President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday signed into law reforms that remove foreign UN representatives from Afghanistans electoral complaints watchdog ahead of key polls due next year. The changes were approved by MPs in parliament on Monday and will keep in place the Election Complaints Commission (ECC) that was integral to unmasking massive levels of fraud at the last presidential election in 2009.
The Afghan government ordered last year that the organisation be replaced by a special tribunal appointed directly by Karzai, raising fears from rights groups that it would water down efforts to clampdown on electoral abuse.
The 14-member commission of MPs on Monday approved keeping the ECC, but said it could no longer include two foreign, UN representatives, bowing to a key Karzai demand. Instead its five members will all be Afghans.
Easier to bribe, influence and threaten one's own...
In the 2009 presidential election, the ECC investigated thousands of complaints, most of them related to alleged ballot-rigging by Karzai supporters. The watchdog ordered ballots from 210 polling stations to be disqualified in a probe that ultimately forced Karzai to accept a second-round run-off, which was ultimately abandoned when his opponent Abdullah Abdullah pulled out.
MPs say the ECC will retain full power to throw out fraudulent votes and it alone can announce the final election result.
Under the new law, members will be appointed by a selection committee, which will include the speakers of both houses of parliament, the Supreme Court and human rights commission, and a civil society representative.
The same panel will also appoint the head of the Independent Election Commission, which is responsible for the administration of the polls and who was previously appointed by Karzai.
I sign into effect, the law for structures, authorities and duties of the elections commission and electoral complaints commission, Karzai announced in a decree. This decree has come into effect after being signed."
In May, parliament approved an election law that defines voting mechanisms, sets conditions for candidacy, and explains how votes are tallied. Karzai has not yet signed those clauses into law.
Afghanistan is due to hold its presidential election in April next year. Karzai is due to step down after serving a maximum two terms as president, with a new leader taking over in the countrys first-ever democratic transfer of power.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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NAIROBI, Kenya -- Western commercial oil exploration in disputed areas of Somalia and discrepancies over which authorities can issue licenses to companies could spark further conflict in the African nation, U.N. monitors warned in a confidential report.
In the U.N. Monitoring Group's latest annual report to the Security Council's sanctions committee on Somalia and Eritrea, the experts said the Somali constitution gives considerable autonomy to regional governments to enter commercial oil deals. But a petroleum law that has not yet been adopted by the country's parliament but is being invoked by federal officials in the capital Mogadishu says that the central government can distribute natural resources.
"These inconsistencies, unless resolved, may lead to increased political conflict between federal and regional governments that risk exacerbating clan divisions and therefore threaten peace and security," the experts group said in an annex to its annual report, which was seen by Reuters.
Around a dozen companies, including many multinational oil and gas majors, had licenses to explore Somalia before 1991, but since then Somaliland and Puntland and other regional authorities have granted their own licences for the same blocks. In some cases Somaliland and Puntland have awarded licenses for blocks that overlap. The experts said one such case involves Norwegian oil firm DNO and Canadian-listed Africa Oil Corp.
"Potentially, it means that exploration operations in these blocks, conducted by both DNO and Africa Oil under the protection of regional security forces, its allied militia or private forces, could generate new conflict between Somaliland and Puntland," the report said.
"It is alarming that regional security forces and armed groups may clash to protect and further Western-based oil companies interests," it said.
"In this case, the involvement of a Norwegian company on one side and of a Swedish-owned/Canada-based company on the other, is even more disturbing, considering the long-standing implication of Norway and Sweden in promoting peace and dialogue in Somalia," the experts said.
Unless there's oil involved...
Bjorn Dale, DNO's acting president/managing director and general counsel, said he was not familiar with the U.N. experts' recent report but said that the company would never engage in activities that threatened peace in Somaliland.
The U.N. experts also expressed concern about a clash between a longstanding bid by Norway to urge Somalia to implement an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off its coast with commercial interests by a Norwegian oil company.
Under the U.N. Convention of the Law of the Sea, an EEZ would allow Somalia 12 nautical miles of territorial control with claim to sovereign rights to explore, exploit, conserve and manage natural resources that exist within 200 nautical miles. The U.N. convention then requires Somalia to negotiate a maritime boundary with Kenya, which the U.N. experts said could lead to several disputed oil exploration blocks being deemed to be in Kenyan waters.
The U.N. report said late last year that Kenya had suspended Statoil's license for block L26 because the Norwegian company did not want to spend money on exploration while there was the legal uncertainty over the maritime border with Somalia. A Kenyan government official told the U.N. experts that Statoil had expressed an interest to develop the area should a boundary be agreed with Somalia and the L26 block was deemed to be in Kenyan waters.
"Efforts by Norway to lobby Somali officials to adopt the EEZ now coincide with current Norwegian interest in the fate of L26 as well as with Norwegian involvement in the application of a Special Financing Facility donor fund of $30 million (19.8 million pounds) which has been allocated under the management of (Somali government) officials with a track record of corruption," the report said.
