Italy urges Libya fighting halt

22 June 2011 Last updated at 11:36 GMT The Libyan government is continuing to bomb the rebel-held town of Misrata Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has called for a suspension of hostilities in Libya to allow humanitarian aid to be brought to the war-torn country.

Mr Frattini also said Nato must provide data on results of its bombing campaign and guidelines on targeting errors.

Arab League Chairman Amr Moussa also urged a ceasefire on Tuesday, voicing reservations about the Nato campaign.

On Sunday a Nato missile apparently misfired striking a residential area.

The Libyan government said nine people including two young children were killed in the strike.

The alliance acknowledged that civilian casualties may have resulted from it.

Meanwhile Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi described Libya's opposition National Transitional Council as an "important dialogue partner" and an "important domestic political force".

Rebel leader Mahmoud Jibril has been holding talks with the Chinese leadership in Beijing.

Credibility 'at risk'

Speaking to the lower house of the Italian parliament, Mr Frattini called for "an immediate humanitarian suspension of hostilities" to allow an aid corridor to be set up.

Continue reading the main story Duncan Kennedy BBC News, Rome

Mr Frattini's comments are important as Italy provides most of the land bases for Nato's bombing missions, the command centre, as well as several aircraft for the strike operations. His views relate to the political impact of civilian casualties and are probably shared, if not expressed so openly, by other Nato members.

But Italy brings other context to this. Ever since the UN-backed bombing campaign started in mid-March, Italy has been a reluctant participant. As the former colonial power, it says it has interests and responsibilities, not shared by others.

And now there's a new pressure, from the junior partner in PM Silvio Berlusconi's coalition, the Northern League. Just this weekend, the league warned Mr Berlusconi that if he wanted its continued support, then he would have to look again at Italy's role in Libya, because of its fears about the mounting costs of the mission and because of that historical legacy.

"With regard to Nato, it is fair to ask for increasingly detailed information on results as well as precise guidelines on the dramatic errors involving civilians," he added.

But the French foreign ministry said Paris was against any pause.

Such a move "would allow [Libyan leader] Muammar Gaddafi to gain time and reorganise", said spokesman Bernard Valero, quoted by AFP news agency.

"In the end, it would be the civilian population that would suffer from the smallest sign of weakness on our behalf."

On Monday Mr Frattini said Nato's credibility was "at risk" after the residential area strike.

Amr Moussa also cast doubt on Nato's efficacy in an interview for The Guardian newspaper.

"When I see children being killed, I must have misgivings. That's why I warned about the risk of civilian casualties," he told the UK newspaper, adding that the military campaign on its own would not be successful.

"You can't have a decisive ending. Now is the time to do whatever we can to reach a political solution," he said.

An internationally supervised ceasefire was necessary, he added, followed by a transitional period "to reach an understanding about the future of Libya".

African Union Chairman Jean Ping said he believed the West would ultimately accept its ceasefire plan, which paves the way for a transition but makes no mention of Col Gaddafi's departure, the main opposition demand.

"The stalemate is already there. There is no other way," he said, quoted by Reuters news agency.

Wing Cmdr Mike Bracken, the Nato mission's military spokesman, said it was not Nato's credibility that was questionable but "the Gaddafi regime's use of human shields [and] firing missiles from mosques".

Nato's mission - to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians using "all necessary measures" short of a ground invasion - began in March in response to Col Gaddafi's violent response to a popular uprising.

The intervention was mandated by the UN, and led by France, Britain and the US until the end of March, when Nato took over.

Having initially been given 90 days - which would have run out on 27 June - the mission has been extended for a further 90 days.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

View the original article here

Fighting for rights

19 June 2011 Last updated at 06:16 GMT By Jon Leyne BBC News, Cairo Women took to the streets alongside Egyptian men to protest against the rule of Hosni Mubarak Egypt's women were on the front line of protests in Tahrir Square that led to the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak, but they are becoming increasingly concerned that they are being sidelined as a new Egypt takes shape.

There are fewer women in the cabinet than under Mr Mubarak.

It is not clear whether there will be a women's quota in the new parliament as there was in the old. Women say the country's military rulers are overlooking them as they plan the new order.

What has provoked the most fury, however, is the treatment of women arrested in a protest in Tahrir Square in March.

Eighteen activists were arrested, of whom 17 say they were then badly mistreated including being forced to undergo virginity tests.

"There was a male doctor who examined us," said one of the protesters.

"We had to take off all our clothes. Then we realised some other soldiers were sneaking a look at us. I never imagined this could happen to me in Egypt, or anywhere in the world. I feel shamed."

Activists say the offence was compounded by comments from a senior Egyptian general recently reported by the US network CNN.

"These women were not like your daughter or mine," the channel reported him saying. "They were girls who had camped out in tents, with male protesters.

"We didn't want the women to say we had sexually assaulted or raped them. So we wanted to prove they weren't virgins in the first place."

Continue reading the main story

We expected this revolution is going to include women as much as it includes men, in terms of liberty, in terms of equality, in terms of social justice - apparently it is not”

End Quote Hoda Badran Alliance for Arab Women The Egyptian military has since denied that virginity tests were carried out. But that has not satisfied women activists. The issue has only compounded fears that they are being squeezed out of the political dialogue.

Hoda Badran, chairwoman of the Alliance for Arab Women and a former senior UN official, was the headline speaker at a recent women's conference in Cairo, designed to make sure women's voices are not drowned out in the lively political debates now going on.

"Women went out to Tahrir Square, women participated in planning the revolution," she said.

"They cleaned the square, they nursed the wounded, they also were killed when people in the square were shot. But after the revolution we notice that there are decisions that are being taken to exclude women.

"We expected this revolution is going to include women as much as it includes men, in terms of liberty, in terms of equality, in terms of social justice. Apparently it is not."

Islamism

Others women's activists fear even worse - the increasing power of Islamists, forcing women back into a subservient role.

Gender studies expert Shaza Abdul-Latif said that would be a "nightmare".

Women say arrested female protesters were subjected to virginity tests by the authorities

"I am very very worried. The main problem is the religious parties that are suddenly appearing," she said.

"They look at us as if we are not Egyptians and we don't have religion."

Egyptian society has, by all accounts, been becoming steadily more conservative in recent years.

Some believe it is the result of the difficult economic times, causing Egyptian men to travel to the Gulf for work and bring back conservative attitudes.

Others suggest it is a reaction to the corruption that flourished in Hosni Mubarak's Egypt.

Whatever the cause, it has had its inevitable effect on the treatment and status of women. Literacy rates among women, for example, are notoriously low in Egypt.

On the face of it, nothing dramatic has changed in the past few months, despite the fall of President Mubarak.

A similar elite is still in power. Conservative generals, like those quoted by CNN, still have positions of authority.

The big difference, though, is that everything is now up for discussion. Open debate is flourishing.

On the internet and in newspapers a "culture war" has already opened up between those who want a liberal society and those who want a greater say for their conservative interpretations of Islam and Christianity.

The position of women in society is one of the most important topics for debate.

Shaza Abdul-Latif explained: "This is a very critical period in our history. We have a chance to change everything that is bad and related to the old system."

View the original article here