Zardari gets in talking mode with military to defuse tensions - Hindustan Times

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Even as temperatures have soared in Islamabad over the Gilani-Kayani face-off, the presidency and the Pakistani military are engaged in parleys aimed at defusing the tensions between the two sides over memo scandal.

Away from the storm generated by the Supreme Court's contempt

notice issued to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani yesterday for failing to reopen high-profile graft cases, talks continued between the government and the military establishment for defusing the situation.

Joint Chiefs of Staff chairperson Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne met President Asif Ali Zardari at the presidency yesterday for a follow-up meeting to talks held between the President and army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani over the weekend, the Dawn newspaper quoted a source as saying.

A brief statement issued by the presidency said Zardari and Wynne discussed professional matters pertaining to the armed forces.

However, sources told the Dawn that the two leaders focussed on finding a way out of the ongoing impasse.

Though there was no certainty about how the civil-military talks were progressing, there were "hints that some progress is being made", the report said.

An unnamed army official told the Dawn that Kayani had made no demand during his meeting with Zardari that the Prime Minister should retract comments about the army chief acting unconstitutionally in his handling of the memo issue.

The official said the meeting between the army chief and the President was held "for lowering temperatures rather than raising it".

The presidency too has denied media report that Kayani had asked Zardari to tell the Prime Minister to explain or retract his comments about the army and intelligence chiefs acting in an "unconstitutional and illegal" manner while filing affidavits on the memo issue in the Supreme Court.

Some observers following the civil-military dialogue were worried that legal developments could unsettle the easing of tensions between the two sides.

Some quarters have suggested that the military was the force behind the legal battles in the Supreme Court over the reopening of graft cases and the memo scandal that can potentially cause the government's downfall.

While speaking in the National Assembly or lower house of parliament last night after the House passed a pro-democracy resolution, Gilani said the military and judiciary must protect democracy instead of making efforts to "pack up" or derail the democratic system.

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Yemen unrest 'may delay presidential election' - BBC News

Activists and opposition groups are keen to see a quick transfer of power after months of unrest Yemen's foreign minister has warned that the presidential election due next month may have to be postponed.

Abu Bakr al-Qirbi told al-Arabiya TV that if several security problems were not resolved, it would be difficult to hold the vote on 21 February.

The poll is part of a deal brokered by Gulf states to end a year of political turmoil that has left hundreds dead.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh handed over power to his deputy in November in return for immunity from prosecution.

Security forces controlled by the president and his family, as well as armed loyalists, have been accused of killing anti-government protesters.

Islamist advance

Mr Qirbi's comments to al-Arabiya on Tuesday were the first suggestion by a member of the national unity government appointed last month that the presidential election might be delayed.



"I am among those who hope that the issue will take place in the planned manner," he said.

"But unfortunately, there are a couple of events relating to security, and if they are not solved... it will be difficult to run the elections on 21 February."

Mr Qirbi said the government required the co-operation of all political parties, including the former ruling General People's Congress.

He did not list the security issues, but in addition to ongoing clashes between demonstrators demanding the president face prosecution and Saleh loyalists, government forces have been battling separatists in the south, Houthi rebels from the Zaydi Shia community in the north, and Islamist militants allied to al-Qaeda.

On Sunday, as many as 1,000 militants believed to be loyal to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula seized the town of Radaa in al-Baida province, about 170km (105 miles) south-east of the capital Sanaa.

Islamists began taking control of parts of the neighbouring southern province of Abyan last year, including the town of Jaar in April and the provincial capital, Zinjibar, in May. Security forces have tried unsuccessfully to push them out and suffered heavy losses.

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Germany's Schulz Voted EU Parliament Head Over Two U.K. Rivals - Bloomberg

The European Parliament chose Martin Schulz of Germany as its president over two U.K. candidates, highlighting Britain’s struggle for political clout on the continent.

Schulz, the Socialists’ floor leader in the European Union assembly, succeeds Polish Christian Democrat Jerzy Buzek for the second half of a five-year term. This reflects a power-sharing accord between the Christian Democrats, the 27-nation Parliament’s largest faction from which U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron removed his Conservative Party, and the Socialists, the second-biggest group.

