Egypt's president sets date for constitution vote

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi called Saturday for a referendum in two weeks on a contentious draft constitution, setting a date for another milestone in the country's transition to democracy. Widespread disputes over the charter and Morsi's recent seizure of near absolute power have marred the process and thrown the country into turmoil.

As has been the case in nearly two years since Hosni Mubarak was ousted, what should have been a cause for national celebration turned into dueling protests between opponents and supporters of how the transition has been managed? largely divided along Islamist and secular lines.

More than 100,000 Morsi supporters organized by the Muslim Brotherhood and ultraconservative Salafi groups took to the streets of Cairo and other cities a day after a massive opposition demonstration against his recent decrees giving him immunity from judicial oversight and the charter that was rushed through an assembly packed with allies.

The presidency has been locked in a tug of war with the powerful judiciary and secular and Christian activists since Morsi granted himself far-reaching powers on Nov. 22 in a bid to pre-empt an expected decision by the Supreme Constitutional Court on Sunday to dissolve the constitutional panel, as it had done the Islamist-led parliament earlier this year.

Morsi also decreed that courts cannot dissolve the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament, known as the Shura Council ? another decision slated to be before the Constitution Court on Sunday. In protest, most of the nation's judges have gone on strike.

It was not clear if Egypt's highest court would go ahead with Sunday's session. Any move to do so would be a direct challenge to Morsi and could further undermine the charter's legitimacy. Judges also have threatened to boycott observing the referendum, and the secular opposition promised a civil disobedience campaign.

"After receiving this draft constitution, and out of keenness to build the nation's institutions without delay or stalling, I will issue today the call for a public referendum on this draft charter on Saturday, Dec. 15," Morsi said. "I pray to God and hope that it will be a new day of democracy in Egypt."

The dispute has thrown Egypt into a fresh round of turmoil after months of protests, rising crime and economic woes. It also has mobilized an increasingly cohesive opposition leadership of prominent liberal and secular politicians ? a contrast to the leaderless youth uprising last year that toppled Mubarak.

Late on Saturday, a few thousand pro-Morsi supporters gathered outside the building of the Supreme Constitutional Court and set up tents, heightening the tension.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland lamented the lack of consensus in Egypt's constitution-writing process.

But other U.S. officials said there were internal debates over whether to criticize the draft constitution for limiting freedom of expression, failing to grant freedom of worship, criminalizing blasphemy and eroding women's rights guarantees.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about internal deliberations.

Acknowledging the disagreements, Morsi said he didn't want to delay the transition and said the draft constitution is another brick in Egypt's democratic experience. He also called for a national dialogue in his nationally televised address to the constitutional assembly.

The Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails, alleges the courts are dominated by Mubarak-era judges trying to stall progress.

"I tell my opponents before my supporters, help me to carry out this responsibility you bestowed upon me in managing the country's affairs," Morsi said, urging protesters to take their opposition to the ballot box. "With us all we build the nation."

As he announced the date, his supporters holding their rally near Cairo University danced and chanted in celebration. "The people support the president's decision!" they chanted.

Ashraf Metawli, a 32-year-old government employee from the Nile Delta province of el-Menoufia who was brought by bus to Cairo for the rally, said the majority of Egyptians are Muslims and its constitution should be an Islamist one.

"This is our belief. We picked the president for Islamic law, and our choice was democratic," he said. "What Morsi is doing is to get rid of all that is corrupt."

Across the Nile River, a few thousand of Morsi's opponents rallying in Cairo's Tahrir Square raised their shoes to show contempt for the plan.

The opposition held massive rallies last week, and several hundred are holding a sit-in in Tahrir, the epicenter of the uprising that forced Mubarak to step down last year. They have said they would only participate in a national dialogue if Morsi rescinds his decrees, which they said gave him near-dictatorial powers.

Prominent democracy advocate Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace laureate who is a member of the opposition coalition leadership, said on his Twitter account that Morsi put to a referendum a constitution that "undermines basic freedoms and violates universal rights. The struggle continues."

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood, in backing Morsi, have depicted the opposition as an elitist group that has not been able to muster success in the previous elections, including an earlier referendum during the military rule, and parliamentary elections that brought the Islamists to power.

Mohammed el-Beltagy, a senior Brotherhood member and a member of the constituent assembly, told the Brotherhood-affiliated TV station Misr 25, said the opposition was a media phenomenon.

