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14 de janeiro de 2011BBC News | IN

Afghan Taliban end opposition to educating girls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9UK

BBC News | IN

Indian Supreme Court orders Azad killing inquiry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

BBC News | IN

Exit Ben Ali - but can Tunisia change? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

BBC News | IN

In quotes: Reaction to Tunisian crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

BBC News | IN

Turmoil in Tunisia: As it happened on Friday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

The New York Times | IN

String Meets Steel to Build Harmony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23


Want Legal Advice? Just Ask the Actors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

The Guardian | Londres | IN

I'm Hugo Chávez's prisoner, says jailed judge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27WORLD

El Pais | Montevidéu | IN

Berlusconi pierde inmunidad y se enfrenta a la justicia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29INTERNACIONAL

El Universal - Ven | IN

Entrada en vigor de regulación salarial preocupa en el TSJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Le Figaro | IN

Silvio Berlusconi rattrapé par l'affaire du «Ruby Gate» . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32INTERNATIONAL

Le Figaro | IN

Côte d'Ivoire : gel des avoirs de Gbagbo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

15 de janeiro de 2011The Guardian | Londres | IN

Tunisian prison fire 'kills dozens' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34WORLD

El Mercurio | Santiago de Chile | BR

Justicia chilena rechaza extradición de Manuel Olate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35POLÍTICA

El Pais | Montevidéu | IN

Uma Thurman aún está ante su acosador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36ESPECTÁCULOS


Líder del Parlamento es proclamado presidente interino de Túnez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37INTERNACIONAL


Morales confía en Piñera para resolver demanda marítima con Chile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38INTERNACIONAL

Le Figaro | IN

Tunisie: Mebazaa président par intérim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Le Figaro | IN

Tunisie: Ben Ali écarté du pouvoir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Le Figaro | IN

Ben Ali a téléphoné à Kadhafi samedi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Le Figaro | IN

Tunisie: le président écarté définitivement du pouvoir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42INTERNATIONAL

Le Figaro | IN

Tunisie: pillages "inacceptables" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Le Figaro | IN

Tunisie: La Ligue arabe appelle à l'unité . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Le Figaro | IN

Tunisie: les opposants invités à rentrer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Le Figaro | IN

Tunisie:serment du président par intérim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Le Figaro | IN

Le Caire "respecte" le choix tunisien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Le Figaro | IN

«Aucune figure n'incarne l'opposition en Tunisie» . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48INTERNATIONAL

Le Figaro | IN

La Constitution du Congo révisée . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Le Figaro | IN

Kadhafi regrette le départ de Ben Ali . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

16 de janeiro de 2011El Universal - Ven | IN

Las verdades de Pdval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Le Figaro | IN

Tunisie: l'armée a lâché Ben Ali . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Le Figaro | IN

Le militant Jendoubi rentre en Tunisie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56


Legal bid to stop PSNI using tasers fails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

BBC News | IN

Haiti urged to arrest visiting Baby Doc Duvalier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58


Iran Says It May Drop Woman's Stoning Sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60MIDDLE EAST


The Insanity Defense, Post-Hinckley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61OPINIÓN


Anger over courtesy titles for supreme court justices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62


WikiLeaks data gives fresh impetus to Pat Finucane inquiry campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63UK


Inaccurate human rights reporting will not help either side of the debate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65


Santander chief faces Spanish banking ban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67BUSINESS

Reuters | IN

Iran suspends sentence to hang woman in stoning case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68


"El Tribunal Supremo no puede seguir saltándose la talanquera" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Le Figaro | IN

Côte d'Ivoire: blessés à Yamoussoukro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Le Figaro | IN

Constitution: le mariage gay à l'examen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Le Figaro | IN

Mariage homosexuel : 73

Le Figaro | IN

Tunisie/présidentielle: Marzouki candidat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Le Figaro | IN

Pharmacie : faut-il avoir peur de la chimie ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76


Mirror wins costs ruling in Naomi Campbell case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78UK


Former Haitian Dictator Taken Away by Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79AMERICAS


Afghan Attorney General Expects Court to Void Election . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81


In Knotty State Secrets Case, Justices Ponder Telling Litigants to 'Go Away' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83US


Beyond Hezbollah: What's at Stake in Lebanon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85OPINIÓN


Obama Asks for Review of Rules Stifling Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86BUSINESS


European court deals blow to no-win-no-fee legal deals in Naomi Campbell case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88


Straw and Davis unite against prisoners' voting rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Reuters | IN

Haiti urged to arrest "Baby Doc" amid unrest fears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Reuters | IN

Sudan arrests opposition leader Turabi, eight others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93


Demanda peruana cumple tres años . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Le Figaro | IN

Accoyer engage les députés à «poursuivre les réformes» . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Le Figaro | IN

Mariage homo: décision des Sages le 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Le Figaro | IN

Côte d'Ivoire: réunion de la Cédéao . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99


Court fight against sixth form closure in Blaenau Gwent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

BBC News | IN

El Hadary ordered to pay Fifa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

BBC News | IN

LRA: Ugandan bishop urges negotiated settlement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

BBC News | IN

Formato não identificado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

BBC News | IN

Ministers in climbdown over prison vote rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107


House Votes for Repeal of Health Law in Symbolic Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108


Advocacy Group Says Justices May Have Conflict in Campaign Finance Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110POLITICS


Afghan Court Urges Delay in Inaugurating Parliament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112


Justices Uphold Background Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113US


Court Weighs Whether Corporations Have Personal Privacy Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115US


Libel reform closer after Campbell ruling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117


Law society calls on Iran to release prominent human rights lawyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118


Obama presses Hu Jintao on human rights during White House welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120WORLD


Activists urge Barack Obama to press Hu Jintao on human rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122WORLD


Barack Obama risks China's ire with human rights remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124WORLD


Hu Jintao questioned by Barack Obama on China's human rights record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126WORLD

Reuters | IN

Obama pressured to speak out on China human rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Reuters | IN

Haiti charges returned ex-dictator Duvalier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Reuters | IN

Hu concedes China needs human rights improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Reuters | IN

Groups to shine light on dark side of capitalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134


Sistema jurídico chileno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Clarín | IN

Denuncian nombramientos polémicos en la Magistratura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136


Berlusconi ataca a los jueces por "usar para fines políticos" el caso Ruby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138INTERNACIONAL


Ex presidente de Guatemala al banquillo por malversación de fondos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139INTERNACIONAL

El Observador | IN

Oposición y prensa privada critican el referéndum de Correa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Le Figaro | IN

MAM reçoit l'ambassadeur de Ouattara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Le Figaro | IN

Soudan/dette: demande d'annulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Le Figaro | IN

Note: la défense de M. Huchon relativise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Le Figaro | IN

Côte d'Ivoire:intervention "déjà prévue" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Le Figaro | IN

Ile-de-France : la note qui accable Jean-Paul Huchon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145


India court alarm over theft of national money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

BBC News | IN

A lot to be done: Hu tackles human rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

BBC News | IN

Damian Green announces terror detention change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150UK


Subtle Signs of Progress in U.S.-China Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151


Judges Take Another Look at Ex-Alabama Governor's Conviction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153US


100, 75, 50 Years Ago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155OPINIÓN


China state visit to US: Chinese media downplay human rights talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156WORLD


Cribsheet daily 20.01.11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158


Caso ex embajador en Ecuador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161


Rechazo de extradición . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

BBC News/IN, 14 de janeiro de 2011Justiça no Exterior

STF.empauta.com pg.9

Afghan Taliban end opposition to educating girlsUK

Under the Taliban regime womenwere not allowed to be educatedand were forced to wear the burqa

The Taliban have abandonedtheir opposition to schooling girlsin Afghanistan, the countrys edu-cation minister has said. FarooqWardak told the UKs Times Edu-cational Supplement a "culturalchange" meant the Taliban were"no more opposing girls edu-cation". Under the Taliban re-gime, women in Afghanistanwerenotallowed towork or get aneducation. Mr Wardak made hiscomments while in London forthe Education World Forum. Hetold the TES: "What I am hearingat the very upper policy level ofthe Taliban is that they are no mo-re opposing education and alsogirls education. "I hope, Inshallah(God willing), soon there will bea peaceful negotiation, a mea-ningful negotiation with our ownopposition and that will not com-

promise at all the basic humanrights and basic principles whichhave been guiding us to providequality and balanced education toour people," he added.

'Financed salaries' Last October,Afghan President Hamid Karzaiconfirmed unofficial talks withTaliban leaders were under wayin an attempt to end the bloody in-surgency that has wracked thetroubled country for more than ni-ne years. Mr Wardaks words sug-gest the negotiations have gonebeyond issues like the release ofprisoners to touch on areas of go-vernment policy. The educationminister admitted historical op-position to schooling extendedbeyond the Taliban to the "dee-pest pockets" of Afghan society."That is the reason that in manyprovinces of Afghanistan we donothave eithermaleor female tea-cher. "During the Taliban era thepercentage of girls of the one mil-

lion students that we had was 0%.The percentage of female tea-chers was 0%. "Today 38% of ourstudents and 30% of our teachersare female," he said. Mr Wardakalso criticised the UK go-vernment for not providing moremoney for schools in Af-ghanistan.

The UKs Department for In-ternational Development spent£12m on schooling in Af-ghanistan in 2009-10. Aspokeswoman said the UK re-mained committed to improvingeducation in Afghanistan. "Lastyear, the British government fi-nanced the salaries of 169,000teachers through the Afghanistanreconstruction trust fund. "T-hrough the national solidarityprogramme, we have helped Af-ghan communities to buildschools in every province of thecountry," she said.



Indian Supreme Court orders Azad killing inquiryRelated stories Senior IndianMaoist shot dead India Maoistsdemand ceasefire Indian Maoistattacks kill seven IndiasSupreme Court has given thegovernment six weeks to explainthe circumstances under which aprominent Maoist was killed lastyear. Cherukuri Rajkumar wasacting as an intermediary to set uppeace talks between the Maoists

and the Indian government whenhe was shot dead. One judge saidthe state could not be allowed tokill its own children. Human rig-htsactivistsalleged the victim, al-so known as Azad, was killed bypolice after he had been detained.The Supreme Court has askedthe central government and thestate administration in AndhraPradesh to explain how Azad died

last July in the Adilabad forests ofAndhra Pradesh. He was numbertwo in the rebel hierarchy in thestate and a spokesman for theMaoists. The Maoists, alsoknown as Naxalites, say they arefighting for the rights of ruralpoor who have been neglected bythe government for decades.



Exit Ben Ali - but can Tunisia change?By Prof Emma Murphy DurhamUniversity Critics say PresidentBen Ali was the head of a corruptnetwork of power in Tunisia Zineal-Abidine Ben Ali came to powerin 1987 through a constitutionalcoup and he appears to have beenremoved from power through aconstitutional coup. The key hereon both occasions was not theconstitution but the army. In1987 the army moved to securestability as an increasingly senileand paranoid President Bour-guiba threatened to bring thecountry to a political and eco-nomic crisis. Today it has movedtorestore that same stability by re-moving a president whose personand family have becomesynonymous with corruption,growing wealth disparities, andpolitical repression. The questionnow is whether the interim lea-dership council will be used tomove the country towards a de-mocratic future through mea-ningful political reforms, free andfair elections, a liberalised mediaand a new inclusive approach torule, or whether this is a stallingtactic by the army and the regimeelite to quell protests and then res-tore their grip on power.'Ben Ali's man' The signs are mi-xed. Mr Ben Alis departure hasbeen described by Prime Mi-

nister Mohammed Ghannouchias temporary. The prime ministerhimself is a technocrat who wasan architect of the very economicpolicies which the Tunisian pu-blic believe to have failed them.He has been at the heart of theBen Ali regime since very earlyon. He cannot himself be seen asanything other than Ben Alisman, for all his oft-discussed per-sonal integrity. For all his lan-guage of constitutionalism, he isstill backed by a state of emer-gency, enforced by the army andinternal security forces. "StartQuote The legal opposition areweak, personalised, factionalisedand compromised by years of col-lusionwith - or submission to - theBen Ali regime" End Quote Wit-hout serious reforms - and even sonot within the six months pendingthe election - it is hard to see howthis leadership council can over-see the emergence of a ful-ly-functioning, genuinelyrepresentative form of politicalactivism which can lead to a trulynew regime.The alternative is national go-vernment, inclusive of the va-rious legal political parties andperhaps one or two others whomthe military do not consider a th-reat to the stability of the countryandits relationswith important al-

lies such as the US and the EU.But the legal opposition are weak,personalised, factionalised andcompromised by years of col-lusionwith - or submission to - theBen Ali regime. Can they deliveranything more for the Tunisianpeople? Probably not. But if de-mocracy is going to come, the lea-dership council needs to makevery early indications that therewill be substantial reforms to thepolitical party system, the elec-tion processes, freedom of as-sociation, civil rights and thefreedom of the media well in ad-vance of the elections. An earlyend to the state of emergency andsome clear indication that thecommittee into corruption an-nounced a few days ago will di-rectly address the activities of theBen Ali and Trabelsi clans wouldgo a long way towards convincingTunisians that, this time, the pro-mises of constitutional rule willbe fulfilled, that this time nationalreconciliation will really meanjust that, and that the army, in de-fending stability, will not oncemore succumb to the defence ofauthoritarian rule.Emma Murphy is a professor atthe School of Government and In-ternational Affairs at DurhamUniversity and an expert on Tu-nisian affairs.



In quotes: Reaction to Tunisian crisisUS President Barack Obama

I condemn and deplore the use ofviolence against citizens pea-cefully voicing their opinion inTunisia, and I applaud the cou-rage and dignity of the Tunisianpeople. The United States standswith the entire international com-munity in bearing witness to thisbrave and determined strugglefor the universal rights that wemust all uphold, and we will longremember the images of the Tu-nisian people seeking to maketheir voices heard. I urge all par-ties to maintain calm and avoidviolence, and call on the Tunisiangovernment to respect humanrights, and to hold free and fairelections in the near future thatreflect the true will and as-pirations of the Tunisian people.Countries that respect the uni-versal rights of their people arestronger and more successfulthan those that do not. I have nodoubt that Tunisias future will bebrighter if it is guided by the voi-ces of the Tunisian people.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Cat-herine Ashton and CommissionerStefan Fuele

We want to express our supportand recognition to the Tunisianpeople and their democratic as-pirations, which should be achie-ved in a peaceful way. In thisregard, we urge all parties to showrestraint and remain calm in orderto avoid further casualties andviolence. Dialogue is key.We rei-terate our engagement with Tu-nisia and its people and ourwillingness to help find lastingdemocratic solutions to the on-going crisis. UK Foreign Se-cretary William Hague Icondemn the violence and call onthe Tunisian authorities to do allthey can to resolve the situationpeacefully. I am calling for a ra-pid return to law and order, res-traint from all sides, an orderlymove towards free and fair elec-tions and an immediateexpansion of political freedomsin Tunisia. Our embassy in Tunisis providing help and assistanceto the UK citizens affected.

French President NicolasSarkozy

Only dialogue can bring a de-mocratic and lasting solution tothe current crisis. German Chan-cellor Angela Merkel The si-

tuation in Tunisia is extremelyserious. It shows that stagnationhas made the people very im-patient. We will now bring our in-fluence to bear in order to ensurethat things take place there pea-cefully and that there are as fewvictims to mourn as possible. UNSecretary General Ban Ki-moonThe political situation is de-veloping fast and every effortmust be made by all concernedparties to establish dialogue andresolve problems peacefully toprevent further loss, violence andescalations. I will continue to dis-cuss this matter with the con-cerned parties.

StefaniaCraxi, Italian foreign mi-nistry spokeswoman

Im sure that history in any case,will give him [President Ben Ali]the right credit due for the eco-nomic development, civil and so-cial progress and politicalstability in Tunisia.

Ben Ali probably did not realise intime that the country had beenasking for a new transition and thestart of a mature democracy pro-cess.



Turmoil in Tunisia: As it happened on Friday

Teargas

Teargas

Please turn on JavaScript. Me-dia requires JavaScript to play.Tear gas was fired at protesters incentral TunisTunisian President Zine al-A-bidine Ben Ali has resigned andleft the country after a month ofprotests over unemploymentand high food prices. The an-nouncement was made on stateTV by Prime Minister Mo-hamed Ghannouchi, who saidhe was assuming power. It ca-me after thousands of peoplemarched through the capital.LIVE TEXT COMMENTARY(all times GMT)0115: That concludes our live co-verage of a day of remarkableevents in Tunisia, which saw thefall of a president after 23 years inpower, and a call from his suc-cessor for all Tunisians to unite.Join us later on Saturday for fur-ther live coverage of de-velopments in the country andreaction across the region.

0055:Official Saudi Press Agen-cy has issued the following sta-tement, confirming Mr Ben Ali'sarrival: "Out of concern for theexceptional circumstances facing

the brotherly Tunisian people andin support of the security and sta-bility of their country... the Saudigovernment has welcomed Pre-sident Zine al-Abidine Ben Aliand his family to the kingdom."

0050: Saudi Arabia confirms thata plane carrying the ousted Tu-nisian president and his familyhas landed in Jeddah.

0030: With Tunisia under curfewand the ousted president stayingout of sight, thoughts are turningto Saturday - likely to be anothertense day on the streets as the in-terim leader, Mohamed Ghan-nouchi, hopes to begin talks onforming a government. There arealso concerns about whether theveteran prime minister is himselfacceptable to the protesters whobrought down Mr Ben Ali. WillTunisia see a day of calm?

0020: Still no confirmation of MrBen Ali's whereabouts. However,the AFP news agency quotes anunnamed Saudi official sayinghis plane did indeed land in Jed-dah. The ousted leader di-sembarked and went to theairport's VIP lounge, the officialtold AFP.

2339: A new twist emerges fromSaudi Arabia: Saudi-based TVnetwork al-Arabiya reports that aplane possibly carrying Mr BenAli has arrived in Jeddah, Saudi

Arabia. As with all reports of hismovements so far tonight, that re-port remains unconfirmed.

2331: The plot thickens: reportsnow emerging from Italian policeare suggesting that Mr Ben Alimay not have been on the planethat landed in Sardinia at all. Twopilots and a flight attendant werefound on the plane, Italian policesay.

2318: Despite the ongoing in-terest in where the ousted pre-sident might end up, Tunisia'simmediate future will be decidedat home, not abroad. AhmedBouazzi, spokesman for the Pro-gressive Democratic Party - anopposition grouping - told theBBC they would join coalitiontalks planned for Saturday. "If wethink that this is to do with the sal-vation of the country, we will par-ticipate, but with our [own]conditions," he said.

2253: Italian authorities have notconfirmed whether Mr Ben Aliwas on board a plane that landedat Cagliari. However, reports saythe plane landed after declaringan emergency, possibly becauseof a lack of fuel. The plane waspromptly ordered to take offagain once it had refuelled, air-port sources said.

2231: We're still awaiting con-firmation of Mr Ben Ali's final



Continuação: Turmoil in Tunisia: As it happened on Friday

destination. Latest reports havehis plane landing in Sardinia,Italy. The Al-Arabiya TV stationsays the stop is for refuelling.

2208: UK Foreign Secretary Wil-liam Hague is also seeking swiftand plausible elections in Tu-nisia. "I am calling for a rapid re-turn to law and order, restraintfrom all sides, an orderly movetowards free and fair electionsand an immediate expansion ofpolitical freedoms in Tunisia."Mr Hague also urged British tou-rists still in Tunisia to listen to ad-vice form their tour operators andto avoid rallies and protests.

2147: The European Union hasjoined the calls for calm: "Dia-logue is key. We reiterate our en-gagement with Tunisia and itspeople and our willingness tohelp find lasting democratic so-lutions to the ongoing crisis," fo-reign policy chief CatherineAshton and enlargement com-missioner Stefan Fuele said.

2141: Back in Tunisia, interimleader Mohamed Ghannouchi isto meet political leaders on Sa-turday in an effort to form a go-vernment, according to reports.

2135: Meanwhile, little is certainabout Mr Ben Ali's final des-tination. Dubai-based TV stational-Arabiyasaidhis plane was hea-ding to the Gulf "waiting for anystate to receive it".

2132: One French governmentsource has spoken to the country'sAFP news agency on the decisionnot to admit Tunisia's ousted pre-sident. "There are a million Tu-nisians in France, most of themanti-Ben Ali," the agency quotedhim as saying.

2112: With France apparently nolonger an option for Tunisia'sousted president, Arabic TVnetworks report that Mr Ben Aliis now heading for the Gulf.

2103: In Washington, PresidentBarack Obama has said he ap-plauds the "courage and dignity"of the Tunisian people. Callingthe events a "brave and de-termined struggle" for universalrights, Mr Obama urged calm andsaid he hoped free and fair elec-tions could be held in the near fu-ture.

2059: Reports emerging fromFrance suggest Mr Ben Ali hasbeen refused permission to landthere. Newspaper Le Monde andTV station i-Tele say the decisionwas made by President NicolasSarkozy himself.

2045: The BBC's Jon Leyne, inEgypt, says there's really no wayto predict how govenrments andpeoples across the Arab worldwill respond. Countries acrossthe region have also been suf-fering from spiralling food pricesand tough economic conditions.And like Tunisia, most have only

the thinnest veneer of de-mocracy, and little way for thepeople to express their frus-tration. But so far there have beenonly limited protests elsewhere,our correspondent says.

2034: An aide to Sakher Materi,son-in-law of Mr Ben Ali, deniesthat he is underarrest, telling Reu-ters Mr Materi is currently in Du-bai.

2020: The latest from France onthe possibility of an asylum re-quest from Mr Ben Ali: "If this re-quest were made, France wouldrespond in consultation with theTunisian constitutional aut-horities," a government spokes-man told Reuters.

2014: UN Secretary General BanKi-moon has spoken of his con-cern. "The political situation isdeveloping fast and every effortmust be made by all concernedparties to establish dialogue andresolve problems peacefully toprevent further loss, violence andescalations," Mr Ban said, pled-ging to remain in contact with allparties.

2003: Apart from Mr Ben Alihimself, mystery still surroundsthe whereabouts of his family.One private TV station in Tunisia,Nessma, has now broadcast un-confirmed reports that several ofthe ousted president's relativeshave been arrested, including hisson-in-law, one of the country's




most prominent businessmen.

2000: Meanwhile, an official inFrance tells the country's AFPnews agency that France has re-ceived no application for asylumfrom Mr Ben Ali - but would con-sult Tunisia if one was made.

1955: More details on Mr BenAli's reported flight to France: theBBC's Christian Fraser says Fren-ch authorities are now on standbyfor his arrival some time on Fri-day evening, and there are reportsthat some members of his familyhave already arrived on anotherflight.

1929: French President NicolasSarkozy says he "takes note of theconstitutional transition" in Tu-nisia. France hopes for a peacefulresolution to the last month of un-rest, and believes only dialoguecan bring democratic change, headds.

1929: An unnamed police sourcetells the Reuters news agency thatofficers have been told to awaitthe arrival of Mr Ben Ali at an air-port near Paris late on Friday.

1923: A spokesman for MalteseForeign Affairs Minister TonioBorg says Mr Ben Ali is "not co-ming to Malta and the go-vernment has no indications he'llbe coming to Malta". "The planeis going north," he tells the AFPnews agency. Italy's foreign mi-nistry meanwhile says he is "ab-

solutely not" on his way there.

1923: A spokesman for MalteseForeign Affairs Minister TonioBorg says Mr Ben Ali is "not co-ming to Malta and the go-vernment has no indications he'llbe coming to Malta". "The planeis going north," he tells the AFPnews agency. Italy's foreign mi-nistry meanwhile says he is "ab-solutely not" on his way there.

1908: Here are some facts aboutMohamed Ghannouchi: He wasborn in1941 in the coastal town ofSousse; has a degree in eco-nomics; was part of a team whichentered government when MrBen Ali was appointed prime mi-nister by Tunisia's previous Pre-sident, Habib Bourguiba; is aleading member of the rulingConstitutional Democratic Rallyparty; and served as finance mi-nister and international co-o-peration minister beforebecomingprime minister in1999.

1901: Ahmed Abdul Aziz in Cai-ro, Egypt, tells the BBC WorldService's World Have Your Say:"I'd like to congratulate the Tu-nisian people on the success oftheir peaceful revolution. Theyare opening the door for us; allArab people live under the samecircumstances, under the sameoppressive regimes, the same dic-tators. What the Tunisian peopledid we will do in Egypt, in Syriaand all over the Arabic world."Listen/contribute at World Have

Your Say1859: Asked about reports thatMr Ben Ali has flown to Malta,the Maltese High Commission inLondon says: "We have not beeninformed that heis coming toMal-ta. However, we have had a con-tact made with the control towerat Luqa Airport asking if they canpass through the airspace." Pres-sed further, the High Com-mission said it could notcategorically confirm Mr Ben Aliwas actually on the plane.

1854: Shots are heard in centralTunis despite the curfew imposedunder the state of emergency, theAFP news agency reports.

1846: Here's the full statementfrom Prime Minister MohamedGhannouchi: "Citizens, men andwomen! In accordance with theprovisions of chapter 56 of theconstitution, which stipulatesthat in case of the impossibility ofthe president to conduct his dutiestemporarily, he would delegatehis prerogatives to the prime mi-nister. Given the difficulty for thepresident of the republic to carryout his duties temporarily, I will,starting from now, exercise theprerogatives of the president ofthe republic. I urge all sons anddaughters of Tunisia - of all ideo-logical and political persuasionsand of all sections and regions - toshow the spirit of patriotism andunity in order to enable our coun-try, which is dear to all of us, toovercome this difficult juncture




and to ensure its security and sta-bility. While I assume this res-ponsibility, I promise to respectthe constitution and to carry outpolitical, economic and social re-forms which have been an-nounced. I will do so withperfection and through con-sultation with all national bodies -including political parties, na-tional organisations and civilsociety components. May Godgrant me success!"

1838: Ali in Tunisia tells the BBCWorld Service's Have Your Say:"Today I'm a free Tunisian ci-tizen. It's the first time in my life Ican say that."Listen/contribute at World HaveYour Say1836: Ali in Tunisia tells the BBCWorld Service's World HaveYour Say: The White House nowsays it believes the Tunisian peo-ple "have the right to choose theirleaders".

1831: The White House now saysit believes the Tunisian people"have the right tochoose their lea-ders".

1830: The BBC's Christian Fra-ser says Mr Ben Ali has gone toMalta, however there has been noconfirmation from the Malteseauthorities.1823: The BBC's Magdi Ab-delhadi says it has been an ex-tremely dramatic day for Tunisiaand the region. "It looks like 14January will go down in history as

the day that an Arab nation roseup and brought down a head ofstate whom it regarded as a dic-tator," he says. "This is un-precedented and will have afar-reaching effect - it may rattlethe entire post-colonial order inNorth Africa and the wider Arabworld."

1819: The French foreign mi-nistry says it has no informationon a report by al-Jazeera TV thatMr Ben Ali has arrived in Paris.

1812: The White House says it ismonitoring developments in Tu-nisia, but makes no mention ofthe change of power. "We con-demn the ongoing violenceagainst civilians in Tunisia, andcall on the Tunisian authorities tofulfil the important commitmentsmade by President Ben Ali in hisspeech yesterday to the Tunisianpeople, including respect for ba-sic human rights and a process ofmuch-needed political reform,"spokesman Mike Hammer says ina statement.

1802: Mr Ghannouchi called on"Tunisians of all political per-suasions and from all regions todemonstrate patriotism andunity".

1758: Mr Ghannouchi said hewas taking over as interim pre-sident because Mr Ben Ali was"temporarily unable to exercisehis duties". He did not say whet-her the president hadleft the coun-

try.Please turn on JavaScript. Me-dia requires JavaScript to play.Mohamed Ghannouchi said hewas taking over as interim pre-sident1749: Mr Ghannouchi vowed torespect the constitution and res-tore stability. It is unclear whet-her Mr Ben Ali has left thecountry, but al-Arabiya reportsthat he is flying to Malta underLibyan protection.

1745: President Zine al-AbidineBen Ali has stepped down. PrimeMinister Mohamed Ghannouchihas taken over as interim pre-sident.

1736: Two sources close to thegovernment confirm to the AFPnews agency that President BenAli has left Tunisia. Tunisian sta-te television has said it is ex-pecting the announcement of an"historic decision" which will sa-tisfy the desires of the country'speople.

1735: Air France has temporarilysuspended all flights to Tunis dueto the state of emergency and theclosure of air space.

1733: Sources tell al-Jazeera TVthat President Ben Ali has left thecountry and that the army is incontrol.

1732: Saudi-based al-ArabiyaTV reports that Tunisian Par-liamentary Speaker Fouad Mba-




zaa will announce shortly that heis taking over control of the coun-try from the president.

1724: Sources tell al-Jazeera TVthat the Tunisian security forceshave arrested members of Tra-belsi family at an airport. Many ofthe protesters have expressedtheir anger at the power, wealthand influence of the extended fa-mily of President Ben Ali's se-cond wife, Leila Trabelsi. "No, noto the Trabelsis who looted thebudget," has been a popular slo-gan. Many refer to the president'srelations simply as "The Family"or "The Mafia", according to theNew York Times.

1719: Mahmoud Ben Romdhaneof the opposition Renewal Mo-vement tells BBC World News:"At this moment, according to thelatest information that I have, thepresident it no longer in powerand a coup has happened. If thisinformation is true, the answer isclear. He will no longer have thepower to decide to accept or re-fuse [the demands for him to stepdown]."

1705: State television says a ma-jor announcement to the Tunisianpeople is to be made soon, ac-cording to the Reuters news agen-cy.

1703: Richard Field, aBritish tea-cher based in the centre of Tunis,tells the BBC that gangs of youthshave been "going everywhere,

trying to break everything theycan... pulling down road signs,smashing windows". "[They are]just looking for something tobreak. They haven't got enoughpolice from what I saw. The gan-gs were more numerous. I thinkthe police looked a bit scaredthemselves."

1654: The Tunisian authoritieshave released Hamma Ham-mami, the leader of the bannedTunisian Workers' CommunistParty (POCT), three days after ar-resting him, his party tells theAFP news agency.

1650: France's foreign ministrysays that "given the unstable si-tuation", its citizens should avoidtravelling to Tunisia unless it isurgent, according to the Reutersnews agency. About 1.5 millionFrench people visit Tunisia eachyear and about 21,000 are re-sidents.

1646: A source at Tunis Carthageairport tells the AFP news agencythat the army has taken controlthere and that the country's air-space has been shut down.Tony in La Marsa writes: "At themoment I can see smoke risingabout 0.5km away. We had a lookaround and saw one of the Tu-nisian banks and an official buil-ding burnt out. We heard gunfireand tear gas being let off last nig-ht. Apparently, there are lootersabout. I'm not planning to leave ifit gets worse. I feel safe enough to

stay and I'm not in the thick of it."Have Your Say1628: BBC Monitoring reportsthat emotions ran high in one de-bate on Tunisian TV7, in whichone of the pundits screamed:"People are being shot dead withlive ammunition. How can youpraise the president?"He then tur-ned to the camera and said: "BenAli, as you know him, is dead."The debate was immediately cutshort. Shortly after, a TV te-chnician sat in the studio, next tothe newsreader, and went on apo-logise to the public and condemnhis own channel's coverage ofevents, saying they were go-vernmentemployeesandthey we-re doing what they had been askedto do.

1626: The full announcement bystate television was as follows:"The president has given ordersto Prime Minister MohamedGhannouchi to create a new go-vernment. Following acts of vio-lence, it has been decided tointroduce a state of emergency inthe country to protect Tunisian ci-tizens. This state of emergencymeans that any gathering of morethan three people is forbidden,that arms will be used by securityforces in cases where a suspectdoes not stop when asked to do soby the police and thirdly, a curfew[is imposed] from 1700 this eve-ning until 0700 in the morning foran indefinite period."

1617: The government has also




warned that "arms will be used" ifthe orders of the security forcesare not obeyed.

1615: Under the terms of the stateof emergency, the governmenthas banned any meetings outsideof more than three people, ac-cording to state television. Therewill also be a nationwide curfewfrom 1700 (1600 GMT) until0700 (0600 GMT).

1604: A state of emergency hasbeen declared "to protect the Tu-nisian people and their propertieson all the soil of the Tunisian Re-public", Tunisian TV7 reports.The government has declared astate of emergency and bannedpublic meetings1551: UN human rights spokes-man Rupert Colville says it isready to help investigate the re-ports that more than 60 protestershave been shot dead by the se-curity forces in the past week."We've made it clear we believethere needs to be investigations.A large number of people havebeen killed and there are very se-rious allegations of the manner ofthese killings," he tells reportersin Geneva.

1544: There have been violentclashes between protesters andthe police in the centre of Tunis,according to the AFP news agen-cy.Anouar in Birmingham writes: "Iam so proud of being Tunisian.We are witnessing a historic mo-

ment. It feels like a dream after 23years of oppression and tyrannydecided to take their fate into theirown hands. President Ben Ali stillthinks that people are naive andthat they can be easily ma-nipulated. Now it's for us to choo-se our own destiny and hopefullythe west will leave us alone, es-pecially the French colonialists."Have Your Say1523: Prime Minister MohamedGhannouchi says he has beentasked with forming a new ad-ministration.

1521: President Ben Ali has dis-missed the government and cal-led legislative elections withinsix months, state television re-ports.

1518: The government has putthe death toll at 23, but the Pa-ris-based International Fe-deration for Human Rights saidon Thursday that it had the namesof 66 people killed.

1513: Asked about last night's re-ported fatalities, a medical sourcetells AFP: "The bodies of threepeople struck with bullets weretaken to the hospital at Kram, clo-se to Tunis, and 10 others havebeen brought to Charles Nicollehospital in Tunis."

1502: Asked about last night's re-ported fatalities, a medical sourcetells AFP: "The bodies of threepeople struck with bullets weretaken to the hospital at Kram, clo-

se to Tunis, and 10 others havebeen brought to Charles Nicollehospital in Tunis."

1454: Thirteen civilians wereshot dead by the security forces inTunis and its suburbs in clasheson Thursday, medical sources tellthe AFP news agency. Reutersmeanwhile says 12 died - 10 inthe capital and two in the coastaltown of Ras Jebel. Tunisian of-ficials have not yet commented. Itis notclear if the deaths cameafterPresident Ben Ali ordered policeto stop using lethal force againstdemonstrators.

1447: Dubai-based al-ArabiyaTV says protesters are trying to"storm" the Central Bank in Tu-nis. The bank is on Avenue Mo-hamed V, to the north of theinterior ministry.

1435: Emen Binmluka, a21-year-old protester, tells Reu-ters: "A bus came with police in itand they started firing tear gas.Women, children and everyonefled."

1426: Protesters have been sentfleeing down Bourguiba Avenueby the volleys of tear gas fired byriot police outside the interior mi-nistry. The Reuters news agencysay a crowd of youths have begunretaliating by throwing stones.Youths threw stones at police af-ter they fired volleys of tear gas1426: Protesters have been sentfleeing down Bourguiba Avenue




by the volleys of tear gas fired byriot police outside the interior mi-nistry. The Reuters news agencysay a crowd of youths have begunretaliating by throwing stones.

1415: But Kemal, a father of twowho lives in a suburb of Tunis,takes a different view of Mr BenAli. "I think he's a sincere guy," hesays. "In the last few years he'sbeen a little bit ill and thereforeprobably getting some un-fortunate advice from people whodo have different agendas. I don'tknow what the alternative is. Ithink we need tobeverycarefulofwhat we ask for when we ask forchange."

1413: Ghaieth, a 23-year-old stu-dent from the coastal town of Na-bul, tells the BBC World Servicethat nobody believes in the pre-sident any more. "He has beenmaking promises for 23 years andfor a really longperiod, hedidnot-hing at all," he says.

1408: Tunisia's ambassador tothe UN's cultural organisation,Unesco, has resigned in protest atthe government's handling of theunrest, according to a letter seenby the AFP news agency. MezriHaddad told the president that hehad asked him to "stop the blood-bath by disarming the police". "Itold you that the protesters are notagainst you but against the oli-garchy to which you have fallenhostage and which has plunderedthe country's riches without cea-

se," he added.

1402: A reporter for the Reutersnews agency says gunshots havebeen heard near the interior mi-nistry building. President Ben Alisaid on Thursday that live am-munition would not be fired atprotesters.

1355: Tear-gas canisters havebeen fired by the security forcesat protesters outside the interiorministry, forcing many to flee.The Associated Press reports thatthe move came after people clim-bed on top of the ministry's roof.1347: The BBC's Adam Mynott inTunis says: Scenes like those out-side the interior ministry have notbeen witnessed in Tunisia in the23 years that the president hasbeen in power. He addressed thenation on television last nightpromising to stop live firing byTunisian security forces on de-monstrators and to get inflationunder control. His words havebeen greeted with some joy but al-so with considerable scepticism.The message from the hugecrowd this morning was clear -the future for Tunisia must be onewithout Mr Ben Ali as leader.The demonstrator are surroundedby dozens of police and soldiersSam from Birmingham writes:"My brother went to Tunisia onWednesday - he is very worried -there are armed guards at the ho-tel - they cannot leave or use theinternet. They want to come ho-me with three small children."

Have Your Say1340: France Inter radio jour-nalist Bernard Guetta says Tu-nisians do not want a revolution."They want the departure of cor-rupt leaders, social fairness andfreedom," he says. "They wantwhat any people in their placewould want,but thisdesire for jus-tice and democracy may either bechannelled so that it is realisedwithout new violent incidents orit may lead to chaos in which thearmy would end up seeing itselfas the last resort. Everything de-pends on the president."

1334: Jalloul Azzouna, the se-cretary-general of the League ofWriters, a non-official body, tellsreporters at the Tunis protest thatit is demanding "a general am-nesty and the release of hundredsof political prisoners whose exis-tence is denied by the regime".President Ben Ali has been inpower since 19871321: It was the death of a youngunemployed graduate which trig-gered the protests. Unable to finda job after university, Mu-hammad Bouazizi, moved to a bigcity and sold vegetables on thestreets. But police confiscated hisunlicensed cart, and slapped andinsulted him. The 26-year-old re-turned to his home town, SidiBouzid, and on 17 Decemberstood in its main square, dousedhimself in petrol and set himselfon fire. He died of his injuries on4 January.




1313: Demonstrations are alsobeing held in other towns, in-cluding Sidi Bouzid, where theunrest began a month ago overunemployment and food prices.People there are demanding thepresident resign. "We have comeout in our thousands to say: 'BenAli, go away!'" trade union ac-tivist Sliman Rouissi tells theReuters news agency.

1309: Radia Nasraoui, a lawyer atthe protest in central Tunis, tellsthe Reuters news agency: "Wewant Ben Ali to go. All we'veknown since he's been in powerhas been misery, prisons, torture,repression and unfair trials. I'm alawyer. I've been assaulted. I seetraces of torture every time I meetpeople in Tunisian prisons. Thereare only unfair trials. People aresentenced to dozens of years forpolitical opinions. People havedied under torture in the interiorministry." Her husband, Workers'Communist Party leader HammaHammami, was arrested on Wed-nesday and has not been heard ofsince.

1303: The BBC's Aidan Lewissays a new generation of activistshas been credited with driving theTunisian protest movementforward by using the internet.This has happened despite in-creasingly strict controls by a go-vernment that, even before thedemonstrations, was regarded asunusually zealous in its onlinecensorship. A steady flow of pro-

test videos, tweets, and politicalmanifestos has continued to makeitsway onto the web inavarietyoflanguages: Arabic, the Darija Tu-nisian dialect, French and En-glish.Tunisia protests: cyber war mir-rors unrest on streets1300: The independent Pan-Arabnewspaper, al-Quds al-Arabi,says in an opinion column that theTunisian president's admissionthat "some officials misled me"does not absolve him of res-ponsibility for the deaths of pro-testers. The paper says Mr BenAli's criticism of the "bad lot"around him and promise to bringthem to account is unprecedentedand good, but not an excuse.

1256: Tunisian medical officialstell the Associated Press that 13people have died in new unrest inthe country.

1246: Writing in the Pan-Arabdaily al-Hayat, Carnegie Instituteeconomic expert El HassaneAchie asks if the Tunisian pro-tests are a "passing Intifada (u-prising) or a turning point". Hesays the "specific nature enjoyedby Tunisian society regarding thelevel of education and their as-pirations on political and eco-nomic levels, may make it moreprepared for the democratic tran-sition than other Arab states".The protesters are demandingthat President Ben Ali resign im-mediately1240: One protester tells the As-

sociated Press: "The presidentsaid he would restore justice inTunisia. Is he going to put his fa-mily in front of a court? We wantan answer - yes or no?"

1231: Maya Jridi, the se-cretary-general of the oppositionProgressive Democratic Party (P-DP) tells journalists at the de-monstration in Tunis that thecountry needs to take a new di-rection. "The path to freedom hasbegun. The Tunisians arespeaking up for dignity, for li-berty, for justice, now," she says."The time's up for [President BenAli's ruling Constitutional De-mocratic Rally party]. They can'tgo on any longer ruling the coun-try like this. We want a coalitiongovernment of national unity.We absolutely need a parliamentthat's truly representative of thepeople."

1223: Essia Atrous, a journalistwith the Tunisian newspaper, As-sabah, tells the BBC World Ser-vice that President Ben Ali'sspeech was a "turning point". "T-he president said to the people forthe first time: 'Yes I've got yourmessage. Yes we'll work for de-mocracy. Yes there is no pre-sidency for life,'" he says. "Whenwe hear this it means a lot for Tu-nisian people. There is a chancefor hope, there is a chance forchange."

1219: The French foreign mi-nistry has welcomed President




Ben Ali's offer to form a more in-clusive government and urgedhim to continue along the path of"openness". On Thursday, theformer colonial power de-nounced the security forces' "dis-proportionate use of violence".

1215: The UK Foreign Office hasreviewed and reissued its traveladvice for Tunisia. It now advisesagainst all but essential travel toTunisia by British citizens. "Thesituation is unpredictable and the-re is the potential for violence toflare up, raising the risk of gettingcaught up in demonstrations," astatement says.

