics, many Westerners intuitively believe it is wrong for secular parties to make religious arguments. And, they always say, it is the Jihadists who mix religion with politics. What they fail to fully grasp is that in Muslim countries, politics and religion are one.

In Morocco, King Mohammed VI is both the head of state and the highest religious authority, “Commander of the Faithful.” He has used his religious post to champion religious moderation and reform across North Africa and southern Europe, which is home to many Moroccan and Algerian migrants. Among his initiatives, the king dispatched Muslim preachers (imams) to French and Spanish cities to emphasize the religious errors in radical Islam.

King Mohammed VI has also engaged Mali on religious grounds. Almost 500 scholarships have been provided for imams from Mali to study in Morocco. The king has made two visits to Mali in the past year and met high-level clerics there. The king’s religious approach is building on a solid foundation. Morocco and Mali (and other North African nations) share the moderate Malikite School of Islam, which preaches deference to civil governments. The king wants to strengthen this school of Islam and inoculate other North African Muslims against it. Morocco and Mali signed a religious partnership agreement in November 2013, which pairs the religious affairs ministries of both nations and pledges each to promote Malikite jurisprudence. This pre-empts the appeals made by Saudi and Pakistani missionaries, who spent the past two decades trying to radicalize North African Muslims. Meanwhile, Morocco is building on its success in the religious outreach by announcing partnerships with Tunisia, Guinea, and Libya to jointly train imams and fight extremist ideas.

President Obama will host a U.S.-African summit in Washington, D.C. on August 4 and 5. American officials should take a closer look at Morocco’s case of deploying moderate Maliki Islam to combat radicalism. Like the Cold War, the War on Terror is a war of ideas. How to promote peaceful religious ideas should be a major focus of the U.S.-African summit, even if it makes some Westerners uncomfortable.

About the author:
Ahmed Charai is publisher of the weekly Moroccan newspaper L’Observateur and President of MED Radio, a national broadcast network in Morocco, MEDTV network and chairman of the board of Al-Ahdath al-Maghrebiya Arabic daily newspaper. As an expert on Morocco and North Africa, he sits on the Board of Trustees of the Foreign Policy Research Institute and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and search for Common Ground in Washington. He is a member of The National Interest’s Advisory Council.

Source:
This article was published by FPRI and may be accessed here.

The article Morocco, Counter-Terrorism, And The US-Africa Summit – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Russia-West Rivalry And Iran’s Need To Be Cautious – Analysis

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By Iran Review

By Alireza Noori

Rivalry and encounter have been among permanent features of relations between Russia and the Western world – which is used here in its general sense to mean the United States and all its Western allies. Both these phenomena have been manifest in various fields and at different levels as the unrelenting struggle over power in international politics continues. As a result, whenever their intensity has increased, they have frequently caused crisis in relations among those states that are related to any one of these power poles. Under present circumstances, the rivalry has intensified due to a variety of reasons, which include efforts by both sides to redefine power relations and regulate the balance of power in the Middle East region. The necessity for changing the power balance in the Middle East is the result of challenges in the region which have their root in political developments that have come to be collectively known as the Arab Spring.

Other factors which have been at work to further intensify the existing tense atmosphere between the two sides include continuation of the West’s aggressive policy toward Russia, including in the case of deployment of European missile shield; direct and indirect manipulation of the Arab world’s developments to the detriment of other players, including Russia; and also the failed experience of “reset” project, which aimed to improve relations between Washington and Moscow. These developments, in turn, have paved the way for the emergence of other kinds of confrontation such as intensification of hostile rhetoric on both sides, the case of [former US National Security Agency contractor, Edward] Snowden, resistance of Moscow against the West in Iran’s nuclear case, denouncement of NATO’s military action in Libya by Moscow, direct confrontation between Russia and the West over the crisis in Syria, Moscow’s overt and covert efforts to boost its influence in the new arrangements of the Middle East, including in Egypt, the military approach taken by Russia in the North Pole region, Russia’s effort to find new allies in East Asia, and finally, the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

The important point here is that, unlike past years, Russia has not taken a passive or merely negative position on these developments. On the contrary, in such cases as Russia’s position on the situation in Syria, its plans for military deployment in the North Pole, as well as in the case of Snowden and efforts made by Moscow to boost its influence in the Middle East, all positions taken by the Kremlin have been positive and even, to some extent, aggressive. Regardless of some insignificant cases of confrontation, as said before, the new era of rivalry / confrontation between Russia and the West has taken shape on a powerful geopolitical and strategic background with the goal of redefining each side’s spheres of influence and to lay the foundation for a novel framework of division of labor under new regional and international conditions. This is true because on the one hand, Russia believes that the US hegemony across the world is in decline and, as such, is trying to fill the void of US power in the Middle East in a bid to establish itself as a big power in this region. On the other hand, Russia is of the opinion that the traditional power relations cannot meet its interests anymore and continuation of those relations is considered by Russia to be in direct conflict with its regional and international goals.

Moscow is well aware that not showing a suitable reaction to the current aggressive policy adopted by the West would greatly hamper the efforts it makes to achieve the above goals and will finally force Russia to give more concessions in the long-term prospect for Europe, the Middle East, and even East Asia. It is due to this foreknowledge that Russia has been galvanized into action to appear more proactive in its foreign policy and put up serious resistance against the West’s expansionistic policies. Such an attitude will naturally lead to confrontation in international arena. In the meantime, the leaders in Kremlin have owned up to the fact that Moscow’s ability to engage in rivalry / confrontation with networked and multidimensional power of the West is limited and that limitation was quite evident in the loneliness of Russia in the face of the Western front during the recent Geneva 2 conference on Syria. Therefore, Moscow has been trying to make up for this shortcoming by finding new allies and taking advantages of some leverages or playing cards that are still available to it.

