MIDDLE EAST

TURKISH NOVELIST ACCUSED OF DENIGRATING ‘TURKISH IDENTITY’

ISTANBUL – Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk has been charged with the “public denigrating of Turkish identity” and faces a possible prison sentence of three years, his publisher said yesterday.

The charge stems from an interview that Mr. Pamuk gave to a Swiss newspaper, Tages-Anzeiger, in February in which he said certain topics were regarded as off-limits in Turkey. As examples, he listed the massacre of Armenians in 1915 and the ongoing war between Turkish security forces and Kurdish guerrillas as examples.

Turkey’s penal code was revised this year in hopes of bringing laws on freedom of expression closer to international standards, as demanded by the European Union. Organizations representing writers and journalists say more changes are needed.

– The Washington Post

INVESTIGATORS RELEASE LAWMAKER QUESTIONED IN HARIRI MURDER

BEIRUT, Lebanon – A staunch defender of Syria’s influence in Lebanon, legislator Nasser Qandil, who was questioned in the assassination of a former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, was released early yesterday. Investigators were expected to keep interrogating four detained pro-Syrian generals over the slaying.

U.N. investigators leading the probe, aided by Lebanese forensic experts, also visited two Beirut residential apartments yesterday possibly used by those who planned the bombing that killed Hariri and 20 others, said a security official who asked not to be identified.

– Associated Press

SOUTHEAST ASIA

LEGISLATORS QUASH ARROYO IMPEACHMENT CASE

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo’s congressional allies dealt a major blow yesterday to efforts to oust her, using their dominating majority – and the opposition’s absence – to toss out all three impeachment complaints against her.

Opposition legislators cried foul and warned that the country’s third “people power” revolt loomed. They watched the events unfold on TV, like the rest of the country, after walking out a day earlier from the House justice department committee hearing on the complaints.

But despite clashes between riot police and anti-Arroyo demonstrators outside Congress that injured 11 protesters, there was little sign that allegations of Ms. Arroyo rigging last year’s election were generating the emotions – or masses – that fueled the peaceful ousters of dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Ms. Arroyo’s predecessor, President Estrada, in 2001.

– Associated Press

EAST ASIA

ROAD TO TIBET CLOSED FOR ‘AUTONOMY’ CELEBRATION

BEIJING – The Chinese government has cut off Tibet from the outside world for a series of celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of what Beijing calls its “autonomous” local government. There are no foreign guests, and, according to Free Tibet campaigners, tourists are being kept out between August 20 and September 10. A bus route between Lhasa and the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu, has been suspended.

Tibet was declared an “Autonomous Region” 14 years after it was conquered by China. Its administration is run by a Beijing-appointed Communist Party secretary. No ethnic Tibetan has ever held the post, once occupied by the current Chinese president, Hu Jintao.

– The Daily Telegraph

HONG KONG DISNEY FACES TROUBLE AHEAD OF OPENING

BEIJING – Disney has had to indulge in a monumental public relations campaign to overcome a series of gaffes before Hong Kong Disneyland’s lavish opening party next week.

The ribbon-cutting will be performed by China’s vice president, Zeng Qinghong. It has even engaged in a sponsorship deal with China’s Communist Youth League and designed the park’s layout with the help of feng shui masters.

However, things started to go wrong when it put shark’s fin soup on the park’s wedding banquet menu. This caused an uproar led by Greenpeace, which claims that millions of sharks are killed every year to feed the appetite for their fins. Disney was found to have culled 40 stray dogs from around the site; the company said it acted because of Hong Kong’s feral dog problem. Nevertheless, it promised in the future to trap and neuter strays and release them to “feeding stations.”

A group called “Disney Hunter” and another called Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior, investigated mainland factories used for Disney costumes. They said they found people being paid below the minimum wage. Disney said it was appointing investigators to look at the claims.

– The Daily Telegraph