The 56-year-old Schulz defeated Nirj Deva, a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists faction that is now home to Cameron’s Tories in the Strasbourg, France-based legislature, and Diana Wallis, who belongs to the Liberals, the assembly’s third-biggest group. Schulz won 387 of the 670 valid votes cast today.

Cameron’s decision to split from Europe’s Christian Democrats because he objects to their push for deeper EU political integration has left him outside an alliance that includes German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

In early December, euro-area leaders decided to draft a new European treaty on budget discipline without the U.K. because Cameron refused to support an EU-wide initiative in the absence of guarantees of a British veto right over future financial regulations. Merkel and Sarkozy opposed that demand.

The 754-seat Parliament decides on EU laws along with national governments and acts as a check on the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, which proposes legislation.

Among the busiest areas of new EU laws are financial services, leaving the U.K. struggling to protect the City of London from proposals ranging from curbs on short selling to a financial-transaction tax.

Schulz’s Socialists have championed more regulation of banks to prevent another financial crisis. His election as EU Parliament president moves him into a largely ceremonial role from previous positions in which he has had a reputation for being confrontational.

Schulz made headlines in 2003 as the target of a Nazi slur by Silvio Berlusconi, then Italy’s prime minister. In a Strasbourg debate on Italy’s six-month EU presidency, Schulz accused Berlusconi of undemocratic leanings and of meddling with Italy’s justice system. Berlusconi responded by mocking Schulz as possessing the attributes of a concentration camp guard, sparking an uproar in the Parliament chamber and across Europe. Berlusconi said the insult was meant as a joke and never apologized.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Strasbourg, France at jstearns2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net

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Public 'should buy Queen a yacht' - Herald Sun

Idea floated, then sunk: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is said to be very fond of the Royal Yacht Britannia, leading to a suggestion that taxpayers should buy her a new one. Source: AFP

BRITAIN'S government has torpedoed suggestions by a minister that taxpayers could pay for a new royal yacht to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee.

Education Minister Michael Gove made the proposal in a letter to Culture Minister Jeremy Hunt, saying the Queen's "highly significant contribution" to Britain and the Commonwealth deserved a "lasting legacy".

But a spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron ruled out the suggestion.

"On the issue of a royal yacht, clearly when it comes to the issue of public money, I don't think this would be an appropriate use of public money, given the state of the nation's finances," the spokesman told reporters.

"In the first instance, the entire question of whether or not there should be a new royal yacht is a question for the palace not the government."

The main opposition Labour party said Mr Gove was "out of touch" to think such expenditure was appropriate when school budgets were being cut as part of austerity measures brought in by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government.

The Queen was extremely fond of the Royal Yacht Britannia and was seen to shed a tear when it was decommissioned in 1997.

The ship is now permanently moored as a visitor attraction in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Earlier this month it started to list after taking on some water, which was later pumped out.

A new yacht is likely to cost around 60 million pounds ($89 million).

But, in his letter, obtained by The Guardian, Mr Gove wrote: "In spite, and perhaps because of the austere times, the celebration should go beyond those of previous jubilees and mark the greater achievement that the diamond anniversary represents."

He writes that the Queen's "highly significant contribution" to Britain and the Commonwealth should be recognised.

"Events such as proms and the party at the palace organised for the diamond jubilee, and street parties, although excellent, are transient," he writes.

"It would be appropriate to do something that will mark the significance of this occasion with fitting ceremony.

"My suggestion would be a gift from the nation to her majesty; thinking about... (the) excellent suggestion of a royal yacht, and something tangible to commemorate this momentous occasion."

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Pakistan courts step into the fray - Asia Times Online

ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Supreme Court's decision to begin contempt proceedings against Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani over his failure to reopen corruption investigations into President Asif Ali Zardari, appears to be in step with attempts by the all-powerful and equally aggressive military and intelligence establishment to drive out the Pakistan People's Party (PPP)-led government.

By demanding that Gilani explain himself later this week, Pakistan's highest court on Monday night fanned the turmoil

gripping Pakistan, even as the danger of a blatant military coup has faded following a one-on-one meeting between Zardari and army chief General Ashfaq Kiani.

