US Will Look to China, Japan for Help Against IS

February 05, 2015 5:04 PM

In his trip to Asia next week, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to discuss with Beijing and Tokyo ways they can help degrade and defeat the Islamic State extremists, a senior State Department official said.

Blinken, a former deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama, is to be received at high levels of government in Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul.

The official said that talks in Beijing would focus on the economy, as well as immediate security challenges like North Korea, Iran and the threat posed by violent jihadism, including the Islamic State group.

IS, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, has over the past year publicly beheaded American, British and Japanese civilians kidnapped in Syria. In its latest brutal execution, the extremist group burned alive a captured Jordanian military pilot.

China’s economy has grown and more Chinese companies and workers operate overseas, giving China “a growing stake in global security,” the official said. “That has brought about an openness and increased willingness on the part of China both to consult and to cooperate with the U.S. beyond on the Asian-Pacific region.”

Blinken will most likely also address the extremist jihadist threat during talks in Tokyo.

Japan is not involved in the U.S.-led military efforts against the Islamic State group, but the Japanese government and agencies have provided a significant amount of humanitarian aid and development work in the Middle East, including some $200 million to help refugees from Syria and Iraq. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said that assistance will not stop despite the beheading of its two nationals, Kenjo Goto and Haruna Yukawa, by IS extremists.

The U.S. official said it was reasonable to expect that Blinken would solicit Tokyo’s thoughts on “what further steps Japan envisages taking in support of the effort that they are already embarked on.”

Japan is one of the countries expected to send a representative to an international conference on countering violent extremism to be hosted by Obama later in February.

Japanese PM condemns 'outrageous' killing of Jordanian pilot

(Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday he was deeply angry over the "outrageous" killing of a Jordanian pilot, who was apparently burnt to death by Islamic State militants, and repeated Japan's resolve not to give in to terrorism.

The militants released a video on Tuesday appearing to show the captured Jordanian pilot being burnt alive in a cage.

"I feel an intense sense of anger and outrage upon hearing that the Jordanian pilot Mouath al-Kasaesbeh was horrifically burned to death," Abe said in parliament.

"This is an outrageous act of violence and I strongly, adamantly condemn it."

Japan is in mourning for two of its citizens killed by the militants over recent days.

The militants said on Sunday they had beheaded Japanese journalist Kenji Goto after the failure of international efforts, in cooperation with Jordan, to SECURE his release through a prisoner swap.

They had killed another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa, a week earlier.

Abe said he sympathized with Jordan and expressed his solidarity with its government and people. He said he would increase Japan's humanitarian support to the region.

"Japan will not bow to terrorism. I am resolved to fulfill my commitments to fight terrorism by working with the international community and expanding humanitarian aid," he said.

The killings have fanned calls for Japan's long-constrained military to be allowed to conduct overseas RESCUE missions as part of Abe's push for a more muscular security posture.

Even some advocates of legal changes to make rescues possible, however, say Japan's military faces big hurdles to acquiring the capacity to conduct such missions, while critics say sending troops overseas would just increase the risk.

Abe defended a speech he made last month in Cairo, when he offered $200 million in non-military aid for countries opposing Islamic State, against criticism that such a public pledge of support was not conducive to the RESCUE of the hostages.

"Countries all over the world are striving not to give in to terrorism and to remove terrorists' threats," Abe said. "Leaving countries hosting many refugees in an isolated and tough situation is like giving ISIL what they want."

Abe also rejected criticism that his more proactive SECURITY and diplomatic policies put Japanese lives at greater risk.

"We need to secure the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region, as well as of the world, to defend our country's peace and SECURITY," he said.

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Paul Tait, Robert Birsel and Clarence Fernandez)

Fiji to remove ‘outdated’ Union Jack from its flag

Fiji will remove Britain's Union Jack from its flag and replace it with a design that symbolises the Pacific nation rather than its former colonial power, the prime minister said Tuesday, announcing a national competition to design a new flag.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said the flag had served the country well since independence from the United Kingdom in 1970, but was now outdated.

