They were not protesting the result of the election. They were protesting against suspected hidden agendas. Like if Howard got elected by lying to the public, the public would protest.

Moon, you can't post links or URLs in your very first post. I had to do that to cut back on the spam. You should be right now.

freediver wrote on May 8^th, 2007 at 10:14am:


but there was no hidden agendas, the guy made openly declared that he was a pro-Islamist during the election and won it fair & square.

As I recall, the newspaper reports made it appear to be about 'suspicions' rather than the 'official' policy platform of the new president.

freediver wrote on May 8^th, 2007 at 10:23am:


isn't voting considered to be citizen activism?

freediver wrote on May 8^th, 2007 at 10:31am:


voting isn't compulsory in every country.
some countries allow u to abstain from voting.

assuming voting is compulsory in Turkey - pro-Islamic party won election as it received the majority of the nations votes. this indicates that the pro-secular protestors are a minority.

assuming voting is not compulsory in Turkey - pro-Islamic party won election as it received more votes than any other party. this indicates that the pro-secular protestors either didn't vote or they represent the minority of voters.

either way, the pro-Islamic party won and should remain in office. the protest after the election is really useless, since the protestors already voiced their concern (or should have voiced it) in the election process.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10436402


"SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan - A Taleban video of a 12-year-old boy beheading a man accused of spying has angered many Afghans, drawing condemnation from tribal and religious leaders.
"It's very wrong for the Taleban to use a small boy to behead a man," religious teacher Mullah Attullah told Reuters on Thursday.
"I appeal to the Taleban to please stop this because non-Muslims will think Islam is a cruel and terrorist religion.
"The Taleban do not follow the laws of Islam. They are taking advice from foreigners."
The video released this week shows the boy in a camouflage jacket and a white headband using a knife to behead a blindfolded man accused of being a spy for foreign forces as men cry "Allahu Akbar! (God is Great)".
The Taleban frequently behead suspected spies and often release video footage.
A tribal leader in the south, the Taleban's heartland, said the beheading was un-Islamic.
"The Taleban are doing very bad things and it is against Islam to behead a man by a very young boy," Haji Saeed Jan said.
"Islam does not allow anyone to behead any man. The Taleban show the wrong image of Islam to the world. We condemn this."
In the border town of Spin Boldak, near Pakistan, a young man, Abdul Ghafur, was appalled by the footage.
"After I watched this, I could not eat any food for two days," he said. Some television stations broadcast clips from the footage.
Taleban commander Mullah Hayatullah Khan said the Taleban would kill anyone helping foreign forces in order to protect their guerrilla fighters.
"We showed the beheading video to warn others," he said by satellite phone from a secret location.
Asked why the Taleban used a boy, he said:
"We want to tell the non-Muslims that our youngsters are also Mujahideens (holy warriors) and fight with us against you."
"These youngsters will be our Holy War commanders in the future and continue the jihad for freedom. Islam allow boys and women to do jihad against occupying non-Muslim troops and their spies and puppets."
Last year was the bloodiest since US-led forces ousted the Taleban in 2001 and many security analysts expect this year to be worse, with the Taleban and other militant groups bolstered by money from another record opium crop and the ability to shelter and train in Pakistan.
Five insurgents were killed after an air strike and a clash with Afghan border police and US special forces on Thursday in Paktia province, bordering Pakistan, the US military said in a statement.
The US military said ground forces engaged and pursued more than 10 foreign fighters, but did not say how it was known the insurgents were foreign.
Pakistan denies any continued formal support for the Taleban which it helped to power in the 1990s, but the issue of cross border infiltration has soured ties between Islamabad and Kabul.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is due to meet his Pakistani counterpart, Pervez Musharraf, in Turkey next week.
Karzai told reporters in Kabul on Thursday he hoped the talks would help ease tensions and boost security.
"Afghanistan is going with a mood of friendship and honest and I hope we have a good outcome," he said. "We hope they (Pakistan) know that peace and security in Afghanistan means peace and security in Pakistan."
But Musharraf criticised Karzai in an interview published on Thursday in the Spanish daily El Pais, accusing him of being weak on terrorism.
"The ones who do nothing against terrorism, like Karzai, are those who criticise those who fight, like us, "' said Musharraf, who is in Spain on a four-day visit."

If anyone actually claims the Taliban isn't Islamic, you're an idiot.

They're the most PURE Muslims under the sun.

Pakistan hardliners honour bin Laden

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Pakistan-hardliners-honour-bin-Laden/2007/06/22/1182019316786.html

A group of hardline Pakistani Muslim clerics say they have bestowed a religious title on Osama bin Laden in response to a British knighthood for author Salman Rushdie.

The Pakistan Ulema Council gave bin Laden the title "Saifullah", or sword of Allah, in response to the knighthood awarded to Rushdie last week for services to literature.

Rushdie's novel, The Satanic Verses published in 1988, outraged many Muslims around the world. Muslims say it blasphemed against the Prophet Mohammad and ridiculed the Koran.

On Monday, Pakistan's parliament adopted a resolution condemning the knighthood and said Britain should withdraw it.

Iran denies supporting the Taliban

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Iran-denies-supporting-the-Taliban/2007/06/21/1182019275232.html

Iran rejected US accusations it was arming the Taliban in Afghanistan, saying an attack on its consulate there showed the hostility of the Sunni militant group towards Shi'ite Iran.

US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns on June 9 accused Tehran of supporting the Taliban and fuelling insurrection around the Middle East.

"Iran's role in reconstructing Afghanistan has always been confirmed by friends and enemies alike," he said.