Gilani, who could be forced from office if convicted, faces the combined might of an increasingly sure-footed judiciary and a defiant military leadership that keeps trying to assert power over a civilian government that faces Senate elections in March and which the PPP is expected to win.

During a compelling performance before parliament on Monday night, Gilani said he would appear before the court. "We have always respected the courts. The court has called me and in respect to the court, I will go on January 19 and appear." in a televised speech, Gilani said, "The army and the judiciary, they both have to protect democracy in Pakistan. They can't remove democracy. They can't pack up the system."

There are clear indications to suggest that the military establishment is trying to dislodge the Zardari government with the help of the Supreme Court, whose defiant Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has an obvious soft spot for opposition leader and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif as a prime minister-in-waiting and owes his current position to Sharif, whose 2009 anti-government march had played a key role in his restoration after he had been sacked by the administration of Pervez Musharraf.

The court has demanded the government ask Swiss authorities to reopen corruption cases against the president that date back to the 1990s. The government has refused to write a letter to the Swiss to reopen investigations into allegations of Swiss bank accounts held by Zardari, maintaining that he enjoys presidential immunity.

Taking strong exception to the government's reluctance, the January 16 apex court order said that tough action could be taken against those responsible - irrespective of their office or official authority - for not implementing a 12-page order last week that read like a damning indictment of the government in defying the Supreme Court's verdict in various cases, especially one relating to the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

The NRO was a controversial presidential ordinance issued by Musharraf in October 2007 to grant general amnesty to politicians, political workers and bureaucrats accused of corruption, embezzlement, money laundering, murder and terrorism between January 1, 1986, and October 12, 1999. That was the time between two states of martial law in Pakistan and the NRO was aimed at promoting national reconciliation and removing vestiges of political vendetta and victimization.

The court order lays out six options before the government, including one in which the president, prime minister and the law minister could all be disqualified from holding public office if they persist in refusing to implement the NRO verdict, which required among other things that the federal government write to a court in Switzerland and reopen cases of alleged corruption against Zardari.

The order noted that the president and the prime minister seemed to be loyal not to the state but to a political party. While Zardari and the government have indicated that the president is provided immunity under the constitution, Chaudhry has responded that the president must make that claim before the apex court.

The charge-sheeting of Zardari and Gilani, warning them against a possible disqualification if they do not implement the apex court's orders for reopening corruption cases, amounts to a judicial coup against the government at a time when the powerful military establishment and frail civilian leadership stand eyeball-to-eyeball in the Supreme Court, which is hearing the infamous "Memogate" scandal despite objections raised by the government that the apex court should not have taken up the case when parliament was already investigating the matter.

Memogate revolves around an alleged memorandum addressed to former US army chief Admiral Michael Mullen and seeking Washington's help to ward off a possible military coup in the wake of the May 2 killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a covert US Navy Seals raid inside Pakistan.

American-Pakistani businessman Mansoor Ijaz alleged that the former Pakistani ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani had asked him to deliver the confidential memo, seeking US assistance against the aggressive designs of the Pakistan army. Mansoor further claimed that the memo was drafted by Haqqani at the behest of Zardari and delivered to Mullen through former US national security adviser, General James Jones, after the raid that killed Bin Laden.

Kiani took up the issue with Zardari, asking him to summon Haqqani back to Pakistan and initiate an inquiry against him. Haqqani finally resigned following a November 22 meeting of the civil-military top brass that included the president, the prime minister and army chief, as well as Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) head Ahmed Shuja Pasha and Haqqani himself. The government subsequently referred Memogate to the Parliamentary Committee of the National Assembly on National Security for a thorough inquiry.

The committee was created by Gilani after the approval of a resolution in the joint session of the two houses of the parliament and with the consent of all the ruling and opposition parties. Before the committee formally opened, Sharif approached the Supreme Court, alleging that the memo was approved by the country's top political leadership and the court should conduct an inquiry to fix responsibility.