1209: At a protest in Tunis onThursday evening, one persontold the New York Times thatmost people did not believe whatthe president said. "These are thesame promises he made lastweek, that he made a few yearsago, that he made in 1987, but onthe ground it is always the same,"they said.Pamela writes: "I think the op-position should meet the pre-sident halfway. His decision notto run for office in 2014 is good.The time inbetween can be usedfor a smooth transition to de-mocracy. Tunisians are peace lo-ving people and let peace andcalm return to this beautiful coun-try."Have Your Say1202: President Ben Ali has beenin power since 1987, when doc-tors declared his predecessor Ha-

bib Bourguiba unfit to governbecause of senility. The takeoveris sometimes described as a pa-lace coup. He won a fifth term inoffice in multi-party elections in2009. The elections were cri-ticised by human rights groupsand the opposition as unfair. Of-ficial results gave him 89% of thevote and his Constitutional De-mocratic Rally (RCD) party alsowon the majority of seats in par-liament. Mr Ben Ali had been dueto retire in 2004 but changes to theconstitution allowed him to runfor two more terms.

1153: Sana, a 17 year old from thecentral Tunisian town of Gafsa,tells BBC Radio 5 live she feelsunsafe. "We're frightened be-cause we feel so insecure. Wecan't go out. We can't go toschool," she says.Please turn on JavaScript. Me-dia requires JavaScript to play.The BBC's Adam Mynott des-cribes the scene outside the in-terior ministry1150: Francis Ghiles, a re-searcher at the Barcelona Centrefor International Affairs, tells theBBC World Service that he wasunconvinced by President BenAli's speech. "I have actually metthe president andanumber of peo-ple like myself who have met himand know him said they found theperformance extremely un-convincing," he says. "A manwho says he is going to give ins-tructions to his security forces notto shoot live ammunition and who

last Saturday had given orders tothe contrary. His regime has beencondoning rape, torture and godknows what for the last 23 years."

1144: The tour operator, ThomasCook, is also evacuating 2,000German holidaymakers from Tu-nisia, according to AFP. The tou-rism industry is key to Tunisia'seconomy.

1137: The AFP news agency re-ports that demonstrations are alsotaking place in other towns acrossthe country.Liina in Tunis writes: "People arefrustrated because they know thatBen Ali is giving empty words.Even though YouTube was openafter the speech there are rumoursthat also 3 people were killed. Theriots were organised by Policeand Ben Ali."Have Your Say1128: The British tour operator,Thomas Cook, is evacuating1,800 customers from Tunisia. Aspokesperson says: "Althoughthere has been no specific pro-blems for our holidaymakers,their well-being is our primaryconcern. So, as a precaution,we've taken the decision to bringthem back to the UK as soon aswe can." Thomas Cook to fly ho-me UK tourists after Tunisia riots1123: Wadia Amar, a universitychemistry professor at the de-monstration tells the AssociatedPress: "We want to end this dic-tatorship. The Ben Ali clanshould be brought to justice.




They've taken everything."

1119: The march was organisedby Tunisia's only legal tradeunion, which also called a sym-bolic two-hour strike in the ca-pital on Friday.

1113: A Reuters news agency re-porter says the protesters arechanting "Ben Ali, leave!" and"Ben Ali, thank you but that'senough!"1108: The BBC's Adam Mynott inTunis says: I'm outside the in-terior ministry and there are ex-traordinary scenes. Thousands ofpeople have gathered in a publicdemonstration that could not ha-ve taken place in this country 24hours ago. This is a response towhatPresident BenAli saidon na-tional television on Thursday,when he said he would allow mo-re freedom of speech. Well, thepeople here are testing that. I ha-ve been told there are 6,000 or7,000 people here. They aresaying that the country now hasthe opportunity for change. Butinterestingly, they are saying thatchange can only happen if Pre-sident Ben Ali, his extended fa-mily and his followers go. The

rally is surrounded by dozens ofpolice and soldiers, but cruciallythey have not so far intervened asthey have in recent weeks.

1106: After President Ben Ali an-nounced on Thursday night thathe would not seek an extension tohis term of office and other mea-sures to appease protesters somepeople celebrated on the streets ofTunis. It is not clear if this was aspontaneous act or a celebrationarranged by the followers of thepresident. However, cor-respondents say his promise tostop the security forces firing liveammunition at protesters, to cutthe price of basic foodstuffs andfree up the media in Tunisia do gosome way to meet the concerns ofTunisians. Some critics say chan-ge needs to be much more radicalto include fundamental im-provements in the democraticprocess.Supporters of the president wel-comed his speech on Thursdaynight1101: In a nationwide address onThursday, the president said hewould not stand for re-election in2014 and announced cuts in theprices of basic foods. Foreign Mi-

nister Kamel Morjane has sincespoken of a national unity go-vernment being possible - as wellas early parliamentary elections.The protests erupted a month agoover economic problems and thelack of basic freedoms.Days of rioting in Tunisia haveforced concessions from the pre-sident1100: There have been renewedprotests against the governmentin Tunisia. Thousands of peoplejoined a march in the capital, Tu-nis, demanding that PresidentBen Ali resign immediately. Theprotesters went to the interior mi-nistry, which is blamed for thedeaths of at least 23 people in re-cent demonstrations. Human rig-hts groups say the number killedis more than twice that official fi-gure.

The New York Times/IN, 14 de janeiro de 2011Justiça no Exterior


String Meets Steel to Build Harmony

Netta HadariKING DAY CELEBRATION The Haven StringQuartet, with, from left, Tina Hadari, Yaira

Matyakubova, Matthew Beckmann and ColinBenn.

Netta Hadari

KING DAY CELEBRATION The Haven StringQuartet, with, from left, Tina Hadari, Yaira

Matyakubova, Matthew Beckmann and ColinBenn.

IN a fitting tribute to Martin Lut-her King Jr., the Haven StringQuartet will be forging new cul-tural relationships on Monday bysharingabill - and,at somepoints,a stage - with its neighbor onWhalley Avenue in New Haven,St. Luke"s Steel Band.Related Times Topics: Con-necticut Arts | Connecticut ArtsListings Enlarge This Image JudyL. Barbosa

St. Luke's Steel Band, under thedirection of Deborah Teason, farleft, will join The Haven StringQuartet.This first-time meeting of stringquartet and steel band could pro-duce someof the mostunusual so-nic combinations heard on a NewHaven stage this season. But thatis just one part of the rich culturalmix promised by the concert, aproduction of Music Haven, anonprofit organization that offersfree instrumental instruction tonearly 60 New Haven school-children, who will also appear inthe show.

The concert, which will be held atSt.Luke"s Episcopal Church, will al-so offer works of hip-hop-ins-pired classicism and classicallyinspired rap. And like most ofMusic Haven"s activities - clas-ses, workshops and quarterly gat-herings of family and friends, inaddition to the shows - it will offersomething more: a com-munity-building experiencemeant to heighten the students"interest in the musical canon."We"re always discussing how tomake it a more normal feature oftheir daily lives so that it"s moreculturally relevant to them," saidTina Hadari, 34, a violinist andthe executive director of MusicHaven.The central vehicle for achievingMusic Haven"s goals is the Ha-ven String Quartet, its resident en-semble. The group - Ms. Hadariand Yaira Matyakubova on vio-lins, Colin Benn on viola andMatthew Beckmann on cello -performs, alone or with students,at nearly all of the organization"sconcerts.On Monday, the group will per-form two pieces on its own: the"Lyric Quartet," a three-part suitein the Debussy mode written in1960 by the African-Americancomposer William Grant Still,and "Rosa Parks," part of "ACivil Rights Reader," an ongoingproject of the Haitian-Americanviolinist and composer Daniel

Bernard Roumain.Both performances will be firstsfor the quartet.The decision to focus on Mr. Rou-main, 40, who seems as com-fortable writing string quartets ashe was appearing with Lady Gagaon "American Idol," is an apt one.Told of Music Haven"s decisionto play "Parks," he expressed ap-preciation, noting that the piecewas his fifth for string quartet,and a sixth had been com-missioned by Community MusicWorks inProvidence, R.I. - the or-ganization Ms. Hadari cited as amodel for her group.For a work with credibility in theclassical world, "Parks" - es-pecially the second movement,"Klap Ur Handz," which instructsthe musicians to clap and stomp ina kind of call-and-response pat-tern - generates unusual en-thusiasm among young urbanaudiences. When the HavenString Quartet previewed the mo-vement at a recent "performanceparty," one of the gatherings atwhich Music Haven students playfor family and friends, the crowdspontaneously clapped along.

The steel band"s choice of ma-terial should also prompt re-cognition. Though the band"srepertory draws on a number oftraditions, Deborah Teason, acomposer and the band"s di-rector, said she had chosen tunesthat hew to the theme of the King



Continuação: String Meets Steel to Build Harmony

holiday, like the spiritual "OhHappy Day," which the band willperform on its own.Three other songs on tap for theconcert - "Amazing Grace," "LiftEvery Voice and Sing" and "IWant Jesus to Walk With Me" -should also ring a bell with manyof the children. But the tunes"treatment will stray into un-familiar territory as the stringquartet and steel band join forceson them.Describing the collaborative ef-fort as "an interesting ex-periment," Ms. Teason, who haswritten for string quartet and solosteel pan, said she was con-sidering culling a quartet from thesteel band- amove that should ad-dress what Mr. Beckmann, thecellist, suggested could be an im-balance in volume between thegroups that could necessitate am-plification of the strings.

That was just one of the matters ofmusical integration that Ms. Tea-son and Mr. Benn, the violist, ha-ve been discussing in recent

weeks. A graduate of the JuilliardSchoolwhose Guyanesefather fa-miliarized him with steel bands asa child, Mr. Benn said hisbackground had been useful inthe talks. He could play a similarrole in future collaborationsbetween the groups."For me, on a personal level, it"spretty amazing to mix these twoworlds of string quartet and myown heritage," he said.The mixing of string quartet andsteel band cultures is not the onlycollaboration that will take placeat the concert. Netta Hadari, aLondon-born violinist of Israeliheritage who spent much of hisadolescence in South Africa, willbring his experience to the tablewith "Music Haven Rap," a com-position performed before onlyonce, in 2008.For the piece, Mr. Hadari, MusicHaven"s development directorand Ms.Hadari"s husband of three years,has created a repeating mi-nor-key figure, played in unisonby the string quartet and all of the

children, except for three whowill perform raps they have writ-ten over the figure.One of those children, DonasiaGray, an ebullient 10-year-old,said she had been honing her rapas the day of the concert ap-proached. She"s a fan of rappers,she said, and Music Haven"s al-lowing her to be one, if only for aday, is just one of the ways the or-ganization has inspired her topractice her violin regularly."They teach us to work our har-dest," she said, "and they"realwayspushing us todo our best."A Martin Luther King Jr. Day Ce-lebration, with the Haven StringQuartet, St. Luke'sSteel Band andstudents of Music Haven, willtake place on Monday at 2 p.m. atSt. Luke's Episcopal Church, 111Whalley Avenue, New Haven.Free.musichavenct.org; (203)745-9030.



Want Legal Advice? Just Ask the Actors

Dave Sanders for The New York TimesIN SESSION F. Dana Winslow, a State SupremeCourt justice, plays the judge in "Night of

January 16th."

Dave Sanders for The New York Times

IN SESSION F. Dana Winslow, a State SupremeCourt justice, plays the judge in "Night of

January 16th."

Hempstead, N.Y.Related Times Topics: Long Is-land Arts | Long Island Arts Lis-tings Enlarge This Image DaveSanders for The New York Times

Bert Emmett is questioned byBruce Roistacher, a real lawyer.DURING rehearsals for "Nightof January16th,"acourtroom dra-ma now running at Hofstra Uni-versity through Jan. 23, thedirector, Bob Spiotto, had plentyof experts to ensure the pro-duction"s legal accuracy: Its 16performers include five real-lifelawyers and one sitting judge,who were not shy about lettingMr. Spiotto know how thingsplay out in court.Not that he minded. "How won-derful to be able, during any re-hearsal, to ask the advice of a reallawyer, on the spot," said the di-rector, who is the executiveproducer of Hofstra En-tertainment, an on-campusproduction company that is pre-senting the show.His actor-experts were dealingnot just with current law, but also

with the legal language and pro-cedures of decades ago. Writtenin 1933 by the controversial aut-hor and philosopher Ayn Rand(better known for her later novels"The Fountainhead" and "AtlasShrugged"), "Night of January16th" was a hit of the 1935Broadway season.Boosting its success, no doubt,was a bit of theatrical shtick writ-ten into the play by Rand: At eachperformance, the jury is chosenfrom the audience. The jurorsmust decide whether the de-fendant - the former secretary andmistress of a brilliant but rut-hlessly amoral financial tycoon -pushed him to his death from hisManhattan penthouse. Rand wro-te two endings for the play, de-pending on the verdict.Mr. Spiotto has added anothertouch, bringing in lawyers (not inthe cast) to discuss the case withaudiences after performances.As in real-life trials, jurors in theHofstra production hear witnesstestimony and the arguments ofboth the defense attorney and theprosecutor - played, respectively,by Bruce L. Roistacher and JamesBradley, both Long Islandlawyers. They and the jury areguided in the law by the judge,portrayed by F. Dana Winslow, aNew York State Supreme CourtJustice who normally presides inMineola.In addition, Joseph W. Ryan Jr.("Joe Ryan" in the cast credits), a

former president of the NassauCounty Bar Association, portraysan upper-crust banker from LongIsland; Dan Odell, of GardenCity, a retired lawyer formerlywith the New York Stock Ex-change, plays a handwriting ex-pert; and Marc C. Gann, theNassau bar association"s currentpresident, holds down a couple ofsmall roles as a bailiff and a courtclerk.Mr. Gann said this was his "firstacting gig," but several of the ot-her lawyers are experienced incommunity theater and Off OffBroadway. Mr. Roistacher, who-se stage name is Bruce Stacker,majored in theater arts in collegeand spent a few years trying tobreak into the business before at-tending law school.Which raises the question: Whatis it with lawyers and acting,anyway?"They"re innately histrionic - par-ticularly the litigating lawyers,"said Justice Winslow, of GlenHead, himself a longtime actorand producer in community thea-ter. While "courtroom histrionicsare limited or circumscribed bythe judge," hesaid,"the onlypros-cription in the theater is the scriptand the director."Mr. Roistacher agreed. "Probablythe biggest reason I do what I do isbecause it"s dramatic and thea-trical," he said of being a criminaltrial lawyer.Mr. Bradley, a commercial li-



Continuação: Want Legal Advice? Just Ask the Actors

tigator from Huntington who,like several others, found the cas-ting callpostedon aWeb site, saidthat a verdict of "guilty" for hischaracter, District Attorney Flint,would offer a sense of resolutionsometimes elusive in real life.Many cases "wind up getting set-tled" out of court, he said. "It"shardtomeasure whether it"savic-tory or not."In rehearsal recently, he and Mr.Roistacher not only wenthead-to-head in their roles, theyalso differed for real on somepoints of legal procedure. Andwhen Mr. Spiotto suggested itmight be nice for jurors to have

notepads to jot things down, thedirector was overruled by the jud-ge. "In the 1930s, it was the prac-tice not to allow the jury to takenotes," Justice Winslow ex-plained.One aspect of the play may strikeaudiences as almost uncannilyup-to-date. The murder victim,Bjorn Faulkner, for all his bril-liance, was a swindler who wasapparently indifferent to the rui-nation of his investors. "This fel-low Faulkner is a Ponzi schemer.His character today would be cal-led a "Madoff," " said Mr. Ryan, aspecialist in white-collar crime."He has it written all over him."

"Night of January 16th," whichwas scheduled to run Jan. 14 and15, will also be presented Jan. 16and23 at 2 p.m.andJan. 21 and22at 8 p.m. at the Helene FortunoffTheater, Monroe Lecture Center,Hofstra University, Hempstead.Tickets are $18 to $25. Tickets forthe Jan. 16 performance are avai-lable only at the box office; forJan. 21 on they can also be pur-chased by calling (516) 463-6644weekdays or at hof-stra.edu/hofstraentertainment.

The Guardian | Londres/IN, 14 de janeiro de 2011Justiça no Exterior


I'm Hugo Chávez's prisoner, says jailed judgeWORLD

María Lourdes Afiuni has been indetention since releasing on bail abanker who had been in prisonwithout trial for almost threeyears. Photograph: ReutersAs a judge María Lourdes Afiunithought courts had the ultimatepower to jail people, but as a pri-soner in a cramped cell she nowbelieves Venezuela has a higherjudicial authority: Hugo Chávez.

The judge has spent a year amongmurderers and drug traffickers inLos Teques women's jail, just out-side the capital, Caracas, and ifthe Venezuelan president has hisway she has another 29 to go.

Afiuni does not doubt her fate lieswith Chávez, who demanded herdetention after she freed a bankeraccused of corruption. "There isno judicial independence," shetold the Guardian. "I'm here asthe president's prisoner. I'm anexample to other judges of whathappens if you step out of line."

Amnesty International andHuman RightsWatch,among ot-hers, say the jailing of the47-year-old single mother is po-litically motivated and showshow an over-mighty executivehas blurred the separation ofpowers and eroded democracy.

Afiuni's health may intensifyscrutiny of her case. She wastaken to hospital this week with

suggestions her uterus may needto be removed. She was alsochecked for heart problems.

If disease does not kill Afiuni, aheavy smoker, other prisonersmay, not least those she sent toLos Teques. Some have th-reatened to burn Afiuni with pe-trol, others to cut off her head andto bathe the jail in her blood.

Her plight has terrified others inthe judiciary but none have daredspeak out, said Blanca Rosa Már-mol de León, a veteran supremecourt judge. "Before there was alot of fear on the bench but nowthere's panic. In 35 years in the ju-dicial system I've never seen ju-dicial power so submissive."

A report last year by the humanrights arm of the Organisation ofAmerican States said in-dependent judges had been culledand replaced with governmentloyalists.

Due to retire next year, Mármol isthe only judge to have com-mented on Afiuni's case. "It's tra-gic because when the judiciaryhas no independence or au-tonomy where is the citizensupposed to go for justice? Ourdemocracy is very diminished."

The prosecutor's office and jus-tice ministry did not reply to in-terview requests.

Few had heard of Afiuni until 10December 2009 when she gran-ted bail to Eligio Cedeño, abanker charged with evading cur-rency controls. He had been in jailfor almost three years withouttrial, exceeding legal limits. Hefled and is now in the US seekingasylum.

Chávez, who had taken a close in-terest in the case, was furious. Hewent on TV the day after the re-lease and said Afiuni was a "ban-dit" who took a bribe. "This judgeshould get the maximum penalty? 30 years in prison! That judgehas to pay for what she has done."

He told the head of the supremecourt that the case should be trea-ted with "firmness". Afiuni wascharged with corruption and abu-se of power. In May prosecutorssaid they had found no evidenceof illicit payments but accused thejudge of "spiritual corruption".There is no trial date.

Government supporters have de-fended her detention as le-gitimate given suspicion over thefreeing of Cedeño. "Her arrest ?was not arbitrary but rather wasbased on solid evidence of ju-dicial misconduct and abuse,"wrote Eva Golinger, editor of theCorreo del Orinoco International.

Afiuni, dressed in jeans and asweater, said she had suspected



Continuação: I'm Hugo Chávez's prisoner, says jailed judge

the Cedeño case would bringtrouble but not the drastic con-sequences.

She is notallowed to leavehercel-l, ostensibly for safety. She spen-ds her time reading, watchingDVDs, doing jigsaws and helpingother inmates with court paperspassed through a small hole in asteel door. She also tweets to agrowing band of 55,590 fol-lowers, including the justice mi-nister. When authoritiesconfiscate her BlackBerry - shehas gone through nine - sup-porters supply another one.

The cell, which she has to herself,has a candle, a Virgin Mary statueand a stick under the door to blockrodents. Afiuni said she wasshocked by conditions. Los Te-ques's population has tripled to900 in four years, with five wo-men in cells designed for two.

Prisoners prey on each other formoney and sex. Afiuni de-nounced one gang leader whotried to intimidate her into sex.Prisoners supply mattresses andmedicines or go without, and"rent"plastic chairs for visitors. "Iknew conditions were tough but

didn't realise just how degraded,"said Afiuni. "If I was back on thebench I'd find it difficult to sendanyone to jail unless the systemwas changed."

She also rued colleagues' silence,saying: "Occasionally I get ames-sage that so and so sends com-miserations but they're afraid tospeak out. That makes themcowards and accomplices."

El Pais | Montevidéu/IN, 14 de janeiro de 2011Justiça no Exterior


Berlusconi pierde inmunidad y se enfrenta a lajusticia

INTERNACIONAL

Italia. Los jueces podrán lla-mar a declarar al premier

ROMA | AP, AFP Y ANSA

La Corte Constitucional italianarechazó parte de la ley "del le-gítimo impedimento", una normaque le permitía al jefe de gobiernoSilvio Berlusconi evitar declararen tres juicios por corrupción.Ahora evaluarán su situación ca-so por caso.

La ley rechazada por la Corte po-nía hasta octubre de 2011 a Ber-lusconi al reparo de lareanudación de tres procesos,Mills, Mediaset y Mediatrade, yahora seráel juez quien decidaca-so por caso si en efecto el jefe delgobierno tiene compromisos porlos cuales no se puede presentarante los tribunales.

El fallo, consecuencia de dos díasde reuniones entre los 15 expertosde la Corte Constitucional, llegapoco después que jefe del go-bierno se salvara de una mociónde censura en el Parlamento porapenas un voto.La Justicia consideró que parte dela llamada "ley de impedimentolegítimo" entra en contradiccióncon la Constitución italiana. Esanorma, a la que Berlusconi y susfuncionarios más cercanos ape-laron varias veces, permitía al je-

fe del Ejecutivo y a los ministrosno presentarse ante los tribunalespor "compromisos oficiales" ensu agenda.

A partir de ahora, el magistradodeberá establecer una in-terpretación caso por caso pararespetar "la exigencia de la ju-risdicción, el ejercicio del de-recho de defensa y la tutela de lafunción del gobierno, según elprincipio de leal colaboración en-tre poderes".

El fallo de la Corte Cons-titucional, esperado con ansiedaden el ambiente político, se in-terpretó como una solución decompromiso entre los jueces quequerían derogar la ley y los quenodeseaban alterarla.

La modificación supone la caídadel "escudo" judicial que pre-servó a Berlusconi de los pro-cesos de los casos Mediaset yMediatrade, por presunto fraudefiscal en la compra ilegal de de-rechos televisivos. También losalvó de declarar en el caso de Da-vid Mills, un abogado inglés aquien habría sobornado en 1997 y1998 con US$ 600.000 para quefalsificara su testimonio en dosprocesos contra él.

Esta ley ahora revocada había si-do aprobada en abril de 2010, con

una vigencia de 18 meses. Sus im-pulsores la concibieron como unasalvaguarda temporal para el go-bernante hasta que se diera apro-bación a la segunda versión del"Laudo Alfano", la ley de in-munidad a los funcionarios másencumbrados que la Corte Cons-titucional había declaradoinválida en 2009.

La ruptura con Gianfranco Fini,viejo socio político de Ber-lusconi, complica ahora las chan-ces del Pueblo de la Libertad en elParlamento de promulgar el Lau-do Alfano. Pero a pesar de esto, "IlCavaliere" le resta importancia ala situación y sostiene en públicoque la decisión de la Corte Cons-titucional no afectará su go-bierno.

"Yo nunca he pedido la ley. Esuna iniciativa llevada adelantepor los grupos parlamentarios.Me es totalmente indiferente elhecho de que se puedan sus-pender o no unos procesos queconsidero absolutamente ri-dículos", declaró.

Entre los políticos, algunos to-maron la decisión con optimismoy otros la vieron como negativa.El ministro de Cultura SandroBondi dijo que el fallo socavabalos principios de la democracia aldarle al poder judicial una in-



Continuação: Berlusconi pierde inmunidad y se enfrenta a la justicia

fluencia excesiva sobre el eje-cutivo. Y el abogado deBerlusconi, Niccoló Ghedini, selimitó a decir "el jefe de gobiernoyadifundió un comunicado al res-pecto" desde Berlín, donde es-tuvo anteayer.

El vocero del oficialista Pueblode la Libertad, Daniel Ca-pezzone, declaró por su parte quela decisión de la Corte no tendrárepercusiones sobre un go-bernante que por tres veces en tresaños fue elegido por la mayoría delos italianos.

Desde la oposición, la jefa delgrupo del partido Democrático,

Anna Finocchiaro, declaró que"no era necesario ser ni malos nicomunistas para entender que laley iba a ser parcialmente re-chazada".

"La anulación parcial es una no-ticia positiva y una victoria paratodos. Viva Italia y viva la CorteConstitucional", declaró un vo-cero del Pueblo Violeta, que no esni de izquierda ni de derecha, antela sede de la Alta Corte tras co-nocer la noticia.

En cuanto a las consecuencias delfallo, los analistas políticos coin-ciden en que una imagen de Ber-lusconi declarando ante la

Justicia puede deteriorar muchola gobernabilidad de una ad-ministración en crisis de con-fianza.Un caso inéditoEsta es la primera vez que una leyque expone a procesos judicialesa Silvio Berlusconi logra unaaprobación, aunque sea parcial,en el tribunal constitucional. En2004 y 2009, otras normas másamplias habían sufrido rechazostotales de la corte, que en ese mo-mento se basó en el principio deque todos los ciudadanos soniguales ante la ley.

El País Digital

El Universal - Ven/IN, 14 de janeiro de 2011Justiça no Exterior


Entrada en vigor de regulación salarial preocupa enel TSJ

Entrada en vigor de regulación sa-larial preocupa en el TSJAfirman que el texto viola laConstitución y la Ley Orgánicadel TrabajoJUAN FRANCISCO ALONSO |EL UNIVERSAL 12:00 AMUnos14.700 bolívares esaes la ci-fra máxima que los magistradosdel Tribunal Supremo de Justicia(TSJ) podrán devengar de ahoraen adelante, pues ya entró en vi-gencia la Ley Orgánica de Emo-lumentos, Pensiones yJubilaciones de los Altos Fun-cionarios del Estado que aprobóla anterior Asamblea Nacional endiciembre pasado.

El texto, publicado en la GacetaOficial número 39.592, fijó en 12salarios mínimos el tope que po-drán percibir autoridades comolos miembros del máximo juz-gado, rectores del Consejo Na-cional Electoral (CNE), elpresidente de la República y losministros, la fiscal general, la de-fensora del Pueblo, el contralorgeneral y los directivos del BancoCentral de Venezuela (BCV).

"Esto es inconstitucional, pues elartículo 254 de la Constituciónestablece que el TSJ gozará de au-tonomía funcional, financiera yadministrativa", recordó un ma-gistrado, quien agregó: "Esta re-ducción supondría una violacióntambién del artículo 19 de la Car-ta Magna, el cual contempla elprincipio de progresividad de losderechos y también vulneraría laLey Orgánica del Trabajo, la cualseñala que no se puede des-mejorar las condiciones de los tra-bajadores".

El informante también alertó so-bre los riesgos de una ola de re-cortes en el resto de losfuncionarios del Poder Judicial."Hay asistentes de magistrados yjueces de tribunales superioresque se acercan a los topes es-tipulados en la ley y que se-guramente se verán afectados porella".

Sin embargo, este escenario fuedescartado por otro magistrado,quien aunque también cuestionóla constitucionalidad del texto,negó que el mismo vaya a afectar

a los demás trabajadores del TSJ,a los otros jueces del país y demásempleados tribunalicios. "Losefectos de esta ley no permearánhacia abajo, pues solo se aplicaráa los funcionarios que ella men-ciona", aclaró.

Sin embargo, el temor y la preo-cupación corre en el máximo juz-gado y en el resto del PoderJudicial. "Si un magistrado no po-drá ganar más de 14 mil bolívaresy ahora su asistente gana esa ci-fra, pues parece ilógico que se lepermita al segundo mantener susingresos, mientras que al primerono", razonó un funcionario delTSJ interrogado.

¿Cuándo se hará efectiva la re-ducción salarial? Los ma-gistrados dicen desconocerlo.

En el Sindicato Nacional de Tra-bajadores Tribunalicios (Sintrat)no saben cómo les afectará el ins-trumento, pero Freddy Gutiérrez,uno de sus voceros advirtió que noaceptarán ningún tipo de dis-minución en sus ingresos.| compartir | Publica aquí

Le Figaro/IN, 14 de janeiro de 2011Justiça no Exterior


Silvio Berlusconi rattrapé par l'affaire du «RubyGate»

INTERNATIONAL

Par Bénédicte Lutaud

La justice italienne vient d'ouvrirune enquête sur Silvio Ber-lusconi, qu'elle soupçonne d'abusde fonction et de prostitution surmineure.

Le scandale avait fait la Une de lapresse italienne pendant plusieursjours, avant d'être laissé de côté.L'affaire s'appelle le Ruby Gate,du nom d'une jeune Marocaineque Berlusconi aurait voulu pro-téger et qu'il aurait embauchécomme call girl. Mais à présentque le Cavaliere n'est plus en-tièrement protégé par la loi dite«d'empêchement légitime», in-validée jeudi par le Conseil Cons-titutionnel, la justice compte bienavoir le dernier mot. Elle vientd'ouvrir une enquête sur Ber-lusconi, qu'elle soupçonne d'abusde fonction et de prostitution surmineure.

Il est soupçonné d'avoir «abusé»,dans la nuit du 27 au 28 mai 2010,de sa fonction de chef du gou-vernement, en demandant à la po-lice milanaise de libérer Karima«Ruby» El Mahroug, une jeuneMarocaine, à l'époque mineure,

accusée de vol. Il aurait alors con-vaincu les policiers de confier lajeune fille, échappée d'une ré-sidence pour mineurs, à NicoleMinetti, conseillère régionalelombarde PDL (parti de Ber-lusconi). Le Cavaliere est soup-çonné de «concussion». Le codepénal italien reconnait coupablesde concussion les fonctionnairesou officiers publics qui ont con-traint une personne de leur donnerou leur promettre, il-légitimement, de l'argent ou unservice. Le Président du Conseilitalien risque pour cela 4 à 12 ansde prison. Il est également soup-çonné de prostitution sur mi-neure, un délit puni par la loi de 6mois à 3 ans de prison.

Selon le Corriere della Sera, il au-rait voulu «cacher de fait d'avoirété client d'une prostituée mi-neure lors de nombreux week-en-ds à Arcore», sa résidence près deMilan, et «s'assurer l'impunité dece délit en évitant que soient con-nus les détails des fêtes or-ganisées dans sa résidence». Enautomne dernier, plusieurs ar-ticles de presse citant des call girlsévoquaient les fêtes organisée àArcore, en présence de femmes

rémunérées 5.000 euros la soirée.Des témoignages indiquent qu'ilavait appelé directement la pré-fecture de police de Milan pourobtenir la libération en mai de l'u-ne d'entre elles, la fameuse Ruby.Un fait qui pourrait être reconnucomme une circonstance ag-gravante.

Vendredi matin, des per-quisitions ont eu lieu à Milan,dont une chez un homme de con-fiance de Berlusconi : GiuseppeSpinelli, déjà poursuivi par la jus-tice avec le Président du Conseildans le passé. Des perquisitionsont également lieu dans les bu-reaux de la conseillère régionaleNicole Minetti.

Le chef de l'Etat a toujours niéavoir eu des rapports sexuels avecRuby. Cette dernière, qui a fêtéses 18 ans le 2 novembre, récuseégalement les accusations. SilvioBerlusconi avait déjà fait l'objetd'un autre scandale avec une mi-neure, Noemi Letizia, en été der-nier. Sa seconde épouse,Veronica Lario, qui a engagé uneprocédure de divorce, l'avait ac-cusé en avril 2009 de fréquenterdes mineures.



Côte d'Ivoire : gel des avoirs de GbagboAFP

L'Unioneuropéenne a décidé ven-dredi le gel des avoirs en Europede Laurent Gbagbo, de 84 mem-bres de son camp et de onze en-tités économiques, en raison deson refus de céder le pouvoir auprésident ivoirien reconnu par lacommunauté internationale,Alassane Ouattara.

Les sanctions visent notammentle secteur portuaire et les médias,à l'instar de la radio-télévisiond'Etat ivoirienne et le port d'A-bidjan, selon des sources di-plomatiques.

La décision européenne de gelerles avoirs de M. Gbagbo in-tervient huit jours après celle dudépartement du Trésor américain,qui avait en même temps geléceux de quatre de ses proches auxEtats-Unis. Les 85 personnessont en même temps interdites devisa dans toute l'UE, selon cessources. La décision a été priselors de réunions d'experts des 27pays de l'UnioneuropéenneàBru-xelles et validée par les dif-férentes capitales à l'issue d'uneprocédure écrite qui s'est achevéevendredi.

Un diplomate européen reconnaîtque Laurent Gbagbo et ses pro-

ches ont sans doute eu le temps detransférer leurs avoirs financiershors d'Europe "mais la mesurereste importante au-delà pour lesymbole politique", selon lui.Au-delà du caractère sym-bolique, ces sanctions auront"surtout un impact sur les tran-sactions futures", estime un autrediplomate européen.

L'UE s'attache, par cette liste,également à viser des personnesimpliquées dans la gestion defon-ds non officiellement enregistrés,même s'il est difficile de les dé-terminer car il s'agit de "circuitschangeants et pas toujours con-nus", admet-il.

Ces sanctions s'ajoutentà une pre-mière liste de personnes frappéesd'interdiction de visa dans l'Unioneuropéenne, sur laquelle fi-guraient déjà 59 personnes dont leprésident ivoirien sortant LaurentGbagbo et son épouse, adoptéefin décembre.

Trois personnes figurant sur cettepremière liste de 59 personnes ontété retirées entre-temps, parmilesquelles un couple d'en-trepreneurs français, selon un di-plomate européen. La liste despersonnes sanctionnées doit êtrepubliée samedi au journal officielde l'UE.

Parmi les personnes sanctionnéesfigurent les membres du "gou-vernement illégitime" de M.Gbagbo, les membres du Conseilconstitutionnel accusés d'avoir"participé à la validation de fauxrésultats", des militaires ou desmembres de la garde rapprochéedu président sortant, des di-recteurs de journaux, ainsi quedes conseillers de M. Gbagbo.

La quasi-totalité de la com-munauté internationale exige ledépart de M. Gbagbo et lui de-mande de laisser la place à Alas-sane Ouattara, qu'elle reconnaîtcomme le vainqueur de la pré-sidentielle du 28 novembre et, dece fait, comme le chef de l'Etat lé-gitime de la Côte d'Ivoire.

Sur place, les différents trains desanctions adoptés par l'UE à cejour n'ont pas convaincu LaurentGbagbo de céder la place à son ri-val. Et la situation restait très ten-due en Côte d'Ivoire, l'ONUaccusant des partisans de LaurentGbagbo d'avoir incendié deux deses véhicules et d'en avoir en-dommagé trois autres à Abidjan,où des quartiers sont sous couv-re-feu après des violences meur-trières en début de semaine.



Tunisian prison fire 'kills dozens'WORLD

A Tunisian woman carrying clot-hes walks past a looted su-permarket.

A fire at a prison in the Tunisianresort town of Monastir has re-portedly killed dozens as thecountry faces more uncertaintyafter President Zine al-AbidineBen Ali fled the nation.

Coroner Tarek Mghirbi said atleast 42 people had died in the fi-re, AP reported.

One witness told Reuters: "Thewhole prison is on fire, the fur-niture, mattresses, everything."

Reportsof the fire cameamid con-fusion over who is now runningthe country.

The prime minister, MohamedGhannouchi, said last night thathe was taking over as the tem-porary ruler because Ben Ali wastemporarily unable to fulfil hisduties.

But the Constitutional Councilannounced that by law thespeaker of parliament, Fouad Me-

bazaa, should be the interim pre-sident, Tunisian televisionreported today.

"The Constitutional Council an-nounces that the post of presidentis definitively vacant so weshould refer to article 57 of theconstitution, which states thatthe speaker of parliament oc-cupies the post of president tem-porarily and calls for electionswithin a period of between 45 and60 days," its president, Fathi AbdEnnather, said.

There has been no response fromMebazaa.

Ghannouchi was today planningtomeetopposition parties inanat-tempt to form a coalition as hun-dreds of soldiers patrolled streetsin the capital, Tunis.

Ben Ali yesterday declared a stateof emergency after saying hewould dismiss his governmentand call new elections within sixmonths.

Thousands of angry de-monstrators marched through Tu-

nis, demanding his resignationand he eventually flew out of thecountry, taking refuge in SaudiArabia.

Early today rioters burned themain train station in Tunis to theground. Soldiers intervened tostop looters at a huge supermarketin Ariana, 20 miles north of thecapital, as a helicopter hovered.Gunfire could be heard.

Meanwhile in France, the formerruler of the North African coun-try, expatriates celebrated.

About 200 people, some wearingTunisian flags as capes, huddledtogether on the Place des In-valides in Paris, after being di-rected away from the nearbyTunisian embassy.

Around 1,000 British expatriatesare believed to be living in Tu-nisia.

Up to 200 travellers there have re-gistered with the "Locate"page ofthe Foreign Office website.

El Mercurio | Santiago de Chile/BR, 15 de janeiro de 2011Justiça no Exterior


Justicia chilena rechaza extradición de Manuel OlatePOLÍTICA

El ministro Sergio Muñoz, de laCorte Suprema, decidió este sá-bado rechazar la extradición deManuel Olate Céspedes (43), eldiseñador chileno que era re-querido por Colombiapor suspre-suntos nexos con las Farc.

La decisión del magistrado se ba-só en que la fiscalía del país ca-fetero, representada por elMinisterio Público chileno, no lo-gró acreditar que existieranantecedentes para vincular al mi-litante del Partido Comunista(PC) con la guerrilla colombianay menos aún seguir un proceso ensu contra por el delito de "fi-

nanciamiento del terrorismo".

Tras darse lectura a la parte re-solutiva del fallo, que tiene másde 700 páginas, Manuel Olate pu-do salir del Palacio de Tribunalesen donde lo esperaba gran can-tidad de manifestantes del PC yde otras organizaciones socialesque fueron a brindarle su apoyo.

Se dictaminó de inmediato la li-bertad del diseñador chilenoquien se retiró tranquilo y sa-tisfecho con la resolución de lajusticia.

Cabe recordar que el diseñador

chileno permanecía detenido lamadrugada del 30 de octubre delaño pasado cuando fue apre-hendido en Ñuñoa, luego que sediera curso a una solicitud del paíscafetero que ingresó un re-querimiento al máximo tribunalchileno en miras a un proceso deextradición.

Olate fue sindicado por Colombiacomo la verdadera identidad de"Roque" un presunto nexo chi-leno con la agrupación y que ha-bría realizado actividades parafinanciar a la guerrilla.



Uma Thurman aún está ante su acosadorESPECTÁCULOS

Un hombre que acosó a UmaThurman le pidió a un juez que nose le interpongan nuevos cargosde haber desacatado una orden ju-dicial de que evitara contacto conla actriz, y su abogado dijo que elcaso ha sido exagerado. El abo-gado Sam Roberts dijo que JackJordan no debería enfrentar acu-

saciones graves del delito de des-deñar ordenes judiciales, porqueno está acusado de amenazar a laestrella de Kill Bill, sólo de in-tentar hablar con ella y de otrasfaltas, incluyendo la de asediarla.El juez de la Corte Suprema es-tatal Gregory Carro evalúa el ar-gumento y puede pronunciarse el

23 de febrero. Mientras, Jordan,un ex paciente psiquiátrico, per-manece detenido con derecho auna fianza en efectivo de 250.000dólares o de un bono de mediomillón de dólares.

El País Digital



Líder del Parlamento es proclamado presidenteinterino de Túnez

INTERNACIONAL

Líder del Parlamento es pro-clamado presidente interino deTúnezel Consejo Constitucional ha de-clarado "ausencia de poder" y hanombrado a Fued Mebaza pre-sidente interino en sustitución delhasta ahora primer ministro, Mo-hamed Ghanuchi, que el vierneshabía asumido la máxima je-fatura del país en virtud del ar-tículo 56 de la Constitución.Contenido relacionado Liga Ára-be insta a la unidad de líderespolíticos de Túnez EL UNI-VERSAL 09:33 AMTúnez.- El presidente del Par-lamento, Fued Mebaza, ha sidoproclamado hoy presidente in-terino de Túnez por el ConsejoConstitucional, descartando así laposibilidad de regreso al poderdel mandatario huido Zine el Abi-dine Ben Alí, anunció hoy laagencia oficial TAP.

Según un comunicado publicadopor la TAP, el Consejo Cons-titucional ha declarado "ausenciade poder" y ha nombrado a Me-baza presidente interino en sus-titución del hasta ahora primer

ministro, Mohamed Ghanuchi,que el viernes había asumido lamáxima jefatura del país en vir-tud del artículo 56 de laConstitución, informó Efe.De esta forma, el Consejo ha apli-cado el artículo 57 de la CartaMagna que señala que en caso de"situación vacante de la pre-sidencia de la República pormuerte, dimisión o impedimentoabsoluto" el Consejo debe de-clarar esa vacante y nombrar alpresidente del Parlamento comopresidente interino.

El período que fija laConstitución para esa pre-sidencia interina es de 45 días co-mo mínimo y 60 días comomáximo.

El presidente interino debe pres-tar juramento ante las dos cá-maras parlamentarias y no podrápresentar su candidatura a la pre-sidencia de la República en unaselecciones, según la Carta Mag-na.

El artículo 56 por el que Gha-nuchi asumió el viernes la pre-

sidencia interina solo habla de"caso de impedimento pro-visional del presidente" por lo quesi el primer ministro permanecíaenel puestoquedaba abierta la po-sibilidad a un regreso de Ben Alí,lo que había sido criticado du-ramente por la oposición anocheen un debate televisado.

Por otra parte, el espacio aéreo tu-necino y todos los aeropuertos delpaís se abrieron hoy al tráfico aé-reo, según anunció la Oficina Na-cional de Aviación Civil en uncomunicado difundido por laagencia oficial.

La oficina instó, sin embargo, alos pasajeros a informarse en lascompañías aéreas para evitar losproblemas que puedan ser cau-sados por los retrasos y anulaciónde vuelos.

