International Herald Tribune 20130205 Asia Edition, International New York Times
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UPTIGHT SPONTANEITY
CHINESE ARTIST
CROSSES A LINE
PAGE 11
|
CULTURE
ROGER COHEN
TIME TOGET
TOUGHON SYRIA
PAGE 8
|
VIEWS
OIL TAX BURDEN
GREEKS’ WINTER
OF DISCONTENT
PAGE 15
|
BUSINESS ASIAWITH
THE GLOBAL EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2013
GLOBAL.NYTIMES.COM
Timbuktu
hid trove of
ancient texts
from rebels
Obama gets
wide powers
in planning
cyberstrikes
WASHINGTON
Reformers
in China ask
party to live
by its ideals
TIMBUKTU, MALI
BEIJING
In face of Islamic rule,
residents took risks to
save record of golden age
Constitution becomes
a touchstone for those
seeking respect for rights
Rules of engagement,
a response to increase in
attacks, will be classified
BY LYDIA POLGREEN
When the moment of danger came, Ali
Imam Ben Essayouti knew just what to
do. The delicate, unbound parchment
manuscripts in the 14th-century
mosque he leads had already survived
hundreds of years in the storied city of
Timbuktu. He was not about to allow its
latest invaders, Tuareg nationalist
rebels and Islamic extremists from
across the region, to destroy them now.
So he gingerly bundled the 8,000
volumes in sackcloth, carefully stacked
them in crates, then quietlymoved them
to a bunker in an undisclosed location.
‘‘Thesemanuscripts, they are not just
for us in Timbuktu,’’ Mr. Essayouti said.
‘‘They belong to all of humanity. It is our
duty to save them.’’
The residents of Timbuktu suffered
grievously under Islamic militant rule.
Almost all of life’s pleasures, even the
seemingly innocent ones like listening
to music and dancing, were forbidden.
With the arrival of French and Malian
troops here on Jan. 28, life is slowly re-
turning to normal.
But the city’s rich historical patri-
mony suffered terrible losses. Timbuktu
is known as the City of 333 Saints, a ref-
erence to the Sufi preachers and schol-
ars who are venerated byMuslims here.
The Islamic rebels destroyed several
earthen tombs of those saints, claiming
such shrines were forbidden.
During their hasty departure from
the city last weekend, the fighters
struck another parting blow, setting fire
to dozens of ancient manuscripts at the
AhmedBaba Institute, the city’s biggest
and most important library.
BY EDWARDWONG
AND JONATHAN ANSFIELD
After the chaos of the Cultural Revolu-
tion, the surviving Communist Party
leaders pursued a project that might
sound familiar to those in the West:
Write a constitution that enshrines indi-
vidual rights and ensures rulers are sub-
ject to law, so that China would never
again suffer from the whims of a tyrant.
The resulting document guaranteed
full powers for a representative legisla-
ture, the right to ownership of private
property, and freedoms of speech, press
and assembly. But the idealism of the
founding fathers was short-lived.
Though the Constitution was ratified in
1982 by the National People’s Congress,
it has languished ever since.
Now, in a drive to persuade the Com-
munist Party’s new leaders to liberalize
the authoritarian political system,
prominent Chinese intellectuals and
publications are urging party officials
simply to enforce the principles of their
own Constitution.
The strategy reflects an emerging con-
sensus among advocates for political re-
formthat taking amoderate stand in sup-
port of the Constitution is the best way to
persuade Xi Jinping, the party’s new
general secretary, and other leaders to
open upChina’s party-controlled system.
Some of Mr. Xi’s recent speeches, includ-
ing one in which he emphasized the need
to enforce the Constitution, have ignited
hope among those pushing for change.
A wide range of notable voices,
among them ones in the party, have
joined the effort. Several influential
journals and newspapers have pub-
lished editorials in the last two months
calling for Chinese leaders to govern in
accordance with the Constitution. Most
notable among those is Study Times, a
publication of the Central Party School,
where Mr. Xi served as president until
this year. That weekly newspaper ran a
signed editorial on Jan. 21 that recom-
mends that the party establish a com-
mittee under the national legislature
that would ensure that no laws are
passed that violate the Constitution.
After the end of the party’s leadership
transition last November, liberal intel-
lectuals held a meeting at a hotel in
Beijing to strategize on how to push for
reform; constitutionalism was a major
topic of discussion. At the end of the
year, 72 intellectuals signed a petition
that was drafted by a Peking University
law professor who had helped organize
the hotel meeting. In early January, a
censored editorial on constitutionalism
at the liberal newspaper Southern
Weekend set off a nationwide outcry in
support of press freedoms.
Several people involved in the ad-
vocacy say that their efforts are not
closely coordinated but that rallying
around the Constitution was a logical
first step to galvanize reform.
‘‘We have a common understanding
BY DAVID E. SANGER
AND THOM SHANKER
A secret legal review on the use of the
United States’ growing arsenal of
cyberweapons has concluded that Pres-
ident Barack Obama has the broad
power to order a pre-emptive strike if
the United States detects credible evi-
dence of a major digital attack looming
from abroad, according to officials in-
volved in the review.
That decision is among several
reached in recent months as the admin-
istration moves, in the next few weeks,
to approve the country’s first rules for
how the military can defend, or retali-
ate, against a major cyberattack. New
policies will also govern how the intelli-
gence agencies can carry out searches
of faraway computer networks for signs
of potential attacks on the United States
and, if the president approves, attack
adversaries by injecting them with de-
structive code — even if there is no de-
clared war.
The rules will be highly classified, just
as those governing drone strikes have
been closely held. John O. Brennan, Mr.
Obama’s chief counterterrorism ad-
viser and his nominee to run the C.I.A.,
played a central role in developing the
administration’s policies regarding
drones and cyberwarfare, the two new-
est and most politically sensitive
weapons in the U.S. arsenal.
Cyberweaponry is perhaps the most
complex arms race under way. The Pen-
tagon has created a Cyber Command,
and computer network warfare is one of
the few parts of the military budget that
is expected to grow.
Officials said the new cyberpolicies
had been guided by a decade of evolu-
tion in counterterrorism policy, particu-
larly on the division of authority be-
tween the military and the intelligence
agencies in deploying cyberweapons.
Officials spoke on the condition of an-
onymity because they were not author-
ized to talk on the record.
Under current rules, the military can
openly carry out counterterrorism mis-
sions in countries where the United
States operates under the rules of war,
like Afghanistan. But the intelligence
agencies have the authority to carry out
clandestine drone strikes and commando
raids in places like Pakistan and Yemen,
which are not declared war zones. The
results have provoked wide protests.
Mr. Obama is known to have ap-
proved the use of cyberweapons only
once, early in his presidency, when he
ordered an escalating series of cyber-
attacks against Iran’s nuclear enrich-
ment facilities. The operation was code-
named Olympic Games, and while it
began inside the Pentagon under Presi-
dent George W. Bush, it was quickly
taken over by the National Security
Agency, the largest of the U.S. intelli-
gence agencies, under the president’s
authority to conduct covert action.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY GIULIODI STURCO FOR THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
The staff at the Banglamung Wildlife Breeding Center in Thailand finds caring for tigers, top, exhausting. ‘‘It’s like having a child — there
are so many details,’’ the head of the center said. Above from left, government centers also house a bear cub, a slow loris and an orangutan.
Tiger sav
e
d, keepers
stressed
Theerapat Prayurasiddhi, deputy direc-
tor general of the Department of Na-
tional Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conser-
vation.