In an unusual move, Sharif himself presented his case by reading out the entire petition in the apex court, seeking action under Article 6 of the constitution against key government personalities, in case the issuance of the memo was established. A nine-judge larger bench headed by Chaudhry subsequently ordered (on December 1 and without much deliberation) the setting up of a judicial commission to investigate the authenticity of the memo.

The court orders in the NRO case were issued after Gilani last week told a Chinese newspaper, the People's Daily Online, that the army chief and ISI chief had not been given approval by the competent authorities before submitting their responses with the Supreme Court in the Memogate case and they seemed to have acted unconstitutionally. The responses were submitted with the apex court through Defense Secretary Lieutenant General (retired) Naeem Khalid Lodhi, who stated that the government had no operational control over the armed forces or the ISI.

It was under the NRO that two twice-elected former prime ministers - Benazir Bhutto and Sharif, who had been living in exile - returned to Pakistan to take part in the 2008 general elections that the Musharraf-backed Muslim League eventually lost. But after the installation of the coalition government led by the PPP, the NRO was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on December 16, 2009.

This threw the country into a political crisis as the government was compelled to reopen hundreds of corruption cases that had been withdrawn - and the refusal of the government to reopen investigations into the president, maintaining he has presidential immunity under Article 248 of the constitution.

Well-placed Law Ministry officials in Islamabad are amazed at the court's decision to also issue notice to the president on Sharif's petition as they point out that under Article 248(2) of the constitution, no criminal proceedings whatsoever can be instituted against the president during his five-year term of office.

They point out that the only action that could be taken against the president is under Article 47 of the constitution that provides for impeachment. But the president could only be impeached by parliament in order to pave way for initiating criminal proceedings against him.

The chief justice has already asked the Pakistani attorney-general to submit the president's reply on the Memogate scandal or the court would be bound to believe that he had confessed to his alleged involvement in the case.

What kicked up a storm was the complete difference of views between the government's response filed with the court and those of the army and the ISI chiefs. While Kiani and Pasha not only acknowledged the existence of the memo and described it a threat to national security, the government maintained that Sharif's petition, seeking court intervention in a case that had already been referred to a parliamentary committee, should simply have been dismissed.

The media wing of the Pakistani military - the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) - subsequently issued a stern press release while taking notice of Gilani's remarks against the army and the ISI chiefs. "There can be no allegation more serious than what the honorable prime minister has leveled. This has very serious ramifications with potentially grievous consequences for the country," said the ISPR press release while literally threatening the prime minister.

That the ISPR statement infuriated the prime minister was evident in the immediate sacking of the defense secretary for gross misconduct and acting illegally by filing the responses of the army and ISI chiefs to the apex court without getting clearance from the Defense Ministry. Lodhi was considered close to Kiani, being the most senior bureaucrat responsible for military affairs, a post usually seen as the military's main advocate in the civilian bureaucracy.

It was against the backdrop of these developments that Kiani finally met Zardari on January 14 after an unusual gap of two months and reportedly expressed displeasure over remarks by Gilani over the memo petition in the apex court. According to Reuters, "The army chief complained to the president about the prime minister's statements, and said they needed to be either clarified or withdrawn." Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar denied media reports on the contents of the meeting.

Taking stock of the current impasse among different state institutions, the Daily Times stated in its January 16 editorial:

That parliament is supreme as per our constitution and the question of civil-military imbalance needs to be addressed is something no democracy-loving citizen would deny. At the same time, it is no secret that the military is the most powerful institution in the country. This government has tried its best to appease the military in many ways, especially post-Abbottabad Osama raid when even the opposition was railing against the military. Democracy returned to Pakistan after nine years of military rule in 2008. Ever since, moves have been afoot to destabilize the democratically elected government by hook or by crook. From spreading negative information in the media about the government to judicial activism, no stone remained unturned in ousting this government.

So far, the government is sitting tight. Taking on two of the most powerful institutions - the army and the judiciary - takes some guts, which is what the government is trying to do these days. It is good to see the government taking parliament on board in favor of democracy through a resolution to this effect. What remains to be seen is whether this pledge will translate into anything meaningful given that the knives are out against the government, be it in the opposition circles or within the state institutions. Whatever the outcome, the most affected would be the people of Pakistan.

