Egypt unveils nuclear plants plan

President Hosni Mubarak has said Egypt is to build a number of nuclear power stations to generate electricity.

Mr Mubarak said he had decided to go ahead with the programme because energy security was such an important factor in Egypt's development.

Egyptian officials announced plans last year to revive civilian nuclear activities but at the time they spoke of building a single power station.

The United States said it would offer its co-operation in the project.

US officials insisted there were no comparison between peaceful use of nuclear technology by Egypt and Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

The US and some Western governments say Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon, and the United Nations Security Council has demanded that Iran stop enriching uranium.

Iran insist its nuclear programme, including the uranium enrichment which can be turned to weapons manufacture, is peaceful.

Rising demand

Mr Mubarak's announcement comes just a few days before his party holds its annual conference and the BBC's Heba Saleh in Cairo says the timing seems calculated to give a boost to the party's image.

Many Egyptians view the development of a nuclear programme as an issue of national pride, our correspondent adds.

Demand for electricity has been growing at an average rate of 7% a year in Egypt and the country faces worsening shortages.

Cairo froze its nuclear power programme 20 years ago, following the accident at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine.

However, it did maintain a small experimental nuclear reactor. In February 2005, the International Atomic Energy Agency disclosed that it was investigating Egypt's nuclear activities.

It concluded that Egypt had conducted atomic research, but that the research did not aim to develop nuclear weapons and did not include uranium enrichment.

Egypt admitted to failing to disclose the full extent of its nuclear research activities to the UN's watchdog. Officials said the failure arose because of a misunderstanding over exactly what had to be disclosed.

Egypt is a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which allows countries to build nuclear power stations under international supervision.

Cairo has long pressed for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons.

Israel is the only Middle East state with a known nuclear arsenal, though it maintains a position of "ambiguity" on its nuclear weapons, insisting that it will not be the first state to introduce nuclear weapons to the region.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7067378.stm

Published: 2007/10/29 17:00:53 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Mr. Bush, Lebanon is not US 53rd state!!

29/10/2007 Perhaps a reminder is needed that this is the 21st century. Definitely a reminder is needed that a foreign mandate is no longer existent in Lebanon. In fact both reminders should be for the head of the unconstitutional government Fouad Saniora, for the latter had issued a direct order to distribute a decree signed by US president George W. Bush on Lebanese municipal councils! The decree was issued by Bush last August to back Saniora's government and it included threats to freeze the assets of anyone who carried out or could carry out acts that threaten or undermine "the route to building democracy in Lebanon", or back the return of Syria's influence to it. The Lebanese Ambassador to Washington, Antoine Shedid had sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 2nd of February 2007. The letter was about Bush's decision. On the 6th of August 2007, the Foreign Ministry Secretary General, Ambassador Hisham Dimashkieh submitted Shedid's letter to the Ministry of Interior headed by Hasan Sabaa who circulated it on the 10th of August, on all civil and security departments of his ministry, including municipalities and governorates. However the heads of municipal councils in Beirut's southern suburb have condemned and rejected the decree and Saniora's approach as a precedent that has nothing do to whatsoever with Lebanese municipalities. "Lebanon is not the 53rd state in the US," said the head of (Ghobeiry's) municipal council Mohamad Said Khansa.

The debate while the sufferings

Thousands in US anti-war protests

source almanartv

28/10/2007 Tens of thousands of people have taken part in demonstrations against the war in Iraq in cities across the United States. Rallies took place in a dozen cities, with the biggest crowds gathering in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. They were timed to coincide with the fifth anniversary of a vote by the US Senate to authorize the Iraq invasion. Those taking part, who included relatives of servicemen fighting in Iraq, urged the US congress to cut off funding for the war. The 'national day of action' was called by the United for Peace and Justice Coalition. One of the national coordinators of the protests said that the "half a trillion" dollars spent on the war was money that could have been used for education, social housing and to feed the hungry. In New York participants gathered in Union Square, before marching on to Foley Square, which is close to many of the city's largest courthouses and government offices. An estimated 10,000 people joined a march in Chicago and in San Francisco there was an even greater turnout. US anti-war ralliers: Impeach Bush Sun, 28 Oct 2007 10:06:30 Demonstrators called for the impeachment of Bush. Tens of thousands of people have staged anti-war rallies in cities across the US calling for the impeachment of Bush for war crimes. They criticized the Bush administration for spending billions of dollars for the war in Iraq, urging the Congress to cut off funding for the war and use the money for education, social housing and feeding the hungry. Heavy rains did not stop rallies in New York, where thousands of people expressed disgust with Bush, voiced support for Palestinians, and opposed the US naval prison at Guantanamo Bay. Demonstrators also condemned Bush's war rhetoric against Iran. A two-minute silence was held in commemoration of the American soldiers and the Iraqi citizens who died since the US invasion on Iraq in 2003. AKM/BGH