El espacio aéreo tunecino se cerróel viernes, poco después de que sedeclarase el estado de excepcióne instantes antes de que se anun-ciase que Ben Alí había huido delpaís.| compartir | Publica aquí



Morales confía en Piñera para resolver demandamarítima con Chile

INTERNACIONAL

Morales confía en Piñera para re-solver demanda marítima conChileEl presidente Evo Morales revelóque su gobierno está organizando"un gran equipo técnico, ju-rídico" para desarrollar estas con-versaciones, aunque no abundóen detalles. "Éste no debe ser te-ma de debate ante la opiniónpública".EL UNIVERSAL 01:25 PMLa Paz.- El presidente boliviano,Evo Morales, dijo hoy que "losplazos son secundarios" en el dia-logo que encara su gobierno pararesolver la demanda marítimacon Chile y reiteró su confianzaen presidente de esa nación, Se-bastián Piñera, con quien decidiócrear una comisión permanentepara atender este tema.

"Por supuesto que tampoco po-demos seguir esperando más de100 años, sólo revisando los tra-tados y sin resultados", matizó eljefe de Estado, al referirse a esteprocesodeconversacionesquees-te lunes 17 de enero reunirá enSantiago a los cancilleres de am-bas naciones, David Cho-quehuanca y Alfredo Moreno,reseñó DPA.

En una rueda de prensa, realizadaen Palacio Quemado, Morales re-veló que su gobierno está or-ganizando "un gran equipotécnico, jurídico" para desarrollarestas conversaciones, aunque noabundó en detalles. "Éste no debeser tema de debate ante la opiniónpública".

"Tengo mucha confianza en elpresidente de Chile. Nos ne-cesitamos en muchos aspectos pa-ra resolver nuestras necesidadesconjuntas. Para trabajar de ma-nera complementaria es posibledesbloquearnos y para des-bloquearnos hay un gransentimiento del pueblo bolivianoque es el retorno al mar con so-beranía", sostuvo Morales.

Por su lado, el ex cónsul de Bo-livia en Chile y actual senador porel oficialista Movimiento al So-cialismo (MAS), Freddy Bersatti,destacó hoy la conformación deesta comisión permanente, cuyomecanismo de trabajo será de-finido este lunes, "porque es laprimera vez en la historia que secrea un mecanismo exclusivo pa-ra atender la demanda marítima".

Bolivia pide a Chile un acceso al

mar, cualidad que perdió en unaguerra a fines del siglo XIX. Portal motivo, ambas naciones ca-recen de relaciones diplomáticasa nivel de embajadores desde1962, salvo un paréntesis entre1975 y 1978.

Desde el 17 de julio de 2006, Mo-rales y la entonces presidenta deChile, Michelle Bachelet, es-tablecieron una agenda de 13 pun-tos para mejorar las relaciones, enla que se incluyó por primera vezla demanda marítima.

Pero mientras se desarrollan lasconversaciones, el presidente bo-liviano confirmó una solicitud an-te la Corte Internacional deJusticia (CIJ) de La Haya para ac-ceder a copias de ladocumentación sobre el litigiomarítimo de Chile con Perú.

El mandatario informó que en lospróximos días el cónsul de Bo-livia en Chile, Walker San Mi-guel, entregará los resultados desus gestiones, orientadas, segúndijo, a conocer los efectos de estelitigio respecto a la demanda ma-rítima boliviana.| compartir | Publica aquí



Tunisie: Mebazaa président par intérimAFPLe président du Parlement tunisien, FouedMebazaa, a été proclamé aujourd'hui pré-sident par intérim par le Conseil cons-titutionnel écartant ainsi la possibilité d'unretour à la tête de l'Etat de Zine El AbidineBen Ali qui a fui en Arabie saoudite.



Tunisie: Ben Ali écarté du pouvoirAFP

Le président tunisien Zine El Abidine BenAli a été définitivement écarté du pouvoiren vertu d'une décision aujourd'hui duConseil constitutionnel déclarant une"vacance du pouvoir", publiée par l'agenceofficielle TAP.Plus d'informations dans quelques ins-tants sur Lefigaro.fr...



Ben Ali a téléphoné à Kadhafi samediAFP

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, dé-finitivement écarté aujourd'huidu pouvoir en vertu d'une dé-cision du Conseil cons-titutionnel tunisien, a appelé lenuméro un libyen MouammarKadhafi, a rapporté l'agence of-ficielle libyenne Jana."Le président Zine El AbidineBen Ali s'est entretenu samedi autéléphone avec le frère leader dela révolution", a indiqué l'agence

libyenne Jana sans autre détail.Par ailleurs, l'agence a annoncéque le colonel Kadhafi s'a-dressera samedi "au peuple tu-nisien frère".

Le président Ben Ali, au pouvoirdepuis 23 ans, a quitté hier la Tu-nisie après une contestation sansprécédent de son régime qui a étéréprimée dans le sang. Il s'est ré-fugié en Arabie saoudite. Il en-tretenait des relations privilégiéesavec le leader de la révolution

libyenne.

Fin octobre dernier, la Tunisie etla Libye s'étaient mis d'accord surla suppression des entraves à lacirculation des biens et des per-sonnes et décidé la création d'unezone économique franche à leurfrontière commune. M. Kadhafiavait demandé fin décembre à songouvernement de permettre auxdemandeurs d'emploi tunisiensde travailler sans entraves enLibye.



Tunisie: le président écarté définitivement dupouvoir

INTERNATIONAL

Par lefigaro.fr

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, qui a fuivendredi en Arabie Saoudite, aété écarté du pouvoir en vertu d'u-ne décision samedi du Conseilconstitutionnel déclarant une«va-cance du pouvoir».

Fin de partie pour le président tu-nisien. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali aété définitivement écarté samedidu pouvoir dans son pays, où leConseil constitutionnel a dé-claré la vacance du pouvoir etnommé le chef du Parlement auposte de président par intérim.Une nomination prévue par laConstitution.

Le Conseil a proclamé coup surcoup «la vacance définitive dupouvoir»à la têtede l'Etat et la no-

mination de Foued Mebezza, leresponsable de la Chambre desdéputés au poste de président dela République à titre transitoire,selon un communiqué publié parl'agence officielle TAP. Un in-térim prévu pour durer maximum60 jours, le temps d'organiser desélections anticipées.

Ce retournement soudain de si-tuation, qui s'est appuyé sur l'ar-ticle 57 de la Constitution,intervient à la demande de Mo-hammed Ghannouchi, le premierministre sortant, qui avait étélui-même nommé vendredi pré-sident par intérim après la fuite enArabie Saoudite de Ben Ali, con-traint de quitter le pouvoir sous lapression de la rue.

La nomination de Mohammed

Ghannouchi, qui s'est faite en ver-tu de l'article 56, laissait la porteouverte à un retour au pouvoir deZine El Abidine Ben Ali. Une si-tuation qui avait été contestée à lafois par des juristes, une partie del'opposition et la rue.

Pus d'informations à venir surLefigaro.fr...

LIRE AUSSI :

» En fuite, Ben Ali se réfugie enArabie Saoudite

» Tunis se réveille après une nuitd'angoisse et de pillages

» Tunisie : l'état d'urgence décrétédans tout le pays



Tunisie: pillages "inacceptables"AFP

Les autorités tunisiennes dé-ploient tous les efforts pour ré-tablir l'ordre dans le pays, adéclaré aujourd'hui le premiermi-nistre tunisien désignéMohammed Ghannouchi, es-timant que la poursuite despillages était "inacceptable".

M. Ghannouchi s'exprimait sur lachaîne satellitaire Al-Jazira enqualité de président par intérim,

peu avant que le Conseil cons-titutionnel tunisien accorde cettefonction au président du Par-lement, Foued Mebazaa.

Le président Ben Ali, au pouvoirdepuis 23 ans, a quitté hier la Tu-nisie après une contestation sansprécédent de son régime qui a étéréprimée dans le sang. Il s'est ré-fugié en Arabie saoudite. "Nousdéployons tous les efforts pour ré-tablir l'ordre sur l'ensemble duterritoire", a dit M. Ghannouchi,

admettant "l'infiltration de cer-taines parties", qu'il n'a pas qua-lifiées, dans les manifestations derue. "Il est inacceptable que sepoursuivent les pillages", a-t-ilajouté.

Tunis s'est réveillée aujourd'huisous tension après une nuit de pil-lages et de mises à sac, et la policebouclait le coeur de la capitaleafin d'empêcher tout ras-semblement, l'état d'urgenceayant été décrété la veille.



Tunisie: La Ligue arabe appelle à l'unitéAFP

La Ligue arabe a appelé sameditoutes les forces politiques tu-nisiennes à être "unies" pour par-venir à un "retour au calme et à lastabilité", après la fuite vendredidu président Zine El Abidine BenAli.

L'organisation panarabe, qui siè-ge au Caire, évoque dans un com-muniqué la "phase historique

dont le peuple tunisien est té-moin" et demande "à toutes lesforces politiques, ainsi qu'aux re-présentants de la sociététunisienne et aux officiels, d'êtreunis pour le bien du peuple etpour réaliser la paix civile".

La Ligue presse toutes les partiesde "travailler ensemble pour le re-tour du calme et de la stabilité" etde parvenir à un "consensus na-tional qui permette de sortir le

pays de la crise tout en ga-rantissant le respect de la volontédu peuple tunisien".Ben Ali a été définitivement écar-té samedi du pouvoir en Tunisieoù le Conseil constitutionnel adéclaré la vacance du pouvoir etnommé le président du Parlementau poste de président par intérim,comme le prévoit laConstitution.



Tunisie: les opposants invités à rentrerAFP

Le Premier ministre tunisien sor-tant, Mohammed Ghannouchi, aaffirmé aujourd'hui que les op-posants et exilés tunisiens étaientlibres de rentrer au pays, aprèsque le président Zine El AbidineBen Ali eut été chassé du pouvoirsous la pression de la rue. M.Ghannouchi s'exprimait sur la

chaîne satellitaire al-Jezira enqualité de président par intérim,peu avant que le Conseil cons-titutionnel tunisien accorde cettefonction au président du Par-lement, Foued Mebazaa."Ils peuvent rentrer quand ils veu-lent. C'est leur pays", a déclaré M.Ghannouchi à al-Jezira. Il était in-terrogé sur la possibilité offerteaux opposants établis à l'étranger

et autres exilés tunisiens de ren-trer au pays.

Le président Ben Ali, au pouvoirdepuis 23 ans, a quitté hier la Tu-nisie après une contestation sansprécédent de son régime qui a étéréprimée dans le sang. Il s'est ré-fugié en Arabie saoudite.



Tunisie:serment du président par intérimAFP

Le chef du parlement tunisien,Foued Mebazaa, a prêté sermentaujourd'hui comme président parintérim de la Tunisie dans son bu-reau à l'assemblée, a constaté unphotographe de l'AFP. La pres-tation de serment dans laquelle ila juré de respecter laConstitution a eu lieu devant leprésident du Sénat, Abdallal Kal-lel, et de représentants des deux

chambres du parlement.

Il a par la suite affirmé samedi que"tous les Tunisiens sans ex-ception et sans exclusive" se-raient associés au processuspolitique, dans une brève al-locution après sa prestation deserment.

Celle-ci est intervenue après laproclamation de la "vacance dé-finitive" du pouvoir samedi par le

Conseil Constitutionnel, qui anommé M. Mebazaa, au poste deprésident de la République par in-térim en vertu de l'article 57 de laConstitution. Cet article prévoitdes législatives dans un délai de60 jours maximum. Zine El Abi-dine Ben Ali, qui s'est enfui hier,avait été remplacé dans un pre-mier temps comme president parintérim par le Premier ministreMohammed Ghannouchi.



Le Caire "respecte" le choix tunisienAFP

L'Egypte a affirmé aujourd'huirespecter"leschoix" du peuple tu-nisien, après la fuite en Arabiesaoudite du président Zine ElAbidine Ben Ali sous la pressiond'une contestation populaire sansprécédent réprimée dans le sang."L'Egypte estime que ce qui estimportant en ce moment est queles Tunisiens soient unis", a in-diqué le ministère des Affairesétrangères dans un communiqué."L'Egypte affirme son respect deschoix du peuple tunisien et estconfiante, la sagesse des frères tu-nisiens les incitera à la retenue et

empêchera le pays de plongerdans le chaos".

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali a fui hierla Tunisie après un mois de con-testations qui ont fait des dizainesde morts. Il a été définitivementécarté du pouvoir en Tunisie où leConseil constitutionnel a dé-claré la vacance du pouvoir etnommé le président du Par-lement, Foued Mebazaa, au postede président par intérim, commele prévoit la Constitution.

Hier soir, des dizaines d'Egyp-tiens s'étaient joints au Caire à ungroupe de Tunisiens qui cé-

lébraient le départ du présidentBen Ali, appelant l'Egypte à suiv-re l'exemple de la Tunisie. "E-coutez les Tunisiens, c'est votretour les Egyptiens", scandaientles manifestants rassemblés de-vant l'ambassade de Tunisie.

Les Egyptiens se plaignent desmêmes difficultés économiquesque les Tunisiens, et leur pré-sident Hosni Moubarak fait ré-gulièrement l'objet de critiquespour ne pas avoir levé l'état d'ur-gence depuis son arrivée aupouvoir il y a 29 ans.



«Aucune figure n'incarne l'opposition en Tunisie»INTERNATIONAL

Par Marion Brunet

La perspective d'élections lé-gislatives anticipées d'ici deuxmois pose la question de la suc-cession au pouvoir du présidentdéchu Ben Ali, alors que l'op-position n'est pas fédérée . Avecle risque que la révolution ne pro-fite pas à ceux qui l'ont faite.

L'enthousiasme se mêle à l'in-quiétude en Tunisie après l'é-viction de Ben Ali samedi. Si larévolution populaire porte en ellel'espoir d'une transition en dou-ceur vers un régime dé-mocratique, la fuite du présidenttunisien fait craindre la ré-cupération du pouvoir par desmembres de son entourage.

Car l'opposition n'est pas à ce jourfédérée. «Aucune figure ne peutaujourd'hui prétendre incarner àelle seule l'opposition, ni aucunparti d'ailleurs. Et les islamistesqui sont basés à Londres ont trèspeu de relais en interne, expliqueau Figaro.fr Karim Emile Bitar,de l'Institut de relations in-ternationales et stratégiques (I-ris). La seule solution serait quetoutes les figures de l'oppositionopposants extérieurs, in-tellectuels, syndicalistes - se ras-

semblent dans une sorte decoalition qui pourrait rassurer lepeuple». «Si les leaders de l'op-position dite démocratique pa-raissent crédibles, cetteopposition est faible, car le ré-gime ne lui a jamais laissébeaucoup de place jusqu'ici» es-time de son côté Vincent Geisser,chercheur au CNRS dans une in-terview au Figaro.

Révolution populaire, révolutionde palais

Selon Karim Emile Bitar, unequestion essentielle se pose dé-sormais : «cette révolution bé-néficiera-t-elle à ceux qui l'ontfaite ou va-t-elle être confisquée?» Car derrière le départ précipitéde Ben Ali en Arabie Saoudite,puis son éviction, il pourrait se ca-cher non pas une, mais deux ré-volutions : une révolutionpopulaire et une révolution de pa-lais. Autrement dit, l'armée, dontl'image n'est pas associée à la ré-pression du régime de Ben Ali quis'appuyait sur la police, était endésaccord avec le président sur samanière de gérer les émeutes etaurait exigé son départ. L'arméepourrait donc jouer un rôle clédans les jours à venir pour sta-biliser la situation. «L'armée n'est

pas politisée. Elle n'a pas joué lejusqu'au-boutisme en faveur deBen Ali. On a même vu des mi-litaires retourner leurs armes con-tre les policiers. L'armée a joué unrôle d'apaisement pour éviter lecarnage» confirme Vincent Geis-ser.

Mise à l'écart

Autres acteurs qui pourraientchercher à s'approprier le pou-voir, selon des experts et des op-posants : les membres del'entourage de Ben Ali encore auxcommandes. Les membres dugouvernement «sont des prochesde Ben Ali, ils vont essayer de gar-der le pouvoir, mais ça va être dif-ficile pour eux», estime encoreKarim Emile Bitar. «Est-ce que latête de Ben Ali et de la bel-le-famille suffiront ?, s'interrogede son côté Didier Le Saout, spé-cialiste des mouvements sociauxau Maghreb. On n'a pas encore vude comités locaux ré-volutionnaires émerger. Si lesmanifestations retombent, celapourrait redonner une légitimité àquelqu'un du système après unemise à l'écart des personnes lesplus marquées».

Qui alors pourrait assurer la tran-



Continuação: «Aucune figure n'incarne l'opposition en Tunisie»

sition démocratique ? Les cher-cheurs considéraient le premierministre Mohammed Ghan-nouchi à même de jouer ce rôlejusqu'àdes élections. Mais son in-térim n'a duré que 24 heures, leConseil constitutionnel ayantproclamé le président du Par-

lement chef de l'Etat transitoire.

LIRE AUSSI:

» Tunisie: le président écarté dé-finitivement du pouvoir

» L'armée quadrille Tunis après

une nuit de pillages

» De la révolution du Jasmin à lachute de Ben Ali

» La France exprime un «soutiendéterminé» au peuple tunisien



La Constitution du Congo réviséeAFP

L'Assemblée nationale et le Sé-nat de la RD Congo ont adopté sa-medi le projet de révision de laConstitution portant notammentsur l'organisation d'une pré-sidentielle à tour unique, con-testée par l'opposition, lors d'unesession retransmise à la RTNC, latélévision d'Etat.

Sur 608 députés et sénateurs quecomptent le Parlement, 485 ontvoté pour la modification de huit

articles de la Constitution con-golaise promulguée en 2006, tan-dis que huit ont voté contre etonze se sont abstenus.

Plus d'une centaine de députés del'opposition ont boycotté cetteséance, comme lors des deux pré-cédentes à l'Assemblée et au Sé-nat.

Proposés par le chef de l'Etat Jo-seph Kabila à dix mois de la pré-sidentielle de novembre 2011, cesamendements concernent no-

tamment l'alinéa 1 de l'article 71relatif au mode de scrutin pré-sidentiel, qui stipule désormaisque le président est élu à la ma-jorité simple des suffragesexprimés et non plus à la majoritéabsolue au second tour.

Les principaux partis de l'op-position et l'archévêque de Kins-hasa, le cardinal LaurentMonsengwo, avaient contesté paravance cette modification, craig-nant un passage en force de M.Kabila.



Kadhafi regrette le départ de Ben AliAFP

Le dirigeant libyen Mouammar Kadhafi aregretté aujourd'hui la chute du présidenttunisien Zine El Abidine Ben Ali et a pro-posé aux Tunisiens l'application de sonmodèle de démocratie directe, dans un"discours à l'adresse du peuple tunisien".

Il a également estimé que Zine El AbidineBen Ali, définitivement écarté samedi dupouvoir en Tunisie par le Conseil cons-titutionnel, était "toujours le président lé-gal", dans un discours diffusé par lesmédias d'Etat.



Las verdades de PdvalEl juicio de los alimentos po-dridos vuelve al principio.La sen-tencia ordenó empezar de nuevopero, entrelíneas, ratifica las de-nuncias que el Gobierno acusócomo una campaña en su contra.Ya no es nuevoadvertirqueal me-nos 130.000 toneladas de ali-mentos se pudrieron en las manosdel Gobierno.El paíscruzó el um-bral de otro año y el juicio sobre elcaso Pdval volvió al principio. ElTribunalSupremodeJusticia anu-ló el proceso contra los tres im-putados del caso pero,entrelíneas, la sentencia indicadetalles inadvertidos, como losmillones de dólares que fundaronesa empresa sobre la que ahora setejen tantos escándalos de cor-rupción."El total de los recursos fi-nancieros aprobados ascendierona la cantidad de USD$2.200.000.000,00", dice el Mi-nisterio Público en el documentoque el TSJ publicó en diciembrepara decretar el reinicio del caso.Tanto dinero hubiera alcanzadopara comprar 4.400 millones delitros de leche.

Los 2.200 millones de dólares quedieron origen a Pdval servirían,según el precio del mercado ac-tual, para comprar más del doblede los productos lácteos que con-sumen los venezolanos en un año.Es decir que sin contar la in-flación y la devaluación, Ve-nezuela pudo nadar en leche y

otros productos que escasearonen 2008.Borrón y cuenta nueva ¿Qué pa-só con tanto dinero? ¿A dóndefueron los dólares preferencialesque el Gobierno aprobó a 2,15 bo-lívares para llenar las neveras ydespensas venezolanas? Es unarespuesta que el Poder judicialno ha precisado. A esta hora sólose sabe que sin contar los sacos decaraotas o envases de productoscomo mayonesa, que tiraron enlos vertederos de Tiguadare, es-tado Falcón, y Río Acarigua, enPortuguesa, las denuncias del añopasado suman al menos 130.000toneladas de alimentos perdidos.

El último fallo del TSJ hace bor-rón y cuentanueva. La Sala deCa-sación Penal ordenó repetir elproceso pero en medio de esa di-sertación, deja claro que buenaparte de las denuncias y ex-plicaciones que salieron en losmedios son tan ciertas, que la Fis-calía señaló malos manejos enuna cadena de tres filiales de Pe-tróleos de Venezuela: Pdval,Bariven y Pdvsa Services Inc.La mano cubana

En 2010 empezó a sonar una cosaa la que llaman Centro Nacionalde Balance de Alimentos. Era unnombre largo y desconocido paraun ente sobre el que aparecierondocumentos firmados por la fun-cionaria cubana Bárbara Castillo.

Desde ese organismo adscrito a laVicepresidencia de la Repúblicay que ahora se le conoce comoCenbal, salían los lineamientosque el Gobierno empleó a la horade importar comida; en sus ofi-cinas se decidió la dieta y los pro-ductos que debían consumir losvenezolanos. Esa es la in-formación que ha venidocirculando en prensa y que ahoraratifica la Fiscalía, en el fallo queel TSJ publicó el pasado 16 de di-ciembre."Tomando como base los re-querimientos de alimentos es-tablecidos por el Centro Nacionalde Balances de Alimentos (Cen-bal), la empresa Productora yDistribuidora Venezolana de Ali-mentos, S.A., (Pdval) procedió arequerir de la empresa Bariven, fi-lial de Petróleos de Venezuela,mediante solicitudes de pedidosla compra de alimentos en el mer-cado internacional", sostiene elfallo del TSJ.

El proceso indica que las órdenesde compra salían de Pdval en unabase de datos colectiva, que re-cibía Bariven y que finalmenteprocesaba a través de Pdvsa Ser-vices Inc, cuya sede de Houston,Estados Unidos, contrataba a losproveedores, empresas navieras eintermediarios que trajeron la car-ga a Venezuela. Fue así como to-neladas y toneladas de alimentosfueron llegando a los puertos.Casualidades



Continuação: Las verdades de Pdval

Las noticias de Pdval no salieron ala luz pública por alguna con-traloría interna o denuncia de lascomunidades vecinas. Ni siquierapor la investigación que la di-putada regional del estado Ca-rabobo, Neidy Rosal, solicitó enFiscalía tresmesesantes dequeto-do trascendiera a la opiniónpública. La historia oficial indicaque una casualidad disparó lasalarmas.

De acuerdo con el fallo del TSJ,todo empezó por el robo de trescontenedores: "La presente in-vestigación se originó en virtudde la denuncia realizada en fecha21 de mayo del presente año porel ciudadano Carlos Aranguren,gerente de Patio de la empresaCentro de Almacenes Con-gelados, C.A., (Cealco), ante elServicio Bolivariano de In-teligencia Nacional (Sebin), don-de denunciaba el hurto de tres(03) contenedores en Puerto Ca-bello".Tercer cumpleaños

Pdval cumplió tres años la se-mana pasada. Aunque con pocotiempo, carga a cuestas uno de losescándalos de corrupción másgrandes que se hayan visto en lahistoria de Venezuela. Eso des-taca Leopoldo López, quien se-ñala que la decisión del TSJ poneen evidencia la parcialización dela justicia venezolana."Hay que destacar que mientras elGobierno usa los tribunales paracriminalizar la política y sen-

tenciar a diputados como BiaggioPilieri, aplican prácticas di-latorias con casos como este, don-de evidentemente hubo un daño ala nación y delitos de traición a lapatria", dice.

Al ex presidente de Pdval, LuisPulido, la ex directora de Ope-raciones, Mercedes Vileyska Be-tancourt, y el ex gerente general,Ronald José Flores, se les im-putan delitos de boicot y peculadoculposo. El TSJ anuló el procesoen su contra, por considerar quesu defensa violó el derecho al de-bido proceso a cambio de mayorceleridad. Siguen, sin embargo,presos a la espera de un nuevo jui-cio.

El ex diputado Juan José Molinarecuerda que es imposible pensarque tres personas hayan ins-trumentado la red de corrupciónmás grande que se haya visto en elpaís. El año pasado dejó esas yotras conclusiones en un do-cumento que consignó en la Con-traloría General de la República,el Ministerio Público y la propiaAsamblea Nacional. Sin em-bargo, sólo ha recibido silenciocomo respuesta."Este caso no prescribe", agregaLeopoldo López. El dirigente deVoluntad Popular habla de unosnuevos chinos de Recadi a los quese les quiere achacar los delitos detoda unamafia: "La Fiscalíanina-die va por los peces gordos; hayque insistir en que esta cadena deabusos está encabezada por Ra-

fael Ramírez".Vínculos familiares

Hasta el tío del ministro de Ener-gía y Petróleo y presidente de Pd-vsa ha salido a relucir en la tramade esta historia. Aunque la juntadirectiva de Pdval cambió en tresoportunidades, el nombre de EgliRamírez siempre se mantuvo enel segundo puesto de la Or-ganización.

Se trata de una información pu-blicada en prensa en julio del añopasado, y que no habría pasado deallí si no fuera porque también sir-vió a la Fiscalía para pedir y sus-tentar la mudanza del juicio. Enoctubre apelaron a esa y otras 62denuncias que salieron en los me-dios, para sustentar una medidaque luego acogió el TSJ para pa-sar el proceso de Puerto Cabello aCaracas."La Fiscalía está leyendo y re-conociendo las denuncias que hansalido en los medios de co-municación", concluye López."Que no se haya abierto una in-vestigación contra Ramírez y losotros funcionarios involucradoshace cómplice a los fiscales y a to-dos los que están de una manera uotra en la investigación".

En eso coincide la diputada alConsejo Legislativo del estadoCarabobo, Neidy Rosal, quienfue la primera en hablar de co-mida podrida apiñada en los puer-tos y almacenes del país. Enmarzo del año pasado dejó cons-



Continuação: Las verdades de Pdval

tancia en el Ministerio Público dela primera de seis denuncias queha consignado y ahora, frente alos últimos vaivenes del caso,ma-nifiesta que unos tecnicismos le-gales buscan dilatar el juicio."Lo que tenemos acá es un abo-camiento de oficio", explica."Eso quiere decir que un ma-gistrado, en este caso EladioAponte, se metió en el caso por-que determinó irregularidades enel debido proceso, y ahora yo ledigo a ese magistrado que si estátan preocupado por el tema, quepor favor exija la celeridad por-que ya ha pasado un mes desdeque anuló el juicio".Pica y se extiende

Ninguna persona puede pasarmás de un año presa sin que se leabra un juicio. Lo recuerda la di-

putada Rosal, porque teme que elescándalo de los alimentos per-didos termine así. "Ha habidoocho diferimientos de audiencia,tres cambios de jueces y luegotres suspensiones de juicio", dice."Pareciera que estamos ante tec-nicismos legales y practicas di-latorias que buscan subterfugiospara posponer la sentencia".

La Mesa de la Unidad aprovechóla memoria y cuenta que el Pre-sidente de la República, HugoChávez, dio ayer para mandarleun comunicado, que pidiera cuen-tas sobre los problemas del país y,entre ellos, destacó los ya cé-lebres contenedores con comidapodrida: "Exigimos saber qué ac-ciones tomó el Gobierno ante elgrave daño ocasionado al pa-trimonio de la nación y a los ve-

nezolanos en general en el caso delos contenedores de Pdval. Que-remos tener respuesta y conocer alos verdaderos responsables".

La diputada al Parlamento La-tinoamericano, Delsa Solórzano,añade que el caso Pdval seguirádentro y fuera del país. El año pa-sado denunció el tema en la sedeprincipal que la FAO tiene en Ro-ma, y en su representación en Ca-racas. Hasta hoy no ha tenido másque un sello de recibido. Ade-lanta, de todas formas, que ahorallevará el caso a la Red de par-lamentarios contra el hambre,que tiene el Parlatino en Panamá[email protected]



Tunisie: l'armée a lâché Ben AliAFP

L'ex-chef d'état-major français etex-ambassadeur en Tunisie, l'a-miral Jacques Lanxade, estimeque "c'est l'armée qui a lâché" leprésident tunisien Zine El Abi-dine BenAliet qu'ellepeut être un"élément stabilisateur" pour sor-tir du chaos, dans une interview àla presse."C'est l'armée qui a lâché Ben Aliquand elle s'est refusée - à l'in-versede la policedu régime- àfai-re tirer sur la foule" pendant lesmanifestations de la semaine pas-sée, déclare l'amiral Lanxadedans une interview au Parisien di-manche. "Chef d'état-major del'armée de terre, le général RachidAnmar a démissionné en refusantde faire tirer l'armée et c'est pro-bablement lui qui a conseillé àBen Ali de s'en aller en lui disant:+tu est fini+", ajoute l'amiral.

"L'armée qui - même sous Ben Ali- a toujours été tenue à l'écart de lapolitique et n'était pas partie pre-nante dans la direction des af-faires du pays, est une arméeassez républicaine.Je crois que l'armée est un élé-ment stabilisateur et modérateur.Ce n'est pas une armée de coupd'Etat, même si je peux me trom-per", dit-il. "Mais il ne faudraitpas que, faute de trouver une or-ganisation politique pour assurerla transition, l'armée soit obligéed'apparaître en première ligne. Ilne me semble pas que l'on ailledans ce sens-là et l'armée n'ypousse pas du tout", ajoute-t-il.

Au pouvoir depuis 23 ans, Zine ElAbidine Ben Ali a fui son paysvendredi après un mois de ma-nifestations réprimées dans lesang. Depuis, la Tunisie est livréeaux pillages et aux violences.

Le Conseil constitutionnel apro-clamé hier "la vacance définitivedu pouvoir" et la nomination deFoued Mebazaa,président du Par-lement, au poste de président de laRépublique par intérim. Selon laConstitution, des élections pré-sidentielle et législatives doiventêtre organisées dans un délai de60 jours. Les forces armées tu-nisiennes comptent près de36.000 hommes selonl'Institut in-ternational d'études stratégiques(IISS).

Matéria similar publicada emoutros veículos:

16 de janeiro de 2011- Le Figaro/IN



Le militant Jendoubi rentre en TunisieAFP

Le militant tunisien des droits del'Homme Kamel Jendoubi, enexil en France depuis 16 ans, s'ap-prêtait aujourd'hui à rentrer enTu-nisie après la chute du présidentZine El Abidine Ben Ali, a-t-il an-noncé à l'AFP."Je rentre dans mon pays natal quime manque beaucoup. Je rentredans un contexte extraordinairepour vivre ce rêve", a déclaré àl'aéroport parisien d'Orly M. Jen-doubi, président du Réseau Eu-ro-méditerranéen des droits de lHomme (REMDH) et co-fon-dateur du Comité pour le respectdes libertés et des droits de l Hom-me en Tunisie (CRLDHT).

Empêché par les autorités tu-nisiennes de fouler le sol desa ter-re natale depuis 1994 du fait de

ses activités de défense des droitshumains, M. Jendoubi est privéde son passeport tunisien depuis2000. En 2005, il n avait pas étéautorisé à assister aux funéraillesde son père, précise le REMDHdans un communiqué. "Je vais merecueillir sur la tombe de mes pa-rents que je n'ai pas vu depuis leurdécès et faire mon deuil. Je veuxsentir les odeurs, retrouver lesquartiers de mon enfance, voir lafamille, les amis", a-t-il ajouté.

M. Jendoubi entend aussi se ren-dre à Sidi-Bouzid (centre-ouest)d'où est parti le mouvement deprotestation après l'immolation le17 décembre d'un jeune chômeurdiplômé et rencontrer des mi-litants. Il a indiqué n'avoir pas étécontacté en vue de la formationd'un gouvernement d'union na-tionale.

Au pouvoir depuis 23 ans, Zine ElAbidine Ben Ali a fui son paysvendredi après un mois de ma-nifestations réprimées dans lesang. Le Conseil constitutionneltunisien a proclamé "la vacancedéfinitive du pouvoir" et la no-mination de Foued Mebazaa, pré-sident du Parlement, au poste deprésident de la République par in-térim. Selon la Constitution, desélections présidentielle et lé-gislatives doivent être organiséesdans un délai de 60 jours.

Le chef du parti islamiste tunisienEnnahdha Rached Ghannouchiavait annoncé samedi à l'AFPqu'il préparait son retour dans sonpays et qu'il était disposé à la for-mation d'un gouvernement d'u-nion nationale.



Legal bid to stop PSNI using tasers failsA legal attempt to ban the PSNIfrom using tasers has been re-jected Related stories Court chal-lenge to PSNI taser use NorthernIrelands most senior judge has re-jected a legal attempt to banpolice from using taser stun guns.Lord Chief Justice Sir DeclanMorgan dismissed an applicationto stop their introduction. He alsorefused to grant an order to over-turn decisions of the PolicingBoard to support the Chief Cons-table over their deployment. Thechallenge was brought by a Bel-fast girl whose grandmother waskilled by a police plastic bullet inthe 1980s. Lawyers for the child,who was not identified, arguedthat a proper equality impact as-sessment was not carried out, andthat use of tasers breached the"right to life and right to freedomfrom torture". Former PSNIChief Constable Sir Hugh Ordereceived Policing Board en-dorsement in 2008 to bring in theweapons. Up to 88 were acquiredon the condition that they are onlyused by authorised and speciallytrained officers.

Ruling on the case at the HighCourt in Belfast, Sir Declan re-jected a claim that the police mo-nitoring body was wrong todecide introducing tasers was anoperational decision for the ChiefConstable. The judge also de-clared himself "entirely satisfied"that the decision to deploy theweapons on a pilot basis was wellwithin the range of rational de-cisions open to the Chief Cons-table. He pointed out that policeproposals had been discussedwith the board and the EqualityCommission, leading to a de-cision to conduct an equality im-pact assessment. 'Public disorder'Sir Declan said this suggested itwas prepared to enter into dia-logue and even alter their positionas a result. Holding that the ap-plicant could not be classed as avictim under the terms of theHuman RightsAct1998, the jud-ge noted how the eight-year-oldgirl is the granddaughter of a wo-man killed in disputed cir-cumstances in July 1981 by aplastic bullet fired by police.The child was said to have fears a

similar fate might befall her mot-her. But Sir Declan ruled: "Thereis no suggestion that the effects oroperational guidance in relationto the use of these weapons is si-milar. "Plastic bullets were de-signed to be used in situations ofpublic disorder. The operationalguidance in relation to tasers in-dicates that they should never beused in such circumstances." Thecourt was told the child lives in anarea of west Belfast where a no-torious feud has been ongoingbetween two families. The judgesaid: "There is no material beforethe court to indicate any cir-cumstances in which this childwas or might be in a situation whi-ch might lead to the deploymentof a taser in her vicinity. "I con-sider that on the facts of this casethis applicant is in no different po-sition to any other child in Nor-thern Ireland." Sir Declan alsoheld that procurement and de-ployment of the weapons did notbreach the childs right to life un-der the European Convention onHuman Rights.



Haiti urged to arrest visiting Baby Doc DuvalierMr Duvalier arriving at Por-t-au-Prince airport

Human rights groups have ur-ged the Haitian government to ar-rest and prosecute formerPresident Jean-Claude Duvalierfor abuses committed during his1971-86 leadership.

Mr Duvalier, 59, also known as"Baby Doc", has just returned toHaiti

He said he had "come to help" af-ter last year's earthquake, butHuman Rights Watch and Am-nesty International said he shouldface justice.

It is not clear whether any war-rants exist for his arrest.

Mr Duvalier was just 19 when heinherited the title of "pre-sident-for-life" from his father,the notorious Francois "PapaDoc" Duvalier, who had ruledHaiti since 1957.

Duvalier belongs to the past. Letsmove forward. Ronald Charles,Haiti

Baby Doc is accused of massivecorruption, repression andhuman rights abuses during his1971-1986 rule.

Critics allege he embezzled mil-lions of dollars from the im-

poverished Caribbean nation, acharge he denies.

Like his father, he relied on a bru-tal private militia known as the"Tontons Macoutes", which con-trolled Haiti through violence andintimidation.

'Slap in the face'

Human Rights Watch Americasdirector Jose Miguel Vivancosaid Haiti had enough problemswithout Mr Duvalier.

"Duvalier's return to Haiti shouldbe for one purpose only - to facejustice," he said in a statement."His time to be held accountableis long overdue.

"Duvalier's presence - unless he isimmediately arrested - is a slap inthe face to a people who have al-ready suffered so much."

Amnesty special adviser JavierZuniga said Mr Duvalier's abusesamounted to crimes against hu-manity and Haiti was "under obli-gation" to prosecute him.

And US state department spokes-man PJ Crowley said in a Twittermessage: "It adds un-predictability at an uncertain timein Haiti's election process."

But Prime Minister Jean-MaxBellerive said Mr Duvalier was

free to return home, adding thatthere was no reason to believe hewould destabilise a country that isfacing uncertainty after disputedpresidential elections.

The reason for his visit is notclear, although a French di-plomatic source told the BBC thatMr Duvalier had a return ticket toFrance for 20 January.

He is staying in a hotel in the hillsabove the centre of the capital,Port-au-Prince. UN police havebeen guarding the hotel's en-trance.

His return to Haiti came on thedayit was supposed toholdthe se-cond round of elections to choosea successor to outgoing PresidentRene Preval.

But the vote has been postponedbecause of a dispute over whichcandidates should be on the ballotpaper.

Provisional results from the firstround on 28 November provokedviolent demonstrations whenthey were announced in De-cember, and most observers saidthere was widespread fraud andintimidation.

Haiti is struggling to recover fromthe massive earthquake a yearago which killed more than250,000 people and left Por-



Continuação: Haiti urged to arrest visiting Baby Doc Duvalier

t-au-Prince in ruins.

Forgiveness call

In 1986, Mr Duvalier was forcedto flee into exileby apopular upri-sing, as well as diplomatic pres-sure from the US.

Since then, he has lived in France,although he was never grantedformal political asylum. He hasalso never been prosecuted out-side Haiti.

He was once worth tens of mil-lions of dollars, much of whichwas spent on a luxury lifestyle inthe Cote d'Azur and an expensivedivorce.

Last year a Swiss court ruled thathe should be returned assets wor-th at least $4.6m (£2.9m), but theSwiss government blocked the re-lease of the money until a law waspassed to return it to Haiti.

In September, the Swiss par-liament passed a law that would

make it easier for the country toseize the funds, the AssociatedPress news agency reported.

In a radio interview in 2007, MrDuvalier asked the Haitian peo-ple for forgiveness for "errors"made during his rule.

A small group of Duvalier loya-lists have been campaigning tobring him home from exile.



Iran Says It May Drop Woman's Stoning SentenceMIDDLE EAST

TEHRAN - Iranian officials saidMonday that a woman convictedof adultery and sentenced to deathby stoning may now face only aprison sentence for acting as anaccessory to the murder of herhusband.

Apparently contradicting pre-vious court documents, ZahraElahian, the head of the HumanRights Committee in Iran"s Par-liament and a close ally of Pre-sident Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,said that the stoning sentenceagainst the woman, Sakineh Mo-hammadi Ashtiani, 43, had neverbeen confirmed. Ms. Ashtianiwas convicted of adultery in2006."The stoning sentence has not yetbeen finalized," Ms.Elahian wro-te in a letter to Dilma Rousseff,the president of Brazil, that waspublished by Iran"s semiofficialISNA news agency. Brazil of-fered asylum to Ms. Ashtiani lastsummer after her story gained in-ternational attention.Ms. Elahian said that a death sen-tence for the murder charge hadbeen suspended with the consentof Ms. Ashtiani"s children. Underthe Islamic law of "ghesas," thefamily of a murder victim is per-

mitted to spare the guilty partyfrom a death sentence."This woman faces only a publicsentence of 10 years" im-prisonment," Ms. Elahian said inthe letter.Later on Monday, a top regionaljudicial official repeated Ms. Ela-hian"s statement, telling the of-ficial IRNA news agency that thestoning sentence had still "not yetbeen finalized."The official, Malek Az-hdar-Sharifi, the head of the EastAzerbaijan provincial judiciary,said earlier this month that "anyt-hing is possible" in the final out-come of Ms. Ashtiani"s case.However, there is a continuingconflict between Iran"s judiciaryand supporters of President Ah-madinejad - who in the past havetried topresent asofter line on hig-h-profile judicial cases - and onMonday a spokesman for the ju-diciary denied that there had beenany significant change in Ms. As-htiani"s status."The case of Sakineh Ashtiani isstill in the same phase that it wasin before," the spokesman, Gho-lam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, saidin comments reported by IRNA."Nothing new has happened,"Mr. Ejei said.

After an international outcry aro-se as a result of widespread pu-blicity about Ms. Ashtiani"s case,Iranian authorities and officialstate news media mounted a cam-paign that emphasized her role asan accessory to the murder of herhusband, rather than the adulteryconviction.This month, Ms. Ashtiani ap-peared at a news conference inthe presence of foreign jour-nalists and admitted to complicityin the murder of her husband. Shedenied that she had been pres-sured into making a public con-fession and denounced theprotest over her sentence.Before that, she had appeared in aseries of state-produced te-levision programs in which sheconfessed to her crimes and dis-tanced herself from the in-ternational human rightscampaign for her.


17 de janeiro de 2011- The New York Times/IN | Mid-dle East



The Insanity Defense, Post-HinckleyOPINIÓN

As the country struggles to findmeaning in the horrific Tucsonshooting, another heated nationaldebate over gun violence comesto mind: the furious reaction tothe acquittal, by reason of in-sanity, of John Hinckley Jr., theman who tried to kill PresidentRonald Reagan.

