Alternative für Deutschland Calls for Ban on Islam in Germany

May 1, 2016 By administrator

German far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) approved an election manifesto that states that Islam is “not compatible” with the German constitution and calls for a ban on religious attributes.

AfD, the far-right party that scores a considerable 14% of nation-wide support, is present in half of Germany’s regional state assemblies. While it is still not represented in the German federal parliament, it poses a challenge to Angela Merkel’s CDU in the upcoming 2017 elections.

This Sunday, May 1st, the congress of 2,000 party delegates approved the election manifesto that, among other things, states that Islam is not compatible with the German constitution and that minarets and burqas should be banned completely.

According to Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, an AfD politician from the state of Saxony-Anhalt, “Islam is foreign to [Germans] and for that reason it cannot invoke the principle of religious freedom to the same degree as Christianity.”

This is a stark contrast to Angela Merkel‘s stance that freedom of religion is universally guaranteed by the German constitution and that Islam is welcome in the country.

Tillschneider’s statement received loud and vocal support, as such sentiments are apparently shared by the majority of the party members. While the idea of a softer approach has been proposed on the congress (Ernst-August Roettger proposed a “dialogue with local Muslim communities”), it was almost unanimously rejected.

The party that was founded three years ago had its popularity boosted by the recent migrant flow to Europe. According to statistics, Muslims make about 5% of the German population (about 4 million people). AfD is being criticized for its far-right anti-immigrant policy, with some officials have compared its attitude towards Muslims to that of Adolf Hitler’s towards Jews — a particularly popular accusation in Germany, that has been attributed to Chancellor Merkel herself.

Georgia: Rally staged outside Tbilisi’s Turkish embassy despite Municipality ban

April 24, 2016 By administrator

210989 Despite recommendation of Tbilisi’s Municipality and the statement of Georgia’s Armenian community on shifting the venue for the annual April 24 rally from outside the Turkish embassy to the territory adjacent to the church of St. Echmiadzin, a group of protesters still staged a rally outside the embassy to express their constitutional right.

Earlier, Georgia’s Armenian community issued a statement saying, “considering the complicated situation in the country and the region, as well as the stance, request and concern of the Georgian authorities, the community resolved to abstain from holding a traditional April 24 rally outside the Turkish embassy. This year, by way of exception, the event will be held at the territory adjacent to the church of St. Echmiadzin.”

Photo: Hayk Sahakyants

Russian MPs ask Putin to expand Russian flights ban to Tunisia & Turkey

November 12, 2015 By administrator

RT Russian MPs representing the Communist Party have written to the resident saying that the security situation in Turkey and Tunisia is just as dire as in Egypt, and therefore passenger flights to these countries should also be banned.

“We ask you to consider including the republics of Turkey and Tunisia in the list of territories where Russian airline companies were temporarily banned to deliver passengers by the presidential decree issued on November 8,” reads the letter signed by State Duma deputies Valeriy Rashkin and Sergey Obukhov.

The lawmakers noted in their message that the recent deadly crash of the Russian A231 airliner in Egypt could have been caused by a terrorist attack, adding that several leading politicians, including Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, British State Secretary Philip Hammond and Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon named terrorism as a very probable reason behind the disaster.

Rashkin and Obukhov said they proposed Turkey and Tunisia to be included in the ban because these countries are within the Islamic State terrorist organization’s sphere of influence (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). “Seven terrorist attacks have occurred in Turkey in less than a year. Two coastal hotels were attacked in Tunisia in June,” the letter reads.
The Russian Foreign Ministry already lists some areas in Turkey and Tunisia as places not recommended for visiting. In Turkey this is the south of the country and in Tunisia – its whole territory “with the exceptions of safe tourist-oriented regions.”

Upper house MP Igor Morozov, a member of the chamber’s International Relations Committee, supported the Communists’ idea.

“Turkey and Tunisia remain among the few destinations of mass tourism today, but the security situation there leaves a lot to be desired,” Morozov told RIA Novosti. “The main task the Russian government must pursue through canceling flights to Turkey and Tunisia is to make the governments of these countries take a more serious approach to security in the tourist sector – airports, hotels and major places of interest,” the senator said. “The main task for Russia is to keep its citizens safe and not to replenish the state budgets of some foreign countries,” he added.

