Labour Courts UK Religious Vote

Britain’s ruling Labour Party is courting the influential religious vote 14 weeks before a showdown with the opposition Conservatives in the upcoming general elections, The Scotsman reported on Tuesday, February 23.

"Faith voters massively outweigh 'Motorway Men' or 'Worcester Woman' or any other trendy demographic group identified by marketers," Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy will say in a speech to the Commons of Progress, a Labour think-tank.

He will note that over five million people have been to church, mosque or another place of worship in the last month.

"That’s a hugely significant figure."

British voters will go to polling stations in June to elect a new parliament.

Fourteen weeks before the vote, the Labour, in power since 1997, is lagging behind the opposition Conservatives in opinion polls.

In the 2005 general elections, the Labour won 31 percent of religious voters, nine point more than the Tories.

"Our lead among them in 2005 needs to be replicated in the coming election – and it will be if we reflect and respect their values and aspirations in our policies, as I believe we should," stressed Murphy.

"In the US, faith has long played a central part in politics...But it's wrong to think that it plays no role in British politics."

The Labour has been under fire from the Church of England and bishops who question the morality of its policies.

Earlier this month, Bishop of Durham Dr Tom Wright said religion has been put aside by the Labour governments since coming to power in 1997.

After criticism from the church, the ruling party dropped the Equality Bill, which would have sought to outlaw any form of discrimination against homosexuals.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the leader of Scotland’s 750,000 Roman Catholics, had threatened a "vocal and public campaign" against the bill.

Value Voters

The Labour party will also play the family card to win over the so-called value voters.

"Family is the most important thing in our country," Murphy, an MP for East Renfrewshire, will say.

"We love our family more than anything else. I am convinced that, like faith, family is another force for good."

He will argue that family values have always been at the very foundations of the Labour Party.

"As well as providing a supportive intellectual environment, it's a potential source of financial support in difficult days.

"All in all, families are our firm foundations, our rock in times of trouble."

Murphy, a prominent Catholic, is expected to turn the heat on the rival Tories over tax breaks for married couples.

"I celebrate marriage and family life, and while it's wrong for government to financially incentivize one family type over another.

"I am convinced family is the glue which hold our communities and society together."

Sudan, Darfur Rebels Sign Ceasefire Deal

The Khartoum government and the largest and most powerful rebel group in restive Darfur have signed a ceasefire agreement and a framework of final peace deal.

"Now all people in Darfur from all walks of life whether in the government or outside have come to a conclusion that peace has become a necessity as people suffered enough from the conflict," Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir said after signing the agreement in Doha late Tuesday, February 23.

Beshir and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader Khalil Ibrahim embraced one another after signing the deal, which came into effect at midnight in Darfur.

The signing took place at a huge ceremony in Doha attended by Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno and Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki.

The government and the Darfur rebel group also signed a framework accord to launch immediate discussions to reach a final peace agreement by March 15.

The breakthrough follows a recent thawing in relations between Sudan and neighboring Chad, which supports JEM.

The Darfur conflict broke out in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the government accusing it of discrimination.

The UN says over 300,000 have died as a result of conflict, disease and malnutrition and 2,5 million have been displaced.

The Sudanese government says that 10,000 have died.

No independent inquiry has been made to date.

Power-sharing

According to a French-language copy of the framework accord, JEM and Khartoum agreed to the participation of the rebel group at all levels of government in a manner to be agreed subsequently between the two parties.

The proposed settlement involves incorporating JEM forces in the national army and offering the rebel leadership senior government posts.

Under a 12-point provisional deal signed Saturday, the JEM would become a political party as soon as the final agreement is signed between the two parties by March 15.

The final agreement will include changes in how the Darfur region is administered and that death sentences for 100 JEM fighters will be canceled.

The leader of JEM, long seen as Darfur's most heavily armed rebel group, urged the smaller groups to subscribe to peace.

"We point out, however, that the road to peace still needs much patience and honest concessions from both sides," Ibrahim said.

"I call on my brothers in the other movements to (come together) in an overall partnership in the service of our country.

"Let us unite and commit ourselves together and at the same time to peace."

Four of the smaller groups announced Tuesday merging to form the Liberation Movement for Justice and hoped to come to an agreement with Khartoum.

Another major rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army-Abdul Wahid faction, has refused to talk to the government.

JEM leaders are from the Zaghawa ethnic group in Darfur, while the larger Fur and Masalit groups are more supportive of Nur.

"Other rebel groups need to be brought in before peace is achieved," Foaud Hikmat, Sudan analyst at the International Crisis Group, told the Guardian.

"The majority of the people in Darfur are not represented by JEM or the government."

Australia to Face-scan Foreign Visitors

The Australian government will be finger-printing and face-scanning visitors from ten high-risk, still-unnamed, countries as part of its anti-terror efforts.