At the BanglamungWildlife Breeding
Center in Ratchaburi Province, where
five of the tiger cubs seized in October
were sent, caretakers are overwhelmed
by the 24-hour care and the specialized
food and medicine required to nurse the
malnourished cubs to health.
‘‘It’s like having a child— there are so
many details,’’ said Sathit Pinkul, the
head of the center. ‘‘You always have to
be around when they are hungry,’’ he
said, imitating the meow of a needy ti-
ger cub. ‘‘We’ve become their personal
attendants.’’
Wildlife centers across the country
are already at capacity. A center near
Bangkok houses more than 400 scream-
TYLER HICKS/NYT
The manuscripts reflect the region’s long
history of deep intellectual endeavors.
KHAO PRATUBCHANG, THAILAND
BY THOMAS FULLER
Police officers found the 16 tiger cubs in
the back of a smuggler’s pickup truck, a
big blow for the wildlife traffickers who
traverse Thailand with a wide range of
endangered animals.
Over the past two years, officials in
Thailand have captured more than
46,000 animals from traffickers, vendors
and trappers, more than double the
18,000 seized the two previous years.
But the seizures were the easy part.
Now the government faces the quan-
dary of what to do with all these animals
— a sort of Noah’s ark of endangered
species, except that this ark would most
likely sink under the weight of all the
elephants, tigers, bears and monkeys.
The number of animals in state care is
Thailand seized 46,000
trafficked animals in two years.
Now it needs to care for them.
Irina Bokova, the director general of
Unesco, accompanied President Fran-
çois Hollande of France on his visit here
Saturday to get a firsthand look at the
damage the city’s cultural artifacts had
sustained. She said that plans were
already being made to rebuild the
tombs of the saints.
‘‘We are going to reconstruct the
mausoleums as soon as possible,’’ Ms.
Bokova said. ‘‘We have the plans, we
have the ability to do it. We think this is
important for the future of the Malian
people, their dignity and their pride.’’
In modern times, Timbuktu has be-
come a synonym for a remote place. But
increasing rapidly because the Thai gov-
ernment, which is concerned about the
country’s image as a hub for global wild-
life trafficking, has increased efforts to
crack down on such trade. In March,
Thailandwill host amajormeeting to dis-
cuss the U.N. Convention on Internation-
al Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora. The government wants
to shed its image as a place where many
types of wildlife—turtles fromMadagas-
car, marmoset monkeys from South
America, baby sun bears, large exotic
birds, to name a few—are for sale.
‘‘The more we arrest, the more anim-
als we have to take care of,’’ said
MALI, PAGE 6
CHINA, PAGE 5
THAILAND, PAGE 4
SECURITY, PAGE 6
BUSINESS ASIA
More clouds for Japan Airlines
Japan Airlines saidMonday that the
grounding of its Boeing 787 planes
because of battery problems would cost
it $7.5 million byMarch, adding to the
carrier’s financial difficulties.
PAGE 15
BlackBerry’s Asia challenge
In emerging markets like India and
Indonesia, it is unlikely the pricey Z10
model introduced by BlackBerry last
week will attract many buyers.
PAGE 15
Inventor shook the toy world
André Cassagnes, a French technician
who half a century ago invented Etch A
Sketch, the mechanical drawing toy,
has died. He was 86.
PAGE 19
VIEWS
Dealing with the real Putin
To ‘‘reset the reset’’ with Russia, the
Obama administration first has to
understand who Vladimir V. Putin is
and what he really wants, Fiona Hill
and Clifford Gaddy write.
PAGE 8
Paul Krugman
Just four years after runaway bankers
brought the world economy to its
knees, Senate Republicans are trying
hard to give the bankers a chance to do
it all over again.
PAGE 9
ONLINE
Hard life on ‘roof of the world’
The Kyrgyz people of the Wakhan
Corridor in Afghanistan live a
traditional semi-nomadic life in an
isolated, inhospitable land. There are
no doctors, no trees and no roads, yet
the photographer Matthieu Paley,
enchanted by the region, keeps
returning to that ‘‘roof of the world’’ —
despite a perilous journey that takes 10
days on foot.
lens.blogs.nytimes.com
DOUGMILLS/THE NEWYORK TIMES
SPORTS
Electric to the end
Safety Ed Reed celebrating after the Baltimore Ravens beat
the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl, 34-31. The game was delayed for more
than a half-hour when power went out in the Superdome, in NewOrleans.
PAGE 13
PAGE TWO
Holding a mirror up to France
A growing number of young people in
France are converting to Islam, and in
many cases they do so because it allows
them to better fit into neighborhoods
that are predominantlyMuslim.
WORLDNEWS
India toughens sex-crime laws
The newmeasures amend India’s penal
code and apply the death penalty to rape
cases in which the victim dies.
PAGE 4
Ex-sniper’s mission cut short
Since retiring in 2009, Chris Kyle
devoted much of his time to helping
soldiers overcome the traumas of war.
Then he was shot and killed.
PAGE 6
NEWSSTAND PRICES
France ¤ 3.00
IN THIS ISSUE
No. 40,404
Business 15
Crossword 14
Culture 11
Style 10
Sports 13
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2
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2013
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
page two
Cleaning
house starts
at home
overseas bank accountsheld by politi-
cians — fordecadesaroutineway to
conduct business and politics, particu-
larly in Southern Europe.
Above all, Dr.Mungiu-Pippidi ar-
gued,they wanttransparency and ac-
countability.
According to arecent study by the
European Commission,the European
Union’s executive body, nearly three-
quarters ofcitizens in E.U. statesper-
ceive corruptionasamajorproblemin
their owncountries.Morethan half
believe it has increasedinrecent
years.
‘‘Theeuro crisis has madethe public
much more awareofabuseofpublic of-
fice,’’ said Timo Lange, aleading mem-
ber ofLobbyControl, an independent
organization that monitors lobbyist
groups and how they influencetheway
lawmakers vote orhow contractsare
awarded.
‘‘If voters do not see the political
parties and governments taking mea-
sures to stopit, they will losetrust in
the conventional political system,’ ’ he
added.
That is already happening.
Over the past few years, Europe has
spawned many fringe political move-
ments, anti-establishment parties and
new nongovernmental organizations
whose aim is to expose and combat
corruption.
Mr. Jagland, however, seesanother,
more dangerous trend developing: a
crisis of values.
‘‘This crisis and senseof disillusion-
ment in the political systemisreflected
in the riseof extremism and hate
speech, new nationalism,vilification of
immigration and any otherforms of
otherness,’ ’ he said.
There is no shortageofmeasures
adoptedbythe Council ofEurope, the
European Union,theWorld Bank and
other institutions to combat corruption
and promote goodgovernance.
TheUnionitself — as befitsBrussels’
bureaucracy — has establishedagroup
to deal with these issues and is cooper-
ating with the Council ofEurope’s
Group ofStates against Corruption.
Dr.Mungiu-Pippidi believes theseef-
forts fall shortof what should be done.
In her view, the institutions aretimid
and bureaucratic.
‘‘The Council ofEurope should name
and shame,’’ she says. ‘‘It should be
much more outspokeninthe defenseof
values and take amuch tougherpolicy
towards membercountries that flout
the ruleoflaw and values of the coun-
cil,’ ’ she added.
The European Union’s effortsare
also hamperedbyits ownstructures.
Even though theUnion pridesitself on
exporting its values, Dr.Mungiu-Pip-
pidi said theway it goesabout this ‘‘is
bureaucratic and nontransparent. It
underminesgoodgovernance.’’
