KUWAIT CITY â An independent Kuwaiti medical commission said yesterday it had found scars from beatings on a number of suspected militants standing trial for involvement in deadly clashes with police.
The commission said in a report submitted to a court that it had examined 18 of the 37 suspects and found scars of beatings and wounds on most of them, but did not indicate the cause of the injuries.
"Howdja get these marks, Mahmoud?"
"I [thwack] I dunno!"
The commission, headed by three professors from the medicine faculty of Kuwait University, was formed at the request of defence lawyers who claimed their clients were tortured to confess. Defence lawyer Dokhi Al Hasban told AFP the report proved that the suspects had been physically tortured because the scars were still present some eight months after their arrest and interrogation.
"The Major slipped in the shower, isn't that right Radar?"
"Um, yes sir, slipped in the shower he did."
He said the public prosecutor should have referred the suspects to medical examination before interrogating them and accordingly the result of investigations should be declared null and void.
However another defence lawyer, Mohammad Munwer Al Mutairi, told judge Hani Al Hamdan that the report failed to say clearly if the suspects were tortured by authorities and when.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/06/2005 23:53 ||
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RIYADH - The US consulate in the eastern Saudi city of Dhahran closed on Monday because of security concerns, an embassy statement said.
Dhahran is the proposed capital of the Republic of Eastern Arabia, a strip of land 50 km wide ...
It said the closure -- for an unspecified period of time -- was due to a stand-off between Saudi security forces and suspected militants in the nearby city of Dammam. âIn response to an ongoing standoff between Saudi security forces and an unknown number of terrorists in Dammam, the US consulate general in Dhahran will be temporarily closed to the public,â said the statement on the embassy Web site.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/06/2005 00:00 ||
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The president of Kyrgyzstan said Monday that his Central Asian nation will allow the U.S. military base on its territory for as long as necessary to bring stability to Afghanistan, but he also said the rent will increase. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has been trying to balance U.S. and Russian interests in his former Soviet republic, which also allows a Russian military base on its territory. Asked for how long Kyrgyzstan will host the U.S. forces, Bakiyev said it will depend on stabilization efforts in Afghanistan. "Time will show how long it will take: half a year or a year," Bakiyev said at a news conference following his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This fellow clearly went to the Ferdinand Marcos school of international finance ...
Posted by: Fred ||
09/06/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
They're getting $50m a year. That's supposed to have been increased to $100m a year. I doubt the Chinese will make a better offer. Here's a bit of local context from RFE:
Uzbek authorities asked the United States to pull all military forces out of the Karshi-Khanabad air base in the countryâs south. The decision comes a few days after U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited neighboring Kyrgyzstan and received assurances from Bishkek officials that the U.S. air base can remain there as long as needed.
Prague, 1 August 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Craig Murray, a former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, told RFE/RL that Uzbek President Islam Karimov did not make a wise decision in demanding the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
âWell, I think, Karimov probably thinks heâs been quite smart," Murray said. "But I think in the long term heâll discover heâs been pretty stupid, because the United States have been doing an awful lot on the international [scene]. And at the end of the day, the U.S. has a lot more resources available to it than Russia or China.â
Observers said the governmentâs decision to demand the withdrawal from the Karshi-Kanabhad base, known as K-2, was not a complete surprise. Relations between the United States and Uzbekistan have arguably been deteriorating since the Orange Revolution in Ukraine. Karimov appeared to believed that Washington encouraged or had a hand in the ouster of President Eduard Shevardnadze, and possibly feared a similar fate.
âThis, I mean turning against the U.S., started before the Andijon events," said Farkhod Inogombaev, a former financial adviser to Uzbek President Islam Karimovâs daughter, Gulnara. "First of all, as relations with the U.S. worsened, Islam Karimov started rapprochement with Russia and China. The vector of Uzbekistanâs politics started changing not before Andijon but right after revolutions in the former [Soviet] republics. But this trend, obviously, climaxed after the Andijon events.â
Other factors also contributed. In early July, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, whose membership comprises four Central Asian states together with Russia and China, asked the United States to set a deadline for the withdrawal of its troops from the region. The decision is widely believed to have come at the prodding of Russia and China.
âKarimov understands that he has no chances [to win] a direct confrontation with Americans," Sergei Mikheev of the Center for Political Technologies, a Russian think tank, told RFE/RL from Moscow. "Russia is the only country he can appeal to. And itâs absolutely obvious that Russia has no interest in [seeing] the presence of the U.S. in Central Asia. Karimovâs decision to confront the U.S. is basically his struggle to survive. In this struggle, the first thing he decided to do is to get rid of [U.S.] military presence."
U.S. criticism of the Uzbek governmentâs crackdown of peaceful protesters in eastern Uzbek city of Andijon in May is another major factor. In June, following Washingtonâs criticism and its request for an independent probe, Tashkent limited overnight flights out of K-2.
Karimov was also apprehensive of the role of U.S. companies that invested in the Uzbek economy. Ex-Ambassador Murray suggested that Karimov found them to be too independent.
âKarimov decided that having Western companies coming was building up alternative power bases in the country," Murray said. "He likes to keep the entire country, including the entire economy, strictly under his control. The companies like Coca-Cola, Newmont, British American Tobacco, have been treated very badly. And he decided for the development of Uzbekistanâs gas field, to turn to [Russian] Gazprom."
Finally, Uzbekistan received far less in rent for its base than did Kyrgyzstan. Washington reportedly paid $15 million annually for rent of the K-2 facility, while Kyrgyzstan received $50 million for the Ganci air base. Both bases housed about 1,000 U.S. troops. After last weekâs visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld to Bishkek, Washington reportedly agreed to double its payment for the Ganci air base as well as to provide a $200 million interest-free loan to Kyrgyzstan.
Toshpulat Yuldoshev, a Tashkent-based independent political analyst, said he believes that President Karimov has decided to play âva banqueâ and diminish U.S. influence in the region.
âUzbekistanâs government has played a âlove-and-hateâ foreign policy game with the U.S.," Yuldoshev said. "Thatâs why it sent a diplomatic note [to the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent demanding a troop withdrawal]. But I think it is the first signal of ending the relations with the U.S. I can conclude that after this, Uzbekistan will do its best to end cooperation with the U.S. and limit the U.S. influence [in the region].â
Murray said he believes that Kyrgyzstan will benefit politically and economically from Uzbekistanâs decision. Ganci will be the main American base in Central Asia.
âIf I was a government of Kyrgyzstan, what I would do now is to revise that and demand a very large rent for the base, because that base becomes essential to the United States," Murray said. "They should be talking in terms of a couple of a hundred million dollars a year, which to Bishkek, a desperately impoverished country with a small population, would make a huge difference. But itâs very, very important that the West now stand by Kyrgyzstan, because Uzbekistan has the ability to strangle Kyrgyzstan economically, particularly to blackmail it over energy supplies and that kind of thing."
Murray said Tajikistan might also gain. He said it is not unlikely that the U.S. would deploy its troops in Tajikistan and thus help to control the borders and fight drug trafficking.
A number of Central Asian states became allies in the U.S.-declared war on terror after the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States and the subsequent international invasion of Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime. Uzbekistan agreed to host U.S. troops in October 2001, neighboring Kyrgyzstan did the same two months later, in December. United States forces also used the Ayni airport in Tajikistan for refueling purposes.
#2
There is a third player here. Not having as much resources as the big boys, but trying to reestablish historical ties and establish some modern influence. Check the airline routes for the Turkish national airline and their links back into central asia.
South Korea's Defense Ministry plans to drastically downsize its army as part of efforts to reform its army-dominated military, officials said Monday.
