Dalai Lama: China causing 'cultural genocide'

19:15 CDT -- 16 March 2008

Dalai Lama: China causing 'cultural genocide'

(CNN) -- The Dalai Lama on Sunday called for an international probe of China's treatment of Tibet, which he said is causing "cultural genocide" of his people.

The exiled spiritual leader of Tibet spoke at a news conference Sunday in Dharamsala, India, two days after violent clashes between pro-autonomy demonstrators and Chinese security forces in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.

A spokesman for the self-declared Tibetan exile government said it has confirmed at least 80 deaths in Friday's violence and that protests were continuing outside the capital Sunday, further undermining China's hopes of a smooth run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Tibet Watch, a group based in Dharamsala, India, said 34 people have died in the Nwaga County area of Sichuan province in western China.

The dead include women and children, the group said in an e-mail, adding they were killed by Chinese police attempting to stop the protests. Eight bodies were brought to the Nagaba Kirti monastery, the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Dharamsala said. Of the eight, two are the bodies of monks, the center said.

The streets of Lhasa were silent and deserted Sunday night, a contrast to the violent protests of days earlier. Chinese paramilitary troops and riot police were patrolling, and shots could be heard from time to time, according to James Miles, a reporter for The Economist in Lhasa.

"People are now too afraid to come out of their homes," Miles said. "People are afraid to go about their normal business." Residents were worried about encountering roving patrols or being shot, he said. Even if people ventured out to shop, most markets have been ransacked, he said.

"People are going to start running out of food pretty soon. They're going to need essential supplies," Miles said...

-- Source/continues: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/16/tibet.unrest/index.html

Bosnian Serb rioters try to storm U.S. consulate

26 Feb 2008

Bosnian Serb rioters try to storm U.S. consulate
Protest against Kosovo independence turns violent in Bosnia-Herzegovina

MSNBC News Services

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Police fired tear gas at Bosnian Serb rioters Tuesday to prevent them from storming the building of the U.S. consulate after protests against Kosovo?s independence.

A group split away from the almost 10,000 peaceful protesters in Banja Luka and headed toward the consulate, breaking shop windows and throwing stones at police who blocked the streets leading to the building with armored vehicles.

A rain of stones poured down on police before officers fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Several officers were seen limping. Police were also seen detaining several demonstrators as they withdrew to a nearby park...

Article continues at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23351136/

Serbia: US 'culprit' in Kosovo violence

Sat Feb 23, 4:23 PM ET

Serbia: US 'culprit' in Kosovo violence

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, KOSOVO: Serbia's hard-line leaders on Saturday called the U.S. "the main culprit" in the violence that has broken out since Kosovo declared independence.

Several thousand Serbs chanting "Kosovo is Serbia!" and "Russia, Vladimir Putin!" protested peacefully in the ethnically divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica, the sixth day of demonstrations against Kosovo's break with Serbia. Russia backs Serbia's fierce resistance to Kosovo's secession.

On Thursday night, protesters in the Serbian capital Belgrade set fire to the U.S. embassy, angered by Washington's recognition of Kosovo. The U.S. and the European Union responded by demanding Serbia protect foreign embassies.

"The United States is the main culprit ... for all those violent acts," Serbia's Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic said in Belgrade.

Other Serbian leaders have called for calm after the riots. But an aide to hard-line Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said any future violence also will be blamed on the U.S.

"If the United States sticks to its present position that the fake state of Kosovo exists ... all responsibility in the future will be on the United States," Kostunica adviser Branislav Ristivojevic said in a statement.

The comments were an indication that Serbia is drifting further from the West and more toward ally Russia...

-- Source/continues: Yahoo/AP, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080223/ap_on_re_eu/serbia_kosovo

[The views expressed above are those of the author and/or publisher and do not necessarily represent those of ERRI, EmergencyNet News, or Emergency.Blog. They are presented to give our readers alternative viewpoints from around the world and to encourage discussion and further study of important topics.]