Instead, analystssaycivil society
movements and the newsmedia are
crucial in exposing corruption. ‘‘Of
course, theycanbe intimidatedbygov-
ernments and businessesinallsorts of
ways,’ ’ Mr. Lange said. ‘‘But theeuro
crisis has shown thatthe public does
wanttransparency and fairness. It is
time politicians responded.’ ’
Judy Dempsey is editor in chief of Stra-
tegic Europe at Carnegie Europe.
(www.carnegieeurope.eu)
E-MAIL:
jdempsey@iht.com
Judy
Dempsey
LETTER FROM EUROPE
BERLIN
Thorbjorn Jagland has made
the fight against corruption his big
challenge. Assecretary general of the
Council ofEurope, agovernmental
group thatwas founded in 1949 to pro-
mote human rights on the Continent,
he knowsabout corruption firsthand.
Sincethe fall ofCommunism,the
council has become, in effect, the first
way stationforformerSoviet blocna-
tions aspiring to join a web of Western
alliances.
Asaresult, some council members,
notably Central Asian states and Rus-
sia, have tried to influencetheorgani-
zation’s parliamentary assembly with
lavish gifts and trips,Mr. Jagland said.
They also hire lobbyists to fend off crit-
icism of their human rightsrecords.
‘‘Kicking these countries out is not
an option,’ ’ Mr. Jagland said in an inter-
view. ‘‘The council is introducing new
rulesabout what kind of giftsshould be
given. If political bodies wanttocom-
bat corruption,then we have to start
with ourselves.’ ’
Mr. Jagland, aNorwegian who also
heads the committee that awards the
Nobel PeacePrize, knows that corrup-
tion damages the council’sreputation.
Worse, he believes that corruption has
an insidious impactonpolitical institu-
tions and democracy itself.
‘‘It is the biggestthreattodemocra-
cy in Europetoday. Itunderminescit-
izens’trust in the ruleoflaw,’ ’ he said,
mentioning his ownNorway, and Fin-
land, bothperceivedasbastions ofin-
tegrityyet bothnow embroiledincor-
ruption scandals.
Has corruptionreally become so pre-
valentthat it demands campaigns and
new agencies to combat it?
‘‘I don’t think the corruption was
lessafew years agothan it is today,’ ’
said Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, director of
the European Research Centerfor
Anti-Corruptionatthe Hertie School of
Governance in Berlin.
The European Union, for example,
knew that funds earmarkedforim-
proving infrastructurewere misappro-
priated in many of the 27 member
countries, she argued. In many cases
such abuses weretolerated.
Theeuro crisis, however, seems to
have changedpublic attitudes.
Becauseof the austeritymeasuresin
Greece, Ireland,Portugal and Spain,
voters there are no longerprepared to
tolerate corruption. They want an end
to the kickbacks,undeclared taxes or
ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Independence Day
Newly released inmates walked out ofaColombo prison Monday as Sri Lanka released1,270 prisoners to mark the 65th anniversary ofits indepen-
dence fromBritain.OnSunday,the government said itwould not accept an international human rights paneldue to assess the ruleoflaw after the firing of the chiefjustice.
Convert
s hold mirror up to France
forconversions and for Islamic funda-
mentalism; observantMuslims are
thoughttomakeupaleast a third of the
inmate population, according to French
newsreports.
Many Muslims in France counter that
they face prejudiceonaregular basis and
consideralawthatwent into effect in 2011
banning full veils in public spaces, and
the growing concern withconversions to
Islam, as signs ofFrench intolerance.
Whatever the impact, there is little
doubtthat conversions to Islam are in-
creasingly commoninFrance. ‘‘The
conversionphenomenon is significant
and impressive, particularly since 2000,’’
said BernardGodard,who is in chargeof
Muslim affairs atthe Interior Ministry.
Ofanestimated sixmillionMuslims in
France, about 100,000 arethoughttobe
converts, compared withabout 50,000 in
1986,Mr. Godard said.Muslim associ-
ations say thatthe numbercould be is as
high as 200,000. But France, which has a
population ofabout 65million, definesit-
self as secular and has noofficial statis-
tics brokendownbyraceorcreed.
For Mr. Godard, aformerintelligence
officer, it is the ‘‘nature’’ ofconversions
that has changed.
Conversions before marriage have
long beenrelatively commoninFrance,
but agrowing number ofyoung people
now seem to be converting as a path to
becoming more socially integratedin
neighborhoods where Islam is dominant.
‘‘In poor districts, it has become are-
verse integration,’ ’ said GillesKepel, a
specialiston Islam and the so-called
banlieues, he poor, predominantly
Muslim neighborhoods that ring Paris
and other majorFrench cities.
Many convertsare menyounger than
40, expertssay,oftenborn in France’s
former African colonies or overseas ter-
ritories.
Charlie-Loup, 21, astudent from
Saint-Maur-des-Fossésnear Créteil,
converted to Islamat 19, afteratroubled
adolescence and strainedrelations with
his mother. Hewas raisedasaRoman
Catholic but had many Muslim friends
at school. ‘‘Conversions have become a
social phenomenonhere,’’ he said, ask-
ing that his surname not beusedbe-
cause he considered his conversiona
private matter .
In some predominantlyMuslimareas,
evennon-Muslims observe Ramadan,
theMuslim holy month that requires
fasting during the day, becausethey like
‘‘the group effect, the festive sideofit,’’
said Samir Amghar, asociologist and a
specialiston radical Islam in Europe.
In many suburbs, Islam has cometo
represent not only a sortofsocial norm
but also arefuge, an alternative to the
ambient misery, researchers and con-
vertssay.
ForMr.Amghar, Islamprovidesmore
structure and disciplinethan doother
religions. It is a way to ‘‘refuse modern-
i
sm,’ ’ t o get back to asocietywith family
entscame from the French island of
Martinique, changed his nametoAbdul-
Salam Bilal Anelka whenhe converted
to Islam in 2004. Franck Ribéry, apopu-
lar player omnorthern France,
converted to Islam in 2006before mar-
rying a Muslim,Wahiba, and took the
name Bilal Yusuf Mohammed.
But there is growing anxietyin
France about the influenceof Islam,es-
pecially conservative Salafist Islam. Is-
lam is regularly atthe center ofdebates
about the nature and futureof France
and itsculture, and politicians can win
attention and support by criticizing the
expansion of Muslim customs into the
widerpublic sphere: for example, the
riseof women-only sessions in public
swimming pools or the increasing avail-
ability of halal food.
In 2009, aphotograph from the
magazineParis Match showing Diam’s,
apopular female rapper,wearing a
hijab,orhead covering, in Paris set off a
flood of angry commentsfrom officials
and commentators. Fadela Amara, a
formersecretary ofstate for urban af-
fairs and the founder of the feminist
groupNiPutesNiSoumises,orNeither
WhoresNorSubmissives, said thatthe
hijab sent out a ‘‘negative imageof wom-
en’’ and describedit as ‘‘a real danger
foryoung womeninpoor districts.’ ’
But Diam’s dismissedher critics, say-
ing that her hijab did not make hera
radical Muslim and that herconversion
wasapersonal choicethat had helped
herdeal withdepression.
Recent arrests of radical Muslim con-
vertshave also increasedconcern
among public officials and Muslim lead-
ers in France, though radical Islam is by
no means the norm among converts.
Rafaello Sillitti,theowner of the book-
storeAverroes,which occupies a small
space in the Créteil mosque, said he be-
lieved that converts like him could be
the best advocates of Islam.
‘‘We must get rid of an imaginary Is-
lamic culture,’’ Mr. Sillitti said, referring
to the clichés and misapprehensions
connected to Islam in France. ‘‘We must
show that French culture and Islam can
live togetherinpeace.’’
