Wilayah Ambon semakin tegang

Indonesia mengerahkan 200 anggota keselamatan ke wilayah timur negara ini, selepas berlaku pertempuran antara kumpulan Islam dan Kristian yang mengakibatkan lima orang terbunuh, manakala 80 lagi cedera, hari ini.

Menurut ketua polis trafik, Kapten Marinus Djati, keganasan di kawasan Maluku, wilayah Ambon itu tercetus selepas tersebar khabar angin mengenai seorang pemandu teksi bergama Islam yang terbabit dalam kemalangan, dikatakan didera dan dibunuh oleh penduduk Kristian.

Tambahnya, kumpulan Islam bersemuka dengan kumpulan Kristian selepas mangsa dikebumikan dan kedua-dua kumpulan saling mencaci antara satu sama lain, sebelum mereka mula membaling batu dan bertempur menggunakan parang.

“Mereka turut membakar beberapa rumah, kereta dan motosikal, walaupun polis melepaskan tembakan amaran untuk meleraikan pertempuran tersebut,” katanya.

Jurucakap hospital, Ita Sabrina berkata, dua daripada tiga mangsa yang terbunuh merupakan pelajar sekolah tinggi dan 80 lagi yang cedera dirawat di hospital.

Jurucakap Polis Negara, Mejar Jeneral Anton Bachrul Alam berkata, lebih 200 anggota pasukan khas dikerah ke Ambon bagi meredakan ketegangan yang tercetus antara dua kumpulan itu.

Indonesia mempunyai majoriti penduduk Islam, namun Maluku dikuasai majoriti penduduk beragama Kristian.

Lebih 9,000 penduduk terbunuh dalam pertempuran antara penduduk Islam dan Kristian di Ambon dari 1999 hingga 2002 sebelum wilayah itu kembali aman.

- AGENSI

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Memori tragedi 11 September New York

PADA Ulang Tahun Ke-10 serangan pengganas 11 September 2001, kita memperingati 11 September (9/11) bukan saja sebagai satu serangan ke atas Amerika Syarikat tetapi juga ke atas dunia dan kemanusiaan serta harapan yang kita kongsi bersama.

Kita memperingati hampir 3,000 orang tidak bersalah yang kehilangan nyawa pada hari itu di kalangan ratusan rakyat daripada lebih 90 negara lelaki dan wanita, tua dan muda daripada pelbagai kaum dan agama. Pada ulang tahun hiba ini, kami bersama-sama dengan keluarga dan negara mereka memberi penghormatan memperingati mereka.
Kita memperingati dengan penuh penghargaan bagaimana 10 tahun yang lalu dunia bergabung sebagai satu. Bagaimana bandar di seluruh dunia berhenti seketika untuk bertafakur, orang ramai berdoa di gereja, masjid, saumaah dan tempat ibadat lain. Kami di Amerika Syarikat tidak akan lupa bagaimana setiap orang di seluruh dunia berdiri bersama kami dan bersatu memegang lilin yang menyala dan memberikan kalungan bunga yang diletakkan di kedutaan kami. Baca selanjutnya DISINI.

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Libyan foes stalemate in key town

Just click BBC News to know more.....

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Syria unrest: Protests in Deraa, Damascus and Hama

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Japan investigation into nuclear plant radiation leak

A latest news about investigation Japan nuclear plan click here.

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Video Kejadian Tsunami di Jepun satu bencana Allah..

 

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In a do-or-die situation, where would Gadhafi go?

(CNN) -- Conflicting reports hit the international media this week about whether Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was negotiating a deal with the opposition for a guaranteed safe exit if he relinquished power.

Speculation percolated again Wednesday after few details were available about a private Libyan aircraft that landed in Cairo, Egypt.

But two questions remain: Will Gadhafi ever step down, and if he did, where would he go? 

Gadhafi is sure not to go down easily. He has defiantly vowed to die a martyr on Libyan soil and declared on state television, "I am Libya."

At the moment, he has leverage, said David Pollock, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Those who have studied the strongman's megalomanic ways agree that he would probably not retreat from his revolution or his country without a fight to the end. Analysts have raised the grim prospect of a protracted, bloody war in the vein of Somalia.

"The tipping point wasn't reached quickly enough," Pollock said. "Now, this has turned into something that got stuck. It's grim. Very grim."

But if it came to a do-or-die scenario, Gadhafi, despite his bravado, would look for a way out, Pollock said.

There is no possibility of power-sharing, so if the opposition were to oust him, Gadhafi would have to leave the country, as U.S. President Barack Obama and others have already urged him to do.

But few would be willing to welcome a man with such a tarnished reputation, reinforced in recent weeks by the bloody crackdown on unarmed protesters, analysts said.

Saudi Arabia's name pops up in discussions of this nature; after all, Tunisia's ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled into exile in the Gulf kingdom. And there were rumors at one time that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak would do the same.

