Monday, October 19, 2015
‘No Political Party in Germany Addresses Loss of Culture Worries’ – Pegida Leader
Huge Anniversary PEGIDA March Tonight, as Government Propaganda Attempts to Link Group to Violence
Marine Le Pen MEP, leader of France’s Front National party, was invited as the star speaker at the anniversary PEGIDA event, but is rumoured to have dropped out at the last minute. Dutch conservative MP Geert Wilders of the Party for Freedom is still expected to address the crowd, tonight or later in week, as celebrations continue for a few days.
Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, reiterated her call on citizens not to attend, and on Monday her spokesman said those who went along “had hate in their hearts,” DPA reports.
In reference to the recent rise in arson attacks on asylum centres across Germany, a spokesman for Minister Thomas de Maizière of Mrs. Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, claimed that such crimes clustered around locations where PEGIDA rallies took place, implying they are related, Euractiv reports.
Heiko Maas, Minister for Justice and Consumer Protection, of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), said in an official government statement today: “Our rule of law will not shrink from threats and incitement to hatred,” in reference to PEGIDA. » | Liam Deacon | Monday, October 19, 2015
Merkel's Approach to Erdogan on Refugees Stirs German Doubts
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| German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, meets Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Yildiz Palace state apartments during her visit in Istanbul, Turkey on October 18, 2015. |
Merkel’s trip to Istanbul Sunday underscored the pivotal role of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan two weeks before Turkish elections and also showed how the crisis is forcing European leaders to engage with a country they’ve kept at arm’s length for a decade. Erdogan is seeking to restore the parliamentary majority the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, lost in June 7 elections.
“Whom does the chancellor’s trip to Turkey benefit more: Merkel or Erdogan?” asked Germany’s best-selling Bild newspaper Monday. The chancellor has “seldom been in such a weak position” as she was in Istanbul, said Handelsblatt, while Die Welt cited senior officials from Merkel’s Bavarian sister party as ruling out Turkish membership of the EU. » | Patrick Donahue Isobel Finkel | Sunday, October 18, 2015 | Updated: Monday, October 19, 2015
Maldives Woman Sentenced to Death by Stoning Wins Reprieve
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| The Supreme Court in the Maldives, where the case was annulled on Sunday night |
The Maldives' highest court has overturned an unprecedented sentence of death by stoning for a woman convicted of adultery, a crime in the Muslim island nation, media reports said on Monday.
The woman, identified by local media as a mother of five, was convicted by a local judge on a remote island in the Maldives, a popular tourist destination that has seen a rise in Islamic extremism.
The Haveeru news site said the woman had confessed to the crime after giving birth on the remote equatorial islet of Gemanafushi, about 250 miles south of the capital Male.
The Supreme Court annulled the case on Sunday night, ruling that the judge had failed to consider the legal as well as Islamic procedures of the nation of 340,000 Sunni Muslims, the Maldives Independent website said.
The Maldives, a popular Indian Ocean honeymoon destination, observes elements of Islamic Sharia law as well as English common law.
Sex outside marriage is against the law in the Maldives, although the ban does not apply to tourists visiting the upmarket holiday destination. » | AFP | Monday, October 19, 2015
LIVE: PEGIDA 1st Anniversary March to Meet Massive Counter-demo in Dresden
Australia's Anti-Islam Movement Seeks Geert Wilders Touch
On Tuesday, Geert Wilders, controversial leader of the right-wing Netherlands' Party for Freedom, will be the keynote speaker at the launch of the Australian Liberty Alliance (ALA).
Its manifesto states that "Islam is not merely a religion, it is a totalitarian ideology with global aspirations".
Australia's newest political party wants to curb Muslim immigration. » | Phil Mercer, BBC News, Sydney | Sunday, October 18, 2015
Ausländische Presse schreibt von Angstreflex
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| Deutsche Zeitungen widmen sich in ihren Kommentaren der Wahl des ehemaligen "Welt"-Chefredaktors Roger Köppel |
"Schweizer entscheiden sich aus Angst für Abschottung", titelt etwa die Zeitung "Die Welt". Der Erfolg der SVP sei zwar vorhergesagt worden, "in seinem Ausmass ist er aber doch überraschend". Das Ergebnis dürfte die Beziehung zwischen der Schweiz und der EU weiter belasten.