The experts suggested that Norway's development assistance to Somalia could be used "as a cover for its commercial interests there," a claim it said Norwegian International Development Minister Heikki Eidsvoll Holmas has denied.
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07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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NAIROBI -- Eritrea is undermining stability in conflict-ravaged Somalia by paying political agents and a warlord linked to Islamist militants to influence the Mogadishu government, U.N. sanctions experts said in a confidential report.
No surprise here. The Eritreans are a radical Islamic government and since breaking away from Ætheopia have been causing trouble throughout the Horn. They and the Shaboobs have a lot in common.
The Eritrean government has long denied playing any negative role in Somalia, saying it has no links to Islamist al Shabaab militants fighting to overthrow the Somali government. It says the U.N. sanctions imposed on it in 2009 for supporting al Shabaab were based on lies and has called for the sanctions to be lifted.
The latest annual report by the U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea to the Security Council's Somalia/Eritrea sanctions committee casts fresh doubt on Asmara's denials, undermining its case for lifting the sanctions against it.
"The Monitoring Group has received numerous reports about the warming of relations between Asmara and Mogadishu, and has obtained evidence of Asmara's control of political agents close to the Somali presidency and some of the individual spoilers," the group said in the report, seen by Reuters.
One such operative, the monitors said, is "Eritrean agent of influence Abdi Nur Siad 'Abdi Wal,' ... who is reported to have a close relationship with a senior al Shabaab commander."
The monitors describe Abdi Wal as a "warlord."
"Abdi Wal is now a close ally of former ARS-Asmara (a Somali Islamist network in Eritrea) leader Zakaria Mohamed Haji Abdi, for whom he provides security in Mogadishu," the monitors said. "He is known to command the allegiance of about 100 fighters in Mogadishu and is involved in contract killings."
The monitors said in their report that they have "obtained direct testimonies and concrete evidence of Eritrean support to Abdi Wal and Mohamed Wali Sheikh Ahmed Nuur." The Monitoring Group has reported on Ahmed Nuur in the past, describing him as a "political coordinator for al Shabaab" and a recipient of funds from Eritrea.
"A source on the Eritrean payroll in direct contact with Abdi Wal has confirmed that Abdi Wal has admitted in closed-door meetings that he is acting as an agent for the Eritrean government," the group said in its latest report.
The latest report said that Ahmed Nuur, also known as Ugas Mohamed Wali Sheikh, has repeatedly held meetings in Khartoum with Mohamed Mantai, Eritrea's ambassador to Sudan and, since December, Iran.
"During these meetings, options for Eritrean financial support to Ahmed Nuur were discussed," the report said.
"Mantai, a former military intelligence officer, has a history of operating in Somalia and was expelled from Kenya in 2009 after he returned from Somalia following meetings with al Shabaab agents," the monitors said.
In addition to their nearly 500-page report on Somalia and Eritrea, the Monitoring Group produced a separate report of around 80 pages focusing solely on Eritrea.
Council diplomats said the longer Somalia/Eritrea report will be made public soon, but the shorter Eritrea report will not be published because of Russian objections.
Perhaps Eritrea will become a new Soviet Russian client-state?
According to a letter the Russian delegation sent to Ambassador Kim Sook, chairman of the Somalia/Eritrea sanctions committee, Russia "objects to the publication of the (Eritrea) report due to the biased and groundless conclusions and recommendations contained in it."
Italian Ambassador Cesare Maria Ragaglini also wrote to Kim complaining about the report because of "misleading information and undocumented implications of violations of the arms embargo." Reuters has obtained both letters.
According to diplomats familiar with the U.N. monitors' shorter Eritrea report, an Italian helicopter exported to Eritrea for mining survey purposes was seen at a military facility there, raising the possibility of a sanctions breach. The monitors said Italian authorities failed to provide additional information as requested, the diplomats added.
Ragaglini dismissed that allegation, saying "we did provide the information they requested (e.g. on financial flows), but there is no evidence whatsoever of military assistance from Italy to sustain the undocumented claims of the experts."
China, diplomats say, is annoyed about references in the Eritrea report to Chinese machine tools procured for a large government depot in Eritrea that houses tanks, missiles and dual-use civilian trucks. But the envoys said there was no suggestion the Chinese government was violating U.N. sanctions.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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Just as Al Jazeera America prepares for its national debut, employees of Al Jazeeras parent network are resigning in anger over the networks blatant bias in favor of Egyptian President Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood. Many in Egypt feel that Al Jazeera is clearly promoting the agenda of the extremist Islamist organization and working to thwart those that stand against it.
MEMRI.org, a website dedicated to translating into English news sources from the Middle East, reports that one well-known female presenter, Fatma Nabil, resigned early in July because Al Jazeera was reporting stories from the Muslim Brotherhoods point of view not to mention that Mursi was supported heavily by network executives and programmers.
The Middle East-watching website quoted Fatma Nabil as criticizing the networks coverage of the current unrest in Egypt. We had the feeling that the channel is partisan in favor of political Islam, and in most cases selectivity is exercised in broadcasting the text messages [of the viewers] on the channel, and even more so in the selection of guests and interviewees, she said.