Having directly and indirectly managed the country's affairs and tasted political power for more than half the period of its post-independence 60-year life, the army has ceased to be apolitical. It is now taking a watching brief as the courts take on the government.

Amir Mir is a senior Pakistani journalist and the author of several books on the subject of militant Islam and terrorism, the latest being The Bhutto murder trail: From Waziristan to GHQ.

(Copyright 2012 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

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Divers explode holes in ship after missing raised to 29 in Italian cruise disaster

Italian naval divers have set off explosives to create four small openings in the hull of a cruise ship that grounded near a Tuscan island to speed the search for 29 missing passengers and crew.

Navy spokesman Alessandro Busonero told Sky TV 24 the micro-charges set early Tuesday created four openings to allow divers "to enter easily for the search." The holes were made both above and below the water level.

Television footage showed the holes to be less than 6 feet in diameter.

Busonero said the rescuers were racing against time. The cruise liner tragedy has turned into a potential environmental crisis, as rough seas battering the stricken ship raised fears that fuel might leak into pristine waters.

On Monday, the ship's owner accused the jailed captain of causing the wreck that left at least six dead and 29 missing, saying he made an "unapproved, unauthorized maneuver" to divert the vessel from its programmed course.

Earlier, authorities had said 16 people were missing. But an Italian Coast Guard official, Marco Brusco, said late Monday that 25 passengers and four crew members were unaccounted for three days after the Costa Concordia struck a reef and capsized off the coast of the tiny island of Giglio.

He didn't explain the jump, but indicated 10 of the missing are Germans. Two Americans are also among the missing.

Brusco said there was still "a glimmer of hope" there could be survivors on parts of the vast cruise liner that have yet to be searched. The last survivor, a crewman who had broken his leg, was rescued on Sunday.

Waters that had remained calm for the first days of the rescue turned choppy Monday, shifting the wreckage and raising fears that any further movement could cause some of the 500,000 gallons of fuel on board to leak into the waters off Giglio, which are popular with scuba divers and form part of the protected Tuscan archipelago. Rescue operations were suspended for several hours because of the rough seas.

Italy's environmental minister raised the alarm about a potential environmental catastrophe. "At the moment there haven't been any fuel leaks, but we have to intervene quickly," the minister, Corrado Clini, told RAI state radio.

Even before the accident there had been mounting calls from environmentalists to restrict passage of large ships in the area.

The ship's operator, Costa Crociere SpA, has enlisted one of the world's leading salvagers, Smit of Rotterdam, Netherlands, to handle the removal of the 1,000-foot cruise liner and extract the fuel safely. Smit has a long track record of dealing with wrecks and leaks, including refloating grounded bulk carriers and securing drilling platforms in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Meanwhile, the Italian cruise operator said Capt. Francesco Schettino intentionally strayed from the ship's authorized course into waters too close to the perilous reef, causing it to crash late Friday and capsize.

The navigational version of a "fly by" was apparently made as a favor to the chief waiter who is from Giglio and whose parents live on the island, local media reported.

A judge on Tuesday is to decide whether Schettino should remain jailed.

"We are struck by the unscrupulousness of the reckless maneuver that the commander of the Costa Concordia made near the island of Giglio," prosecutor Francesco Verusio told reporters. "It was inexcusable."

The head of the U.N. agency on maritime safety said lessons must be learned from the Concordia disaster 100 years after the Titanic rammed into an iceberg, leading to the first international convention on sea safety.

"We should seriously consider the lessons to be learned and, if necessary, re-examine the regulations on the safety of large passenger ships in the light of the findings of the casualty investigation," said Koji Sekimizu, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization.

Miami-based Carnival Corp., which owns the Italian operator, estimated that preliminary losses from having the Concordia out of operation at least through 2012 would be between $85 million and $95 million, though it said there would be other costs as well. The company's share price slumped more than 16 percent Monday.

Two of the missing are Americans, identified by their family as Jerry Heil, 69, and his wife Barbara, 70, from White Bear Lake, Minnesota.