US trains terrorists in Afghanistan

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 06:24:32

Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-mohammadi says Washington has established centers in Afghanistan for training terrorists. Referring to Taliban-style recruiting camps used to spread insurgency, Mostafa Pour-mohammadi said the Americans, during the past years, have set up centers in Afghanistan to train and dispatch terrorists to other countries. There are comprehensive evidences proving that the United States is sending terrorists to Iran, Afghanistan and many other countries, said Pour-mohammadi adding that the second US-supported center has been set up in Iraq. According to the minister, the US presence has had a destructive impact on Afghanistan in a way that the annual production of narcotics in the war-shattered country has reached 8,000 tons from 1,000 tons since the US invasion of Afghanistan. Asked about the possibility of a US attack against Iran, the minister said, "Each country or power which attacks Iran, will receive a crushing response. If we are attacked, we will naturally defend our territory and security.” MK/MMN

Morocco receives nuclear help, Iran receives threats!!

The Daily Star-Editorial

25/10/2007 French President Nicolas Sarkozy used a speech in Morocco late Tuesday to buttress Western objections to Iran's nuclear program. Announcing an agreement to help his country's former colony develop civilian nuclear energy, Sarkozy said the deal "is a way of saying to Iran that cooperation is possible and we are not condemned to confrontation." Therein, of course, lays the problem: Cooperation is in fact mandatory under the terms of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and Western countries, led by the United States, began their campaign against Iran's program by openly flouting their obligations and threatening confrontation. This obtuse and patently illegal stance has since been attenuated by statements acknowledging Iran's right to nuclear energy under the NPT - but only if it gives up control of the fuel cycle, a condition nowhere to be found (and in fact specifically prohibited) in the document. To make matters worse, the Western commitment to even this begrudging and partial recognition of international law is highly suspect: Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert - whose country has neither signed nor obeyed the NPT - told a joint news conference with his British counterpart, Gordon Brown, in London this week that sanctions should be placed on Tehran until it ends its nuclear program altogether. Sarkozy, by his own admission, shares this hard-line stance: During Olmert's recent visit to France, Sarkozy said that he and the Israeli premier held "identical" views on the subject of Iran's nuclear program. Given the shameless duplicity of the Western position, it is no wonder that Tehran has refused to bargain away its rights under the NPT: Apart from the pride issues at stake, there is also the likelihood that no compromise will suffice to silence the hypocritical objections of Israel and America. Perhaps the most dangerous possibility is that Iran will (understandably) interpret Western bullying as evidence that an attack is inevitable - and that the only way to deter one is to develop nuclear weapons. This is one of the destabilizing scenarios the NPT was designed to prevent, and no amount of propaganda can obscure the true sources of the crisis.

DARFUR

This article is about the Darfur region of western Sudan.

Darfur ( Arabic دار فور, lit. "home of the Fur") is a region of far western Sudan, bordering the Central African Republic, Libya, and Chad. It is divided into three federal states within Sudan: Gharb Darfur (West Darfur), Janub Darfur (South Darfur), and Shamal Darfur (North Darfur).

It is currently in the midst of an ongoing humanitarian crisis originating from the conflict between militias and rebel groups.

John Garang - From Terrorist to Leader

1945 - 2005

Sudanese advocate for the Bor Dinka people.