"We need to replace the symbols on our existing flag that are out of date and no longer relevant, including some anchored to our colonial past," said the former coup leader, who was elected last September in Fiji's first elections in eight years.

"The existing flag is widely loved and admired and I want to stress that this initiative is in no way a repudiation of it or the warm sentiments we all feel whenever it is raised," he said, adding that the new flag "should reflect Fiji's position in the world today as a modern and truly independent nation state".

Fiji's flag is light blue with the Union Jack in the top left corner. It also features a shield with the cross of St George and a British lion, along with sugar cane, bananas, a palm tree and a DOVE of peace.

"What does this have to do with us?" Bainimarama asked, saying the images were "honoured symbols of our past, but not our future".

Fiji's prime minister said the government would organise a national competition for all Fijians, including children, to design a new flag, with the aim of hoisting it on October 10 this year, the 45th anniversary of independence.

"We must all have an open mind about the final result, but it should be symbolic of the unity of the nation and instantly recognisable the world over as uniquely and proudly Fijian," he said.

Colonial legacy

Bainimarama's decision to change the flag is the latest in a string of moves aimed at replacing Fiji's colonial symbols.

He scrapped the Queen's Birthday public holiday in 2012 and also removed Queen Elizabeth's head from the country's currency when he still ruled by military decree.

Bainimarama pointed out that New Zealand, Australia and Tuvalu were the only other former British colonies that still had the Union Jack on their national flag.

New Zealand will hold a binding referendum next year on changing its flag, with conservative PRIME Minister John Key favouring a design featuring a silver fern similar to the one worn by the All Blacks rugby team.

Australia has also faced periodic calls to change its flag, particularly ahead of major events such as the 2000 Olympics. The flag debate in Australia is closely linked to whether the country should become a republic, an idea rejected in a 1999 referendum.

The most recent decommissioning of the Union Jack came in 1997, when Hong Kong was handed over to the People's Republic of China.

One Sydney hostage killed by police bullet, inquest told

A hostage who died during a siege in a downtown Sydney cafe was killed when she was struck by fragments of a bullet fired from a police officer’s gun as authorities stormed in to end the 16-hour standoff, a lawyer told an inquest on Thursday.

Katrina Dawson, a 38-year-old lawyer who was among 18 people taken hostage last month by a gunman, died after being hit by six fragments of a police bullet that had ricocheted off a hard surface, Jeremy Gormly, a lawyer assisting the coroner, told the Glebe Coroner’s Court. One fragment struck a major blood vessel and she quickly lost consciousness, he said.

Another hostage, 34-year-old cafe manager Tori Johnson, was killed aftergunman Man Horan Monis forced him to kneel on the floor and then fired a bullet into the back of his head with a sawed-off shotgun, Gormly said. He is believed to have died immediately. A police sharpshooter witnessed Johnson’s killing, prompting police to move in, Gormly said.

The details of the deaths of Dawson and Johnson came on the opening day of the inquest into last month’s siege at the Lindt Cafe. Monis, a 50-year-old Iranian-born, self-styled cleric with a long criminal history, took the customers and workers captive and forced them to outline his demands in a series of online videos – including that he be permitted to speak to the prime minister and be delivered a FLAG of the Islamic State group.

The standoff ended when police stormed the cafe in a barrage of gunfire to free the hostages. Monis was killed, along with Dawson and Johnson.

Officials had previously refused to say whether the hostages died at Monis’ hand or were caught in police crossfire. The coronial inquest – a court-like proceeding convened after unusual deaths in Australia – is aimed at determining how they and Monis died, and whether the tragedy could have been prevented.

Gormly cautioned in his opening address that the rundown of events he was giving was preliminary, and based on his interpretation of the evidence he had seen thus far. The coroner will make the final declaration on how the hostages and Monis died.

“Rarely have such horrifying events unfolded so publicly,” Coroner Michael Barnes told the court. “Overlaying the intense personal suffering on display were fearsome themes which called up wider and more far-reaching threats that understandably terrified many, even among those who only saw it from afar.”