Under the plan, the ministry will reduce the number of its overall troops to 500,000 from current 680,000 by 2020, which would mostly affect army personnel, they said.
Instead, the military will be equipped with high-tech weapons and equipment to maintain its deterrence against North Korea.
Reorganizing the army-dominated military while boosting navy, air force is a major policy goal of President Roh Moo-hyun who is seeking to reduce the country's security dependency on the U.S. military.
Roh has vowed to develop his country's defenses independent of the United States within 10 years, pledging to lay the groundwork for the self-defense system during his five-year term that ends in 2008 with massive military build-up programs.
Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung has reported to Roh a set of measures to revamp the South Korean military, focused on reorganizing his ground combat organizations.
The military plan calls for the creation of a guided-missile unit to cope with threats from North Korea's long-range artilleries deployed along the inter-Korean border.
"Though our troop level will be reduced, we will be changed into high-tech and technology- and science-focused forces," the official said.
The United States currently keeps 32,500 troops in South Korea after withdrawing about 5,000 soldiers last year. Washington plans to reshape American troops in South Korea as "rapid deployment forces" to interfere in military conflicts in Northeast Asia, under the posture of "strategic flexibility."
#1
If they follow through with the new weapons and equipment, this will be a good thing. The danger is that the left will first shrink the army size, then refuse to fund the upgrades, so you end up with a European army.
#2
I would be afwaid of a Euowopian awmy. You must cweate one to keep me in check. Yes...
Posted by: Kim ||
09/06/2005 11:49 Comments ||
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#3
Faster. please.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/06/2005 11:55 Comments ||
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#4
Considering that the US has a far greater population, land mass, and GDP and fields an Army just augmented by 20,000 to a grand total of 502,000, the level the South Koreans are clipping down to of 500,000 doesn't seem to be anything spectacular to whine about. If they want to modernize along American lines, those are going to be very expensive.
The "East Turkistan" terrorist forces remain to be the great terrorist threat to China at presentand in future, a Chinese anti-terrorist official said here Monday.
"In the last decade, the terrorist threats that China confronted with were mainly terrorist activities of 'East Turkistan' terrorist forces inside and outside Chinese territory, international terrorist groups and terrorists," said Zhao Yongchen, deputy director of the Anti-Terrorism Bureau under the Ministry of Public Security.
Statistics showed, the three forces - terrorists, separatists and extremists - in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region hatched more than 260 terrorist incidents over the past 10 years, killing more than 160 Innocent people and injuring 440 others.
"The terrorist activities carried out by the three terrorist forces have not only jeopardized China, but also posed a threat toregional security and stability," Zhao said.
On March 27, 2003, the East Turkistan Liberation Organization hijacked a passenger bus of a Xinjiang company, killed all the 21 passengers and the driver and set the bus on fire with the bodies inside it.
"The three terrorist forces openly summon the extremists insideChina to carry out terrorist activities aiming at kindergartens, schools and government, or attack Chinese armed forces and government agencies, with means of explosives and poison.
The forces, he said, have also become part of the internationalterrorist forces. "They have close ties and even align with terrorist groups including the Taliban, the Uzbekistan Islamic Liberation Movement and Al Qaeda."
According to Zhao, many members of the "East Turkistan" forces have received military training in terrorist bases in central and south Asia and directly have taken part in terrorist activities sponsored by owners of the bases.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/06/2005 00:18 ||
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#1
I'm convinced. Do what you do best, China, and happy hunting.
The leader of the nation's first Muslim political party says all Australians should be living under Islamic law dictated by the Koran. The Best Party of Allah in Australia applied for registration in the ACT yesterday, claiming to provide a political voice for Muslims.
Founder Kurt Kennedy, a Vietnamese-born Muslim convert and candidate in the ACT assembly elections last year, said the party wanted to "implement the laws as stated in the Koran". "The positive part of sharia law is (about) treating everybody fairly," he said. "I don't think anybody should have any worries about it. "If they read through the Koran, there's nothing there that will threaten them or threaten their personal life or property."
The new party had almost 200 members but needed 500 to register federally, which was the goal, he said. "The thing is to have a profile and to defend those who believe in Allah." People were "living in the dark" and experiencing an unnecessary level of fear of Islam.
The emergence of the Family First Party had showed him that there was a role for religious-based parties. "It's obvious what they do," he said. "We don't want to hide behind things. We want to go out and say we are believers of Allah, we believe in his religion, we obey his laws as stated in the Koran -- there's nothing to worry about."
Australians who were not Muslims were welcome to join the party, Mr Kennedy said. "Whether they become Muslims or not become Muslims, because they will see a sensible view not corrupted by lobby groups, a view not corrupted by hypocrisy -- like sending food-aid to Iraq but, at the same time, sending our soldiers there and bombing and killing their children as well."
Mr Kennedy could not guarantee extremists would not join his party but said he thought it unlikely that people with extremist views would want to participate in the peaceful, democratic political system. "We have a constitution and a process where people fill in an application form and the secretary can decide whether to enlist them or reject them, like any other political party," he said. The
Posted by: ed ||
09/06/2005 07:40 ||
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#2
This is the call. Once Australians refuse to convert, it's open season for the jihadis.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/06/2005 8:06 Comments ||
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#3
". "The positive part of... treating everybody fairly,"... should have any worries about it...the Koran,... threaten them or threaten their personal life or property."
Does anybody els detect a wiff of
Ode da Barnyard?
#4
Sounds like about time for Australia to have a simple loyalty oath. No mention of religion at all, just swearing to support and defend and uphold, honor and respect and obey constitutional Aussie laws, renouncing all foreign allegiences and masters, and swearing to support equality before the law, the rights of all minorities and all women, and the right of people to follow their conscience as to matters of faith, without interference or obstruction. To renounce violence and those who advocate violence, to include the violent overthrow of the government and efforts to impede the civil liberties of others, now or in the future.
After they sign it, with their fingers crossed, then bring up statements in conflict they have made in the past, to include fatwas, and demand public retractions, along with public condemnation of those individuals not in keeping with their oath.
Attention has been turned on the police who did not intervene in the Hizb-ut Tahrir demonstration held in the yard of Fatih Mosque in Istanbul Sunday.
Ankara has deeply bothered by the demonstration, which recalled the February 28 process and provoked much comment in newspapers.
Interior Ministry and Security Directorate have been targetted with the criticism of why the police did not intervene, and why the internal and foreign ties of the organization should not have been scrutinized.
It is not imaginable that Turkish Security was not informed of the demonstration as it was announced to the press before the event, so the police must have intentionally decided not to intervene.
The police defend themselves saying they restrained themselves and were simply watching over the event to avoid wider provocations. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the other side, had said that the police should have stepped in.
According to a security official, had the police intervened, the group would have fled inside the mosque and the scale of the incident would have grown.
"Can you imagine the reaction? 'Police enter a place of worship with their boots on.' Besides, legal proceedings were immediately started against the demonstrators just after the event." The same official reported that the group used women and children as well.
Recalling the reactions that followed police intervention targeting an illegal group on March 8 Women's Day were still fresh in the minds of officers, the official said: "Either we give in to the provocation and step in, or do not intervene and confront the wrath of the press."
According to a secret notice signed by Turkish Minister of Internal Affairs Abdulkadir Aksu circulated two months ago, all the security forces were warned against provocative mass demonstrations and events during their interference. Therefore, the cool attitude of the Police prevented the demonstration of Hizb-ut Tahrir with a press release only.
Again, in another circular by the Internal Ministry, it is said: "If the group doesn't violate the laws during their announcement to the press, don't interfere. If there are illegal attitudes or the group starts to act illegal you should immediately report them to the public prosecutor."