Up to 22 other employees have also resigned in protest over the obvious bias that Al Jazeera indulges in favor of Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood.
This tilt by the channel has many facets, Memri points out.
[Ynet] The Commander of Egypt's Third Army, General Ossama Aschar said that the 19 grad rockets found in the Suez area are "the type used by Hama's military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam brigades," the online version of Al Aharam reported, citing local media.
According to the general, "those rockets were en route to Cairo to arm the Moslem Brüderbund against Egyptian people. They (the rockets) are capable of destroying an entire neighborhood, which hints they were intended for terrorist usage."
#2
The MB tried to give the appearance of caring about the Sunni side in Syria while they were letting Iranian weapons for Assad through the Suez Canal. So, I'm not surprised.
[Al Ahram] Egypt's Freedom and Justice Party has announced that it will hold a million-man march on Wednesday after Tarawih, night prayers during the month of Ramadan, which ends between 10 and 11pm.
The marches, dubbed as a day of "determination" and calling for the release and reinstatement of deposed president Mohamed Morsi, will kick off from several locations in Egypt's capital.
One march will move from Rabaa Al-Adawya Mosque in Cairo's Nasr City, where Islamists have been staging a sit-in for almost 18 days, to the nearby Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo's Heliopolis district.
Last week, a confrontation between military personnel and pro-Morsi demonstrators outside the Republican Guard building left over 50 protesters killed.
Two marches will leave from Al-Istiqama Mosque in Giza and Al-Asad Ibn El-Furat Mosque in Cairo's Dokki district and will head to Giza's Nahda Square.
Al-Jazeera ... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means the Peninsula, as in the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years it has settled in to become slightly less biased than MSNBC, in about the same category as BBC or CBS... Mubashir Misr reported that another march is on its way to the High Constitutional Court in Cairo's Maadi district.
Earlier on Wednesday, minor scuffles were reported in front of the Cabinet building in downtown Cairo after Morsi supporters marched there to denounce the newly-appointed government officials.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Egypt avoided a possible civil war this month, U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... said on Wednesday, making it hard for Washington to conclude that the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi was a military coup.
The armed forces deposed the elected leader on July 3 after huge street protests against his rule, clearing the way for the installment this week of a new interim cabinet charged with restoring civilian government and reviving the troubled economy.
Thousands of Mursi's supporters demonstrated outside the prime minister's office and marched through Cairo on Wednesday to denounce the military-backed administration and show that they had no intention of bowing to army dictates.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
The administration working on that as an excuse for 2016?
#4
Since the Administration supported Mursi and did not support the Army does that mean they
(a) supported Civil War in Egypt?
(b) have no idea whats going on?
(c) Are covering their butts and this seems the best cover (for now).
#5
With these clowns, no reason it can't be all e, rj. :-(
Posted by: Barbara ||
07/18/2013 15:23 Comments ||
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#6
this is obviously an extremely complex and very difficult situation
No not really. Motive or consequences dont change the fact that the most basic definition of a coup is when a military deposes an elected leader. Then again the core principle of Smart Power is to create a new definition when the facts dont fit your interests. Well played Mr. Secretary.
[Al Ahram] Influential Islamic preacher Amr Khaled resigned on Wednesday as leader of Egypt Party, saying that his messages of reform and preaching do not fit with the requirements of political life.
Interpretation: a call for jihad doesn't fit with the requirement of staying alive in a military thugocracy...
Khaled, who posted his resignation on his official Facebook page, addressed the party's high board and members, stating that he had announced his resignation several times in the media last year but delayed a final decision at the request of the party's members.
According to Khaled, his resignation is "final and irrevocable."
Chosen as one of the 100 most influential people by Time magazine in 2007, Khaled launched Egypt's Future Party in September of 2012 with the intention of being the first political party to focus on social development rather than political ideology.
First social development then ideology...
Khaled continues to head a social development organization called Life Makers, with branches in Egypt, Morocco and the UK.
The UK branch raises the money from the local rubes...
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Three Libyan ethnic minorities announced on Wednesday they would boycott an election of a committee to draft a new constitution, the first blow to a democratic process supposed to decide what political system the country will adopt.
Members of the Amazigh, Tibu and Tuareg communities denounced a law passed on Tuesday under which 60 people will be elected by popular vote to draft a charter, saying that such a constitutional committee would not be "fully representative".
That's one of the dumber remarks I've read outside the U.S. lately...
The constitution will be the first since the 2011 ouster of Muammar Gaddafi, who often played off one tribe or clan against the other during his 42-year iron-fisted rule.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] April 6 Youth Movement "Ahmed Maher Front" has expressed its rejection of Egypt's new Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi, as it includes a number of ministers from the former Mubarak regime.
"How will those ministers achieve the goals of a revolution that was against their regime," said the group's founder Ahmed Maher in a press statement on Wednesday.
The appointments included figures who were once members in the policies committee in the Mubarak National Democratic Party such as the new minister of information Dorreya Sharaf El-Din.
