British government insistence that eight servicemen and their patrol boats seized by Iran last week had not strayed across the border but were "forcibly escorted into Iranian territorial waters" caused waves of protest yesterday.
In a written statement to parliament issued late Wednesday, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said during debriefing the men had insisted they were "operating inside the Iraqi border and were forcibly escorted into Iranian territorial waters".
The opposition Conservative Party demanded that Iran issue a full apology and return the three patrol boats still being held.
Hoon said return of the boats and the retrieval of navigational information in the Global Positioning System equipment aboard would assist the inquiry. The Iranians had failed to meet a deadline set for the return of the three boats, weapons, ammunition, radios and navigational equipment, he said.
"We are very concerned about the blindfolding of the men and have made representations to the government of Iran. We have made it clear that we do not expect a recurrence of this incident," he added in reference to the way the men had been shown on Iranian state-run television.
Two of the men appeared to apologize on Iranian television for the incident.
All eight, six Royal Marines and two Royal Navy sailors, were released last Thursday.
Their detention by the Iranians came close to provoking a major diplomatic incident. British officials appeared to issue a guarded apology last week when they said the men "may have strayed into Iranian waters."
Conservative Defence spokesman Michael Ancram characterized Hoon's statement as "outrageous" and demanded the immediate return of the equipment.
"We were required to apologize for what appeared to have been trespassing into Iranian waters. Our servicemen were paraded blindfolded and humiliated. The equipment still has not been returned. This really does create an extraordinary strain on Iranian-British relations," he told the BBC.
Commentators suggest both governments sought to play down the incident in the hope of avoiding damage to relations between London and Tehran.
VAGUE: The criteria of the amnesty remain unclear, but it would cover political violence from 1999 to today, and those convicted of murder or drug trafficking would not qualify Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Friday announced an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners, including opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists detained for political reasons. The measure had long been sought by the US-backed opposition. It is the latest concession Rodriguez has made since taking the reins of the country on Jan. 3 after the brazen seizure of then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Rodriguez told a gathering of justices, magistrates, ministers, military brass and other government leaders that the ruling party-controlled Venezuelan National Assembly would take up the bill with urgency. Rodriguez also announced the shutdown
Civil society leaders and members of a left-wing coalition yesterday filed impeachment complaints against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, restarting a process sidelined by the Supreme Court last year. Both cases accuse Duterte of misusing public funds during her term as education secretary, while one revives allegations that she threatened to assassinate former ally Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The filings come on the same day that a committee in the House of Representatives was to begin hearings into impeachment complaints against Marcos, accused of corruption tied to a spiraling scandal over bogus flood control projects. Under the constitution, an impeachment by the
China executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including “key members” of telecom scam operations, state media reported yesterday, as Beijing toughens its response to the sprawling, transnational industry. Fraud compounds where scammers lure Internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar. Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world. Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work. In the past few years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation
Exiled Tibetans began a unique global election yesterday for a government representing a homeland many have never seen, as part of a democratic exercise voters say carries great weight. From red-robed Buddhist monks in the snowy Himalayas, to political exiles in megacities across South Asia, to refugees in Australia, Europe and North America, voting takes place in 27 countries — but not China. “Elections ... show that the struggle for Tibet’s freedom and independence continues from generation to generation,” said candidate Gyaltsen Chokye, 33, who is based in the Indian hill-town of Dharamsala, headquarters of the government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). It
RSS