Born in Wagkulei, John Garang is from the Bor Dinka people in the southern Sudan and the most influential advocate on their behalf in the face of the Khartoum government. He was educated at Catholic mission schools in southern Sudan and graduated from high school in Tanzania. In 1970 he joined the southern resistance movement, AnyNya, which was later incorporated into the Sudanese armed forces (after the Addis Ababa negotiated peace in 1972). He rose to the rank of colonel in the Sudanese army.

Garang received his bachelor of science degree from Grinnell College in Iowa in 1971 and later returned to the United States for military training at Fort Benning, Georgia. In 1981 he earned a Ph.D. in economics from Iowa State University, focusing on economic development of the southern Sudan. Garang taught at the University of Khartoum and the Khartoum military academy.

The Addis Ababa peace accords broke down after Islamic law was made state law in Sudan. Garang was sent to the south in 1983 to put down the mutinies of southern officers led by Kerubino Kwanyin and William Bany. Instead he joined the revolt and he and a group of other officers and civilians founded the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), of which he became chairman, and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), of which he became commander. Garang was responding to attempts by the Sudanese government under Muhammad Jaʿfar Numeiri to eliminate local autonomy in southern Sudan, which had been agreed to in Addis Ababa in 1972. Garang favored a federal relationship between the southern regions and the government in Khartoum, and also objected to Khartoum's decision to divide the previously united southern region along ethnic lines. He opposed the imposition in September 1983 of shariʿa, or Islamic law, on the non-Muslim south. Garang wrote later that in founding the SPLM his aim was "to create a socialist system that affords democratic and human rights to all nationalities and guarantees freedom of religion, beliefs and outlooks." His movement was quickly categorized as being communist and secessionist, although he denied the validity of both labels.

At various times Garang received support from Libya (until 1985), from Ethiopia (until the fall of Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991), and newly independent Eritrea on Sudan's eastern border, especially under the rule of Isaias Afwerki. Garang found it difficult to attain political unity among his followers because of their diverse ethnic loyalties; for example, he sought to divide the Nuer from the Dinka but in doing so intensified the war. He has also had personal conflicts with his commanders. In the protracted civil war against the Sudan government in Khartoum, neither side has been able to win in this war of attrition, nor has peace been successfully negotiated.

In 1989 an Islamist military regime backed by the National Islamic Front and its leader, Hasan alTurabi, became intransigent on the issue of removing shariʿa as state law. Still not seeking secession, Garang tried to make southern Sudan a world political issue. In this effort he was helped by U.S. Congressperson Mickey Leland, who welcomed him to congressional hearings on Sudan in July 1989. But Leland died in a plane accident shortly afterward. During the 1990s southern Sudan was in the international limelight because of severe food shortages and famine; displacement of humans and loss of life estimated at one to two million persons; the "lost boys," young refugees resettled in the United States; and allegations about the revival of slavery. Since 1995 Garang has been military commander of the opposition National Democratic Alliance forces in Ethiopia and Eritrea, as well as remaining head of the SPLM.

Bibliography

Garang, John. The Call for Democracy in Sudan, 2d revised edition, edited by Mansour Khalid. New York; London: Kegan Paul, 1992.

"John De Mabior Garang." In Historical Dictionary of the Sudan, 3d edition, edited by Richard A. Lobban, Jr., Robert S. Kramer, and Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban. Lanham, MD, and London: Scarecrow Press, 2002.

— PAUL MARTIN, UPDATED BY CAROLYN FLUEHR-LOBBAN

President of Southern Sudan
In office January 9, 2005 – July 30, 2005
Succeeded by	Salva Kiir
Born	June 23, 1945
Political party	SPLM

John Garang de Mabior (June 23, 1945 – July 30, 2005) was the vice president of Sudan and former leader of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army.