"We either go to the ballot boxes and let the people be the arbiter, or we can believe that the elite are a substitute for the people."

Islamists, including the Brotherhood and the more radical Salafi groups, garnered nearly 75 percent of the seats in last winter's parliament election. But the Supreme Constitutional Court dissolved the parliament in June, setting the stage for the current standoff.

In his speech, Morsi appealed to the judges to carry out their duties, praising their national roles and adding that the state will not challenge their decisions or powers.

"I am sure that the judges of Egypt will be of help to their nation and people. No one can act outside legal legitimacy," he said in the official ceremony held for the delivery of the draft constitution attended by panel members, as well as the defense minister, signaling military support.

Nasser Amin, the head of the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession, said Morsi was sending a subtle hint that he didn't expect the judges to challenge his decrees.

He added that Morsi's decision to call for a referendum despite a legal challenge hanging over the body that drafted it undermines the referendum's legitimacy.

"It will be a stillborn constitution," he said.

Threatening to prolong the standoff, various groups, including religious clerics and university professors, have offered to observe the referendum in case the judges follow through with their threats to boycott it.

Despite wide opposition to the constitution and walkouts by secular and Christian representatives from the panel drafting the constitution, Morsi said the constitution establishes a real democratic system and "is going in the right direction."

Opponents say the draft charter has a distinct Islamist bent and rights groups have raised concerns about articles that undermine personal and women rights as well as freedoms of expression.

"We want to overcome disagreements and bickering to move toward serious and productive work. There are massive challenges ahead in the future internally and externally," Morsi said, referring to those who walked out of the panel or are criticizing the draft.

The opposition announced plans for an intensified street campaign of protests and civil disobedience and even a possible march on Morsi's presidential palace to prevent him from holding a nationwide referendum on the draft. It is not clear whether the opposition can rally enough voters to shoot down the constitution in a referendum or organize a boycott campaign.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-president-sets-date-constitution-vote-204209385.html

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Obama aides seek to counter Republican charges on "fiscal cliff"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration sought to counter Republican charges on Friday that President Barack Obama's plan to avoid a year-end "fiscal cliff" is light on spending cuts and too reliant on tax increases.

Administration officials said the overall plan, offered to Republicans on Thursday and quickly rejected by them, would achieve $4.5 trillion in savings to the government. This includes around $1 trillion in cuts already enacted into law and would set up an "expedited process" to spirit through Congress some of the most comprehensive legislation in decades.

The plan, which Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner outlined to Republican congressional leaders, is aimed at taking a big step toward comprehensive reform of the U.S. tax code and overhauling federal programs like Medicare by next August 1, according to a summary provided by administration officials.

The fate of the administration proposals is uncertain, as they are now part of a mix of offerings to be hashed out over the next few weeks and beyond, aimed at heading off a package of automatic tax increases and spending cuts that would tip the U.S. economy over the fiscal cliff and back into recession.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell outlined his ideas for cutting entitlement programs in a Wall Street Journal interview Friday, while House Republicans said talks had basically arrived at a stalemate at this juncture.

The administration's proposals for next year, when combined with some immediate savings such as taxing the rich at a higher rate, would raise approximately $1.5 trillion in new revenues. Those would be coupled with about $2.4 trillion in spending cuts, according to the officials who asked not to be identified.

Some of those proposed spending cuts are controversial. For example, they count $800 billion in savings from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that are winding down. Many Republicans in Congress argue that sound budgeting should not allow for counting savings on money that was not going to be spent.

The war savings were part of previous deficit-reduction negotiations that failed in 2011.

TWO-STEP APPROACH

Administration officials disclosed details of the White House proposal in an effort to push back against Republicans' characterization of it as not serious.

Without a deal, around $600 billion in steep tax increases and spending cuts would begin in January, forcing the economy into a recession, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

As expected, the White House proposal called for a two-step approach to deficit reduction.

The first step would mainly consist of letting income tax rates rise on families with net incomes above $250,000. The revenues generated would help replace the steep, automatic spending cuts to domestic programs due to kick in on January 2 if Congress and the president cannot reach a compromise.

Also included are the extension of expiring major tax breaks, such as the research and development credit.

A second deficit-reduction step, which both Republicans and Democrats have talked about at length, would give Congress time to revamp the complicated U.S. tax code and figure out how to slow the rapid growth of federal healthcare programs for the elderly and poor.

