Pakistan protests descend into violence

Protests by tens of thousands of Pakistanis infuriated by an anti-Islam film made in the United States descended into deadly violence yesterday, with the police firing tear gas and live ammunition in an attempt to subdue rioters. Fifteen people were killed and more than 160 injured on a holiday declared by the government so that people could rally against the video. Thousands of Muslims protested in at least half a dozen other countries, some burning American flags and effigies of President Barack Obama. In the Pakistani city of Peshawar, the police fired on rioters who were torching a cinema. A driver for a Pakistani television station was killed when police bullets hit his vehicle at the scene. In Karachi, armed protesters among a group of 15,000 fired on the police and burned two cinemas and a bank. Clashes between the police and stone-throwing protesters also occurred in Lahore and Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. The police fired tear gas as well as warning shots in an attempt to keep them from advancing towards US missions in the cities. In a bid to tamp down public rage, the US Embassy in Islamabad is spending US$70,000 (S$86,000) to air an ad on Pakistani television that features President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denouncing the video. Their comments are in English but subtitled in Urdu, the main Pakistani language. Elsewhere, in the Sri Lanka capital of Colombo, about 2,000 Muslims burned effigies of Mr Obama and American flags at a protest after Friday prayers, demanding that the US ban the film. In Bangladesh, over 2,000 people marched through the streets of the capital, Dhaka. Two simultaneous rallies were also held in Malaysia. About 5,000 protesters led by the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia and Parti Keadilan Rakyat gathered outside the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, while 2,000 members and supporters of the youth wing of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) met separately outside a mosque. "Our enemy is not the United States, France or any other religion, but those involved in the film and the cartoon," said UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin. "We want both governments to take action against these people. The freedom of speech has its limits and must have a care for respect and responsibility." Small and mostly orderly protests were held outside the US Embassy in Jakarta and in the cities of Surabaya and Medan. No violence was reported.http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC120922-0000041/Pakistan-protests-descend-into-violence

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