"Die Schweizer haben die rechtsbürgerlichen Kräfte in ihrem Land gestärkt", stellt die "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" fest. Während die SVP von der Flüchtlingskrise in Europa profitiert habe, spielte "der Wirtschaftsabschwung infolge der Stärke des Franken" der FDP in die Karten. Doch solange sich die Wahlgewinner in der Europa-Frage nicht einig seien, "kann von einem bürgerlichen Schulterschluss nicht die Rede sein".
Die "Süddeutsche Zeitung" sieht durch die Stärkung des rechten Lagers "das politische Erfolgsmodell des Landes" in Gefahr. "Die Schweiz, das war das Land, in dem alle zusammen regieren." In der Praxis sei die Eidgenossenschaft längst zum Vorbild der europäischen Rechtspopulisten geworden. "Von gemeinsamer Entscheidungsfindung ist dabei keine Rede." » | sda | Montag, 19. Oktober 2015
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Für ihn kann die Welt nicht Schweiz genug sein: Roger Köppel ist Chefredakteur der „Weltwoche“. Jetzt zieht er für die SVP mit einem Bombenergebnis ins Parlament ein. Er sieht sich als Verteidiger der Werte. Nur welcher? » | Jürg Altweg, Genf | Montag, 19. Oktober 2015
Roger Köppel ist Chefredakteur der „Weltwoche“ »
Related »
Dresden wappnet sich für Pegida-Demo
Auch Beamte der deutschen Bundespolizei seien am Abend im Einsatz, sagte eine Sprecherin der Dresdener Polizei am Montag. Die Zahl der eingesetzten Polizisten werde nicht bekanntgegeben. Nach Angaben der Dresdner Stadtverwaltung waren bis zum Freitag acht Demonstrationen neben der Pegida-Kundgebung angekündigt worden. » | sda/reu/dpa | Montag, 19. Oktober 2015
Ein Jahr Pegida: Der Ton verschärft sich
Geert Wilders, Controversial Dutch Politician, Launches Anti-Islam Party in Perth Daily Telegraph
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH (AU): Geert Wilders: Controversial Dutch politician launches anti-Islam party in Perth » | Miles Godfrey | Monday,October 19, 2015
Counter-extremism: May Targets 'All Those Who Spread Hate'
Radical preachers will be banned from posting material online and anyone with convictions for extremist activity will be barred from working with children.
Deradicalisation classes will be made mandatory for others deemed a threat.
But Muslim leaders warned the strategy "continues down a flawed path" and risks "alienating" Muslims in the UK. (+ video) » | Monday, October 19, 2015
HM GOVERNMENT: Counter-Extremism Strategy »
THE MUSLIM COUNCIL OF BRITAIN (MCB): ‘One Nation Counter-Extremism Strategy’ Risks Further Undermining Fight Against Terrorism »
Es bleibt ein Rätsel, wieso Slowenien nur noch einen Teil der ankommenden Flüchtlinge einreisen lässt
SCHWEIZER RADIO UND FERNSEHEN: Sloweniens Polizei geht gewaltsam gegen Flüchtlinge vor: Die slowenische Polizei hat rund 2000 Migranten gewaltsam gestoppt, die von Kroatien einreisen wollten. Sloweniens Aufnahmekapazitäten seien erschöpft, rechtfertigen sich die Behörden und kritisieren ihre kroatischen Nachbarn harsch. » | agenturen/morr; gyge | Montag, 19. Oktober 2015
"Daech a des agents dormants en Europe, qui attendent le moment propice pour frapper"
Un peu plus d'un an après la formation d'une coalition militaire occidentale pour lutter contre lui, le groupe Etat islamique (EI) poursuit son avancée, en Syrie notamment. L'Express a interrogé Michael Weiss, co-auteur, avec le Syrien Hassan Hassan, d'un ouvrage sur la genèse et la métamorphose du groupe djihadiste, État Islamique - Au coeur de l'armée de la terreur, paru le 1er octobre aux éditions Hugo & Cie. » | Propos recueillis par Catherine Gouëset | jeudi 15 octobre 2015
Israel PM Netanyahu to BBC: Get with the Programme - BBC News
"I've been calling day in, day out, in every forum... I've called on President Abbas to resume unconditional negotiations immediately," he said.