The inquest will look into how police managed the crisis, including whether snipers should have taken a shot at Monis through the WINDOWS.

“Questions concerning the use of police marksmen, whether to wait or act immediately and other options have been discussed in public; I anticipate evidence on all those matters,” Gormly said.

In his opening address, Gormly gave a detailed ACCOUNT of how the siege unfolded on the morning of Dec. 15:

Around 8:30 a.m., Monis walked into the cafe carrying a hidden pump-action, sawed-off shotgun. He ordered and ate a piece of chocolate cake and drank a cup of tea, before moving to another table near the door. After half an hour, he asked a waitress to bring him the cafe’s manager.

Johnson sat down with him and other workers soon noticed their manager appeared stressed by what Monis was saying. Johnson then told a staffer to get the keys from his office, lock the door and remain calm.

Monis then put on a vest and a bandanna, brandished his shotgun and said he had a bomb in his backpack. He ordered everyone to move to one side of the cafe and forced several hostages to hold up a black Shahada flag with the Islamic declaration of faith written on it.

Under Monis’ instructions, Johnson called the police and said Australia was under attack by the Islamic State group and that several radio-controlled bombs had been placed around the city – a threat that turned out to be false.

Some hostages managed to flee at different points throughout the ordeal. Monis first fired his gun after one group of hostages escaped; the bullet struck the wall above the main entry to the cafe. The second bullet he shot was the one that killed Johnson. He fired his gun three more times as police moved in but none of those bullets hit anyone. He had another 21 cartridges in his pockets.

Two police officers fired 22 shots as they STORMED into the cafe. At least two police bullets or fragments hit Monis in the head, and 11 others struck his body.

The inquest will examine Monis’ mental health, his motivations for the attack and what – if any – terrorist associations he had. Gormly said it doesn’t appear Monis had established any contact with the Islamic State group.

John O’Brien, one of the first hostages to escape, attended the hearing, along with supporters of Johnson. Outside court, he said listening to the summary of the horror he had lived through had been difficult.

“It was upsetting – very upsetting – for Tori Johnson’s family,” he said. “We were sitting in there and (it was) very emotional.”

The inquest was adjourned for the day, and the coroner has not yet set future hearing dates.

Separately, PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has ordered a sweeping government review of the siege and the events leading up to it. The review, expected to be released in the next week or two, will examine why Monis was out on bail despite facing a string of violent charges, including 40 counts of sexual assault and accessory to murder in the slaying of his ex-wife.

The review will also address how Monis – who didn’t have a gun license – obtained a pump-action shotgun despite Australia’s strict gun laws.

Monis was on the Australian SECURITY Intelligence Organisation’s watch list in 2008 and 2009, but was later dropped from it. The agency was tracking Monis because he had sent a series of offensive letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers.

Japan Heightens Security Against Terrorism

The Japanese government has tightened security against terrorism after the militant group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) made a statement that could be interpreted as meaning all Japanese people will be targets of terrorism.

The government will make the utmost effort to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens living abroad and to prevent terrorism from occurring domestically, according to sources. It is also considering expanding its humanitarian support to the Middle East, not yielding to the terrorists’ threats.

Asked about the government’s future measures at a press conference on Sunday morning, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga indicated the government’s intention to place top priority on ensuring the safety of Japanese overseas, after the militant group posted a new video believed to show the death of hostage Kenji Goto.

In late January, the government had already called for security authorities in relevant countries to enhance the security of Japanese schools, after it instructed Japanese diplomatic missions abroad to ensure the safety of Japanese people living overseas.

According to Suga, the government on Saturday also instructed relevant parties to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of Japanese journalists who are at the border between Syria and Turkey reporting on the crisis, envisioning the possibility they could be targeted by the terrorist group.

The government also intends to raise the terrorism alert level domestically. During the press conference, Suga said the government plans to enhance its information gathering and analytic abilities to prevent terrorism in Japan.

As specific measures, Suga said, “We will prevent the entry of terrorists at the border and tighten security at important facilities such as airports and railways.”

