Protests against Koran abuse June 09, 2005 From: Agence France-Presse HUNDREDS of Pakistani lawyers have staged raucous demonstrations against the reported desecration of the Koran by US interrogators at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba. Chanting "Down with America", the lawyers boycotted courts in Lahore, Pakistan's second biggest city, the central town of Multan, and other parts of Punjab province, officials and witnesses said. Chaudhry Mohammed Naeem, President of the District Bar Association, said Muslims respect all divine books, including the holy books of Christians and Jews. "We never expected any Christian or Jew could commit such a heinous crime," he said, adding that President Pervez Musharraf should lodge a strong protest with Washington. Police remained on alert and made no attempt to break up the rally in Lahore, witnesses said. In Multan, the lawyers observed a day-long strike, wore black armbands, and hoisted black flags from the roofs of their offices. "We will continue our protest until there is a public apology by the US president and a trial of the responsible military officers," the president of the High Court Bar Association, Muhammad Irfan Wyne, said. Similar rallies were held in other parts of the province following a call by the association. Musharraf last week condemned the desecration of the Koran as an "unpardonable" act and backed calls for the punishment of those found guilty. Frequent protest rallies continue in Pakistan, since a report in Newsweek magazine in early May said Guantanamo Bay interrogators threw a Koran in a toilet to rattle Muslim inmates. Newsweek later retracted the report. The Pentagon, which wrapped up an investigation last Saturday, has said US personnel at Guantanamo Bay reported two incidents of Koran defilement, but said overall US soldiers at the camp handled the book with respect. Several Muslim scholars in Lahore vowed to stage rallies tomorrow. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