CRÉTEIL, FRANCE
Growing number choose
Islam, often to integrate
better in Muslim suburbs
BY MAÏA DE LA BAUME
The spacious and elegant modern build-
ing, in the heartof thismiddle-class sub-
urb eastof Paris, is knownas‘‘the
mosque of the converts.’ ’
Every year, about 150Muslim conver-
sionceremoniesare performedinthe
snow-white structureof the Sahaba
mosque in Créteil,which was built in
2008 withintricate mosaics and a stun-
ning minaret, a symbol of Islam’sgrow-
ing presence in France. Among those
who come here for Friday Prayerare
numerous ormerRoman Catholics,
wearing thetraditional Muslim prayer
cap and long robe.
Whilethe number ofconvertsremains
relatively small inFrance, yearly conver-
sions to Islamhave doubledinthe past 25
years,expertssay, presentingagrowing
challenge for France, where government
and public attitudes toward Islam are
awkward and sometimeshostile.
French anti-terrorism officials have
been warning foryears that converts
represent a critical elementof theter-
roristthreat in Europe, because con-
vertshave Western passports and do
not stand out.
In October,the French police conduct-
edaseries ofanti-terrorism raids
across the country, resulting in the ar-
rests of12people, including at least
three French citizens who had recently
converted to Islam.
Converts‘‘oftenneed to overdo it if
they wanttobe accepted’’ as Muslims,
said DidierLeschi,whowas in chargeof
religiousissuesatthe Interior Ministry
underformer President Nicolas
Sarkozy. Becauseof this,Mr. Leschi
said,they veerinto extremismmore fre-
quently than others.
There are persistent concerns in
Francethat prisons are fertile ground
There are persistent concerns
that prisons are fertile ground
for conversions and for
Islamic fundamentalism.
values and a clearer distinctionbe-
tweenmen and women.
‘‘Islam has a peaceful effecton the
converts,’ ’ Mr.Amghar said. ‘‘Theworld
looks clearerafter they’ve converted.’ ’
In Marseille, on theMediterranean
coast, ‘‘conversions have increasedat an
incredible pace in the lastthree years,’ ’
said Abderrahmane Ghoul,the imam of
amosque in Marseille and the president
of the local branch of the French Council
of theMuslim Faith.Mr. Ghoul signed
about 130 conversioncertificatesin2012.
Hassen Chalghoumi,the moderate
imam of Drancy, asuburb northeastof
Paris, said hethought conversions had
also increasedbecauseof France’s offi-
cial secularism,which he said breeds
spiritual emptiness.
‘‘Secularism has become anti-reli-
gious,’ ’ Mr. Chalghoumi said. ‘‘It has
createdanopposite phenomenon. It has
allowedpeopletodiscover Islam.’ ’
Many expertsnote the influenceof
celebrityconverts, particularly soccer
players. Nicolas Anelka, aregular on
the French national team whose par-
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100, 75, 50 YEARS AGO
1913 Radium Effective With Cancer
PARIS
Dr. Dominici yesterday [Feb. 4]
communicated to the French Academy
of Medicine, in his own name and in
thoseofDr. Henri Cheron and Dr.
Rubens-Duval,the results of their inves-
tigations upon thetreatmentof tumors
by means of radiumincases wherethe
prognosis is serious. This method was
found invariably effective in curing deep
vascular tumors, someof which were
treatedincollaboration withDr. Barbar-
in, and itwas also frequently beneficial
in thetreatmentofsuperficial cancroid
growths. Theexperiments were carried
out with the aid of apparatussuppliedby
the OeuvrePhilanthropique du Radium
and by thePolyclinique Henri de Roth-
schild. The presentorganization of the
latter institution has led to great pro-
gress in the application of radium to the
treatmentof tumors.
1938 Hitler Takes Command
BERLIN
Moving swiftly to crush ‘‘the re-
volt’’ in the conservative clique of the
German officers corps, ChancellorHitler
has carried out oneof themost sensa-
tional purgesincontemporary history.
Theofficial announcementwas made last
night[Feb. 4]of the summary dismissal
from their posts of thirteen army and air
corps generals and, by implication,ofan
undisclosednumber of officers oflower
rank.Aseparate communiqué revealed
the resignation ‘‘forreasons ofhealth’’ of
Marshal Werner vonBlomberg and Gen-
eral Werner vonFritsch, two of the lead-
ing figuresinthe current dramatic
eventsinthe Third Reich. The purgeof
commanders of the proudGerman Army
cast into aposition ofsecondary impor-
tance an earlier announcement last night
of a shake-upinthe personnel and radical
reorganization of the Nazigovernment
and military structure atthetop.
1963 St.-Laurent Show Hailed
PARIS
Everybody has to grow upsome
day, and YvesSt.-Laurent suddenly has.
The boy wonder,whowas 23 whenhe
steppedinto Christian Dior’sshoesfive
years ago, steppedinto his own today
[Feb. 4]. He showedagreat collection
this morning,thethird in his ownhouse.
It is adult, elegant and polished and, be-
sides, it’ssounbelievably pretty that
you can’t get it out ofyour mind. The
only thing anybody in the roomcould
find to complain about is thatthere are
no more gags and noneof the beatnik
look thatused to crop up endearingly.
Tests prove
skeletal remains those of Richard III
in contemporary accounts of Richard
III’s appearance.
DNA samplesfrom the remains had
beencompared with the DNAof two de-
scendants of the monarch’s family.One
of them,MichaelIbsen, is the son ofa
16th-generationnieceof King Richard’s.
The second descendantwished to re-
main anonymous,the researchers said.
The researchers said thatthe body
displayed10wounds,eightof themin
the skull and some likely to have caused
death, possibly by a blow from a hal-
berd, a kind ofmedieval weapon withan
ax-like head onalong pole.
Other wounds seem to have beenin-
flictedafter his death to humiliate the
monarch after his armor was stripped
and hewas paraded naked over the
back ofahorse, the researchers said.
Since at leastthe late 18thcentury,
scholars have debated whether Richard
was thevictimof a campaign ofdenigra-
tionbythe Tudormonarchs who suc-
ceeded him. His supporters argue that
hewas a decent king, harsh in theways
of his time, but aproponentofground-
breaking measures to help the poor and
ease bans on the printing and selling of
books.
But his detractors cast Richard’s26
months on thethrone as oneof Eng-
land’s grimmest periods, its excesses
captured in his allegedrole in the
murderinthe Tower ofLondon of two
young princes — his ownnephews —to
rid himself ofpotential rivals.
Shakespearetold the king’sstory in
‘‘Richard III,’ ’ depicting him as an evil,
scheming hunchback whose deathat 32
ended theWar of the Roses and more
than three centuries of Plantagenet
rule, bookended England’s Middle
Ages, and provedapreludetothetri-
umphs of the Tudors and Elizabethans.
In Shakespeare’saccount, Richard
was killedafterbeing unhorsed on the
battlefield, crying: ‘‘A horse, ahorse,
my kingdomforahorse.’’
The identification of the bones Mon-
daymay lead to demands for him to bur-
iedalongsideothermonarchs in a place
ofhonor, like London’sWestminster Ab-
bey.
Alan Cowell reported from London.
LEICESTER, ENGLAND
BY JOHN F. BURNS
AND ALANCOWELL
In oneof Britain’smost dramatic mod-
ern archaeological finds, researchers
here announced Monday that skeletal
remains found under a parking lot in
this EnglishMidlands city werethoseof
King Richard III, forcenturies the most
widely reviled of English monarchs,
paving theway forapossible reassess-
mentof his briefbut violent reign.
