THE DAWN CALL FOR IMPOSING SANCTIONS ON MYANMAR By Masood Haider, 8/29/2012 NEW YORK: The Burma Task

Force (USA) group has demanded that the United States must reimpose sanctions on Myanmar for the rape and killings of Muslims unless it restores citizenship of Rohingyas Muslims, arrests all police and military officials who have committed crimes against civilians. It also demanded that international media and all relief and human rights organisations be given full access in the Muslims areas. At a press conference outside the UN headquarters on Tuesday afternoon, the task force lead by a coalition of Muslim organisations demanded that those responsible for the mass rapes and mass murder of thousands of Rohingyas be charged with crimes against humanity and genocide by the International Court of Justice` Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, chairperson of the task force, said the objective of the group was to stop perceived ethnic cleansing in Burma. `We will be working with leaders of other faith groups, interfaith groups, women`s rights organisations and peace movements to put pressure on the US government and the American business community to warn the Burmese government to stop the ethnic cleansing` he said. IRAN AGENDA FACES REALITIES AT WORLD GATHERING 29 Aug 12 Foreign ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) states attend a meeting in Tehran on August 28, 2012 ahead of a summit which will gather dozens of heads of state. Condemnation of unilateral actions particularly sanctions on Iran and other nations and a demand for greater say in UN decision-making dominated talks in Tehran ahead of the Non-Aligned summit later this week. AFP photo

DUBAI: Iranian officials have made no secret about their massive ambitions for this weeks nonaligned nations gathering, with a guest list including leaders such as Egypts president and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Tehran seeks to assert itself on a host of issues before the meetings close Friday: Syrias civil war, sidestepping Western sanctions, promoting its nuclear narrative and seeking to ease long-standing Middle East friction with rivals in Cairo and the Gulf. Yet it is likely to face substantial pushback. While the countrys leaders see the weeklong gathering of the 120-nation Nonaligned Movement as a major step toward validating

Iran as a rising power, it also could highlight its limits and liabilities in the region and further afield. Iran sees itself as a cornerstone of nations trying to break free of what they call Western dominance, said Bruno Tertrais, an Iranian affairs analyst at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris. This is good for domestic politics, but Iran confronts some sharp realities outside its borders. High among them these days is Tehrans close bonds with Bashar Assads regime in Syria even as it has been abandoned by nearly every other Mideast nation and the West. Tehrans unwavering support for Assad could, in fact, ultimately overshadow the andmark visit by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi later this week. Morsi would be first Egyptian leader to travel to Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when Iran broke ties with Cairo for its peace pact with Israel. Irans disdain for the Egyptian leadership was so great that a street in Tehran was named after the ringleader of the assassination team that gunned down President Anwar Sadat in 1981. Morsis visit a four-hour stop Thursday en route from China is part of a push by the new president to redefine his countrys international relations away from the era of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak, a close Washington ally. The Islamist Morsi seeks a more active foreign policy based on more balanced relations, his spokesman Yasser Ali told reporters this week. We are not in competition with anyone, we dont have rivalries. We base our relations on national interests, Ali said. Egypt hardly seems to be rushing into Irans arms, however. Ali underlined that Morsi was visiting solely for the nonaligned summit and would not be holding bilateral talks with the Iranians. That may be in part an attempt to reassure Saudi Arabia, Irans top Gulf rival. Saudi Arabia has long been an opponent of Morsis Muslim Brotherhood and has been suspicious of his rise to power. But Morsi also is seeking to spearhead a new peace initiative for Syrias escalating civil war. Earlier this month, he included Iran in a proposed four-nation contact group with Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. His upcoming talks in Tehran on Syria, however, have already been dismissed by Syrian rebels as a dead end because of Irans inclusion. Abdelbaset Sieda, head of the rebel Syrian National Council, said Iran was part of the problem and not part of the solution and cannot possibly be impartial in any initiative. Rebels also hold 48 Iranian men taken captive earlier this month near Damascus. Hamid Reza Shoukouhi, editor of Irans independent Mardomsalari newspaper, believes that while Egypt and Iran could make some headway toward better ties, issues such as Syria show serious divides. Irans main policies will not change in short term, he said. Still, Tehran is making every effort to portray the gathering as a pivotal moment in its global aspirations. The view is not unfounded. In terms of membership, the bloc is second only to the UN General Assembly and includes emerging economic powerhouses such as India, while giants China and Brazil hold observer status in the group. But Iran which took over the blocs rotating presidency on Tuesday seeks to reinvent what some see as a Cold War relic as a forum to limit the Wests reach. Its foreign minister opened the meetings Sunday with a call to dilute the power of the UN Security Council. Other expected talking points include proposals to replace the US dollar and euro with local currencies in transactions between member states. Iran also has boasted about the UN secretary-generals decision to address the meeting later this week. But pride could turn into embarrassment if Ban uses his appearance as a platform to criticize Tehran over its crackdowns on political dissent including the

