ALWATAN DAILY
WORLD SUNdAY, febrUArY 6, 2011
7
Nuclear arms treaty Cameron launches
being finalized in Munich attack on multiculturalism MUNICH: david Cameron launches
a devastating attack today on 30 years of
lor Angela Merkel recently made a simi-
lar attack.
of encouraging people to live apart, we
need a clear sense of shared national
multiculturalism in britain, warning it is In his speech, Cameron rejects sug- identity, open to everyone.”
fostering extremist ideology and directly gestions that a change in Western foreign Cameron goes on to suggest a radi-
contributing to home-grown Islamic ter- policy could stop the Islamic terrorist cally new government approach which
rorism. threat and says britain needs to tackle downing Street said would form the ba-
Signaling a radical departure from the home-grown causes of extremist sis of a review of the “Prevent Strategy”,
the strategies of previous governments, ideology. “We have failed to provide a launched under Labor in 2007. “We
Cameron says that britain must adopt vision of society [to young Muslims] to need to think much harder about who
a policy of “muscular liberalism” to en- which they feel they want to belong,” he it’s in the public interest to work with,”
force the values of equality, law and free- will say. “We have even tolerated seg- he will say. “Some organizations that
dom of speech across all parts of society. regated communities behaving in ways seek to present themselves as a gateway
He warns Muslim groups that if they fail that run counter to our values. All this to the Muslim community are showered
to endorse women’s rights or promote leaves some young Muslims feeling root- with public money despite doing little to
integration, they will lose all govern- less. And the search for something to be- combat extremism. This is like turning to
US Secretary ment funding. All immigrants to britain long to and believe in can lead them to a right-wing fascist party to fight a vio-
of State Hil- must speak english and schools will be extremist ideology.” lent white supremacist movement.”
lary Rodham expected to teach the country’s common Cameron blames a doctrine of “state He adds, that in future, only organi-
Clinton, (right), culture. multiculturalism” which encourages zations which believe in universal human
talks to British The new policy will be outlined to- different cultures to live separate lives. rights - particularly for women - and pro-
Prime Minister day in a speech to an international secu- This, he says, has led to the “failure of mote integration will be supported with
David Cameron rity conference in Munich and will form some to confront the horrors of forced public money. “frankly, we need a lot
during their the basis of the Government’s new anti- marriage”. but he adds it is also the root less of the passive tolerance of recent
bilateral talks terrorism strategy to be published later cause of radicalization which can lead to years and much more active, muscular
held on the this year. terrorism. liberalism,” he will say.
sidelines of the but his remarks have already infuri- “As evidence emerges about the but Muslim groups said Cameron’s
Conference on ated Muslim groups, as they come on the backgrounds of those convicted of ter- approach was simplistic and would not
Security Policy day of what is expected to be the larg- rorist offences, it is clear that many of succeed in tackling extremism. “Com-
in Munich, est demonstration so far of anti-Muslim them were initially influenced by what munities are not static entities and there
Germany, Feb. sentiment being planned by the english some have called ‘non-violent extrem- are those who see being british as their
5. (AP) defense League. They accused Cameron ists’ and then took those radical beliefs identity and there are those who do not
of placing an unfair onus on minority to the next level by embracing violence. feel that it is an overriding part of their
MUNICH: A nuclear arms treaty between Wash- A key foreign policy goal of President barack communities to integrate, while failing This is an indictment of our approach to identity,” said fiyaz Mughal, founder of
ington and Moscow is to come into effect when US Sec- Obama, the treaty limits each side to 1,550 strategic to emphasize how the wider community these issues in the past. And if we are to interfaith group faith Matters. “finger-
retary of State Hillary rodham Clinton exchanges rati- warheads, down from 2,200. The pact also re-establish- can help immigrants feel more welcome defeat this threat, I believe it’s time to pointing at communities and then cut-
fication papers with russian foreign Minister Sergey es a monitoring system that ended in december 2009 in britain. They suggested his speech turn the page on the failed policies of the ting social investment into projects is a
Lavrov. with the expiration of an earlier arms deal. was part of a concerted attack on mul- past. sure-fire way of causing greater resent-
The New STArT treaty is scheduled to be finalized Clinton told british Prime Minister david Cam- ticulturalism from centre-right european “Instead of ignoring this extremist ment. It blames some communities while
Saturday when the two diplomats meet on the sidelines eron on the way in to the conference that the US is “so governments and pointed out he was ideology, we - as governments and so- his Government slashes social invest-
of the Munich Security Conference. excited that this is finally and totally done.” -AP making it in Germany - where Chancel- cieties - have got to confront it. Instead ment.” -AfP
Rasmussen calls for stronger EU-NATO ties Russia’s Islamist rebel vows to
make 2011 ‘year of blood and tears’
MUNICH: NATO Secretary-general Anders It was a message picked up on by German for- “This allows those eU states who are prepared
fogh rasmussen has called for greater co-opera- eign minister Guido Westerwelle, who said that to join forces . . . and act as an avant garde, though MOSCOW: russia’s leading Islamist ings. “God willing we will make this year
tion between the eU and the military alliance to tighter military co-operation in the eU is the key remaining member states are open to rule them- rebel has vowed to make 2011 “a year of a year of blood and tears for you,” the
offer greater security in a time of budget austerity. for the continent be taken seriously as a global selves out.” blood and tears” in a chilling video mes- fatigues-clad Umarov said in the address
Opening the Munich security conference, ras- player. Westerwelle’s ambitions were tempered by sage released two weeks after a suicide posted on the Kavkaz Centre website, a
mussen criticized european governments for using Combining eU civil and military policy abroad, british prime minister david Cameron who, ahead bomber killed 36 people at a Moscow known rebel mouthpiece.