The authorities noted, the press release of the organization did not violate the law in this frame and the demonstrators are already on trial for insulting the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
The police also has restricted authority to interfere in line with the integration laws to European Union.
According to the new laws, propaganda is no longer a crime.
It means that someone may say, "I want to bring communism to Turkey" or "I want a Caliphate in Turkey" but this is not a crime.
The place of Hizb-ut Tahrir in the new world order should not be ignored but we should not also limit our scope only to this marginal demonstration.
So far, we have discussed whether the organization is a terrorist organization or not. Reportedly, it is tried with the 4928th issue of Terror Act as it can be tried for its ideological and organizational frame. However, it cannot be tried in the frame of violence or using force.
The organization is on the US agenda as well
The Turkish Court of Appeals has given two different decisions about "Hizb ut-Tahrir" so far.
In the first, the Court announced in its decision dated 2000 that this group is not a "terrorist organization".
It defined the group as a "terrorist organization" in its decision dated 2004 in Adana.
As the grounds for its decision, the court showed that the organization wants to destroy the constitutional order.
However, the police have not still obtained any evidences proving that the organization is involved in any terrorist activities so far.
An application from the Court of Appeals to the Police Office asks whether Hizb-ut Tahrir is a terrorist organization or not.
The Police Office says since the group has not been involved in using force and violence so far, it cannot be termed as a "terrorist organization".
This gives rise to questions like, "Who brings the Hizb-ut Tahrir issue to Turkey's agenda? Who refreshes the concept of Caliphate in the name of religion while the world is struggling with al-Qaeda?"
We should bear in mind that, although Hizb-ut Tahrir has just come to our agenda, it is an organization, on which many think tank institutions are conducting studies in the US.
The Nixon Center and The Heritage Foundation have issued two comprehensive reports about the organization.
The studies on the organization conducted in the US intensified in 2003 in which also some experts from Turkey participated.
The region where the Middle East origin organization spreads closely interests Turkey.
The gap formed after the collapse of the Soviet regime in Central Asia is filled by radical organizations such as Hizb-ut Tahrir.
The activities to be realized by the organization, deployed in the world's new energy corridor, target the stability of region countries.
Hizb-ut Tahrir makes Central Asia open to Russian intervention just as the US used al-Qaeda activities to legitimate its interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq. See, what a Russian terror analyst says regarding the Hizb-ut Tahrir organization, which has abstained from armed activities so far: What al-Qaeda means for US is the same as what Hizb-ut Tahrir means for us.
One more reminder; the activities of this organization have only been distributing papers after prayers in mosques and making press releases so far.
However, after Turkey received a date for accession talks from the European Union (EU) on December 17, remarkable changes have occurred in the discourse of the organization.
In the papers distributed in the mosque yards, Hizb-ut Tahrir gave responses similar to the "nationalistic" discourse by severely criticizing the government and the prime minister. We will see how this organization, though it still not certain whether a terrorist organization or not, will occupy the world and Turkey's agenda in the upcoming days.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/06/2005 00:24 ||
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Three Dutch mosques launched a code of conduct yesterday to help fight radicalism, promote democratic values and encourage imams to speak Dutch in return for tougher action on discrimination against Muslims. Three mosques from De Baarsjes district of Amsterdam, which started work on the code shortly after the murder last November of outspoken filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Dutch-Moroccan man, presented the text to Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende. âIt is in all our interests that we fight extremism and radicalization. Freedom of speech and democracy only work when everybody plays by the rules of the game,â Balkenende said. âWe need each other in this country. We have always been open and tolerant. The Netherlands is a country to be proud of. But it is not automatic. We need to work at it.â
The code commits mosques to promote the Dutch constitution and be on the look out for those who express âextremist ideasâ. Mosques that sign up will consult with the family of any potential militant and offer support and advice, but if such a discussion does not lead to a change in behavior, the mosque pledges to report the person to the Dutch authorities. Fatih Dag from the Turkish Aya Sofya mosque said: âWe are also threatened by terrorism just like every other Dutch citizen.â
Posted by: Fred ||
09/06/2005 00:00 ||
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#2
The code commits mosques to promote the Dutch constitution and be on the look out for those who express âextremist ideasâ.
Isn't this that they're supposed to do anyway as law abiding citizens?
#3
Well, yes, grom, but in the US, they are steadfastly refusing to go even that far. Of course, moving from talking to doing will be the next step. Otherwise, it's just taqiya.
Via JihadWatch
Muslims in the U.S. tend to be "role models," both as Americans and as Muslims, according to an eye-opening commentary in the Wall Street Journal.
After it was revealed that three of the four subway bombers in London were born in England, the British began taking a hard look at their Muslim neighbors. They found that one-quarter of British Muslims do not feel loyal to Britain; Muslims are three times as likely to be unemployed than the general population; and their rates of civic participation are low.
The Journal, however, took a look at the situation among Muslim in the U.S. and found:
Most Arab-Americans aren't Muslims. Only 24 percent of the 1.2 million Americans of Arab descent are Muslim, and most of the rest are Catholic, Eastern Orthodox or Protestant.
Most American Muslims aren't Arabs. One third are of South Asian descent, 20 percent are American blacks and just 26 percent are Arabs.
Muslim advocacy groups say there are more than 6 million Muslims in the U.S. But the most credible study to date estimates the total Muslim population at 1,886,000.
59 percent of American Muslims have at least an undergraduate degree, making them the most highly educated group in the U.S.
American Muslims comprise the richest Muslim community in the world - four out of five earn more than $25,000 a year and one in three makes more than $75,000.
82 percent are registered to vote.
64 percent of American Muslims are foreign born, but the overwhelming majority arrived here legally.
21 percent of American Muslims marry a member of another faith.
According to the data compiled by the Journal, the U.S. does not have a "Muslim problem," write Bret Stephens and Joseph Rago in the commentary. "On the contrary, America's Muslims tend to be role models both as Americans and as Muslims." But the Journal warns: "It takes no more than a few men (or women) to carry out a terrorist atrocity, and there can be no guarantee that the U.S. is immune from homegrown Islamist terror."
Posted by: ed ||
09/06/2005 07:21 ||
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#1
I feel much better now. One question though - what planet does the author live on these days?
#2
Most Arab-Americans aren't Muslims. Only 24 percent of the 1.2 million Americans of Arab descent are Muslim, and most of the rest are Catholic, Eastern Orthodox or Protestant.
Otherwise known as refugees.
#3
After it was revealed that three of the four subway bombers in London were born in England, the British began taking a hard look at their Muslim neighbors. They found that one-quarter of British Muslims do not feel loyal to Britain
Sometimes I wonder. What whould've happened if a survey found that one-quarter of British Jews do not feel loyal to Britain?
#6
"One third are of South Asian descent, 20 percent are American blacks and just 26 percent are Arabs."
33%+20%+26%=79%
Ok.Then what are the remaining 21%?
#8
Most of the american-arabs I have met have been wonderful people. But, they weren't Islamic, or practicing Islam either and had not a very high opinion of the clerics.
#9
They are also very active in the private sector, most notably the convenience store market.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/06/2005 9:28 Comments ||
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#10
Then what are the remaining 21%?
Africans (Somalis, Nigerians, etc.), Iranians, Bosnisans, Albanians, Turks, American converts.
Posted by: ed ||
09/06/2005 9:35 Comments ||
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#11
Well, what percentage of non-moslem American are not loyal to America? You have ANSWER, NION, MoveOn, the Congressional Black Caucus, John Kerry, Chris Dodd,...