Recent signals sent by Moscow to Tehran for further strengthening of interactions can be considered along the same line. This is true as Russia has been faced with a very complicated situation in the Middle East region due to its geopolitical confrontation with the West in the Middle East, on the one hand, and because of tension with certain Arab and non-Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, on the other hand. As a result, in order to reinforce its own front and promote its policy in the region, Russia needs a partner and leverage like Iran – which happens to be in a similar situation as Russia). Therefore, it seems that all these signals are more an outcome of the new dynamics of the Middle East developments rather than being the result of new assessment of Iran and its position in the region. As a result, this new reactive policy cannot be considered as a ground for the emergence of a new “long-term understanding and policy” toward Iran in the Kremlin.

The important point which should be taken into consideration here is that following the historical tradition common among big powers, Russia and the United States have usually transferred the gravitational center of their rivalry / confrontation to third parties and are still doing that. In this way, while avoiding the possibility of direct confrontation and the high cost that it would entail for both of them, they will be able to keep a window open for improvement of relations and pursuit of strategic interactions in the future. Under the present circumstances, Syria and Ukraine are two good cases where this tactic is in full swing. At the moment, Russia is putting pressure on the West in Syria while, on the opposite, the West is putting pressure on Russia in Ukraine with both sides trying to tilt the power balance in a direction which would be more beneficial to them. Of course, the important point in this process is to gain a bigger share in future power relations and the least important or even insignificant variable is the interests of Syria and Ukraine and the people in these countries.

As a result of various geopolitical and geoeconomic attractions, Iran is in a good position to turn into a “third party” in the confrontation between Moscow and the West. As a result, now that Tehran is moving in the direction of reducing tensions in its foreign policy and regaining the trust of international community, it seems advisable for the Islamic Republic to stay away from the current tidal wave of rivalry and confrontation between Russia and the West. This is true as involvement of Iran, both overt and covert, in this game will not only put the country’s national interests at the mercy of their power game, but will be also in conflict with the moderate foreign policy that the administration of [Iranian President] Mr. [Hassan] Rouhani has been following thus far.

Therefore, although a recent deal for trading oil for commodities between Iran and Russia has certain positive aspects and will be possibly able to reduce the effects of Western sanctions against Iran and can be even used as a trump vis-à-vis the West, it should be noted that Moscow is very deft in playing this card in its confrontation and rivalry with the West. An even more important point is that under the present circumstances when nuclear negotiations are going on between Iran and the world powers, getting involved in long-term interaction with Russia in an issue which is directly related to sanctions will be certainly considered by the European Union and Washington as an act of provocation, which will elicit a negative reaction from them.

It should be noted that such a possible reaction will be different from the West’s reaction to the continuation of oil deal between Iran and China under conditions of sanctions. This is true as the Western countries will consider an “oil for goods” deal or any other kind of long-term interaction between Tehran and Moscow, which will influence the structure of pressures on Iran one way or another, within the general context of their rivalry with Russia (and not necessarily with Iran). However, their expected reaction to Moscow will leave its mark on Tehran as well. Therefore, in case of any unnecessary involvement of Iran in the rivalry / confrontation between Moscow and the West, like what is currently going on in Syria and Ukraine, Tehran’s national interests will be certainly of secondary importance.

Alireza Noori
Ph.D. Candidate, Saint Petersburg State University & Expert on Russia Affairs

The article Russia-West Rivalry And Iran’s Need To Be Cautious – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Ukrainian Journalists Rush To Find Deposed President’s Dirty Secrets

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By RFE RL

By Natalie Sedletska

(RFE/RL) — Someone wanted the records to disappear without a trace under the gray waves of the Kyiv Reservoir. Instead, they are ending up on the Internet for everyone in the world to see.

When ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his entourage were fleeing the lavish presidential residence at Mezhyhirya, outside of Kyiv, on the night of February 21-22, they apparently dumped hundreds of documents into the reservoir in an amateurish attempt to conceal the information they contain.

But journalists and scuba divers showed up on the scene just hours later and began recovering the soggy papers. Some were floating surreally along the edges of the water; others were recovered in stuffed file folders from the depths.

For the last three days, a group of journalists and criminal investigators from the post-Yanukovych government has been working to dry out the papers and the first 500 have now been photographed and placed on a special website Yanukovychleaks.org for all to see.

According to the website, the trove includes nearly 200 folders of documents, although the exact number of pages is unknown. The 500 pages posted so far are only a small fraction, not more than 2 percent, of the total.

‘Like A Medieval Fiefdom’

So far, it appears that the papers mostly tell the sordid story of the pompous Mezhyhirya estate itself — how it was questionably privatized by murky companies that now can likely be traced to Yanukovych and how it was remodeled and appointed at great expense. Other documents tell similar tales about Yanukovych’s Sukholuche hunting lodge and other presidential retreats.

Many of the records seem to relate to cash payments ranging up to millions of dollars. One document from September 2010 apparently records the transfer of $12 million in cash for an unknown purpose.