Richard Buckley,the lead archaeolo-
gistonaprojecttoidentify the bones,
told reporters thattests and research
sincethe remains were discoveredin
Septemberproved‘‘beyond reasonable
doubt’’ thatthe ‘‘individual exhumed’’
from a makeshift grave under the park-
ing lot was ‘‘indeed Richard III.’ ’
Partof theevidence came fromDNA
testing by the geneticist Turi King,who
told the same newsconferencethat DNA
samples takenfrommodern-day de-
scendants of Richard’s family matched
thoseof the bonesfound atthe site.
UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER
The skull of Richard III, for centuries the
most widely reviled of English monarchs.
The skeleton,with an arrowhead in its
back and bearing other signs ofbattle
wounds,was exhumedinthe ruins ofan
ancient priory. Itwas found in the same
place as historians say Richard III was
buriedafterperishing atthe Battleof
Bosworth in 1485.
At the newsconferenceMonday, re-
searchers showedphotographs of the
skeletonastheyfound it, stuffedinto a
grave without acoffin, clearly display-
ing curvatureof the spine as chronicled
.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2013
|
3
THE GLOBAL EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES
..
4
|
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2013
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
World News
asia-pacific
India toughens penalties for sex crimes
Myanmar
and Kachin
hold talks as
fighting ebbs
BANGKOK
after earlier approval by the cabinet,
amends India’spenal code and, for the
firsttime, will apply the deathpenalty to
rape casesinwhich thevictim dies. The
new measures also made crimes like
voyeurism, stalking, acid attacks and
thetrafficking of womenpunishableun-
der criminal law.
India’scoalitionnational government
has been criticizedforitsclumsy han-
dling ofprotests thateruptedafter the
brutal gang rape in December ofa
young woman,who laterdied. The new
ordinance akes effect immediately,
though it is subjecttothe approval of
Parliamentwithin six months.
Reactions have been mixed. Evenas
some legal advocates said the changes
were overdue, leaders of differentwom-
en’sgroups held a newsconference Sat-
urday appealing to the president not to
sign the measure, which theycon-
sidered incomplete.
‘‘This is a piecemeal and fragmented
ordinance, which seems to bemoreofan
exercisetomake an impact,’’ said Kirti
Singh, alawyer who specializesinwom-
en’sissues. ‘‘After20 years ofnot doing
anything,theyseem to be in a tremen-
doushurry to do something or theother
to appease public sentiment.’’
Last month, aspecial three-member
committee ledbyaformerSupreme
Court chief ustice, J.S.Verma, com-
pletedareportthaturged the govern-
menttoactonabroad rangeofmea-
sures, including changes to criminal
penalties, but also placing an emphasis
on educationandaholistic solution.
Whilethe new measures ollowed
prove police investigations ofsex
crimes, like requiring the presenceoffe-
maleofficers to help interview rapevic-
tims.
The new provisions includevarying
degrees ofpunishment, ranging froma
minimumofsevenyears in prison to the
deathpenalty when thevictim dies oris
left in a vegetative state. Many advo-
cates,whilewelcoming someof the
changes,objected to the introduction of
the deathpenalty.
‘‘Every country is moving toward the
elimination ofdeathpenalty, and India
is strengthening the legislationfor the
deathpenalty,’ ’ said Kavita Srivastava,
the national secretary for thePeople’s
UnionforCivil Liberties. ‘‘Hereweare
still looking foraneye-for-an-eye frame-
work.’ ’
NEW DELHI
‘‘After 20 years of not doing
anything, they seem to be
in a tremendous hurry.’’
Legal measures include
the death penalty in
certain cases of rape
someof the recommendations by the
Verma committee, others were ignored,
including the panel’scallfor criminal
penaltiesincases of marital rape, as
well as the prosecution of military per-
sonnel who commit sexual assaults. In
addition,theVerma committee poin-
tedly rejected the deathpenaltyincases
ofrape.
The Indian cabinet approved the new
measures Friday, as leaders spoke
about their desiretosend a signal to the
public after the New Delhi rape case.
The changes includedprovisions to im-
BY JIMYARDLEY
AND NEHA THIRANI BAGRI
The Indian government has approved
tough new laws to detersexual violence
againstwomen, including the deathpen-
altyincertain rape cases, as leaders
moved to respond to public outrage over
arecent gang rape case in the national
capital.
The new packageoflaws, signedSun-
day by PresidentPranab Mukherjee
Hopes rise as rebels
send a top representative
to negotiations in China
BY THOMASFULLER
China hostedpeacetalks Monday be-
tween theMyanmar government and
ethnic Kachin rebels amid tentative
signs that intense fighting ofrecent
weeks was easing.
Aone-day meeting ended without a
firm commitmenttostop the clashes
that have left at least several hundred
soldiers dead and have displaced tens of
thousands ofcivilians in the northern-
most reaches of Myanmar. But thetalks
were notable for China’srole in getting
both sides to the negotiating table.
Awng Jet, amember of the Kachin
delegation, said the Chinese playeda
‘‘key’’ role in setting up thetalks, noting
thatthey had arrangedforaBurmese
government minister to take part. ‘‘The
Chinese asked us to cometothe meet-
ing,’ ’ he said. ‘‘They told us thatUAung
Min would bethere and said we should
bethere, too.’’
Mr.AungMin was the head of theMy-
anmar government’sdelegation.
China is increasingly concerned
about the fighting along itssouthern
border. Shells have landed onits territo-
ry at leasttwice, refugeeshave come
across the border and commerce has
beeninterrupted — northern Myanmar
is rich in jade, timber and is the site of
many Chinese hydroelectric projects.
A statement releasedbythe Kachin
rebels after thetalks was noncommittal
but appeared to show a willingness for
furthernegotiations.
‘‘We discussed opening lines ofcom-
munication, reducing military tensions
and inviting observers and organiza-
tions that can participate as witnesses
at anothermeeting,’ ’ said the state-
ment, which was writteninBurmese.
The statement said both parties
would ‘‘continue to discuss the quick
implementation of a firm cessation of
hostilities.’ ’ Both sides also discussed
the possibility ofintroducing observers
and ‘‘scrutiny,’ ’ the statement said.
Previousnegotiations with Kachin
rebels have foundered, and a cease-fire
announced last monthbytheMyanmar
government nevercame into effect. But
in contrasttothe abortedpeacetalks in
October,the Kachin rebels sent asenior
representative, Gen. Gun Maw, to Mon-
day’snegotiations.
China confirmed on Monday that it
was providing ‘‘amenitiesfor the peace
talks,’ ’ which are being held in Ruili, a
cityalong the border withMyanmar.
The Kachin,whosemany tribeslive in
the mountains ofnorthern Myanmar,
have along history ofautonomy from
the lowland Burmese majority and are
theonly remaining armed ethnic group
that has not signedapeace deal with the
governmentof President Thein Sein.
A successful outcomeof the peace
talks would bolsterdomestic and inter-
national confidence in Mr. Thein Sein’s
reconciliation efforts,oneof the key ini-
tiatives of his government. Evenso, it
would only bethe startofabroader
political dialogbetween Myanmar’s
central government and a dozen orso
ethnic groups that are calling foramore
federal system thatwould give themau-
tonomy in the country,which has a long
tradition ofcentralized military control.
The Kachin’sposition on the battle-
field has beenconsiderably weakened
in recentweeks with the loss ofstrategic
hilltops near their headquarters at La-
iza, a town on the border with China.
The goal of the BurmeseArmyinre-
centweeks has been to ‘‘isolate and
weaken’’ the Kachin rebels, said Aung
Din, aformerBurmese student activist
who has close contacts with armed
rebelgroups in northernMyanmar.
