Diplomatic Briefing
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Newsline: Iranians protester outside German Embassy
Iran’s official news agency said protesters in front of the German Embassy in Tehran were seeking return of an Iranian-born singer who went into hiding after receiving death threats. Singer Shahin Najafi allegedly insulted a Shiite Muslim saint. The protesters also demanded that Germany apologize for hosting the singer, who has lived in Germany since 2005. They called the singer an apostate. Najafi first contacted German police about the threats May 8. A day later, an anonymous person posting on a Persian-language website put a $100,000 price on his head.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765578611/Iranian-protesters-seek-return-of-local-singer-hiding-in-Germany.html
Newsline: Australian embassy staff injured in Kabul
Two injured Australian embassy staff have been flown to Germany for treatment after a gas stove exploded at their residence in Kabul. The pair was injured on Thursday April 26. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says they were transported from the Afghan capital and are in a stable condition.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8462004/aust-embassy-staff-injured-in-kabul
Newsline: Protesters drop golden turd by Athens embassy
Ten German protesters were arrested in Athens after leaving a giant golden turd on the doorstep of the Berlin embassy in the Greek capital. The protesters, members of a political-artistic collective, topped their offering off with a huge photo of the German national emblem – the eagle – that had the head of Chancellor Angela Merkel and very large breasts. The model was a lifelike replica of a curled turd- several feet tall and covered in gold paper. Greek police soon arrested ten of the 13-strong group and confiscated their fake faeces.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002565811
Commentary: Pakistani diplomats and misplaced priorities
Every year one or two groups representing the German Journalists Centre visit Pakistan on a trip sponsored by the Pakistan Embassy. Information such as the aim of the visit, its outcome and the selection criteria is, however, kept confidential. Before their departure, the group is introduced to the history and culture of Pakistan, along with the ongoing developments in the country, the serious challenges they can face while there and ways to handle them. Recently, Mr Mazhar Javed, the acting ambassador of Pakistan in Germany, accompanied by Mr Ghulam Haider, Press Counselor Pakistan Embassy Berlin, briefed a group of such journalists who are scheduled to visit Pakistan sometime during the end of March to the beginning of April 2012. It was revealed that 150,000 soldiers man the western border of Pakistan to guard us against terrorism with 900 military posts. In comparison, Nato comprising of 42 countries, mans 112 military posts. With a lot of pride, the audience was also informed that 17,742 terrorists have been either killed or arrested up till now while 6,600 Pakistani soldiers have lost their lives; 19,919 have been seriously wounded. As was expected, the ambassador was bombarded with several questions after the presentation, such as why the embassy doesn’t update the German press with latest efforts, why the Pakistan army and ISI are accused of supporting specific factions of Taliban, how women are treated in Pakistan, and why the human rights situation of minorities keeps worsening in the country. The responses to this question were shaky and based on circular reasoning; in each reply the argument was given that the negative image of Pakistan is only the opinion of writers, having no bearing with the facts on ground. Later, many journalists showed their dissatisfaction with the diplomatic chief representing Pakistan for not accepting the truth. It appeared from his briefing that either he wasn’t fully prepared for the event or lacked the latest knowledge about his country. There is no doubt that the data comprising efforts made by Pakistan to combat terrorism was impressive, but it would have been better if the presentation contained a full analysis of the existing situation and solutions to the existing problems instead of just statistics. Though it is a commendable effort by the Pakistan Embassy to sponsor foreign journalists to visit Pakistan and observe what’s really happening there, one cannot ignore the negative aspects which worsen the international image of the country.
http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/10799/pakistani-diplomats-and-misplaced-priorities/
Newsline: Woman arrested outside Israeli Embassy in Germany carrying suitcase filled with fireworks
German police say a woman has been arrested while trying to throw a small suitcase filled with fireworks on the grounds of the Israeli Embassy. Berlin police said Sunday the suitcase contained less than 10 fireworks, no trigger mechanism and posed no real security threat. The 40-year-old suspect also attempted to throw newspapers articles featuring swastikas on the embassy grounds. Police say the woman, whose identity was withheld because of German privacy laws, was rapidly apprehended by the embassy’s security guards and subsequently arrested by police late Saturday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/woman-arrested-outside-israeli-embassy-in-germany-carrying-suitcase-filled-with-fireworks/2012/03/18/gIQAt18OKS_story.html
Newsline: German Embassy press officer in Seoul marks 40 years in job
He witnessed the then-German Chancellor Helmut Kohl pray for peace on a bridge between the two Koreas in 1993, before flying back to Seoul with him in a helicopter. And throughout his 40-year career, long-serving German Embassy press officer Doe Phil-young has built a few bridges between the European nation and Korea himself. “Being the Chancellor of united Germany, he went to Panmunjom and stood on the Bridge of No Return where he made a speech and prayed for Koreans’ unity,” said Doe recalling one of the highlights of his embassy career. He marked his 40th year at the German mission in Seoul on March 1, and intends to stay on an extra year before retiring. He is thought to be the longest-serving diplomatic staffer currently working in Seoul. During the past four decades he has assisted 10 German ambassadors to Korea, and selected more than 150 Korean journalists to visit on the invitation of the German government.