Maher also demanded that the presidency announce the recently-formed Cabinet's plan to achieve transparency.
The political activist said that the April 6 Youth Movement will monitor the performance of the Cabinet and will expose any attempts that compromise the Egyptian revolution's goals.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Egypt's general prosecution has ordered the arrest of Essam Sultan, former MP and leading member of the Islamist Wasat Party, on charges of insulting the judiciary.
Sultan appeared before the prosecution for those charges on 29 May and was released on bail.
Tensions between Islamists and the judiciary have soared in April after Islamist members of the upper house of parliament, Shura Council -- now dissolved -- had proposed a judicial authority law rejected by a majority of Egyptian judges.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
"What's the name of the party run by Essam Sultan?"
"Wasat."
"The name of the party run by Essam Sultan."
"Wasat."
"I just asked you -- what's the name of the party run by Essam Sultan."
"No, Wasat. What's the party run by Samutha Sultan."
[Al Ahram] Morsi did make some goodwill gestures to the opposition but he did not go far enough to break the deadlock. When the constitutional court rejected the election law passed by the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament, he agreed to put back parliamentary elections from April until late in the year.
He also hinted he was willing to change the reviled prosecutor, accused of Islamist bias, but never actually did so.
Other incidents combined to deepen mistrust between Morsi and the opposition, and put a deal out of reach.
"The main problem was that there was a complete lack of trust among all of them," a European diplomat said.
The Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice newspaper splashed an article accusing senior liberal politician Mohamed ElBaradei Egyptian law scholar and sometime Iranian catspaw. He was head of the IAEA from December 1997 to November 2009. At some point during his tenure he was purchased by the Iranians. ElBaradei and the IAEA were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for something in 2005. ElBaradei served on the Board of Trustees of the International Crisis Group, a lefty NGO that is bankrolled by the Carnegie Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as George Soros' Open Society Institute. After the fall of Mubarak he ran for president. He lost. of receiving massive funds from the United Arab Emirates. A National Salvation Front statement branded Morsi a "fascist."
Morsi's party, which saw the judiciary as packed with supporters of ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... bent on obstructing its policies, backed another Islamist party's bill to remove 3,000 judges by lowering their retirement age to 60 from 70.
The opposition denounced a Brotherhood power grab. When Morsi eventually reshuffled the cabinet, he kept the widely criticised Kandil and made no opening to the opposition.
Leon, a former Spanish and EU diplomat steeped in the Arab-Israeli grinding of the peace processor, was appointed EU special representative for the Southern Mediterranean in 2011 after the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria.
He wielded neither the big chequebook nor the military firepower and military-to-military relations that underpin U.S. diplomacy. Leon's advantage, acknowledged by Moslem Brüderbund officials now ejected from office, was that he was seen by all sides as an honest broker. But he never managed to "deliver" the Brotherhood to a deal its leaders were not sure they wanted.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
But given deep antipathy to Washington on both sides of Egyptian politics, the EU may be the only "honest broker" and it is not giving up... The United States threw its weight behind the EU initiative rather than trying to forge a deal of its own... partly because the Muslim Brotherhood suspected Washington of plotting with the army against it, while the secular opposition and anti-Islamist Egyptian media accused the Americans of being in cahoots with the Brotherhood
If I was really cynical, I'd say it was yet another example of "leading from behind."
[Al Ahram] The Egyptian Student Union (ESU) -- which represents student unions in Egyptian universities nationwide -- condemned a statement by Moslem Brüderbund students claiming to represent the position of all Egyptian students regarding recent political events.
The Moslem Brüderbund students published a statement on their Facebook page Wednesday entitled "statement of the student unions, forces and movements." The statement denounced what they termed as a "military coup" against ousted president Mohamed Morsi.
Morsi was tossed by the military on 3 June after mass protests against him calling for early presidential elections.
The ESU called the statement a 'fake,' for it had not endorsed the Brotherhood's claims. The ESU's statement also accused the Moslem Brüderbund students of putting their interests before those of Egyptian students, whom they said the Brotherhood does not represent, according to Al-Ahram's Arabic news website.
The statement published on the Brotherhood students' page said it rejected the roadmap put forth by the military and former opposition. It also said it did not recognise the new government sworn in on Tuesday and that students would continue their peaceful sit-in.
Morsi supporters are demanding that Morsi be reinstated as president and have been holding sit-ins and protests since Morsi's deposition.
The ESU said it supported the Egyptian people's demands and hopes for building a great nation, a reference to their support for Morsi's removal.
The ESU is headed by an independent student, Mohamed Badran, who was elected by universities earlier this year. The deputy head, Ahmed El-Bakri, ran with the backing of the Brotherhood.
Independent students and students belonging to the former opposition made headway in this year's elections. They broke the Brotherhood's dominance within student unions, which had been exacerbated by the former opposition's boycott of last year's elections.
The ESU amended the student charter this week, a demand for which they had pressed since the previous Brotherhood-dominated ESU passed new bylaws in 2012. The charter is yet to be ratified.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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The United Nations asked donor countries Monday for 702 million dollars to help 7 million Yemenis with daily humanitarian needs including food, clean water and healthcare, dpa reported.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the money is needed to blunt Yemen's "near collapse" after two years of continued unrest.