According to “Kyiv Post” deputy chief editor Katya Gorchinskaya, who is among those working on the documents, Yanukovych emerges “as an ugly man who ran both his home and his nation like a medieval fiefdom.”

There are also “blacklists” of Yanukovych’s antagonists, including journalists, Femen activists, and members of Ukrainian nationalist organizations.

Journalist and activist Tetyana Chornovol, who miraculously survived being abducted, beaten, and left to die on a freezing December night, was among those whose dossier was found at Mezhyhirya. Yanukovych’s police at the time dismissed the incident as “road rage.”

‘No Idea About Morality’

Kyiv’s Vernadskyy Library has provided special hot-air cannons that are used to rescue water-damaged documents, and they have been set up in a room in one of the presidential estate’s outbuildings. A group of archivists who specialize in document restoration and preservation have also been working at the scene.

Journalists, fearing their access to the documents could be restricted at any moment, have worked around the clock to photograph them. After the papers are dried, they will be properly scanned and the images placed on the Yanukovychleaks website.

Project organizers are now promising that all the records, without exception, will be made available in the next few days.

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was quoted in “The Guardian” on February 25 as saying Yanukovych would openly brag about corruption and malfeasance in his government at international gatherings. At the UN General Assembly in 2011, Saakashvili said, Yanukovych talked openly about how he “corrupted” top officials and judges.

“He didn’t care who he was talking to,” Saakashvili reportedly said. “The guy did not have any idea about morality.”

Robert Coalson contributed to this report from Prague

The article Ukrainian Journalists Rush To Find Deposed President’s Dirty Secrets appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Somalia: Greater Efforts Needed To Curb Sexual Violence In Mogadishu

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By IRIN

Sexual and gender-based violence is a major issue in Somalia, especially for internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in south and central Somalia. A Mogadishu-based NGO working to protect women and children, Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC), has recorded more than 2,000 survivors of sexual violence in Mogadishu since it was set up in July 2012.

People in IDP camps are most vulnerable because they do not have proper shelter or security, according to Fatima Ibrahim of SSWC. “Perpetrators can easily get access to IDP camps, and rape even in the presence of husbands and children,” she told IRIN.

Many sexual violence cases occur in the city districts of Hodan and Deyniile, the organization says.

Deyniile had been a proposed site to relocate IDPs living in Mogadishu, but the plan was put on hold in July 2013, due to the government’s weak control of the area and security concerns.

“Very high numbers of incidents of sexual violence have been reported consistently particularly in IDP camps and settlements in Mogadishu and surrounding areas,” said the Somali Federal Government, in a joint communiqué with the UN in May 2013. “There exists a deep culture of silence and fear regarding crimes of sexual violence, which significantly impacts on reporting and response.”

There were 800 cases of sexual and gender-based violence in Mogadishu in the first half of 2013, according to The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

“Something very concrete and not impossible to do would be for the government to start ensuring that at least the basic and the big IDP camps in Mogadishu have a basic police presence,” said Laetitia Bader, an Africa researcher with Human Rights Watch (HRW).

An HRW report released on 13 February called on the government to take strong action to better protect women and children in those parts of the country over which it has control.

“It was clear from our research that rape is an everyday fact of life for many women and girls in Mogadishu,” said Samer Muscati, women’s rights researcher at HRW and a co-author of the report, speaking at the launch of the study in Nairobi.

“Impunity is the norm”

Access to justice is also a major impediment. “Accountability for sexual violence in Somalia is almost non-existent; impunity is the norm,” said Muscati. “After years of armed conflict the formal justice system is weak; women are reluctant to file complaints because of social taboos [and] women have a legitimate fear of reprisals.”

In January 2013, a woman who alleged she had been raped, and the journalist who interviewed her, were both arrested and sentenced. In November, two other journalists, one the victim of alleged rape, were arrested and charged with defamation.

“In the south we are concerned about the fact that women alleging rape and journalists who have reported on this, have been jailed,” Ed Pomfret, Somalia campaigns and policy manager for Oxfam, told IRIN. “Women need to have access to sympathetic courts and police to ensure that perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence are tried fairly and brought to justice.”

HRW also documented cases where women claimed that the police were unhelpful. “We’ve heard of the police saying, go and look for the perpetrators yourself. We’ve heard of cases of the police saying `if you cannot identify the perpetrators, well, we can’t do anything about this’,” said Bader. “This first encounter with the authorities is absolutely critical and I think there’s a lot of work to be doing there.”

New law

“The Penal Code criminalizes rape, but considers it a crime against morals rather than against the person. As a result many women do not trust the system,” noted a March UN report on sexual violence in conflict.

The government is in the process of writing into law a National Gender Policy. But Muscati argues that this initial draft “did not address violence in a meaningful way”.

Still, he believes the document could have a big impact. “The policy could set a historic precedent if it includes violence against women as a key priority,” but, he cautioned, “the sense I have is that this is not a priority of the government.”

The problem is not confined to the south.

“In the north there is a limited system of monitoring and reporting supported by the Human Rights Commission, which needs more support and development,” Pomfret told IRIN.

“The Somaliland acting attorney-general announced recently that traditional forms of justice should not supersede the civil and criminal court system. But we are still waiting to see if this actually has an effect… There are different systems in different parts of Somalia but across the board access to justice is still too limited.”

