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TUNIS: Thousands of Tunisian supporters of ruling Islamist party Ennahda march along Habib Bourguiba Avenue during a demonstration to affirm their right to govern the country yesterday. — AFP
Tens of thousands rally for Ennahda TUNIS: Tens of thousands of members of the Islamist party Ennahda rallied yesterday in support of its right to rule and against plans to form a government of technocrats aimed at resolving Tunisia’s political crisis. The protesters, many waving party flags and some holding black Salafist banners, thronged Habib Bourguiba Avenue, a Tunis boulevard that was the cradle of the 2011 uprising which ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The demonstration was called to defend the right of Ennahda to continue at the head of the ruling coalition and to oppose Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali’s plan to form a government of technocrats. Jebali, Ennahda’s number two, announced his plan in the wake of public outrage over the killing of leftist leader Chokri Belaid that has plunged Tunisia into its worst crisis since the revolution and laid bare divisions within the ruling party. “God is greatest,” and “Supporting Ennahda is a duty,” were some of the slogans chanted by the protesters, who also waved banners reading: “For the defence of the ArabMuslim identity,” and “Media of shame and sedition.” The crowd poured scorn on secular opposition leader Beji Caid Essebsi and France, the former colonial power accused of interfering in Tunisian politics, after its interior minister
warned last week of “Islamist fascism”. Lotfi Hidouri, a spokesman in the Interior Ministry, told Reuters that more than 100,000 took part in yesterday’s rally, or about twice the number who turned out for Belaid’s funeral. Security sources referred to tens of thousands of demonstrators. Speaking at the end of yesterday’s rally, Ennahda’s veteran chief Rached Ghannouchi insisted his party was not ready to relinquish power, underscoring the split amongst its leaders. “Ennahda... will never give up power, as long as it benefits from the confidence of the people and the legitimacy of the ballot,” he told supporters. The assassination of Belaid, a fierce critic of the ruling Islamists, came after months of failure by the ruling coalition to overhaul the government, and sparked bloody clashes between opposition supporters and police, and attacks on Ennahda offices. The prime minister has threatened to resign if he fails to secure the support he needs to form his new government. After meeting the leaders of the main parties on Friday, Jebali said talks on the new administration had been rescheduled for Monday and that a previous Saturday deadline for its formation had been cancelled, with no new
Khamenei: Iran not seeking nuke arms
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Slain Pistorius girlfriend leaves haunting message JOHANNESBURG: A celebrity television show yesterday aired haunting footage of Oscar Pistorius’ slain girlfriend speaking about the need to leave a positive mark on life, words laden with unintended poignancy two days after her shocking death. “Not just your journey in life, but the way that you go out and make your exit is so important, you have either made an impact in a positive way or a negative way,” Reeva Steenkamp said in the celebrity reality TV show. The 29-yearold model and law school graduate was shot four times at Pistorius’ home in the early hours of Valentine’s Day on Thursday in a case that shocked the country and topped news broadcasts around the world. Pistorius - a national icon who inspired people around the world when he became the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes in the Olympic Games last year remained in a police cell yesterday, charged with murdering his girlfriend
JAMAICA: Reeva Steenkamp poses on set during the shooting of the reality show Tropika Island of Treasure in this undated photo. — AFP in cold blood. His uncle yesterday gave the strongest indication yet that the star athlete, who broke down sobbing during his initial court appearance the Continued on Page 13
date set. Ennahda was repressed under Ben Ali’s regime but emerged as a powerful political force after his overthrow in January 2011, with Ghannouchi returning from 20 years in exile to a hero’s welcome. It won the first post-revolt polls in Oct 2011, securing the key foreign, interior and justice ministries in the coalition government, and controls the National Constituent Assembly, holding 89 of 271 seats. But it is divided between moderates, among whom Jebali is the most prominent, and hardliners, represented by Ghannouchi, who are refusing to give up key portfolios, insisting on the party’s electoral legitimacy. The family of Belaid has accused Ennahda of orchestrating his killing, which enflamed simmering tensions between liberals and Islamists in the once proudly secular Muslim nation. His funeral turned into a massive anti-Islamist protest, thought to be the largest since the revolution. The murder inquiry has yet to name suspects and the Islamists have strongly denied any involvement. For some Belaid supporters, the suspicion of blame has fallen on the League for the Protection of the Revolution, a controversial group linked to Ennahda and implicated in attacks on secular opposition groups. — AFP