#12
Parts of this I can easily believe. Outside of clusters of Arab-Muslims, such as Detroit, there are little enclaves of Arab-Non-Muslims, Non-Arab-Muslims, and Non-Arab-Non-Muslims but from Arabic or Indo-European Moslem nations, all over the place.
Persian Christians, Assyrian Christians, Sikhs, Persian Zoroastrians, several varieties of Orthodox Christians, Animists and others are spread out all over the US.
Many of the Moslems living in the US are terribly factionalized by their sect and practices. It is difficult to even arrange a meal between two such groups without spending a lot of time fussing over protocol. The differences are so great that at times, even lumping them together as "Moslems" seems a stretch.
Upper class Moslems from around the world want to send their children to the US to get an education, but not to learn or practice the US culture. Many of them are therefore "smart, but stupid" about things taken for granted in the US.
One glaring example was a Lebanese Moslem who insisted that most of the US defense budget *had* to go in support of the Israeli army, which he had actually seen. The reality was too horrible to conceive, and he rejected it outright. And yet, he was almost through a degree as an Electronics Engineer.
I have heard some Moslem women loudly complain about being excluded from a more orthodox mosque, just for being women, which evolved into an attack on the head scarf as "not in the Koran", and a wish that their brothers were here so they could kick the orthodox out of the mosque.
During the Iranian hostage crisis, the local university was able to distinguish 14 different clans of Iranians at the university, each of which despised the others. Yet all were very alien to the US and its ways, and kept to their cultural and political isolation.
Model citizens? Many, yes. Some, no. But America has a way of dissolving old alliegences and traditions, given time. The less Moslems can ghetto-ize, the faster they will integrate.
#13
I was having a problem with the definition of the word "Arab" when I lived and worked in Lebanon (69-73) (my area was Middle-East and North-Africa up to Tunisia) and still have one.
For instance, at the time, most Druze, Maronites, Copte or Catholics did'nt consider themselves "Arabs", nor did part of the Palestinians. It,s a bit like Americans (North and South), Europeans (What am I, A Caucasian, a Indo-European, an Aryan a Celt or a Helvete) or Asians or even Indians (Aztec, Maya, Aucas, Jivaros, Guaranis, Navajos,etc. and Indians from India).
Bottom line, it seems to me that "Arab" is now just a convenient label with no real meaning to describe any trouble makers from ME.
KUALA LUMPUR â In a direct reference to the plight of Thai Muslims, Malaysia's foreign minister has said that his country, as a chairman of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), has a responsibility to express its views if Muslims' safety were threatened. Syed Hamid Albar said while Malaysia was concerned about the on-going crisis in southern Thailand, it was also careful in handling the delicate issue, Malaysiaâs official Bernama News Agency reported Tuesday, September 6.
"Malaysia is the chairman of OIC and one of the roles of OIC is to ensure the safety of Muslim minorities living in non-Muslim countries are guaranteed and their security is not threatened," he told reporters after opening a seminar Monday. "Thailand is not very far from Malaysia and what happens in south Thailand has a direct impact on us, so we just cannot keep quiet."
A suspious person might consider that a veiled threat
The half-day seminar, entitled "Reform of the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Conference: Impact on the Muslim World in the 21st Century", was organized by the International Islamic University's Department of Political Science.
The government âwill do what it takesâ to ensure what is happening in a neighboring country will not adversely affect Malaysia, The Star quoted him as saying. While Malaysia has no intention of meddling in its neighborsâ internal affairs, the government could not remain silent when scores of people from across the border enter the country, Syed Hamid said. âWe need to ask why,â he said.
Boomings, shooting, head-choppings, etc..oh, that's not what you meant by "why", was it.
âIn all bilateral matters, interaction and understanding is important. In the case of Thai nationals crossing our border, we need to find out why they are seeking shelter here. We canât just deport them. The Immigration Department has been given the task to find out the situation from the fleeing Thais and we will have to look at the findings before we make any decision,â he said.
"As a friend and Asean member, we have to give our views without interfering with their internal affairs. In the current world, nobody can keep quiet if something happens but this should not be construed as teaching them (Thais)," he added.
"No, no, certainly not!"
Some 131 Thai Muslims, including 43 children, have fled to Malaysia 's northeastern state of Kelantan last week, saying they left their villages in Narathiwat province after the army arrived. The incident has set the stage for a possible row between the Malaysia and Thailand, although diplomatic contact has been intense. The two countries will hold a special meeting Saturday to discuss the issue, Bernama reported.
Chief of Armed Forces Laksamana Tan Sri Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor said Monday he would head the Malaysian team to the talks with the Supreme Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces General Chaisit Shinawatra and his delegation. Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist nation but Muslims make up about five percent of the population and mostly live in the five southern provinces bordering Malaysia. The Thai government has declared emergency rule across the predominantly-Muslim south, once an independent Muslim sultanate, under a decree rubber-stamped by a hastily convened cabinet meeting on Friday, July 15. The controversial measure grants Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra the power impose curfews, censor news, ban public meetings, tap phones and hold suspects without charge for up to 30 days. The new sweeping powers drew fire from the press and activists as dictatorial and a recipe for more violence and has prompted strong reactions from civic groups which argue that it violates many basic rights.
The International Crisis Group (ICG) stressed Thursday, May 19, that the Thai government's failure to address injustices and open a genuine dialogue with Muslim leaders in the south is the real reason behind unrest in the country. Thailand 's national rights watchdog also accused the army of "violent breaches of human rights" against Muslims in the south. Nik Mat warned that more unrest would follow unless Thailand addressed the grievances of its southern Muslims.
Meanwhile, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said its officers will interview the 131 Thai Muslims currently being sheltered in northern Malaysia, The Nation reported Tuesday. Volker Turk, the Malaysia-based representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said in a statement that the agencyâs officers would be sent to Kelantan this week to meet with the Thais in cooperation with local authorities. âIt is standard practice for the UNHCR to have access to, and to interview, any group of people who claim refuge in a particular country,â he said.
Thai Deputy Prime Minister, on the other hand, urged the UN's refugee agency not to take up the case of the 131 Thai Muslims. Surakiart Sathirathai said that foreign ministers of both countries are discussing the case. "These people are not refugees, and it's unlikely the UNHCR needs to get involved," he said. "This is a case of illegal entry. Many people go back and forth across the border, this just happens to be a large number of them," he said. Thaksin had denied accusations that the 131 villagers had fled because they were afraid of the Thai authorities, The Nation reported Sunday.
Reports from the border area said the Thais fled after a tense standoff between residents of Narathiwatâs Ban Rahan and security forces, following the shooting death of a local imam. The villagers accused the police of killing the imam and protested by blocking the entrance of the village to security forces wishing to investigate the incident, The Nation reported. After being threatened with charges of obstructing justice, many decided to flee their homes for Malaysia. Others from nearby districts joined them in the exodus.
A UN human rights committee and local and international rights groups have condemned the decree for its sweeping powers, while lawyers argue its powers are vaguely defined and allow for possible power abuses.
Nik Aziz Nik Mat, spiritual leader of the Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party and Kelantanâs chief minister, warned last week that more unrest would follow unless Thailand addressed the grievances of its southern Muslims, according to The Nation. Muslims have long complained of discrimination and of being made to feel they are not equal to other Thai citizens.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/06/2005 14:44 ||
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#1
Denaturalize the Thai Muslims - I'm sure the Malaysians should have no problem accepting them as citizens, since they care so much about their foreign Muslim brethren. Maybe that will solve the problem - the entire Muslim population of Thailand can resettle in Malaysia.
