Bomb attacks kill six in Afghanistan

Asian Defense News: KABUL (AFP) - – A string of roadside bomb attacks killed six civilians and wounded five children in insurgency-hit Afghanistan, authorities said on Sunday.

Six civilians were killed in two separate bomb explosions in the southern province of Helmand on Saturday, the interior ministry said in a statement.

They were killed when they drove over the devices, it said, blaming the attacks on insurgents.

Bomb attacks kill six in Afghanistan

In a separate but similar bomb blast five children were wounded in Herat province, in the west of the country, it said.

The children were playing in Angil district when the buried device went off, it said.

The statement did not give more details about the bombings but it blamed the attacks on Taliban insurgents.

Improvised bombs are a favourite weapon of the militants fighting to topple the Western-backed government in Kabul.

There are about 120,000 troops under NATO and US command in Afghanistan battling the Taliban-led insurgency now in its ninth year, with troop numbers expected to swell to 150,000 within months.

Rare glimpse of Hmong in Laos fails to quell concerns

Asian Defense News: PHONKHAM VILLAGE, Laos (AFP) - – A small, woollen-hatted woman, one of thousands of ethnic Hmong recently expelled from Thailand, creeps up to the row of rare foreign visitors in her new Laotian village.

"I want to go to another country," she whispers to the diplomats and journalists, who have been invited by the communist government for a tightly-monitored trip to this remote, newly-built community.

Rare glimpse of Hmong in Laos fails to quell concerns

"I don't feel good here in the village," says the 50-year-old, while the Laotian army's deputy chief, Brigadier General Bouasieng Champaphan, is delivering a rather different message to the audience.

"All the returnees are calm and stable and satisfied that they have returned to live in their home country again," he says. "They are very pleased and satisfied with the government's assistance."

Thailand faced a barrage of international criticism in December when it used troops to forcibly repatriate about 4,500 Hmong from camps in the country's north back to Laos, despite concerns of persecution on their return.

The Hmong's fear of retribution from the Laotian regime is a lingering remnant of the Vietnam War, when members of the ethnic hill tribe fought in a US-funded irregular army as the conflict secretly spilled into Laos.

After the communists took power in 1975, some Hmong hid in the jungle and fought a low-level insurgency against the regime. Hundreds of thousands of Lao and Hmong fled the country.

Though Thailand insisted all the Hmong recently sent back to Laos were illegal economic migrants, the United Nations recognised 158 of them as refugees, but was never allowed to assess if the thousands of others needed international protection.

While diplomats say there have been no reports of mistreatment, suspicions remain about the Hmong's rights and living standards in Phonkham village, which was built specifically for the group in central Bolikhamsay province.

"They've put them on a Laos equivalent of a desert island," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. "There's no sustained access to these people or quality of access."

Laotian officials said 3,457 of the repatriated Hmong were sent to Phonkham, while others went back to their home towns.

Laos said it would grant the international community's request for "free and unfettered" access to the returnees within 30 days of their repatriation, but so far visits have been scarce, brief and strictly monitored.

On the latest two-hour visit Friday, foreign diplomats, reporters and a few UN representatives were among those escorted in two helicopters from the Laotian capital Vientiane, a 45-minute flight away.

The delegation was ushered straight to an unfinished village hall to be greeted by smiling youngsters in traditional Hmong dress, before a briefing by central government and Phonkham officials.

"In the beginning of their resettlement... they were afraid because of not being familiar with their new environment and not understanding the Lao government's policies," said Bounthan Douangtanya of the village administration committee.

"But the authorities have conducted an education course for these returnees in order to... make them understand the policy regulations," he said, before detailing plans to develop the village infrastructure.

Diplomats were given a brief but revealing chance to question the 300 or so Hmong gathered in the hall.

How many had been outside of the village since arriving? One hand went up in response. How many had received money, parcels or anything else from contacts outside the village? Two. How many had yet received ID cards or official registration? None.

As the meeting ended, several of the Hmong approached their visitors, saying they wanted to leave. "I want to go to Canada," one 16-year-old girl told AFP, in English, as tears welled in her eyes.

She said she was one of the 158 recognised refugees who have been offered resettlement in Canada, the United States, Australia and the Netherlands. Embassies have been told by Laos that these people now want to stay.

One diplomat on the trip said that the Hmong who "explicitly" expressed a desire to leave "seemed to be demonstrating courage in coming to talk to us, despite the best efforts of the authorities to stage-manage the situation".

But the visit was "altogether not too bad," another Western diplomat said. "Obviously the transparency of the dialogue was limited," he added.

Brigadier General Bouasieng said foreign countries willing to assist the village should contact the government in Laos, which is one of Asia's poorest countries.

There are hopes that such aid, if allowed, would facilitate more openness about the Hmong.

"I think (the Laotian authorities) are going to struggle to support them. The trade-off is: if they want donations, they must give access," said Robertson of Human Rights Watch.