Attack/Fire at U.S. Embassy in Belgrade (Video)

U.S. Embassy Attacked in Serbia

EmergencyNet News *FLASH* Report

21 Feb 2008 - 12:20 CST

U.S. Embassy Attacked in Serbia

BELGRADE, SERBIA: EmergencyNet News is receiving early and largely unconfirmed reports about unrest and an arson attack in the vicinity of the U.S. embassy in Belgrade, Serbia. According to eyewitnesses, entry into the embassy building was made by protestors and a fire may have been set in the building. Troops and police were seen on the street in the vicinity of the U.S. embassy. Other unrest was noted outside the building and teargas has reported been fired at the protestors.

It is not presently known if U.S. embassy personnel suffered any injuries, as it is believed that the embassy was placed at minimum staffing since the 17th of February. Only security personnel and Marine guards were thought to be in the compound at the time of the protest.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack strongly urged the Serbian government to protect the U.S. Embassy. He said the U.S. ambassador was at his home and was in contact with U.S. officials.

There are also unverified reports of damage and protests at other countries' embassies in Belgrade.

Events and details are dynamic and confusing at the time of this report. There were previous protests outside the embassy, after the United States recognized the new country of Kosovo (see previous reports this blog). Watch EmergencyNet News for more on this emerging story...

Additional Reference:

Serbian Protesters Break into US Embassy in Belgrade

By VOA News, 21 February 2008

Can be found at: http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-02-21-voa22.cfm

Kenya: Will March Ignite Civil War?

Updated:06:52, Thursday January 03, 2008

Violence Looms Ahead Of Kenya Rally

Kenya's main opposition party is set to defy the police and hold a rally to demand President Mwai Kibaki quits over allegations of vote rigging in the recent election that saw him returned to power. Humanitarian groups estimate that at least 300 people have already been killed and 100,000 displaced.

Both sides have accused each other of genocide - and fears are growing of a civil war.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga called today's "million man" rally in protest at the December 27 election, which he insists was a "sham."

He told reporters that the rally was meant to be peaceful, but the government has banned the demonstration. With security forces deployed in force, violence was likely to erupt if protesters follow the call.

More on this developing story can be found at SkyNews: http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1299082,00.html?f=rss

Additional Reference:

Kenya Braces For More Violence

Opposition Leader Vows To Go Ahead With Banned Protest Despite Huge Security Presence...

More can be found at CBSNews: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/03/world/main3668671.shtml

KENYA: More Than 300 Killed, Country on Verge of Tribal War?

January 2, 2008

50 die in blazing church as spectre of tribal war looms

NAIROBI, KENYA: A mob set fire to a church where dozens of people had sought refuge from violence in Kenya yesterday, killing at least 50 and raising new fears that one of Africa's most stable countries would collapse into a bloody tribal war.

The dead were mostly of the Kikuyu tribe, which overwhelmingly backed President Kibaki's bid for a second term in last Thursday's election. Mr. Kibaki defeated his rival, Raila Odinga, by just 230,000 votes and Mr. Odinga's supporters, who are mostly ethnic Luo, believe that the election was "stolen".

The admission last night by Samuel Kivuitu, the head of Kenya's Electoral Commission, that he was pressured by Mr. Kibaki's Party of National Unity not to hold an inquiry into the results appeared to support the claim. European envoys and the state-run Human Rights Commission had called for an investigation.

More than 300 people have been killed in Kenya since the election, and last night there was no sign that security forces were willing, or able, to bring the rampaging mobs under control. Gangs of machete-wielding men set up roadblocks along the main road out of Nairobi to the west, pulling Kikuyus from their cars.

The Kenyan Red Cross said that 70,000 people had fled the violence, and some Kikuyus had reportedly crossed into Uganda for safety. "This is a national disaster," said Abbas Gullet, the agency's secretary-general...

Article continues at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article3118970.ece

Bhutto Assasination in Pakistan (video)

PARIS, FRANCE: "Confronted with Scenes of real Urban Guerilla Warfare"

VILLIERS-LE-BEL, FRANCE: Rampaging youths rioted for a second night in Paris' suburbs, firing at officers and ramming burning cars into buildings. At least 80 officers were injured, a senior police union official said Tuesday.