#7
The origami - or carrot - phase, was heavily advertised. The stick phase involves abduction, torture, summary execution and cadaver disposal (of suspected terrorists). You won't hear much about it up front - but this is the back end of it - people related to the terrorists will run for their lives. It ain't pretty, but brutal suppression generally works - it worked for Thailand in the past - as it has worked for communist and non-communist regimes* alike. It's a question of how squeamish the rulers are.
* Indonesia reputedly slaughtered millions of communists and sympathizers in the 1960's - communism hasn't been a problem since. China is said to have tortured and executed the male relatives of suspected Muslim terrorists, as well as their respective mullahs - Islamic terrorists aren't a huge problem there either.
#8
Yeah, well, having your local mullah tortured to death and dumped in a garbage heap does tend to put one off of religion. At least public religion.
They're not too nice to other religions either, I understand, and the Tai Chi folks are apparently the next best thing to Cacodemons to the ChiCom high command...
Police and Military in Central Visayas are on tight guard following reports from the intelligence community that members of the Jemaah Islamiyah are recruiting in some parts of the country.
But Central Command spokesman Lt. Col. Jefferson Umandam yesterday said that such recruitment activity would not prosper in the Visayas because people here are vigilant compared to those in Mindanao.
City police director Melvin Gayotin and Criminal Investigation Intelligence Branch chief Paul Labra said all units have already been alerted in fact yesterday was deadline for the submission of situational reports from the station levels.
Gayotin said there are no reports of recruitment activities happening in the metropolis so far.
The report received by the intelligence community last September 2 revealed that apart from recruitment, members of JI are also set to establish safe houses and operational centers nationwide.
Among the areas where recruitment is said to be taking place include Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, National Capital Region, Bicol and Southern Palawan.
"They will also look for Muslim businessmen who are already established in the country to be utilized for possible channeling of operational funds," the report said.
Thus, provincial and city directors were ordered to assess their respective jurisdiction to possibly identify Balik Islam individuals who might be tapped or utilized for the activity.
The order from the regional headquarters also told concerned officials to identify other contact personalities, names of buildings, organizations and establishments that might be utilized for the project.
JI, a group of terrorists said to be connected to Al Qaeda network of Osama Bin Laden, was also rumored to have tapped the Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao years ago for its operations here.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/06/2005 00:26 ||
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EFL
Iran is still several years away from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability, according to a study published by an influential London-based think tank.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies has assessed Iran's nuclear, chemical, biological and long-range missile activities. Based on complete disclosure by the Mullahs no doubt.
It says a diplomatic showdown with the European Union and the United States could be inevitable.
Iran's political restraint thus far may not last, the report's authors say.
One of them, Dr Gary Samore, told the BBC that it might take five years for Iran to overcome all the technical difficulties to produce a nuclear weapon.
But given Tehran's cautious behaviour so far, a decision on whether to build such a capability may be much further away. That is the exact opposite of the conclusion I've reached.
"They're trying to avoid international reaction and I think it's perhaps more likely that they would try to develop their nuclear capabilities over a much longer period of time, a decade or 15 years," he said. This is another 'spike the guns' article, The institute must be afraid someone is close to actually doing something.
More at link.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/06/2005 9:25 Comments ||
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"They're trying to avoid international reaction and I think it's perhaps more likely that they would try to develop their nuclear capabilities over a much longer period of time, a decade or 15 years,"
Wow, love those firm conclusions. I know I'll sleep easier tonight hearing those words of comfort.
#5
That's the kind of thing that used to be said in 1946 about the USSR and the atomic bomb. Four years later the USSR suddenly joined the nuclear club. When the issue is merely reverse engineering, time is not the limiting factor.
#6
Still comes down to indigenous nukes versus nukes based or hidden in Iran = North Korea but controlled by mil units from Moscow or Beijing. If the Russians could help Saddam hide his WMD caches in Syria and Lebanon, they can also do the reverse and rapidly supply Tehran and Pyongyang with nukes/WMDS. ALso helps Iran and NK when the US DemoLeft "scalpelizes" between nukes vs. other WMDS, and between Communists versus Communist-controlled alleged "Fascists". Most in US INTEL have long known that the Norkies already possess nukes, albeit Chicom-controlled.
The head of Iran's judiciary announced yesterday the Islamic republic was preparing its own charges against former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, arguing that Iraqi prosecutors had failed to lay sufficient charges against him. The official news agency IRNA said Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi has "ordered the prosecutor general to prepare an indictment against Saddam for his crimes during the eight year Iran-Iraq war and to put it through legal channels."
"What is important for the (Iranian) judiciary are the rights that were lost by Iranian citizens during the eight-year sacred defense war, those who lost their loved ones and the many war veterans who were wounded by chemical weapons," Shahrudi was quoted as saying. Shahrudi also criticized "the fact that Saddam's crimes against human rights during the war and his continuation of such crimes in Halabja and Kurdistan are not among the accusations brought up in this trial."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/06/2005 00:00 ||
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Sooooo.... they think that knocking off Saddam was a good thing? Are they suggesting deposing an evil dictator should be done more often? Knocking off war-mongering, American-hating, terrorist-sponsoring, A-bomb-developing, hostage-taking.... oops! Wrong dictator!
There is something terribly ironic about this....
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/06/2005 14:53 Comments ||
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ISLAMABAD - Pakistanâs national legislature on Tuesday witnessed pandemonium after opposition parties took on a federal minister for his pro-military views and dubbed him a political turncoat.
The minister, Sher Afgan Niazi, had attempted to block an opposition resolution demanding the army end its involvement in national politics and return to barracks. Liaqat Baloch, an MP of the religio- political nutwing alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (moveon.org MMA), moved the resolution to coincide it with Pakistanâs Defence Day being observed today to commemorate the 1965 war with India.
Attaboy, commemorate a war you lost.
But the moment Baloch rose to address the house, Niazi stood up out of turn to eulogize President Musharrafâs service for the country. This attracted some shouts of âlota, lotaâ from opposition benches. The term âlotaâ, a pot used in rural areas for watering plants, denotes politicians who switch sides, usually in favour of the ruling party. âYes I am a lota, I am proud of it, I am proud of my work with General Musharraf, who was voted into presidency with MMA votes,â Niazi said in response.
Niaziâs political rivals have been threatening to resign from the legislature, which they say is powerless in the presence of an exceptionally strong President. âWe wanted to send a message on the day from parliament that the military must perform within the parametres defined in the Constitution and return to barracks,â Baloch told DPA.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/06/2005 23:45 ||
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BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein has confessed to crimes and should be hanged "20 times," his successor as Iraq's president said on Tuesday while confirming that he will not sign a death warrant himself.
"Saddam deserves a death sentence 20 times a day because he tried to assassinate me 20 times," Jalal Talabani said in a lengthy interview on Iraqiya state television, recalling his own days as a Kurdish rebel leader fighting the Baghdad authorities.
Saddam had confessed to crimes, he said in answer to a question, though it was not clear what details Talabani had of a legal process that is intended to be separate from Iraqi politics.
"There are 100 reasons to sentence Saddam to death," he said, two days after the Shi'ite- and Kurdish-led government confirmed that the deposed leader will go on trial on October 19, along with several aides, accused of killing 143 Shi'ite villagers after a failed assassination bid at Dujail in 1982.
Last week, Iraq hanged the first three criminals to be sentenced to death since Saddam's overthrow by U.S. forces.
In that case, too, Talabani refused to sign the warrant but handed responsibility to his Shi'ite vice president, Adel Abdel Mehdi. He explained his stance by saying that as leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan he had once signed up his left-wing party to an international ban on capital punishment.