http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20120304000308
Newsline: Sofia to Remove Road Blocks before German, UK Embassies
The road barriers placed in front of the German Embassy in Bulgaria will be removed by end-March, Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova said Thursday. The barriers in front of the British Embassy in Sofia on 9 Moskovska Street would also be removed and replaced by automatic retractable bollards which will be folded down between 6 p.m. and 8. a.m. so as to provide unimpeded access to the street, Fandakova explained. At present, two barriers placed in front of the premises enclose a parking lot for diplomatic vehicles and two portable security cabins. She noted that the road barriers in front of the Turkish Embassy and the residence of the Turkish Ambassador to Sofia had already been lifted. In July 2010, a cross-institutional commission of representatives of the Foreign and Interior Ministries ordered the removal of steel barriers, Jersey barriers and flowerpots placed in front of the buildings of the diplomatic missions of Turkey, Spain, Great Britain and Germany.
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=136929
Newsline: Germany Expels Four Syrian Embassy Diplomats After Spy Charges
The German government said it was expelling four Syrian diplomats, escalating a standoff after this week’s arrest of two men suspected of spying for Syrian intelligence on opposition groups active in Germany. The Syrian ambassador was informed today of the expulsion of the embassy personnel in Berlin, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in an e-mailed statement. The ministry had summoned the ambassador on Feb. 7, the day of the arrests, to warn against espionage activity. “The position of the government was once again made unequivocally clear, that any activity against the Syrian opposition will not be accepted,” Westerwelle said. The embassy personnel, who are accused of activity not in compliance with diplomatic duties, have three days to leave the country with their families, according to the German Foreign Ministry. The arrests in Berlin two days ago were part of an operation involving 70 investigators, who searched the suspects’ apartments and those of six others. The men taken into custody were identified as Mahmoud El A., 47, who holds German and Lebanese citizenship, and Akram O., 34, a Syrian national.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-09/germany-expels-four-syrian-embassy-diplomats-after-spy-charges.html
Newsline: Germany Summons Syrian Ambassador After Spying Arrests in Berlin
The German government called in Syria’s ambassador after security officials in Berlin arrested two men suspected of spying for Syrian intelligence on groups critical of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. “We will signal unambiguously to Syrian officials that any apparent activity against the Syrian opposition in Germany is in no way tolerable and a violation of the law,” German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told reporters in Berlin as he announced the diplomatic protest. The men, identified as 47-year-old Mahmoud El A., who holds German and Lebanese citizenship, and Akram O., 34, a Syrian national, were arrested in Berlin earlier today in an operation that involved about 70 investigators, who searched the suspects’ apartments and those of six others. The two detained are “strongly suspected of carefully observing the Syrian opposition in Germany for a Syrian intelligence agency for years,” Germany’s Federal Prosecutor said in a statement. Other suspects, whose apartments were searched, were accused of providing assistance, it said. Suspicion of Syrian espionage arose on Dec. 28, when Germany’s Foreign Ministry called on investigators to clarify the alleged beating of a Syrian opposition figure, a member of the Green Party in Berlin’s Mitte district, after the party said it was probably the work of Syrian agents. Police said at the time that the politician, Ferhad Ahma, had been beaten at his appartment early on Dec. 26 by two men posing as police officers. Local Greens officials accused the Syrian government of trying to intimidate Ahma.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-07/germany-summons-syrian-ambassador-after-spying-arrests-in-berlin.html
Newsline: Protesters break into Syrian embassy in Berlin
A group of about 30 demonstrators stormed the Syrian embassy in Berlin early on Sunday and confronted the ambassador, according to the police. The break-in followed earlier demonstrations outside the embassy on Saturday. No-one was hurt or arrested, a police spokesman told the news agency AFP. The protestors broke through a fence and rushed inside to confront the ambassador, who also lives at the embassy. The police said the embassy staff reacted very calmly, and the protestors were merely removed from the scene. There was no violence or arrests. The police have since strengthened their presence around the embassy. Demonstrators also picketed the Syrian embassies in London and Vienna on Saturday night. Five Syrian Kurdish protestors were also arrested in Genevaon Saturday night when they tried to enter the Syrian permanent mission to the United Nations.
http://mobile.dw-world.de/english/ua.2/mobile.A-15446788-1432.html