Regarding the terrorist group’s assertion that Goto’s murder was triggered by the fact that Japan is supporting the US-led international coalition of willing nations carrying out military operations against ISIL, Suga stressed again, “Japan will never give in to terrorism.”

As more than 10 million evacuees and refugees have fled from Syria and Iraq to surrounding countries to escape ISIL’s barbarism, Suga said the government “will expand humanitarian support by providing food, medical services and other necessities to the Middle East.”

However, Suga also said the Self-Defense Forces will not provide logistic support for military operations of the international coalition of willing nations, including the United States and Jordan.

Hong Kong Protesters Revive Calls for 'Genuine Democracy'

Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators marched through Hong Kong’s streets today in the first major rally since the mass protests last year.

Chanting “No fake universal suffrage, I want genuine universal suffrage”, the demonstrators held yellow umbrellas, a symbol of the earlier protests when activists wielded them as a defence against police using pepper spray.

The event appeared orderly and peaceful throughout the day. The annual march is usually held on 1 January but was delayed for a month this year to coincide with the government’s second round of consultations on electoral reform.

The demonstrators oppose the Chinese government’s decision that candidates in the 2017 election for Hong Kong’s chief executive will be vetted by a largely Beijing-controlled nominating committee.

The final election plan must be approved by a two-thirds majority in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council before being submitted to authorities in Beijing. But pro-democracy legislators, who hold 40 per cent of the seats, have said they would veto the screening proposal.

“This is pseudo universal suffrage. We do not have the rights to elect who we want,” said protester Julia Choi.

Organisers said 13,000 people participated, while police said they counted 8,000 at the march’s peak. Numbers were far below the figures seen at the peak of last year’s protests, and less than the usual annual New Year march.

“The [turnout] is indeed fewer than what we expected, but this only shows that Hongkongers are no longer satisfied with conventional ways of protest,” Daisy Chan Sin-ying told the South China Morning Post.

Police had raised no objection to the march, although the formal approval notice stressed that organisers should ensure that none of the marchers tried to occupy streets, as happened last year.

MH370 Has Been Declared an Accident--What are the Consequences?

Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation has said: “We officially declare Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 an accident.”

Does that mean they know what happened?

No. The greatest mystery in aviation history remains unsolved. The aircraft with 227 passengers and 10 crew on board disappeared in the early hours of 8 March last year, on a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The jet was initially presumed to have been lost in the South China Sea. But ground-breaking analysis of automated “pings” from the aircraft led investigators to conclude it crashed in the Indian Ocean west of Australia after running out of fuel.

So why conclude it’s an accident?

To allow grieving relatives of the victims to begin the process of claiming compensation for their losses. Defining the disappearance as an “accident" means that the Montreal Convention, which governs pay-outs when planes are lost, comes into play. Article 17 says: “The carrier is liable for damage sustained in case of death or bodily injury of a passenger upon condition only that the accident which caused the death or injury took place on board the aircraft.” Under a separate aviation treaty, the Chicago Convention, the term “accident” includes cases where the aircraft is missing. The government in Kuala Lumpur said: “Malaysia Airlines is ready to proceed immediately with the compensation process

Is the search continuing?

Yes. The director-general of Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation says: “We have never wavered in our commitment to continue our efforts to find MH370 and bring closure for everyone, most of all for the families of the passengers and crew. This declaration is by no means the end.” Australian safety authorities are conducting a systematic search of the seabed in the area of the Indian Ocean thought most likely to contain the plane. It covers an area where the water is 6,000m deep.

How long could it take?

The project began in the autumn and is expected to take up to a year.

If they find the plane, what will it tell us?

That depends on many factors. But suppose the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder are recovered intact, and that they were not disabled deliberately. They may provide clues to what happened, including in particular any commands given to the controls in the latter stages of the flight - and anything audible from the flight deck.

What if it reveals that the crash was a deliberate act - will the “accident” verdict stand?

From a strictly legal point of view in the application of the Montreal Convention, yes - though if evidence were to implicate a member of the Malaysia Airlines crew in the disappearance, the relatives of the victims could pursue other legal options