KYRGYZ URANIUM DUMPS THREATEN REGION’S WATER SUPPLY
Kyrgyzstan’s government has acknowledged its uranium mining operation is at risk of polluting Central Asia’s water supply. Vice Prime Minister Dzoomart Otorbayev admitted failures late last month, expressing guilt over the lack of quality control and the location of his country’s uranium tailing dumps. “Regional risks of degradation and destruction of the uranium tailing dumps are related to a whole range of factors, especially since many of the dumps are located very close to water resources. Since they are located at the river heads the potential catastrophe may cause major mass and ecological disasters and have a long-term effect on health of millions of people in the lower reaches of the rivers.” Kyrgyzstan has a total of 92 tailing dumps, where it stores waste from mining operations. Reclamation and rehabilitation would cost close to $38 million, which would eliminate several dumps and protect others from natural disasters like mudslides that would radiate the region’s drinking water. (Tengri News, October 30, 2012)
SYRIAN REBELS BUYING WEAPONS FROM ASSAD REGIME
Syrian rebels have found a new and unlikely weapons partner in recent weeks: the Syrian government. In desperation for heavy weaponry, some groups have turned to buying from government-friendly militias and double-agents in Assad’s military. “They have open access to army, police, and intelligence bullet stores. They’re saving up for when the regime falls,” said Major Abu Mahar of the Free Syrian Army, the main rebel group. The rebellion in Syria is being fought by numerous rebel groups, each competing for weapons, ammunition and cash. Rebels on the ground have long demanded heavy weaponry, but have been unable to obtain anti-tank and ant-aircraft weapons, largely due to a mandate against such sales from Gulf and Western governments. (Al Arabiya, October 30, 2012)
TURKEY DOES NOT WANT TO TALK WITH SYRIA
Turkey, one of the Muslims world’s staunchest critics of Syria’s handling of the uprising, has ruled out direct talks with the Assad regime. “There is no point in engaging in dialogue with a regime that continues to carry out such a massacre against its own people, even during Eid al-Adha,” said Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahment Davutoglu. This comes after Russia called for Turkey to begin unilateral negotiations with the Syrian government to end the conflict between the two countries. The foreign minister stressed that they would only talk with a Syrian regime not involved in killing its own people. Despite its apprehension to talk with Assad, Turkey has been engaged in talks with Russia and Iran, the two principal backers of Assad’s regime. (Al Arabiya, October 30, 2012)
BAHRAIN BANS ALL PROTESTS...
Bahrain banned all forms of public protest the last week of Ocotber, the country’s most heavy-handed action against the Shia majority since martial law was imposed last year. Sheikh Rashid al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s interior minister, mentioned repeated abuses of freedom of speech and expression as reasons for the blanket ban. The State Department denounced Bahrain’s decision promptly. “The decision to curb these rights is contrary to Bahrain's professed commitment to reform and will not help advance national reconciliation nor build trust among all parties,” said State spokesman Mark Toner. The last two administrations have treaded lightly in the small country, where the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet is anchored. Messages of support for the Bahraini people have been relatively few since the “Pearl Revolution” in Manama last March. Up until the ban, Bahraini people held protests and demonstrations almost every day, often facing brutal beatings from state police. (The Guardian, October 30, 2012; Associated Press, November 1, 2012)
...AND FOLLOWS QATAR TO GAZA
Bahrain sent a high-level delegation to the Hamas-led Gaza Strip only one week after the Emir of Qatar made a landmark visit to the Palestinian enclave. The visit commemorated the opening of the Bahrain School, the largest of its kind in the Gaza Strip, made possible in a joint effort between Bahrain’s Royal Charity Organization and the United Nations. The delegation, originally rumored to include the King of Bahrain’s son, Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad al-Khalifa, was led by the Secretary General of the Royal Charity Organization. Washington fears the visits by Qatar and Bahrain will lend Hamas credibility at a time when the Palestinian loyalties are fractured between Hamas and the more secular Fatah. (Israel National News, October 31, 2012)