Under the scenario laid out by Geithner, the new tax provisions would become effective on January 1, 2014, according to administration officials, and are anticipated to bring in an additional $600 billion in revenues over 10 years, beyond the $950 billion from raising taxes on the rich.

Meanwhile, federal spending would be cut by $350 billion over 10 years by reforming Medicare and other unspecified health programs, the officials said. Savings of another $250 billion would be achieved by cutting subsidies to farmers and other actions.

Also tucked into the proposal, the officials said, were $200 billion in "economic growth initiatives" designed to help stimulate the sluggish economy.

This would include $50 billion in infrastructure spending, an extension of payroll tax cuts, extending unemployment benefits and funding for a mortgage refinancing program.

(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan; editing by Fred Barbash and Todd Eastham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-aides-seek-counter-republican-charges-fiscal-cliff-010121591--business.html

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Myanmar cracks down on mine protest; dozens hurt

MONYWA, Myanmar (AP) ? Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is urging a negotiated resolution to protests over a military-backed copper mine in northwestern Myanmar after the government's biggest crackdown on demonstrators since reformist President Thein Sein took office last year.

Riot police used water cannons, tear gas and smoke bombs to break up the 11-day occupation of the Letpadaung copper mine, wounding dozens of villagers and Buddhist monks early Thursday. The move risks becoming a public relations and political fiasco for Thein Sein's government, which has touted Myanmar's transition to democracy after almost five decades of repressive military rule.

In a visit scheduled before the crackdown, Suu Kyi met Thursday with company officials and protesters and was scheduled to meet with local officials and others Friday.

The mine is jointly operated by a Chinese company and a holding company controlled by Myanmar's military, and activists say as the project expands, villagers have been forced from their land with little compensation.

Through state television, the government initially acknowledged using the riot-control measures but denied using excessive force against the protesters. In an unusual move, it later retracted the statement without explanation.

Protesters suffered serious burns after the crackdown near the town of Monywa. It was unclear if people were burned by the weapons themselves or because the weapons ignited fires in shelters at the protest camps.

"I didn't expect to be treated like this, as we were peacefully protesting," Aung Myint Htway, a peanut farmer whose face and body were covered with black patches of burned skin, said.

Another protester, Ottama Thara, said: "This kind of violence should not happen under a government that says it is committed to democratic reforms."

Still writhing from pain hours after the early morning crackdown, Aung Myint Htway said police fired water cannons first and then shot what he and others called flare guns.

"They fired black balls that exploded into fire sparks. They shot about six times. People ran away and they followed us," he said. "It's very hot."

Suu Kyi's visit to nearby Kan-Kone village had been scheduled before the crackdown. The Nobel Peace laureate, elected to parliament after spending most of the last two decades under house arrest, unexpectedly went to the mine to meet with its operators before making her speech.

"I already met one side. I met with mine operators. I want to meet with villagers and protesters," she said. "I want to negotiate hearing from both sides."

She asked the crowd to be patient. "I haven't made any decision yet. I want to meet with both sides and negotiate," she said in a speech that lasted less than 15 minutes. "Will you agree with my negotiating?" The crowd shouted its assent.

Some of Suu Kyi's comments suggested that she may not fully embrace the tactics of the protesters. "When dealing with people, I don't always follow what people like. I only tell the truth," she said. "I will work for the long-term benefit of the country."

After her speech she went to the hospital where many of the injured were being treated, and met with protest leaders at the hotel in Monywa where she is staying. A protest leader, Thwe Thwe Win, said afterward: "We will wait for Aung San Suu Kyi to negotiate with the companies. But we will not stop the protest until we achieve our demands, though I cannot tell you how we will proceed at this point."

Ohn Kyaing, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, said she told the mine's executives that force should not have been used. He said the executives said they did not direct the action, and that it had been the work of the state security forces. Ohn Kyaing said Suu Kyi on Friday would meet with officials in charge of the crackdown, as well as local villagers and their representatives.

Government officials have publicly stated that the protest risked scaring off foreign investment in Myanmar's long-neglected economy. Villagers affected by the mine claim they did not receive satisfactory compensation and demand a more comprehensive environmental impact assessment.

The mine is a joint venture between China's Wanbao Mining Copper Ltd. and the military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd., and most people here remain suspicious of the military and see China as an aggressive and exploitive investor that helped support its rule.

The protesters' concerns about the mine do not yet appear to be widely shared by the broader public. But hurting monks ? as admired for their social activism as they are revered for their spiritual beliefs ? is sure to antagonize many.