The withdrawal of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) from Somalia in 2013 due to security concerns has not made things any easier. “Survivors and local service providers identified the MSF facilities as the best known of the few completely free clinics where local organizations could refer victims of sexual violence,” the HRW report noted, adding that this had left a big gap in service delivery.

The article Somalia: Greater Efforts Needed To Curb Sexual Violence In Mogadishu appeared first on Eurasia Review.

The Economics Of Indonesia’s Election Campaigns – Analysis

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By RSIS

Political parties have submitted for official vetting their preliminary campaign budgets for the legislative elections that will be held on 9 April 2014. There are lessons to be learned from the 2009 elections. This commentary is part of a series on Indonesia’s national elections this year.

By Fitri Bintang Timur and Adhi Priamarizki

INDONESIA’S ELECTION campaigns are an expensive business. They can even lead political parties to financial ruin. From spending on such things as free music concerts, food, t-shirts and stickers to expenses for candidates, parties need funds to cover their campaign costs. Some politicians may even attempt to use illegitimate funding sources which will undermine their parties’ and candidates’ integrity.

How much are the political parties willing to invest in order to contest the forthcoming elections in April 2014 compared to the last election? Political parties and candidates often do not hesitate to heavily invest in their campaigns. In the 2004 and 2009 legislative elections, the total funds reported to the state auditor is Rp 298 billion (US$25 million) and Rp 826 billion (US$62 million) respectively. For the upcoming election, the preliminary campaign budgets registered with the Indonesian Election Commission (KPU) have reached Rp 927 billion (US$76 million).

The high cost of Open-List system

Presidential contender Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra Party is the “high roller” with Rp 144 billion (US$12 million). Meanwhile President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democrat Party will provide Rp 135 billion (US$11 million) and the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP), headed by former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, allocated Rp 130 billion (US$11 million) for their campaign budget. Although Gerindra and Demokrat are among the biggest spenders, their campaign funds are smaller than for the 2009 elections.

This year Gerindra’s budget is lower by 53 percent and Demokrat by 43 percent. Conversely, PDIP and other political parties are growing their budget between three (United Development Party, Crescent Star Party and PDIP) to 14 times of its 2009 budget (National Awakening Party). Golkar, one of Indonesia’s oldest political parties that produced many of the country’s top politicians, cuts its budget to almost 50 percent, from Rp 143 billion (USD 11.8 million) to Rp 75 billion (USD 6.2 million).

However, even the large political parties’ budgets often fail to fully support their candidates, who are thus forced to seek additional sources of funding. The open-list system, in which the electorate votes for the person rather than the party, forces every candidate to do self-promotion to woo voters. For example in the last national legislative elections, each candidate spent an average of Rp 2 billion (US$167,000) although some better-known candidates were able to spend as little as Rp 300 million (US$25,000).

The open-list system undermines Indonesia’s democratic progress. This can be seen from the flourishing candidacies of public personalities such as actors, actresses, religious leaders and well-off business people outside the party heirarchies. Coupled with the absence of ideological platforms, the erosion of parties’ reputations and questions about their raison d’etre may arise. Nevertheless, without those public figures, the campaign costs of parties are bound to increase.

By any means necessary: Persuade, borrow or steal

There are several ways for political parties to overcome the high cost of the elections. Firstly, candidates can and do use their own money. However this creates cynicism that political participation is only for the rich. Secondly, candidates borrow money and promise to pay back when they win. This leads to problems as winning candidates focus on repaying their debts rather than working as legislators and losing candidates face debt burdens, causing stress and social problems. Thirdly, candidates tend to turn to large donors. This ‘donation trap’ weakens the integrity of the candidates as they feel indebted and give preferential treatments to the sponsors when it comes to government tenders, eliciting corruption.

Another source of questionable election funding is the use of the state budget for campaign purposes. Some politicians allegedly use their institutions’ facilities for campaigning. For example, recently a Prosperous Justice Party candidate was under fire as her campaign team pasted her campaign photo sticker on the Ministry of Health biscuits donated to the flood victims in Jakarta. There was even a candidate from United Development Party (PPP) that went as far as robbing a bank customer to obtain election funds.

In an attempt to solve the campaign funding trap, the KPU has demanded political parties and candidates to report their campaign financial accounts as well as list donations received from individuals and organisations (capped at Rp 1 billion or about US$85,000 and Rp 7.5 billion respectively).

Campaign financing activities are audited; failure to meet these requirements will disqualify political candidates and parties. Those providing fake financial reports will have their votes annulled. KPU cooperates with the Election Supervisory Board and Indonesian Police Force to investigate any suspicious financial reports. Notwithstanding these procedures critics are still demanding for the election funding to be better regulated.

Need to limit overall campaign funding

One issue that keeps arising is that there is no limit for overall campaign funding – only limits on the amount of donations received per individual or organisation. If not regulated, this system will produce sky-high campaign costs. It creates a focus on gathering more resources rather than creating smarter campaign strategies, while high campaign budgets may also lead to vote-buying rather than providing political education to the electorate. Additionally, political parties select candidates based on resource ownership, or public popularity, rather than quality.

If these problems are to be solved it is necessary for the government to set a reasonable election campaign fund limit. Candidates will be able to focus on engaging the voters and develop campaign methods based on voluntarism as a way to reduce cost. To attract volunteers, candidates should pay attention to grassroot-level political involvement instead of focusing on elite political deals.

