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| Posted: 11 Jan 2014 10:40 AM PST Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon died on Saturday, after being in a coma since 2006 when a stroke incapacitated him at the height of his political power. He was 85. Hailed as a local hero and 'a man of peace' by the United States and its Western allies, others saw him as 'the evil' behind the prolonged Israeli conflict with the Palestinians. Even Israeli journalist Akiva Eldar blamed Sharon for sabotaging Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.  "It was Ariel Sharon's vision to have one million Israelis in the West Bank, and make the Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank impossible. Even when he pulled out of Gaza, this was meant to undermine the resumption of the road map (to peace)." His death received mixed reactions from Israeli and Palestinian officials, as well as other world leaders. "The State of Israel bows its head over the passing of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon," current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, expressing "deep sorrow" over the news. "His memory will forever be held in the heart of the nation," Netanyahu said. There was no immediate comment from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, or the Palestinian Authority, on Sharon's passing. But a senior Palestinian official from the Fatah party blamed Sharon for the death of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. "Sharon was a criminal, responsible for the assassination of Arafat, and we would have hoped to see him appear before the International Criminal Court as a war criminal," Jibril Rajub said. Khalil al-Hayya, a leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, said: "We will remember Ariel Sharon as the man who killed, destroyed and caused the suffering for several Palestinian generations. After eight years, he is going the same direction as other tyrants and criminals whose hands were covered with Palestinian blood." United States President Barack Obama sent "deepest condolences" to Sharon's family and the Israeli people. "We join with the Israeli people in honouring his commitment to his country," Obama said. French President Francois Hollande called Sharon "a major player in the history of his country. "After a long military and political career he chose to move towards the dialogue with Palestine. I am offering my sincere condolences to his family and people of Israel," he said. In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Ariel Sharon is one of the most significant figures in Israeli history and as prime minister he took brave and controversial decisions in pursuit of peace, before he was so tragically incapacitated. Israel has today lost an important leader." In Lebanon, the Palestinians have not forgotten Sharon's role in 1982 massacre of Sabra and Shatila refugees by the Christian Phalangists. "He opened the door to the mass murders," they claimed.  |
| Posted: 11 Jan 2014 02:30 AM PST The resignation of interim president Michel Djotodia did not promise any clue that peace and stability will return to the Central African Republic, which over the past few years had seen more than a million people became refugees. While some African nations would prefer 'an African way' to help settle the crisis, the presence of French troops was seen as a bold-and-blindly interference that could plunge the country into a deeper problem.  The war between the Christians and Muslims is expected to accelerate if no peace plan is introduced within the next 24 hours. Thousands in the Central African Republic's capital Bangui have been celebrating the resignation of the country's interim president, who quit after caving in to international pressure over his failure to halt deadly inter-religious violence in the former French colony. He had been summoned to a regional summit in neighboring Chad where his resignation was announced along with that of his prime minister Nicolas Tiangaye. Djotodia was swept to power last year when a loose rebel alliance known as Seleka seized Bangui. But abuses by his mainly Muslim rebels followed, leading to the creation of Christian defence militia. Amid clashes between the two sides, thousands are thought to have been killed and a million displaced. Some 2.2 million people, or about half the population of the CAR, need humanitarian assistance but insecurity, as well as the lack of funding and access to people in need, continues to hamper aid efforts, including assessments and response. Insecurity hampered an emergency vaccination campaign against measles, along with other aid services at the international airport in Bangui, according to United Nations News Agency. The airport has given shelter to about 100,000 people. read more...  |
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