"My not signing does not mean that I will block the decision of the court," Talabani said, while stressing that political pressure would play no part in the judges' decision.
Saddam's main lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, complained after meeting his client on Monday that the October 19 trial date had not been agreed through the Special Tribunal set up to try Saddam and his closest associates.
"Setting a date for the trial within days, weeks or months is unacceptable because the court alleges that it has 36 tonnes of documents and the defense team cannot come to the trial without studying what the court has of evidence," Dulaimi told Reuters on Monday after he had met Saddam near Baghdad.
It seems likely, however, that Saddam will go on trial on October 19. The process, for the killings at Dujail, will therefore start days after a referendum on a new constitution that the U.S.-backed authorities intend should bury his legacy.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/06/2005 20:54 ||
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Why not get all the fun out of killing him once that you would get out of killing him 20 times?
Endorphine blockers.
A month before his execution, start administering these drugs to him, so that every sensation in his body is agonizing pain that cannot be ignored.
In essense, it is like withdrawing from heroin, the bodies' natural pain-control substance deactivated.
He would live in astounding agony until the very moment when his neck was snapped by the noose. Utterly drained of energy, every nerve ending screaming in pain.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/06/2005 21:26 Comments ||
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I got a better idea. Feed him feet first into a shredder a little bit at a time and let hem heal up between sessions. And that is too good for the son of a bitch
Iraq's al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi denounced Saudi Arabia's rulers as despots allowing Westerners to loot the riches of Islam's birthplace, according to an Internet audio tape attributed to him on Tuesday.
"The (Saudi) tyrants are traitors to the nation and its religion, who have waged war against the mujahideen and allowed the Crusaders into the peninsula of Prophet Mohammad to loot its wealth and spread corruption," said the speaker, who sounded like Zarqawi, on the tape posted on an Islamist Web site.
"From what we have seen of these tyrants, their rule has no legitimacy," said the speaker on the tape, presented as the first of a series of lectures by the Jordanian militant to be issued on the Internet by al Qaeda's wing in Iraq.
In the undated tape, which was more than an hour long, the speaker referred to the death of the leader of al Qaeda's Saudi wing, Saleh al-Awfi, who was killed by Saudi security forces on August 18 in a shootout in the holy city of Medina.
The tape was posted on an Islamist Web site that often carries messages from al Qaeda and other insurgent groups in Iraq.
The speaker blasted education reforms in Muslim countries as un-Islamic, in apparent reference to changes brought about after U.S. criticism after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
The education system in Saudi Arabia and other countries has come under attack in the West for promoting hatred of non-Muslims and violence against Westerners.
Many Arabs and Muslims see U.S. policy in the Middle East as against Islam and infringing on their independence.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/06/2005 16:33 ||
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The Discovery Channel presents THE FLIGHT THAT FOUGHT BACK, featuring personal accounts of witnesses and first-time interviews with families and friends of the heroes of Flight 93, on Sunday, September 11, 2005, at 9 PM (ET/PT). The 90-minute special tells the compelling and poignant story of the 33 passengers and seven crew members on United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked, rerouted toward Washington, D.C., and crashed in Somerset County, Pa., on September 11, 2001. The film will air in its entirety without commercial interruption.
THE FLIGHT THAT FOUGHT BACK is a minute-by-minute retelling of the planeâs final moments as those on board fought to regain control of the aircraft. This dramatic documentary was developed with unprecedented cooperation from many family members and friends of those on board, and with help from United Airlines. Using comprehensive research including the 9/11 Commission Report, rarely heard voice recordings, and the personal reflections of family and friends on how their loved ones would have reacted to the situation, THE FLIGHT THAT FOUGHT BACK chronicles how 40 strangers discovered the terroristsâ scheme, devised a plan to respond, and stopped the deadly plot---all in just 30 minutes. The film gives viewers a better understanding of the events on the plane and a deeper appreciation of the diverse group of men and women on board.
âThis program honors the 40 strangers who had a battle plan and came together to confront the terrorists, literally fighting back against the enemy,â said Judith A. McHale, president and chief executive officer, Discovery Communications, Inc. (DCI). âThe passengersâ extraordinary heroism saved countless lives in our nationâs capital, and Discovery is honored to present this tribute to their remarkable sacrifice.â THE FLIGHT THAT FOUGHT BACK represents DCIâs commitment to commemorate the heroism demonstrated by the passengers and crew on Flight 93. A portion of the proceeds from this film will go to the Flight 93 National Memorial to honor these fallen heroes.
âThe events of 9/11 are a part of history that touched each and every one of usâdirectly affecting the way we live our lives today,â added Jane Root, Discovery Channel executive vice president and general manager. âDiscovery Channel is committed to telling this story with both unrelenting accuracy and sincere compassion. Those aboard Flight 93 have a legacy that must live on.â
Discovery commissioned London-based Brook Lapping Productions (BLP), an Emmy Award-winning production company with an international reputation for accuracy, to research and present the remarkable story of THE FLIGHT THAT FOUGHT BACK. BLP has worked closely with family members, unearthing new insights, new eyewitness accounts and rarely heard recordings. Discovery en Español will simulcast Discovery Channelâs premiere of THE FLIGHT THAT FOUGHT BACK.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/06/2005 10:21 ||
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Saw the NGC Documentary Inside 9-11. This should be a good companion piece in honor of some of the many heroes of that day.
September 5, 2005: It's official, Saddam Husseins trial begins on October 19th, with the death (by hanging) penalty in play. This is an explosive issue. About 90 percent of Iraqis want to see Saddam dead. That includes the Kurds (20 percent of the population), Shia Arabs (60 percent) and many of the Sunni Arabs. But the remainder, and many of the "Death to Saddam" majority, want another dictator running the country. While a majority of Arabs back democracy, a powerful and violent minority believes that dictatorship is the only way to go. In Iraq, much of the violence comes from various factions fighting to determine which of them has the best shot at being the next Saddam. The major factions scrambling for this prize are the Baath Party (which long supported Saddam), al Qaeda, Iran supported Shia radicals SCRI and local Shia radical Muqtada al Sadr. There are many "democratic" politicians that would accept the job of dictator, if offered. But that's the problem with dictatorship, you've got to go out and fight for it, and take power by force. Most Iraqis would rather decide who will rule using a more peaceful process.
The Kurds don't want to run the country, just the northern part of it, and the Kirkuk oil fields.
The battles in the Sunni Arab towns around Baghdad, and in western Iraq, continue to grow. The fighting is triggered by Iraqi police and troops moving into Sunni Arab towns. The local Sunni Arab gangs have to either fight, or submit to police searches. These lead to confiscation of weapons, munitions, money and military equipment, and the arrest of those involved in terrorism or other criminal activity. The police training system, built up over the past two years, is turning out thousands of police, and commanders, each month. These are sent right off, along with the growing number of Iraqi troops, to the rebellious Sunni Arab areas of central Iraq. The Sunni Arab terrorists, and their al Qaeda allies, have been able to slow, but not stop, this movement. One after another, Sunni Arab towns are turned into Iraq towns. The prisons are filling up with more and more "known criminals" (people earlier identified as behind terrorist attacks.)
Oil is the prize in Iraq. Despite years of poor maintenance and management, Iraqis oil exports are running at about 1.6 million barrels a day. That's about $100 million worth a day. About two thirds of the oil comes from the Shia dominated south. Most of the rest comes from fields around Kirkuk, a city on the border of the Kurdish controlled north, and claimed by the Kurds. Over 10,000 security personnel guard the oil fields, refineries and pipelines. There are currently about 25 attacks on these facilities each day. The vast majority of these attacks fail, but the damage done, and time required to repair it, slows down the refurbishment of the oil industry, and cuts the maximum amount of oil that could be shipped by 20 percent or more.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/06/2005 08:39 ||
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I don't have a link, but last night on the radio I heard that an Iraqi official has said that if he comes to trial in a military uniform, he'll be shot; if he shows up in civilian clothes he'll be hanged.
