International News 1

Anwar’s opposition holds rally as Malaysian turmoil deepens

Agence France-Presse . Kuala Lumpur

Some 15,000 Malaysians massed at a stadium Sunday for an anti-inflation rally organised by Anwar Ibrahim’s opposition alliance amid deepening political turmoil. The crowd chanted ‘PM resign’ as speakers criticised the prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, for last month’s 41 per cent fuel price hike, which has deepened his unpopularity after disastrous March general elections. Anwar, who is fighting back against new accusations of sodomy – the same charge that saw him jailed a decade ago – has said he is poised to seize power with the help of defecting government lawmakers. The marathon protest went ahead at a stadium in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur despite a police ban and fears authorities may use force to break up the gathering. Despite the fears of a crackdown, security was light and the only ruckus was triggered when the lead singer of a rock band performing on stage exposed his backside in a political gesture. The conservative crowd which included many families was enraged, and pelted the band with empty water bottles before organisers apologised and restored calm. The fuel price hike has heaped pressure on Abdullah after the March polls which handed the opposition its best ever result – a third of parliamentary seats and control of five states. Anwar is now embroiled in a political battle with the deputy prime minister, Najib Razak – Abdullah’s heir apparent – trading serious allegations that have deepened Malaysia’s political crisis. A week ago an aide to Anwar filed a police report claiming that the 60-year-old opposition leader had sodomised him, causing Anwar to flee to the Turkish embassy, saying he feared for his life. The claims threatened his stunning political comeback, staged after he was sacked as deputy premier in 1998 and jailed on sodomy and corruption charges he said were orchestrated by the government. In the next sensational turn of events, a private investigator made allegations linking Najib to a Mongolian woman murdered in 2006. A close friend of Najib is on trial for abetting the murder. At a press conference organised by Anwar, Balasubramaniam Perumal released a sworn statement saying he had given police detailed information about 28-year-old Altantuya Shaariibuu which was never raised during the trial. However, a day later, he retracted the claims linking Najib to Altantuya, saying he made them under duress. His nephew on Saturday filed a missing person’s report, saying he and his family had disappeared. Criminal Investigation Department director Bakri Zinin said the Malaysian police had enlisted the help of Interpol and authorities in neighbouring countries to help locate the investigator.

Fresh fighting kills 21 in Lanka

Tigers pay homage to 356 suicide bombers Agence France-Presse . Colombo

Sri Lankan troops have killed another 19 Tamil Tiger rebels and lost two of their own soldiers in fresh fighting in the island’s north, the defence ministry said Sunday. Troops killed the 19 members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and wounded 27 others in the districts of Vavuniya, Mannar, Mullaitivu and Jaffna on Saturday, the ministry said. A total of 13 government soldiers were also wounded in Saturday’s clashes. There was no immediate word from the LTTE on the latest violence. However, the Tigers released pictures of their elusive leader Velupillai Prabhakaran commemorating his suicide bombers on the 21st anniversary of the first suicide attack by his guerrillas. The Tigers have deployed over 250 suicide bombers, known as Black Tigers, to carry out devastating attacks since July 1987. The defence ministry’s latest claims of casualties takes the number of rebels reported killed by government troops since the beginning of the year to 4,755 against the loss of 427 soldiers. Government figures cannot be independently verified as journalists are barred from visiting frontline areas. Sri Lanka has been wracked by civil war for more than three decades. The rebels are fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils on the Sinhalese-majority island. Meanwhile, Tamil Tigers on Sunday commemorated 356 men and women who have staged suicide attacks since the tactic was first used by the rebels 21 years ago. The LTTE said they held ceremonies in guerrilla-held Wanni region on Saturday to mark the 21st anniversary of the first suicide truck bombing by a cadre known as Captain Miller. The elusive Tiger supremo, Velupillai Prabhakaran, 53, led the remembrance ceremonies at an undisclosed location with the participation of his elite “Black Tiger” suicide cadres, the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com web site reported. ‘Three hundred and fifty six Black Tigers have laid down their lives, 254 of them in sea operations, during the last 21 years since,’ Tamilnet said. Last year, the Tigers commemorated 322 suicide bombers who perished in attacks. Their figures showed that 34 suicide bombers had carried out attacks in the past year. An attack on a key air base in October was the worst, with 21 suicide bombers destroying a fleet of aircraft. One rebel later returned to the north with video footage of the attack, while the others were shot dead or blew themselves up. Sri Lanka has been wracked by civil war for more than three decades. The rebels are fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils on the Sinhalese-majority island in a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives. Although not credited with starting the lethal method, the Black Tigers have staged some of the world’s most brazen attacks and are described as the most effective unit of its type anywhere in the world. The Tigers used a large number of suicide bombers to destroy a large fleet of military aircraft at a base in July 2001 and went onto the adjoining international airport and bombed six civilian airliners parked there.

Israel reopens Gaza crossings

Agence France-Presse . Jerusalem

Israel reopened border crossings to the Gaza Strip on Sunday after closing them last week when a rocket was fired from the Hamas-ruled territory in defiance of a two-week-old truce. ‘The Sufa, Nahal Oz, and Erez crossings are open for the passage of goods, including cement and fuel, as well as basic goods,’ Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner said. He added that the Erez pedestrian crossing would also be open for urgent medical cases requiring treatment in Israel. Israel took the decision to reopen the crossings because there had been no further rockets or mortars launched at southern Israel since an attack on Thursday in defiance of a truce that took effect June 19, Lerner said. Several rockets and mortar rounds have been fired at Israel from Gaza since the truce between Israel and the territory’s Hamas rulers began. The ceasefire was supposed to lead to the easing of a crippling blockade Israel imposed more than a year ago when the Islamist movement seized power in Gaza, but the crossings have since been closed on several occasions. Hamas on Friday said it was suspending talks over the release of an Israeli soldier captured in a deadly cross-border raid in June 2006 because of the closures, which it said was a violation of the Egyptian-brokered truce. Israel’s Maariv newspaper on Sunday quoted security officials as saying they hoped that the reopening of the crossings would encourage Hamas to renew negotiations aimed at a prisoner swap for Gilad Shalit, the captured reservist. The Islamist movement has demanded the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners jailed by Israel in exchange for Shalit, including about 450 people serving long sentences. The proposed list is believed to include several Palestinian fighters convicted of carrying out deadly attacks on Israelis. Hamas has meanwhile insisted that its own fighters are respecting the truce and has vowed to arrest anyone who violates it.