Nearly 30 years later, Mr. Hin-ckley remains in a psychiatricward, with permission in recentyears to leave in his mother"s cus-tody for limited visits. After theacquittal, politicians across thecountry blamed the insanity de-fense for excusing a detestableand miserable young man fromimprisonment. Vowing that itwould boost public safety and en-sure another Hinckley would not"get off," the federal governmentand 38 states rewrote their laws,establishing a much more dif-ficult standard of proof.The most common test had been

that a person could be found in-sane if the defendant "lacks sub-stantial capacity to appreciate thewrongfulness of his conduct or toconform his conduct to the re-quirements of the law." Most ofthe new restrictions reduced thetest to a simple question: Did thedefendant not know what he orshe was doing?A generation later, we know thisretrenchment was based on mis-conceptions, above all that the de-fense was commonly, andsuccessfully, used. A study ofeight states from 1976 to 1987 do-cumented that the defense wasemployed in less than 1 percent ofcriminal cases and only a quarterof those defendants were ac-quitted by reason of insanity.While the Supreme Court de-clared in 1983 that such an ac-quittal was certain proof ofdangerousness, that was largelywrong as well. Half the pleas and35 percent of the acquittals came

in cases involving nonviolent of-fenses; 15 percent of the ac-quittees were accused of murder.As for insanity acquittees goingfree, it rarely happened. Nine of10, whatever the offense, endedup in mental hospitals, some formuch longer than they would ha-ve been imprisoned.John Hinckley Jr., suicidal andhaunted by violent stories frommovies and novels, said he shotPresident Reagan to win the at-tention of the actress Jodie Fosterand become famous. The pro-secution and defense agreed thathe was seriously mentally ill atthe time of the shooting. The trialwas about whether he was sickenough to be found insane.Medicine defines illness, the law,responsibility. The fields longtried to resolve their differencesscientifically. After the Hinckleyverdict, politics undermined thatquest.LINCOLN CAPLAN



Anger over courtesy titles for supreme court justicesJohn Dyson, pictured in ce-remonial robes after he wassworn in to the supreme court,was the only justice without thetitle of lord.

A simmering row at the supremecourt has resulted in a decision bythe Queen to give all justices"courtesy titles" of lord or lady.

Justices at the court are reportedto have been upset that the moveaway from the House of Lords,where the UK's most senior ju-dicial committee used to sit, re-sulted in a discrepancy amongtitles.

Sources say there was disquiet atthe court that John Dyson- the on-ly new appointee since the courtwas established last year and theonly justicewithout a title of lord -appeared to be singled out.

There are also claims that the va-riation in titles caused confusionamong lawyers appearing at thecourt, with some unsure how toaddress the justices.

Complaints are reported to haveculminated in a decision to ask theQueen to confer the title of lordand lady on all justices of thesupreme court to "avoid con-fusion" about the proper addressfor judges.

Last month Buckingham Palacesigned a warrant declaring thatevery justice of the supremecourt of the UK will in future begiven the address.

Critics are furious at the move,which they say discriminatesagainst the husbands and possiblecivil partners of judges. Whilemale justices will become lordand be able to confer titles on theirwives, civil partners or the hus-bands of female justices will nothave the same right.

"It is a retrograde step for thecourt to revert to using titles witharistocratic associations at oddswith the more modern andforward-looking image which thesupreme court has worked hardto present," said Kate Malleson,professor of law at Queen Mary,University of London.

"There will be a clear dis-crimination between he-terosexual male justices andfemale, gay or lesbian justices.The former will be able to bestowthe title lady on their wives whe-reas the husbands and civil par-tners of the latter categories willbe titleless."

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tat-chell said: "It's quite outrageousthat the supreme court judgesha-ve a title system that dis-

criminates against both womenand gay people. The highest courtin the land should reflect the prin-ciple of universal equality.

"Complicity with this dis-crimination sends out entirely thewrong message. When inequalityis enshrined at the heart of thesupreme court, it does not ins-pire confidence that this ins-titution is committed tonon-discrimination."

But the supreme court andBuckingham Palace defended thedecision, stating that the use ofcourtesy titles would reduce con-fusion and that the different rulesfor men and women were a matterof convention, decided upon afterconstitutional advice from mi-nisters.

Others suggested that grantingpeerages to all justices would be amore appropriate way to solve theproblem. "As the supreme courtis the highest court in the land andthe judges are all still given knig-hthoods, I think something to sin-gle out its members is necessaryand justified," said Sir GeoffreyBindman, founder of Bindmanslaw firm. "But if you are going tocall them lord, why not give thema peerage. It seems a bit ano-malous not to do so."



WikiLeaks data gives fresh impetus to Pat Finucaneinquiry campaign

UK

Pat Finucane, Northern Irelandcivil rights lawyer killed by loya-list paramilitaries in 1989. Pho-tograph: Ho/REUTERS"Some Americans might decryJulian Assange as some kind ofanarchist - someone who shouldbe locked up for a thousand year-s," reflects Michael Finucane, a39-year-old Dublin-based so-licitor. "But all WikiLeaks isdoing is filling the vacuum crea-ted by governments un-necessarily."

Readers who know the Finucanename will understand the sig-nificance of those words. Michaelis the son of Pat Finucane, themurdered civil rights lawyer. In1989 Douglas Hogg, then juniorhome office minister, told theHouse of Commonsthat there we-re solicitors in Northern Ireland"unduly sympathetic to the causeof the IRA". Michael Finucanehas described these words as "averbal hand grenade lobbed intothe cauldron of Northern Ire-land".

Three weeks later two gunmenfrom loyalist paramilitary groupthe Ulster Freedom Fighters burstinto the family home in Belfast,wounding Pat Finucane and hiswife, Geraldine. One gunmanstood over him as he lay on theground and fired 14 shots into his

body and head. Michael, then 17,was in the house with his brotherand sister. Two decades later, theFinucane family is still fighting tofind out why their father was tar-geted and whether the go-vernment was involved in thekilling. They continue to call for afull and independent public in-quiry.

The WikiLeaks revelations haveshone further light on the degreeof state collusion. The Guardianlast month reported that theleaked US embassy cables re-vealed Bertie Ahern, the formerIrish prime minister, told US di-plomats "everyone knows the UKwas involved" in the murder andthat US diplomats feared "e-lements of the security-legal es-tablishments" in Britain werefighting to resist an inquiry. Mi-chael Finucane believes therevelation adds to the momentumfor a public inquiry. "Progress un-der the previous [New Labour]administration had stalled and theUK government was displaying amarked reluctance to ever want toreopen it," he said.

The family insists that for any in-quiry to be legitimate it must ope-rate outside the constraints of theInquiries Act 2005. That act wasintroduced in response to the per-ceived excesses of the Bloody

Sunday inquiry (lasting 12 yearsand costing £191m) and con-troversially allows the go-vernment to block scrutiny ofsome state actions. Human rig-hts group Amnesty Internationalhas argued that any judge hearingsuch an inquiry would be "pre-siding over a sham".

Pat Finucane set up Madden & Fi-nucane with co-partner PeterMadden in 1979 as soon as theyqualified as lawyers. Pat made hisname representing people ar-rested under the emergency le-gislation. He was one of the firstof a generation of lawyers to takecases to Strasbourg, and Maddenhas paid tribute to his former col-league for "revolutionising" thedetention system by taking ha-beas corpus actions forcing thepolice to produce prisoners, oftenbeaten, before the court.

Some members of Pat's im-mediate family were in the IRA,including one brother killed in ac-tion, but Madden & Finucane we-re not the 'provos in suits' thatdetractors dubbed them. As Ge-raldine memorably put it: "Patwould have represented the peo-ple who shot him."

Michael tells me several mee-tings between his family andOwen Paterson, the Northern Ire-



Continuação: WikiLeaks data gives fresh impetus to Pat Finucane inquiry campaign

land secretary, took place lastyear. The campaigners remainhopeful they will get the inquirythey have battled for, and on theirterms. As Michael said: "It will bevery difficult to hold it withoutmy family being a willing par-ticipant ? like Hamlet without theprince."

Civil rights focus

Michael is now the same age hisfather was when he was mur-dered. He describes his own legalpractice, which has three lawyersand two trainees, as a civil rightspractice. He resists the "like fat-her, like son" tag. Michael hassaid he became a solicitor "in spi-te of, rather than because of Pat".

"I was 17 when he died," he said."I knew nothing about his legalpractice. I learnt about his work inreverse. But his approach was re-markable for a lawyer of his ti-me."

Michael recalls his father goingon speaking tours, addressingconferences in America and Parison life under the emergencypowers legislation which left de-legates "absolutely horrified" asto the grim realities of NorthernIreland.

Clients still approach Michael be-cause he is a Finucane. "There isautomatically shared experienceof what it's like to be on the re-ceiving end," he once told me. "T-

hey aren't coming to see somefaceless, suited professional whodoesn'tunderstand what it's like."

Did the trainees want to work inhis firm because they have heardof Pat? "I'd like to think that theyare aware of him. I'd also like tothink they might be approachingthe firm because of the work I amdoing at this point in my career.I'm getting old. It would be a dis-honour to my father if I did notearn the right tocarry the name onmy own merits."

Jon Robins is a freelance jour-nalist and director of the re-search company Jures



Inaccurate human rights reporting will not help eitherside of the debate

After widespread media supportfor Gurkha campaign, Telegrapharticle plays down the "killer's"Gurkha heritage despite hig-hlighting that victim wasGurkha's son.

Immigration and deportation de-cisions are regularly used to at-tack the Human Rights Act, andare raised as examples of why itmust be amended or replaced. Buta recent deportation case showsthat such decisions are oftenpoorly reported and articles ig-nore crucial details.

Yesterday'sSunday Telegraph re-ported the case of a man who kil-led a Gurkha soldier's son andcannot be deported because ofhuman rights law. According toDavid Barrett, home affairs cor-respondent, the controversial de-cision will "intensify pressure"on the prime minister "who has sofar failed to deliver a Con-servative promise to rip up theHuman Rights Act."

There are a number of key detailsmissing or effectively ignored bythe article.

First, the title: Killer of Gurkha'sson wins right to stay in Britain.While much is made of the vic-tim's Gurkha background, it is notuntil towards the end of the articlethat it is revealed that Rocky Gu-

rang, the appellant (referred to inthe article as "the killer"), whohad been convicted of mans-laughter, himself was the son of along-serving Gurkha soldier.This fact is made clear in the firstparagraph of the upper yribunaldecision itself (RG (Automaticdeport section 33(2) (a) ex-ception) Nepal), and forms the es-sential background of theappellant's case under article 8 ofthe European Convention onHuman Rights (the right to pri-vate and family life).

The appellant's father was gran-ted indefinite leavetoenter andre-main in the UK in 2005 afterserving with the Gurkhas for 18years. His immediate family alsorelocated to the UK. Thisbackground was central to the de-cision, and his father - who wasworking as a bus-driver, payingthe mortgage on his house in theUK, as well as supporting his sonfinancially - gave evidence thathe and his wife would have to re-turn to Nepal with their son if hewere deported.

A second aspect which is not ma-de clear is the reasons for the de-cision not to deport. Much ismade of the emphasis placed onthe appellant's family life, but it isalso important to understandwhat this was being balancedagainst: namely, public safety.

According to the article, RockyGurung and a gang of friends th-rew Bishal into the river in whatthe trial judge described as an"un-provoked and senseless episode"However, the tribunal stressedthe criminal trial judge's sen-tencing remarks:

There was no premeditation, the-re was no weapon carried or used,there was no intent to cause reallyserious bodily harm, and the ap-pellant on the evidence recordedby the judge in his detailed sen-tencing remarks, had not ins-tigated the act which causeddeath, namely throwing the de-ceased into the Thames

The tribunal accepted that publicsafety was a legitimate aim for adecision to deport, and whichcould justify breaching rights tofamily life under article 8 of theEuropean Convention onHuman Rights. But, while hiscrime was a serious one, it was"not of the degree of seriousnessthat required a severe sentence ora recommendation for de-portation".

Ultimately, the tribunal stressedthat the regime of automatic de-portation requires a careful, ca-se-by-case approach. Thisincludes "a very careful con-sideration of the seriousness ofthe offence and the extent to whi-



Continuação: Inaccurate human rights reporting will not help either side of the debate

ch the deportation can be said toenhance public protection on theone hand and the impact upon pri-vate and family life on the other".The fact is that while some maywish to deport all immigrantswho commit serious offences(see the comments under the Sun-day Telegraph article), the pu-nishment must fit the crime, andexiling a person to a country whe-re they have no ties is a veryserious punishment indeed andshould not be imposed lightly.

The "very careful consideration"of cases in the immigration tri-bunals is lost inarticles whichem-phasise one side at the expense ofthe other. The Sunday Telegraphquotes at length the views of thevictim's family, an MP cam-paigning for the repeal of theHuman Rights Act and the viewsof a controversial an-ti-immigration pressure group,MigrationWatch. Almost not-hing is made of the appellant's ca-se, or the views of his family.

The decision was made in August2010, but is being reported nowas it is linked toproposals by Con-servative MP Dominic Raab, aformer chief of staff to David Da-vis and author of a book ad-vocating a new bill of rights, toreform human rights laws.Raab, also a former lawyer, said

"Judges are no longer just ap-plying the law- they are making itup as they go".

It would seem that some articleson human rights law are fallinginto the same trap. In November,many newspapers including theTelegraph, reported that the fai-lure to deport Learco Chindamo,the killer of headmaster PhilipLawrence, was because ofhuman rights law. But in fact, asI posted, human rights was onlya secondary aspect of his casewhich was really about EU free-dom of movement law.

And, more recently, the case ofan "asylum seeker death driver"Aso Mohammed Ibrahim, causedpublic outrage and "great anger"from the prime minister. Butagain, the case was mi-sunderstood.

The Telegraph, along with othernewspapers such as The Sun andthe Daily Express, have a clearand open editorial agenda to scrapthe Human Rights Act. Fairenough. But cases such as RockyGurang's are presented as newsand mixed with opinion. News-papers are entitled to pursue aneditorial line, but removing thedistinction between opinion andnews means that the general pu-blic, who understandablyhave lit-

tle knowledge of the compleximmigration system or indeed ofhuman rights law, are left with askewed picture.

The problem may be caused inpart by the decline of the legalcorrespondent. As Joshua Ro-zenberg, probably Britain's bestknown legal commentator, said ina recent Legal Week article, manynational newspapers no longerhave a designated legal cor-respondent, meaning that the"newspapers don't provide theservice they did". As such, the sh-rill reporting of some cases jarswith the nuance of judge's de-cisions. Of course, some judgesmake bad decisions. But if the de-cisions are badly reported, theywill not be exposed to accuratescrutiny.

The effect of the lack of legal ex-pertise at some newspapers, com-bined with a strong editorialagenda which leaks into "news"articles, is to confuse andover-simplify issues. The resultwill be that many members of thepublic could be locked into a per-manent distrust of human rightslegislation, even if it is reformed.And this would be bad news foreveryone.



Santander chief faces Spanish banking banBUSINESS

There is speculation Sáenz mayhave to step down, although ap-peals could delay the final de-cision in the case for months oryears

The banker who runs the parentcompany of high street bank San-tander may soon be banned fromthe sector in his home country, asSpain's supreme court preparesto deliver judgment in a case in-volving false accusations againstdebtors.

Today's edition of the El Mundonewspaper reports that the jud-gment is ready and Banco San-tander chief executive AlfredoSáenz will bebarred frombankin-g. A suspended sentence alreadyhanded down to him by a lowercourt will be increased from six to

eight months, the newspapersays.

The newspaper did not discloseits source and the court itself con-firmed only that the sentenceshould be ready soon. Banco San-tander president Emilio Botín,whose daughter Ana Patricia ischief executive of Santander inBritain, declined to comment. "Ihave no comment on a sentencethat I have not seen," he said. Thenews sparked speculation aboutwhether Sáenz would have tostand down.

Sáenz was sentenced in De-cember 2009 on charges datingback to when he was chairman ofthe Banesto bank in 1994. He wasfound guilty of bringing falsecharges against shareholders of a

company that owed Banesto mo-ney. The shareholders, who spenttime on remand in jail while beinginvestigated, appealed againstwhat they claimed was an ex-cessively lenient sentence.

Sáenz made his reputation in the1990s by turning Banesto roundafter Santander, the eurozone'slargest bank, took it over.

He will be able to delay anysupreme court move againsthim by four or five months by ap-pealing on technical grounds, ac-cording to experts consulted byExpansión newspaper's website.He could then take the case toSpain's highest court, the cons-titutional court, potentially sta-ving off a final decision forseveral years.

Reuters/IN, 17 de janeiro de 2011Justiça no Exterior


Iran suspends sentence to hang woman in stoningcase

TEHRAN |TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran hassuspended a sentence to hang awoman at the center of a globaloutcry about stoning, a memberof parliament was quoted assaying on Monday.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani'ssentence to be stoned for adulterywas suspended last year after con-demnation from several go-vernments, but she had still faceddeath by hanging for being an ac-complice in her husband'smurder.

In a letter to Brazilian PresidentDilma Rousseff, the head of par-liament's human rights com-mittee, Zohre Elahian, said thehanging, too, had been suspendeddue to pleas from her children.

"Although the stoning sentencehas notbeen finalisedyet, the han-ging sentence has been sus-pended due to (her children's)pardon," the letter said, accordingto student news agency ISNA.

Ashtiani has been sentenced to 10years' jail, Elahian said. She was

arrested in 2006.

Former Brazilian President LuizInacio Lula da Silva offered As-htiani asylum in July, promptingan embarrassing public rejectionby Iran which said he was a "hu-mane and sensitive character" butwas not in possession of all thefacts.

Brazil has warm ties with Iran andattempted to broker a nuclear deallast year which was rejected bythe West.

Two reporters for Germanweekly Bild am Sonntag havebeen detained in Iran since Oc-tober when they were arrested forinterviewing Ashtiani's son wit-hout official permission, hig-hlighting the sensitivity of thecase.

Under Islamic law in force in Iransince the 1979 Islamic re-volution, adultery may be pu-nished by death by stoning andcrimes such as murder, rape, ar-med robbery, apostasy and drugtrafficking are all punishable byhanging.

The case has further worsened re-lations between Iran and the Wes-t, already strained by the nuclearissue. Western countries fear Iranis developing a nuclear weapon,which it denies.

Amnesty International says Iranis the world's second most prolificexecutioner after China, puttingto death at least 346 people in2008.

The Iranian authorities dismissallegations of rights abuses,saying they are following Islamiclaw.

(Reporting by Hossein Jaseb;Writing by Ramin Mostafavi;Editing by Peter Graff)World


17 de janeiro de 2011- Reuters/IN- Reuters/IN



"El Tribunal Supremo no puede seguir saltándose latalanquera"

"El Tribunal Supremo no puedeseguir saltándose la talanquera"

"Si se califica o descalifica a laIglesia Católica como un partidopolítico, pues cualquier ayuda odonación desde el exterior para elfuncionamiento de la institucióneclesial se puede ver afectada"

JUAN FRANCISCO ALONSO |EL UNIVERSAL 12:00 AM

En su reciente asamblea ordinariala Conferencia Episcopal Ve-nezolana (CEV) advirtió que la li-bertad religiosa se encuentra enriesgo en el país, gracias a me-didas gubernamentales como losobstáculos para entregar visadosa clérigos extranjeros, las pro-puestas de suprimir la cátedra dereligión en las escuelas o las cons-tantes campañas de des-calificación y descrédito quedesde los medios públicos se lan-zan contra los jerarcas de laIglesia Católica por las opinionesque éstos emiten en relación conel acontecer nacional.

Sin embargo, a esas amenazas ha-bría que agregar otra: La eventualrestricción para que el Epis-copado reciba fondos desde el ex-terior. Así lo alertó elvicepresidente de la CEV y ar-zobispo de Mérida, monseñorBaltazar Porras, quien en con-versación telefónica con El

Universal, reiteró las críticas delos prelados a la decisión de la an-terior Asamblea Nacional de en-tregarle poderes especiales alpresidente Hugo Chávez para le-gislar vía decreto durante año ymedio.

-Usted dice que están en peligrolas donaciones que reciben des-de el exterior. ¿La Ley de So-beranía Política yAutodeterminación Nacional,la cual pone obstáculos a las or-ganizaciones civiles para ob-tener financiamiento desde elextranjero, los puede afectar?

-Sí, porque prácticamente se con-sidera como organizaciones nogubernamentales a todas las ins-tituciones por igual y ella es-tablece una restricción bastantegrande. Nos informaron en estosdías que ya hay una re-glamentación al respecto, la cualestablece que fuera de lo que esayuda estrictamente humanitaria,que llega a través de Cáritas, sepuede ver impedida ayuda para laConferencia, para las diócesis ylas parroquias. Donaciones de ve-hículos, por ejemplo, que es unade las más comunes que hacen lasagencias católicas de coo-peración, o las destinadas a fi-nanciar la formación de personalreligioso podrían dejar de re-cibirse.

Si se califica o descalifica a laIglesia Católica como un partidopolítico, pues cualquier ayudaeconómica para el fun-cionamiento de la institucióneclesial se puede ver afectada.

-El Gobierno dice que esta leyestá ajustada a la Constitucióny a los estándares in-ternacionales y recuerda queen otros países hay ins-trumentos similares.

-Esta ley demuestra que la in-tención del Gobierno es restringirla posibilidad de que las or-ganizaciones civiles venezolanaspuedan recibir fondos desdeel ex-terior y pone en evidencia unacontradicción más, pues mientrasél apoya, colabora y financia a or-ganizaciones y movimientos enotros países, aquí quieren impediresto. Es inaceptable que lo que esbueno para fuera sea malo paradentro.

-¿De dónde reciben donacionesen estos momentos?

-Las agencias católicas de coo-peración de España, Alemania eItalia han sido tradicionalmentemuy generosas, lo mismo que laConferencia Episcopal de los Es-tados Unidos.

-¿Usted cree que estas accionescontra la Iglesia forman parte



Continuação: "El Tribunal Supremo no puede seguir saltándose la talanquera"

del anuncio presidencial de quelas relaciones con el Vaticanoserían revisadas?

-Yo pienso que no es solo una si-tuación que tiene que ver con lasrelaciones Iglesia-Estado o deldeterioro de las relaciones del Es-tado venezolano con el Vaticano,sino que es parte de una políticamás general. Hoy por hoy te-nemos a una instancia (el Go-bierno) que quiere ser el un únicoprotagonista en la vida del ve-nezolano y que hace todo loposible por desplazar a cualquierinstitución que tenga o haya te-nido injerencia en la vida social,educativa, económica y es-piritual. La idea del Gobierno esdestruir o minimizar a toda ins-titución que haga sombra: LaIglesia, los medios de co-municación, el empresariado, et-c.

-Durante su nonagésima quintaasamblea la CEV criticó la LeyHabilitante y advirtió que la

misma pone en riesgo la de-mocracia. ¿En qué sustentansus señalamientos? ¿Cuál es ladiferencia entre esta ley y lastres anteriores?

-Nuestro análisis más que legal oconstitucional se centra en lo mo-ral. La Habilitante y las demásleyes conceden el ejercicio de ca-si todos los derechos al Ejecutivo.Hay que recordar que uno de losfactores claves para la de-mocracia es la autonomía e in-dependencia de los poderespúblicos. ¿Para qué? Para queexistan equilibrios y evitar quehaya abusos. Esta Habilitanteprácticamente anula el mandatopopular de un Parlamento al quele toca no solo legislar sino ser elcontralor de la labor de los entespúblicos y si esto desaparece y seconcentra solo en el Poder Eje-cutivo, indudablemente que pier-de legitimidad y cercenaderechos.

-Ustedes solicitaron al pre-

sidente que devuelva los po-deres especiales. ¿Esto esposible? ¿Creen que es factibleque el TSJ deje sin efecto esteinstrumento? -Las voces que seestán alzando dentro y fuera delpaís deben hacer reflexionar a lasautoridades y darles a entenderque no se puede ejercer un poderque esté por encima o al margende la Constitución y de la opi-nión popular expresada en laselecciones parlamentarias del 26de septiembre. Este mensaje debeser atendido por aquel que debeser el primer guardián de laConstitución (el TSJ), quien nopuede seguir saltándose la ta-lanquera, porque esto lo que traees mayor conflictividad social,un clima de anomia donde cadaquien hace lo que quiere y dondequien tiene más poder o recursosactúa de manera impune, lle-vándose por delante a los pobres.

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Côte d'Ivoire: blessés à YamoussoukroAFP

Entre cinq et sept personnes ontété blessées hier dans le centre dela Côte d'Ivoire lors d'un incidententre partisans d'Alassane Ouat-tara, l'un des deux présidents pro-clamés, et une milice favorable àson rival Laurent Gbagbo, selondes sources concordantes.

L'incident, quiaeu lieu dans la ca-pitale Yamoussoukro, près deBouaké (centre), a opposé desjeunes du Rassemblement deshouphouëtistes pour la dé-mocratie et la paix (RHDP, coa-lition pro-Ouattara) et les"Scorpions guetteurs", une milicesoutenant le président sortant, se-

lon ces sources contactées par té-léphone. Un journaliste local aaffirmé avoir vu au centre hos-pitalier régional (CHR) deYamoussoukro six jeunes du RH-DP blessés."J'ai vu six blessés par éclats degrenade, mais l'infirmier nous adit que leur vie n'est pas en dan-ger", a-t-il déclaré. Il n'était pas enmesure de préciser dans quellescirconstances les jeunes avaientété blessés. Deux sources localesdu RHDP ont également fait étatde blessés, cinq selon l'une, septselonl'autre.Les"Scorpions guet-teurs" sont un groupe d'au-to-défense apparu àYamoussoukro il y a plusieurs an-nées.

La Côte d'Ivoire est plongée dansune grave crise depuis l'électionprésidentielle du 28 novembre, àla suite de laquelle AlassaneOuattara a été reconnu vainqueurpar la Commission électorale etla quasi-totalité de la com-munauté internationale, tandisque Laurent Gbagbo a été pro-clamé président par le Conseilconstitutionnel qui lui est acquis.Selon le dernier bilan de l'ONU,les violences qui ont marqué lacrise post-électorale ont fait 247morts depuis la mi-décembre.LIRE AUSSI : » Deux mille Cas-ques bleus en renfort en Côte d'I-voire » Les pro-Gbagbo fontmonter la tension à Abidjan



Constitution: le mariage gay à l'examenAFP

Le Conseil constitutionnel exa-minera demain matin la questiondu mariage homosexuel, interditen France alors qu'il est autorisédans plusieurs pays européens.Le 16 novembre, la Cour de cas-sation avait transmis aux Sagesune question prioritaire de cons-titutionnalité (QPC) - instituéepar la réforme de mars 2010 - por-tant sur les articles 75 et 144 ducode civil, qui excluent du ma-riage civil les personnes de mêmesexe.

Dans son arrêt, la haute ju-ridiction avait estimé que cettequestion méritait d'être transmiseau Conseil constitutionnel, lemariage homosexuel faisant "au-jourd'hui l'objet d'un large débatdans la société, en raison, no-

tamment, de l'évolution desmoeurs et de la reconnaissance dumariage entre personnes de mê-me sexe dans les législations deplusieurs pays étrangers"."Aujourd'hui, il paraît in-concevable que la France, qui re-présente la patrie des droits del'Homme, n'ait pas encore ouvertle mariage civil à tous les couplesde femmes ou d'hommes, alorsqu'il l'est dans près de dix pays eu-ropéens, estime l'avocate Ca-roline Mecary, qui représentel'association SOS homophobie etl'Association des parents et futursparents gays et lesbiens (APGL).Le mariage homosexuel est au-torisé aux Pays-Bas, en Belgique,Espagne, Norvège, Suède, Is-lande, au Portugal et au Royau-me-Uni.

Pour cette avocate, "la décision

du Conseil constitutionnel,quelle qu'elle soit, aura à la foisune connotation juridique et po-litique: il s'agit de savoir dansquelle société nous souhaitonsvivre aujourd'hui". Saisis d'unequestion sur l'homoparentalité,les Sages avaient rappelé le 6 oc-tobre qu'en cas d'adoption simple,l'autorité parentale était réservéeaux couples mariés. Mais ilsavaient refusé d'aborder la ques-tion d'"un traitement dis-criminatoire fondé surl'orientation sexuelle". Ils avaienteneffet estiméquecelaaurait con-sisté "à prendre position dans undébat éthique, scientifique et, endéfinitive, politique sur l'ho-moparentalité". Renvoyant laballe au Parlement, ils avaient es-timé qu'il appartenait au lé-gislateur de se prononcer sur unetelle question de société.



Mariage homosexuel : les Sages vont se prononcer

Par Agnès Leclair

Le Conseil constitutionnel doitrépondre mardi à une questionprioritaire de constitutionnalitédéposée par un couple de fem-mes. Un débat passionné.

» Le projet d'union civile divisetoujours les élus UMPLe mariage homosexuel sera-t-ilbientôt autorisé en France ? Mar-di, lors d'une audience publique,le Conseil constitutionnel va sepencher sur ce sujet toujours aus-si polémique depuis le mariage dedeux hommes à Bègles en 2004.En novembre dernier, les Sagesde la ruedeMontpensier ontenef-fet été saisis par la Cour de cas-sation d'une question prioritairede constitutionnalité concernantles articles 75 et 144 du Code civilqui excluent du mariage les per-sonnes de même sexe. Cette pro-cédure permet à un justiciable desaisir les Sages par le biais d'uneaction en justice.

Dans son arrêt, la cour a soulignéque le mariage homosexuel fai-sait aujourd'hui «l'objet d'un largedébat dans la société, en raison,notamment, de l'évolution desmurs et de la reconnaissance dumariage entre personnes de mê-me sexe dans les législations deplusieurs pays étrangers». Au-jourd'hui, huit pays européens -les Pays-Bas, la Belgique, l'Es-

pagne, la Norvège, la Suède, lePortugal, l'Islande et le Royau-me-Uni - ont autorisé le mariageaux couples de personnes du mê-me sexe.Cliquez sur l'aperçu pour agran-dir l'infographie.

À l'origine de cette demande, uncouple de femmes, Corinne etSophie, qui partagent leur vie de-puis une quinzaine d'années. L'u-ne est pédiatre, l'autre professeurd'anglais. Quatre enfants viventdans leur foyer.L'aînéest issu d'u-ne première union de l'une desdeux femmes et les trois autresont été conçus par inséminationartificielle en Belgique. «C'estpour eux que le couple souhaites'unir officiellement. Il ne s'agitpas d'un combat militant, avanceleur avocat, maître EmmanuelLudot. Elles veulent renforcer lacohésion familiale, partager lesresponsabilités parentales. Mesclientes mènent une vie très clas-sique, très réglée, dans une petitville près de Reims. Au début, el-les ont été considérées comme despestiférées. Aujourd'hui, tous leshabitants sont à leurs côtés et sepassionnent pour le débat.»

Pour plaider leur cause, maîtreEmmanuel Ludot a choisi d'at-taquer la question sous un nouvelangle. «Il ne s'agit pas de de-mander au Conseil cons-titutionnel s'il se prononce pour

ou contre le mariage ho-mosexuel. Il faut être plus fin»,estime le pénaliste. Ce dernier adoncsaisi lesSages sur deuxpoin-ts : «Le juge, garant des libertésindividuelles et notamment de laliberté de contracter, a-t-il le pou-voir d'autoriser ou non le mariagede deux personnes adultes et res-ponsables ?» La réponse peut dif-ficilement être négative, espèreMe Ludot. Si sa stratégie fon-ctionne, la question del'autorisation du mariage ho-mosexuel devrait être tranchée aucas par cas par les procureurs de laRépublique. Par ricochet, l'e-xécutif se verrait alors contraintde légiférer. Son deuxième ar-gument est plus classique : «LaFrance n'enfreint-elle pas la con-vention internationale des droitsde l'homme qui assure à tous ledroit de se marier et de fonder unefamille ?»

Pas de coup d'éclatL'avocat mise aussi beaucoup surle calendrier. Le Conseil cons-titutionnel devra rendre son dé-libéré avant trois mois, à près d'unan des élections présidentielles de2012. Une opportunité rêvée pourpolitiser le débat et le médiatiser.En 2004, les Français s'étaientpassionnés par les mariés de Bè-gles, unis par le député maire VertNoël Mamère. Le mariage avaitensuite été annulé par la Cour decassation.



Continuação: Mariage homosexuel : les Sages vont se prononcer

Reste à connaître la décision desSages. Déjà interrogés sur l'a-doption au sein des couples ho-mosexuels, ils n'ont pas fait decoup d'éclat et ont renvoyé le pro-blème au législateur en octobredernier. «On peut penser que leConseil constitutionnel va agirde la même manière et ne se sentpas véritablement autorisé à jouerle rôle d'une Cour suprême»,analyse Me Caroline Mécary, quia transmis aux Sages un mémoireen intervention volontaire pourl'Association des parents et futursparents gays et lesbiens (APGL)et SOS homophobie. Une porteest ouverte. Peut-être sera-t-ellevite refermée.»

La question est désormais entreles mains de Jean-Louis Debré,Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, MichelCharasse, Guy Canivet... ou en-core Jacques Chirac.

Le projet d'union civile divisetoujours les élus UMPLors de la campagne pré-sidentielle de 2007, NicolasSarkozy s'était montré favorable àl'instauration de nouveaux droitspour les homosexuels : égalitéavec les couples hétérosexuels«sur le plan fiscal, patrimonial etsuccessoral», création d'un statutde beau-parent pour que les fa-milles homoparentales puissents'organiser.

Sans aller jusqu'à se prononcer enfaveur du mariage homosexuel,

le candidat de l'UMP avait éga-lement proposé un équivalent dumariage pour les couples com-posés de personnes du même sexe: l'union civile, célébrée en mai-rie. «Sur ces sujets, NicolasSarkozy n'est pas conservateur»,résume-t-on au Cercle de réf-lexion gay de l'UMP, Gaylib. Sesprises de position marquent en ef-fet une rupture avec la droite tra-ditionnelle.

Associations militantesAinsi, en mars 2009, c'était leclash entre Christine Boutin,alors ministre du Logement, etNadine Morano, secrétaire d'Étatà la Famille. Au centre du conflit :la mention des enfants vivant«dans un foyer composé de deuxadultes du même sexe» dans l'a-vant-projet de loi de Nadine Mo-rano sur le statut du beau-parent.Il s'agit d'une reconnaissance dé-tournée de l'adoption par lescouples homosexuels, s'agacealors la députée connue pour sespositions anti-pacs. Depuis, ledossier est repris par Jean Leo-netti, un député proche deJean-François Copé.

Au sein de l'UMP, des positionsantagonistes s'affrontent. La mé-diatique Nadine Morano s'est dé-clarée en faveur d'un «cadrelégal» pour les mères porteuses etd'une signature du pacs en mairie.Roselyne Bachelot, aujourd'huiministre des Solidarités, avait ar-demment défendu le pacs contre

lesmembres deson groupe.Le dé-puté Hervé Mariton plaide pourune vision plus classique de la fa-mille et se pose en défenseur dumariage. Christian Vanneste a,pour sa part, été condamné en2005 pour injures homophobes.Un militant UMP favorable aumariage homosexuel explique :«Nous avons pris le départ d'Em-manuelle Mignon, conseiller au-près du président de laRépublique, comme un signe dé-favorable.» Cette dernièrerecevait régulièrement les as-sociations militantes dumouvement gay. À présent, ellescomptent plutôt sur Carla Bru-ni-Sarkozy pour faire avancer lacause homo.

«Personne n'imagine que NicolasSarkozy va s'avancer sur ce ter-rain glissant avant la prochaineprésidentielle, souffle-t-on àl'UMP. S'il devait le faire, ce se-rait plutôt au cours d'un deuxièmemandat afin de laisser une tracesur un thème de société fort.»

LIRE AUSSI :

» Les mariages homosexuels blo-qués en Californie» L'Argentine légalise le mariagehomosexuel» Le parlement portugais autorisele mariage gay



Tunisie/présidentielle: Marzouki candidatAFPL'opposant historique tunisienMoncef Marzouki a annoncé au-jourd'hui sa candidature à la pré-sidentielle en Tunisie prévuedans deuxmoisàla suite dela chu-te du président Zine El AbidineBen Ali, dans une interview àFrance Info."Je serai effectivement candidat"

à l'élection présidentielle, a dé-claréMarzouki, dirigeant du Con-grès pour la république (CPR),parti de la gauche laïque interditsous le régime Ben Ali. Au pou-voir depuis 23 ans, Zine El Abi-dine Ben Ali a fui son paysvendredi après un mois de ma-nifestations réprimées dans lesang.

Le Conseil constitutionnel tu-nisien a proclamé "la vacance dé-finitive du pouvoir" et lanomination de Foued Mebazaa,président du Parlement, au postede président de la République parintérim. Selon la Constitution,des élections présidentielle et lé-gislatives doivent être organiséesdans un délai de 60 jours.



Pharmacie : faut-il avoir peur de la chimie ?Par Jean-Luc Nothias

La réponse de Henri Phi-lippe-Husson, nouveau présidentde l'Académie nationale de phar-macie.

Les phénomènes vitaux sont régispar des réactions chimiques et lachimie se retrouve dans tous lesproduits dont nous nous servonsquotidiennement tels que les ma-tières plastiques, lesproduitsd'en-tretien, les textiles, les matériauxde construction, l'électronique etbien sûr les médicaments. Pour-tant, la chimie fait l'objet au-jourd'hui de nombreusesréserves. Pour autant, peut-ons'en passer, notamment pour noussoigner?Henri Philippe-Husson, le nou-veau président de l'Académie na-tionale de pharmacie.La commercialisation de l'as-pirine, en 1899, marque le débutdu développement des grandesclassesdemédicamentsactuels is-sus de la chimie organique. Lesplantes continuent cependant àenrichir l'arsenal thérapeutiquejusqu'à nos jours. Par exemple,les dérivés anticancéreux de l'ifproviennent de la transformationchimique d'une molécule inactiveprésente dans les aiguilles de ceconifère. À la fin du siècle der-nier, les progrès de la science ontapporté un nombre croissant demédicaments dits biologiques is-sus des biotechnologies. Leurs

principes actifs proviennent demanipulations génétiques per-mettant à des bactéries de pro-duire des substances tropcomplexes pour le chimiste tellesque l'insuline utilisée dans le trai-tement du diabète, l'hormone decroissance, les inducteurs de l'o-vulation dans le cadre de la pro-création médicalement assistéeou des composés pour le trai-tement de certaines maladies dusang (hémophilie, cancers).

Applications inattenduesLa plupart de ces produits sontdes progrès considérables pourles patients atteints de maladiesgraves ou rares. Ces substancesreprésentent le cinquième desnouveaux médicaments mis surle marché.Mais leur puissante ac-tivité thérapeutique induit sou-vent des effets indésirablesimportants et ils affichent un prixde traitement quelquefois très éle-vé de l'ordre de dizaines de mil-liers d'euros par an pour lesproduits les plus récents utilisésdans des maladies chroniques. Cecoût dû à une recherche onéreuseet à un processus de fabricationcomplexe est sans comparaisonavec celui des molécules issuesde la chimie. C'est pourquoi lesmédicaments chimiques restentd'actualité. On estime que près dela moitié des médicaments ac-tuels sont des produits naturels ouleurs dérivés dont les propriétésont été améliorées par voie chi-

mique. Le reste des médicamentsest purement synthétique, c'es-t-à-dire le fruit de l'imaginationdu chimiste. Les armoires des la-boratoires de chimie regorgent demilliers de produits qui n'ont pasété évalués à la lumière des nou-velles découvertes de la biologieet l'on peut imaginer que des mo-lécules simples et peu coûteusestrouveront des applications inat-tendues. L'exemple de la tha-lidomide est à cet égard instructif.Ce composé mis sur le marchédans les années 1950 dans denombreux pays et utilisé, entreautres, contre les nausées de lafemme enceinte a été abandonné àcause des malformations im-portantes qu'il provoquait chezles nouveau-nés. Mais, au-jourd'hui, de nouvelles propriétésontété découvertespour cette mo-lécule maudite: la thalidomide estactive contre certaines formes delèpre et un cancerdu sang, le myé-lome.

La meilleure connaissance desmaladies, les progrès de la bio-logie et de l'informatique per-mettent de concevoir de manièrerationnelle de nouveaux mé-dicaments chimiques dont ladécouverte fut longtemps le fruitd'un heureux hasard ou d'ob-servations pertinentes. La con-ception des médicaments contrele sida en est un exemple récent.L'étude de la constitution du vi-rus et de son mode de mul-



Continuação: Pharmacie : faut-il avoir peur de la chimie ?

tiplication a permis la mise aupoint des médicaments chi-miques utilisés dans latrithérapie. La recherche d'unvaccin, solution définitive pourcertaines affections mi-crobiennes, virales ou pa-rasitaires, est souvent un parcoursdifficile. Le traitement par dessubstances chimiques reste pourle moment le seul remède contrele paludisme et le sida. Une voiede recherche prometteuse con-siste à concevoir des moléculeschimiques simples pour rem-

placer des molécules d'originebiologique. Des résultats in-téressants ont été obtenus dans ledomaine des anticoagulants pres-crits à titrepréventif à la suite d'in-terventions chirurgicales.

Médicaments très actifsLa chimie apportera encore desmédicaments très actifs, d'u-tilisation sûre et relativement peucoûteux pour les traitements lesplus courants. Cependant, la misesur le marché de nouveaux bio-médicaments ne cessera de croî-

tre pour des pathologies pourlesquelles aucun traitement n'e-xistait. Même si certains resterontdes médicaments d'exception ounon accessibles aux pays du tier-s-monde. Le déclin des mé-dicaments chimiques et desdérivés de produits naturels n'estdonc pas pour demain ; rappelonsque la morphine d'origine mil-lénaire ou l'aspirine et le pa-racétamol plus que centenairesont encore de beaux jours devanteux.



Mirror wins costs ruling in Naomi Campbell caseUK

Miss Campbell objected to thepublication of pictures of her lea-ving drug addiction treatment in2001

Related stories

Naomi Campbell wins privacycase

No win, no fee reforms proposed

The European Court of HumanRights has found the Mirrors rig-ht to freedom of expression was

violated by the "success fee" ithad to pay when it lost a privacycase brought by Naomi Cam-pbell. In 2004, the Law Lordsfound the paper had breached thesupermodels privacy in an articleabout herdrug addiction. The EC-HR ruled the £1m costs the paperhad to pay, which were partlylawyers "success fees", were dis-proportionate. The Mirror willnow have to discuss com-pensation with the government.The government is already con-sidering changes to the system af-

ter a review by Lord JusticeJackson in 2010 recommendedlawyers in "no win, no fee" civilcases should no longer have a"success fee" paid by the de-fendants, but should get a share ofdamages.