Rights groups say they have serious concerns about availability of clean water, food and medical treatment for the group.

"As long as access is strictly scripted and stage-managed, visitors will not be able to assess the well-being of the returnees," said Brittis Edman of Amnesty International.

Philippine troops capture key Abu Sayyaf camp

Asian Defense News: MANILA, Philippines – Philippine troops, backed by artillery and helicopter fire, have captured a key jungle camp of the Abu Sayyaf extremist group and may have killed several militants during a two-day assault, military officials said Sunday.

Marines and army troops captured the jungle encampment in Jolo island's mountainous Patikul township Friday with the help of U.S. military intelligence, regional military chief Lt. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino said. About 50 Abu Sayyaf fighters led by ailing commander Radulan Sahiron fled and were pursued by troops, he said.

Terrorism: Abu Sayyef and the CIA

It may be that that the blood of the American wage-slave is so contaminated with the poisons he consumes and breathes that he can't think straight. That's my theory. He has adopted a reverse perspective on himself and the world - liberalism is "fascism," war crimes/repression/torture "protect our liberties," the CIA is battling a war "against" terrorism ... - AC

" ... Abu Sayyaf members ... were initially recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency as mujahideens to fight the U.S. proxy war in Afghanistan ... They were trained by AFP officers in Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan and other remote areas in Mindanao ... The arms and funds came from U.S. covert operations connected with the CIA ... "

Two marines were wounded and several Abu Sayyaf fighters were believed killed as troops pursued the militants in an offensive that ended Sunday. At least one body of an Abu Sayyaf fighter killed in the assault was dug up by troops, he said.

Dozens of army scout rangers were flown aboard air force helicopters to help pursue the militants, who were also targeted by artillery and helicopter fire, he said.

Sahiron, a one-armed commander who suffers from diabetes and other ailments, apparently survived. Washington has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture or killing.

Dolorfino said the camp, which was ringed with foxholes, may have also housed members of the Southeast Asian militant network Jemaah Islamiyah because of the unusually tight security.

"They were frisking even their own members before being allowed entry there," Dolorfino said, citing military intelligence. "We believe many of them were killed in the pursuit operation."

Troops recovered a homemade bomb and assorted ammunition in the camp and destroyed its foxholes, the military said.

The Philippine army believes that up to 25 foreign militants may be hiding in Abu Sayyaf strongholds on jungle-clad Jolo, a predominantly Muslim island 590 miles (950 kilometers) south of Manila.

Newly appointed military chief Gen. Delfin Bangit has ordered renewed offensives against the Abu Sayyaf in the next two months in a bid to wipe it out.

The Abu Sayyaf, founded in 1991, has been blamed for bombings, kidnappings for ransom and beheadings. It has reportedly given sanctuary to Indonesian terror suspects, including Dulmatin, a key suspect in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings who was recently killed by police in Indonesia.

Washington has listed the Abu Sayyaf, which has nearly 400 fighters, as a terrorist organization. U.S.-backed offensives have killed or captured many of its commanders in recent years, leaving the group without an overall leader to unify its factions on Jolo, nearby Basilan island and the Zamboanga peninsula.

Chile tsunami costs Japanese fisheries $68 mln

Asian Defense News: TOKYO (AFP) - – The Pacific-wide tsunami generated by the massive undersea earthquake off Chile's coast last month caused 68 million dollars of damage to Japan's fishing industry, a report said Saturday.

Scallop, oyster and seaweed farms off the northeast coast of Japan were hit when waves up to 1.45 metres high smashed into Japan following the quake thousands of kilometres (miles) away.

Chile tsunami costs Japanese fisheries $68 mln

More than six billion yen of damage was caused to the facilities, Kyodo News reported, citing fisheries industry officials.

Local authorities were asking the central government to provide a package of support measures to help businesses to recover, Kyodo said.

Japanese authorities ordered more than half a million people to evacuate seaside areas as the wave bore down on Japan. However, no deaths or injuries were reported from the tsunamis.

The 8.8-magnitude quake, one of the most powerful on record, struck along the coast south of Santiago on February 27, causing widespread death and destruction.

Indonesian provinces plan to ignore anti-porn law

Asian Defense News: JAKARTA, Indonesia – Authorities in two Indonesian provinces said Friday that they will not comply with a controversial anti-pornography law they say would stifle traditional Balinese and Papuan culture.

The Constitutional Court upheld the law a day earlier, rejecting appeals arguing that it defined pornography too broadly and could be used to impose conservative Muslim values on other groups and to justify attacks on art.

The law sparked protests when it was passed in 2008

Legislators in Papua province _ a largely tribal region where women customarily go topless _ said the law passed in 2008 has never been implemented there because it can't be effectively enforced. The governor of Bali, a Hindu island that draws many tourists, said he has consistently opposed the law because it goes against Balinese society.