ZhuZhenming, aprofessorattheYun-
nan Academy ofSocial Sciences in China,
described the gains by the Burmese
Armyasa‘‘turning point in the conflict.’’
Both theUnitedStates and China
wanttosee the conflict resolved, he
said, creating ‘‘a good external environ-
ment’’ for the peace process.
Shelling by the BurmeseArmy contin-
uedintwo locations over theweekend,
according to KhonJa, a Kachin humani-
tarian worker, but the intensity of the at-
tacks represented a sharp reduction
from the barrageofartillery launched
against rebels in recentweeks.
Theofficial media in Myanmar de-
scribethe Kachin rebels as ‘‘terrorists’’
and say the rebels provokethe army into
attacking them. But the credibility of the
state media reports was undercut last
week when a private newspaper,the
Myanmar Times, reported that state-
ownednewspapers had used a graphic
photograph ofavictim ofaDecember
plane crash to illustrate an article about
land mines laid by Kachin rebels. The
crash of the civilian aircraft inDecember
had nothing to dowith the fighting.
Wai Moe contributed reporting from
Ruili, China, and Bree Feng and Patrick
Zuo fromBeijing.
BRIEFLY
Asia-Pacific
CANBERRA
Prime minister reshuffles
cabinet after resignations
PrimeMinisterJulia Gillard swore in
hernew cabinet on Monday as two ma-
jor opinionpolls in Australia showed
that hergovernmentwas expected to
lose in theelections in September.
The reshuffle came after Attorney
General Nicola Roxon and Chris Evans,
the government leaderinthe Senate,
suddenly resigned over theweekend,
citing personal reasons for their de-
cisions to quit politics.
Ms. Gillard has said that sheexpects
to make no more changes to her minis-
ters beforetheelections scheduledfor
Sept. 14.
(AP, REUTERS)
NEWDELHI
Sports-event organizer
charged with conspiracy
Suresh Kalmadi,whowas the chief or-
ganizer of the 2010 Commonwealth
Games,was charged on Mondaybya
NewDelhi courtwithcheating, con-
spiracy and causing a loss ofmorethan
$16 million to taxpayers.
Investigators arrestedMr. Kalmadi
in 2011 after uncovering whatthey said
were irregularitiesinthe awarding of
contractsfor theevent. He had beenre-
leasedfrom the Tihar Jail on bail last
January.Mr. Kalmadi was charged
along with nineothers, The Times ofIn-
dia reported.
HANOI
22 Vietnamese sentenced
in plot against government
AVietnamese courton Monday sen-
tenced22members ofanoutlawed
Buddhist secttolengthy prison terms
for trying to overthrow Vietnam’sgov-
ernment.
NguyenHuong Que, alawyer, said
the group’sleader,Phan Van Thu, had
received a life sentencewhile 21 others,
including his son,were given terms of
10to17 years by thePeople’sCourt in
the central provinceof PhuYenatthe
end of thetrial.
(AP)
PHOTOGRAPHS BY GIULIODI STURCO FOR THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
Sathit Pinkul, the head of the Banglamung Wildlife Breeding Center, with a tiger cub. Thai law requires that animals seized from traffickers be kept until legal proceedings are completed.
Wildlife saved, caretakers’ stress begins
THAILAND, FROMPAGE 1
ing monkeys.AcenterinChonburi
Province has 99 bears,onewho has
been named‘‘Airport’’ because shewas
rescuedfromasmuggler’ssuitcase at
an airport. (Otherbears go by the
namesLonely, Fat and New Year —the
whimsical monikers of the caretakers
who lookafter them.) Thai law requires
thatthe animals be kept as evidenceun-
til legal proceedings are completed—or
forfive years if no suspect is arrested.
At the Banglamung wildlife center,
staff members lookafter 73 tigers, 10
leopards, 13 small felinesknown as fish-
ing cats and 13 Asian goldencats,which
are slightly bigger than house catsbut
more fierce.
‘‘We have so many tigers,we’verun
out of namesfor them,’ ’ Mr. Sathit said.
Someof the animals areeventually
releasedinto thewild, including com-
monspecies ofmonkeys, snakes and
pangolins,which resemble small arma-
dillos and are prized in China for their
meat.
But tigers are different, caretakers
say.
‘‘I’ve attendedalot ofinternational
meetings, and I’ve neverheard about a
tigerbeing successfully introducedinto
thewild,’ ’ Mr. Sathit said. ‘‘They were
raisedbyhumans. Theyhave less ofa
predatory instinct.’’
Thetigers are likely to live out their
life span ofmorethan two decadesat
thewildlife center, in cages that sit
among the bamboo groves. They will be
down the road from11orangutans who
were abandoned as babies on the resort
island of Phuket, and a five-minute walk
from the rare Fea’smuntjac deer that
was shot byahunterbut is recovering
Monkeys are more problematic,
though, particularly thevarietyknown
as the crab-eating macaque, which dur-
ingarecentvisitviolently shook the
bars to their cages.
‘‘The maintenance staff spends their
day fixing cages,’ ’ said ThanapolKong-
sapsirianand, an official atthewildlife
center.
Many monkeys have escapedfrom
the Chonburi center and regularly raid
the bird enclosuretosteal food. They
have also corrupted the pig-tailed
macaques that live in the nearby
jungles and taughtthem the finerpoints
ofburglary. ‘‘The jungle monkeys were
friendly before he cagedmonkeys
taughtthem bad behavior,’ ’ Mr. Thana-
pol said.
Expertsinwildlifetrafficking say that
the amountofseizedwildlifewill decline
if Thailand manages to penetrate and
dismantlethe syndicates that run the
trade in endangeredspecies.
‘‘Right now the biggest problemis
corruption,’ ’ said StevenGalster,theex-
ecutive director ofFreeland, a Thai or-
ganization that campaigns againstwild-
lifetrafficking.
Privately, some Thai officials lament
the corruptionamong police and cus-
toms officers that allows traffickers to
flourish. But corruptionisalongstand-
ing problem in Thailand and not con-
fined to wildlifetrafficking.
The hope for wildlife campaigners is
that, someday, Thailandwill put a differ-
enttypeofcreature behind bars.
‘‘You have private traffickers who are
lining the pockets ofkey officials to
make suretheir wildlife gets through,’ ’
Mr. Galster said. ‘‘There arevery few
traffickers who have gonetojail.’ ’
AFP
Phan Van Thu, the head of a banned Buddhist
group, was given a life prison term on Monday.
A bear cub followed a caretaker at a government center in Chonburi Province. It costs
$57,000 a month to feed the animals; the government solicits donations from the wealthy.
COLOMBO
In reversal, Sri Lankan leader
rejects more Tamil autonomy
PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa on Mon-
day ruled out giving Tamils greater
political autonomy in Sri Lanka, ap-
pearing to back away from his long-
stalledpromisetoempower theethnic
minorityaspartof the country’srecon-
ciliationprocess followingaquarter-
century civil war.
Mr. Rajapaksa acteddespite growing
international pressuretocompromise
with the defeated minority and to inves-
tigate allegations of war crimes.
Sri Lanka is expected to face ques-
tions from theU.N. Human Rights
Council inMarch onitsprogress in act-
ing onits own war commissionreport,
which also recommends investigating
allegedhuman rights violations and
giving autonomy to Tamils.