To support the standardising of election costs, the government must impose campaign conditions that provide political education for voters as a balancer to candidates’ pragmatic campaigning. For example, the government can arrange open debates between candidates and parties so that the public know their quality and style of communication. Capping campaign budgets will help Indonesia build a quality democracy rather than a wasteful political system.

Fitri Bintang Timur is an Associate Research Fellow and Adhi Priamarizki is a Senior Analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

The article The Economics Of Indonesia’s Election Campaigns – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.


The Bull Is Still Within Grasp Of US: The Last-Ditched Attempt – OpEd

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By Eurasia Review

The conferences held in Bonn and Chicago in 2011 and 2012 on Afghanistan respectively successfully garnered 4.2 billion dollars from the International Community to foot the bills incurred by the ANSF each year.

There is a strong possibility of thinning out the size of ANSF from 350,000 to the rough figure of 250,000 given the rising expenditure on operational and administrative levels. The collective amount of money spent by ANSF in 2013 hovers around 6.5 billion dollars (much more than the federal revenue of Afghanistan).

The pressing question of whether the bankrolling from the countries promised to offer financial assistance will suffice the demands of ANSF or not remains a nagging mystique. Secondly, the ‘limited efficacy’ of ANSF to counter the insurgence expected to get intense further aggravates the political canvas of Afghanistan.

The foot-dragging with regards to inking the Security Agreement on part of Hamid Karzai has the potency to veer the land of Afghanistan towards the most-feared anarchy. Even if the US troops are awarded the go-ahead to retain a shrunken foothold, the bureaucracy in Afghanistan profusely teeming with the hand-picked stooges of Hamid Karzai will thwart every attempt aimed at mustering ‘political capital’ by the US administration.

In fact, apart of Abdullah Abdullah, all the other presidential candidates have a cordial relationship with Karzai and appear to be in no mood to bring a paradigm shift in the prevailing policies. In the cesspool of power-sharing and political wrestling, it is the United States of America that remains ‘impotent’ with billions of dollars ploughed into it, yet being too ineffective to impress an impact.

Even hitherto, 90 percent of the government expenditures (including the security forces) of Afghanistan are paid for by the United States. Does US have an alternative or are pushed to a blind alley with no feasible option left? Of course, there is a solution.

A political formula, that would endow proportionate role to the belligerent forces (Taliban) at war with the center in the political dispensation, offer a limited leverage to Karzai to retain his political might in the parliament and guarantee Pakistan to help reconfigure the power-centers in a way that would ensure no territorial or existential threat across the border, needs to be designed. This trio will define the contours of an Afghanistan and will set into motion a process characterized either by transformation or regression in the days to come.

The belligerents mounting lethal attacks on NATOo/Isaf and ANSF are not a monolithic legion rather a combo of three forces whose interests are intricately woven around the occupation of Afghanistan. Taliban are at the vanguard of this three-layered legion. Wedded to an ideological substratum, Taliban aim to cling on to the levers of power for the implementation of Islamic Sharia. Apart from Taliban, there are some anti-occupational forces who took to arms in a bid to wrest their land back from the claws of foreign occupation. They are least bothered about religion or its political role in the state-crafting.

Once the last pair of foreign boots departs, this force will die its own death. The third force constitutes the blood-soaked, pocket-stuffing warlords who maintain their illegal businesses of opium cultivation, human trafficking and pirated guns owing to the weak government in the center. They help others develop a political environment that enfeebles any government in the center in an attempt to further strengthen their own businesses. A strong formidable political structure in the centre will bring these landlords to their knees.

Therefore, it is the force of Taliban that has to be brought on the table of negotiations by keeping Karzai and Pakistan in the loop. Extra-democratic concessions will have to be accorded in order to extract a better response from the Taliban and Karzai. Taliban must be granted the legitimacy for their political endeavour. They must be deemed a political entity with an agenda falling within the realms of politically accepted culture. Their demand of releasing the captives held either in Bagram detention camp or in Guantanamo Bay detention camp must be accepted. The recent move enacted by Hamid Karzai to set the prisoners free will thaw the ice of mistrust lying between both the camps. They must be accorded the guarantee of no legal sanctions in the future. The top brass of Taliban slammed as terrorists by the US forces must be exonerated from this charge.

In return, Taliban will lie under an obligation to cave in to the US demands. Taliban must sever ties with the chapters of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and should not allow any of its members to defect either to the ranks of Al Qaeda or to an outfit constituting a regional threat. Women must be granted the right to claim their share in every organized setting of the governance model. Their education must be accepted as a right given by the religion of Islam and all schools of ethics. Taliban must operate their social and political activities within the constitutional ambit of Afghanistan. Extra-constitutional exercises will have to be ratified by having a bill passed through the parliament. Minorities ( Hazara, Tajik and Uzbek) must not be discriminated against on account of their ethnicity and religious adhesion. Taliban must lay down their arms by conforming to the norms of the constitution of Afghanistan.

A complete pull-out of the US forces by summoning the theory of “zero option” will pacify the anger of the forces at war with the present government. Instead, a peace-keeping mission spearheaded by the troops from Muslim countries can be replaced in lieu of NATO and ISAF forces. These troops will not only train the ANSF on the modern lines, but will help calm down the politically charged climate of Afghanistan by virtue of commonality in their religion.

The Indian clout spanning across the military apparatus of Afghanistan should be diluted by lending spacious role to the Chinese military for the ‘martial edification’. The Chinese military is already coaching 300 Afghan policemen which can be further expanded into a large project. An Indian role in Afghanistan will always entail an existential threat to Pakistan; as a result, ‘strategic depth’ might come into play by default which will further deteriorate the political mapping in Afghanistan.