But Gadhafi is another matter. His relationship with Saudi King Abdullah is, to put it mildly, strained, especially after the Saudis accused Libyans of an assassination attempt on the king several years back.

"I would be extremely surprised if he went to Saudi Arabia," said Christopher Boucek, a Saudi Arabia expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Boucek suggested that Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe might be more amenable to taking in Gadhafi.

The Libyan leader's adoption of pan-African solidarity drew him closer to the Zimbabwean dictator. The relationship between the two nations blossomed also from the leaders' shared anti-colonial fervor and a realpolitik bond of being isolated nations, according to Boucek.

Others have suggested that Gadhafi could find a home in Cuba or Venezuela. President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is considered Gadhafi's main ally in Latin America, a love born, again, from a mutual distaste for Western "imperialism."

When the uprising began to escalate in Libya last month, rumors surfaced that Gadhafi had already fled to Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.

Pollock listed one more possible future home for the Libyan strongman: Sudan.

Reva Bhalla, an analyst with the global intelligence company Stratfor, said Gadhafi has reportedly sought friendship from Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and tried to shore up that alliance. But even the Syrians, said Bhalla, are less than enthused.

European nations, Bhalla said, would suit Gadhafi's sons just fine but not the eccentric leader, who has been famously known to travel with female bodyguards and sleep under a tent, even when he came to New York to address the United Nations.

After all, she said, Gadhafi remains a hardcore Bedouin.

And for the moment, it seems, he will remain in his Bedouin homeland, unwilling to let go of 40 years of power.

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France recognises Libyan rebels

France has become the first country to recognise the Libyan rebel leadership, the National Libyan Council (NLC), as the country's legitimate government.

It came as Nato met to discuss military options in the Libyan conflict including a possible no-fly zone.
There is growing concern about the bombing of rebel-held areas by the forces of Col Muammar Gaddafi.
A BBC team detained and beaten up in Libya witnessed widespread mistreatment by the security forces.
In recent days, pro-Gaddafi forces have tried to regain ground in the rebel-held east, and have bombarded rebel forces in the town of Zawiya, 50km (30 miles) west of Tripoli.
Continued shelling  The president of the International Red Cross said on Thursday there was a marked increase in civilian casualties in what he called a "civil war".
The office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Paris regarded the NLC as Libya's "legitimate representative".

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“Start Quote

He said if I say one word in English, he would kill me”

End Quote Feras Killani BBC Arabic correspondent

• BBC team describe beating

Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesman for the rebels in their eastern stronghold of Benghazi, said the French move was "breaking the ice", adding that he expected other EU members to follow suit.

However Italy and Spain have said they will not take a similar step until European Union members have reached a common position on the issue.
EU foreign ministers will also hold talks in Brussels, ahead of a European Council summit on Friday.
France's announcement came amid fresh fighting on the ground between Col Gaddafi's forces and the rebels.
On Thursday, government troops launched fresh attacks on the rebel-held eastern oil port of Ras Lanuf.
Government planes also bombed Brega, another oil town further east, indicating that pro-Gaddafi forces are making further advances into rebel-held territory, Reuters news agency reported.
There has also been fierce fighting in Zawiya in recent days. On Wednesday, state TV said the army had retaken the town, which had been in rebel hands .
Mock executions Late on Wednesday, three members of a BBC Arabic television team gave graphic accounts of how they were arrested and beaten by government forces outside Zawiya earlier this week.

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• Libya's rivals: Military hardware

They were subjected to mock executions and held for 26 hours in bloodstained cells, where they heard people screaming in adjacent rooms.

Feras Killani - a member of the BBC team who is of Palestinian descent - appears to have been singled out for repeated beatings.
The conflict in Libya has raged since mid-February when opponents to Col Gaddafi's 41-year rule seized many towns and cities in eastern Libya, following successful popular uprisings in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt.
BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says fears that the military balance may be shifting in Col Gaddafi's favour have prompted calls for urgent international action.
Thursday's Nato meeting in Brussels is expected to focus on military options, including a possible no-fly zone aimed at stopping government planes bombing rebel-held towns.

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• Libya conflict in maps
• Is a no-fly zone possible?
• EU agrees new Libya sanctions

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the CBS TV network: "We believe it's important that this not be an American or a Nato or a European effort. It needs to be an international one."

Our correspondent says there are differing

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BBC team's Libya ordeal in their own words

Three members of a BBC team covering the conflict in Libya have been detained and mistreated for 21 hours by the Libyan military.

Feras Killani, a Palestinian refugee with a Syrian passport; Goktay Koraltan, who is Turkish; and Chris Cobb-Smith, British, were stopped at a checkpoint at Al-Zahra south of Zawiya on Monday 7 March. Their local driver was also taken. Here, they describe what happened to them in their own words.

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Libya Revolt

• Libya revolt Live
• BBC team's ordeal
• Options for intervention
• Uprising in maps

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HILANGNYA DOMINASI AMERIKA DI TIMUR TENGAH

Assalamualaikum..