At the time he said the system wasnot benefiting the public, withfees to lawyers sometimes morethan 1,000% of damages. The re-port suggested a 25% limit on theshare of damages paid to lawyersin a successful claim.



Former Haitian Dictator Taken Away by PoliceAMERICAS

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Hai-tian police officers on Tuesdaytook away Jean-Claude Duvalier,the former dictator who abruptlyreturned to this country nearly 25years after being forced frompower, leading him out of the hig-h-end hotel where he has beenhuddled since his arrival.Surrounded by heavily armed po-lice officers, Mr. Duvalier emer-ged from his room at noon in ablue suit and walked down threeflights of stairs, never letting goof his girlfriend"s hand as he wa-ved to as supporters chanting hisname and calling him "pre-sident.""We are with you," some sup-porters shouted as police officersled Mr. Duvalier out of the backof the hotel. With United Nationspeacekeepers standing by, policeofficers put him and several of hisassociates into a waiting vehicleand drove off. Small clusters ofhis supporters outside the hotelcried "revolution." Hunks of con-crete were thrown into the con-voy"s path.The police did not indicate whereMr. Duvalier was being taken,but it appeared he was beingbrought in for questioning andwas not under arrest. Though hehas previously faced threats ofprosecution for the many humanrights abuses committed duringhis rule and for the hundreds ofmillions of dollars the go-vernment says he looted from the

treasury, one Haitian official saidHaiti since a contested pre-sidential election late last year.One year after the nation was hitby a devastating earthquake thatkilled more than 200,000 people,the country has been grappling toabsorb the potentially des-tabilizing blow of Mr. Duvalier"ssurprise return this week, whichdrew condemnations fromaround the world and ignited newfears of conflict.Mr. Duvalier, known as BabyDoc, returned to Haiti 24 yearsand 11 months after he was forcedto flee the country by a tide of so-cialupheavaldriven by severe po-verty and his regime"s brutalpolitical repression. In a brief ra-dio interview, Mr. Duvalier saidhe had returned only to help hiscountry, not to get involved in po-litics. He spent the rest of his firstday back in Haiti out of the publiceye, huddled with his advisersand relatives at a high-end hotelin the mountains overlookingPort-au-Prince, the capital.His silence left Haitians and therest of the world to wonder whatMr. Duvalier was really up to.Neither France, which had gran-ted Mr. Duvalier asylum, nor theUnited States, Haiti"s largest be-nefactor, said they had anythingto do with his return. In fact, bothgovernments said they had beenunaware that Mr. Duvalier hadleft Paris until his flight was closeto landing in Port-au-Prince.

The Haitian government - in di-sarray since the earthquake - see-med to respond in fits and starts,initially dismissing Mr. Du-valier"s arrival as well within hisrights as a Haitian citizen, and la-ter suggesting that the JusticeMinistry had begun an in-vestigation into his return.Angry reactions poured in fromaround the world, with humanrights groups demanding that theHaitian government charge Mr.Duvalier with crimes against hu-manity - including the kid-napping, torture and murder ofthousands of his opponents - andwith stealing hundreds of mil-lions of dollars from the nation,the poorest in the hemisphere."Duvalier"s return to Haiti shouldbe for one purpose only: to facejustice,"José Miguel Vivanco, di-rector of Human Rights Wat-ch"s Americas division, said in astatement.On the streets here, however, the-re were signs that Mr. Duvalier"sarrival had started a new cycle ofthe polarization that has crippledthis country for decades. Somedecried Mr. Duvalier as a vestigeof one of the darkest chapters inthe country"s history, while ot-hers waxed nostalgic about himas the onlyhopefor change inHai-ti.In an interview with The As-sociated Press, Bobby Duval, aformer soccer star, said he hadbeen starved and tortured for 17



Continuação: Former Haitian Dictator Taken Away by Police

months while being held withoutcharges under Mr. Duvalier"s go-vernment.Calling Mr. Duvalier a "mur-derous thief," Mr. Duval said, "Acountry that has no memory willrepeat its same mistakes."But there were different opinionsin some of the tent camps that ha-ve become home to one millionpeople displaced by the ear-thquake, where many have be-come so desperate that they arewilling to pin their hopes on justabout anyone.

Reporting was contributed byRandal C. Archibold from Me-xico City, Katrin Bennhold fromParis, Alice Speri from Por-t-au-Prince, and Deborah Sontagfrom New York.

(Page 2 of 2)"Haiti has never had the perfectleader," said Bernadette Brudet."Many of them were corrupt.Many of them have blood on theirhands. But with Duvalier, we we-resafe,andour stomachs wereful-l."History records things a bit dif-ferently. The country to whichMr. Duvalier returned on Sundayseems woefully similar to the onehe fled in 1986 - a place plaguedby violent crime and corrupt po-liticians, where people live incrushing poverty and die frompreventable diseases.

Mr. Duvalier ruled Haiti be-ginning in 1971, when he was just19, following the death of his fat-her, François Duvalier, known asPapa Doc. In all, the Duvalierdynasty lasted about three de-cades and was marked by the fa-mily"s brutal repression of itsopponents, with the help of a spe-cial police unit called the TontonsMacoute.Following the younger Mr. Du-valier"s ouster, the country tur-ned on his security forces,slaughtering them by the dozensand even desecrating FrançoisDuvalier"s mausoleum.The devastating earthquake onJan. 12, 2010, stretched this na-tion to its limits once again,making Mr. Duvalier"s stunningreturn a potential breaking point.So far, however, people in Por-t-au-Prince have remained calm.After landing in the capital onSunday, Mr. Duvalier was trea-ted by some like a visiting dig-nitary, according to the Web siteof the Haitian newspaper Le Nou-velliste."I came to put myself at the ser-vice of my country," he wasquoted as saying as he left the pla-ne.Crowds lined his route from theairport and, referring to the na-tion"s dismal conditions, chan-ted, "If Jean-Claude had beenhere, we would never be likethis," the newspaper reported.

Mr. Duvalier and his companion,Véronique Roy, were driven tothe Karibe Hotel in afour-wheel-drive vehicle thatwas escorted by members of theHaitian national police and fol-lowed by a "procession," thenewspaper said.Reporters campedoutside the Ka-ribe all day on Monday, while asteady stream of friends and re-latives dropped in to visit.A Duvalier aide, Henry RobertSterlin, said he did not know howlong Mr. Duvalier planned to stayin Haiti, or if he planned to meetwith Haiti"s president, René Pré-val. A friend of the former dic-tator, who would speak only oncondition of anonymity becausehe was not an official re-presentative, said that Mr. Du-valier would stay for three or fourdays, but that he would like even-tually to resettle in Haiti.Desir Gérard, an elderly cousin,who was one of the visitors at thehotel, told reporters that Mr. Du-valier "is happy to be here," ad-ding, "He was homesick."

« Previous Page 1 2Reporting was contributed byRandal C. Archibold from Me-xico City, Katrin Bennhold fromParis, Alice Speri from Por-t-au-Prince, and Deborah Sontagfrom New York.



Afghan Attorney General Expects Court to VoidElection

KABUL, Afghanistan - Af-ghanistan"s attorney general ex-pressed hope on Tuesday that aspecial court appointed by thepresident to look into electionfraud would throw out the resultsof the country"s parliamentaryelections, and predicted the courtwould delay this week"s plannedinauguration of a new Par-liament.Notes from Afghanistan, Pakis-tan, Iraq and other areas of con-flict in the post-9/11 era. Go to theBlog »Speaking in an interview, Mo-hammed Ishaq Aloko, the at-torney general and a strongsupporter of President HamidKarzai, said his postelection in-vestigation of the September par-liamentary elections uncoveredsuch widespread fraud that the re-sults should be annulled.Although the decision was up tothe special court, he said in-validating the election seemedthe most plausible step.Mr. Aloko said, "Since there isnot enough time before the inau-guration of Parliament for thespecial court to come to its de-cision, there are two options - todelay seating Parliament until thecourt decides, or to inaugurateParliament this week and af-terwards the special court couldremove anyone found guilty offraud and replace them."He said he preferred the first op-

tion, and hoped such a decision bythe court would pave the way fornew elections. "My view and theview of the attorney general"s of-fice is that it should be declaredinvalid, and new elections shouldbe held," he said.The attorney general"s remarkswere a strong indicator of what toexpect from the special court, gi-ven the executive branch"s in-fluence over the five-judge panel.Losing candidates have chal-lenged the election results formonths. They say insecurity andfraud left many Afghans di-senfranchised, particularly in theheavily Pashtun south, the area ofMr. Karzai"s main political baseand where the insurgency hasbeen most intense.It was not clear, however, that thewinning candidates would acceptthe judgment of a special courtwhose legality has been called in-to question by numerous Afghanofficials, international observers,opposition politicians andhuman rights activists.Many ha-ve denounced the court as way forPresident Karzai to re-engineerthe results to get a more sup-portive Parliament.In the view of Afghanistan"s in-ternational backers, which un-derwrote the cost of the electionswith $150 million, the results an-nounced by Afghanistan"selection commissions should befinal.

"It is not up to the attorney generalor the special court to say if theelection is legitimate," said Ah-mad Nader Nadery, head of theFree and Fair Election Foun-dation, an Afghan watchdog or-ganization.Mr. Aloko rejected criticism thatthe special court had no cons-titutional or legal basis for over-turning the elections, and that atmost it could prosecute cases offraud. His office has prepared cri-minal cases based on 245 com-plaints, which have beenpresented to the special court.Despite evident criticism, he in-sisted that he did "not hear oneword from the world com-munity" that the court was un-constitutional.Delaying the Parliament"s inau-guration would give the court thetime it needs to come to a de-cision, Mr. Aloko said, addingthat it need "at most one monthmore." When the court originallyconvened in late December, itsspokesman said it would finish itsdeliberations in two weeks, bymid-January.The special court was appointedby Mr. Karzai, and approved bythe Supreme Court, in the wakeof widespread protests by losingand disqualified candidates. Thepresident has never publiclyacknowledged the election com-missions" certification of the re-sults.



Continuação: Afghan Attorney General Expects Court to Void Election

Even so, activities have alreadybeen under way here this week toprovide orientation for the newParliament members, though itturned out that President Karzaiplans to travel to Russia on theinauguration day, which is sche-duled for Thursday.It is the president"s responsibilityto call the new Parliament to ses-sion. As a result, according to Par-liamentary Affairs MinisterHumayoun Azizi, the presidentwould convene Parliament onSunday, after he returns."As long as there is no final de-cision of the special court, thesemembers will go to Parliamentand start their work," Mr. Azizisaid.However, with Mr. Aloko calling

for elections to be annulled, "itputs the president in a very cu-rious situation - will he inau-gurate it?" said Mr. Nadery of theelection watchdog group. "Oncethey"re in office, there is no cons-titutional procedure for removinga member of Parliament, or re-placing one."On that issue, too, Mr. Aloko di-sagreed, saying the special courtcould remove a member of Par-liament found guilty of fraud andreplace him with the runner-up.He acknowledged that processwould be complex, particularlysince many of the runners-up we-re also accused of fraud in an elec-tion in which one-fourth of thevotes recorded were tossed out bythe elections commissions.

"There was just too much cor-ruption to repair it," Mr. Alokosaid, adding he hoped the courtwould call for annulment, pavingthe way for new parliamentaryelections. "We will learn lessonsfrom this bitter situation, we willbe well-prepared for the nextround of elections."Sediqullah Haqiq, chief judge ofthe five-member court, reachedby telephone, declined to com-ment on the court"s plans, otherthan to say its work was still un-derway. He said the court wouldhave an important announcementto make on Wednesday, butwould not elaborate.



In Knotty State Secrets Case, Justices Ponder TellingLitigants to 'Go Away'

US

WASHINGTON - It has been al-most 60 years since the SupremeCourt last had a hard look at thestate secrets privilege, which canallow the government to shutdown litigation by invoking na-tional security. In the years sincethe attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, thegovernment has invoked the pri-vilege frequently to scuttle cases,saying they would frustrate its ef-forts to combat terrorism.Related Times Topics: State Se-crets Privilege | U.S. SupremeCourtThe privilege was at the center ofan argument at the court on Tues-day. But the justices did not seeminclined to use the opportunity togive the lower courts guidanceabout its contours.The case arose from a 1988 con-tract between the Navy and twocompanies, General Dynamicsand McDonnell Douglas, to de-velop a stealth aircraft called theA-12 Avenger.Three years later, dissatisfiedwith the contractors" progress,the Navy declared them in defaultand demanded the return of $1.35billion.The contractors sued, asking tokeep the money and seeking $1.2billion more. They said theirwork had been frustrated by thegovernment"s failure to shareclassified technology. The go-vernment disputed that, but

would not explain why, invokingthe state secrets privilege.An appeals court repeatedly ru-led against the companies, sayingat one point that national securityinterests trumped the companies"rights under the Constitution"sdue-process clause.There was no dispute during theargument on Tuesday that the go-vernment was entitled to invokethe privilege. The question waswhat should have happened whenit did.The two sides also seemed toagree that the answer to that ques-tion could be found in a passage inthe leading state-secrets decision,United States v. Reynolds. Thatdecision, from 1953, dismissed acase brought by the widows ofmen who died when a B-29 bom-ber crashed in Waycross, Ga., du-ring a secret mission.But the court in Reynolds said thecase might have turned out dif-ferently if the government hadbeen using the privilege as a li-tigation shield rather than as asword. Writing for the majority,Chief Justice Fred M. Vinsonsaid that in criminal cases, for ins-tance, it would be un-conscionable to allow thegovernment "to undertake pro-secution and then invoke itsgovernmental privileges to de-prive the accused of anythingwhich might be material to his de-

fense.""Such rationale," Justice Vinsoncontinued, "has no application ina civil forum where the go-vernment is not the moving par-ty."At the argument on Tuesday,Neal K. Katyal, the acting UnitedStates solicitor general, said thegovernment was not the movingparty referred to in Reynolds herebecause of the way the contractwas designed and the way claimsagainst the government must belitigated.Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.told Mr. Katyal that the go-vernment"s proposed approach"is a pretty convenient rule foryou."Justice Elena Kagan agreed,saying "that really does soundlike a tails you win, heads youwin."Carter G. Phillips, a lawyer forthe contractors, said the passagein Reynolds meant that the go-vernment was not free both to de-mand money from his clients andto invoke the privilege when theysought to present a defense.But Justice Stephen G. Breyersaid the statement in Reynolds didnot fit the circumstances of thenew case particularly well."If we accept as a principle of lawwhat was said in Reynolds, a cri-minal case or whatever, and applyit to government contracting,



Continuação: In Knotty State Secrets Case, Justices Ponder Telling Litigants to 'Go Away'

where sophisticated contractorsare perfectly capable of ne-gotiating their own contract, weare not just throwing a monkeywrench into the gears of go-vernment contracting," JusticeBreyer said. "We"re throwing thewhole monkey."Justice Antonin Scalia proposedto resolve the case based on whathe called "the "go away" prin-ciple of our jurisprudence."That principle means, he ex-plained, that the courts should donothing when they cannot de-termine which side is right be-cause of the state-secretsprivilege.

"So to say "go away" meanseverybody keeps the money hehas," Justice Scalia said.Mr. Phillips, representing thecontractors, seemed open to Jus-tice Scalia"s approach. "Maybe tosome extent you could say we"resort of being a little greedy," hesaid, in asking for $1.2 billion ontop of the $1.35 billion his clientshope to keep.Justice Sonia Sotomayor seemedboth intrigued by Justice Scalia"sproposal and uncertain aboutwhether it represented a prin-cipled way to resolve the two con-solidated cases, GeneralDynamics v. United States, No.

09-1298, and the Boeing Com-pany v. United States, No.09-1302. (Boeing has mergedwith and is the corporate suc-cessor to McDonnell Douglas.)"Mr. Phillips," Justice So-tomayor said, "give us a way, areasoned way, to reach the resultJustice Scalia is suggesting, be-cause you are being greedy. Youadmitted it."He did not respond directly, butJustice Kagan expressed doubtsabout having multibillion-dollardisputes turn on the happenstanceof which side was holding the ot-her"s money.



Beyond Hezbollah: What's at Stake in LebanonOPINIÓN

To the Editor:

Re "For Hezbollah, ClaimingVictory Could Be Costly" (newsanalysis, Jan. 14), about the re-cent collapse of the governmentin Lebanon:There is a general malaise in Le-banon rooted in the United Na-tions special tribunal, which isexpected to indict Hezbollahmembers in the assassination of aformer prime minister, Rafik Ha-riri.The tribunal is seenas being spon-sored by Western forces, and the-refore is perceived as a form oflegal hegemony that irritates theLebanese.In addition, the tribunal has lost

much of its credibility among theLebanese people since its in-dictment of four popular Le-banese generals five years ago.Their longimprisonment andsub-sequent release for lack ofevidence inflamed a sense of mis-trust.Lebanese sovereignty is reallywhat is at issue. There is a feelingamong the Lebanese of too muchforeign meddling.Trust must be brought back intothe Lebanese legal system, andthe process of adjudicationandin-vestigation returned to the Le-banese people.I can testify to the validity of theLebanese justice system. I waspresent every day for two years

during the trial resulting from the1990 assassination of my father,the Lebanese leader Dany Cha-moun, his wife, Ingrid, and mytwo brothers, and I witnessed fir-sthand the integrity of the Le-banese Supreme Court.It is overly simplistic for the in-ternational media to make thisrecent collapse of the governmentonly about Hezbollah. It is aboutthe Lebanese struggle for in-dependence, both militarily andideologically.Tracy Chamoun

Boca Raton, Fla., Jan. 14, 2011



Obama Asks for Review of Rules Stifling JobsBUSINESS

Michael Reynolds/European Pressphoto AgencyThe order of President Obama, shown lastmonth, reflects an effort to regain support from

centrist and independent voters.

Michael Reynolds/European Pressphoto Agency

The order of President Obama, shown lastmonth, reflects an effort to regain support from

centrist and independent voters.

WASHINGTON - PresidentObama on Tuesday ordered "agovernmentwide review" of fe-deral regulations to root out those"that stifle job creation and makeour economy less competitive,"but he exempted many agenciesthat most vex corporate America.Add to Portfolio General MotorsCoGo to your Portfolio »The immediate effect is likely tobe more political than sub-stantive.The action was the latest in a se-ries by Mr. Obama to claim theideological center, and in par-ticular to signal to businesses thathe wants to work more closelywith them on policies that couldhelp create jobs.Mr. Obama"s executive orderwould not apply to federal agen-cies created to be largely in-dependent of the White Houseand Congress. That includes tho-se, like the Securities andExchange Commission and Fe-deral Reserve, which currentlyare writing new rules for banks

and other institutions that aremandated by the new law aimedat preventing another financialcrisis.And it includes others like the Fe-deral Communications Com-mission that have sway over largesectors of the economy.The order would cover executivebranch departments that are draf-ting regulations to carry out thenew health care law and en-vironmental rules that also havebeen the focus of intense battles.In an accompanying me-morandum, Mr. Obama em-phasized that regulators shouldbe flexible when it comes to rulesthat would affect small bu-sinesses.The president has made no secretof his desire for détente with bu-sinesses after the fights of the lastfew years. He recently met withabout 20 corporate executives todiscuss ideas for economicgrowth and will speak to the Uni-ted States Chamber of Com-merce on Feb. 7. He also namedWilliam M. Daley, formerly anexecutive of JPMorgan Chase, ashis chief of staff.Mr. Obama announced his exe-cutive order with a column on theop-ed page in The Wall StreetJournal on Tuesday, in which hecalled for "the right balance"between free markets and publicsafeguards against health hazardsand commercial abuses like thosethat gave rise to the financial cri-

sis.More broadly, Mr. Obama"s or-der also reflects his effort to re-gain support from centrist andindependent voters, who will becrucial to his own re-election. Si-milarly, weeks after the midtermelection, he proposed a two-yearpay freeze for civilian federal em-ployees amid pressure from vo-ters and Republicans to reducespending. And he signed on to adeal last month with Republicansthat extended all the Bush-era taxcuts.Republicans leaders generally ap-plauded Mr. Obama"s initiative,even as they pointed out its li-mitations.Business and conservativegroups likewise welcomed it. Butliberal and consumer groups cri-ticized Mr. Obama for echoingsome of the antiregulation rhe-toric of Republicans despite re-cent tragedies - the gulf drillingexplosion, mine accidents andfood poisoning - where they saidbetter regulatory oversight mighthave averted deaths."Large corporations were at thebottom of all of the human da-mage listed above, not becausethey are intrinsically evil but be-cause they cannot be trusted to re-gulate themselves," RenaSteinzor, a law professor and pre-sident of the Center forProgressive Reform, wrote on ablog.Both sides and nonpartisan policy



Continuação: Obama Asks for Review of Rules Stifling Jobs

analysts expressed skepticism,however, that much would comeof Mr. Obama"s order.Recent history gives evidence ofthe legal, procedural and politicalhurdles to removing regulations.Even so, Mr. Obama is followingthe well-worn tracks of pre-sidents going as far back as Ge-rald R. Ford."It is the easiest thing in the worldfor a president or any policymaker to denounce bad re-gulations and not give any spe-cifics," said James Gattuso, asenior research fellow in re-gulatory policy at the HeritageFoundation, a conservative po-licy organization. Still, he added,"I would rather have the presidentdenouncing bad regulations thannot denouncing bad regulations."Mr. Obama"s order is "more of atalking point than a policy," saidRobert E. Litan, vice president forresearch and policy at the Kauf-fman Foundation in Kansas City,Mo., who, as an academic and afederal official in the Carter andClinton administrations has beeninvolved in regulatory policy fordecades.

"Even if you find a rule you don"tlike, and they probably will, thenthey"re going to have to go th-rough rule-making and then it"sgoing to take a year or two or lon-ger," he added. "And then so-mebody will sue them; if it"s notanother industry it will be a con-sumer interest group or aRepublican interest group."He recalled that one of RonaldReagan"s first acts as presidentwas to win repeal of a re-quirement for airbags that carmakers loathed. The insurance in-dustry sued, arguing that airbagssaved lives and medical costs, andwon in the Supreme Court.In his op-ed, Mr. Obama cited anagreement on vehicle fuel-e-conomy standards that his ad-ministration brokered withautomakers, unions, state of-ficials and environmentaladvocates as an example of hownegotiations can resolve con-flicts.That deal, however, was possiblelargely because General Motorsand Chrysler had little if any le-verage; they were in bankruptcyand getting a bailout. Automakers

returned to profitability last yearand now are fighting fuel eco-nomy and emissions rules sche-duled for 2017.On the environmental front, theObama administration is also mo-ving ahead with new regulationson greenhouse gas emissionsfrom power plants and refineries,buthas saidit would do so inacos-t-effective and common-senseway.For a time after the financial crisisin 2008, deregulation talk was notin fashion. But last summer cor-porate groups mounted a strongantiregulation campaign even asCongress debated tighter res-trictions on activities that con-tributed to the crisis.In a letter sent to the ad-ministration, the chairmen of theBusiness Roundtable and the Bu-siness Council identified"government initiatives that willcause slower rather than fastergrowth." Among the re-commendations was one to loo-sen immigration limits to admitmore skilled foreign workers.



European court deals blow to no-win-no-fee legaldeals in Naomi Campbell case

Today's European Court ofHuman Rights judgment fol-lows a marathon legal battle byMirror Group Newspapers stret-ching back to 2001, when NaomiCampbell successfully sued theDaily Mirror for invasion of pri-vacy.

The European Court of HumanRights today unanimously ruledthat the recovery of success feesby lawyers in privacy and de-famation cases represents a sig-nificant violation of freedom ofexpression, in a case brought bythe publisher of the Daily Mirror.

In a judgment that is likely to havesignificant ramifications for fu-ture privacy and libel cases in theUK, the Strasbourg court ruled infavour of Mirror Group News-papers, finding that the "depthand nature of the flaws" in theno-win-no-fee payments systemis in breach of the European con-vention on human rights.

Today's ECHR judgment followsa marathon legal battle by MGN

stretching back to 2001, when theDaily Mirror lost a case broughtby Naomi Campbell for invasionof privacy, breach of confidenceand breach of the Data ProtectionAct after it published an articleand photographs of her leaving aNarcotics Anonymous meeting.

However, the ECHR ruled thatthere was no breach of the DailyMirror's freedom of expression inthe earlier UK court judgmentthat the paper had invaded Cam-pbell's privacy.

The model was initially suc-cessful in her battle with the paperbut a court of appeal later over-turned that ruling. Then, in 2004,the House of Lords found by amajority of three to two that Cam-pbell's privacy was invaded bythe Trinity Mirror-owned paper.

The result of the appeals was thatthe Daily Mirror was faced with atotal bill for £850,000 for the twoappeals, of which £365,000 re-presented success fees - althoughthe newspaper reached a set-

tlement on costs for a total of£500,000.

Strasbourg today said that the re-quirement to pay Campbell's suc-cess fees was "disproportionate".

"The court considers that the re-quirement that the applicant paysuccess fees to the claimant wasdisproportionate having regard tothe legitimate aims sought to beachieved and exceeded even thebroad margin of appreciation ac-corded to the government in suchmatters," the court judgmentsaid.

More details soon...

? To contact the MediaGuardiannews desk email [email protected] orphone 020 3353 3857. For all ot-her inquiries please call themain Guardian switchboard on020 3353 2000.

? If you are writing a commentfor publication, please markclearly "for publication".



Straw and Davis unite against prisoners' voting rightsLabour's former justice secretaryJack Straw joined forces with se-nior Tory David Davis to secure aCommons vote on the con-troversial issue of prisoners' rightto vote.

Plans to give prisoners the voteare to be debated by MPs as partof a cross-party backbench bid toblock the move.

Labour's former justice secretaryJack Straw joined forces todaywith senior Conservative DavidDavis to secure a Commons voteon the controversial issue.

Prime minister David Cameron islikely to face a revolt from hisbackbenchers.

Ministers claim they will facecompensation claims worth tensof millions of pounds if they donot change the law following a ru-ling by the European Court ofHuman Rights (ECHR). Theyplan to give any prisoner servingless than four years a vote in Wes-tminster and European elections.

Straw and Davis see the issue as atest of authority between par-liament and the ECHR. They ho-pe the debate will embolden the

government to defy the court.

Straw, who delayed respondingto the ECHR ruling when he wasthe responsible minister underGordon Brown, denied that hewas trying to cause trouble for thegovernment.

"This is a really tricky issue - I hadto handle it for three years in theknowledge that there was no ma-jority in the House of Commonsfor change at that time," he said.

"If I was secretary of state KenClarke I would actually welcomethisdebatebecause it would stren-gthen my hand for dealing withStrasbourg."

Straw added: "One of the main ar-guments of the Strasbourg courtis that there has not been a sub-stantive debate on the policy.What we are saying is let's havean early debate on the policynow."

Davis, the former shadow homesecretary, described the ECHR'sattempt to dictate to the Britishparliament as a "crisis".

"We've got a crisis here which hasbeen brought about by the court

extending its own power, tryingto overrule in effect a par-liament," he said.

"It's for parliament to stand up andsay 'no, this is our decision, notyours' and then for the go-vernment togo back andseekaso-lution."

He added: "I yield to no one in mydefence of human rights, but gi-ving rapists the vote is not humanrights."

Straw and Davis secured the de-bate after making a pitch this af-ternoon to the new backbenchbusiness committee, which hasset allocations of time for non-go-vernmental debates. A date hasnot yet been set but it will not bebefore early February.

Prison reform campaigners cri-ticised MPs' attempts to preventinmates getting the vote. JulietLyon, director of the Prison Re-form Trust, said: "It is almost im-possible to understand why twosenior politicians from differentsides should form an unholy al-liance to block people in prisonfrom behaving responsibly."



Haiti urged to arrest "Baby Doc" amid unrest fearsBy Joseph Guyler Delva and Al-lyn Gaestel

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) -Rightsgroups demandedon Mon-day that Haiti arrest former dic-tator Jean-Claude Duvalier forcrimes against humanity after hissurprise return from 25 years inexile, which strained an edgy po-litical atmosphere in the volatileCaribbean state.

Analysts said the arrival in Por-t-au-Prince on Sunday of "BabyDoc" Duvalier, who fled his ho-meland in 1986 to escape a po-pular revolt, could onlycomplicate the climate of ner-vous uncertainty inearthquake-battered Haiti.

Tensions in the impoverished na-tion are running high after chaoticand inconclusive November 28elections.

"Duvalier's return to Haiti shouldbe for one purpose only: to facejustice," Jose Miguel Vivanco,Americas director of U.S.-basedHuman Rights Watch, said in astatement.

Human Rights Watch and Am-nesty International said Duvalier,59, should be brought to trial forthe killings and torture of thou-sands of opponents at the handsof the thuggish Tonton Macoutesmilitia during his 15 years in

power.

Amnesty called those acts "cri-mes against humanity."

Responding to the demands forDuvalier's arrest, Haitian PrimeMinister Jean-Max Bellerive saidthe government was "not at ease"with the former dictator's return.

But he added that since Haiti'sconstitution bans exile, Duvalierhad the right to return to his ho-meland, even though his di-plomatic passport issued in 2005had expired.

"If there are judicial proceduresagainst him, the justice systemwill have to do what it has to do,"Bellerive said.

He told reporters there were "on-going judicial issues" betweenthe government and Duvalier.

Haitian authorities in the past ha-ve accused Duvalier and his clanof plundering state coffers of se-veral hundred million dollars andhiding the money abroad. Therehave been moves in Swiss courtsto recover some of the money.

The return of Duvalier was a cau-se of concern for Caribbean Com-munity ministers meeting inGeorgetown, Guyana.

"The return of Baby Doc could be

an unwelcome distraction in thecurrent volatile situation and justwhen the international com-munity is trying desperately tosustain the fragile security gainsin recent years," Grenada's mi-nister of state for foreign affairs,Deneth Modeste, said.

Reactions in Haiti ranged fromdelight among old Duvalierists,anger from victims of his rule andspeculation his visit was somekind of distraction tactic in thecurrent political crisis.

"It is sad to see people cheering'Long live Duvalier!' ... It was afierce dictatorship. Duvalier mustpay for all those crimes," saidPierre Esperance, a local humanrights activist.World Natural Disasters

By Joseph Guyler Delva and Al-lyn Gaestel

France's ambassador to Haiti, Di-dier Le Bret, said he hoped Du-valier would return to France "assoon as possible" so as not to jeo-pardize Haiti's alreadycontroversial electoral process.

INVITATION FROM 'FRIEN-DS'

At a hotel in Port-au-Prince's Pe-tionville district where Duvalierand his French wife, VeroniqueRoy, were staying, the ex-dic-



Continuação: Haiti urged to arrest "Baby Doc" amid unrest fears

tator received old friends and for-mer officials. Indian U.N. policeguarded the entrance to the hotel.

It was not immediately clear howlong Duvalier would stay, al-though some reports said he plan-ned only a short visit.

"We his friends asked him to co-me because we wanted to seehim," Henry Robert Sterling, Du-valier's former ambassador toFrance, told reporters.

Hundreds of supporters were atthe airport on Sunday to greet Du-valier, who flew on an Air Franceflight from Paris.

As a chubby playboy and the wor-ld's youngest head of state at 19,Duvalier assumed power in Haitiin 1971 on the death of his father,feared dictator Francois "PapaDoc" Duvalier. "Baby Doc" con-tinued the Duvalier dynasty, whi-ch inspired fear and loathingamong many, until goinginto exi-le in France in 1986.

Duvalier said on Sunday he hadreturned to show solidarity withthe people of Haiti, the pooreststate in the Western Hemisphere,which is grappling with a choleraepidemic and struggling to re-cover from a devastating 2010

earthquake. He said he wanted toparticipate in Haiti's "rebirth."

Analysts said his return could notcome at a worse time for Haiti,which is on edge after confusedlegislative and presidential elec-tions in November. Preliminaryvoting results have triggeredfraud allegations and violentstreet protests.

"As if Haiti's politics weren't tur-bulent enough already, the pre-sence of the former dictator islikely to arouse strong passionsacross the political spectrum,"said Michael Shifter, president ofthe Washington-based In-ter-American Dialogue.

OAS CHIEF VISITS

Shifter said Duvalier's reap-pearance could prompt anothercontroversial former president,firebrand ex-Roman Catholicpriest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, totry to return from his exile inSouth Africa. Aristide fled an ar-med rebellion in 2004.

Bellerive said Aristide could alsoreturn if he wanted.

Duvalier had faced accusations ofcorruption and human rightsabuses when he fled the country

in 1986 during massive street pro-tests and diplomatic pressurefrom Washington.

Duvalier's return adds a divisivefigure to Haiti's politics, just daysafter it commemorated the firstanniversary of the 2010 quakethat killed more than 300,000people.

The outcome of the U.N.-backedNovember 28 elections is up inthe air after Organization of Ame-rican States experts last week de-livered a report to outgoingPresident Rene Preval chal-lenging preliminary officialresults.World Natural Disasters

By Joseph Guyler Delva and Al-lyn Gaestel

Preval has said he has re-servations about the met-hodology of the OAS report hehimself requested. It re-commends Preval protege JudeCelestin be eliminated from a se-cond-round runoff in favor ofpopular musician Michel Mar-telly.

OAS Secretary-General Jose Mi-guel Insulza traveled to Haiti onMonday for talks with Preval,who has been accused by op-



Continuação: Haiti urged to arrest "Baby Doc" amid unrest fears

ponents of rigging the elections.

The OAS report, which said therewere significant vote tally ir-regularities, confirmed op-position matriarch MirlandeManigat as the candidate withmost first-round votes. She re-mains in the runoff but it is un-

clear when it will be held.

Haiti's Provisional ElectoralCouncil, the elections authority,must decide whether to accept theOAS recommendation to includeMartelly and drop Celestin in therunoff.

(Additional reporting by NeilMarks in Georgetown, PascalFletcher in Miami; Writing byPascal Fletcher; Editing by PeterCooney)1 2 3 World Natural Disasters



Sudan arrests opposition leader Turabi, eight othersBy Opheera McDoom

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Su-danese security forces on Tues-day arrested opposition leaderHassan al-Turabi and eight otherparty officials after they calledfor a"popular revolution" ifKhar-toum did not reverse price rises.

Turabi's arrest comes at a po-litically sensitive time for the go-vernment of President OmarHassan al Bashir, who stands tolose control over the oil-pro-ducing south which last week vo-ted in an independencereferendum.

It also comes as Tunisia grappleswith fallout from the ouster of itslong-time president Zine al-A-bidine BenAli,who fled the coun-try on Friday after three weeks ofviolent unrest sparked by socialgrievances.

Sudan's opposition threatened onSunday to take to the streets if thegovernment did not remove its fi-nance minister and dismantle par-liament over the decision to raiseprices on a range of goods.

"This is criminal - how can theyarrest a man who is 78 years oldandputhim inprison?We are sca-red for him," Turabi's tearful wifeWisal al-Mahdi told Reuters.

Ben Ali's overthrow in Tunisia

has reverberated across the Arabworld, raising concerns about sta-bility in other countries in the re-gion which share the same mix ofsocial, economic and politicalproblems.

Sudan's price increases havesparked student protests in thecountry's northern agriculturalheartland and Khartoum.

The country is grappling with acurrent account deficit and a cur-rency devaluation that is drivingup inflation.

This month Khartoum cut sub-sidies on petroleum products andkey commodity sugar, promptingprotests over the past week, quel-led only by baton-wielding policefiring teargas.

Islamist leader Turabi has been inand out of jail since his split fromBashir's ruling party in1999/2000.

Security forces blocked Turabi'sroad and five police cars full ofheavily armed forces escortedhim away as his watching familycried "God is Greatest", two wit-nesses said.

Two party officials told Reutersthat nine mid- to high-rankingmembers of Turabi's PopularCongress Party (PCP) had beentaken from their homes in early

morning raids.

Khartoum has long feared Tu-rabi's influence, believing manyof his supporters still remain inkey positions of the army and se-curity services.

The Sudanese Media Center, anews agency with close links toSudan's feared intelligence ser-vice, said Darfur rebels arrestedlast week had given new evidenceof Turabi's support for them.

Turabi has never denied advisingDarfur's insurgents but says hehas not armed or supported them.The conflict in Sudan's west erup-ted in early 2003 with rebels de-manding a better share of wealthand power.World Tunisia

By Opheera McDoom

The International CriminalCourt issued an arrest warrant forPresident Omar Hassan al-Bashirfor war crimes and genocide du-ring a brutal counter-insurgencycampaign in the region, chargesBashir denies.

Turabi is usually arrested duringtimes of difficulty for the go-vernment, mostnotably after Dar-fur rebels launched anunprecedented attack on the ca-pital in 2008.



Continuação: Sudan arrests opposition leader Turabi, eight others

No charges were brought againsthim.

His party's newspaper was closeddown last year and three staff we-re jailed in trials condemned byrights groups as unfair.

(Editing by Jason Neely)1 2 World Tunisia


18 de janeiro de 2011- Reuters/IN



Demanda peruana cumple tres añosSeñor Director:

El 16 de enero se cumplieron tresaños desdequeel gobierno del Pe-rú presentó ante la Corte In-ternacional de Justicia de La Hayauna demanda por la cual solicitala revisión del límite marítimocon Chile, no obstante que éste seencuentra debidamente de-limitado y demarcado por tra-tados internacionales y ratificadopor declaraciones unilaterales,actas y actos bilaterales, y unapráctica no controvertida por másde medio siglo.

En esa fecha, el Presidente AlanGarcía, en una sesión solemne delCongreso de su país, calificó esainiciativa como una "histórica ac-ción internacional llevada a cabopaso a paso por su gobierno". Re-cordó también queyaen1986, du-rante su anterior gobierno,planteó por primera vez en la his-toria la necesidad de "convenirnuestros límites marítimos".

Como lo señala el embajador pe-ruano Manuel Rodríguez Cua-dros, uno de los principalesartífices de dicha demanda, esagestión ( misión Bákula) no tuvocontinuidad siendo "un hecho ais-lado". Hubo que esperar hasta el

año 2000 para que Perú ofi-cialmente planteara su di-sentimiento de que Perú y Chileya tienen definido su límite ma-rítimo.

Paradójicamente, en noviembredel año anterior (1999), el can-ciller peruano Fernando de Tra-zegnies, al firmarse el Acta deEjecución del Tratado de 1929 yde su Protocolo Com-plementario, instrumentos queconsolidaron jurídicamente y enforma definitiva las fronteras bi-laterales, se congratuló de cómoambos países habían puesto tér-mino a todas sus divergencias li-mítrofes.

Desde que se planteara la de-manda peruana en La Haya nu-merosos acontecimientos deorden jurídico y político han ro-deado la evolución de este caso.

En el plano legal, este litigio seencuentra enpleno desarrollo. Pe-rú, en su Memoria y Réplica, yChile en su Contramemoria, hanpresentado a la Corte do-cumentos que superan las mil pá-ginas, además de múltiplesanexos, para fundamentar sus res-pectivas posiciones. Resta aúnque Chile presente antes del 11 de

julio próximo su Dúplica con locual concluyela faseescritay con-fidencial. Sigue luego la fase oraly pública antes que se dicte la sen-tencia, presumiblemente en elaño 2012 o 2013.

Mientras se desarrollaban estasimportantes etapas procesales,serias tensiones políticas al-teraron la convivencia entre am-bas naciones hasta que los dosgobiernos resolvieron con la lle-gada al poder del PresidentePiñera, en marzo del año pasado,de "encapsular" el tema de LaHaya para no contaminar el restode los promisorios vínculos bi-laterales. En este contexto, se ins-cribe la próxima visita a Chile delPresidente Alan García. Sin duda,este gesto chileno de acoger congran solemnidad al Jefe de Estadodel país demandante, que sigue ala propia visita del Presidente Pi-ñera a Lima poco tiempo antes, notiene muchos precedentes enotras controversias in-ternacionales y genera legítimasaprensiones. Se señala que estaaproximación busca fortalecerlos vínculos bilaterales para con-frontar mejor las reacciones quese producirán cuando se conozcael fallo de La Haya. También pre-tende mantener la buena ve-



Continuação: Demanda peruana cumple tres años

cindad con un país con el cual lahistoria nos legó una contigüidadterritorial. Sólo el tiempo nos dirási la vía escogida de las "cuerdasseparadas" era la más adecuadapara enfrentar en esta complejacoyuntura el intento peruano deobtener una modificación de lafrontera marítima con nuestropaís.

Sólo cabe esperar que la CorteIn-ternacional de Justicia rechace es-ta pretensión peruana que desafíael derecho y que podamos en-tonces genuinamente retomar conel país vecino, sin resquemores,una agenda de futuro. Por ahora,recibamos con nuestra tradicionalhospitalidad al distinguido vi-sitante extranjero.

Jaime Lagos E.

Autor del libro "Los Límites Ma-rítimos con el Perú"



Accoyer engage les députés à «poursuivre lesréformes»

Le président de lAssemblée nationale BernardAccoyer.

Le président de lAssemblée nationale BernardAccoyer.

Par Sophie Huet

Le président de l'Assemblée sou-haite «une année réaliste et ac-tive».

Bernard Accoyer veut faire de2011 «une année réaliste et ac-tive», répondant aux souhaits deNicolas Sarkozy et de FrançoisFillon d'en faire «une année uti-le». Le président de l'Assembléenationale, qui recevait la pressepour les vux, a ajouté : «Nous de-vons poursuivre les réformes à unrythme soutenu. Nous n'avonspas le choix parce que répondreaux priorités des Français est uneexigence sociale et politique, undevoir moral.»

Le député de la Haute-Savoie apourtant montré un certain aga-cement face aux déclarations duministre des Relations avec leParlement, Patrick Ollier, qui n'apas exclu que le Parlement tra-vaille jusqu'à la fin juillet en rai-son d'un ordre du jour surchargé.«L'Assemblée n'est pas de-mandeuse d'une session

extraordinaire» en juillet, mais si«quelques jours» sont «in-dispensables», la décision re-viendra au chef de l'État, arépliqué Accoyer.

