The Malaysian Insider :: World |
| Russia’s Medvedev calls for crackdown on neo-Nazis Posted: 17 Jan 2011 06:20 PM PST MOSCOW, Jan 18 — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday urged a crackdown on far-right nationalists, the latest government effort to curb neo-Nazi movements after Moscow saw the worst racial clashes since the fall of the Soviet Union. Neo-nationalist movements have been gaining ground and boosting their membership over the past year, shocking authorities and many ordinary Russians. At rallies, some tout swastikas and chant slogans such as "Russia is for Russians!" "Recall the unfortunate example of Nazi Germany. This ultimately struck a blow to German nation," Medvedev told top lawmakers. "All Nazis, independent of where they come from... they simply undermine the cultural foundations of our state". In December Moscow saw the worst nationalist riots in its post-Soviet history, with police unable to stop some 7,000 aggressive youths who gathered near the Kremlin from beating people of non-Slavic appearance. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has condemned the unrest, calling it "xenophobia". In remarks shown on state-run television, Medvedev said: "Intolerance, aggression and closed-mindedness are phenomena that, as a rule, occupy the lowest levels of culture. "These developments must be countered with a serious response...Inter-ethnic peace and harmony is important for everyone." The racial violence was sparked by the Dec. 6 killing of Yegor Sviridov, a Spartak Moscow soccer fan, during a fight between a group of ethnic Russians and migrants from the mainly Muslim North Caucasus, Russia's most volatile region. About a fifth of Russia's 142 million people are Muslims. Last week a heavy police presence managed to mute a neo-nationalist rally in the centre of Moscow that organisers said would protest against people from the North Caucasus. Critics say the Kremlin is to blame for the rise in neo-nationalist movements, arguing they have been allowed to flourish in recent years. Unlike many human rights activists and the country's marginalised gay community, neo-nationalists have been allowed to hold rallies — a right guaranteed by the Russian constitution. Early last year a Russian judge who sentenced neo-nationalists for hate crimes, Eduard Chuvashov, was shot dead in the stairwell of his apartment as he left for work. His attackers remain at large. The violence and the frequency of racist incidents involving Russian fans have raised concerns about security during the 2018 World Cup, which Russia will host. — Reuters
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| At least 40 dead, missing in S.African floods Posted: 17 Jan 2011 04:17 PM PST JOHANNESBURG, Jan 18 — Floods have killed or left missing at least 40 people in South Africa and wrecked thousands of homes in neighbouring Mozambique, officials said yesterday. Heavy rains from late December through most of January have unleashed floods in the two countries. Torrential downpours at the weekend again swelled rivers in the region. South Africa's Cooperative Governance Ministry said at least 40 people had been killed or gone missing in the flooding, and seven out of the country's nine provinces had been declared disaster zones. The army has been placed on stand-by to evacuate people from areas near major dams. "We will continue to do all in our power to minimise further loss of life and damage to property," said Sicelo Shiceka, the minister of cooperative governance. South African logistics group Transnet said last week that heavy rains had disrupted its freight rail operations, affecting coal and maize exports. South Africa's 2009-10 maize surplus is likely to prevent any supply shortage of the grain this year but the extremely wet conditions may have an impact on the soybean and sunflower harvest, the chief executive of farmers' group Grain SA told Reuters in an interview last week. In Mozambique, about 13,000 people have seen damage to the their homes or been evacuated due to floods and heavy winds, state-run Radio Mozambique reported yesterday. At least 10 have been killed in the country. — Reuters
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