(AP)
SEOUL
U.S. and South conduct naval drills
SouthKorean and U.S.troops began
naval drills on Mondayinashow of
force directedinpart at NorthKorea
amid signs thatPyongyang might soon
carry out its threattoconduct a third
atomic test. ‘‘We assess that NorthKo-
rea has almost finishedpreparations
forconductinganuclear test anytime,’’
said KimMin-seok, aspokesman for
the SouthKorean DefenseMinistry.
(AP)
and holding onto the fawngestating in
herbelly.
Not many zoosare interestedinmore
tigers,Mr. Sathit said, and euthanasia is
not an option. The caretakers say that
would beunthinkable.
‘‘Theyare living creatures likeus,’ ’
Mr. Sathit said. ‘‘We musttake careof
them.’ ’
Keeping thetigers alive, ofcourse,
means thatother animals willdie. The
center orders oneton of chicken every
weekfroma ocal slaughterhouse,
which sometimesruns out ofmeat.
Feeding thetigers, monkeys, bears
and birds at government centers in
Thailand costsabout 1.7 million baht, or
$57,000, amonth. The Departmentof
National Parks has establishedafund to
help defray the cost and receives
private donations, mainly fromcelebri-
ties and wealthy Thais.
Some animals areeasier to take care
of than others. Caretakers atthewildlife
centerinChonburi Province do not
bother to shut the padlock on the cageof
the slow loris, anocturnal primate with
big round eyes. The slow loris,which
lives up to its name, would probably not
get very far if itweretoescape.
In video, youn
g Taliban victim says she is ‘getting better’
LONDON
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
In a video released on Monday, a15-
year-old Pakistani girl whowas shot in
the head in Octoberbythe Taliban be-
causeofheradvocacy for girls’educa-
tion and criticism of militancy said she
was ‘‘getting better, daybyday’’
‘‘Today you can see that Iamalive,’’
the girl,Malala Yousufzai, said in the
video, which was made available by a
public relations firm. ‘‘I can speak, Ican
see you, Icansee everyone. It’sjust be-
causeof the prayers ofpeople. Because
all people—men,women, children—all
of themhave prayedforme. And be-
causeofallthese prayers God has given
methis new life. A second life. And I
wanttoserve. I wanttoserve the
people. I wantevery girl,every child,to
beeducated. For that reason,wehave
organized theMalala Fund.’ ’
She spoke clearly but with the left side
ofher face appearing rigid. Ms.
Yousufzai drew theworld’sattention
whenshewas shot by Taliban militants
on a schoolbusinnorthwestern Paki-
stan. The Islamist group said it had tar-
getedherbecause she promoted girls’
education and ‘‘Western thinking’’ and
criticized the militant group’sbehavior
when t took over the SwatValley,
where she lived.
The shooting was met with outrage in
Pakistan and around theworld, and her
story has capturedglobal attentionfor
the struggle for women’s rightsinher
homeland.
Thevideo statementwas published
hours a day after Queen ElizabethHos-
pital in Birmingham said it had success-
fully operated to reconstruct herskull
and restore herhearing. The public re-
lations firm that released thevideo,
Edelman, said itwas recorded onJan.
22.
..
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2013
|
5
THE GLOBAL EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES
asia americas
world news
BRIEFLY
Americas
Pentagon
wants Afghan presence beyond 2014
WASHINGTON
Top officials try to define
mission, as Obama plans
for end of NATO mandate
RIODE JANEIRO
Paraguayan candidate
killed in helicopter crash
Lino Oviedo, a candidate for president
of Paraguay and one of the country’s
most polarizing political figures, died
in a helicopter crash over the weekend,
government officials said.
The death of Mr. Oviedo, 69, who was
returning from a rally in northern
Paraguay on Saturday night, opens
new uncertainty in the country, where
President Fernando Lugo was ousted
last year. After the authorities con-
firmedMr. Oviedo’s death, calling the
crash an accident, officials inMr.
Oviedo’s party, the National Union of
Ethical Citizens, wondered aloud
whether he had been assassinated.
Mr. Oviedo, a retired general who
once led the Paraguayan Army, had a
tumultuous political career. He initially
gained prominence in 1989, when he
helped topple Gen. Alfredo Stroessner,
the dictator who ruled Paraguay for 35
years. Mr. Oviedo fled the country in
1999, seeking exile in Argentina and
later in Brazil, after being charged with
trying to organize a coup in 1996
against Juan Carlos Wasmosy, who was
then Paraguay’s president.
YUCAIPA, CALIFORNIA
Multiple deaths are expected
in bus crash on mountain road
At least eight people were killed and
more than three dozen injured over the
weekend when a bus careened out of
control while traveling down a South-
ern California mountain road, struck a
car, flipped and plowed into a pickup,
the police said.
A California Highway Patrol spokes-
man, Mario Lopez, said the number of
confirmed deaths was expected to rise
because the coroner was just starting to
remove bodies from the mangled vehi-
cle. The accident happened about 6:30
p.m. on Sunday about 80 miles, or 130 ki-
lometers, east of Los Angeles when the
bus rear-ended a Saturn sedan and hit a
Ford pickup, Mr. Lopez said.
‘‘It appears speed was a factor in this
collision,’’ Mr. Lopez said. Investigators
will determine if mechanical failure or
driver error was to blame, he said. The
driver survived.
(AP)
BY THOM SHANKER
The Pentagon’s top civilian andmilitary
officials have expressed an expectation,
even a desire, that U.S. troops would re-
main in Afghanistan after the NATO
mission ends in December 2014, al-
though they emphasized that no de-
cision had been made.
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta
and Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday
that the United States would sustain a
strategic partnership with Afghanistan,
and they cited a decision by the NATO
heads of state during a summit meeting
last year in President Barack Obama’s
adopted hometown, Chicago, that long-
term support for Kabul would include
military assistance.
‘‘In Chicago, we also said that we’re
committing to an enduring presence,’’
Mr. Panetta said. ‘‘And I believe that the
president of theUnited States is going to
do everything possible to implement the
Chicago agreements.’’
During joint appearances on the NBC
News program ‘‘Meet the Press’’ and
the CNN program ‘‘State of the Union,’’
Mr. Panetta and General Dempsey
sought to define and defend an 11-year
mission in Afghanistan whose objec-
tives have become fuzzy in the minds of
many Americans. Mr. Obama is weigh-
ing how rapidly towithdraw the remain-
ing troops and considering howmany to
propose leaving there after 2014.
In advance of the Washington visit
last month by President Hamid Karzai
of Afghanistan, some White House offi-
cials said one option would be to leave
no troops behind, though some viewed
those comments as a negotiating tactic.
Kabul and Washington must agree on
anyU.S. military presence after the con-
clusion of the NATOmandate.
Some sticking points remain, includ-
ing a Defense Department demand that
U.S. service personnel receive im-
munity from prosecution in Afghanis-
tan, with any misconduct to be adjudic-
ated under the Pentagon’s Uniform
Code ofMilitary Justice, not Afghan law.
The Departments of Defense and State
also sought, but failed to secure, a simil-
ar agreement to leave a sizable training
ANDREWBURTON/REUTERS
A resident of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, listening to a U.S. Army soldier near a military outpost. Kabul and Washington must agree on any U.S. military presence after NATO leaves.
and advisory force in Iraq after the end
of combat there.
‘‘No one has ever suggested zero to
me,’’ General Dempsey said, referring
to the number of postwar troops in Af-
ghanistan, although he stressed that
‘‘the decision on numbers hasn’t been
made yet.’’
Pressed to define the mission in Af-
ghanistan, General Dempsey said it was
‘‘to establish a secure and capable Af-
ghanistan that can govern itself and en-
sure that Al Qaeda never again estab-
lishes a safe haven in that country.’’ He
argued that coalition forces have dimin-
ished the Taliban’s capabilities. ‘‘Vio-
lence has gone down,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re
also developing an Afghan Army that
has increased its operational skill to
provide security.’’
