Page 10 - aruba-today-20180120

A10 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 20 January 2018
China police take away lawyer who wrote letter urging reform

By DAKE KANG His wife, Xu Yan, told The or who took him, or which tioned. stitution and allow open
Associated Press Associated Press that their department has him right He was detained again presidential elections.
BEIJING (AP) — Early Friday son ran back home after now, as the police haven’t in 2015 but released after “The president, the head of
morning, Yu Wensheng, a seeing a van, a SWAT car given us any information,” a day when his case re- state, is basically appoint-
Chinese human rights law- and two police cruisers, Xu said. ceived wide publicity. ed without any meaningful
yer, was waiting in his car to and burst into their apart- Yu gained widespread Yu’s seizure on Friday took election. It has no credibil-
take his 13 year-old son to ment saying, “Mom, the attention after being de- place a day after he post- ity for the country, for civil
school when more than a police took Dad away!” tained for three months in ed a letter online calling on society and for countries
dozen police officers came “I don’t know anything. We 2014, during which he says the ruling Communist Party across the world,” Yu said
and took him into custody. don’t know the charges, he was tortured and ques- to reform the Chinese Con- in the letter. q

Turkey faces balancing act amid border offensive in Syria

By SARAH EL DEEB military operations in Syria
Associated Press began in 2016 in large part
BEIRUT (AP) — As Turkey to curtail the formation of
threatens a bloody con- a contiguous territory un-
frontation with a U.S.- der Kurdish control along
backed Kurdish militia in its borders. It successfully
the main Syrian Kurdish en- severed that territorial con-
clave in northwestern Syria, tinuity when it deployed
it faces the challenge of its troops and proxy Syrian
maintaining its old alliance fighters to areas between
with Washington and rein- Kurdish enclaves in eastern
forcing a new rapproche- and western Syria.
ment with Moscow. Afrin remained the only
The move comes as Syria Kurdish enclave in north-
once again finds itself on western Syria, encircled by
the precipice of a new Turkey-backed rebels, and
conflict, after months of Turkey has been preparing
reduced violence and a an assault for over a year.
surge in post-war stabili- Turkey claims that Afrin is an
zation plans. Meanwhile, operating base for fighters
tens of thousands of Syrians of its own outlawed Kurdish
in the northwest are flee- insurgent group, the Kurdis-
ing the renewed violence tan Workers’ Party, or PKK,
amid a new government to infiltrate Turkish territories.
offensive in neighboring In dealing with the conflicts
Idlib, converging on the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army, FSA, fighters tour in the Syrian town of Azez near the border with in Afrin and Idlib, Turkish
Turkish border and igniting Turkey, Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. Turkey’s Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said on Friday in Ankara President Recep Tayyip Er-
fears of a new wave of mi- that his country is determined to carry out a military offensive against an enclave in northwest dogan has shown political
gration. Syria, saying Syrian Kurdish fighters there pose a “real” and ever increasing threat to Turkey. acumen, juggling national
Turkey’s defense minister, (DHA-Depo Photos via AP) security interests and do-
Nurettin Canikli, said Friday tween 8,000 and 10,000. with U.S. announcements confrontation. Activists and mestic election concerns,
there was no turning back The operation could spill that it is creating a new Kurdish fighters have de- while exerting pressure on
from launching a ground into a wider Turkish-Kurdish 30,000-strong Kurdish-led nied claims in Turkish media Washington and Moscow
assault on Syria’s Afrin en- confrontation inside Turkey. border force to secure the that Russian troops have for his long-term strategic
clave, saying the offensive It also threatens to turn into frontiers of Kurdish-con- begun a withdrawal. objectives. The threats of
had “de facto” started with a humanitarian disaster. trolled areas, including with Russia, Iran and Turkey are an offensive against Kurd-
sporadic Turkish military The Afrin district houses no Turkey and Iraq, to prevent interested in limiting the ish fighters help consolidate
shelling of the area. Over less than 800,000 civilians, the resurgence of Islamic U.S. presence in Syria, and nationalist support for Erdo-
the last week, Turkey has including displaced people State militants. have protested Washing- gan, who faces a crucial
sent troops and tanks to from earlier years of the Syr- Moscow’s green light is ton’s plans to create the election next year.
the border and rallied Syr- ian war. necessary for a Turkish op- border force, viewed as a With an assault on Afrin, Tur-
ian fighters it has backed Turkey has been prepar- eration into Afrin, where U.S. attempt to create a key seeks to further under-
for the fight against Afrin’s ing for a showdown in Af- Russian military observers buffer zone where Iranian mine the Kurdish dream of
battle-hardened Kurdish rin for a while. But the re- have deployed since last and Syrian government federalized rule in northern
fighters, estimated at be- cent escalation coincides year to prevent such a influence ends. Ankara’s Syria. q

North Korea cancels South Korea visit by advance team

By HYUNG-JIN KIM a trip by a North Korean ber advance team that it ther information from the during the games in a sign
Associated Press art troupe she also leads proposed just hours ear- North regarding the deci- of warming ties between
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) during next month’s Py- lier through a cross-border sion. the countries. It will be part
— North Korea on Friday eongchang Winter Olym- communication channel. The rival Koreas earlier of a North Korean Olympic
abruptly canceled plans pics. It wasn’t immediately clear this week agreed that the delegation that will also
to send a delegation led South Korea’s Unification whether the visit, which was 140-member Samjiyon art include athletes, officials,
by the head of a hugely Ministry said North Korea to begin on Saturday, was troupe, which will include state media reporters, a
popular girl band to South didn’t explain why it was permanently canceled or singers, dancers and or- cheering group and a tae-
Korea over the weekend “suspending” the two-day postponed. The ministry chestra members, will per- kwondo demonstration
to check preparations for visit by the seven-mem- said it will try to gather fur- form twice in South Korea team. q