Turkey: Court issues total media ban over Ankara suicide bombings

October 14, 2015 By administrator

An Ankara court issued on Oct. 14 a broad media ban over the Oct. 10 Ankara suicide bomber investigation.

According to the court decision, the ban includes “all kinds of news, interviews, criticism and similar publications in print, visual, social media and all kinds of media on the Internet” covered by the investigation. Report hurriyetdailynews.

All media outlets in the country have officially been notified of the decision, which brings in one of the broadest recent media bans and is effective immediately.

In addition, on Oct. 12, a restriction decision was given about the bombing investigation over the prosecutor’s demand. According to the decision, lawyers will not be able to take information and documents from the file with some exceptions. The same decision had been made over both the Suruç and Diyarbakır bomb attacks earlier this year.

Speaking to Reuters on Oct. 14, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said some of the suspects in a suicide bombing that killed at least 97 people in Ankara had spent months in Syria and that they could be linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

“We are working on [investigating] two terrorist organizations, Daesh [ISIL] and the PKK, because we have certain evidence regarding the suicide bombers having links with Daesh, but also some linkages with PKK groups,” Davutoğlu said.

The Oct. 10 bombing targeting a peace rally in the capital city of Ankara left at least 97 dead and wounded hundreds, marking one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history.

From 2010 to 2014, Turkish media faced over 150 gag orders, Hürriyet daily reported last year. The subjects of the bans have included deadly attacks, corruption cases, the wiretapping of officials, a mining disaster and even football match-fixing claims.

Sign the petition: Tell Congress to pass Al Franken’s bill to ban members of Congress from becoming lobbyists!

August 30, 2015 By administrator

Click here to sign in: http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/congress-lobbying-ban

Senators Al Franken and Michael Bennet introduced a bill this month to ban the outrageous practice of former members of Congress cashing in as big money lobbyists.

The bill, the Close the Revolving Door Act, also:

Increases penalties for breaking the Lobbying Disclosure Act
Extends the ban on congressional staff becoming lobbyists, from only one year to six
Gives the public better online access to information about who lobbies Congress

Sign the petition: Tell Congress to pass the Close the Revolving Door Act to ban Senators and Representatives from ever becoming lobbyists.

Agriculture Scotland to ban GMO genetically modified crops

August 9, 2015 By administrator

Scotland’s government says it plans to ban the cultivation of genetically modified crops. While widely grown in the Americas and Asia, there is more skepticism over the practice in Europe.

Scotland’s Environment Ministry announced Sunday it intended to ban the growth of genetically modified crops on its territory in order to cultivate its “clean and green brand” of products.

No GM crops are currently grown commercially in Britain, though the central government in London says it supports the use of GM crops if they are safe.

Richard Lochhead, the Scottish government’s minister for the environment, food and rural affairs, said Sunday he planned to take advantage of new European Union rules allowing countries to opt out of growing EU-authorized GM crops.

“The Scottish government will shortly submit a request that Scotland is excluded from any European consents for the cultivation of GM crops, including the variety of genetically modified maize already approved and six other GM crops that are awaiting authorization,” Lochhead said in a statement.

The minister said there is no domestic market for GM crops and it wanted to strengthen its brand of exports, especially its food and drink sector worth an annual 19.78 billion euros ($21.7 billion).

“Scotland is known around the world for our beautiful natural environment – and banning growing genetically modified crops will protect and further enhance our clean, green status,” Lochhead said.

Health debate

GM crops are the subject of global debate, with some environmental and health groups questioning their environmental impact. Producers, however, insist they are safe.

The Scottish government in Edinburgh has been responsible for mainly domestic policies, including agriculture, since 1999 when power was devolved from the central government in London.

jar/cmk (Reuters, AFP)

Source: dw.com

Iran asks citizens to avoid travel overland to Turkey

August 9, 2015 By administrator

Photo: Vatan

Iran has asked its citizens to avoid traveling by land to Turkey after an attack in eastern Turkey left one Iranian dead.

“Based on recent movements and insecurity in Turkey’s east, the foreign ministry advises our citizens travelling to Turkey to avoid land routes until further notice and to use air routes,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, according to French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The PKK announced last month that it was stepping up attacks, saying Turkish forces were violating a 2013 cease-fire. Turkey began an air campaign against PKK camps in northern Iraq on July 24.