Mr. Panetta expressed confidence
that Mr. Obama’s choice to succeed him,
Chuck Hagel, the former senator of
Nebraska, would be a strong defense
secretary, despite a bitterly partisan
confirmation hearing last week inwhich
Mr. Hagel stumbled over some answers.
General Dempsey noted that several
important security issues — like Af-
ghanistan, where 66,000 U.S. troops are
at war — were nearly absent during a
full day of Senate questioning of Mr.
Hagel.
Mr. Panetta criticized the agenda pur-
sued by some senators in their question-
ing of Mr. Hagel. He said, for example,
that not enough attention had been paid
to the Pentagon budget and what would
happen if automatic budget cuts, called
sequestration, go into effect as sched-
uled onMarch 1.
He said that if a fiscal deal is not
reached to stop those cuts, the armed
forces would be weakened and less able
to respond to global crises.
‘‘There are members up on the Capit-
ol Hill that are saying, ‘Oh no, we’re go-
ing to stand back and let sequester hap-
pen,’ ’’ Mr. Panetta said. ‘‘Let me tell
you, if sequester happens, it is going to
badly damage the readiness of
United States of America.’’
He said the cuts required under se-
questration would ‘‘go right at readi-
ness, right at maintenance, right at
training.’’
‘‘We are gonna weaken the United
States and make it much more difficult
for us to respond to the crises in the
world,’’ he said.
General Dempsey said that sequest-
ration cuts would be only part of the lim-
its on military spending. He noted that
the Defense Department was now oper-
ating under a continuing resolution on
its spending, and he estimated that total
cuts in the last half of the fiscal year
could reach $52 billion.
the
Reformers embrace China charter
CHINA, FROMPAGE 1
that constitutionalism is a central issue
for China’s reform,’’ said Zhang Qian-
fan, the law professor who drafted the
petition. ‘‘The previous reformwas pre-
occupiedwith economic aspects. But we
learned from the experiences of the re-
cent two decades that economic reform
can go wrong if it’s not coupled with
political reform, or constitutional re-
form, actually.’’
Through the decades, party leaders
have paid lip service to the Constitution
but have failed to enforce its central ten-
ets, some of which resemble those in
constitutions of Western democracies.
The fifth article says the Constitution is
the supreme authority: ‘‘No organiza-
tion or individual may enjoy the priv-
ilege of being above the Constitution
and the law.’’ Any real application of the
Constitution wouldmean severely dilut-
ing the party’s power.
It is unclear whether the latest push
will be any more successful than previ-
ous efforts. A decade ago, a similar
wave of advocacy failed to significantly
alter the status quo, despite some ini-
tially encouraging words from Hu
Jintao, the newly designated president
at the time. The authorities admonished
scholars who took part in seminars on
the issue, and propaganda officials
ordered the state news media not to
publish articles on calls for constitution-
al government.
Liberals have been encouraged by a
speech that Mr. Xi gave on the 30th an-
niversary of the Constitution in which
he said, ‘‘The Constitution should be the
legal weapon for people to defend their
own rights.’’ He added that implementa-
tion was needed for the document to
have ‘‘life and authority.’’ Analysts say
the speech, delivered Dec. 4, was much
stronger than the one given by Mr. Hu
on the Constitution’s 20th anniversary.
And on Jan. 22, Mr. Xi said in a speech to
an anti-corruption agency that ‘‘power
must be put in the cage of regulations.’’
But Deng Yuwen, an editor at Study
Times, said he had so far only seen talk
fromMr. Xi. ‘‘We have yet to see any ac-
tion from him,’’ Mr. Deng said. ‘‘The
Constitution can’t be implemented
through talking.’’
And since taking power, Mr. Xi has ap-
peared more concerned with maintain-
ing party discipline than opening polit-
ical doors. In remarks made during a
recent southern trip that have circu-
lated in party circles, Mr. Xi said China
must avoid the fate of the Soviet Union,
which broke apart, in his view, after
leaders failed to stick to their socialist
ideals and the party lost control of the
military.
In part, liberals advocating constitu-
tional checks on power have been ener-
gized by the party’s takedown of Bo
Xilai, the polarizing former Politburo
member who is expected to be prosecut-
ed soon on charges of corruption and
subverting the law.
One journal supported by reform-
minded party elders, called Yanhuang
Chunqiu, published a New Year’s edit-
orial that said fully carrying out the
Constitution would mean ‘‘our coun-
try’s political systemwill take a big step
forward.’’
Wu Si, the journal’s editor, said in an
interview that he expected the
‘‘heightened fervor’’ surrounding con-
stitutionalism to persist ‘‘because there
is more to the issue to discuss.’’
Rulers of modern China have never
enforced a Constitution that enshrines
the law as the highest authority and
guarantees the rights of individuals. In
the late 19th century, as the Qing dynas-
ty waned, intellectuals who studied
Western political systems, including Li-
ang Qichao and Kang Youwei, lobbied
rulers to transform China into a consti-
tutional monarchy.
In 1905, the Empress Dowager Cixi es-
tablished a constitutional commission
to search the world for political models
to adopt. The Qing dynasty collapsed in
1911, and the Kuomintang government
tried its hand at creating a constitution
for the new republic, but nothing took
hold.
The Communist Party wrote several
constitutions after taking power in 1949.
The current version, which has been re-
vised four times and had 13 amend-
ments added, was overseen by Peng
Zhen and Marshall Ye Jianying, two
revered Communist leaders.
In all those instances, rulers experi-
mented with a constitution to bolster
the power of the governing body, said
SamCrane, a political science scholar at
Williams College who specializes in
China.
‘‘Constitutions were something that
strong states had; therefore, China had
to have one,’’ he said. ‘‘Thus, Chinese
constitutions were not really effective in
limiting state power and protecting in-
dividual liberties. That might be chan-
ging now.’’
Recent attempts by scholars looking
to defend the legitimacy of the Constitu-
tion, he said, ‘‘might be due to the
growth of ‘rights consciousness’ in the
People’s Republic of China in recent
years.’’
Advocates of constitutionalism say
their approach should be more accept-
able to the party than Charter ’08, an on-
line petition calling for gradual political
liberalization that secured thousands of
signatures but was banned by officials.
One of its authors, Liu Xiaobo, was sen-
tenced to 11 years in prison in 2009 for
subversion, and his wife, Liu Xia, has
been under house arrest. Mr. Liu was
awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.
Some party censors have reacted
with caution or hostility to the recent
calls for constitutionalism. In recent
weeks, the term ‘‘constitutional gov-
ernance’’ could not be searched on
microblogs. And the petition organized
byMr. Zhang, which he prefers to call an
initiative, has been scrubbed frommany
sites on the Internet.
‘‘I take it to mean that the govern-
ment doesn’t want this to spread too far
domestically,’’ Mr. Zhang said. ‘‘Per-
haps they’re not ready yet.’’
Nonetheless, talk of constitutionalism
has become daily fare on literati Web
sites like Gongshiwang, a politics fo-
rum. Typical was a Jan. 24 essay that
ran on the site by Liu Junning, a political
science scholar, who seized on Mr. Xi’s
most recent remarks on ‘‘caging
power’’ and traced the concept to the
Magna Carta and the U.S. Constitution.
‘‘Constitutional governance is restric-
ted governance,’’ Mr. Liu wrote. ‘‘It is to
tame the rulers. It is to shut the rulers in
a cage.’’
Mia Li contributed research.
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