The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq has turned the country into a new hub of terrorism worse than Afghanistan under the Taliban, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said yesterday.
Mr. Annan also said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. that he expected to face blame over the Iraqi oil-for-food program when investigators deliver a report this week.
Hours before he spoke, carloads of Iraqi insurgents staged an audacious daylight assault against the Interior Ministry in Baghdad, killing two policemen before escaping.
Mr. Annan told BBC World Service radio that the war was contributing to Muslim anger throughout the world.
"I think there are many Muslims that are extremely unhappy today. Unhappy because they feel victimized, they feel isolated, they feel victimized in their own society, they feel victimized in the West, and they feel this profiling against them. And the Iraqi situation has not helped matters," he said.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/06/2005 02:48 ||
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#1
I don't why anybody bothers interviewing Annan. He's an unelected bureacrat. He's paid to implement policy, not to make it. He shouldn't be making political statements at all, and they certainly shouldn't be reported since his views are no more significant than any random person off the streets.
#3
What kind of brain disorder is it when you confuse cause with effect?
Posted by: jolly roger ||
09/06/2005 6:06 Comments ||
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I would sayt that it is the spectacle of scams like Oil for Food and their immunity who spread terrorism. For instance, in the normally moderate and law abiding guy I am, it gets his blood boiling and making him wishing Bin Laden had smashed a plane (full of UN officials) on the UN building.
#5
Mr. Annan told BBC World Service radio that the war was contributing to Muslim anger throughout the world.
Naturally the Muslims can't control their fucking anger, or be bothered to realize that most of the people killed have been murdered at the orders of their own "holy" men.
As for Annan -- why hasn't he been arrested yet?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/06/2005 7:44 Comments ||
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...he expected to face blame over the Iraqi oil-for-food program when investigators deliver a report this week.
#8
Actually, and rather effectively I might add, Iraq acts to concentrate the terrorists, rather than spread them out. And this is a good thing, giving us the opportunity to obliterate them in one country, rather than having to do it in twenty or thirty countries, and at much greater cost.
By this technique, broad swathes of the planet that would have been haunted by such villains in the years to come, will instead be peaceful and prosperous realms.
#9
So the Iraq war spreads anger in the Muslim world, eh? Well, blowing up the World Trade Center spread some anger in the Christian world. I guess we've all got our beefs.
Russia wants its ambassador here to be allowed to have Russian âarmedâ security personnel. The reason: a threat to his life from certain militant groups having links with extremist organisations in Chechnya. After being warned by Russian agencies of a âhigh threat perceptionâ to Vyacheslav Trubnikov, the embassy recently routed the request through the Foreign Office to the Home Ministry.
Indian intelligence and security agencies too have warned the Home Ministry that militant groups are planning to eliminate Trubnikov. According to a Home Ministry note on the issue, Trubnikov was associated with an intelligence agency in the erstwhile USSR â possibly the KGB, which might explain the threat from Chechen militant outfits. Intelligence sources confirmed that there were reports indicating a possible link between Chechen rebels and militant outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba which operate in the Kashmir Valley.
Following the inputs, security for the Russian ambassador and at the embassy has been beefed up. The Russian Embassy asked for two armed security personnel to guard Trubnikov. âWeâve made security arrangements for the ambassador till a final decision is taken on the issue,â said a ministry official. Though an ambassador can have his own private security personnel, permission is required from the Home Ministry if armed personnel are needed. A similar permission has been granted to the Israeli ambassador, who is also in the âhigh security riskâ category.
Following the input on the Russian ambassador, the Home Ministry has directed the Indian intelligence agencies to do a security review of diplomats, particularly those from the US, the UK, France, Japan and some Islamic countries. Currently, the Delhi Police provide the security cover to most of them.
Providing security to diplomats is the responsibility of the host country. But within the compound of the embassy, the country concerned can have its own security arrangements. The Americans, for instance, have the US Marines guarding the embassy premises.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/06/2005 00:38 ||
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Iraq's Kurdish president, Jalal Talabani, issued a bitter rhetorical broadside against other Arab countries today, saying they had insulted Iraq by not sending diplomats to Baghdad and had not sent condolence letters about the stampede last week in which almost 1,000 Shiite pilgrims were killed.
The president spoke just after two dozen insurgents staged a brazen dawn raid on the heavily guarded offices of Iraq's Interior Ministry in Baghdad, killing two police officers and wounding five, and two British soldiers were killed by a bomb in southern Iraq.
Speaking at a news conference, Mr. Talabani echoed and amplified complaints by other Iraqi leaders about the Arab states' failure to recognize the stampede, which stunned Iraqis and caused the highest one-day death toll since the American invasion. The complaints, coming largely from Shiites and aimed at the Arab world's Sunni leaders, hinted at a sectarian bias against Iraq, where Shiites are about 60 percent of the population.
"We stood with our Arab brothers in their hard times," Mr. Talabani said. "For instance, we sent a letter expressing our condolences on the terrorist attack which claimed a lot of innocent lives in Sharm el Sheikh."
Iraq's prime minister, Ibrahim Jaafari, hinted at a similar criticism today when he was asked about the emir of Qatar, who donated $100 million to the American victims of Hurricane Katrina but nothing to the victims of the stampede.
"I'm not condemning what he did, but he should think of Iraq," Mr. Jaafari said.
The comments by Mr. Talabani and Mr. Jaafari came at a time of heightened tension with other Arab nations. Last week Amr Mousa, the secretary of the Arab League, issued a public criticism of Iraq's new constitution - largely written by Shiites and Kurds - in which he echoed the criticisms of some Sunni Arabs in Iraq. The Sunnis have opposed two provisions in particular: one that would create largely autonomous federal regions, and one that describes Iraq as an Islamic country but not an Arab one.
Some Iraqi leaders asked why Mr. Mousa was willing to denounce the new draft constitution now, after the Arab League had been notably silent about Iraq's lack of a constitution or basic human rights under Saddam Hussein.
Mr. Talabani also said the two major Kurdish political parties had agreed to support Sunni demands for language in the constitution declaring Iraq an Arab nation. Although the charter was presented to the country's constitution last week, there have been talks in recent days aimed at making final revisions that might win Sunni support.
If the document is not modified, some leading Sunnis have said, they will organize a campaign to defeat it when it goes before Iraqis in a national referendum on Oct. 15.
A delegation of Sunni leaders visited Kurdistan today to discuss the constitution and their participation in future elections, Mr. Talabani said.
Mr. Talabani also complained about the lack of Arabic diplomatic representation in Baghdad, calling it "an insulting issue for the country." Iraq and the United States have urged other Arab countries to send diplomats here, in hopes that the gesture would bolster the Iraqi government's legitimacy and undermine support for the insurgency.
But risk is also clearly an issue. In July, two Algerian diplomats and an Egyptian diplomat were abducted and killed by insurgents. Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the terrorist group led by Abu Musab al Zarqawi, claimed credit, and has threatened to kill any Arab diplomat in Baghdad.