Early years

A member of the Dinka ethnic group, Garang was born into a poor family in Wagkulei village, near Bor in the upper Nile region of Sudan. An orphan by the age of ten, he had his fees for school paid by a relative, going to schools in Wau and then Rumbek. In 1962 he joined the first Sudanese civil war, but because he was so young, the leaders encouraged him and others his age to seek an education. Because of the ongoing fighting, Garang was forced to attend his secondary education in Tanzania. After winning a scholarship, he went on to earn a B.A. in economics in 1969 from Grinnell College. He was known there for his bookishness. He was offered another scholarship to pursue graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, but chose to return to Tanzania and study East African agricultural economics as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow at the University of Dar es Salaam. As a member of the University Students' African Revolutionary Front, a student group at the university, he made the acquaintance of Yoweri Museveni, who would go on to become president of Uganda and a close ally. However, Garang soon decided to return to Sudan and join the rebels.

The civil war ended with the Addis Ababa agreement of 1972 and Garang, like many rebels, was absorbed into the Sudanese military. For eleven years, he was a career soldier and rose from the rank of captain to colonel after taking the Infantry Officers' Advanced Course at Fort Benning, Georgia. During this period he took four years academic leave and received a master's degree in agricultural economics and a Ph.D. in economics at Iowa State University, after writing a thesis on the agricultural development of Southern Sudan. By 1983, Col. Garang was the head of the Staff College in Omdurman.

The rebel leader

In 1983, Garang went to Bor, obstensibly to mediate with about 500 southern government soldiers in battalion 105 who were resisting being rotated to posts in the north. However, Garang was already part of a conspiracy among some officers in the Southern Command arranging for the defection of battalion 105 to the anti-government rebels. When the government attacked Bor in May and the battalion pulled out, Garang went by an alternate route to join them in the rebel stronghold in Ethiopia. By the end of July, Garang had brought over 3000 rebel soldiers under his control through the newly-created Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), which was opposed to military rule and Islamic dominance of the country, and encouraged other army garrisons to mutiny against the Islamic law imposed on the country by the government.^[1] This action marked the commonly agreed upon beginning of the Second Sudanese Civil War, which resulted in one and half million deaths over twenty years of conflict. Although Garang was Christian and most of southern Sudan is non-Muslim (mostly animist), he did not initially focus on the religious aspects of the war.

The SPLA gained the backing of Libya, Uganda and Ethiopia. Garang and his army controlled a large part of the southern regions of the country, named New Sudan. He claimed his troops' courage comes from "the conviction that we are fighting a just cause. That is something North Sudan and its people don't have." Critics suggested financial motivations to his rebellion, noting that much of Sudan's oil wealth lies in the south of the country.

Garang in a crowd of supporters

Garang refused to participate in the 1985 interim government or 1986 elections, remaining a rebel leader. However, the SPLA and government signed a peace agreement on 9th January 2005 in Nairobi, Kenya. On July 9, 2005, he was sworn in as vice-president, the second most powerful person in the country, following a ceremony in which he and President Omar al-Bashir signed a power-sharing constitution. He also became the administrative head of a southern Sudan with limited autonomy for the six years before a scheduled referendum of possible secession. No Christian or southerner had ever held such a high government post. Commenting after the ceremony, Garang stated, "I congratulate the Sudanese people, this is not my peace or the peace of al-Bashir, it is the peace of the Sudanese people."

The United States State Department argued that Garang's presence in the government would have helped solve the Darfur conflict in western Sudan, but others consider these claims " excessively optimistic". ^[2]

Death

In late July 2005, Garang died after the Ugandan presidential Mi-172 helicopter he was flying in, crashed. He had been returning from a meeting in Rwakitura with long-time ally President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. Sudanese state television initially reported that Garang's craft had landed safely, but Abdel Basset Sabdarat, the country's Information Minister, went on TV hours later to deny the report. Soon afterwards, a statement released by the office of Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir confirmed that a Ugandan presidential helicopter, crashed into "a mountain range in southern Sudan because of poor visibility and this resulted in the death of Dr. John Garang DeMabior, six of his colleagues and seven Ugandan crew members."[1] His body was flown to New Site, a southern Sudanese settlement near the scene of the crash, where former rebel fighters and civilian supporters have gathered to pay their respects to Garang. Garang's funeral took place on August 3 in Juba.^[3] His widow Rebecca Garang promised to continue his work stating "In our culture we say, if you kill the lion, you see what the lioness will do."^[4]

Questions about death

Both the Sudanese government and the head of the SPLA blamed the weather for the accident. There are, however, doubts as to the truth of this, especially amongst the basis of the SPLA. Yoweri Museveni, the Ugandan president, claims that the possibility of "external factors" having played a role could not be eliminated.