"Terrorism continues to pose a serious threat and a serious challenge to Australia's security interests," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Tuesday, February 23.

"That threat is not diminishing."

Under new rules, visitors from ten high-risk countries will be finger-printed and face-scanned.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said they would delay naming the countries where visa applicants will need to give fingerprints and face-scans, admitting "diplomatic effort" may be needed with their governments.

But Rudd said Somalia and Yemen had been identified as two countries where the threat of Islamic extremism was growing.

Canberra will spend 62 million US dollars on the new biometric facilities and will set up a national control center to coordinate efforts to fight extremism.

"The government security intelligence agencies assess that terrorism has become a persistent and permanent feature of Australia's security environment," Rudd said.

"These agencies warn that an attack could occur at any time."

Australia has never suffered a major peacetime attack on home soil.

Rudd said Australia's increased security measures for visitors were being implemented in collaboration with Britain and the United States.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in January singled out Yemen, Somalia and the Sahel, stretching from Eritrea across Africa to Nigeria and Sudan, as vulnerable to militant influence.

The US has strengthened airport checks for citizens from Afghanistan, Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen, enforcing strict pat-down searches and baggage checks.

Home-grown

The prime minister insisted that the threat of terrorism was no longer just something that travels to Australia from overseas.

"The threat of home-grown terrorism is now increasing.

"This white paper is clear, some of the threat we now face comes from the Australian born, Australian educated and Australian residents," he said.

"Australia now faces an increased terrorist threat from people born or raised in Australia who take inspiration from violent jihadist narratives," Rudd told reporters.

"Prior to the rise of self-styled jihadist terrorism fostered by al Qaeda, Australia itself was not a specific target. Now we are."

Last week five Australian citizens of Lebanese, Libyan and Bangladeshi origin were jailed for up to 28 years for gathering weapons in preparation for an attack on an unknown target.

In August, five men with alleged links to Somalia's Shebab group were arrested and charged over an alleged plot to attack Sydney military barracks.

More than 40 Australians have also had passports revoked for security reasons.

Muslims, who have been in Australia for more than 200 years, have been haunted with suspicion and have had their patriotism questioned since the 9/11 attacks.

A recent governmental report revealed that Muslims are facing deep-seated Islamophobia and race-based treatment like never before.

Opposition Crackdown Fuels Bangladesh Unrest

A massive government crackdown on activists and supporters of the opposition Islamic parties is fueling unrest in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority South Asian country.

"This type of action by a democratically elected government is unwarranted and a major blow to the fundamentals of democratic principles," Abdul-Latif Masum, a professor of political science, told IslamOnline.net.

"It appears that the ongoing oppression of the opposition, especially Islamic forces, is quite ill-conceived by the present government and mainly targets to eliminate the Islamic forces from Bangladesh."

Thousands of opposition activists have been arrested in a massive security crackdown over the past three weeks.

The unrest is the first since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Awami leader, returned to power after a December 2008 parliamentary election that ended a two-year period of rule by an army-backed interim government.

Professor Masum warned that the government crackdown would trigger chaos in the country.

"This should not be the character of any democratic government and it shows intolerance of Awami League government," he said.

"Therefore, government should open all window of democracy for the sake of democracy itself."

But the government defended its crackdown against the opposition, saying it was part of efforts to prevent chaos in the country.

"Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Bangladesh Jamaat-E-Islami (BJI) are trying to destabilize the country to halt the trial of war criminal indictment process which is election agenda of present government," Mahabub-Ul-Alam Hanif, Joint General Secretary of the ruling Awami League, told IOL.

Standard Policy

Opposition groups say the latest crackdown is a standard policy of the Awami League.

"As a political party whenever Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) got hold of the power it never tolerated any opposition party," Abdul-Kader Mollah, Assistant Secretary-General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, told IOL.

"The present oppression and torture of the opposition by the Awami League government is their normal practice as evident from its past historic records of activities."

Mollah cited the government ban of all political parties in the country in 1973.

"BAL got the brute majority in 1975 and banned all political parties not only the Islamic political parties and established the ill-fated one party state with the formation of Bangladesh Krishak Sramik League (BAKSAL) and started the era of one party regime in Bangladesh."

He urged the government to stop treating the opposition as the enemy.

"Opposition is a part of government in a democratic country. So, the government should refrain from undemocratic and dictatorship attitude against opposition," said Mollah.

"Our apprehension is that such type of attitude toward the opposition as rooted in the mind of present government is not good sign for the country. Its consequence will be very bad."

Mohammd Jafrullah Khan, Secretary-General of the Khelafat Majlish Islamic party, warned that the crackdown could trigger a backlash.

"BAL government is losing its good image through torture and suppression of the opposition and creating a terrible atmosphere," he said.

"This will lead to a decline in the public support for the government. So ultimately government will be destabilized within a short time."