Dead Sea Scrolls stir storm at ROM

A planned Toronto exhibit of ancient Middle Eastern manuscripts is threatening to plunge Canada, along with the Royal Ontario Museum, into the thick of the long-running conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

Beginning in June, the ROM will host a six-month exhibit of the famed Dead Sea Scrolls, organized in co-operation with the Israel Antiquities Authority.

But top Palestinian officials this week declared the exhibit a violation of international law and called on Canada to cancel the show.

In letters to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and top executives at the ROM, senior Palestinian officials argue the scrolls – widely regarded as among the great archaeological discoveries of the 20th century – were acquired illegally by Israel when the Jewish state annexed East Jerusalem in 1967.

"The exhibition would entail exhibiting or displaying artifacts removed from the Palestinian territories," said Hamdan Taha, director-general of the archaeological department in the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

"I think it is important that Canadian institutions would be responsible and act in accordance with Canada's obligations."

The Palestinians say the planned ROM exhibit violates at least four international conventions or protocols on the treatment of cultural goods that were illegally obtained.

Both Canada and Israel are signatories to all of the agreements, the Palestinians say.

The letter of protest sent this week to Harper was signed by Salam Fayyad, prime minister of the Palestinian Authority and its second-in-command. The letter to the ROM bore the signature of Khouloud Daibes, minister of tourism and antiquities.

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Cover-up claim after Peru clashes

Human rights lawyers have accused Peru's government of a cover-up, after clashes between police and indigenous protesters killed at least 50 people.

The lawyers say hundreds more may be missing, amid rumours that the police have hidden bodies. But they say rights groups cannot get in to investigate.

The government denies the claims and says police were the victims.

For two months Amazonians have rallied against laws which they say will open their lands to oil and gas drilling.

The government of President Alan Garcia - a hate figure for the protesters - insists it has guaranteed millions of acres for native people.

Meanwhile, Nicaragua has granted political asylum to indigenous leader Alberto Pizango.

He sought refuge in the country's embassy in Lima after an arrest warrant was issued on charges of sedition, conspiracy and rebellion.

'Truth will come out'

The violence erupted last Friday when more than 2,000 Indians - many of them carrying spears and machetes - launched a protest over the drilling plans.

About 30 protesters and 24 police officers were killed in the worst clashes for at least a decade.

After visiting the area, near the town of Bagua Grande, 1,400km (870 miles) north of the capital Lima, rights lawyers said hundreds of people could not be accounted for.

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Nicaragua grants asylum,to Peruvian indigenous leader

Tim Rogers reports for Tico Times:

The government of Nicaragua has granted political asylum to Peruvian indigenous leader Alberto Pizango, who is wanted in Peru on charges of inciting violent protests over oil exploration rights in the Amazon.

Pizango is charged with sedition after allegedly leading an indigenous group in protest over Amazon land usage rights. The protests turned violent last weekend when police tried to break up a roadblock, resulting in more than 50 deaths, according to wire reports.

Pizango, who has been hiding in the Nicaraguan embassy in Lima since Monday, was granted asylum Tuesday by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, according to Sandinista Front founder and Nicaraguan Ambassador to Peru Tomás Borge.

Borge, who is currently in Managua, told local media outlets that Pizango's case “has all the characteristics of a political issue” and is under review by the Organization of American States and Peruvian Congress.

“Our (only) alternative, taking into account the spirit of solidarity (Nicaraguan) President Daniel Ortega holds with those who supposedly (suffer) political persecution, is to offer political asylum to Alberto Pizango,” Borge said.

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London eco-village occupation

Around 70 protesters occupied an empty plot of land next to Kew Bridge in Brentford, London (NR TW8 0EW). They plan to setup an eco-village. This will showcase community based sustainable methods of living such as vegetable growing, compost toilets. They are now in the process of setting up tents and are cleaning the site of rubbish.

Photos and video here.

London's Metropolitan Police accused of waterboarding suspects

In the summer of 1991, Britain's Independent reported on a police unit that used suffocation with plastic bags to extract confessions. Times have changed and methods are becoming more sophisticated, as The Times report:

Metropolitan Police officers subjected suspects to waterboarding, according to allegations at the centre of a major anti-corruption inquiry, The Times has learnt.

The torture claims are part of a wide-ranging investigation which also includes accusations that officers fabricated evidence and stole suspects' property. It has already led to the abandonment of a drug trial and the suspension of several police officers.

However, senior policing officials are most alarmed by the claim that officers in Enfield, North London, used the controversial CIA interrogation technique to simulate drowning. Scotland Yard is appointing a new borough commander in Enfield in a move that is being seen as an attempt by Sir Paul Stephenson, the Met Commissioner, to enforce a regime of “intrusive supervision”.

The waterboarding claims will fuel the debate about police conduct that has raged in the wake of hundreds of public complaints of brutality at the anti-G20 protests in April.

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