Sejak akhir-akhir ini sikap para kepimpinan Amerika dalam menghadapi kebangkitan rakyat Mesir dan Tunisia mengingatkan perilaku mereka terhadap Revolusi Islam rakyat Iran pada tahun 1979. Tepat 32 tahun yang lalu hari-hari ini para pejabat AS kelabakan mengikuti perkembangan Iran. Pada saat-saat itu, langkah terakhir yang dapat dilakukan adalah pertama menyelamatkan Shah Pahlevi dan menyerahkan pemerintahan kepada tokoh boneka mereka. Hari ini, situasi Tunisia dan Mesir sama seperti Iran. Pasca penaklukan secara mutlak Amerika atas para penguasa diktator dan korup, tiba-tiba mengumumkan bahwa pemerintah harus melakukan reformasi dan perubahan. Lebih menarik lagi, segala bentuk reformasi yang diusulkan tidak memuaskan rakyat dan pada akhirnya mereka terpaksa memikirkan pilihan yang diinginkan, bahkan para jenderal ditugaskan untuk melakukan kudeta. Sekalipun dalam Revolusi Islam para pejabat Amerika lebih terkesan berhati-hati, namun secara umum perilaku mereka tidak ada bezanya. Noam Chomsky, salah seorang pengkritik Amerika mengatakan, "Ketika Amerika melihat para diktator yang dekat dengan AS bakal lengser, maka kebijakan seperti biasanya yang akan diambil. Ketika kekuasaan diambil dari pribadi-pribadi seperti ini dan militer tidak mampu menguasai situasi, tiba-tiba AS berubah dan mengambil sikap 180 darjah celcius." Menurutnya, dalam senario seperti ini AS  kebiasaannya akan berpihak kepada rakyat. Dengan cara ini, mereka dapat mengembalikan kekuasaan lama dengan wajah baru. Kestabilan politik dan perlindungan kepentingan AS dan Israel, ekspor minyak dan mencegah pengaruh komunis Uni Soviet merupakan variabel yang menentukan strategi hubungan Amerika dengan Iran. Selain masalah minyak dan pengaruh komunis, seluruh faktor yang ada sama antara Iran dan Mesir. Artinya, prioritas utama AS di Timur Tengah sebenarnya bukan masalah demokrasi, tapi apa yang penting bagi AS adalah kestabilan negara-negara dilanda krisis demi membantu  impian dan matlamat tersirat mereka. Di Iran, Amerika berusaha secara agresif untuk menidakkan usaha Iran dalam pembangunan teknologi sejata nuklear , sementara di Mesir, tidak pernah ada tekanan dari pihak AS kepada pemerintah untuk menerapkan kebebasan politik dan reformasi demokrasi. Justeru itu,  rejim Mohammad Reza Pahlevi dan Hosni Mubarak dengan tenang menumpas gerakan rakyat yang menuntut diberlakukannya demokrasi di negara ini dan melanggar Hak Asasi Mesir (HAM). Hal ini dilakukan dengan satu kepastian dari AS bahwa hubungan mereka dengan Washington tidak menimbulkan sebarang bermasalah. Seperkara lagi yang patut diperhatikan adalah standard  Amerika dalam soal HAM dan demokrasi di Timur Tengah. Nilai-nilai HAM dan demokrasi berada di bawah keuupayaan melindungi kestabilan dan kepentingan AS di kancah mata pemimpin seluruh dunia. Iran di masa Shah dan periode saat ini Mesir merupakan dua contoh dari kebijakan standar ganda ini. Dalam pada itu, Jabatan Luar Negeri dan Agensi Perisikan Amerika juga tampaknya terkejut atas peristiwa yang terjadi di Mesir yang memiliki kesamaan dengan Iran. Sebelumnya mereka beranggapan bahwa pemerintah Hosni Mubarak cukup kuat. Ini pandangan yang sama dikaitkan dengan kekuasaan Shah Pahlevi. Ketika rakyat Iran di tahun 1979 mulai bangkit, pihak CIA kebingungan yang teramat sangat. Pada awalnya mereka melihat ketidakstabilan yang terjadi hanya sementara dan berpendapat bahawa Shah dapat mengembalikan keamanan semula di negara berkenaan.   Namun disebabkan perubahan yang terjadi teralu drastik menyebabkan  Amerika segera berusaha mencari jalan penamat yang akhirnya menemui jalan kegagalan. Pada awalnya mereka berusaha memperkuat Shah dan lewat sejumlah reformasi politik dan mengganti sejumlah pejabat dengan harapan situasi lebih tenang. Faktanya, sekalipun AS berusaha dengan segala macam cara untuk menstabilkan dan memperluas kekuasannya di kawasan Timur Tengah, tetapi transformasi terbaru di Tunisia, Mesir, Yordania, Yaman bahkan di Arab Saudi menunjukkan isyarat bahawa kawasan berkenaan sudah berjaya keluar dari cengkaman tersirat Amerika.

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