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Southeast Asia's tri-border black spotPosted on Wednesday 4 November 2009 at 12:36 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkSoutheast Asia's tri-border black spotWestern diplomatic officials are increasingly concerned about Islamist militant activity in the east Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo. Sabah has porous and poorly policed land and maritime borders with akoya pearl jewelry Indonesia and the Philippines, both countries grappling with Islamist insurgencies. Western intelligence gathering on the 750,100 km2 island of Borneo, which comprises the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, Brunei and the four Indonesian provinces of Kalimantan, has been far less extensive than in the neighbouring flashpoint areas of Indonesia, the southern Philippines and southern Thailand, a US Department of State source recently told Jane's. Without citing any specific threat or incident, the source said more resources should be channelled into gathering intelligence in Borneo, particularly in Sabah. Sabah is close to the southern Philippine islands where the military has been struggling to put down Islamist insurgencies. Since 2001, the US has supported the effort with money and military training. The US has also offered large rewards for information leading to the arrest or killing of named militants believed to be in the region. One such militant is Dulmatin, a suspected member of the regional group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and a suspect in the October 2002 Bali bombings. JI has long used Sabah as a logistical hub through which to send recruits to training camps in the southern Philippines. Former JI commander Nasir Abbas, now a police informant, confirmed to Jane's in a recent interview that he headed Camp Hudabiya on the Philippine island of Mindanao between 1994 and 1997. He described how he always went through Sabah when travelling back to peninsular Malaysia, saying he would mostly travel illegally, bribing fisherman to ferry him overnight to Sabah's coastline. Abbas said he carried a forged Philippine passport as a backup, using the Tagalog language he had picked up from his students to cultured pearl enhance his false identity. Top target - Militant deaths hit extremism in IndonesiaPosted on Wednesday 4 November 2009 at 12:34 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link The death of the Malaysian Noordin Mohammed Top, Southeast Asia's most wanted militant, in a police raid on 17 September near Solo, Central Java, was a major strike against violent extremism in Indonesia. Three weeks later, the death of Noordin's accomplice Syaifudin Zuhri bin Ahmad Jaelani and his brother Mohammed Syahrir bin Ahmad Jaelani, in a raid on 9 October in Ciputat, Banten, demonstrated continued security force pressure on militant extremists in the country, but also raised questions about police tactics that led to so many killings rather than capture of top suspects. However, the threat is far from over. Several of Noordin's senior lieutenants are still at large and organisations such as Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT) remain potential recruiting pools. Since the 17 July bombings of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, police have killed eight operatives in addition to freshwater pearl Noordin and arrested 11 others. Yet, there are at least seven other individuals on the police wanted list who are known to have worked closely with Noordin over the past three years, and there is evidence suggesting he led a more sophisticated network than had been generally assumed. Honduras dismisses military chief amid political chaosPosted on Wednesday 4 November 2009 at 12:33 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkZelaya dismissed General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez and accepted Ángel Edmundo Orellana Mercado's resignation, claiming that it was a response to "crisis generated by certain sectors that have promoted destabilisation and chaos". In addition to the dismissal of Váquez, the heads of the army, air force and navy also resigned. The move came a day after Congress approved a law on public referenda that hindered Zelaya's attempts to hold a plebiscite on plans to akoya pearl jewelry allow his re-election. Zelaya is currently not constitutionally permitted to stand for re-election. Political and social tension is rapidly building in Honduras, including within the president's own Liberal Party. A march of several tens of thousands of people against Zelaya's re-election plans took place in the second city of San Pedro Sula on 23 June, although political opposition to Zelaya - who has allied Honduras to the ALBA socialist-oriented bloc of Latin American countries led by Venezuela - is offset by significant support from many left-wing social, community and union groups. Porfirio Lobo Sosa, Honduran presidential candidatePosted on Wednesday 4 November 2009 at 12:31 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link Porfirio Lobo Sosa campaigns in November 2005. (PA) Uncertainty surrounding Honduras' political future has not stopped candidates from launching their campaigns for a presidential election scheduled for 29 November, with conservative Porfirio Lobo Sosa from the National Party (Partido Nacional: PN) as one of the favourites to freshwater pearl jewelry secure the post. 'Pepe' Lobo Sosa came a close second to Manual Zelaya in the 2005 presidential contest, and his political pedigree appears to be attracting many Hondurans disturbed by the upheaval since Zelaya was ousted in a military-backed coup on 28 June. Polls in September placed him ahead of Liberal Party (Partido Liberal: PL) rival Elvin Santos. Family business - La Familia: Mexico's most violent criminalsPosted on Wednesday 4 November 2009 at 12:30 PM - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkThe turf warfare that has beset Mexico's major drug cartels since the government-led security crackdown of late 2006 has benefited one emerging cartel: La Familia of the centre-west state of Michoacán. According to Mexico's office of the General Attorney (Procuraduria General de la Republica: PGR) in July 2009, this group is the most violent criminal organisation in the country and poses the greatest security challenge to the administration of President Felipe Calderón. The group was originally linked to pearl jewelry wholesale the Zetas, formerly the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel, but is now operating autonomously, taking advantage of the increasingly fragmented cartel scene. La Familia has evolved into a powerful and hierarchical criminal organisation. Its growth was helped by an environment in which a high level of existing criminality and the inability of state security forces to counter this contributed to the group's development and its ability to recruit new members. |
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