the cover of the economic crisis to accelerate cuts he said, ensured the union had a “modern instru- of his Munich appearance today, dismissed the airport. In the video released late friday, He said attacks were a response to
in defense spending, a trend he said “endangered ment for dealing with crisis and conflict” around idea. “My opinion is clear: there will be no euro- doku Umarov, the leader of a deadly “lawlessness” unleashed on the region by
the security on which democratic societies are the world. pean army,” he told the Sddeutsche Zeitung news- insurgency over russian control of the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and “his
based”. “If europe wants to pay in the concert of old paper. North Caucasus region, said rebel attacks pack of dogs.” The website said it received
“A strong NATO partnership with the eU and new powers, there is no way past deeper inte- He said the british-french military co-opera- in the country’s heartland are meant as a the video address by email and it was not
would deliver many benefits in political and op- gration,” he said, urging the union to act on new tion might serve as a useful model for other na- wake-up call for ordinary russians, who clear whether it was recorded before or
erational terms as well as financially. I sincerely military co-operation provisions in the Lisbon tions, but it was “not a prototype for european should urge their leaders to withdraw after the airport attack.
hope NATO and the eU will intensify practical Treaty. co-operation”. -AfP from the region. In the video, Umarov is flanked by
co-operation,” said rasmussen to an international The video marked Umarov’s first two camouflage-clad men who are shown
audience of heads of state and diplomats. known public statement since the late against a black flag emblazoned with
“NATO and the eU share 21 members, each January attack - Moscow’s second suicide white Arabic script.
one of them only has one set of armed forces and bombing with heavy casualties in less Umarov said he made the address on
one set of capabilities. Let’s get the most out of it.” than a year. Though he did not claim re- the eve of a special operation whose pur-
Once again the Munich conference, now in its 47th sponsibility for the domodedovo attack pose he did not identify. To his left stood a
year, has attracted the cream of the international outright, Umarov made reference to a young man tasked with carrying out that
scene. “special operation” and suicide bomb- operation and identified as Seifullah. -AP
Chancellor Angela Merkel will this morning
greet US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and her
russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who will use
Munich as a stage to ratify the Start nonprolifera- Last push
tion treaty.
As the conference discussed cyber-security and
the consequences of the financial market crisis, or-
to register millions of Nigerian voters
ganizers scrambled to stage a discussion today on LAGOS: Nigeria wraps up a huge began on January 15.
egypt. effort to register voters in Africa’s most- The process began poorly, with mal-
Unfolding events there and elsewhere in the populous nation Saturday ahead of April functioning equipment and registration
Middle east were, for rasmussen, proof that “tec- elections, after a process that was some- stations failing to open. Machines were
tonic plates are shifting” and an example of why times chaotic and violent - but better than also stolen, and violence has occurred in
defense spending should be maintained. past years. some areas.
A decade ago, he said, the US accounted for a The aim is to provide what many say but many of the technological prob-
half of Nato total defense spending whereas now it the country has never had: a credible vot- lems were solved, and last week the elec-
contributes 75 per cent. ers’ register to form a basis for the presi- toral commission announced that nearly
europe “cannot afford to get out of the secu- dential, legislative and state elections that 55 million people had been registered
rity business”, rasmussen said, warning the US are being called among the most impor- as of January 31. The process was due to
might, in that case, look elsewhere for a new se- tant in Nigeria’s history. end January 29 but was extended through
curity partner. NATO-Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. (AP) “from every evidence we have, there Saturday after concerns that not everyone
is a tremendous improvement over the last who wanted to register was able to do so.
exercise,” said Kayode Idowu, spokesman The commission projects at least 62 mil-
for the electoral commission. lion will register in total.