"Conflict and instability elsewhere in the region and the ongoing political transition in Yemen have overshadowed the humanitarian crisis," said Ould Cheikh Ahmed, humanitarian coordinator in Yemen.
The money would go to new white Toyota Land Cruisers assist the 7 million people most affected by the unrest in the Arabian Peninsula country of about 25 million. The UN said Yemen has been facing food insecurity and malnutrition as well as outbreaks of lethal diseases like measles. It said maternal mortality stands at 365 for every 100,000 live births.
Sucks to live in a failed state. Maybe they could start to live and behave more like France? Morocco? At the very least, Mauritania?
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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#4
Notice how Pappy took his 100 right off the top...
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/18/2013 12:48 Comments ||
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#5
"Mr. 14%"
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/18/2013 13:14 Comments ||
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#6
Heh.
I was gonna say "waste fraud and abuse" for the rest. But since there's such a display of generosity and acceptance, I feel it would be most impolite of me to decline the money.
#7
*choke* And thus Rantburg once again demonstrates conclusively that the universe exists independent of my thoughts. And of yours, too, dear Reader, because you can't possibly have been expecting that.
[Bangla Daily Star] Although the Jamaat-e-Islami had claimed that Islam was its ideology, no proof of humanity and tolerance was found in its activities during the Liberation War, International Crimes Tribunal-2 said yesterday in its verdict against Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed.
Terming the pro-liberation Bangalee people "miscreants", "agents of India", and "enemies of Islam", the Jamaat had opted to wipe them out only in the name of preserving Pakistan, noted the tribunal judges.
"The nation will be failing to acknowledge the sacrifices of millions of people who had laid their lives and honour for the cause of our hard-earned independence if individuals like the present accused [Mojaheed] are not brought to book for their notorious role and active contribution and endorsement for committing systematic atrocities in 1971 in the territory of Bangladesh," they added.
Reiterating the observations made in the verdict against another Jamaat leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman in May this year, the tribunal said the victims and sufferers of the diabolical atrocities do have the right to know the Jamaat's role in 1971.
The ICT-2 handed death sentence to Mojaheed, secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami, for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War 42 years ago.
The same tribunal had found Kamaruzzaman, one of the key organisers of the infamous Al-Badr, guilty of committing crimes against humanity and sentenced him to death.
Yesterday's verdict also said, "The Jamaat-e-Islami had played a substantial role in formation of the Al-Badar [Al-Badr], Razakar, al-Shams and peace committees and of course not with the intent to guard the civilians and their property."
The Al-Badr was an "action section" and "armed wing" of the Jamaat-e-Islami, which was formed mainly with the workers of the Jamaat's student wing Islami Chhatra Sangha, observed the judges.
The Jamaat, they said, had indulged in indiscriminate massacre of their political opponents belonging to the Bangalee nation in the name of liquidating "miscreants" and "infiltrators" for which it had used Razakars and Al-Badr.
The tribunal further held that the Jamaat had allowed the creation of Al-Badr and Razakar to operate an assembly line of incalculable atrocities in the territory of Bangladesh in 1971.
This party cannot be relieved of the accountability of unspeakable mayhem, atrocities and murders committed by the Al-Badr, which was created by it (Jamaat), stated the court.
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[Bangla Daily Star] Convicted war criminal Jamaat-e-Islam Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed six years ago had claimed that there were no war criminals in Bangladesh.
Flanked by his party colleagues and the now convicted war criminals Delwar Hossain Sayeedi ...Islamic orator and politician. He was a former Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2008, and is one of the most prominent leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami... , Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Abdul Quader Mollah, and suspected war criminals Abdus Subhan and ATM Azharul Islam, he attended a meeting with the Election Commission regarding electoral reforms on October 25, 2007.
When journalists asked him about the growing demand for declaring the anti-liberation forces and war criminals disqualified from contesting the national elections, Mojaheed had said, "The constitution does not support the demand. Besides, there are no war criminals in Bangladesh. It is the imaginary and self-created bizarre idea of those talking about war crimes... there are no anti-liberation forces in Bangladesh."
Asked about Jamaat's role in 1971 Liberation War, he had counter asked the news hounds to investigate it themselves. About war crimes accusations against them, Mojaheed had said, "These accusations are all false and ill-motivated."
The Awami League-led grand alliance won the national elections in 2008 and as per their electoral pledge it set up an International Crimes Tribunal on March 25, 2010 to try war criminals. In 2012, it set up another tribunal for expeditious trial.
Mojaheed's statements were proven wrong when Abul Kalam Azad -- expelled Jamaat leader -- aka Bachchu Razakar was the first of the lot to be sentenced with the capital punishment for crimes against humanity and genocide.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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North Korean leader Fat Boy Kim Jong-un is demanding a huge fee if the foreign press want to interview him for the 60th anniversary of the armistice on July 27 that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, a source said Wednesday. The North has invited scores of foreign reporters to the event.