Any stable arrangement of power-sharing in Afghanistan will offer the US government a reason to justify this protracted war in front of their tax-payers back home. It is commonly said in Daghestan( an autonomous region in Russia) that once you fail to grab the bull by the horns when it is dashing past you, there is no point checking it by the tail. US still have the horns of bull within the reach of its grasp.

The article The Bull Is Still Within Grasp Of US: The Last-Ditched Attempt – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Unleashing The Dream Of A Stable And Prosperous Afghanistan – OpEd

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By Aziz Amin Ahmadzai

Unleashing the dream of a Stable and Prosperous Afghanistan
2014 is going to be a very decisive year for Afghanistan. The withdrawal of all foreign troops , pursuing peace talks with Taliban and Presidential election which is due to be held on 5th April are the events that will embark a new chapter in Afghanistan political history.

By the end of 2014 the foreign troops are going to leave Afghanistan. Only if the Bilateral Security Agreement or BSA is signed then some very little residual US forces in between 5000-1000 will remain inside Afghanistan. The remaining U.S. force, expected to number roughly 10,000, would only serve in training and advising role for the fledgling Afghan forces and may operate on its own only to hunt down the remnants of al-Qaida operatives and leadership there.

But so far Afghan President Hamid Karzai has refused to sign BSA until the main concerns of the Afghan government are not removed and at the same time some pre- conditions are not met. But I guess the US have realized that President Karzai is unlikely to sign BSA therefore the U.S. military is now preparing to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, President Barack Obama told Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday, marking the latest attempt by the American commander-in-chief to cajole his counterpart into signing the Bilateral Security Agreement, or BSA, that would define the U.S. role there after the end of this year.

“Because [President Karzai] has demonstrated that it is unlikely that he will sign the BSA, the United States is moving forward with additional contingency planning,” the White House said in readout of their call Tuesday morning. “Specifically, President Obama has asked the Pentagon to ensure that it has adequate plans in place to accomplish an orderly withdrawal by the end of the year should the United States not keep any troops in Afghanistan after 2014.”

With all these changing circumstances Afghanistan is once again standing on a very important point of history. With all the miseries and problems the question is once again left without a solid answer both from the Afghan themselves, from the neighbors in particular from Pakistan and Iran and from the international community that whether with all due responsibilities, can they save Afghanistan from a looming bloodshed or not? Because the country’s political conditions are not satisfactory.

Taliban have intensified wagging attacks day by day. A recent rueful attack that took place on Sunday in Ghazi abad,kunar where Taliban ambushed an Afghan military check post killing 21 ANA personnel and taking 4 hostages .

The country’s economy is a stagnant one and most of the warlords and corrupt elements don’t let the system to run smoothly and are against of any peace deal with the Taliban which is in fact posing a direct threat to their personal interests.

To provide an answer to the above asked question shall have 2 aspects. First comprehending the Afghanistan’s conditions and secondly the factors which influence the conditions of Afghanistan.
First of all Afghanistan should be left for Afghans so that they are able to reach a consensus among themselves in order to put an end to the ongoing and bleak looming picture.

The international community including the United States of America shall support help this process and not let the neighbors of Afghanistan in particular Pakistan and Iran to not meddle and sabotage any peace talks or deal among Afghans as they did during the 1990’s internal wars. This will surely pave way for a stable and robust democratic Afghanistan, and peaceful democratic Afghanistan is in the interest of this region and of course in the interest of Americans too. A peaceful Afghanistan will ensure both regional and distant powers that their interests are preserved and Afghanistan is posing no threat to them.

Afghans are of the most peace loving people and they have proved it before as well. But very unfortunately they have been exploited by the regional and distant powers which do not let Afghans to sit with each other and decide their future but sadly they are playing their own dirty games by the cost of innocent people lives. No doubt the country has been invaded from time to time by world’s powerful states which resulted in creating differences and mistrust among the Afghan people.

The second aspect is that if Afghans are left to resolve all the differences among each other by themselves, they will not reach consensus peacefully rather every group will take their guns back as history had proved it in 90’s.

But in the recent times we have witnessed that different fractions had sit together to resolve all the problems through peace rather going to war sheer because the Afghan political groups have realized the very fact that since 37 years they have fought two wars against world great powers and these miseries have left this nation poor, infrastructure destroyed, unity turned into disunity and discrimination have been fueled among them. This resulted to produce a poorest and dependent society where poverty, violence and violations of human rights are on peak.

Now the question is that after withdrawal and end of fight against insurgent groups will US and international community continue to support Afghanistan in terms of building its economy, infrastructure and state’s institutions?

It is an alarming situation for both Afghanistan and its neighbor’s countries that if the Afghan governmental institutions remained weak, Taliban will surely take over again in Afghanistan and will be strongest than ever before because they know that finally they have departed another super power.

Let’s not forget this very fact as well that today’s the Afghan society has been changed and is not the one when Taliban was ruling. They are not enjoying as wide support as they enjoyed when they were ruling. The stat institutions are active though weak, and most importantly the Afghan government have support or back up of the international community. Despite of daily attacks and violence economy and infrastructure is way better than before; the only thing which is needed is peace.