Costa Crociere chairman and CEO Pier Luigi Foschi said the company would provide Schettino with legal assistance, but he disassociated Costa from his behavior, saying it broke all rules and regulations.

"Capt. Schettino took an initiative of his own will which is contrary to our written rules of conduct," Foschi said in his first public comments since the grounding.

At a news conference in Genoa, the company's home base, Foschi said that Costa ships' routes are programmed into their navigational systems, and alarms go off when they deviate. Those alarms are disabled if the ship's course is manually altered, he said.

"This route was put in correctly upon departure from Civitavecchia," Foschi said, referring to the port outside Rome. "The fact that it left from this course is due solely to a maneuver by the commander that was unapproved, unauthorized and unknown to Costa."

Foschi said only once before had the company approved a "fly by" of this sort off Giglio -- last year on the night of Aug. 9-10. In that case, the port and company had approved it.

Residents, however, said such displays have occurred several times in the past, though always in the summer when the island is full of tourists.

Foschi didn't respond directly to prosecutors' and passengers' accusations that Schettino abandoned ship before all passengers had been evacuated, but he suggested his conduct wasn't as bad in the hours of the evacuation as has been portrayed. He didn't elaborate.

The Italian coast guard says Schettino defied their entreaties for him to return to his ship as the chaotic evacuation of the more than 4,200 people aboard was in full progress. After the ship's tilt put many life rafts out of service, helicopters had to pluck to safety dozens of people remaining aboard, hours after Schettino was seen leaving the vessel.

The captain has insisted in an interview before his jailing that he stayed with the vessel to the end.

Foschi defended the conduct of the crew, while acknowledging that passengers had described a chaotic evacuation where crew members consistently downplayed the seriousness of the situation as the ship lurched to the side.

"All our crew members behaved like heroes. All of them," he said.

He noted that 4,200 people managed to evacuate a listing ship at night within two hours. In addition, the ship's evacuation procedures had been reviewed last November by an outside firm and port authorities and no faults were found, he said.

Once on land, the survivors complained that Costa was stingy with assistance.

Blake Miller, who was on the ship to celebrate his partner's 50th birthday, said Costa representatives rebuffed his efforts to get reimbursement so he could buy a change of clothing.

"The Costa representative at our hotel told me, 'You might want to get a lawyer when you get back to the States,"' Miller told The Associated Press from his hotel in Rome, where he was staying at his own expense.

Only passengers who had paid for special insurance to cover lost belongings would receive compensation to buy replacements, he said they were told.

Costa Crociere didn't immediately respond to a phone message or an emailed request for a response.

Miller, of Austin, Texas, said survivors were taken to a hotel near Rome's airport and told Costa would pay for a single night's stay and their plane fare home only "if we pack up and leave the country" Sunday morning.

Miller, who is director of business travel for Intercontinental Hotels, said Costa representatives spoke to passengers about potential refunds or free cruise vouchers. But in addition to the cost of the cruise, he said he had paid hundreds of dollars for excursions during port calls and other expenses.

Foschi, the Costa CEO, said he was certain "we'll be able to find a material solution that will make them happy."

Class action suits are rare in Italy, but Italian consumer advocacy organization Codacons said more than 70 passengers had indicated that they wanted to join a class-action approach to winning compensation from Costa.

"Our aim is to make every passenger obtain an indemnity of at least euro10,000 (more than $12,500) for the material damage suffered and for moral damage, such as the terror suffered, ruined vacations and the grave risks that they ran," said Codacons president Carlo Rienzi.

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Twelve killed in Syria despite peace plan monitors - National Post

A member of the Free Syria Army with an assault rifle stands guard during a patrol in the western border town of Zabadani in this undated still image taken from amateur video obtained by Reuters January 16, 2012.

By Alistair Lyon

BEIRUT – Twelve people were killed on Monday in Syria, where a peace plan monitored by Arab observers has failed to douse a 10-month-old struggle between President Bashar al-Assad and his foes.



National Post Graphics

Click to see interactive map of Syria showing the locations of major events.

Arab foreign ministers meet on Sunday to discuss the future of the mission sent last month to check if Syria was abiding by the accord it accepted on November 2. The mission ends on Thursday but the monitors may extend their stay to January 22.