On Saturday, a Turkish police officer was killed in a PKK attack in Mardin. On Friday evening, militants fired a rocket at an armored car in the town of Cizre, killing a police officer and wounding another. The wounded officer later died on Saturday.

Transparency International: Armenia should ban MPs and officials from business activities

July 3, 2015 By administrator

Transparency International has warned about lack of progress in fight of corruption in five Eastern Partnership countries.

In a new report the organization says corruption remains a major problem in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, threatening economic development and political stability as well as the credibility of governments.

While some progress has been made in adopting anti-corruption laws in all five countries, the capture of important institutions by powerful interests is seriously undermining the effective enforcement of these laws, Transparency International said.

The recommendations to Armenia say the government and parliament should ban members of parliament and senior public officials from engaging in business activities. Sanctions for such actions should be introduced, including for those who are aware of such practices but do not report them.

The judiciary should significantly speed up the prosecution rate of corruption offences, giving greater priority to prosecuting high-level officials in order to build trust among citizens in the judiciary’s commitment to fighting corruption.

In order to build the capacity and sustainability of civil society, the government should ease the tax regulations for CSOs so that they are not classified as for-profit organisations.

Dutch cabinet approves partial ban on Islamic veil in public areas

May 25, 2015 By administrator

Schools, hospitals and public transport would be covered by ban, but Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte insists prohibition is not religiously motivated

The Dutch cabinet has approved a proposal for a partial ban on face-covering Islamic veils on public transport and in public areas such as schools and hospitals. Report The Guardian

After the cabinet backed a bill by the interior minister, Ronald Plasterk, the government said in a statement on Friday: “Face-covering clothing will in future not be accepted in education and healthcare institutions, government buildings and on public transport.”

The ban would not apply to wearing the burqa or the niqab on the street, only for security reasons or “in specific situations where it is essential for people to be seen”, the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, told journalists after a cabinet meeting.

He said: “The bill does not have any religious background.” The proposal will be sent to a panel of legal advisers for assessment.

The government said it had “tried to find a balance between people’s freedom to wear the clothes they want and the importance of mutual and recognisable communication”. It said the cabinet “sees no reason for a general ban that would apply to all public places”.

A previous bill that proposed banning face-covering veils on the street will be withdrawn. It dated from Rutte’s previous government, which was supported by the anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders.

It was agreed that a new bill would be drawn up by the coalition partners of Rutte’s VVD party and the PvdA party when they formed a coalition in 2012.

Those flouting the ban, if it is enforced, could be fined up to €405 (£288).

NOS, the state broadcaster, said that between 100 and 500 women in the Netherlands wore the burqa, most of them only occasionally.

Turkey threatens to ban Twitter, Facebook again

January 14, 2015 By administrator

Turkish authorities have warned that all websites publishing records allegedly related to Syrian-bound trucks belonging to the Turkish intelligence agency that were stopped by a prosecutor last year will be banned, presaging a possible new ban on Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter has quickly removed the content, while many other websites have not yet complied, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

On Jan 2, 2014, two Syria-bound trucks belonging to Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) were stopped by a prosecutor who sought to have the gendarmerie search the vehicles. The following month, a Turkish court issued a ban on the publication of news related to the incident.

A number of documents were leaked online on Jan 13 this year. The proceedings related to the search allegedly show that arms belonging to MİT were found in the trucks. Speculation has been rife that the arms were destined for jihadists in Syria.

Turkish officials, now equipped with the authority to block websites even without a court ruling, warned that the gag order would be strictly imposed on the Internet. Any website, including Facebook and Twitter, will be blocked if they do not remove the leaked documents.

Twitter quickly withheld the sanctioned content Wednesday, Jan 14, dodging the possible Turkish ban. Facebook, on the other hand, has not yet complied with the decision, Turkish authorities said, noting that the talks were continuing.

“There are several court decisions against the websites that published the signed proceedings,” a Turkish official told daily Hürriyet, stressing that the “procedure is ongoing.”

Turkey blocked access to Twitter, hours after then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vowed to close down the social media platform in March 2014.

YouTube was banned in Turkey the same month, after a top-secret government meeting on Syria was leaked allegedly depicting government officials discussing a possible false-flag operation on Turkey in an effort to drag Turkey into Syria’s war.

The Constitutional Court unblocked Twitter on April 2, 2014, and YouTube on May 29, 2014, citing freedom of expression, but the ruling drew the ire of the government.