Houzan Mahmoud of the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) writes for The Guardian's Comment is Free blog, April 13:

Around seven months ago, a draft constitution for the Kurdistan region was made available for discussion, suggestions and amendments. Article seven of this proposed constitution states: This constitution stresses the identification of the majority of Kurdish people as Muslims; thus the Islamic sharia law will be considered as one of the major sources for legislation making.

For the first time since his tour stop in Matamoros in December, Subcommander Marcos of the Zapatista rebels arrived back on Mexico's US border April 11. Traveling with 10 Zapatista comandantes from Chiapas, Marcos stopped at the desert village of Magdalena de Kino in Sonora state to meet with leaders of the Tohono O'odham (Papago) indigenous people, whose territory is intersected by the international line. The Zapatistas are en route to El Mayor Peace Camp in neighboring Baja California. Marcos said he will return to Magdalena de Kino within two weeks to announce plans for the Intercontinental Indigenous Conference, slated for northwest Mexico in the fall of 2007. (Narco News, April 11) When Marcos was in Magdalena de Kino last October, he briefly crossed into the USA.

Florentin Melendez, president of the Interamerican Human Rights Commission (CIDH), in Mexico on an official visit, registered protest on the Mexican government's policy for indigenous peoples. He said the pre-NAFTA reform of the Mexican constitution's Article 27, allowing privatization of collective lands, has had a "destructive" effect on indigenous culture. He especially cited the example of Chiapas, where the "individual parcelization" of collective lands has broken up comunities, left many without land, and sparked a violent struggle over conflicting claims. (APRO, April 12)

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has met with military commanders to discuss a request made by the governor of Rio de Janeiro for a military presence on the city's streets, as a means of supplementing police patrols. Drug-fueled crime has long ravaged Rio's slums, but now violence is spreading. No decision has been reached, but the president will meet with commanders again next week, who have agreed to lend assistance "within the constitutional parameters." [AlJazeera, April 12]

Tribal leaders of Somalia's largest clan, the Hawai, have declared war against Ethiopian troops. A spokesperson for the Hawai clan has implored Somalis to assist them in their fight, exclaiming: "The war is not between Ethiopia and our tribe, it is between Ethiopia and all Somali people". The move threatens to undermine the already precarious Ethiopian-backed interim government. Diplomats from neighbouring nations met today in Kenya in a bid to address the escalating violence in Somalia, as well the role and cost of the AU presence in the country. They are expected to push for an increased peacekeeping force for the country. [AlJazeera, April 13]

Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, head of Turkey's army, has advocated a military operation into Northern Iraq, in an effort to tackle the "freedom of movement" which the region affords the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). A US State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, has criticised the statement, claiming that a cross-border operation is "not an appealing option" for Iraqi stability. There are already several large-scale operations being conducted in Turkey against the PKK, although the army is yet to submit this most recent proposal to the Turkish parliament for approval. [AlJazeera, April 13]

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), refugee flows from Iraq are placing a considerable strain on neighboring countries, such as Syria and Jordan. Syria, for instance, has received roughly 1.2 million Iraqis fleeing the instability in their homeland which ensued following the US-led invasion, while a further 800,000 reside in Jordan. In the case of the latter, there is the fear, according to UNHCR's regional representative Stephane Jaquemet, "that the number is growing and that the balance between the local population and the refugee community is now quite shaky." A UNHCR conference to be held next week in Geneva is set to focus on the humanitarian requirements for the 2 million Iraqis who have been translocated by hostilities in Iraq, along with the further 1.9 million internally displaced persons. [Reuters, April 13]

Exiled Russian multi-millionaire Boris Berezovsky has disclosed that he intends to instigate a coup in the Kremlin to oust President Putin. Based in Britain, he is said to have forged close ties with, as well as have bankrolled, Russian political elites close to Putin. "It isn't possible to change this regime through democratic means," he remarked, lambasting Putin for having unstitched democratic reforms, violated the country's constitution, suffocated political opposition and monopolised the reins of power. Dmitry Peskov, the chief spokesperson for the Kremlin, last night described this proclamation as a criminal offence under Russian legislation. He also hastened that such a statement might serve to undermine Berezovsky's claim to asylum in Britain. [The Guardian, April 13]