Publicité des débatsAfin d'assurer plus de trans-parence aux travaux législatifs, leprésident de l'Assemblée a «sou-haité» l'ouverture à la presse detous les travaux en commission. Ila estimé que cela «s'installera im-manquablement» et que le huisclos deviendra progressivement«l'exception». La publicité desdébats relève de l'appréciationdes bureaux de chaque com-mission, mais toutes les salles decommissions sont peu à peu équi-pées en conséquence. Et la com-mission des affaires culturelles,présidée par Michèle Tabarot,donnera l'exemple ce matin enouvrant pour la première fois à lapresse les débats sur une pro-position de loi socialiste.

Le président de l'Assemblée a te-nu à expliquer que ses rapportsavec Jean-Marc Ayrault, le pré-

sident du groupe PS, «sont re-devenus cordiaux» après lapériode de vive tension au mo-ment du débat sur la réforme desretraites.

«Convaincu que les majorités àvenir ne remettront pas en cause»le nouveau règlement de l'As-semblée, validé par le Conseilconstitutionnel, Bernard Ac-coyer a levé le voile sur de pos-sibles améliorations. L'idée seraitde diviser l'examen d'un texte deloi et d'allouer à chaque parti untemps précis de discussion sur lesarticles clés, en accord entre lamajorité et l'opposition. Une idéetirée des «motions de pro-gramme» en vigueur à la Cham-bre des communes britannique.



Mariage homo: décision des Sages le 28AP Le Conseil constitutionnel a mis cematin sa décision sur le mariage ho-mosexuel en délibéré jusqu'au 28 janvierprochain. Les Sages devaient se prononceren audience publique sur la conformité destextes du Code civil empêchant le mariageentre personnes du même sexe.



Côte d'Ivoire: réunion de la CédéaoAFP

Les chefs d état-major des pays dela Communauté des Etats d'A-frique de l ouest (Cédéao), ont en-tamé mardi à Bamako uneréunion essentiellement con-sacrée à une éventuelle actionmilitaire en Côte d'Ivoire pourchasser Laurent Gbagbo du pou-voir.

Au cours de cette rencontre, 28è-me session ordinaire du comitédes chefs d'état-major de la Cé-déao (CCEM), les responsables

militaires ouest-africains ferontjusqu'à jeudi un tour d'horizon dela situation régionale avec un vo-let entièrement consacré à la Côted'Ivoire.

La Cédéao, qui a suspendu cepays début décembre, a menacéle président sortant LaurentGbagbo d'une intervention mi-litaire s'il ne cédait pas de lui-mê-me le pouvoir à son rivalAlassane Ouattara.

Ce dernier a été reconnu vain-queur de la présidentielle du 28

novembre par la Commissionélectorale ivoirienne et la com-munauté internationale, maisGbagbo, proclamé élu par leConseil constitutionnel de sonpays, a gardé la présidence."Nous sommes là pour dégagerun plan clair si on demande auxmilitaires d intervenir pour ré-tablir la démocratie en Côte dIvoire", a déclaré hier un officierd un pays anglophone participantà la rencontre.LIRE AUSSI : » Deux mille Cas-ques bleus en renfort en Côte d'I-voire



Court fight against sixth form closure in BlaenauGwent

Parents and pupils presented a2,000-name petition opposingthe proposed closure in OctoberRelated stories

Parents fight sixth form closures

Sixth form plans face opposition

A school is taking Welsh As-sembly Government ministers tocourt in a bid to overturn a de-cision to remove its sixth form.Blaenau Gwent council orderedthe closure at Brynmawr Foun-dation School using delegatedpowers. But the school claims theruling should not stand as it hasfoundation status, meaning it isoutside local authority control. Ajudicial review starts later at Car-diff Civil Justice Centre. Thecouncil proposes closing the six-th form at Brynmawr as well assixth forms at Tredegar Com-prehensive and Ebbw Vale Com-prehensive and moving to a newfacility to be run by Coleg Gwent.The plans have been approved bythe council and building work hasalready begun on the site in EbbwVale. But moves to close the sixthform at Brynmawr FoundationSchool have been resisted.

"Start Quote We are optimisticthat the judicial review will pre-serve the rights of parents and stu-dents over the age of 16 to attendthe school of their choice in Blae-nau Gwent" End Quote JamesRetallick Head teacher, Bryn-mawr Foundation School InOctober, parents and pupils pre-sented a 2,000-name petition tothe assembly government op-posing closure. In a statement,head teacher James Retallicksaid: "We are optimistic that thejudicial review will preserve therights of parents and students overthe age of 16 to attend the schoolof their choice in Blaenau Gwen-t." Foundation status gives schoolgoverning bodies more freedomover finances, staffing and se-lection. The Education Minister,Leighton Andrews, has tabled anassembly measure to prevent thecreation of any further foun-dation schools. Under current le-gislation a sixth form in afoundation school can only beclosed by assembly governmentministers.

Legal costs In this case, ministersdelegated the power to make thedecision to Blaenau Gwent coun-cil, a move the school is chal-

lenging. Should the school losethe case it could be liable to paytens of thousands of pounds in le-gal costs. "Start Quote The ar-rangement was made to enablethe council to adopt a holistic ap-proach to post 16 educationprovision in its area" End QuoteWelsh Assembly GovernmentAn assembly governmentspokesperson said: "The Welshministers have the power to con-sult upon and make proposals forthe re-organisation of sixth formsof foundation schools in Wales,such as Brynmawr school. "Localauthorities have the power to con-sult upon and make proposals forthe reorganisation of sixth formsof community schools in theirarea. "On 14 June 2010, the Wel-sh ministers entered into an ar-rangement with Blaenau Gwentcouncil so that the council couldexercise the above Welsh mi-nisters powers in respect of Bryn-mawr school.

"The arrangement was made toenable the council to adopt a ho-listic approach to post 16 edu-cation provision in its area. "Thatarrangement was made under sec-tion 83 of the Government ofWales Act 2006. "Brynmawr



Continuação: Court fight against sixth form closure in Blaenau Gwent

school is claiming that the Welshministers do not have the powerto enter into such an arrangementwith the council. "The Welsh mi-nisters contend that there is no ba-sis for the schools claim and that

the arrangement was lawful andappropriate. "The school is alsoclaiming that the consultation un-dertaken and the proposals madeby the council were unlawful. "T-he council is defending that

claim." Blaenau Gwent councilsaid it would be inappropriate tocomment during the judicial re-view and until a decision has beenmade by the High Court.



El Hadary ordered to pay FifaEl Hadary is serving a four-monthFifa suspensionSwitzerland's supreme courthas ordered Egypt goalkeeperEl Hadary to pay Fifa $12,500in legal costs over his failed ap-peal against a ban for breakinghis contract.

The Swiss Federal Tribunal alsoruled that El Hadary must paycourt costs of 10,000 Swiss fran-cs, in addition to $796,500 com-pensation previously awarded toformer club Al Ahly by the Courtof Arbitration for Sport CAS).

El Hadary has lost several rulingsat Fifa, CAS and the supremecourt since walking out on Al Ah-ly to join Swiss club Sion in2008.

The 38-year-old goalkeeper willcomplete serving a four-monthFifa suspension next month.

El Hadarycan then play for his la-test club, Al-Merreikh of Sudan.

He left Al Ahly suddenly in themiddle of 2008 to join Sion, withthe Cairo club claiming he hadbreached his contract.

The goalkeeper claimed Fifa re-gulations allowed him to makethe switch.

Al Ahly were subsequently of-fered around $400,000 in com-pensation for the remainder of theplayer's contract.

But the Cairo Red Devils stuck totheir guns and refused to sanctionthe transfer.



LRA: Ugandan bishop urges negotiated settlementBy Mike Wooldridge

BBC News, World affairs cor-responden

A Ugandan Church leader whohas played a key role in effortsto bring an end to the conflictinvolving the Lord's ResistanceArmy (LRA) has said militarystrategies are not the answer.

Archbishop John Baptist Odamatold the BBC a negotiated set-tlement was still worth strivingfor.He said efforts were needed to"touch the humanity" of the rebelmovement's leader, JosephKony.The conflict began inUganda before affecting three ot-her countries.Archbishop Oda-ma's call might appear strangegiven the notoriety of the rebelleader's movement - particularlyits reputation for abducting largenumbers of children and usingthem as fighters and sex sla-ves.But the archbishop of the Ro-man Catholic diocese of Gulu innorthern Uganda has been deeplyinvolved in the efforts to bring anend to the conflict.It afflicted aswathe of northern and easternUganda for 20 years before beingexported to the Sudan, the De-mocratic Republic of Congo and

Central African Republic.I spoketo him during a three-day visit heis paying to London to help laun-ch a new report by ConciliationResources on building peaceacross borders.

Mr Kony was a Catholic altar boywho became the leader of a mo-vement that was initially seenprincipally as a bizarre religiouscult.But as its tactics earned it agrowing reputation for ter-rorising the civilian populationand normal life across northernUganda became increasingly dis-rupted, the army stepped up mi-litary operations against MrKony and his forces.ArchbishopOdama and colleagues set up theAcholi Religious Leaders PeaceInitiative, trying to persuade theLRA and the Ugandan go-vernment to reach a peaceful set-tlement of the conflict.Thearchbishop is alsoinvolved inare-gional and more broad-based taskforce working for an alternativeto military strategies for endingthe conflict now that it affectsfour countries.'Conflicting sig-nals'His message is that the trackrecord of military offensivesagainst the LRA demonstratesthat force is not the answer - andthat even thoughanegotiated pea-

ce settlement ultimately failed in2008, it is still worth striving for.

"Governments should learn fromwhat has happened," ArchbishopOdama told me."They should in-vest more in seeking the views ofthe communities. Their role isvery important - they know whohas access to these people."Thearchbishop argues that this will bemore effective than simply crea-ting more conflict."If you say 'Iam going to kill you' and 'I want totalk with you', it is two signals andthey are not easily acceptable," hesaid.He believes that the mainreason the 2008 peace initiativedid not succeed was a failure oftrust. He says Mr Kony was stillvery afraid that he could be ar-rested by the International Cri-minal Court or that he might bekilled, and there were other con-fusing factors that made signingthe peace deal difficult.A recentreport by the Enough Projectsaid: "Erroneous descriptions ofthe LRA as a Christian fun-damentalist group composed ofdrugged children led by a mad-man have led to a profound un-derestimation of the strength andmilitary ability of the LRA."Ar-chbishop Odama, who has metMr Kony face-to-face several ti-



Continuação: LRA: Ugandan bishop urges negotiated settlement

mes in the course of his peaceefforts, adds another dimensionto this."Not enough of his hu-manity was touched to make himcome out more fully instead of

stigmatising and bedevillinghim," he says.The archbishop be-lieves radio broadcasts have a vi-tal role to play in the building oftrust and confidence that he says

offers the greatest chance of pea-ce. But he also warns: "It will notbe quick. Experience has shownthat."



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Solicitor Gareth Peirce spoke toMPs about extradition. Ms Peirceis solicitor for Babar Ahmad, whowas arrested in December 2003.

In November 2006, Mr Ahmed,from Tooting, south-west Lon-don, lost a legal fight to avoid ex-tradition to the United States.

He was accused of running web-sites inciting murder, urging holywar and raising money for the Ta-leban.

Mr Ahmad is being held in LongLartin prison in Worcestershireafter the European Court ofHuman Rights halted his ex-tradition to the US.

In the second part of the session,Policing Minister Nick Herbert



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Ministers in climbdown over prison vote rightsBy Nick Robinson BBC politicaleditor Only prisoners on remandcan currently vote

Related stories

Straw and Davis get prison debateQ&A: UK prisoners right to voteEurope split over prisoner votingThe government is preparing toscale back plans to give the rightto vote to thousands of prisonersserving sentences of under fouryears. Ministers now hope to limitthe right to those sentenced to lessthan a year and are prepared totake the risk of being sued. DavidCameron recently said giving in-mates the vote made him feel "il-l". But he warned that thegovernment faced paying out mo-re than £160m in compensation if

it did not do so. Ministers pro-posed changing the law onprisoners voting rights followinga ruling by the European Court ofHuman Rights. Cameron mee-ting John Hirst, a prisoner con-victed of manslaughter,successfully argued that hishuman rights had been violatedby not being allowed to take partin elections.

But Mr Cameron is now thoughtto accept that the Commons is un-likely to vote for a proposal whichcould involve granting the vote toup to 28,000 prisoners, including6,000 jailed for violentcrime,mo-re than 1,700 sex offenders, morethan 4,000 burglars and 4,300 im-prisoned for drug offences. TheBBC understands that ministers

now hope they will be able to givethe vote only to those prisonerssentenced to serve a year or less.They are aware, however, thatthis policy will be tested in thecourts and that they might loseagain. Even this concession maynot persuade many MPs whowant to make a stand against theStrasbourg court. The Commonswill have the opportunity to defythe courts ruling in a couple ofweeks time when the Commonsdebates a motion tabled by theConservative David Davis andLabours Jack Straw. The primeminister met the executive of the1922 Committee of ConservativeMPs on Wednesday and was leftin no doubt about the strength offeeling on this issue.



House Votes for Repeal of Health Law in SymbolicAct

WASHINGTON -- The Housevoted Wednesday to repeal theDemocrats" landmark health careoverhaul, marking what the newRepublican majority in the cham-ber hailed as the fulfillment of acampaign promise and the start ofan all-out effort to dismantle Pre-sident Obama"s signature do-mestic policy achievement.Multimedia Interactive Map RollCall Vote: House Repeals HealthOverhaul Related Times Topic:Health Care ReformThe vote was 245 to 189, with 3Democrats joining all 242 Re-publicans insupport of the repeal.Leaders of the De-mocratic-controlled Senate havesaidthat they will notact on the re-peal measure, effectively scut-tling it.While conceding that reality,House Republicans said theywould press ahead with their "re-peal and replace" strategy. Butthe next steps will be much moredifficult, as they try to forge con-sensus on alternatives em-phasizing "free market solutions"to control health costs and expandcoverage.Even as four House committeesbegin drafting legislation, Re-publicans said they would seekot-her ways to stop the overhaul, bychoking off money needed to car-ry it out and by pursuinglegislation to undo specific pro-visions, like a requirement for

most Americans to carry healthinsurance or face penalties. Thelaw is also under challenge in thefederal courts, with the individualcoverage requirements fueling aconstitutional battle likely to bedecided by the Supreme Court.The House vote was the first sta-ge of a Republican plan to use theparty"s momentum coming out ofthe midterm elections to keep theWhite House on the defensive,and will be followed by a push toscale back federal spending. Inresponse, the administrationstruck a more aggressive posturethan it had during the campaign tosell the health care law to the pu-blic. With many House De-mocrats from swing districtshaving lost their seats in No-vember, the remainingDemocrats held overwhelminglytogether in opposition to the re-peal.On the House floor, the resultingdebate was a striking reprise ofthe one that engulfed Capitol Hillfromthe spring of 2009 until Mar-ch 2010, when Mr. Obama signedthe health care law.And while the tone was slightlysubdued in the aftermath of the at-tempted assassination of Re-presentative Gabrielle Giffordsin Arizona, the debate showedthat the divisions over the law re-mained as deep as ever.The three Democrats who cros-sed the aisle to support the repeal

were Representatives Dan Borenof Oklahoma, Mike McIntyre ofNorth Carolina, and Mike Ross ofArkansas, all of whom opposedthe law last year.Ms. Giffords, who had supportedthe law, remains hospitalized inArizona and was the only Housemember who did not vote.Republicans denounced the lawas an intrusion by the governmentthat would prompt employers toeliminate jobs, create an un-sustainable entitlement program,saddle states and the federal go-vernment with unmanageablecosts, and interfere with the doc-tor-patient relationship. Re-publicans also said the law wouldexacerbate the steep rise in thecost of medical services."Repeal means paving the wayfor better solutions that will lowerthe cost without destroying jobsor bankrupting our government,"the House speaker, John A. Boeh-ner of Ohio, said. "Repeal meanskeeping a promise. This is whatwe said we would do."Democrats, eager for a secondchance to sell the law, trumpetedthe benefits that have alreadytaken effect. These include pro-tections for people who would ot-herwise be denied insurancecoverage based on a pre-existingmedical condition, the ability forchildren to stay on their parents"policy until age 26, and new taxbreaks for small businesses that



Continuação: House Votes for Repeal of Health Law in Symbolic Act

provide health coverage to theirworkers.Representative John Lewis, De-mocrat of Georgia, said, "It is un-believable that with so manypeople out of work and millionsof people uninsured, the first actof this new Congress is to takehealth care away from peoplewho just got coverage."The health care law, which Con-gress approved last year withouta single Republican in favor,seeks to extend insurance to morethan 30 million people by ex-panding Medicaid and providingfederal subsidies to help lowerand middle-income Americansbuy private coverage.Republican leaders said they hadnot set any timetable for the fourcommittees drafting alternativesto the law. "I don"t know that weneed artificial deadlines for thecommittees to act," Mr. Boehnersaid. "We expect them to act in anefficient way."Republicans said their packagewould probably include pro-posals to allow sales of health in-surance across state lines; to helpsmall businesses band togetherand buy insurance; to limit da-mages in medical malpracticesuits; and to promote the use ofhealth savings accounts, in com-bination with high-deductible in-surance policies.Republicans also want to help sta-tes expand insurance pools for

people with serious illnesses. Thenew law includes such pools, asan interim step until broader in-surance coverage provisions takeeffect in 2014, but enrollment hasfallen short of expectations.Representative Paul Broun, Re-publican of Georgia, said that al-lowing people to buy insuranceacross state lines would "expandchoice and competition." And hesaid businesses could negotiatebetter insurance rates if theycould join together in "as-sociation health plans," spon-sored by trade and professionalgroups.But state insurance officials haveresisted such proposals, on theground that they would weakenstate authority to regulate in-surance and to enforce consumerprotections -- a concern shared byCongressional Democrats.Some Republicans seemed sen-sitive to accusations that repealwould strip away new patient pro-tections and leave millions ofAmericans without insurance.Representative Joe Heck, Re-publican of Nevada and a physi-cian, said he supported somegoals of the new law: "making su-re people don"t lose theircoverage once they get sick; let-ting dependent children stay ontheir parents" insurance untilthey turn 26; making sure anyonewho wants to buy insurance canpurchase a policy, regardless of

pre-existing conditions."Representative Joe L. Barton, Re-publican of Texas, said, "Thereare some things in the new lawthat we think are worth keeping,"including a procedure for ap-proval of generic versions of ex-pensive biotechnology drugs.But Mr. Barton and other Re-publicans returned to a coreobjection to the law, which theysaid extends the reach of go-vernment too far."We believe that you shouldn"thave the federal governmentmandate that an individual has tohave health insurance, whetherhe or she wants it," Mr. Bartonsaid. "We want to repeal today sothat we can begin to replace to-morrow."Representative Allyson Y.Schwartz, Democrat of Pen-nsylvania, said she doubted thatthe Republican alternativeswould be effective in expandingcoverage or controlling costs."Many Republicans want to re-peal the law, but are not seriousabout replacing it," Ms. Schwartzsaid.


19 de janeiro de 2011- The New York Times/IN



Advocacy Group Says Justices May Have Conflict inCampaign Finance Cases

POLITICS

WASHINGTON - When the con-servative financier Charles Kochsent out invitations for a politicalretreat in Palm Springs later thismonth, he highlighted past ap-pearances at the gathering of "no-table leaders" like JusticesAntoninScalia and Clarence Tho-mas of the Supreme Court.Related Times Topics: David H.Koch | Charles G. Koch BlogsThe Caucus

The latest on President Obama,the new Congress and other newsfrom Washington and around thenation. Join the discussion.FiveThirtyEight: Nate Silver'sPolitical Calculus More PoliticsNewsA leading liberal group is nowtrying to use that connection to ar-gue that Mr. Scalia and Mr. Tho-mas should disqualify themselvesfrom hearing campaign financecases because they may be biasedtoward Mr. Koch, a billionairewho has been a major player in fi-nancing conservative causes.The group, Common Cause, fileda petition with the Justice De-partment on Wednesday asking itto investigate potential conflictsby Justices Scalia and Thomas

and move for their dis-qualification from the landmarkCitizens United case, in which thecourt last year lifted a ban on cor-porate spending on political cam-paigns. Common Cause also citedthe role of Mr. Thomas"s wife,Virginia Thomas, in forming aconservative political group op-posed to the Obama ad-ministration as grounds for hisdisqualification.The petition is a new tack for op-ponents of the court"s decision inthe Citizens United case. Com-mon Cause, by its ownacknowledgment, faces a dif-ficult task in getting the justices"to remove themselves from thecase and seeking to have the Ci-tizens United decision itself va-cated."We"re treading in new territoryhere for us," said Arn H. Pearson,Common Cause"s vice presidentfor programs. "But a situation likethis raises fundamental questionsabout public confidence in theSupreme Court."Officials at Koch Industries, whi-ch Mr. Koch leads, did not res-pond to e-mails and a phone callWednesday seeking comment onthe petition. A spokeswoman at

the Supreme Court declinedcomment.Supreme Court justices have wi-de latitude in deciding whether torecuse themselves from hearingcases. In one of the more wel-l-known examples in recent year-s, Justice Scalia refused toremove himself from hearing achallenge to Vice President DickCheney"s energy task force afterhe had gone duck hunting withMr. Cheney in 2004."It"s asteep uphill climbfor Com-mon Cause, but not an in-surmountable one," said StevenGillers, who teaches legal ethicsat New York University. At thevery least, he said, the group"s pe-tition could force a "public ai-ring" of questions surroundingthe two justices" past ap-pearances at the Koch retreat andtheir connections to the group.Still unknown, for instance, isexactly when Justices Scalia andThomas appeared before thegroup for its invitation-only re-treat, which is aimed at promotingpolitical strategies for economicfreedom, or whether they werereimbursed for their expenses.Common Cause said in its pe-tition to the Justice Department



Continuação: Advocacy Group Says Justices May Have Conflict in Campaign Finance Cases

that if either of the justices ap-peared before Mr. Koch"s groupbetween 2008 and 2010, when thecourt was considering aspects ofthe Citizens United case, "itwould certainly raise serious is-sues of the appearance of im-propriety and bias."Mr. Koch and his brother, DavidKoch, were among the main be-

neficiaries of the Supreme Cour-t"s decision in the Citizens Unitedcase and became a favorite targetof liberal groups, which accusedthem of effectively trying to buythe election.The political action committeefor Koch Industries, a Kan-sas-based energy company, spent$2.5 million in last year"s elec-

tions, according to the CommonCause complaint. Americans forProsperity, a conservative groupthat the Koch brothers founded, isbelieved to have spent tens of mil-lionsmore inthe campaign tosup-port conservative candidates.



Afghan Court Urges Delay in InauguratingParliament

KABUL, Afghanistan - Af-ghanistan"s political crisis dee-pened on Wednesday when aspecial court announced that itwanted President Hamid Karzaito delay the inauguration of Par-liament by at least a month, andpossibly much longer.Related Afghan Official ExpectsCourt to Void Election (January19, 2011)The court, which Mr. Karzai ap-pointed to hear complaints aboutthe election process from can-didates who lost or were dis-qualified, is widely consideredunconstitutional by the in-ternational community and by thecountry"s constitutionally man-dated election commissions. Itmade the announcement at a spe-cial session Wednesday, to whichit invitedcandidates who the elec-tion commissions ruled had lost.The "loser candidates," as theyhave become known after months

of protests against the elections,responded with jubilation to thecourt"s announcement.Mr. Karzai was scheduled toinaugurate the Parliament onSunday. The court said it wouldask the president to delay that fora month, and might ask for a fur-ther delay if it did not get the coo-peration it was seeking from theelection commissions.A day before Wednesday"s ru-ling, the country"s attorney ge-neral predicted in an interviewthat the court would delay theinauguration of Parliament. Mo-hammed Ishaq Aloko, a strongsupporter of Mr. Karzai, said hisprobe of the September par-liamentary elections uncoveredenough fraud to persuade him theresults should be annulled.Still tobeseen is the reaction fromthe winning candidates, manywhom have criticized the specialcourt as away for Mr. Karzai toin-

fluencethe Septemberelection re-sults.Numerous Afghan officials, in-ternational observers, oppositionpoliticians and human rights ac-tivists have questioned thelegality of the special court. Mr.Aloko, the attorney general, hasrejected criticism of the specialcourt.In his interview, Mr. Aloko saiddelaying the Parliament"s inau-guration would give the specialcourt enough time to come to a de-cision about the elections.The special court was appointedby Mr. Karzai, and approved bythe Supreme Court, followingwidespread protests by losing anddisqualified candidates. The pre-sident has never publiclyacknowledged the election com-missions" certification of the re-sults.



Justices Uphold Background ChecksUS

WASHINGTON - Scientists andengineers who work on go-vernment space programs mustsubmit to intrusive backgroundchecks if they want to keep theirjobs, the Supreme Court ruledon Wednesday inaunanimous de-cision.

Federal employees have longbeen required to submit tobackground checks. In 2004, fol-lowing a recommendation fromthe 9/11 Commission, the re-quirement was extended to em-ployees of governmentcontractors.Twenty-eight employees of theJet Propulsion Laboratory, a NA-SA center operated by the Ca-lifornia Institute of Technology,sued, saying the checks wouldviolate their constitutional rightto "informational privacy." Theemployees worked on civilianspace missions and research.In 2008, the United States Courtof Appeals for the Ninth Circuitprovisionally agreed with the em-ployees, ordering parts of the go-vernment background checkshalted while their case wentforward.The court said that two kinds ofquestions in the government for-ms raised constitutional con-cerns. The employees were askedabout drug use and counseling,and they were required to sign aform authorizing the governmentto collect information from

schools, landlords, employersand others.That additional information wassought through another form, thisone soliciting "adverse in-formation," including "violationsof the law," "financial integrity,""abuse of alcohol and/or drugs"and "mental or emotional sta-bility." There was also a space onthe form that invited "derogatoryas well as positive information."Justice Elena Kagan did not par-ticipate in the case.In an opinion for six justices, Jus-ticeSamuel A. Alito Jr. saidheas-sumed for purposes of thedecision that a constitutional rig-ht to avoid disclosing personalinformation exists, but he did notsay what part of the Constitutionit was grounded in or what kindsof information it covered. . He didsay that the information soughthere did not violate whatever su-ch right may exist.The question about drug treat-ment and counseling, Justice Ali-to wrote, was part of "areasonable, and indeed a humane,approach.""The government, recognizingthat illegal-drug use is both a cri-minal and a medical issue, seeksto separate out those illegal-drugusers who are taking steps to ad-dress and overcome their pro-blems," he wrote.The open-ended questions di-rected to the employees"references, Justice Alito said, are

"an appropriate tool for se-parating strong candidates fromweak ones." Such questions arecommonly used by both publicand private employers, he added.In addition to finding the ques-tions reasonable, Justice Alitosaid that the plaintiffs" privacyconcerns should be allayed be-cause the Privacy Act imposesstrict restrictions on how the go-vernment could use the in-formation it obtained.Justice Antonin Scalia, writingfor himself and Justice ClarenceThomas, issued a caustic con-currence. He said he "of course"agreed with the result in the case,saying the plaintiffs" objectionsto the background checks were ri-diculous."The contention that a right dee-ply rooted in our history and tra-dition bars the government fromensuring that the Hubble te-lescope is not used by recoveringdrug addicts," is, he said, "far-cical."But Justice Scalia aimed his har-shest criticism at the majority,returning to a theme he pressedlast year - that the court is vio-lating its duty and harming its re-putation in issuing vaguedecisions."Whatever the virtues of judicialminimalism," he wrote, "it cannotjustify judicial incoherence."The majority opinion, he con-tinued, "provides no guidancewhatsoever for lower courts" and



Continuação: Justices Uphold Background Checks

"will dramatically increase thenumber of lawsuits claiming vio-lations of the right to in-formational privacy." Though thecourt ruled against the plaintiffs,he said, the majority opinionamounts to "a generous gift to theplaintiffs" bar."Justice Scalia said he would havetaken a simpler approach in thecase, NASA v. Nelson, No.09-530."I would simply hold that there is

no constitutional right to "in-formational privacy,"" JusticeScalia wrote."Like many other desirable thin-gs not included in theConstitution," he wrote, " "in-formational privacy" seems likeda good idea." But he said it shouldbeenacted throughlegislation rat-her imposed by judges throughconstitutional interpretation.Justice Alito, in response, saidthere were good reasons for fai-

ling to "provide a definitive an-swer" to the threshold question inthe case.The government, in defendingthe suit, had not asked the court toreject a right to informational pri-vacy. "It is undesirable," JusticeAlito wrote, "for us to decide amatter of this importance in a casein which we do not have the be-nefit of briefing by the parties."



Court Weighs Whether Corporations Have PersonalPrivacy Rights

US

WASHINGTON - The claim thatcorporations have personal pri-vacy rights met with widespreadskepticism on Wednesday duringa lively Supreme Court ar-gument.Related Justices UpholdBackground Checks (January 20,2011)A year ago, the court ruled in theCitizens United decision that cor-porations and unions had a FirstAmendment right to spend mo-ney in candidate elections. Butthat decision, which involved aquestion of constitutional law,did not come up at the argumenton Wednesday, which consideredthe quite different issue of whatCongress meant when it exem-pted some files from disclosureunder the Freedom of In-formation Act.The exemption at issue in the ca-se, Federal CommunicationsCommission v. AT&T Inc., No.09-1279, protects informationthat "could reasonably be ex-pected to constitute an unwar-ranted invasion of personalprivacy."AT&T invoked the exemption inseeking to block the release of do-cuments it had provided to theF.C.C., which conducted an in-vestigation into claims of over-charges by the company in aprogram to provide equipmentand services to schools. The do-

cuments were sought by a tradeassociation representing some ofthe company"s competitors.The United States Court of Ap-peals for the Third Circuit, in Phi-ladelphia, had ruled for thecompany, relying in part on a de-finition of "person" in the law thatincluded corporations.But several justices said it was toomuch of a leap to go from sayingthat corporations might be "per-sons" for some purposes to sayingthat their "personal privacy"could be invaded.Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.said he could think of many ins-tances "where the adjective wasvery different from the rootnoun.""You have craft and crafty," hesaid. "Totally different. Craftydoesn"t have much to do withcraft. Squirrel, squirrelly. Rig-ht?""Pastor and pastoral," he went on."Same root, totally different."Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgasked whether the fact that state,local and foreign government al-so fell under the statutory de-finition of persons meant thatthey, too, had personal privacyrights.Geoffrey M. Klineberg, a lawyerfor AT&T, said yes.In 1981, Justice Antonin Scalia,then a law professor, told a Senatecommittee that the exemption did

not apply to corporations. It wasplain on Wednesday that the in-tervening years had not causedhim to change his mind."Can you give me any examplesin common usage where peoplewould refer to the personal pri-vacy of a corporation?" JusticeScalia asked Mr. Klineberg. "Doyou have any examples from TheNew York Times, from, youknow, Boswell, from anywhere,that anybody refers to the in-terests of a corporation as the"personal privacy" of GeneralMotors?"Mr. Klineberg said he was notaware of such a use of the phrase"certainly in any statutory con-text."Justice Scalia offered the lawyerfor the government, Anthony A.Yang, more help than he seemedto want, saying that exemptions inthe freedom of information lawshould be read narrowly.Mr. Yang said he did not want towin on that ground, as the go-vernment often resists requestsunder the law. "We do not em-brace that principle," Mr. Yangsaid."Well," Justice Scalia responded,"I"m not going to help the go-vernment"s position if the go-vernment doesn"t want to behelped."Mr. Klineberg said it would be amistake to allow the law "to be a



Continuação: Court Weighs Whether Corporations Have Personal Privacy Rights

tool for an organization"s ad-versaries to obtain access to har-mful or embarrassingdocuments" that do not informthe public about the go-vernment"s activities.For instance, he said, cor-porations have reputational in-terests in not having theirdisparaging remarks about re-gulators or customers disclosedto competitors. A ruling againstAT&T, he said, could require dis-

closure of documents con-cerning, say, "an environmentalnonprofit organization talkingabout their political strategies fordefeating an amendment to theClean Air Act."Justice Stephen G. Breyer askedfor real-world examples of suchdisclosures, and Mr. Klinebergsaid he was aware of none.Mr. Yang, seeming confident ofvictory, concluded his argumentwith a brief summary and sat

down early."AT&T can provide no exampleof any problems that have arisenin over 35 years of the go-vernment"s consistent ad-ministration of this provision," hesaid. "In fact, all indications pointin simply one direction. Personalprivacy applies only to in-dividuals."



Libel reform closer after Campbell rulingThe European Court of Human Rightshas dealt a mighty blow to no-win, no-feearrangements (CFAs) with the ruling onthe Naomi Campbell case in favour ofMirror Group Newspapers.It is sure to bolster those bodies pushing forlibel law reform, but as I argue in myLondon Evening Standard column to-day, conditional fee arrangements shouldnot be eliminated altogether. It is the waythey operate that requires attention.



Law society calls on Iran to release prominent humanrights lawyer

Nasrin Sotoudeh has been in pri-son since last September. Pho-tograph: GuardianThe Law Society, which re-presents solicitors in England andWales, has urged Iran to release aprominent human rights lawyerwho has been sentenced to 11years in jail.

The society has joined severalhuman rights organisations inappealing to Iranian officials torelease Nasrin Sotoudeh, a45-year-old lawyer whose effortsto highlight human rights vio-lations in Iran have infuriated theIslamic regime.

Sotoudeh - who has been kept inTehran's notorious Evin prisonsince September - was also sen-tenced to a 20-year ban on prac-tising law or travelling abroad.

She is convicted of acting againstnational security, propagandaagainst the regime and mem-bership of Defenders of HumanRights Centre, a rights or-ganisation headed by the Nobelpeace laureate Shirin Ebadi.

Her husband, Reza Khandan, wasalso arrested last week for whatthe Iranian authorities describedas "spreading lies and disruptingpublic opinion", but was releasedon Monday after securing bail.

Desmond Hudson, the Law So-ciety's chief executive, called onthe Iranian president, MahmoudAhmadinejad, to release So-toudeh and to protect human rig-hts lawyers in the Islamicrepublic.

"While the Iranian authorities ha-ve reportedly released her hus-band, they must now go furtherand release human rights lawyerNasrin Sotoudeh immediatelyand ensure the rights of humanrights defenders in Iran are pro-tected," he said.

"The arrest of family members ofhuman rights lawyers should notbe used as an intimidation tactic.

"President Ahmadinejad has anopportunity here to show the wor-ld that his government can trulyrespect the rights of its citizensand put an end to the highly pu-blicised detention of this pro-minent human rights lawyer."

Sotoudeh represented several po-litical prisoners arrested in the af-termath of the disputed Iranianpresidential election in 2009,butmade her reputation defending ju-venile offenders facing the deathpenalty.

According to Human RightsWatch, Iran executed at least onejuvenile offender in 2010 and five

in 2009, but others have escapedexecution because of the work ofSotoudeh and her colleagues, so-me of whom - including Mo-hammad Mostafaei - have beenforced to leave Iran in the pastyear.

"Nasrin is involved in vital workdefending the rights of childrenand juvenile prisoners in Iran.However, prior to sentencing herassets werefrozen andshe was de-nied access to her own lawyer bythe Iranian authorities," Hudsonsaid.

The Law Society is joined in itsappeal by Lionel Blackman, thechair of the Solicitors' In-ternational Human RightsGroup (SIHRG), who called So-toudeh's arrest a travesty of jus-tice.

"The significance of Sotoudeh'shuman rights work has gainedrecognition in human rightsawards in Italy and, more re-cently, by the Spanish Bar As-sociation last month," he said.

"She should be freed to be able tocarry on her professional ac-tivities. There can be no jus-tification whatsoever for keepingher behind bars."

Sotoudeh, a mother of two chil-dren, aged three and 11, has twice



Continuação: Law society calls on Iran to release prominent human rights lawyer

goneon hungerstrike since herar-rest in September. She was ini-tially denied access to a lawyerand was not permitted to talk toher family for a month.

According to her husband, she isalso facing a separate trial on acharge of not wearing the hijab,for which she might receive anot-her sentence that could be a prisonterm or a fine.

Last week, Khandan said his wifehad lost at least 14kg (more thantwo stone) since her arrest.

Sotoudeh's conviction has broug-ht condemnation from across theworld. Her supporters describethe charges against her as bogus,and say her conviction is a "grossmiscarriage of justice".

Ebadi, the former Czech pre-sident Vaclav Havel and ZahraRahnavard, the wife of op-position leaderMir Hossein Mou-savi, have spoken in support ofSotoudeh.

In December, Ebadi organised athree-day protest at the UN in Ge-neva to call for Sotoudeh's re-lease.

She told the Guardian: "What isunbelievably ridiculous in So-toudeh'ssentence is that she's ban-ned from leaving Iran for 20years.

"According to Iranian law, cer-tain convicts are sent to farawayplaces with bad living conditionsas a punishment, by sentencingSotoudeh to be forced to stay inIran for 20 years they are con-

fessing that Iran's situation at themoment has become horrible."

A memberof the One Million Sig-natures campaign - a petition forwoman rights in Iran - Sotoudehrepresented Ebadi in her com-plaint against Kayhan, a con-servative newspaper under thecontrol of Iran's supreme leader,Ali Khamenei.

Amnesty International, HumanRights Watch and the In-ternational Commission of Ju-rists have also recently issued ajoint statement in condemnationof Sotoudeh's conviction.

The US and UK governments ha-ve called on Iran to release So-toudeh immediately.



Obama presses Hu Jintao on human rights duringWhite House welcome

WORLD

President Hu Jintao speaks du-ringaceremonyon the lawnof theWhite House in Washington, asBarack Obama looks on.

Barack Obama did not duck dif-ferences over human rightswhen he welcomed the Chinesepresident today at the start of a la-vish state visit.

In a brief appearance with Hu Jin-tao on the White House lawn,Obama said that countries pros-pered when they respected basichuman rights.

"History shows that societies aremore harmonious, nations aresuccessful and the world is morejust when the rights and res-ponsibilities of all nations and allpeople are upheld, including theuniversal rights of every humanbeing," he said.

Hu said co-operation between theUS and China should be based onmutual respect, and the two coun-tries should respect each other'sinterests and development paths.

He also said he hoped his visitwould "open a new chapter inco-operation as partners". But thepointed comments on mutual res-pect suggested limits to Obama'sability to pressure the growingpower on human rights.

Human rights groups have cal-led on Obama to press Hu on thesubject, urging the US presidentto "publicly and privately" de-mand the release of the jailed dis-sident and Nobel peace pricelaureate Liu Xiaobo and other ac-tivists.

The Chinese Human Rights De-fenders network urged the US go-vernment to live up to itspromises, citing Obama's speechto the UN last autumn, whichstressed that "part of the price ofour own freedom is standing upfor the freedom of others ... thisbelief will guide America's lea-dership".

Shang Baojun, Liu's lawyer, said:"I hope [as a result of the visit] theSino-US relationship can be mo-restable anddevelop inabetterdi-rection.

"I also hope changes and im-provements can be made in cer-tain areas, including humanrights and the situation of pri-soners of conscience, at least tocreate opportunities which willintroduce a different voice to Pre-sident Hu."

At the welcome ceremony today,Obama and Hu stood together ona podium as the US militaryplayed the Chinese and US na-

tional anthems. There was a21-gun salute; the US having op-ted to accord Hu all the pomp andceremony that it can.

In a short statement Obama wel-comed Hu and looked back to a1979 visit by China's then vi-ce-premier Deng Xiaoping, whi-ch helped open bilateral ties.

"With this visit, we can lay thefoundation for the next 30 years,"Obama said, adding that co-o-peration was in each other's in-terest. "We have an enormousstake in each other's success,"Obama said.

Hu, who rarely speaks other thanfrom prepared scripts, will facequestions at a joint press con-ference at the White House withObama later today. There will betwo questions from American re-porters and two from Chinese.

Hu's movements will to be dog-ged by pro-Tibetan de-monstrators, human rightsgroups and others throughout hisfour-day visit.

Demonstrators today protestedoutside the White House but werekept back from the ceremony.They are planning further de-monstrations throughout the day,including a candlelit vigil outside



Continuação: Obama presses Hu Jintao on human rights during White House welcome

the White House state dinner to-night, and will follow the Chineseleader to Chicago later this week.

Hu arrived in Washington lastnight for the start of the visit.Obama held a small dinner forhim at the White House ahead ofthe state dinner tonight. It is theireighth meeting since Obama be-

came president two years ago, anindication of the importance ofBeijing to the US.

Little of substance is expectedfrom the Obama-Hu meeting butthe US hopes that by pulling outall the stops for the Chinese lea-der a working relationship can beestablished for the future.

Washington needs China's help intackling US and global economicproblems and in trying to resolveinternational disputes rangingfrom North Korea to Iran.



Activists urge Barack Obama to press Hu Jintao onhuman rights

WORLD

Barack Obama welcomes Hu Jin-tao to the White House at yes-terday's arrival ceremony

Campaigners for human rightsin China today called on BarackObama to press Hu Jintao on theissue during the Chinese pre-sident's state visit.

They also urged the US presidentto "publicly and privately" de-mand the release of the jailed dis-sident and Nobel peace pricelaureate Liu Xiaobo and other ac-tivists.

The Chinese Human Rights De-fenders network urged the US go-vernment to live up to its ownpromises, citing Obama's speechto the UN last autumn, whichstressed that "part of the price ofour own freedom is standing upfor the freedom of others ... thisbelief will guide America's lea-dership".

Shang Baojun, Liu's lawyer, said:"I hope [as a result of the visit] theSino-US relationship can be mo-restable anddevelop inabetterdi-rection.

"I also hope changes and im-provements can be made in cer-tain areas, including humanrights and the situation of pri-soners of conscience, at least tocreate opportunities which willintroduce a different voice to Pre-sident Hu."

Feng Zhenghu, a dissident whowas not allowed back into Chinaat the time Obama visited in2009, although he has since beenable to return, said: "I don't reallyhave many expectations of histrip to the US this time. It is notpessimism, just realism.

"I think the topics will mainly beabout economic and trade issues.As a citizen of the country, I caremore about other things. It is notrealistic to hope that a state visitcan bring much change in thoseareas, so I don't have high ex-pectations."

However, although Hu and Oba-ma are scheduled to have one toone talks in the Oval Office latertoday, human rights and otherconcerns, which have made re-lations between the two nationsdelicate, will be sidelined for

most of the first full day of afour-day state visit.

The US is putting out the flags forthe major visit by the head of anequal - and by some measuresgreater - superpower.