The invitation went out to leading news providers from the West and Japan like AP, the BBC and Kyodo News. The interview fee is around US$1 million, according to the source.
It has also invited thousands of foreign dignitaries.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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#5
hopefully Adam Baldwin, Hans Brix Blix, Janene Garofalo, MATT DAMON,.....
Presumably you meant Alex Baldwin, Frank - but I can't help but think the North Koreans confusing Adam for Alex sounds like the beginning of a pretty good political farce...
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/18/2013 12:34 Comments ||
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#6
yeah...my bad, Mitch. Adam is the good one. Too early - not enough coffee
that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/18/2013 13:19 Comments ||
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#7
Pay him in those counterfeit 100's his old man liked to print up.They were suppose to be really good...
#8
Almost any seasoned Rantburger can give you the same worthless, hyberbolic and deceitful answers this worthless lump of fat wold give in an interview, and for a lot less money....."sea of fire" and "running dog imperialist lackeys" are gems from the good old days of his father and grandfather......anyone remember other gems from these clowns?
#9
Remember the good olde Rantburg daze when we used to grade Nork propaganda rants like judges in Olympic figure skating competitions? Now that was quality time!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/18/2013 15:47 Comments ||
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#10
Here is one from Dr. Steve:
#2 [holds up card: '9.2']
Since Ptah hasn't entered his score, I'll enter mine. Very nice rant, strong on big family and the masses, and excellent fin de siecle to confuse the running dogs. But no mention of 'army based policy' or 'songun'. Overall excellent but not quite Olympic medal caliber.
Posted by Steve White 2003-06-19 18:56:06|| 2003-06-19 18:56:06|| Front Page Top
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/18/2013 15:50 Comments ||
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A military judge has refused to dismiss the most serious charge facing Bradley Manning, the US soldier who allegedly leaked thousands of secret documents.
Lawyers for the 25-year-old argued there is no proof he "aided the enemy", a charge carrying a life prison term.
Prosecutors have argued he "systematically harvested" documents eventually seen by Osama Bin Laden.
The case, allegedly involving 700,000 files, is considered the largest-ever leak of secret US government documents.
"He [Pte Manning] was knowingly providing intelligence to the enemy," said Judge Colonel Denise Lind at Thursday's hearing in Fort Meade, Maryland.
The decision does not exclude the possibility of Pte Manning being ultimately acquitted of the charge.
The accused, who appeared to be following the proceedings closely, showed no reaction to the ruling. He has previously pleaded guilty to 10 of the more than 20 charges he faces.
But on Thursday, Judge Lind also denied a defence request to drop a computer fraud charge. She is still considering a motion by Pte Manning's lawyers to dismiss five charges of theft.
#1
Don't try to tell me he wasn't aiding the enemy. He claims he had never heard of Wikileaks. However, he knew that anything he posted on the internet would be seen by the other side.
If all he wanted to do was to expose some things he disagreed with, he could have just posted those files. Instead, he posted everything he could get his grubby little paws on
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
07/18/2013 18:32 Comments ||
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#2
He needs to either stand and man up like he believes what he did was in the right, or else admit he is a fricken weasel. EIther way, he is going to Leavenworth for quite a while.
Unlike Snowden, Manning was not making a moral statement, he was dumping reams of classified data, including names and places, and diplomatic stuff, that cost lives.
A former CIA station chief convicted by an Italian court of kidnapping a terror suspect has been detained in Panama, Italian officials say.
Robert Seldon Lady was sentenced to nine years in jail for his involvement in the abduction of the man, an Egyptian cleric, in Milan in 2003. The cleric, known as Abu Omar, was allegedly flown to Egypt and allegedly tortured.
Lady was convicted in absentia with 22 other Americans for their alleged role in his "allegedly extraordinary rendition".
But the Italian authorities have so far only sought the international arrest of the former Milan station chief, Italian media say.
However, Panamanian Security Minister Jose Raul Mulino told the Associated Press that he was unaware of the detention. The CIA said it had no immediate comment.
Lady was reportedly arrested near Panama's border with Costa Rica.
The Milan case was the first involving extraordinary rendition, the CIA's practice of transferring suspects to countries where torture is allegedly permitted. The practice has been condemned by human rights groups as a violation of international agreements.
Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, who was considered a terrorism suspect by the US, was abducted in February 2003 and transferred between US military bases in Italy and Germany before being brought to Egypt. Twenty-two CIA agents, including Lady, and one air force pilot were convicted in 2009 of abducting the cleric. Their sentences were upheld last year by Italy's highest appeals court.
Lady reportedly rushed back to the US in 2007, when court hearings began in Milan to decide whether to put the 23 Americans on trial. He said he had opposed the proposal to kidnap the imam, but was overruled. A previous Italian government has said Lady was the only one of the 23 Americans that could be extradited, given the length of his sentence.
If Lady is extradited, he is likely to spend six years in prison under a 2006 amnesty by the country.
#2
If you've got a foreign country looking to put you in jail, and the U.S. isn't giving you up, DON'T LEAVE THE U.S.!