The overnight violence was more intense than during the three weeks of rioting in 2005, said the official, Patrice Ribeiro. He said "genuine urban guerrillas with conventional weapons and hunting weapons" were among the rioters.

On Monday night, youths were seen firing buckshot at police and reporters. About 30 of 82 injured officers were hit by buckshot, Ribeiro told The Associated Press. Rioters also hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at police, authorities said. Police made at least six arrests, authorities said.

Youths, many of them Arab and black children of immigrants, again appeared to be lashing out at police and other targets seen to represent a French establishment they feel has left them behind.

"Police officers were targeted with hunting weapons; a certain number of them were wounded by lead shot," said Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie. "This is totally unacceptable," she said, adding there were six serious injuries, "people who notably were struck in the face and close to the eyes."

The use of firearms added a dangerous new dimension to the rioting. Firearms are widespread in France, and police generally carry guns. Such weapons, though, were rarely used in the 2005 riots that spread to poor housing projects nationwide.

The current riots were triggered by the deaths of two teens killed in a crash with a police patrol car on Sunday in Villiers-le-Bel, a blue-collar town in Paris' northern suburbs.

Residents claimed that officers left the crash scene without helping the teens, whose motorbike collided with the car. Officials cast doubt on the claim, but the internal police oversight agency was investigating... -- Source: ANGELA CHARLTON, Associated Press/MyFox, N.E. Wisconsin, click here for the full story...

Play Video

Youth Riots Hit France Again Associated Press - (APTN) Nov. 27, 2007. 06:53 AM EST Violence broke out in French suburbs after two teens were killed in a crash involving a police patrol car. The rioting left at least 77 officers injured and comes a little more than two years after similar protests ravaged the country. (Nov. 27)

Bolivia: Protestors Clash With Police, Storm a Jail

Bolivian protesters clash with police, storm jail

SUCRE, BOLIVIA: Demonstrators opposed to efforts by Bolivian President Evo Morales to overhaul the constitution on Sunday torched police stations and stormed a jail, freeing 100 inmates, while on the streets protesters clashed with police and one officer was killed.

The protests in the southern city of Sucre came hours after pro-government allies in a constitutional assembly approved a preliminary draft late on Saturday of the new constitution, a key Morales political project.

Morales, a leftist and Bolivia's first Indian president, says the new constitution will give the country's indigenous majority more political power. But the vote was boycotted by the rightist opposition, which has heavily criticized the assembly.. (continues)

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2546520071126?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Gunmen Open fire on Venezuela protest Against Chavez

Thursday, 8 November 2007, 01:26 GMT

Gunmen Open fire on Venezuela protest Against Chavez

CARACAS, VENEZUELA: Unidentified gunmen have opened fire on students returning from a protest in Caracas against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's planned reforms. Several people have been reported injured during the clashes, including at least two by gunfire. The students were protesting against plans to remove presidential term limits, the subject of a referendum.

Thousands had marched peacefully to the Supreme Court and filed a demand for the vote to be suspended. Unidentified gunmen opened fire on the students as they returned from the march, prompting scenes of chaos as students fled...(Continues)

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7084262.stm

Additional Reference:

"Officials in Venezuela say at least eight people have been injured, including one by gunfire, in protests against President Hugo Chavez...Officials had said earlier that one person was killed," though that has not been confirmed by ERRI sources or methods.

"Photographers for The Associated Press saw at least four gunmen, their faces covered by ski masks or T-shirts, firing handguns at the anti-Chavez crowd. Terrified students ran through the campus of the Central University of Venezuela as ambulances arrived..."

Gunfire erupts at Venezuela university after students protest against Chavez, Associated Press/WTOL-TV - November 7, 2007 11:03 PM ET, can be found on the internet at: http://www.wtol.com/global/story.asp?s=7328713