The attack in Baghdad today began at 6:30 am, when four black BMW sedans raced up to a checkpoint outside the Interior Ministry, officials said. Firing belt-fed machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, the group of about two dozen insurgents fought the ministry guards for 15 minutes before driving away. American Blackhawk and Apache helicopters could be seen flying over central Baghdad for hours afterwards, as United States Army foot patrols hunted the attackers on the streets of the capital.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/06/2005 00:25 ||
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Article: Iraq's prime minister, Ibrahim Jaafari, hinted at a similar criticism today when he was asked about the emir of Qatar, who donated $100 million to the American victims of Hurricane Katrina but nothing to the victims of the stampede.
"I'm not condemning what he did, but he should think of Iraq," Mr. Jaafari said.
This guy's a nutjob. Uncle Sam is the ultimate guarantor of Qatar's sovereignty. Iraq is the biggest threat to Qatar's independence, along with Iran. Why would Qatar give a plug nickel to Iraq? Qataris are probably telling him to go @!@$ himself.
NEW DELHI - India will cut troop levels in Kashmir if separatist violence and militant infiltration from Pakistan stops, the prime ministerâs office said on Monday after a landmark meeting with moderate Kashmiri separatist leaders. âThe prime minister said that if there is a cessation of violence and end to infiltration, conditions will be created for the reduction of armed forcesâ (in Kashmir), a statement from the prime ministerâs office said.
Another iteration of the famous recipe for rabbit stew: step one -- catch a rabbit ...
The statement came after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held the first-ever official talks between an Indian leader and Kashmiri separatists since an anti-Indian rebellion erupted in 1989. The three-hour meeting included formal talks and dinner followed by cordials and dancing.
âHe agreed to review all cases of those held in detention and ensure that violation of human dignity would not be tolerated and the government would take all necessary measures to safeguard against human rights violations,â the statement from the prime ministerâs office said. The troops are the target of wide resentment among many Kashmiris.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/06/2005 00:00 ||
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Nice move, sahib. You and the militants can talk for a couple of months; the violence will decrease in November as the mountain passes get snowed in, you declare the talks successful (except for that bothersome sporadic shooting of civilians thingy) and you draw down your troops until Spring, when the snow melts and the hard boyz emerge from their winter dens and come looking for the heathen Hindoo again...
Pakistan opposition parties yesterday decided not to wait for 2007 elections to oust President Pervez Musharraf but go ahead with a mass campaign to get rid of him as soon as possible, sources said.
There's a word for that ... hmmm ... re-, revol-, oh something ...
President of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Qazi Hussain Ahmed in a press conference in Karachi said that people could not expect the present government to hold free and fair elections in the country keeping the alleged malpractices in the recent local polls in mind. âThe situation has pushed the country into a blind alley and made it imperative for all patriotic, democratic and Islamic forces to liberate Pakistan from the shackles of military dictatorship and restore the 1973 constitution,â Qazi said.
Lost the local elections big time, didn't they?
He claimed opposition parties have said they would not accept any military ruler in the country in the future. Qazi said, âWe have started our campaign to end the undemocratic regime of General Pervez Musharraf, the campaign will last till the illegal regime of Musharraf is over. Now we will not wait for 2007 elections but our demand and campaign is to remove Musharraf and his stooges. No elections will be held under Musharraf because it will not be a fair and transparent elections. We have witnessed all elections held in his regime, be it his referendum or a number of previously held local bodies elections, all have proven to be fraudulent.â
He claimed the government had âcommitted blatant riggingâ in the recent local government polls, which they said had worsened the âcrises-likeâ situation in the country. Opposition parties have called for a countrywide strike from Friday to protest Musharrafâs policies.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/06/2005 00:00 ||
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He must be reading from the Cindy Sheehan playbook.
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/06/2005 14:57 Comments ||
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Israel has moved swiftly to quash a new row over its settlements, with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office slapping down a minister who announced plans to build thousands of homes in the West Bank. The Palestinians accused Israel of wrecking US President George Bush's two-state vision for the Middle East after deputy defence minister Zeev Boim on Monday said 3000 housing units would be built in the northern settlement of Ariel. "The government's decision to build 3000 additional housing units in Ariel is an expression of our desire to strengthen the settlement blocs," Boim said in comments carried by Israeli radio.
But Sharon's office issued a statement denying that any such plans, which would be in direct contravention of the internationally-drafted "roadmap" peace plan, were on the table. "The prime minister's office and Defence Ministry have no knowledge whatsoever of authorisation to construct or build 3000 new housing units in Ariel," an official in Sharon's office told AFP in a statement. The official said only that plans had previously been approved for little more than 100 new homes in Ariel, about 20km inside the Palestinian territory. "What was authorised and approved in Ariel was the marketing of 117 dwelling units only within the city of Ariel," he said.
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09/06/2005 00:00 ||
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India's prime minister, who has held a landmark meeting with Kashmiri separatists, said he will cut troops in the disputed territory if violence and militant infiltration from Pakistan stops. He also pledged respect for human rights in the Himalayan region where tens of thousands have died. The three-hour meeting, which included formal talks and dinner, came after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to the first-ever official talks between an Indian leader and moderate Kashmiri separatists since an anti-Indian rebellion erupted in 1989. Kashmir is held in part but claimed in full by both India and Pakistan.
"The prime minister said that if there is a cessation of violence and end to infiltration, conditions will be created for the reduction of armed forces" (in Kashmir), a statement from the prime minister's office said. He also pledged to meet again with the separatists to discuss steps to reduce violence in the state, including rights abuses by Indian troops. The troops are the target of wide resentment among many Kashmiris. "He agreed to review all cases of those held in detention and ensure that violation of human dignity would not be tolerated and the government would take all necessary measures to safeguard against human rights violations," the statement said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/06/2005 00:00 ||
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Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Monday that instead of calling for strikes the opposition should bring all contentious issues to the National Assembly (NA). "The opposition should discuss political differences in the assembly or highlight them through the press. They should also prefer national interest over politics," he added.
I just squirted wine out my nose...
Posted by: Fred ||
09/06/2005 00:00 ||
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If our opposition isn't better than that, why should yours?
Around 5000 troops have been deployed in the NWFP and 4,500 in Balochistan to reinforce the Pak-Afghan border and stop the infiltration of miscreants into Afghanistan thereby protecting the September 18 parliamentary elections from sabotage, said Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan, the ISPR spokesman. The total number of troops on the border has now increased to 80,000. The spokesman added that the length of the border and its rugged terrain make it impossible to completely seal the frontier.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/06/2005 00:00 ||
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Don't worry about the miscreants, it's them rabblerousers you want...
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.
KUWAIT CITY â An independent Kuwaiti medical commission said yesterday it had found scars from beatings on a number of suspected militants standing trial for involvement in deadly clashes with police.
RIYADH - The US consulate in the eastern Saudi city of Dhahran closed on Monday because of security concerns, an embassy statement said.
ISLAMABAD - Pakistanâs national legislature on Tuesday witnessed pandemonium after opposition parties took on a federal minister for his pro-military views and dubbed him a political turncoat.
NEW DELHI - India will cut troop levels in Kashmir if separatist violence and militant infiltration from Pakistan stops, the prime ministerâs office said on Monday after a landmark meeting with moderate Kashmiri separatist leaders. âThe prime minister said that if there is a cessation of violence and end to infiltration, conditions will be created for the reduction of armed forcesâ (in Kashmir), a statement from the prime ministerâs office said.
Israel has moved swiftly to quash a new row over its settlements, with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office slapping down a minister who announced plans to build thousands of homes in the West Bank. The Palestinians accused Israel of wrecking US President George Bush's two-state vision for the Middle East after deputy defence minister Zeev Boim on Monday said 3000 housing units would be built in the northern settlement of Ariel. "The government's decision to build 3000 additional housing units in Ariel is an expression of our desire to strengthen the settlement blocs," Boim said in comments carried by Israeli radio.