Effect upon Peace

Considered instrumental in ending the civil war, the effect of Garang's death upon the peace deal is uncertain. The government declared three days of national mourning, which did not stop large scale rioting in Khartoum which killed at least 24 as youth from south Sudan attacked north Sudanese and clashed with security forces. After three days of violence, the death toll had risen to 84[2]. Unrest was also reported in other parts of the country. Leading members of the SPLM, including Garang's successor Salva Kiir Mayardit, stated that the peace process would continue. Analysts suggested that the death could result in anything from a new democratic openness in the SPLA, which some have criticized for being overly dominated by Garang, to an outbreak of open warfare between the various southern factions that Garang had brought together.

Partial Bibliography of His Publications:

Garang, John 1992 John Garang Speaks. M. Khalid, ed. London: Kegan Paul International.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Copyrights: Answer.com (edited by e-team)

Sudan People's Liberation Army

Aliases: Sudan People's Liberation Movement

Base of Operation: Sudan

Founding Philosophy: The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) was formed in 1983 to oppose the implementation of shari'a law, or strict Islamic law, by Sudanese President Nimeiri. While the largely Muslim population of Sudan's Northern provinces generally welcomed the change, the Christians and Animists of southern Sudan were alarmed. According to the treaty that had ended the country's first civil war in 1972, the South was to maintain its autonomy from the North. Nimeiri's attempt to implement shari'a nation-wide violated that agreement and created widespread resentment among the Southern population. Sent by the Army to quell a mutiny in the South, Lt. Col. John Garang instead embraced the insurrection and became its leader, forming the SPLA. From an initial nucleus of 500 soldiers in 1983, Garang's rebel army grew rapidly, hitting an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 by 1991. The group's stated goal is the formation of a secular, democratic Sudan. In the mid-nineties, the SPLA became the vanguard element of a rebel umbrella organization, the National Democratic Alliance, which even contained some moderate Muslim parties. The SPLA's success, however, cost the citizens of Sudan dearly. It is estimated that the civil war, which did not cease until 2002, took some 1.5 million lives.

Although the SPLA was primarily designed to perform military operations against the Sudanese Army, it also engaged in a few acts of terrorism against westerners and western interests in the country. In 1999, the SPLA took six Red Cross workers hostage, four of whom died in captivity. Although SPLA spokespeople claim that the deaths occurred during a botched rescue attempt, the Sudanese government claims that they were executed. Two years later, the SPLA claimed responsibility for one successful bombing and one unsuccessful bombing attempt against oil companies operating in Southern Sudan. The SPLA specifically targeted the oil industry to prevent oil proceeds from strengthening the government forces. In 2002 the Khartoum government and the rebels were able to hammer out a power-sharing agreement that has ended, or at least significantly lowered the ferocity of, Sudan's civil war. As part of the implementation of this agreement, John Garang was named Vice-President of Sudan in 2004.

Current Goals: As the SPLA has become a mainstream political force within Sudan, its interest in using terrorism as a means of achieving its goals has waned. On January 9th, 2005, the SPLA signed a peace agreement with the Khartoum regime, officially ending the Civil War that had ravaged Sudan since 1983. Under the terms of the agreement, southern Sudan will gain religious autonomy and a share of the nation's oil wealth. After the 6-year period of autonomy, residents of the South will vote on a referendum on whether to remain a part of Sudan or form an independent nation. Observers both inside and outside of Sudan hope that this peace agreement can also help resolve the violent humanitarian crisis going on in the Darfur region of western Sudan.

(excerpt from terrorist profile by e-team)

NGO COMMITTEE ON DISARMAMENT PEACE & SECURITY

Leading the second Sudanese civil war that began in 1983 was John Garang at the head of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). Armed mainly by the Marxist regime in Ethiopia, his initial call to arms in the south was for a united, secular and "socialist" Sudan. However, as support from American evangelicals grew more significant � Garang is a Christian educated in the United States � socialism was droppe

Azeri official blasts US policies

2007/10/20
04:45:16 È.Ù

Head of the Islam Party in Azerbaijan Republic on Saturday blasted America's policies against the Islamic countries.