The Arab plan required Syria to halt the bloodshed, withdraw the military from cities, free detainees and hold a dialogue.

Hundreds of people have been reported killed in Syria even since the monitors deployed on December 26 as pro-Assad forces try to crush peaceful protests and armed resistance to his rule.

Random gunfire by pro-Assad militiamen killed five people, including a woman, and wounded nine in the restive city of Homs, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. A sniper later shot dead a 16-year-old girl there, it added.

It said five soldiers were killed when they tried to change sides during a clash with rebels in the northwestern province of Idlib, adding that 15 soldiers had succeeded in defecting.

The state news agency SANA said an “armed terrorist group” had shot dead Brigadier-General Mohammed Abdul-Hamid al-Awad and wounded his driver in the countryside near Damascus.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated a call for Assad to “stop killing, and listen to his people.”

During a visit to Abu Dhabi, he said: “I hope the U.N. Security Council handles Syria in a coherent manner and with a sense of gravity,” but did not recommend any specific action.

“The casualties have reached such an unacceptable stage we cannot let the situation continue this way,” Ban said.

The harsh response to the uprising by Assad’s security forces has killed more than 5,000 people, by a U.N. count. The Syrian authorities say 2,000 members of the security forces have also been killed. The deaths of 32 civilians and soldiers were reported on Sunday.

The head of the Arab monitoring mission is due to report to an Arab League committee on Thursday before Arab foreign ministers gather on Sunday to consider their next step on Syria.

Adnan Khodeir, head of the monitoring mission’s operations room, said the observers might stay in Syria until January 22 while waiting for the outcome of the foreign ministers’ meeting. Their mission officially ends on Thursday.

Qatar, which heads the committee, has suggested Arab troops step in, an idea that is anathema to Damascus and which Arab nations such as Iraq, Lebanon and Algeria are likely to oppose.

The League could refer Syria to the Security Council if it concludes that its own peace effort has failed.

RUSSIA, CHINA OPPOSE ACTION

The council has been paralyzed so far because Russia and China oppose any resolution that could lead to U.N. sanctions or Western military action against Syria.

There is little Western appetite for any Libya-style intervention. The United States, the European Union, Turkey and the Arab League have announced economic sanctions against Syria.

On Sunday Assad proclaimed the latest of several amnesties for “crimes” committed during the uprising. Some prisoners were released the same day and more on Monday, activists said.

Mohamed Saleh, an activist in Homs, said about 185 people had been freed there, though some had been freed on bail and would still face trial. Many more were expected to be released.

Rami Abdelrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory, also said some activists had only been freed on bail. Many more were still held because the authorities had brought new, more serious charges against them that were not covered by the amnesty.

Kinan al-Shami, of the Syrian Revolution Coordination Union, said hundreds of detainees appeared to have been released, but they represented only a fraction of at least 40,000 people he said had been jailed without charge since March, many of whom have been held in secret police buildings or makeshift prisons.

The movement to end more than four decades of Assad family rule began with largely peaceful demonstrations, but after months of violence by the security forces, army deserters and insurgents started to fight back, prompting fears of civil war.

Assad, who retains the support of core military units, is backed by his own Alawite minority as well as some minority Christians and some majority Sunni Muslims who fear chaos, civil war and the rise of Islamist militancy if he is toppled.

The northern commercial city of Aleppo, like central parts of the capital Damascus, has mostly escaped the turmoil, but security forces stormed Aleppo University campus overnight in pursuit of students who staged an anti-Assad protest on Friday.

Activists said dozens of students were beaten in the raid, in which students belonging to a pro-Assad militia took part.

Aleppo residents say that big Sunni merchants in the city still support Assad and that the authorities have recruited Sunni tribesmen from the countryside to patrol the streets.

The president, 46, who appeared in public twice in as many days last week, is eager to show that his people love him.

SANA, the state news agency, reported on Sunday that a 10 km (six mile) long letter, which it billed as the world’s longest, was being written and signed by Syrians across the country as a “message of loyalty to the homeland and its leader.”

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