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Thursday, January 27, 2011

Protests in Rome against Pakistan’s blasphemy law

Italian lawmakers and religious associations protested in Rome Wednesday against Pakistan's blasphemy law, calling for the release of a Christian woman sentenced to death under the legislation. Catholic and Jewish associations joined human rights group Amnesty International and representatives of the Pakistani community in Italy in a 100-strong demonstration in front of the Italian parliament. "We want this law to be abolished," Pakistani-born Joseph Philip told AFP, explaining that his uncle, a Catholic Bishop, had been killed for his religious beliefs. He said he had come to the protest along with 15 compatriots. Asia Bibi, a 45-year-old, Christian mother-of-five, was sentenced to death in November after Muslim women labourers who worked with her in the fields complained she made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed. Umberto Bossi, head of Italy's anti-immigrant and populist Northern League Party and prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's partner in the centre-right coalition, attended Wednesday's protest here. "We want to express our solidarity," he told journalists. A delegation from the protest also met Foreign Minister Franco Frattini. Last Thursday the European parliament urged Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to pardon and release Bibi following calls from several countries, international organisations and an appeal by Pope Benedict XVI. European parliamentarians also called on the Pakistani government to revise their blasphemy laws and their application. Their request followed the January 4 assassination of Punjab governor Salman Taseer, who was shot dead by a police commando after calling for reform of the blasphemy law used to sentence Bibi to death. Taseer's killing met with mixed reactions in Pakistan, with many from the country's conservative religious quarter praising the gunman for acting to silence the outspoken moderate politician.

Protests in Egypt


Egyptian security forces have deployed en masse across the capital, Cairo, Wednesday amid calls by protest leaders to continue demonstrating despite a ban. In central Cairo, Egyptian activists clashed with security forces stationed nearby as thousands of Interior Ministry troops stood watch along key roads and bridges to keep passersby from congregating. The Egyptian Interior Ministry warned on its website that public demonstrations would not be tolerated. Protest organizers reported scattered mobile phone outages and a blockage of the social websites Twitter and Facebook to prevent them from mobilizing supporters. Top opposition activist Abdul Jalil Mustapha called on President Hosni Mubarak not to seek re-election. He said the opposition is asking President Mubarak to announce that he will not run for re-election and that his son, Gamal, will not run in his place. Mustapha also insisted that both houses of parliament be dissolved and transparent elections be held.  Mass protests in Egypt, one of the darlings of African and Middle Eastern investors, sharply increase the risks that international investors will withdraw funds from some other economies in the region. Fund managers were relatively sanguine about the upheaval in Tunisia which drove President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee earlier this month, as Tunisia is a frontier market which doesn't feature on many portfolio managers' radar screens. But they did then point to the potential for contagion across parts of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with Gulf markets seen as relatively insulated, but Egypt an especially big risk. That contagion appears to have started. Egypt's currency hit a near-six year low, stocks fell 6 percent and debt insurance costs soared to their highest in 18 months on Wednesday, a day after massive "Day of Wrath" demonstrations called for an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. Protesters who tried to gather on Wednesday were quickly dispersed and the government said it was banning demonstrations. But significant damage has been done to investor confidence. At least $150 million left Egyptian local bond markets on Wednesday, according to data from investment bank Citi.