Aung Myint Htway said he didn't care that police treated him badly but added, "I won't forgive them for what they did to our monks."

According to a nurse at a Monywa hospital, 27 monks and one other person were admitted with burns caused by some sort of projectile that released sparks or embers. Two monks with serious injuries were sent for treatment in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-biggest city, a 2? hour drive away.

Other evicted protesters gathered at a Buddhist temple about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the mine's gates.

The protest is the latest major example of increased activism by citizens since the elected government took over last year. Street demonstrations have been legalized, and are generally tolerated, though detentions have occurred in sensitive cases.

Political and economic liberalization under Thein Sein has won praise from Western governments, which have eased sanctions imposed on the previous military government because of its poor record on human and civil rights.

However, the military's position in Myanmar's government remains strong, and some critics fear that democratic gains could be temporary.

The government's surprise suspension last year of a Chinese-backed hydroelectric project, in response to similar concerns about social and economic consequences, was seen as a significant indicator of its commitment to democratic reform. But China was unhappy about the decision, and Thein Sein's ministers have warned about offending Myanmar's big neighbor to the north and scaring off other foreign investors.

China's foreign ministry has defended the mining venture as mutually beneficial and said that environmental remediation and compensation to relocate affected residents all conformed to Myanmar law.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/myanmar-cracks-down-mine-protest-dozens-hurt-022059336--finance.html

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Colombia, FARC wrap up first round of peace talks

HAVANA (Reuters) - Colombia's Marxist-led FARC rebels said their peace talks with the government were going well, but the lead negotiator for President Juan Manuel Santos was more reserved as the two sides finished the first round of meetings aimed at ending their protracted conflict.

In separate sessions with the press, neither side spoke of breakthroughs in the talks, but nor was there any sign they had hit irresolvable obstacles as happened in previous peace attempts. They will reconvene in Havana on Wednesday.

The country's bloody guerrilla war, in which tens of thousands of people have died, dates back to 1964 when the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, formed as a communist agrarian movement. It turned later to the illicit drug trade, kidnappings and extortion to sustain itself.

Millions of people have been displaced by the war, which the FARC says is a fight to end Colombia's long history of social inequality.

Dutch national Tanja Nijmeijer, a FARC negotiator, told reporters the talks "are going very well," with occasional moments of levity.

"The atmosphere during the talks is very good. There's even space for little jokes, for laughing," she said in response to a question.

Senior FARC leader Andres Paris said the negotiators mingled in the hallways during breaks and were getting to know each other.

"One doesn't know who is more surprised, them or us," said the mustachioed guerrilla. "When we sit at the table, they can observe not barbarians, not savages, but fighters, intellectuals, politicians, the sensible men and women."

Lead government negotiator Humberto de la Calle, who read a statement and took no questions, gave a more muted assessment, but indicated progress.

'MORE THAN SPEECHES'

"We have finished the first round of direct conversations. I can say ... we have advanced as expected," said de la Calle, wearing a black suit and white shirt, but no tie.

"We will not move conversations at the table to the microphones. More than speeches, we want concrete results," he said. "When there is relevant information, we will make it public in an opportune manner."

His comments were the first by the government negotiating team since the talks began on November 19, while the FARC members have spoken daily going into the meetings.

So far, they have held to an agreement not to discuss what is being said at the negotiating table. One of their topics has been Simon Trinidad, a former rebel leader they want released from a 60-year prison sentence in the United States so he can participate in the talks.

A photo of Trinidad, who is imprisoned for the kidnapping of three Americans in Colombia, loomed behind the rebels at their news conference.

Nijmeijer, who wore black clothes and a checked Palestinian scarf slung around her neck, read a FARC declaration of solidarity with the Palestinian people before going into Thursday's talks.

Previous attempts at peace ended in shambles, but a 10-year-long, U.S.-backed military offensive has weakened the FARC to the point the government believes the group may be ready for a negotiated end to the war.

The talks have begun with the complicated issue of rural development. Four equally thorny topics - ending the war, the political and legal future of the rebels, the drug trade and compensation for war victims - will follow.

Both sides said they wanted full citizen participation in the peace process, which Santos hopes to conclude in nine months.

They have opened an Internet site, www.mesadeconversaciones.com.co, for citizen input and will hold citizen forums.

(Editing by Tom Brown and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colombia-farc-wrap-first-round-peace-talks-005838529.html

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