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RIYADH: A senior Saudi official told an international conference on security yesterday that the “terrorist” threat remains and urged global cooperation to combat it. “The danger of terrorism and terrorists still persists and affects several countries,” Prince Turki bin Mohammed Al-Saud of the foreign ministry told delegates at the opening of the two-day event. “We must face up to it using all means and at all levels, local, regional and international. “Terrorism threatens us all, without exception,” Prince Turki said, calling for global action to “eradicate terrorist plans through coordination between specialised centres in the struggle against terrorism.” Some 50 countries are represented at the gathering in Riyadh, which has been organised in conjunction with the United Nations. In 2005, Saudi Arabia proposed creating in its Prince Turki capital an international anti-terrorism centre, a proposal that was approved in September 2011 by the UN General Assembly. Riyadh has pledged to finance the centre for three years at a cost of $10 million. Between 2003 and 2006, the ultra-conservative Gulf kingdom was targeted by a wave of attacks claimed by the extremist Al-Qaeda network, prompting a harsh crackdown by security forces. Al-Qaeda franchises remain active in the region, especially in Iraq and Yemen where the Saudi and Yemeni branches of the network have united to form Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). In August 2009, a suicide bomber from Yemen failed in an attempt to kill Saudi security chief Prince Mohammed bin Nayef Al-Saud. — AFP
KDcow affirms all its dairy products safe KUWAIT: Kuwait Dairy Company (KDcow) affirmed yesterday that all of its milk products were safe, brushing aside reports that its milk was contaminated with harmful bacteria. KDcow CEO Saleh Al-Atiqi, in a statement to KUNA, emphasized that KDcow’s dairy products were free of any harmful bacteria and were compatible with international standards. He said KDcow distributes more than 20 million milk packets to ministries, hospitals, co-operative societies, supply and grocery stores every month. “There is no problem in the milk,” added Atiqi. KDcow’s laboratories were following safety procedures in line with international standards, he said, noting that its health-related tests have received certificates from Kuwait as well as the ISO-14001, ISO-9001 and ISO-22000 certifications. Atiqi said the ministry of health and Kuwait Municipality, which are monitoring KDcow products regularly, have no complaints over the dairy products. Atiqi was reacting to reports suggesting that KDcow milk products contained harmful bacteria.— KUNA
Bomb kills 64 in Quetta QUETTA, Pakistan: Sixty-four people including school children died yesterday in a bomb attack carried out by extremists from Pakistan’s Sunni Muslim majority, police said. A spokesman for Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni group, claimed responsibility for the bomb in Quetta, which caused casualties in the town’s main bazaar, a school and a computer centre. Police said most of the victims were Shiites. Burned school bags and books were strewn around. “The explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device fitted to a motorcycle,” said Wazir Khan Nasir, deputy inspector general of police in Quetta. “This is a continuation of terrorism against Shiites.” “I saw many bodies of women and children,” said an eyewitness at a hospital. “At least a dozen people were burned to death by the blast.” Most Western intelligence agencies have regarded the Pakistani Taleban and Al-Qaeda as the gravest threat to nuclear-armed Pakistan, a strategic US ally. But Pakistani law enforcement officials say Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has become a formidable force. Television footage of the scene showed the rubble of the destroyed buildings with fruits and vegetables from what just minutes earlier was a lively market littered across the ground next to destroyed street carts. Members of the minority Shiite sect took to the city streets in angry protest, blocking roads with burning tyres and throwing stones at passing vehicles. Many also started firing into the air in an attempt to keep people away from the area in case there was a secondary explosion. Sometimes insurgents stagger the explosions as a way to target people who rush to the scene to help and thus increase the death toll. — Agencies
QUETTA: A Pakistani man mourns the death of a relative killed in a bomb explosion yesterday. — AFP