HT: Robert Spencer @ Jihad Watch »
Germany Ready to Support Turkey's EU Accession Process, Says Merkel
Germany is ready to accelerate Turkey's EU accession process, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday at a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
Merkel spoke of organizing the accession process "more dynamically."
"Germany is ready this year to open Chapter 17, and make preparations for (Chapters) 23 and 24. We can talk about the details," she said.
Merkel's statement came as she visited Turkish leaders on Sunday in a bid to secure Ankara's support in stemming the current migrant influx into the EU. » | ls/tj (Reuters, AFP, dpa) | Sunday, October 18, 2015
German Interior Minister de Maizière Condemns PEGIDA after 'Horrifying' Attacks
"They make blanket references to asylum seekers as criminals, and all politicians as being guilty of high treason," de Maiziere told the ARD television channel, alluding in part to the knife attack on Cologne mayoral candidate Henriette Reker, which was apparently in protest of the city's policies on the intake of refugees. Workers who help migrants in the city were also wounded in the attack on Saturday.
The minister referred to a tripling of attacks against asylum seekers since last year as "horrifying," and urged people - even those who did have concerns about the migrant influx - not to follow PEGIDA. "Hate prepares the ground for such acts," he said.
"Stay away from those who are injecting this hatred, this poison, into our country," he said in the interview on Sunday night. "Anyone who goes that way should know that they are following rabble rousers." » | rc/jm (dpa, Reuters) | Monday, October 19, 2015
Everyone Wrote Off the Syrian Army. Take Another Look Now
While the world still rages on at Russia’s presumption in the Middle East – to intervene in Syria instead of letting the Americans decide which dictators should survive or die – we’ve all been forgetting the one institution in that Arab land which continues to function and protect the state which Moscow has decided to preserve: the Syrian army. While Russia has been propagandising its missiles, the Syrian military, undermanned and undergunned a few months ago, has suddenly moved on to the offensive. Earlier this year, we may remember, this same army was being written off, the Bashar al-Assad government said to be reaching its final days.
We employed our own army of clichés to make the case for regime change. The Syrian army was losing ground – at Jisr al-Shugour and at Palmyra – and so we predicted that the whole Assad state had reached a “tipping point”.
Then along came Vladimir Putin with his air and missile fleets and suddenly the whole place is transformed. While we huffed and puffed that the Russians were bombing the “moderate” rebels – moderates who had earlier ceased to exist according to America’s top generals – we’ve been paying no attention to the military offensive which the Syrians themselves are now staging against the Nusra Front fighters around Aleppo and in the valley of the Orontes. » | Robert Fisk | Monday, October 19, 2015
Putin Has Achieved More against ISIS in a Fortnight Than US Did in a Whole YEAR, Syrian MP
The country's most senior MP praised Vladimir Putin's "principled" aerial pounding of the jihadis and denounced Barack Obama as "treacherous and deceptive" during a tubthumping speech to Russian delegates.
In a scathing assessment of Western foreign policy, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Jihad al-Laham said Russia's intervention in the region was having a positive difference whereas America and Britain had created instability and war.
He also provided more evidence of Putin's growing grip on power in the war-torn country, saying that Syria was ready to forge even closer ties with Russia. » | Nick Gutteridge | Monday, October 19, 2015
Anti-immigration Party Wins Swiss Election in 'Slide to the Right'
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| Swiss People's Party SVP President Toni Brunner laughs after a debate at the house of Parliament in Bern |
The anti-immigration Swiss People's Party (SVP) won the biggest share of the vote in Sunday's national parliamentary election, keeping pressure on Bern to introduce quotas on people moving from the European Union.
Success for the SVP, coupled with gains made by the pro-business Liberal Party (FDP), led political commentators to talk of a "Rechtsrutsch" - a "slide to the right" - in Swiss politics.
Immigration was the central topic for voters amid a rush of asylum seekers from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe.
"The vote was clear," SVP leader Toni Brunner told Swiss television. "The people are worried about mass migration to Europe."
Sunday's result cemented the SVP's position as the dominant force in Swiss politics. » | Reuters | Monday, October 19, 2015
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