Hu formallywelcomedwithanar-rival ceremony, lunch at the StateDepartment and a full state ban-quet at the White House, re-ciprocating the formality ofObama's state visit to Beijing in2009.

Human rights activists are de-termined that the plight of China'sdissidents must not be ignoredamid the diplomatic niceties.

Placard-carrying protesters tur-ned up outside the White House,although their presence was cutfrom news reports shown in Chi-na.

On his last visit, in 2006, Hu had aworking White House lunch withPresident George Bush - so-mething seen by the Chinese as agrave insult.

Since then, China's economy has



Continuação: Activists urge Barack Obama to press Hu Jintao on human rights

grown to the extent that Hu andObama now meet as equals. Ac-cording to some analysts, Chinamay already have overtaken theUS in terms of the absolute size ofits economy.

It is lending more to developing

countries than the World Bank,according to the Financial Times,and its armed forces - the 2.2 mil-lion soldiers of the People's Li-beration Army - are the biggest inthe world. US exports to China, at$81.8bn (£51.17bn), are dwarfedby the $344.1bn the US imports.

China is mounting a public re-lations offensive coinciding withthe visit, including an image ofthe Chinese basketball star YaoMing towering over Times Squa-re on a giant advertising screen.



Barack Obama risks China's ire with human rightsremarks

WORLD

Barack Obama and Hu Jintao atthe White House.

The state visit by China's pre-sident, Hu Jintao, to the US wastoday overshadowed by Beijing'spoor record on human rights,with Barack Obama twice re-ferring to the matter in public.

The US president spoke about aneed to recognise human rightsduring a ceremony on the WhiteHouse lawn to welcome Hu at thestart of his state visit, and againduring a joint press conference.

The move indicates a tougheningapproach by Obama towards Chi-na after strained relations duringthe last 12 months over North Ko-rea, Iran, the strength of the Chi-nese economy, and other issues.

Obama alsocalled on China toen-gage in talks about Tibet with theDalai Lama, saying he had beencandid in his talks with Hu. Hesaid that while he recognised theUS and China were at differentstages of development, there we-re fundamental values such asfreedom of speech, religion andassembly that transcended cul-ture.

Hu, who normally sticks to de-livering speeches, faced a rareunscripted moment in the press

conference. Asked by a US re-porter about human rights, Oba-ma gave a lengthy reply but Huembarrassingly refused to an-swer.

Later at the press conference,another US reporter asked Huwhy he had not answered thehuman rights question. Hu laug-hed and blamed a problem intranslation, saying he had not rea-lised the question was aimed athim, but he would now answer it.

He said China was committed tothe protection of human rightsand had made enormous progressin this area which had been re-cognised around the world. Chi-na was prepared to engage indialogue with the US but based onmutual respect and non-in-terference in domestic politics.

Obama had dealt directly withChina's poor human rights re-cord. "History shows that so-cieties are more harmonious,nations are more successful andthe world is more just when therights and responsibilities of allnations and all people are upheld,including the universal rights ofevery human being," Obamasaid.

The pointed comments on mutualrespect suggested limits to Oba-

ma's ability to pressure China onhuman rights. Hu would like tohave got through the four-day vi-sit without any reference tohuman rights and to keep the fo-cus instead on the pomp and ce-remony associated with a statevisit, the highlight of which was astate dinner scheduled at the Whi-te House later in the day.

But the visit is notgoingas smoot-hly as Hu would have liked. TheDemocratic leader in the Senate,Harry Reid, was provocative too,describing Hu yesterday as "adic-tator".

Obama's comments on humanrights were not initially shown onChinese television or reported bystate media.

"It is aslapinthe face for Hu torai-se human rights in the openingceremony," said Nicholas Be-quelin, a senior researcher withthe Asia division of Human Rig-hts Watch. He added that the Chi-nese side had done everything itcould to avoid such em-barrassment.

Obama is taking a risk, given thatthe US regards China as its top fo-reign policy concern, especiallywith its dependence on China tohelp revive the US economy.



Continuação: Barack Obama risks China's ire with human rights remarks

Hu, as a sweetener to the US, ca-me bearing gifts in the shape of$45bn (£28bn) in trade deals, al-most half of which came in a pro-mise to buy Boeing aircraft.

The White House said that Oba-ma, who won the Nobelpeacepri-ze in 2009, had planned to pushHu in private to release Liu Xiao-bo, the dissident and 2010 Nobelpeace prize-winner, and to dis-cuss the fate of other politicalprisoners.

Pro-Tibet groups and others planto follow Hu throughout his visitto Washington and later in theweek to Chicago. Outside theWhite House and out of the hea-ring of Hu, about 200 peopleshouted "Killer, killer Hu Jintao".

They expected their numbers todouble later for the carrying of acoffin round the White House tosymbolise the death of the Chi-nese Communist party.

Tensin Dolkar, a Ti-betan-American and one of theleaders of the Students for a FreeTibet group, welcomed Obama'scomments but added: "We hopethat Obama will also raise Tibetbecause it is central tohuman rig-hts." She said there were 800known political prisoners in Ti-bet.

Elizabeth Economy, director ofAsia studies at the US-basedCouncil on Foreign Relations,said that Obama's remark wouldnot necessarily be interpreted as a

snub by Hu. "As both a winner ofthe Nobel peace prize and the pre-sident of the United States, it wasincumbent upon Obama to makesuch a statement, and I think hedid it in a way that was clear andcompelling without being in-sulting," she said.

Shang Baojun, Liu's lawyer, said:"I hope [as a result of the visit] theSino-US relationship can be mo-restable anddevelop inabetterdi-rection. I also hope changes andimprovements can be made incertain areas, including humanrights and the situation of pri-soners of conscience, at least tocreate opportunities which willintroduce a different voice to Pre-sident Hu."



Hu Jintao questioned by Barack Obama on China'shuman rights record

WORLD

Hu Jintao speaks during a jointpress conference with BarackObama in Washington.

China's president Hu Jintao wasforced on the defensive today onthe opening day of his state visitto the US,admitting for the first ti-me in public that his country hadto improve its human rights re-cord.

Hu's visit, intended to improve re-lations between the two countriesafter a year of tensions over tradeand diplomacy, was over-shadowed by the human rightsissue. It has been raised twice byBarack Obama in public, by USreporters at a press conferenceand by hundreds of de-monstrators outside the WhiteHouse.

It is the first state visit to the USbya Chinese leader in 13 years and,given China's rise in the in-tervening period to superpowerstatus, there is lot riding on theoutcome for both countries.

But at the joint Obama-Hu pressconference, there was em-barrassment for the Chinese lea-der when he claimed not to haveheard a question from a US re-porter who asked him to justifyChina's human rights record.

After listening to a translation ofthe question and of Obama's res-ponse, Hu completely ignored it.Later in the press conference,another US reporter asked himwhy he had not answered. Hu,laughing, claimed: "I would liketo clarify. Because of the te-chnical translation and in-terpretation problems, I did nothear the question about humanrights."

The Chinese leader then went onto give a rare answer on humanrights: "China is a developingcountry with a huge population,and also a developing country at acrucial stage of reform. In thiscontext, China still faces manychallenges in economic and so-cial development. And a lot stillneeds to be done in China, in ter-ms of human rights."

But he went on to remind Ame-ricans that while China is pre-pared to discuss human rightswith the US, it would beon the ba-sis of "mutual respect and theprinciple of non-interference ineach other's internal affairs", ba-sically it is a matter for China todecide.

It is unusual for a Chinese leadersuch as Hu to face a spontaneouspress conference. Normally herestricts his remarks to scripted

speeches.

China has an abysmal record onpolitical dissent, as well ascrackdowns on minorities such asTibetans and Uighurs. Amonghigh-profile prisoners is dissidentLiu Xiaobo, the 2010 Nobel pea-ce prize-winner.

Pro-Tibet groups and other de-monstrators plan to follow Hu th-roughout his visit to Washingtonand later in the week to Chicago.Outside the White House and outof the hearing of Hu, about 200people shouted "Killer, killer HuJintao".

They expected their numbers todouble later for the carrying of acoffin round the White House tosymbolise the death of the Chi-nese Communist party.

Although the US needs Chinesehelp in reviving its economy andwith international issues such asNorth Korea and Iran, Obama didnotshy awayfromthe human rig-hts issue. He raised it first at thewelcomingceremonyon the Whi-te House lawn and again in a sta-tement at the start of the pressconference, at which he also cal-led on China to engage with theDalai Lama about Tibet.

Asked at the press conference



Continuação: Hu Jintao questioned by Barack Obama on China's human rights record

about human rights, Obama saidhe had been very candid with Hu,telling him that although thecountries are at different stages ofdevelopment, "we have some co-re views as Americans about theuniversality of certain rights -freedom of speech, freedom of re-ligion, freedom of assembly - thatwe think are very important andthat transcend cultures."

Obama's raising of the issue twicein public may reflect a toug-hening of approach by the UStowards China after what Was-hington sees as the failure of Bei-jing to respond to Americanovertures over the last two years.

"It is aslapinthe face for Hu torai-se human rights in the openingceremony," said Nicholas Be-quelin, a senior researcher withthe Asia division of Human Rig-hts Watch. He added that the Chi-nese side had done everything itcould to avoid such em-

barrassment.

Elizabeth Economy, director ofAsia studies at the US-basedCouncil on Foreign Relations,said that Obama's remark wouldnot necessarily be interpreted as asnub by Hu. "As both a winner ofthe Nobel peace prize and the pre-sident of the US, it was in-cumbent upon Obama to makesuch a statement, and I think hedid it in a way that was clear andcompelling without being in-sulting," she said.

Hu may view the public dis-cussion of human rights asawkward and an embarrassmentor may regard it as an opportunityat last to tackle an issue that is hur-ting China's global reputation. Aclue will be provided by whetherChinese television and other of-ficial media report his remarks.

Hu may have liked to have got th-rough the four-day visit without

any reference to human rightsand to have kept the focus insteadon the pomp and ceremony as-sociated with a state visit, the hig-hlight of which was a state dinnerscheduled at the White House forthe evening.

But the visit was never going togo as smoothly as Hu would haveliked. The Democratic leader inthe Senate, Harry Reid, was pro-vocative, describing Hu on as "adictator". Reid has refused to at-tend the state dinner.

The new Republican housespeaker, John Boehner, also de-clined to attend. Asked by a re-porter about their absences, Husaid it was a matter for Obama.

Hu, as a sweetener to the US, ca-me bearing gifts in the shape of$45bn (£28bn) in trade deals, al-most half of which came in a pro-mise to buy Boeing aircraft.



Obama pressured to speak out on China human rightsBy David Alexander

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pre-sident Barack Obama came underincreasing pressure on Tuesdayto publicly speak out against Bei-jing's harsh treatment of politicaland religious dissidents during astate visit this week by ChinesePresident Hu Jintao.

Dissidents representing China'sminority Uighurs, Tibetans, im-prisoned democracy advocatesand opponents of forced abortionall urged Obama to address theirconcerns both publicly and pri-vately during Hu's four-day statevisit, which began on Tuesdayevening.

Congressman Chris Smith, whochairs a House of Re-presentatives panel on humanrights, said it would be "almostunthinkable" for a Nobel Peacelaureate like Obama to meet with"a political leader responsible forjailing another laureate and notdemand publicly for their fellowlaureate's release."

The winner of this year's NobelPeace Prize, writer and rights ac-tivist Liu Xiaobo, is imprisonedin China. His wife was detainedand denied permission to attendthe Nobel ceremony on his behalfand is still in custody, dissidentssay.

"I truly hope that in the next fewdays, President Obama lives up tothe award he received in '09," saidSmith, who organized a newsconference for Chinese rights ad-vocates.

Obama has had a mixed re-lationship with human rights ad-vocates and other traditionallyliberal groups that have been ge-nerally supportive of his agenda.

He irritated some by putting off a2009 White House meeting withthe Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spi-ritual leader, in a move to gain fa-vor with China. He has failed tofulfill other pledges important torights advocates, like closing theprison for terrorism suspects atGuantanamo, Cuba.

White House spokesman RobertGibbs said Obama would raise"his direct concerns on the issuesof human rights" when he meetswith Hu, who will be the first Chi-nese president to have a WhiteHouse dinner in his honor in 13years.

Gibbs defended the dinner withHu, saying Obama believed itwas important toputhimself info-rums that would allow him to dis-cuss issues like human rightsdirectly with those making the de-cisions.

But U.S. lawmakers and Chinese

dissidents underscored the im-portance of Obama speaking pu-blicly and not just privately aboutthe issue.

"I urge President Obama to raisethe issues of human rights andreligious freedom, not just behindclosed doors, but in his public sta-tements as well," said Re-presentative Frank Wolf, anotherrights advocate in Congress.

GAO'S RELEASE SOUGHT

Geng He, the wife of detainedhuman rights lawyer Gao Zhis-heng, appealed for Obama to seekthe release of her husband, sayingher children had been terribly af-fected by his absence and notingthat Obama has written about thepain of growing up without hisfather.

He, whose husband was targetedby authorities after taking on con-troversial human rights cases,urged Obama to ask Hu to releaseGao and "let him come to the Uni-ted States and unite with our fa-mily."

Ngawang Sangdrol, who washeld as a political prisoner by Chi-na for supporting Tibetan in-dependence, spoke of beingbeaten with iron rods and waterhoses and shocked with an elec-tric prod that made her bodyshake uncontrollably.



Continuação: Obama pressured to speak out on China human rights

Politics Elections 2010 BarackObama

By David Alexander

She said Hu presided over acrackdown on the Tibet and mar-tial law when he was the Chineseleader of the Tibetan autonomousregion in the 1980s.

Ngawang, who credits in-ternational pressure for securingher release while serving a21-year prison term, urged Oba-ma and the free world to pressChina on human rights, saying

from her experience it was "veryhelpful."

Chai Ling, who was a student lea-der at the Tiananmen Square mas-sacre, sharply condemnedChina's population control po-licies, which she said lead to35,000 forced or coerced abor-tions every day.

"It is a Tiananmen Square mas-sacre happening every hour," shesaid.

Most Chinese are barred from ha-ving more than a single child. The

policy is aimedat controlling Chi-na's 1.3 billionpopulation,butcri-tics say it has resulted in forcedabortions and sterilizations and awidening gender gapthat has con-tributed to international sex traf-ficking.

Reggie Littlejohn, president ofWomen's Rights Without Fron-tiers, said, "The Chinese forcedabortion policy is systematic, ins-titutionalized violence againstwomen."1 2 Politics Elections 2010 Ba-rack Obama



Haiti charges returned ex-dictator DuvalierBy Joseph Guyler Delva

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) -Haiti on Tuesday briefly detainedformer dictator Jean-Claude"Baby Doc" Duvalier, back fromexile in France, and charged himwith corruption, theft and abusesof power allegedly committeddu-ring his 15-year rule.

While a noisy crowd of his sup-porters protested outside the pro-secutor's office, Duvalier, 59,was questioned over accusationsthat he stole public funds andcommitted human rights abusesafter taking over as president in1971.

Port-au-Prince Chief ProsecutorAristidas Auguste said his officehad filed charges against Du-valier of corruption, theft, mi-sappropriation of funds and otheralleged crimes committed duringthe former president's 1971-1986period in power.

"His fate is now in the hands ofthe investigating judge. We havebrought charges against him,"Auguste told Reuters.

The charges must now be in-vestigated by the judge who willdecide whether a criminal caseshould go ahead.

After several hours of ques-tioning, he left the prosecutor'sof-

fice but was ordered to remain inthe country at the disposition ofjudicial authorities. "He doesn'thave the right to go anywhere,"investigating judge Carves Jeansaid.

Duvalier, who fled Haiti in 1986during a popular uprising, wasearlier escorted by heavily armedpolice from the luxury hotel whe-re he had stayed since his unex-pected arrival on Sunday fromFrance, after a quarter century inexile.

Smartly dressed in a blue suit andtie, but looking frail, he wavedand smiled briefly to supporters atthe hotel. The chubby cheeks thathe had as a 19-year-old when hetook power as the world's youn-gest head of state 25 years ago ha-ve sagged, showing the passageof time.

The former dictator's return to hisearthquake-battered Caribbeanhomeland, the Western He-misphere's poorest state, was ashock to Haitians and to foreigngovernments. The country is inthe midst of a political crisis cau-sed by chaotic and inconclusiveelections held on November 28.

The political uncertainty comeson top of an ongoing cholera epi-demic that has killed more than3,800 people and efforts to re-build the crippled nation after the

huge earthquake a year ago thatclaimed more than 316,000 lives.

"OPPORTUNITY ... FOR JUS-TICE"

Human rights groups welcomedthe detention but urged the Hai-tian authorities to fully in-vestigate the full range ofaccusations against Duvalier.

Amnesty International SpecialAdviser Javier Zuniga said Du-valier, while ruling as "Pre-sident-for-Life," had presidedover a security apparatus which"carried out widespread and sys-tematic human rights violationsincluding torture, arbitrary de-tentions and enforced di-sappearances."

He said some of these abuses bystate-employed thugs known as"Tonton Macoutes" amounted to"crimes against humanity."

"A cycle of impunity has pre-vailed for decades in Haiti, withvictims of abuses and their fa-milies denied justice for way toolong -- now the opportunity hascome for justice, truth and re-parations," Zuniga said.World France Natural Disasters

By Joseph Guyler Delva

Haitian authorities in the past ha-ve accused Duvalier and his clan



Continuação: Haiti charges returned ex-dictator Duvalier

of plundering state coffers of se-veral hundred million dollars andhiding the money abroad. Therehave been moves in Swiss courtsto recover some of the money.

As Duvalier was questioned, acrowd of more than 100 noisysupporters chanting "Long LiveDuvalier!" demonstrated outsidethe prosecutor's office, setting upat least oneburningbarricade. Po-lice blocked off the building.

Earlier, when he was driven fromhis hotel under police guard, somesupporters shouting "Free Du-valier! Free Duvalier!" chasedthe police vehicle taking himaway, and some tried to block itspath with burning tires. The con-voy evaded them.

Since his arrival in Haiti on Sun-day, human rights groups havedemanded the government arrestand prosecute Duvalier -- one ofthe 20th century's most notoriousdictators.

As a chubby teenage playboy,Duvalier assumed power in Haitiin 1971 on the death of his father,feared dictator Francois "PapaDoc" Duvalier, who ruled with areign of terror overacountry whe-re voodoo beliefs remain wi-despread.

Foreign governments trying tohelp Haiti steer through its elec-toral crisis said they were worriedthat Duvalier's return was anunwelcome and unneeded dis-traction.

The U.S. State Department saidDuvalier's fate was a matter forthe Haitian government and peo-ple to decide. "Having a formerdictator return to Haiti just adds toHaiti's ongoing burden," spokes-man P.J. Crowley told reporters.

Earlier, White House spokesmanRobert Gibbs told reporters Hai-ti's former and current leadersshould focus on successfullycompleting the elections and re-constructing the country.

MIXED REACTIONS

There were mixed reactionsamong Haitians to Duvalier's de-tention. "If there's justice in thecountry, it's working, but if the-re's impunity, that's a problem,"said Toussaint Evul, 29, sellingsunglasses outside the pro-secutor's office.

Bystander Guy Claude Geffard,32, said: "It's not right that after25 years outside the country hecomes back home and they arresthim. There are many people in

the country who have committedcrimes and they didn't arrestthem."

Duvalier said on Sunday he hadreturned to show solidarity withHaiti and wanted to participate inits "rebirth."

But analysts say his return couldnotcome at aworse timefor Haiti,which is on edge after the con-fused November 28 legislativeand presidential elections. Pre-liminary results released lastmonth triggered fraud allegationsand violent street protests.

A team of Organization of Ame-rican States experts have carriedout a verification of the contestedresults and have challenged themin a report presented to outgoingHaitian President Rene Preval.

The report, which cites sig-nificant vote tally irregularities,recommends Preval protege JudeCelestin be eliminated from anelection runoff in favor of popularmusician Michel Martelly.

Haiti's Provisional ElectoralCouncil, the elections authority,must decide whether to accept theOAS recommendation to includeMartelly and drop Celestin in therunoff, which will include op-



Continuação: Haiti charges returned ex-dictator Duvalier

position matriarch Mirlande Ma-nigat. Manigat received mostvotes in the first round but notenough to win outright.

(Additional reporting by Allyn

Gaestel in Port-au-Prince and Ar-shad Mohammed and PatriciaZengerle in Washington; Writingby Pascal Fletcher; Editing byEric Walsh)1 2 World France Natural Di-

sasters



Hu concedes China needs human rightsimprovements

WASHINGTON |WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chi-nese President Hu Jintao, asked asecond time about human rightsat a Washington news con-ference, said "a lot still needs to bedone" in China on rights while in-sisting enormous progress hasbeen made.

Hu did not respond to an initialquestion about human rights atthe White House news con-ference with U.S. President Ba-rack Obama on Wednesday.Asked why, he blamed trans-lation and technical problems.

"China is always committed tothe protection and promotion ofhuman rights," Hu said.

Hu was asked about the topic af-ter Obama used part of his ope-ning statement at the newsconference to say the United Sta-tes supports dialogue betweenChina and representatives of theDalai Lama and wants Beijing torespect the religious rights of theTibetan people.

Hu said China respects the "u-niversality of human rights,"and said he has spoken candidlyon this subject many times with

Obama.

He said "a lot still needs to be do-ne" on human rights in Chinaand he said China is willing to ha-ve a dialogue on the issue on thebasis of mutual respect andnon-interference into China's in-ternal affairs.

China traditionally rejects cri-ticism of its human rights recordas interference in its internal af-fairs.Politics Elections 2010 BarackObama



Groups to shine light on dark side of capitalismZURICH |ZURICH (Reuters) - Severalgroups will shine a spotlight onthe dark side of capitalism whenleaders from the world of bu-siness and politics convene fortheir annual meeting in the Swissski resort of Davos.

On the sidelines of the WorldEconomic Forum (WEF), whichruns from January 26-30, an In-ternet site aimed at exposing cor-porate malfeasance will belaunched and Greenpeace Swit-zerland will present an award forthe worst corporate human rig-hts offender.

The WEF's theme this year is "S-hared Norms for the New Rea-lity," reflecting what the groupsays is the need to counterbalancean increasingly interconnectedworld with an erosion of commonvalues. Panel discussions will in-clude responsible investing andfighting corruption.

To show that corporations maynot always practice what theypreach, Daniel Domscheit Berg,who until September was part of

WikiLeaks, will present a newonline dead-letter box for whis-tleblowers called OpenLeaks at apress conference on January 28,the organizers said.

"If you want to do something onthe topic of corporate res-ponsibility, it makes total sense todo so during the WEF," BrunoHeinzer, who works for Green-peace Switzerland.

Among the other events beingheld on the sidelines of the annualDavos conference is a discussionon "Sport: Bread and Games,Power and Money?" sponsoredby the Federation of Swiss Pro-testant Churches.

The UN's refugee agency UN-HCR will run an hour-long si-mulation of a refugee crisis thatallows corporate big shots to slipinto the shoes of refugees, withthe hope of increasing support forthe UN agency.

"The atmosphere at Davos is mo-re conducive for this type of even-t, where people are looking forideas, being immersed in new

thinking," Olivier DeLaRue,head of corporate partnershipsfor the UNHCR, told Reuters."We cannot bring every CEO tothe refugee camps so we bringthis simulation to Davos."

Prior to the WEF itself, the annual"Other Davos" will take place inBasel from January 21-23.

The self-declared goal of the or-ganizers is to bring about "a-nother social system."Discussions will include the chal-lenge of a shrinking socialwelfare state.

With people in Italy, Greece, Bri-tain and other countries upset atgovernment austerity measures,there may also be an anti-Davosmarch in the streets of the villageon January 29.

For full coverage, blogs and TVfrom Davos go to www.reu-ters.com/davos

(Reporting by Catherine Bosley;editing by Noah Barkin)



Sistema jurídico chilenoSeñor Director:

En el día de ayer se publica un ar-tículo del señor Rodrigo Correaen que impugna mi plan-teamiento sobre la existencia detres factores que debilitan nuestrosistema jurídico. La-mentablemente el señor Correano entendió el sentido y alcancede mis observaciones.

No se trata de resistir los avancesde la tecnología, ni del influjo ca-da día mayor del Derecho In-ternacional, ni la penetración delderecho anglosajón. Ello seríasimplemente absurdo. Lo que in-teresa es evitar que se erosione laestabilidad y coherencia del sis-tema jurídico, lo que hace im-perativo que todas las reformasguarden, como allí sostengo, unaestricta sistematicidad y armoníacon el derecho patrio. Nadie, tam-poco, pretende congelar la vi-gencia de las "viejas leyes".Ciertamente ellas deben ser adap-tadas a la época que vivimos, perosin afectar instituciones que dan

identidad a los chilenos. Así, porejemplo, constituye un error de-bilitar el matrimonio -creando un"submatrimonio" al estilo fran-cés- a pretexto de regular todasuerte de convivencias por la solacircunstancia de que ello es un fe-nómeno social.

Comparte el señor Correa la ideade que "para aprovechar el de-recho extranjero no basta con co-piarlo". Ocurre, sin embargo, quemuchas instituciones in-corporadas a nuestroordenamiento no son más que unmal remedo de legislaciones fo-ráneas.

Sobre la integración del DerechoInternacional al derecho interno,sólo cabe preguntarse: cómo esposible, por ejemplo, que nuestraConstitución, objeto de tantasmodificaciones en el último tiem-po, no aclare, aún, el valor vin-culante de los tratadosinternacionales respecto de laCarta Fundamental, y se man-tenga una materia de tanta im-

portancia en el ámbito del debatedoctrinario.

Resulta evidente que uno de lospasos fundamentales para pro-mover la renovación del derechoconsiste en revitalizar la teoría dela interpretación jurídica, asig-nando al intérprete su verdaderorol de "creador de derecho". Elloexige modernizar me-todológicamente la enseñanza ju-rídica, pasando del estudioteórico de las instituciones al es-tudio aplicado de las mismas,formando abogados capaces deaportar soluciones y no meras es-peculaciones intrascendentes. Deaquí mi discrepancia con el señorCorrea. Los "académicos pro-fesionales", sin duda útiles enciertas cátedras, nada o muy pocoaportan a la hora de ejercer el de-recho vivo, cuando la norma seconfronta con la realidad. Es allíen donde se mide la buena for-mación del abogado.

Pablo Rodríguez Grez

Clarín/IN, 19 de janeiro de 2011Justiça no Exterior


Denuncian nombramientos polémicos en laMagistratura

El PJ y la UCR, los más fa-vorecidos con cargos.

La última sesión del Consejo dela Magistratura porteño del añopasado, en la cual se votaron de-cenas de nombramientos y as-censos , favoreciendo afamiliares y amigos, dejó per-dedores y ganadores muyvisibles. El escándalo es aúnmayor porque ese día, el 17 de di-ciembre, se alejaban seis de losnueve integrantes. Y porque setrata de un organismo con excesode personal. Hasta el propio jefede Gobierno, Mauricio Macri, seinteresó en el tema y se mostró in-dignado con la maniobra.

El presidente del PJ porteño, JuanManuel Olmos, uno de los que as-pira a ingresar al organismo en re-presentación de la Legislatura, yque tiene estrechos vínculos conel Administrador del Poder Ju-dicial, Pablo Casas, encabeza elranking de los más favorecidoscon unos 15 lugares, entre los quese destacan los nombramientosde su ex esposa Carolina Bossi(Departamento de No-tificaciones); su cuñado DamiánWierna (a cargo de la Oficina deAyuda), Leandro Olivieri, hijodel actual Secretario de Culto dela Nación, en la Dirección de In-formática; José Milone, con unsueldo básico de $ 12.300; y el pa-se a planta permanente de María

Lorena Peña, nuera de la ahora exconsejera María Teresa del Ro-sario Moya, que también res-ponde al PJ.

El radicalismo logró seis lugaresde privilegio y mantuvo a per-sonas deconfianza enpuestos cla-ves. No sorprende. Aunque teníaun solo consejero, el abogadoJuan Pablo Más Velez, la UCRsiempre mantuvo una fuerte in-jerencia en las estructuras bu-rocráticas del organismo queselecciona y acusa a los ma-gistrados porteños. Jorge DelAzar será ahora la máxima au-toridad de Asuntos Jurídicos.Entre los ascendidos también fi-gura Luciana Melograma,sobrina de uno de los nuevos con-sejeros, y Juan FranciscoMugnolo, hijo del ex diputado ra-dical.

"Es verdad que la gran mayoría delos designados trabajaba en elConsejo, pero lo hacían como per-sonal de Gabinete de los con-sejeros salientes", declaró elvicepresidente segundo de la Le-gislatura, Julio Raffo, el primeroen presentar una denuncia ju-dicial .

La lista de los nombramientos, ala que accedió Clarín , involucraa casi todos los consejeros. El ac-tual presidente del organismo, eljuez Horacio Corti, sumó varios

cargos. Entre ellos, su ex se-cretario letrado, Axel Eljatib, queahora será director de Asuntos Ju-rídicos. También aparecen per-sonas vinculadas a la abogadaLiliana Blasi (ya dejó su cargo), ala jueza Patricia López Vergara,que se concentró en cubrir el áreade Sumarios -donde se tramitanlos juicios políticoscontra los jue-ces-, al ex consejero EugenioCozzi, que ahora preside el Co-legio Público de Abogados; y aJulio De Giovanni, que seguirá enel Consejo como jefe de la Uni-dad de seguimiento de políticasde transferencia, un cargo conrango de camarista. A su lado tra-bajará su hijo, Ricardo David.

El macrismo, perjudicado por al-gunos recambios, sigue de cercael escándalo y evalúa si se sumacon otra denuncia penal tras la fe-ria de enero. Además, intentaríasacarlealgún rédito político cuan-do, en febrero, la Legislatura dis-cuta quiénes serán susrepresentantes en el organismo. Hasta ahora, los candidatos sonSebastián De Stéfano, un hombrede Daniel "Tano" Angelici (elhombre de Macri en Boca Ju-niors), Juan Manuel Olmos yLaura Morresi, por el ibarrismo.La fuerza que lidera Pino Solanasaspira a sumar a Beinusz Sz-mukler.

Tal como adelantó Clarín la se-

Clarín/IN, 19 de janeiro de 2011Justiça no Exterior


Continuação: Denuncian nombramientos polémicos en la Magistratura

mana pasada, ya hubo una pre-sentación judicial de ProyectoSur y un pedido del informes deldiputado Gerardo Ingaramo(PRO) por la compra de un edi-ficio enUS$3.750.000, conun su-

puesto sobreprecio de un 21%,que se aprobó en la misma sesióndel 17 de diciembre (ver re-cuadro). Esta semana se sumóotra denuncia judicial y variaspresentaciones de una nueva con-

sejera, la abogada Gisela Can-darle, que pidió información avarias dependencias del Consejopor los nombramientos. Hastaahora, la respuesta fue negativa.



Berlusconi ataca a los jueces por "usar para finespolíticos" el caso Ruby

INTERNACIONAL

Berlusconi ataca a los jueces por"usar para fines políticos" el casoRubyEl primer ministro es investigadopor el caso de la joven marroquí,conocida como "Ruby ro-bacorazones", a quien se le atri-buye haber mantenido relacionessexuales con el jefe de gobiernocuando era menor de edad.| 1 | 2 | EL UNIVERSAL 02:45PMRoma.- El jefe de gobierno ita-liano Silvio Berlusconi atacó estemiércoles a los jueces de Milán(norte) reprochándoles "usar parafines políticos" el caso Ruby, trashaber sido acusado por la fiscalíade esa ciudad de prostitución demenores y abuso de poder.

"No hubo concusión, ni in-ducción a la prostitución, menosde una menor. Nada de lo que mepueda avergonzar. Se trata de un

ulterior y grave ataque de fiscalesque han pisoteado las leyes con fi-nes políticos y con gran re-sonancia mediática", afirmó enun mensaje vídeo divulgado porlos canales de televisión, ma-nifestó AFP.

Berlusconi acusó a los fiscalesque emplear el caso como "ins-trumento de lucha política" para"invertir la voluntad popular",trassu llegada al poderenel 2008.

El primer ministro es investigadopor el caso de la joven marroquí,conocida como "Ruby ro-bacorazones", a quien se le atri-buye haber mantenido relacionessexuales con el jefe de gobiernocuando era menor de edad.

Toda la documentación del casollegó el lunes al Parlamento paraque apruebe la inspección de las

oficinas del contador de SilvioBerlusconi.

La documentación incluye nu-merosas escuchas telefónicas ytestimonios de jóvenes mujeresque aseguran haber participadoen las controvertidas fiestas, des-critas como orgías y organizadasen la residencia privada del mil-lonario primer ministro, Villa Ar-core, en las afueras de Milán.

En su controfensiva mediática,Berlusconi sostiene que los fis-cales "violaron los más ele-mentales principios de laConstitución" y anunció que nose presentará ante esos jueces quelo "persiguen injustamente" y queemplean "técnicas sofisticadascomo si se tratara de redadas con-tra la mafia y la camorra".| compartir | Publica aquí



Ex presidente de Guatemala al banquillo pormalversación de fondos

INTERNACIONAL

Ex presidente de Guatemala albanquillo por malversación defondosPortillo fue capturado en enero de2010 en las costas del Caribe deGuatemala a petición de los Es-tados Unidos, que lo reclama enextradición acusado de cons-piración para el lavado de dineropor valor de unos 70 millones dedólares.Ver resumen --> EL UNI-VERSAL 11:58 AMGuatemala.- El ex presidente deGuatemala Alfonso Portillo(2000-2004) tiene previsto sen-tarse hoy en el banquillo de losacusados para responder por unamillonaria malversación de fon-dos, un año después de haber sidodetenidos.

Portillo debe estar hoy en el Tri-bunal Undécimo para asistir alinicio del debate oral y público ensu contra por el delito de peculado

(malversación) de unos 120 mil-lones de quetzales (15 millones dedólares) del Ministerio de la De-fensa, informó Efe.La Cámara Penal de la Corte Su-prema de Justicia de Guatemalarechazó el martes trasladar el casoa un tribunal de alto impacto, co-mo solicitó la Fiscalía, que habíaalegado que los jueces del Tri-bunal Undécimo "corren pe-ligro".

El ex presidente guatemalteco in-siste en su inocencia y en que elproceso judicial en su contra esuna "trama" y una "conspiración"entre la Fiscalía y la Comisión In-ternacional Contra la Impunidaden Guatemala (Cicig).

La defensa de Portillo alega tam-bién que el ex presidente no pue-de ser juzgado por el delito depeculado porque durante su ad-ministración no manejó recursos

del Estado.

Portillo fue capturado en enero de2010 en las costas del Caribe deGuatemala a petición de los Es-tados Unidos, que lo reclama enextradición acusado de cons-piración para el lavado de dineropor valor de unos 70 millones dedólares.

Las autoridades judiciales yaaprobaron la extradición, pero an-tes el ex presidente debe res-ponder en su país por la acusaciónde peculado, por el que fue ex-traditado de México en octubre de2008.

La extradición a Estados Unidosdebe ser firmada, en última ins-tancia, por el presidente de Gua-temala.| compartir | Publica aquí

El Observador/IN, 19 de janeiro de 2011Justiça no Exterior


Oposición y prensa privada critican el referéndum deCorrea

Una de las cuestiones más con-trovertidas es la propuesta decrear una comisión para ad-ministrar y reestructurar elPoder Judicial durante 18 meses

La oposición y la prensa privadade Ecuador recibieron con crí-ticas las preguntas del re-feréndum que impulsa elpresidente del país, Rafael Cor-rea, cuya aprobación le daría másinfluencia en la justicia y en losmedios de comunicación.

El asambleísta Andrés Páez, deIzquierda Democrática (ID), sequejó de que la vaguedad de mu-chas de las cuestiones acarrea más"discrecionalidad" para un go-bierno que calificó de "au-toritario".

"Correa tras el poder absoluto",abría la edicióndel diario "La Ho-ra", mientras que el "Hoy" ti-tulaba: "Control de la justicia y lainformación en la consulta".

El presidente mantuvo silencio,pero en una conexión emitida porobligación por todos los mediosde comunicación del país pidió alos ecuatorianos "confiar" en elGobierno y apoyar el referendo.

Una de las cuestiones más con-trovertidas es la propuesta decrear una comisión para ad-ministrar y reestructurar el PoderJudicial durante 18 meses.

Estaría compuesta por un re-presentante de Correa, otro de laAsamblea, donde el Gobierno tie-nemayoría,y un tercerodela Fun-ción de Transparencia y ControlSocial, un consejo creado por laConstitución en el que el pre-sidente también tiene la voz can-tante, según Páez.

Con ello, el Ejecutivo controlaríael máximo órgano de gestión delsistema judicial, que reem-plazaría durante ese período alConsejo de la Judicatura.

Correa también pretende con-sultar a los ciudadanos acerca depropuestas que cambiarían las fi-nanzas y operaciones de los me-dios de prensa privados, de loscuales es un acervo crítico.

La consulta propone que se pro-híba a la prensa privada nacionaltener negocios fuera del ámbitode la comunicación.

Otra de las propuestas de la con-sulta popular es la creación de un"Consejo de Regulación", cuyosintegrantes no están es-pecificados, que regule los con-tenidos de violencia, sexuales odiscriminatorios.

Esa pregunta rescata una idea si-milar incluida en un proyecto deley de comunicación estancadoen la Asamblea que fue criticadopor la Relatoría deLibertad deEx-presión de la Organización de Es-tados Americanos (OEA).

(EFE)



MAM reçoit l'ambassadeur de OuattaraAFP

L'ambassadeur de Côte d'Ivoireen France nommé par AlassaneOuattara, Ali Coulibaly, est arrivéaujourd'hui à Paris et a été reçupar la chef de la diplomatie fran-çaise, Michèle Alliot-Marie,a-t-il annoncé à l'AFP."Je suis arrivé ce matin, j'ai eu unentretien de 30 minutes avec laministre qui a renouvelé le sou-tien de la France à la légitimitéconstitutionnelle du gou-vernement du président de la Ré-publique Alassane Ouattara",a-t-il dit.

Ali Coulibaly doit encore pré-senter ses lettres de créances auprésident Nicolas Sarkozy, com-me le veut la procédure, alorsqu'Alassane Ouattara, présidentreconnu par la communauté in-ternationale à l'issue des électionsdu 28 novembre, n'exerce tou-jours pas le pouvoir effectif dansson pays et que son rival LaurentGbagbo refuse de partir.

Le 12 janvier, le gouvernementfrançais avait donné, en Conseildes ministres, son agrément à cet-te nomination.

Ex-journaliste, Ali Coulibaly

était jusque récemment conseillerdiplomatique d'Alassane Ouat-tara. Il a précisé qu'il n'avait pasencore pris possession des locauxde l'ambassade à Paris.

La fonction d'ambassadeur enFrance, ancienne puissance co-loniale et partenaire économiqueessentiel, est un poste clé pour lepouvoir ivoirien. Pour Paris, AliCoulibaly doit remplacer PierreKipré, un proche de LaurentGbagbo, dont la victoire à l'é-lection a été proclamée par leConseil constitutionnel ivoi-rien.



Soudan/dette: demande d'annulationavec Reuters

Le président soudanais OmarHassan el Béchir, qui risque deperdre une bonne partie de sa ren-te pétrolière après le référendumd'autodétermination du Sud, a in-vité aujourd'hui les pays créan-ciers à annuler sa dette. "LeSoudan sort à peine d'une guerrecivile et il est clair qu'il mérite untraitement préférentiel de la partde ses Etats créanciers", a-t-il dé-claré devant le sommet éco-nomique arabe réuni dans lastation balnéaire égyptienne de

Charm el Cheikh."Nous attendons de ce sommetqu'il présente une propositionclaire d'effacement de la dettesoudanaise (...) au nom de la paixet de sa reconstruction", a ajoutél'orateur, par ailleurs seul chefd'Etat en exercice inculpé par laCour pénale internationale degénocide et de crimes de guerreau Darfour.

Cette demande survient alors quele gouvernement central de Khar-toum attend le résultat du ré-férendum au Sud, d'ici la fin

février, mais dont l'issue - la par-tition du Soudan - ne fait aucundoute. Selon des résultats pré-liminaires compilés aujourd'huipar l'AFP, le Sud-Soudan a déjàobtenu la majorité des voix né-cessaires afin de devenir un Etatindépendant.

Le Sud, majoritairement chrétienet animiste, possède 70% des gi-sements pétroliers mais les raf-fineries et les oléoducsindispensables à l'exportation debrut passent par le Nord.



Note: la défense de M. Huchon relativiseAFP

Me Frédéric Thiriez, le défenseurde Jean-Paul Huchon (PS), me-nacé d'inéligibilité par le Conseild'Etat, a relativisé l'importanced'une note d'un service du mi-nistère de l'Intérieur défavorableau président de la régionIle-de-France. "Il ne faut pas y ac-corder plus d'importance qu'ellen'en a aux yeux du Conseil d'E-tat", a déclaré M. Thiriez à l'AFP."Dieu merci, ce n'est pas le mi-nistère de l'Intérieur qui lui dictesa conduite".

Les observations du service duministère de l'Intérieur, qui cons-tituent "une procédure normaledans toutes les affaires élec-torales", "n'ont pas plus, ni moinsde poids que l'argumentation desparties", a-t-il ajouté. "J'ai eucommunication de ces ob-servations endécembre et j'yai ré-pondu en janvier dans unmémoire, en réservant la teneurau Conseil d'Etat, et non à la pres-se", a-t-il ajouté.

Les observations du service desaffaires juridiques du ministèrede l'Intérieur ont été dévoilées par

Le Monde. M. Thiriez a relevéd'ailleurs"deuxchoses moinsnor-males" que dans les autres af-faires électorales : "un : cemémoire est très engagé dans unsens, alors que généralement leministère est plus prudent, don-nant un avis juridique; deux : sapublication dans la presse".

La note technique invite le Con-seil d'Etat à ne pas renvoyer auConseil constitutionnel la ques-tion prioritaire de cons-titutionnalité (QPC) présentée parla défense de M. Huchon.