Posted by: Barbara ||
07/18/2013 15:53 Comments ||
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#3
If Obama doesnt slap this down in a hurry, then the CIA and the political Obama-asskissing worms at the top might be in big trouble - because the rank and file will not sit still for being sold out. ANd trust me, no matter how they spin it, those that do the work will see it as just that - a sell out by the very men they leaked to put into office.
More proof of my contention that the CIA needs to be dismantled, parted out to other agencies and the military, then figuratively burned to the ground and rebuilt as a much more single purpose agency, along the lines of the OSS from which it came. ANd that also means that most of the rest of the IC needs a similar dismantling and rebuild, with some agencies diminished, some created, and some removed entirely from their current structure (Dept State's own intel for instance, needs to be fully integrated with other agencies to reduce redundancy and increase visibility of data to them and from them).
Semi-organized jottings for a future opinion piece deleted at OldSpook's request.
#4
Mods please delete everything after the second paragraph. I inadvertently hit enter, and was typing up some underdeveloped thoughts to post to the opinions section this weekend.
#7
its because I was just flowing some thoughts, rather than organizing them and looking at them critically - jsut spur of the moment brainstorming that hadnt had any weeding applied to it. I'd rather not have such stuff posted, and will next time write offline first. Oh Rantburg, where is they delete button for certain regulars?
#8
Oh Rantburg, where is they delete button for certain regulars?
They call it the Preview button, OldSpook dear, as well you know. Being as you are not only a 'certain' regular but a computer professional in your own right.
Let me suggest Sunday for the piece you are working on -- that way it will get the widest possible readership, not to mention time for pondering that is lacking even on Saturdays.
#9
yep - thats what I was writing it for, sunday. Problem is, a quick tab and leaning on the keyboard (accidentally hitting enter) can do the job well before intent enters the picture.
[Dawn] A Pak Taliban capo has written a letter to Malala Yousafzai, the teenage girl activist shot in the head by the group, saying he wished he could have advised her against criticising the banned outfit so she wouldn't be attacked.
The commander, Adnan Rashid, however did not apologise for the unsuccessful liquidation attempt, but only he found it ''shocking'' and wished it hadn't happened.
Rashid, who is known to have has close relations with top Taliban leaders, said the letter expressed his own opinion, not that of the bully boy group.
Adnan Rashid was the prime convict in an attack on former president Gen (retd) Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... and was freed by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) fighters during the Bannu Jail break last year.
A former junior technician of Pakistain Air Force, Rashid was a resident of Chota Lahor area of Swabi district. He is fluent in English, Pashto and Urdu. He used to contribute to several social networking sites including Blogs and Facebook from the prison. He had joined PAF in 1997. He was around 24 when he was enjugged You have the right to remain silent... in early 2004.
Gunmen from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain shot Malala, now 16, in the head last October in her northwestern hometown of Swat, where she campaigned for the rights of girls to go to school.
The attack on Malala, who was 15 years old at the time, had sparked widespread international condemnation of the bully boy group.
He accused Malala of seeking to promote an education system begun by the British colonialists to produce "Asians in blood but English in taste" and said students should study Islam and not what he called "satanic or secular curriculum."
Malala made a powerful speech to the UN Youth Assembly on Friday, in her first public appearance since the attempt on her life which almost killed her, vowing to continue her struggle for education and not be silenced by the bully boys.
In the open letter released Wednesday, Rashid said he personally wished the attack had not happened, but accused her of running a "smearing campaign" against the bully boys.
"It is amazing that you are shouting for education, you and the UNO (UN) is pretending that you were shot due to education, although this is not the reason ... not the education but your propaganda was the issue," Rashid wrote.
"What you are doing now, you are using your tongue on the behest of the others."
He accused Malala of seeking to promote an education system begun by the British colonialists to produce "Asians in blood but English in taste" and said students should study Islam and not what he called "satanic or secular curriculum."
"I advise you to come back home, adopt the Islamic and Pashtun culture, join any female Islamic madrassa near your home town, study and learn the book of Allah, use your pen for Islam and plight of Moslem ummah (community)," Rashid wrote.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Treasury and opposition benches in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... Assembly have expressed serious concern over deteriorating law and order situation in Quetta and other parts of the province.
Session of Balochistan Assembly started here on Wednesday with Speaker Jan Muhammad Jamali in the chair. Newly elected member from PML-N, Ghullam Dastagir Badini took oath as an MPA during the session.
Chief Minister Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, while wrapping up debate on deteriorating law and order situation in the province, overtly admitted that his government could not stop Women University, Hazara town and Bolan Medical Complex Hospital bombings.
He, however, justified that he and his allied partners were among the victims of terrorism soon after the tragedies. "Terrorism has multiple dimensions here." he said, referring to repeated terrorist attacks in the city.
The chief minister said a strategy was being evolved to reform police and levies to deal with the growing threat of terrorism and sectarianism in the province.