The so-called intellectual depicted Afghan nation as backward and prone to violence one which is completely untrue. These so-called intellectual around the world shall realize this very fact that every single human on the surface of this earth loves to live a happy life with love & peace and have his all desired met. Just like other nations the Afghan people also want to live with love and peace but with pride and dignity and respect but sadly they have been kept deprived by them and project the Afghan not the people who love peace rather who loves to fight and kill.

This fact cannot be denied that there are huge chances of peace in Afghanistan but that really needs the backing of the US and international community. The first thing which is required that the US & international Community along with regional stake holders shall bring both Taliban and Kabul on table to reach a peace deal. Everyone shall be assured that the war cannot be won with military operations anymore rather to sit and talk.

The current situations demand the Afghan stake holders to speed up the peace process and relinquish all the differences and the grudges they hold for each others. If every stakeholder work sincerely for peace I am sure that day is not much far when we will have a prosperous, democratic, peaceful and developed Afghanistan where everyone’s right is protected and Afghanistan is no more a threat to the regional peace nor to international peace.

The article Unleashing The Dream Of A Stable And Prosperous Afghanistan – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Importance Of Karachi Nuclear Power Plants K-2 And K-3: Environmental Perspective – OpEd

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By Ali Raza

In the end of August 2013 a civil nuclear agreement was signed between China and Pakistan to build Karachi Nuclear Power Plant-2 and Karachi Nuclear Power Plant-3 by 2019. This deal was conducted under a grandfather clause.

After careful study, it is argued that Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (K-2) and Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (K-3) belong to third generation of technology that is not only a modern technology, but also it is based upon advance lessons that have been learned from Fukushima accidents. These are PWR reactors with 1100MW of each. This is the biggest project which will be completed with the cooperation of PAEC, PNRA and multinational companies of china. Why these two units would be built near Karachi coast? Because in uranium fueled power reactors water is a necessary requirement in transfer circuit, for cooling systems and to control chain reaction.

However, in the post–Fukushima scenario, environmental safety and security in context of nuclear energy is always a complicated and debatable phenomenon throughout the world. But Pakistan’s history is eyewitness to  there being a time when India was supported and Pakistan was opposed by nuclear suppliers from building safe nuclear fuel cycle.

Nowadays this same opposing trend can also be seen within Pakistan from the side of those anti-nuclear activists, who don’t want to realize the importance of Sino-Pakistan civil nuclear agreement. Therefore, sometimes the lack of awareness is more dangerous than existing challenges.

In terms of economic and energy crisis it is true that national budget for environment, environmental degradation, unsustainable development, ecological effects, natural disasters and polluted water are major issues in Pakistan. But in the context of nuclear energy, it would be wrong to say that Pakistan is an inexperienced nuclear state. So, here questions to ponder upon are: what are purposes and advantages of K-2 and K-3 in Pakistan? And why the environmental impact assessments are taken into consideration?

Today, in the world 14% electricity is generating from nuclear sources and there are 31 countries that are using nuclear energy to generate electricity and nuclear energy also prevents from toxic gases such as nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide.

Pakistan is also facing immense challenges of electricity shortfall. According to the PEPCO analysis, Pakistan is generating total 10,306MW energy, while total demand of electricity is 15,316MW.

However, “timber mafia” is emerging in Pakistan due to impacts of electricity crisis. As Pakistan’s Inspector general for forests said, “even large factories in Karachi are burning woods due to gas and power crisis”. Thus, in a future scenario, the cutting and burning of this natural asset could be a great cause of environmental threats such as floods, global warming and water pollution. In this regard it can be said that K-2 and K-3 are not only important to fulfill the energy gap but are also better to enhance environmental security in Karachi.

Another issue attached to K-2 and K-3 is that, how will the environmental impact assessment be ensured? The answer to this question can be put in many ways. Technically, “design” and “core” are two key components to investigate degree of safety and threats in nuclear power plants.

Somehow, it is tempting to believe that these nuclear reactors are safer than Fukushima and Chashma series reactors, because according to the Nuclear Threat initiative study “Pakistan is most improved country among nuclear weapons sates”. The provincial Environmental Protection Agency, has also given its approval, because Pakistan has mature record of nuclear safety.

For instance, in 2003 during Tasman Spirit incident the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) already has experienced how to protect the environment from pollution. The PAEC and PNRA are also responsible bodies to manage radioactive material and for safety and security measures of all nuclear facilities in Karachi respectively.

Analytically, a few decades ago Pakistan was a water rich country. It is reported by the World Bank that Pakistan is among those 17 countries that are facing menace of water shortage. But according to current situation 44% people of urban areas and 90% people of rural areas have no access to basic need of clean water.

Therefore the building of K-2 and K-3 is necessary, because nuclear power is among cheaper and cleaner means to protect from water pollution. Nuclear energy is one of those means that will provide the purest and cleanest water not only to Karachi but will also address health issues of Pakistanis. PAEC is also running 14 cancer medical hospitals in Pakistan. Eighty percent of the cancers patients are being treated in these hospitals. Four of these medical centers have been certified by International Organization for Standardization (ISO).The research on nuclear radiation for environmental studies has been conducting by number of scientists, centers and universities.

Consequently, from the above elucidation it can be deduced that Sino-Pakistan civil nuclear deal is not a lose-lose scenario, because all bilateral/trilateral civil nuclear declared facilities of Pakistan are and will be under specific safeguard of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Similarly, PNRA and PAEC are playing tremendous role in safety and security measures of nuclear facilities, because Pakistan’s future is safe only into the hands of peaceful use of nuclear technology.