Largest
Many observers also say registration There have been suggestions that an-
has been better this time around, but im- other extension could occur in selected
UK police
provement over 2007’s effort was not a areas - such as heavily populated urban
high hurdle to clear. centers - but the commission has made no
protest in years in central Belgrade
An entirely new roll is needed to re- such announcement.
on alert as far place the one used in the 2007 ballot,
which was riddled with false names and
underage voters - among the reasons ob-
President Goodluck Jonathan is fa-
vored to win the election in Africa’s larg-
est oil producer after defeating a challenge
BELGRADE: Tens of thousands of disenchanted
Serbs protested in central belgrade on Saturday in the
manding early elections, higher wages and a crackdown
on corruption in the eU applicant country. “If they right group servers labeled the vote deeply flawed.
Nigeria’s electoral commission, head-
from the country’s mainly Muslim north
to take the ruling party nomination.
protests
biggest anti-government rally in years aimed at show- don’t respond to our demands, we will start continuous ed by a respected academic appointed However, the race could become more
ing opposition strength ahead of scheduled 2012 elec- protests from April,” Nikolic told reuters ahead of the only months ago, has deployed computers competitive than in recent years if oppo-
tions. rally. to take prints from each finger of every sition parties manage to form an alliance
A pro-european Union coalition has governed Ser- Serbia has emerged from 2009 recession with mod- voter during the registration process that against him. -AfP
bia since 2008, but persistent economic hardship and est 1.5 percent growth in 2010 and expects three per- LONDON: More than 1,000
frustration with slow eU integration has left many dis- cent growth in 2011. police officers are being deployed
gruntled with the government. Teachers in most schools went on strike last month in an english town as a far-right
“This government was promising us milk and honey and an independent police union joined them this group and anti-fascist protesters
in 2008 and what do we have now? More hardship, and week, while doctors, nurses and pharmacists said they face off in rival demonstrations.
a dishonest and arrogant government which does not may also join in. The english defense League
care about its own eople,” said Zdravka Stanojlovic, 44, The government has so far dismissed their demands says thousands of its members
a belgrade waitress. for higher wages arguing it will overburden the budget. will march Saturday in Luton, a
The rally was organized by Tomislav Nikolic, head of “It is clear that the opposition will try to use social working-class town north of Lon-
the Serbian Progressive Party, the most influential op- discontent,” bozidar djelic, Serbia’s deputy prime min- don with a history of racial ten-
position party shown in polls as offering a strong chal- ister, told reuters. “The only way they can change the sion.
lenge to the current ruling Serbian democratic Party. government is to win a majority in the parliament and Members of left-wing group
Police estimated that 70,000 attended the rally. elections are in 2012.” Unite Against fascism and Mus-
“I was not a Nikolic voter in the past but now I am Some political insiders and experts say the discon- lim organizations are expected to
so disillusioned because of unfulfilled promises, pov- tent could lead to early elections later this year, but oth- confront them, with riot police on
erty, corruption and hardship,” said dragomir djuric, ers disagree. hand to keep the two sides apart.
56, a metal worker, who had travelled to belgrade from The impact of the world economic crisis has led to The english defense League says it
Kragujevac. Protestors, some of whom arrived by bus growing political divisions and discontent in the emerg- is a non-racist group set up to op-
from cities across Serbia, gathered in front of the na- ing balkans. pose the spread of militant Islam.
tional parliament holding banners including: “demo- A protest in Albania two weeks ago resulted in three but at previous demonstrations its
cratic Party, time to go” and “We are hungry” Police deaths. members have clashed with po-
closed off parts of central belgrade to accommodate the Kosovo and bosnia still have no governments after lice, chanted anti-Muslim slogans
demonstration under sunny skies and a break in recent failing to agree on new coalitions after elections months and made Nazi salutes. -AP Nigeria began the mammoth task of registering an estimated 70 million voters on
bitter winter cold. ago, and there are signs Macedonia could hold early Feb. 5, a process which will be key to ensuring nationwide elections in April are
Nikolic’s party, one of several at the protest, is de- elections this year. -reuters more credible than in the past. (Reuters)