Regarding rise in incidents of kidnappings, Dr Baloch said law enforcers had recovered people from Naseerabad and other towns of Balochistan after successful operations. "One change is there, now no MPA is involved in kidnappings," he said.
Former home minister Balochistan Mir Zafarullah Zehri on the flour of the house had stated that three ministers of Nawab Raisani led cabinet were involved in kidnapping for ransom.
The CM said police officials involved in extortion and other illegal activities were being removed from their posts.
Opposition leader, Maulana Wasey said incidents of kidnappings for ransom on constant rise as the law enforcers appeared to be helpless before kidnappers. He said members of Hindu community were kidnapped and there was no information about their whereabouts.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The law and order situation of Lyari ...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot.... was brought up during today's Supreme Court hearing over Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... unrest case, which was termed as a clash between rival gangs rather than a political issue, DawnNews reported.
During the apex court's hearing held at its Karachi registry, Justice Amir Hani Mohammedan, inquired about the root cause of the Lyari issue, further questioning if the issue was politically motivated.
Inspector General of Sindh police responded by informing the court that the issue in Lyari was not politically motivated nor was it a clash between different communities rather it was a tussle between two rival gangs in the locality.
He suggested the establishment of checkposts on the rooftops on the residence of the Katchi community members in order to ensure the provision of security.
Justice Khilji Arif Hussain remarked that the law and order situation in Lyari had deteriorated a while ago and not just a month ago.
He questioned if action was taken against any police officer for negligence of duty over the situation.
Justice Khilji further remarked that if police and Rangers had failed to establish peace in Lyari then how could peace be established in the whole city.
Few members of the Katchi communits, including women, staged a protest outside the Karachi registry of the Supreme Court where the hearing over the Karachi unrest was underway. The protesters demanded that the court take special notice of the law and order situation in Karachi.
Moreover the court also ordered the Board of revenue to complete its survey of the city's un-surveyed lands within four months.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] In wake of Kerry-Abbas talks, Western sources tell Ynet Paleostinians' conditions for renewing peace talks include grant to build Ramallah airport, hotels in Dead Sea, more visas to, work permits in Israel
Fantasists, all. But fantasists bolstered by the support of American Secretary of State John F. Kerry and the EU's latest boycott of "settlement goods", or whatever they're calling them these days.
Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi may be released in the near future, ISNA quoted Rasoul Montajabnia, the vice president of the Etemad Melli political party as saying. Karroubi, who has been under house arrest after he protested the results of 2009 presidential election, is the president of the Etemad Melli political party.
Some measures have been taken towards releasing Karroubi, Montajabnia said. He also added that certainly these measures will bear fruit and Karroubi will resume activity in the political party.
After the presidential elections in May 2009, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's rivals Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi claimed large irregularities in the results. Millions of Iranians also protested against the results.
According to the official results Mousavi gathered 13 million votes against Ahmadinejad's 24.5 milion votes. Mousavi and Karroubi have been under house arrest after the elections.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Iran's diminutive President-elect Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday it was laughable for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say that Tehran was getting close to Israel's "red line" over its nuclear programme and derided the Jewish state's ability to strike Iran.
The election of relative moderate Rouhani last month led to hopes amongst some in the West of progress towards resolving the decade-old nuclear dispute. But Netanyahu warned the world not to be distracted by crises in Syria and Egypt.
Israel, believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, has said it is keeping all options open to prevent Iran amassing enough uranium to fuel one nuclear bomb.
Iran was approaching that red line, Netanyahu said, and had to be stopped. Israel and Western powers believe Iran's programme is a veiled attempt to achieve a nuclear arms capability.
Tehran says its aims are entirely peaceful and geared towards generating electricity and aiding medical research.
"There has been a lot of talk that this option is on the table," said Rouhani, referring to Israel's veiled threats.
"You laugh when you hear them," Rouhani told veterans of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. "Who are the Zionists to threaten us?"
Rouhani, who takes office next month, has indicated he would like a less confrontational approach to nuclear talks with six world powers than current President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad, who also offended the West by calling for Israel to be wiped off the map.
But Rouhani is still very much an Islamic Theocratic Republic insider who may offer more of a change of style rather than substance, especially as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the last word on the nuclear dispute and strategic policy issues.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
...Yep, that guy's an authentic Iranian moderate if I ever heard one.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/18/2013 19:32 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
NAIROBI, Kenya -- Western commercial oil exploration in disputed areas of Somalia and discrepancies over which authorities can issue licenses to companies could spark further conflict in the African nation, U.N. monitors warned in a confidential report.
... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means 
[Al Ahram] Egypt's general prosecution has ordered the arrest of Essam Sultan, former MP and leading member of the Islamist Wasat Party, on charges of insulting the judiciary.
The United Nations asked donor countries Monday for 702 million dollars to help 7 million Yemenis with daily humanitarian needs including food, clean water and healthcare, dpa reported.
that Islam was its ideology, no proof of humanity and tolerance was found in its activities during the Liberation War, International Crimes Tribunal-2 said yesterday in its verdict against Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed.
[Dawn] A Pak 
[Dawn] The law and order situation of 