The construction of K-2 and K-3 will manage ecosystems, preserves biodiversity and will protect population of Karachi communities from natural hazards. Because, it is international norm that every civil nuclear agreement will deals with safety levels, security measures, design barriers, construction sites and operational phases that are also taken into consideration in Pakistan. In nutshell, Pakistan is going to enhance environmental as well as individual security, and it would be better if public is aware about to reduce the friction between practices and perceptions. So, it will be wrong to say that Pakistan is going to build KANUPP-1 and KANUPP-2 without any rational calculation of safety and security.

The article Importance Of Karachi Nuclear Power Plants K-2 And K-3: Environmental Perspective – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Feds Subpoena Bitcoin Exchange MtGox

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By RT

Things are not getting much better for MtGox, the once-largest Bitcoin exchange on the internet. The company has reportedly been subpoenaed by federal investigators in the United States, and their CEO has asked employees for their silence.

MtGox CEO Mark Karpeles issued a statement on Wednesday to reassure customers that he’s at work on resolving complications that have caused panic among the Bitcoin community in recent days.

“As there is a lot of speculation regarding MtGox and its future, I would like to use this opportunity to reassure everyone that I am still in Japan, and working very hard with the support of different parties to find a solution to our recent issues,” the chief executive wrote.

Founded in 2010, MtGox offers customers a way of exchanging digital Bitcoins for fiat currency like US dollars, and once claimed to handle roughly 80 percent of all global dollar trades for Bitcoin. It has fallen on hard times as of late, however, and is reportedly now being investigated in both America and Japan, where its operations are headquartered.

Earlier this week on Monday, a leaked internal MtGox “crisis strategy” document suggesting that the exchange site had been hacked and hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of the cryptocurrency stolen began to circulate online. The MtGox website went dark soon after, and all tweets from its Twitter account disappeared at once.

Karpeles reportedly told Fox Business after that the leaked draft was “more or less” accurate, and explained that it contained “a bunch of proposals to deal with the issue at hand.”

But exactly what route MtGox takes is anyone’s guess right now. In the same brief statement published on Wednesday, Karpeles asked that people refrain from asking questions of his staff and claimed “they have been instructed not to give any response or information.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, however, federal investigators aren’t likely to have much difficulty getting dirt on MtGox. Late Tuesday evening, WSJ reporter Christopher Matthews said a person familiar with the matter confirmed to the paper that MtGox received a subpoena from federal prosecutors in New York.

“The subpoena was sent this month and asked Mt. Gox to preserve certain documents among other things,” Matthews quoted the unnamed source.

That same day, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that officials there are also investigating the abrupt shutdown of MtGox, and said the “ministries and agencies concerned — financial services, police and the finance ministry — are looking into the matter to learn the full scope of the issue.”

“Once we have full knowledge of what happened, we will take action if necessary,” Suga said.

Speaking to Reuters this week, Karpeles said an official announcement would be forthcoming and that “We are currently at a turning point for the business.”

The article Feds Subpoena Bitcoin Exchange MtGox appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Nigeria’s Islamic Militants: ‘A Cancer That Risks Metastasising’

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By Eurasia Review

As the Christian community of Nigeria suffers two large-scale terror attacks in the course of a week, Luca Volontè, Chairman of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, spoke of his outrage at the disregard displayed by Western governments.

“For four years, Boko Haram has conducted a campaign of mass slaughter and wanton destruction. Like a cancer, their reach and influence has been allowed to spread unchecked, the number of innocents dead now ranges in the thousands, the extent of property and communities destroyed incalculable. While European officials rush to Kiev to take undeserved credit for the hard-won liberty of Ukraine’s people, they seemingly ignore the suffering of those in Nigeria,” said Volontè.

According to Volontè, as has repeatedly been made clear by Nigerian officials, the domestic security and military services lack the expertise to conduct an effective counter-insurgency campaign.

“As it was in Mali, it is our duty to give our full support to the besieged communities and make available any means that they so require,” Volontè said.

Last week saw Boko Haram (which means “Western education is a sin”) conduct two attacks on predominantly Christian towns – Bama and Igze – the latter of which had only been attacked three weeks previously. With the use of sophisticated military hardware, the Islamist attackers destroyed public buildings, burned Churches and killed over one hundred people in each attack.

“The savagery and scale of the raids further demonstrates the inability of Nigeria’s security forces to prevent the murderous campaign of Boko Haram, despite a State of Emergency already being in place,” Volontè said.

In a statement unlikely to give much solace to the besieged population of Nigeria, US Ambassador James Entwistle pointed the finger to underlying social causes for the rise of Islamist terrorism, including the ‘lack of employment opportunity’ and ‘the education system.’

To that statement, Volontè said, “Given their expressed desire to enforce an Islamic state upon all, ruled by Sharia Law in its entirety; I doubt that tinkering with the nations’ employment opportunities or the education system is likely to convince Boko Haram to give up its weapons. Rather than blaming a suffering society for the intent of their attackers, it is imperative that all unequivocally reject the agenda of Boko Haram. As we have seen in Sri Lanka, with the right conviction and the necessary means, terror groups can be suppressed and the rule of law restored.”

The article Nigeria’s Islamic Militants: ‘A Cancer That Risks Metastasising’ appeared first on Eurasia Review.

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