Côte d'Ivoire:intervention "déjà prévue"AFP

Alassane Ouattara, présidentivoirien reconnu par la com-munauté internationale, affirmequ'une "intervention militaire estdéjà prévue" dans son pays pourchasser du pouvoir le chef de l'E-tat sortant Laurent Gbagbo, dansune interview au quotidien fran-çais La Croix à paraître demain."Tout estentrain d'êtremisenpla-ce. L'intervention militaire est dé-jà prévue, organisée. Elle seraprogrammée. J'ai parlé avec leprésident nigérian Goodluck Jo-nathan dimanche, il m'a assuré desa détermination", indique-t-il."C'est pour cela que les chefs d'é-tat-major des pays de la Cédéaose sont réunis mardi à Bamako",selon lui. Alassane Ouattara a étéproclamé vainqueur du secondtour de la présidentielle de no-vembre par la commission élec-

torale. Il est reconnu par lacommunauté internationale com-me président légitime. LaurentGbagbo a lui été déclaré présidentpar le Conseil constitutionnel,qui lui est acquis.

La Communauté des Etats d'A-frique de l'Ouest (Cédéao, dont leprésident Jonathan est le pré-sident en exercice) a suspendu laCôte d'Ivoire début décembre etmenacé Laurent Gbagbo d'une in-tervention militaire s'il ne cédaitpas de lui-même le pouvoir.

Les chefs d état-major des pays dela Cédéao ont entamé mardi (etjusqu'à jeudi) à Bamako une réu-nion essentiellement consacrée àune éventuelle action militaire enCôte d'Ivoire."Des arrangements sont en courspour qu'ils aillent faire des re-connaissances à Bouaké, qui sera

peut-être le centre de re-groupement des soldats", pour-suit dans cette interview M.Ouattara retranché dans un hô-teld'Abidjan depuis le début de lacrise. Bouaké, dans le centre dupays, est le fief des ex-rebellesdes Forces nouvelles, qui lui sontfavorables.

La Cédéao "nous dira dans quel-ques jours comment elle compteprocéder. Je préfère la voie de laCédéao qui est en réalité de pro-poser une exfiltration", pré-cise-t-il. "Il s'agit de venirchercher Laurent Gbagbo, com-me cela a été fait pour d'autreschefs d'État en Afrique ou ail-leurs. S'il y a des fidèles quis'accrochent, ils en feront lesfrais. Cette solution est meilleureque d'avoir des milliers de morts",affirme-t-il.



Ile-de-France : la note qui accable Jean-Paul Huchon

Jean-Paul Huchon au conseil régionaldIle-de-France.

Jean-Paul Huchon au conseil régionaldIle-de-France.

Par Sophie de Ravinel

A l'invitation du Conseil d'Etat, leministère de l'Intérieur a rédigéun avis qui accable le présidentsocialiste de la régionIle-de-France, menacé d'i-néligibilité.

Menacé d'inéligibilité pour avoirmonté une campagne de com-munication de sa Région dans lessix mois précédant l'élection ré-gionale de mars dernier, le pré-sident PS de la régionIle-de-France, Jean-Paul Hu-chon, verra son dossier étudié parles juges du Conseil d'Etat le 24janvier.

Avant Noël, le Conseil d'Etat a re-poussé sa décision du fait du dé-pôt, par les avocats de Huchon,d'unequestion prioritaire de cons-titutionnalité (QPC). Les avocatsdu président de la Région con-sidèrent en effet que«l'automaticité» et la «lourdeur»des sanctions sont «in-constitutionnelles». Dans un avisrendu le 3 décembre, le rap-porteur général du Conseil d'Etat,Edouard Geffray, a demandé l'an-

nulation de l'élection deJean-Paul Huchon et l'in-validation de son compte de cam-pagne. Plus de deux millionsd'euros devraient alors être rem-boursés à l'Etat.

Dans le cadre du dépôt de cetteQPC, la direction des libertés pu-bliques et des affaires juridiquesdu ministère de l'Intérieur com-pétente puisqu'il s'agit d'uneques-tion de droit électoral - a étéinvitée à rédiger, comme toujoursen pareil cas, un «mémoire en dé-fense». Transmis au Conseil d'E-tat le 24 décembre, ce mémoire aensuite été envoyé aux partiesconcernées : celle du requérant, lejeune militant UMP Paul Midy àl'origine de la plainte, et celle dela défense de Jean-Paul Huchon.

Le sort de Huchon dans les mainsdes juges

Dans ce mémoire de quelques pa-ges, dont rend compte Le Mondedaté du 20 janvier, la direction duministère de l'Intérieur considèreque «l'éventuelle in-constitutionnalité des dis-positions précitées du codeélectoral est dépourvue de ca-ractère sérieux». Elle invite leConseil d'Etat «à constater qu'iln'y a pas lieu de renvoyer auConseil constitutionnel la ques-tion soulevée».

Lundi 24 janvier, les juges pour-

ront ne pas tenir compte de ce mé-moire et transmettre le dossier auConseil constitutionnel qui auraalors trois mois pour donner sonjugement. Dans ce délai, ce seracette fois aux services juridiquesdu premier ministre de produireun nouveau «mémoire en dé-fense».

Si les juges du Conseil d'Etat dé-cident de ne pas transmettre ledossier rue Montpensier, ils au-ront la possibilité de suivre l'avisdu rapporteur Edouard Geffray.Mais ils pourraient aussi déciderde ne pas appliquer la sanction d'i-néligibilité, se contentant d'une«simple» sanction comptable,c'est-à-dire le remboursement dela campagne. Il faudra ajouter leremboursement de la campagnede communication litigieuse qui acoûté plus de 800.000 euros à laRégion.

Les juges pourraient juger queJean-Paul Huchon était de «bon-ne foi» lorsqu'il a lancé cette cam-pagne sur les transports,c'est-à-dire qu'il pouvait ne pasavoir conscience de l'infractionau code électoral. Mais sur cepoint, la direction du ministère del'Intérieur s'est montrée sévère.Selonelle, il y abien eu«unecons-cience précise du concours et desmoyens mis à disposition par laRégion dans le cadre de la cam-pagne de promotion pu-blicitaire».



Continuação: Ile-de-France : la note qui accable Jean-Paul Huchon

«Une question de morale po-litique» pour Pécresse

«Toute cette affaire est une ques-tion de respect du droit électoralet de la morale politique», a jugémercredi soir Valérie Pécresse.Lors de ses vux aux élus ré-gionaux, la ministre de l'En-seignement supérieur, égalementprésidente du groupe UMP auconseil régional,aparailleurs lan-cé un message à la gauche en luidemandant «d'appliquer à el-

le-même les paroles prononcéespar Martine Aubry : «laissez tra-vailler les magistrats. Quand ondoute de la justice, il n'y a plus deRépublique». Jean-Paul Huchonavait considéré que son éven-tuelle inégibilité était un «as-sassinat politique».

De source proche du dossier, onsouligne que lundi, les juges duConseil d'Etat se réuniront ensous-section réunie et non en as-semblée ce qui signifie que leur

décision ne pose pas de problèmeparticulier.

LIRE AUSSI :

» Le PS met la pression au Con-seil d'État pour Huchon

» Le Conseil d'État accorde unsursis à Jean-Paul Huchon



India court alarm over theft of national moneyIndias underground economy ac-counts for 50% of GDP, the re-port says

Related stories

Reforming Indias maddening taxsystem Indias Supreme Courthas said that the practice of illegalfunnelling of wealth overseas byIndians is a "pure and simple theftof national money". The court al-so wondered what the go-vernment was doing to retrievethe illegal money in foreignbanks. US-based group GlobalFinancial Integrity has said thatIndia has lost more than $460bnin such illegal flight of capital sin-ce Independence. It said the illicitoutflows increased after eco-nomic reforms began in 1991.The report alsosaidthat almost th-ree-quarters of the illegal moneythat comprises Indias un-derground economy ends up out-side the country. Indias

underground economy has beenestimated to account for 50% ofthe countrys GDP - $640bn at theend of 2008. Wednesdays re-marks by the Supreme Court ca-me when it was hearing a petitionfiled by a former federal Law Mi-nister Ram Jethmalani and otherson the alleged inaction of the go-vernment in bringing back illegalmoney parked overseas by richIndians and companies.

In response, Indias So-licitor-General Gopal Su-bramaniam submitted a sealedcover containing 16 names of in-dividuals and companies who hadaccounts with a Lie-chtenstein-based bank. "This isall the information you have oryou have something more! Weare talking about the huge money.It is a plunder of the nation," re-marked Justice B Sudershan Red-dy. 'Mind-boggling crime' "It is apure and simple theft of national

money. We are talking about [a]mind-boggling crime. Mr Su-bramaniam said the governmentwas taking measures to bringback the illegal money, but saidthere were difficulties in sharingthe information because of con-fidentiality treaties betweencountries. "All we want is thatyou give all the informationabout the money deposited in theforeign banks by Indians. Youcannot confine the petition to onebank," Justice SS Nijjar said. Thecourt has fixed 27 January as thenext date of hearing.

Global Financial Integrity saidthe illegal flight of capital th-rough tax evasion, crime and cor-ruption had widened inequality inIndia. High net-worth individualsand private companies werefound to be primary drivers of il-legal capital flows.



A lot to be done: Hu tackles human rightsHis answer, when it finally came,was illuminating. But, Id like tosuggest, that some of the sig-nificance has been missed, somemisread. Just hearing a Chinesepresident deal with direct ques-tions on the subject is incrediblyrare. In China the heavily sta-te-controlled media doesnt posethem. And we in the foreign pressnever get a chance to grill the pre-sident. He simply doesnt have toface with the impertinence of anunscripted occasion where wemight ask uncomfortable ques-tions. For all the talk of Chinas ri-se in the world, and its new-foundconfidence, its president has ap-peared shy about facing thewestern media. About DamianGrammaticas Im the BBCs Chinacorrespondent. This is where Iwill share my thoughts on life inthis rapidly changing economicgiant More about Damian Video:Grammaticas in Beijing WhenPresident Obama visited China in2009 and when UK Prime Mi-nister David Cameron came toBeijing last year there was nojoint press conference becausethe Chinese side didnt want one.Even abroad, when President Huvisited France last year, the Fren-ch, apparently out of deference toChinese wishes, took the unusualstep of cancelling any joint pressevent. So the first thing thatseems significant to me is to re-cognise that it is, uniquely, Ame-rica that is prepared to stand side

by side with Chinas leaders anddeal publicly with questions ofhuman rights. No other nationseems ready to hold China to ac-count that way. Unthreatening Sowhat happened when the ques-tion was posed? Well first timeround, either the translation sys-tem failed or President Hu tried tododge the issue. Then, when itwas posed again, Chinas leaderread from pre-prepared notes. Itwasnt the most confident or themost convincing display of sta-tesmanship. "Start Quote Chinastill faces many challenges ineconomic and social de-velopment, and a lot still needs tobe done in China in terms ofhuman rights" End Quote HuJintao Chinese President Butagain there is something sig-nificant here that has perhapsbeen overlooked.The fact Hu Jintao had his answeralready scripted is I think worthnoting. As I understand it theAmerican side warned the Chi-nese well in advance of this visitthat they would have to face un-comfortable questions abouthuman rights and suggestedthey had better have their answerready. So the White House wasnot prepared to shield China theway others have, but also tried tohelp them face up to the issue.What then of the answer Pre-sident Hu gave? Much is beingmade of the admission "a lot stillneeds to be done". Remember this

was scripted. China is on a publicrelations offensive with this visit.Its aware how negative its imageis in some quarters, particularlyover the issue of human rights,and its trying to address that. Sothe answer was not strident orconfrontational, but an attempt tosound unthreatening, a little hum-ble even. Its the attempt to strike anew tone that is important.But this wasnt an "unprecedentedadmission" as some have paintedit. Here I think the significance ofwhat President Hu said has beenmisread. On any occasion likethis Chinese diplomats put a lot ofstore by the precise phrasing ofpublic statements, so its worthlooking at Mr Hus exact words.Chinas president suggested rai-sing people out of poverty wasthe key priority "China is a de-veloping country with a huge po-pulation, and also a developingcountry in a crucial stage of re-form. In this context China stillfaces many challenges in eco-nomic and social development,and a lot still needs to be done inChina in terms of human rights,"was what the official translatorsaid. The important thing here isthe repeated stress on "de-velopment". Chinas leaders dontsee human rights the same waymost in the West do. They defineimproving human rights as im-proving living standards, liftingpeople out of poverty.President Obama was clearly



Continuação: A lot to be done: Hu tackles human rights

aware of this. Standing besidePresident Hu he even explained itfor him, saying "I believe part ofhuman rights is people beingable to make a living and havingenough to eat and having shelterand having electricity." Chinahas made remarkable economicprogress in recent years. Tensupon tens of millions of Chinesepeople have been lifted out of po-verty. Today the majority of Chi-nese enjoy living standards thatwould have seemed impossible30 years ago. Chinas citizens alsohave many more freedoms thanthey once did, to choose wherethey work, who they marry, tocommunicate over the internetand to travel abroad. President Huis saying this change will con-tinue. But I dont think Chinas pre-sident is saying he believes a lotneeds to be done about the free-dom of speech, of assembly, ofreligion in China. What he issaying is that China still needs tolift tens of millions of people outof poverty.Even the statement that "we willcontinue our efforts to promotedemocracy and the rule of law"doesnt mean he wants to see cons-titutional democracy in China.When the Communist Party andits leaders talk of "democracy"they mean "socialist democracy"and that means the CommunistParty continues to rule China butseeks to make government moreefficient, to appear more res-

ponsive to public opinion. 'Dif-ferent circumstances' And itsworth measuring President Huswords against the actions of Chi-nas government. The Nobel Pea-ce Prize winner Liu Xiaobo stillsits in a Chinese prison. His cri-me, "subversion", was to authorand promote Charter 08 which isprecisely a call for constitutionaldemocracy in China, for freespeech, for an independent ju-diciary, for an American-style se-paration of powers. Nobel PeaceLaureate Liu Xiaobo remains inprison because of his Charter 08call for democracy Charter 08 isabove all a threat to the Com-munist Partys continued mo-nopoly on power.There is no sign that Liu Xiaobo isabout to be released. And his wi-fe, Liu Xia, who was detained justbefore the Nobel Prize was awar-ded last year, is still being held bypolice, although its not clear whatcrime if any she has committed.Also here in China one of thecountrys most prominent humanrights lawyers, Gao Zhisheng,has been missing for most of thepast two years. He was takenaway by state security agents, re-surfaced once after internationalpressure, gave a detailed accountof torture he said he had suffered,and then was taken away again.His wife Geng fled to Americawith their two children. Shes inWashington while President Huis there, and is demanding to

know what has happened to herhusband. Other human rightslawyers working in Beijing saythe rule of lawis gettingworse notbetter. If you look at PresidentHus remarks in Washington hesays China respects the uni-versality of human rights, but"we need to take into account thedifferent national cir-cumstances".China, he is saying, should not beheld to western standards ofhuman rights because its peopleare poorer, its population is sobig,andit is inwhathecalls "acru-cial stage of reform". This is not anew position, but a restatement ofChinas traditional one. Its an ar-gument for why China should betreated differently and the Com-munist Party exempted from cri-ticism. Many other developingnations, India among them, dontargue that they should be held tolower standards of human rig-hts, but China does. So PresidentHu is saying Chinas focus willcontinue to be on development.And his remarks seem to showBeijing wants to damp down in-ternational criticism over humanrights because it is damaging toChinas image. Movement onhuman rights and democracy, inthe Western sense, does not seemto be on the cards, not just now,not until conditions in Chinachange.



Damian Green announces terror detention changeUK

The decision followed a review by the go-vernment, the full findingsof whichwill beannounced next Wednesday. Mr Greensannouncement was a response to a ques-tion in the House of Commons.The 28-daylimit, introduced under Labours 2006 Ter-rorism Act, had been criticised by somecivil rights groups. The use of the 28-daylimit was extended for six months last yearwhile the full review was carried out.



Subtle Signs of Progress in U.S.-China RelationsThat much is doubtful. But for thefirst time in months, the two lea-ders may at least have started rea-ding from the same book.After a 2010 notable mostly forChinese acrimony toward theUnited States and its policies, Mr.Hu came to the White Housesaying not only that constructiverelations between the two powerswere essential, but also offeringsome modest concessions to de-monstrate it. In a joint statementissued Wednesday, the Chinesefor the first time expressed publicconcern over North Korea"s re-cent disclosure of a modern ura-nium-enrichment plant, a smallbut ardently sought step in Ame-rican efforts to press Kim Jong-ilto roll back his nuclear weaponsprogram.More surprisingly, perhaps, Mr.Hu said at a White House newsconference that the China "re-cognizes and also respects theuniversality of human rights," apalpable shift for a governmentthat has staged a two-yearcrackdown on internal dissentand imprisoned a Nobel laureate.Until Wednesday, recognizingcredos like democracy andhuman rights as "universal va-lues" had been all but taboo in theChinese political discourse, al-though China has signed the Uni-ted Nations convention in whichthe principle of universal humanrights is enshrined.Words, of course, are easier than

deeds. "I don"t equate new rhe-toric with new reality in China,"said Kenneth G. Lieberthal, aBrookings Institution scholarwho was President Bill Clinton"snational security adviser on Chi-na issues. "But at least new rhe-toric is better than nothing."So, in a sense, were the events ofWednesday. Neither side madeany significant progress, muchless any breakthrough, on the lar-ger problems that have bedeviledrelations ever since Mr. Obamamade his state visit to Beijing inNovember 2009. On the Ame-rican side, that includes revaluingChina"s currency, leveling theplaying field for American in-vestors in China and establishinga serious discourse between thenations" militaries.For the Chinese, the biggest thor-ns include American arms sales toTaiwan, its continued support ofthe Dalai Lama and what a Chi-nese journalist at Wednesday"snews conference called "s-trategic mistrust" - the fear thatthe United States is seeking to en-circle China and suppress its rise.Still, each side came away fromthe meeting with something itcould point to as an ac-complishment, however modest.The White House had set out tokeep relations from sliding evenfurther downhill, and to establisha more personal relationship withMr. Hu that could sustain ties du-ring the next two years, when the

political realities of choosing lea-ders in both countries will workagainst any significant im-provement.Mr. Obama appears to have got-ten that. For his part, Mr. Hu was,by American accounts, fixated onengineering a state visit thatwould portray China as an equalpartner with the United States,and China"s president as a suc-cessful, internationally re-cognized statesman. He got that,too.Both leaders should also reap do-mestic political benefits fromtheir meeting. Mr. Hu"s enhan-ced stature, American analystssay, should help him tamp downpolitical forces that have driven amore aggressive foreign policyand hamstrung relations with theUnited States and China"s Pacificneighbors in the last year.Mr. Hu and China"s premier,Wen Jiabao, "realize this as-sertiveness based in the last yearon nationalism and the belief thatthe U.S. is declining has gottenthem into deep trouble," said Jo-seph S. Nye Jr., the dean at theKennedy School of Governmentat Harvard and a State De-partment and Pentagon official inthe Carter and Clinton ad-ministrations. Mr. Nye was inWashington for a luncheon withMr. Hu at the State Department."They think a summit whichcould be played as a success cangive them ammunition to quiet



Continuação: Subtle Signs of Progress in U.S.-China Relations

down this rumbling below in theranks."For his part, Mr. Obama comesaway from the visit with a new re-putation for toughness in his Chi-na policy, something that is likelyto please conservatives and someliberals alike.In the last week, the president"scabinet members loosed a fu-sillade of speeches intended to layout the administration"s dif-ferences with Beijing for all tosee. And at Wednesday"s publicsessions with Mr. Hu, Mr. Obamarepeatedly raised concerns aboutChina"s currency, its foot-drag-ging in stopping the pirating ofAmerican software and other in-tellectual property, its poorhuman rights record and, bol-dest of all, China"s refusal to talkto the Dalai Lama.

Critics on Mr. Obama"s left haveaccused him of soft-pedalinghuman rights since the start ofhis presidency, when Secretary ofState Hillary Rodham Clintonplayed down the need to raise rig-hts concerns in public during a vi-sit to Beijing. This time, Mr.Obama invited human rights ad-vocates to the White House for ameeting on China in the days be-fore Mr. Hu"s arrival, and raisedthe issue from the beginning onWednesday, in his remarks wel-coming Mr. Hu to the White Hou-se.Mr. Obama also had a "very se-rious" discussion on humanrights with Mr. Hu during a pri-vate dinner in the White House onTuesday, Mr. Lieberthal said."The administration feels this isabout managing a very com-

plicated and very important re-lationship - and I stress"managing," " he said. "This is nota relationship where everything isgoing to come out right."Whether baby steps on hu-man-rights language and other is-sues will show staying powerafter Mr. Hu returns to Beijingand the cauldron of domestic po-litics is an open question, Mr. Lie-berthal and other experts said. Butfor now, "progress is progress,"said Nina Hachigian, a veterananalyst on United States-Chinarelations at the Center for Ame-rican Progress, a De-mocratic-leaning research group."And even if it"s incremental pro-gress, it"s better than no progressat all."



Judges Take Another Look at Ex-AlabamaGovernor's Conviction

US

Lawyers for the former governorand Richard M. Scrushy, the for-mer chief executive of Heal-thSouth, asked a panel of theCourt of Appeals for the EleventhCircuit to either toss out the 2006convictions of both men in viewof recent decisions by theSupreme Court or at least ordera new trial.The judges seemed toacknowled-ge that the Supreme Court hadrecently shifted the legal lan-dscape.Judge J. L. Edmondson asked ifthe jurors in the original trial hadbeen given alternate ways to con-vict Mr. Siegelman and Mr.Scrushy, and suggested that if so-me of those grounds for con-viction had been invalidated,"that"s problematic." Judge Ed-mondson asked if "there should atleast be a new trial." It is not clearwhen the panel will issue an opi-nion in the case.Mr. Siegelman and his supportershave argued that his prosecutionwas spearheaded by the Bush ad-ministration to end the career of apromising Democratic politician.In a fund-raising e-mail to sup-porters on Tuesday, Mr. Sie-gelman said a court victory wouldbe "sending a powerful messageto Karl Rove and all of our op-ponents that we won"t let thempoliticize our justice system."The political accusations, howe-

ver, were not at issue in Wed-nesday"s hearing - and, after thechange of administrations, theObama Justice Department hascontinued to pursue the pro-secution.The heart of the case concerns$500,000 in contributions by Mr.Scrushy to retire campaign debton a lottery referendum supportedby the governor. Mr. Siegelmanreappointed Mr. Scrushy to a sta-te hospital board. Prosecutors cal-led it a bribe, and a jury andappeals courts - including the th-ree-judge panel in a previousruling - have agreed.Lawyers for Mr. Siegelman andMr. Scrushy said the con-tributions did not personally be-nefit Mr. Siegelman. They alsoargued that Mr. Scrushy"s ap-pointment did not involve an"explicit quid pro quo," or ex-change, as a brief put it. Flawedjury instructions led to a flawedresult, the lawyers argued, andthe evidence "plainly shows thatthere was no crime here."The conviction, they argued, cri-minalized relatively common po-litical horse-trading and turnedthe law into an unconstitutionallyvague guessing game instead of apattern of bright lines separatinglegal from illegal."If I do not win, every governor,every U.S. member of Congressand Presidents Bush and Obama

will be subject to prosecution,"Mr. Siegelman said in an e-mailresponse to questions. Mr. Sie-gelman was sentenced in 2007 toseven years in prison and jailedinitially, but he was later freed onbail pending appeal.His lawyers are pinning their ho-pes on the Supreme Court"s de-cision last year in Citizens Unitedv. Federal Election Commission,which expanded the legal pro-tection for political campaigncontributions under the FirstAmendment, and on another caselast June in which the SupremeCourt greatly narrowed the ap-plication of a federal law oftenused by federalprosecutors incor-ruption cases, including Mr. Sie-gelman"s.In that case, involving the fraudconviction of Jeffrey K. Skilling,the former chief executive of En-ron, the court narrowed the in-terpretation of the law, whichmakes it a crime "to deprive anot-her of the intangible right ofhonest services." The court ruledthat at its broadest interpretation,the law was "unconstitutionallyvague."The court then sent the Sie-gelman case back to lower courtsfor reconsideration in light of theSkilling decision.The Justice Department, in itsbriefs, countered that Mr. Sie-gelman"s argument was based on



Continuação: Judges Take Another Look at Ex-Alabama Governor's Conviction

a "flawed understanding" of theSupreme Court"s decision inthe Skilling case, and "would gi-ve officials and donors immunityfor corruptly exchanging officialactions for campaign con-tributions."The Citizens United case was notcited by name on Wednesday, butit appeared to influence the hour-long hearing.The lawyer arguing for the go-vernment, John-Alex Romano,said Mr. Siegelman and Mr.Scrushy had been involved in abribe that survives the narrowingof the Skilling decision. The for-mer governor had personally gua-ranteed the lottery campaigndebt, so the contention that the ca-se did not involve personalenrichment "is not persuasive,"the government wrote in its brief.The defense lawyers argued thatthe loan guarantee was irrelevant

because it was not in place at thetime Mr. Siegelman and Mr.Scrushy discussed the con-tribution.Still, the judges expressed a de-gree of skepticism about the de-fendants" version of events. Thequestion of whether the case be-fore them, in which GovernorSiegelman and an aide spokeabout the money from Mr. Scrus-hy and his desire for a seat on thehospital board but did not ex-plicitly call it an exchange, ledJudge James C. Hill to ask, "Youdon"t think that runs into a "nud-ge, nudge, wink, wink" pro-blem?"Sam Heldman, the lawyer for Mr.Siegelman, insisted that the con-versation did not show an explicitquid pro quo, and that the ques-tion of whether contributions toissue-advocacy campaigns cons-titute bribes had not been re-

solved."Reasonable people could differwhere the line ought to be," Mr.Heldman said, but it was not up tothe courts to draw that line wit-hout guidance from lawmakers."Congress ought to be drawingthe line," he said.Judge Edmondson said that po-litical contributions were an es-sential part of participating in thepolitical system,andthat somebe-nefit for the contributor was oftenimplied, at the very least. "A-merican politics does run, to alarge degree, on money," he said."People have to ask for money,and people have to give money.America doesn"t want to chillthat."Judge Hill agreed. The case, hesaid, "runs smack into the FirstAmendment."



100, 75, 50 Years AgoOPINIÓN

1911 Famous Filibuster DiesCaptain George B. Boynton, thefilibuster, died yesterday [Jan.19] in this city of a complicationof diseases. He was 69 years old.Captain Boynton was born inNew York, but when a com-paratively young man, he joinedSenor de Cespedes in the earlyCuban struggle for in-dependence. Later he tried to get acargo of arms to France duringthe Franco-German war, but sub-sequently turned them over to theforces of Don Carlos, who wasfighting for the throne of Spain.Captain Boynton drifted to Mon-tenegro, Serbia and Turkey, andlater delivered munitions to Rus-sia, remaining with the Russiansduring the siege of Plevna in Bul-garia. Subsequently he was sen-tenced to death when caughttrying to take rifles to a re-volutionary party in SantoDomingo, but escaped. He turnedup next in Haiti, where a revolthad started against Hippolyte.

1936 King George V DiesGeorge the Fifth, by the Grace ofGod, of Great Britain, Ireland andof the British Dominions beyondthe Seas, King, Defender of theFaith and Emperor of India, diedin his country house at San-dringham, Norfolk, last night[Jan. 20] in the 71st year of his lifeand the 26th of his reign. He pas-sed away peacefully at 11:55 p.m.in the presence of Queen Mary,the Prince of Wales, the Duke ofYork, the Princess Royal and theDuke and Duchess of Kent, in hisquiet bedroom on the first floor ofhis manor. The news did not be-come generally known until12:15thismorning. The King suf-fered no pain at his death. Whenthe doctors realized there was nofurther hope a summons was sentto the Queen and her family, whowere waiting anxiously in an ad-joining room.

1961 Kennedy Becomes Pre-sidentJohn Fitzgerald Kennedy became

the 35th President of the UnitedStates at 12:51 p.m. today [Jan.20] and promptly made a strongplea that East and West "beginanew the quest for peace." "Let usnever negotiate outof fear," heur-ged, "but let us never fear to ne-gotiate." The 43-year-oldpresident, delivering an eloquentinaugural address under a sunnybut cold sky on snow-covered Ca-pitol hill, reminded the world thatthe United States has handed thetorch to a new generation "unwil-ling to witness or permit the slowundoing of those human rights towhich this nation has always beencommitted." To this country"s al-lies, Mr. Kennedy offered hispledge of loyalty and bespoke hishopes for "new co-operative ven-tures." To Latin America he pre-ferred a "new alliance forprogress." He coupled this, mo-reover, with a clear warning to theSoviet Union that the MonroeDoctrine still stands.



China state visit to US: Chinese media downplayhuman rights talk

WORLD

Barack Obama and Hu Jintao atthe White House. Chinese statemedia have praised the pre-sident's trip to Washington.

Chinese state media have laudedthe president's trip to Washingtonbut downplayed remarks onhuman rights that led reports el-sewhere in the world.

Headlines in China today hailed"a new chapter in relations" andeven "a historic masterstroke ofChina-US diplomacy". The statebroadcaster CCTV focused onthe welcoming ceremony and tra-de agreements, not mentioninghuman rights in reports seen bythe Guardian.

In a front-page commentary in theoverseas edition of the People'sDaily, the main Communist partynewspaper, Sino-US relations ex-pert Tao Wenzhao wrote thatcommon interests between Chinaand the US should supersede theirdifferences.

"The region's peace, stability andprosperity are beneficial to bothcountries. The countries in the re-gion can also share the benefits,"

wrote the Tsinghua universityprofessor. "If military conflict,turmoilor economic recession de-velop in the region, it will benefitno one."

Xinhua state news agency re-ported the Chinese president'scomments on human rights fromthe press conference, in which hesaid China "is always committedto protection and promotion ofhuman rights andhas made enor-mous progress in this regard", butthe story appeared to be buried onnews websites. There was nomention of the question thatprompted the president's reply orof the US president's comments.

Although Chinese leaders rarelydiscuss human rights in public,Hu Jintao's remarks were broadlyin line with previous statementson the issue.

Residents in Beijing said screenswent blank when BBC and CNNbroadcasts - available in some ho-tels andupmarketapartment com-plexes - discussed human rightsand protests.

Many in China were keen to dis-

cuss Barack Obama's remarksand the fact he raised the case ofthe jailed Nobel peace prize win-ner, Liu Xiaobo.

On Twitter - blocked in China butaccessed by some users includingmany activists - one widelyre-tweeted comment read: "A-merican officials say Obama hasraised the Liu Xiaobo issue withHu and Obama reiterated thatfreedom of speech is a universalright. But the official refused tosay how Hu answered the ques-tion."

Another user wrote: "Imagine:When Obama asked about LiuXiaobo, Hu began to look con-fused and asked his assistant: whois Liu Xiaobo? He is challengingWen [Jiabao] to be the best ac-tor!"

Chinese cynics have long arguedthat premier Wen's man-of-t-he-people persona is merely anact.

A third said: "Obama raises thehuman rights issue and Hu im-mediately spent US$45bn [ondeals]. Speechless..."



Continuação: China state visit to US: Chinese media downplay human rights talk

Some in China see US pressureover human rights as hypo-critical. One student told Reuters:"They are just using it as an ex-cuse to attack China. The US is-

sues a global report on humanrights every year, but never men-tions itself in it. Then Chinawould release a similar report onthe US the next day. I think

human rights in all countries ha-ve improved, but still have flaws.Disparity is inevitable."



Cribsheet daily 20.01.11

A stitch in time. Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis

A stitch in time. Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis

A stitch in time. Photograph: Bet-tmann/Corbis"I like Gove's new syllabus: al-gebra, divinity, rhetoric, sewingfor the girls andaschool trip to theworkhouse. Great."

That's the Twitter view of co-median @davidschneider on themorning the education secretaryannounces a review of nationalcurriculum.

Gove says it'll be pared down tofocus on core knowledge in tra-ditional subjects, restoring a ol-d-fashioned emphasis on factsand figures. He's concerned at thelack of historical figures men-tioned in the present history cur-riculum - except for twoassociated with the abolition ofslavery - and accuses Labour ofditchingspecific knowledge in fa-vour of themes that cut across thecurriculum.

Not that he's telling headteacherswhat to do or anything. Au-tonomy, that's what he wants inschools. Autonomy and a wholenew curriculum.

Retired teacher Janet Downs hasdone a blog on whether he's a Sta-linist or a libertarian.

Citizenship teachers fear their po-pular subject will cease tobecom-pulsory in the new curriuculumand warn that England will be-come politically illiterate as aconsequence.

The DfE is canvassing opinion onthe curriculum on its Facebookpage, @SchoolDuggery pointsout. It also tweets:

"Lots of headteachers andex-headteachers on the advisorycommittee, but no class teachers.Expert panel is all academics."

Inspired no doubt by Gove's callfor facts and figures, the Te-legraph has drawn up a timelineof keydates in the evolutionof thenational curriculum.

And the education secretary hashimself put pen to paper for theTelegraph. Most of his piece bla-mes Labour for ? oh, you know,all the usual.

More education news from theGuardian

? MPs hammered the final nail in-to the coffin of the EducationMaintenance Allowance yes-terday, voting against Labour'sbid for its reprieve by 317 votes to

258, a government majority of 59.The defeat follows a passionatecampaign by teenagers, many ofwhom say losing the grant willput an end to their studies.

? The Refugee Council has step-ped into the row over Pa-lingswick House currentlyhousing organisations workingwith refugee groups and othervulnerable people, but earmarkedby Toby Young as a prospectivehome for his new "free school".

Young himself heaped scorn onhis critics yesterday:

"I know education is a politicalfootball, but is it too much to hopefor a bit more accuracy and ba-lance in the coverage of freeschools?"

Education news from around theweb

? MPs say school science is being"undermined by poor teachersand laboratories", the Telegraphreports. The Commons public ac-counts committee said reforms in-troduced by the last governmenthad led to a rise in the status ofschool science but there were toofew science teachers and facilitieswere "unsatisfactory and even un-safe" in a quarter of secondaryschools.

? The Independent reports that



Continuação: Cribsheet daily 20.01.11

despite the coalition's insistencethat spending on schools will in-crease, headteachers are pre-paring to make big cuts to theirstaff. Class sizes are likely to rise,and subjects to disappear.

? The University and CollegeUnion, which has about 65,000higher education members, willhold a series of ballots for in-dustrial action next month, po-tentially leading to strikes inMarch, over jobs, pay and pen-sions, reports the THE.

Two views of the English bac

SecEd doesn'tbeat about the bushwhen it comes to the English bac-calaureate:

"Education minister Michael Go-ve's assertion that the five A* to CGCSE includingEnglish andmat-hs benchmark is still the "key per-formance measure" is a joke.

All you need do is peruse thenewspapers and you will see thatfrom now on, the English Bac-calaureate (EBacc) is all that mat-ters in the eyes of journalists,parents, and indeed to Mr Gove.This is a landmark moment in hisongoing battle to truly underminethe standing of vocational edu-cation in this country.

By forcing schools to promotegeography and history above ICTand the arts, he is sending a clearmessage that only the academic

matters to him. By refusing to al-low applied sciences or lan-guages to be counted as part of theEBacc, he again makes clear thathe considers these courses not tobe worth anything.

His policies refuse to recognisethat practical education in thecontext of academic rigour isexactly what this country needs."

But Roy Blatchford, director ofthe National Education Trust, gi-ves the Ebacc a cautious twocheers:

"Mr Gove and Ms Teather - joi-nedat the policy hip- are bothpas-sionate about making adifference to the least advantagedstudents in society. They say soon every platform, from QuestionTime to Any Questions to the To-day Programme. The pupil pre-mium may be one manifestation,but the deep desire to give all stu-dents, wherever they areschooled, access to the 'great coresubjects' is deep-rooted, traceableof course back to Keith Josephand Kenneth Baker.

So Teather-Gove can be for-given, in an English sort of way,for seizing upon English, mat-hematics and science (certainlyyes), history or geography (pro-bably yes) and a modern foreignlanguage (probably not) to makeup the magic quintet."

Competition

Children aged between seven and14 can now enter the YoungHuman Rights reporter of theyear competition, run by lear-nnewsdesk, the Guardian's onlinenews service for schools, andAmnesty International. A winnerand two runners-up in the primaryand secondary school categorieswill win a trip to Amnesty In-ternational and the Guardianheadquarters in London as well asan MP3 recorder. The closing da-te for entries is 14 February.

Find us on the Guardian website

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Caso ex embajador en EcuadorSeñor Director:

El relato de la Fiscalía en su re-formalización, querecoge el Con-sejo de Defensa del Estado(CDE), carece de todo fun-damento, ya que los hechos noestán acreditados y constituyenuna caricatura del cargo y fun-ciones propias del embajador, in-volucrándolo en reparacionesadministrativas y domésticas, co-mo el reemplazo de vidrios ypuertas. Resulta obvio que dichaslabores están fuera de la órbita ycompetencia de las funcionesinherentes al cargo de embajador,establecidas en el Decreto Nº 421del Ministerio de Relaciones Ex-teriores, que aprueba las "Ins-trucciones Generales al CuerpoDiplomático Chileno".

En cumplimiento del principio deobjetividad, mi defensa ha so-

licitado, reiteradamente, in-vestigar hechos que parecenrevestir caracteres de delito, re-lacionados con la contadora de laembajada en Quito, quien ha bus-cado mi implicación, intentandocon ello ocultar sus propias ir-regularidades. La renuencia eninvestigar a dicha funcionaria nosha obligado a presentar en su con-tra una querella criminal por frau-de al fisco ante el 34° Juzgado delCrimen competente de Santiago,la que ha sido acogida a tra-mitación. En un fallo de la Cortede Apelaciones de Santiago, deoctubre pasado, se decretó elcumplimiento de todas las di-ligencias investigativas, que in-cluyen la indagación einterrogatorio de dicha con-tadora, a través de un exhortointernacional, que ha sido aco-gido en días pasados por la CorteSuprema. De todo ello se ha in-

formado al Consejo de Defensadel Estado (CDE) en resguardodel interés fiscal.

En esta situación, con fecha 5 deenero pasado, los abogados de midefensa han deducido un recursode reclamación en contra del fis-cal, ante la Fiscalía Regional, co-mo las autoridades superiores delMinisterio Público, en con-formidad al artículo 232 delCódigo Procesal Penal, por es-timar abusiva y arbitraria lareformalización referida, a fin deque se adopten las medidas cor-rectivas que sean necesarias.

NELSON HADAD

Ex embajador de Chile en Ecua-dor



Rechazo de extradiciónEl fallo del ministro Sergio Mu-ñoz que negó la extradición a Co-lombia de Manuel Olate-miembro del Partido Comunistachileno acusado de delito ter-rorista por sus vínculos con lasFuerzas Armadas Re-volucionarias de Colombia(FARC)- finalmente será re-visado por la Corte Suprema. Setrata de una sentencia extensa yque por su relevancia, más allá deeste caso en particular, requierede un detenido análisis y debatejurídico. En este sentido, el re-curso de apelación y de nulidadanunciado por la fiscalía le per-mitirá al máximo tribunal sentarjurisprudencia sobre tras-cendentes aspectos procesales(por ejemplo, qué profundidad yexigencias debe tener el análisisprobatorio en un juicio de ex-tradición conforme con las nue-vas normas del Código ProcesalPenal) y de fondo (por ejemplo,los requisitos para la tipificacióny participación en el delito ter-rorista consagrado en el artículo 8de Ley 18.314, que sanciona alque "por cualquier medio, directao indirectamente, solicite, re-caude o provea fondos con la fi-nalidad de que se utilicen en lacomisión de cualquiera de los de-litos terroristas...") que envuelveeste proceso.

Si bien a juicio del magistrado no

hay antecedentes serios para ac-ceder a la solicitud de extradición,en el desarrollo de la sentencia dapor establecida una serie de he-chos relevantes. Quizás lo másimportante es que sostiene que laconducta de las FARC puede con-siderarse como terrorista y re-chaza que se le reconozca lacalidad de fuerza beligerante deacuerdo con el derecho in-ternacional. En este sentido plan-tea que "la conducta de las FARCimposibilita llegar a considerar laposibilidad de estimar, para losefectos del presente pedido de ex-tradición, la calidad de fuerzasbeligerantes (...) quienes trans-greden las leyes de la guerra y elderecho humanitario". A su vez,también tiene por acreditado queManuel Olate es quien utiliza elseudónimo de "Roque", y, portanto, que es este miembro delPartido Comunista chileno el queha tenido la vinculación con lasFARC.

Uno de los aspectos más con-trovertidos del fallo es que re-chaza la validez de las pruebascontenidas en los correos elec-trónicos encontrados en elcomputador de Raúl Reyes (enese entonces número dos de lasFARC), por estimarlas ilegales,ya que se "violó la normativa in-ternacional al invadir territorioecuatoriano". El viceministro de

Justicia de Colombia, Pablo Fe-lipe Robledo, ha impugnado estaacusación con el argumento de"que las pruebas recabadas en esteoperativo fueron sometidas a unacadena de custodia y han servidoen Colombia para judicializar aotras personas". Se trata na-turalmente de un punto decisivoque envuelve dos aspectos muyrelevantes, el primero de carácterprocesal sobre a quién le cor-responde juzgar la legalidad o ile-galidad de las pruebas (al estadorequirente o también al re-querido), y el segundo, decarácter sustancial, sobre la va-lidez, de acuerdo con el derechointernacional, de los de-nominados ataques preventivosde los países en los territorios so-beranos de otros.

A lo largo de su historia, Chile hatenido que fallar casos de ex-tradición muy difíciles, llenos depresiones e intereses políticos, ysiempre ha procurado que im-peren criterios jurídicos. Por con-trapartida, ha sufrido fallos deotros países, en los que inclusopor sobre decisiones judicialeshan predominado razones me-ramente políticas. El interés delpaís es que en un caso de tantacomplejidad como éste se man-tenga nuestra tradición de respetoal ordenamiento jurídico.

Brasília, 20 de janeiro de 2011


Índice remissivo de assuntosJustiça no Exterior9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 32, 33,34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45,46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 55, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61,62, 63, 65, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 78,79, 81, 83, 85, 86, 88, 89, 90, 93, 95, 97, 98,99, 100, 102, 103, 105, 107, 108, 110, 112,113, 115, 117, 118, 120, 122, 124, 126,128, 130, 133, 134, 135, 136, 138, 139,140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 147, 148,150, 151, 153, 155, 156, 158, 161, 162

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