house arrests of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi or push for more access to its nuclear sites for UN inspectors. Already on Tuesday, a UN spokesman in New York said Ban would bring up human rights and concerns over the nuclear program on the sidelines of the gathering. Its clear that when he goes there he will reiterate his concern that the overall human rights situation in Iran remains critical, Farhan Haq told reporters.

THE NATION EGYPT, TUNIS-LIKE REVOLUTION BREWING IN COUNTRY: BALOCH Nisar Mehdi | August 29, 2012 KARACHI - Jamaat-e-Islami central leader Liaquat Baloch said on Tuesday that before establishing electoral alliances, opposition parties should unite for a one-point agenda of ensuring free and fair general elections. Talking to journalists at the JI Karachi office, Idara Noor-e-Haq, the JI leader said that unity of opposition parties was necessary for transparent polls, which, according to him, was the only solution to the problems of the country. He ruled out the possibility of fair elections without evolving a consensus interim government and autonomous election commission. To a question, Baloch said the JI was in touch with various political and religio-political parties, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and PML-N, for a grand alliance against the ruling party. He also said that negotiations were underway in this regard. About the law and order situation in Karachi, Baloch observed that the formula and philosophy of resolving issues on the basis of power had absolutely failed in Karachi. He added that the city was bleeding due to the so-called reconciliation policy of President Asif Ali Zardari. He alleged that owing to the provision of synthetic oxygen to his shaking government, Zardari had given all coalition parties a free hand for terrorism. He urged democratic forces, those seeking change in society and mediamen to play their due role for the preservation of peace in Karachi and across the country. Baloch also claimed that the game of the establishment to divide political powers had been unveiled, asserting that it had failed to ensure the national sovereignty. Relating the Arab spring with the domestic situation of Pakistan, the JI leader said that a revolution, on the design of Egypt and Tunis, was brewing in Pakistan. He said that ideological movements usually used to take time for achievements, but did become fruitful one day. He said that Islamic movements were being welcomed across the world, particularly in the Islamic block of Middle East. Few years ago, no one could imagine that idols of dictators would be knocked down in Egypt and Tunisia. Meanwhile, a delegation of Arakani Muslim religious scholars and clerics called on Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Chief Muhammad Hussain Mehnati and thanked him for the support of the JI over the issue of Muslims massacre in Burma. The delegation, on the behalf of Muslims of Burma, expressed their gratitude to the JI for highlighting the issue. To the delegation, Mehnati said that it was the obligation of the entire Muslim Umma to help and support their brothers. He was of the view that it was the issue of the entire Muslim Umma. Mehanti, however, alleged that the global community had proved its dual standards and revealed that international powers could do nothing for the Muslims. On the occasion, the delegation also spoke to JI chief Syed Munawar Hassan by telephone and conveyed to him the feelings of Myanmar Muslims. Hassan assured the delegates of complete support of his party. He termed the killing of Burmese Muslims as condemnable. He regretted that the Pakistan government, United States and United

Nations didnt take any effective measures to safeguard the Muslim community in Burma.