Komarudin Watubun, deputy house speaker for the Papua provincial council, said it would be impractical to impose the law in Papua.

"The people here in Papua have never bothered with the law. It's like other laws in Indonesia where many people just realize that it cannot be enforced so why should we bother with it," he said.

The legislation passed with strong support from conservative Islamist parties, though more than 100 legislators walked out to protest its approval. It outlaws overtly sexual images, gestures and even conversations. Violators can be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison and fined up to $795,000.

Meanwhile, Bali's governor Made Mangku Pastika said he has long objected to the anti-pornography law since it goes against Balinese society.

"We reject porn crimes, but this law also does not suit the sociological and psychological aspect of Balinese society," he said, speaking to a group in the provincial capital of Denpasar.

Ninety percent of Indonesia's 235 million citizens are Muslim, most practicing a moderate form of the faith. But many of its islands have large Christian and Hindu populations.

In January, four exotic dancers, along with two club managers, were arrested in the Java city of Bandung, where the mayor had announced a crackdown on behavior considered un-Islamic. The six were believed to be the first to be prosecuted under the law.

Law professor Adrianus Meliala, from the University of Indonesia, said the law's provisions are unlikely to be applied evenly across the country.

"Law enforcers are reluctant to perform legal actions which are not popular and will cause a controversy, so they will avoid charging people," he said.

___

Associated Press Writers Irwan Firdaus and Niniek Karmini contributed to this report.

Indian state chief quizzed over 2002 anti-Muslim riots

Asian Defense News: AHMEDABAD, India (AFP) - – A Hindu nationalist leader accused of failing to halt deadly anti-Muslim riots in India in 2002 said on Sunday that he had fully cooperated with a panel investigating the violence.

Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat state, completed nine hours of questioning into his alleged role in the riots during which about 2,000 Muslims died.

Indian state chief quizzed over 2002 anti-Muslim riots

"I have fulfilled my words given to the people of the country. Nobody is above the Indian constitution and law," Modi told reporters afterwards. "We spoke in detail. I have been told by the investigators that my work is over."

It was the first time that Modi -- often accused of turning a blind eye to India's worst outbreak of religious unrest in decades -- had been quizzed about his handling of the violence.

He declined to give details of his testimony but said he supported the panel, noting it was made up of independent Supreme Court-appointed investigators and contained no one from his own state of Gujarat.

Modi, who has always denied any role in the riots, is a prominent member of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is seen as a likely future prime ministerial candidate.

Since he became chief minister of Gujarat in 2001, he has been credited with transforming the western state into one of India's most economically successful regions.

Last year the Supreme Court ordered investigators to probe a complaint filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of ex-Congress party member of parliament Ehsan Jafri, who was killed on February 28, 2002.

Reports said Jafri was hacked to death and burnt by Hindu extremists who stormed a residential complex housing Muslim families in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's largest city.

Sixty-eight other Muslims were also killed in the massacre, one of many killings across Gujarat triggered by the death of 59 Hindu pilgrims in a train fire on February 27, 2002 that was blamed on Muslims.

An inquiry in 2005 concluded that the train fire was accidental.

R. K. Raghavan, head of the Gujarat riots panel, described Modi's appearance on Saturday as "a significant step forward".

The panel is due to submit its report to the Supreme Court by the end of April.

Victims' groups called for Modi to face a court trial over the allegations.

"We hope this will lead to the formal framing of charges against him," activist Teesta Setalvad told the NDTV news channel.

Previous investigations into the riots by the Gujarat government absolved the state's police and officials of collusion or allowing the rioters a free rein.

But last year, one state minister, Maya Kodnani, was arrested for leading a mob that killed more than 100 people during the riots, making her the most senior state official to be accused of involvement. She is currently on bail.

152 trapped in flooded coal mine in northern China

Asian Defense News: BEIJING – At least 152 people were trapped underground Sunday after water gushed into a coal mine in northern China, a government official said.

The Wangjialing coal mine in Shanxi province was flooded by underground water as 261 miners were working in the pit, a duty officer at the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety said.

At least 152 people are trapped after a coal mine flooded in northern China, according to officials.

The mine is located between Xiangning county and the city of Hejin

The man, who refused to give his name, said 109 of the miners escaped but the others remained trapped and rescue work was under way. He said the cause of the flood was still under investigation.

Although China's mine safety record has improved in recent years, it is still the deadliest in the world, with blasts and other accidents common.

The mine is located between Xiangning county and the city of Hejin and covers an area of 70 square miles (180 square kilometers), the official Xinhua News Agency said. Calls to the mine rang unanswered.

State broadcaster CCTV said the heads of the country's coal mine and work safety administrations were leading a team of workers on their way to the site to assist with rescue efforts.

According to China's Work Safety Administration, 2,631 people died in coal mine accidents in 2009. Many accidents were blamed on lax safety methods and poor training as mining companies scramble to feed the country's voracious demand for coal.