Stressing that America is the biggest enemy of Islam, Mohsen Samadov said that "in order to achieve its illigimate goals in the region, America has sent 700,000 Iraqi people to death which is really a genocide of Muslims."

Pointing that America, the Zionist lobbies, Freemasonry groups and other Satanic formations see the Muslims as their enemies, he noted that "Thank God that by approving the 'genocide of Armenians' in America's Congress, the real face of America and the Zionist lobbies was revealed for Azeri politicians. "

Asked by the Di Az news agency, whether he considers America as "the Big Satan," or not, Samadov replied that "regarding the process of formation, history and the current status of America, we can see this reality clearly."

"America even hasn't had mercy to the country's Indians, much less it would have mercy on Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, " he said.

"America is the enemy of Islam and Muslims. It does not want the Islamic countries become powerful," Samadov said

____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ __

Times: US, UK in secret border war with IRG

21/10/2007 The Sunday Times quoted British defense sources as saying that British special forces have crossed into Iran several times in recent months as part of a secret border war against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Al-Quds special forces.
"There have been at least half a dozen intense firefights between the SAS and arms smugglers," the report said.

It added that an SAS squadron is carrying out operations along the Iranian border in Maysan and Basra provinces with other special forces, the Australian SAS and American special-operations troops. Last week, Bob Ainsworth, the armed forces minister, said the Ministry of Defense was unable to say whether British troops had killed or captured any Iranians in Iraq. The ministry declined to comment.

There have been persistent reports of American special-operations missions inside Iran preparing for a possible attack. But the sources, according to the Times, said British troops were solely stopping arms smuggling. The report said the fighting comes amid an increase in US and British intelligence operations against Iran. "Britain’s forces have more than 70 Farsi experts monitoring Iranian communications, and the intelligence is shared with the United States," it stated.

Lebanon Presidential election likely to be postponed, again

Mohamad Shmaysani source almanartv

21/10/2007

A scheduled parliament session this week to elect Lebanon's president is expected to be postponed again as feuding political parties are unable to agree on a consensus candidate, analysts and politicians say. House Speaker Nabih Berri postponed a first session on September 24 in hopes of lawmakers reaching agreement on a consensus candidate to replace the current head of state Emile Lahoud, whose term ends November 24.

The foreign ministers of France, Italy and Spain visited the country Saturday in a diplomatic push for the two sides to reach agreement ends November 24. The foreign ministers of France, Italy and Spain visited the country Saturday in a diplomatic push for the two sides to reach agreement.

Lebanese newspapers expressed optimism following a dinner meeting Friday between Berri and Saad Hariri, the head of the Future parliamentary bloc. Berri said the two had discussed possible candidates for the presidency during their talks which took place in a "positive atmosphere". There are fears that if no president is elected before November 23, Lebanon may end up with two rival governments.

The three European foreign ministers met on Saturday with several Lebanese leaders. They later met party leaders and representatives from across the political spectrum at the French ambassador's residence. "We all felt that the situation was improving, moving towards the better," France's FM Bernard Kouchner said after the last meeting. "I can say that at the end of this long day and with the exception of some small issues, there is positive dialogue. They are not all in agreement ... but they are prepared to negotiate their differences to reach a solution, themselves alone, not us on behalf of them." For his part, Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel-Angel Moratinos said there was a chance for Lebanon to open a new chapter with the election of a new president, a new road towards democracy and freedom. "This is what the Lebanese are desperate for and friends of Lebanon will help them achieve that," he said.

Hezbollah deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Kassem warned that failing to reach a consensus candidate would prompt the Lebanese National Opposition to take substitute steps to preserve the country. "Consensus is the last thing the opposition can offer," Sheikh Kassem said. The deputy Secretary General tackled reports of an intention to build a US airbase in north Lebanon. "Those who are speaking of a US-Lebanese partnership are trying to convince us of the necessity to be crushed in front of the Israeli project, but this will not happen," his eminence warned adding that any US base in Lebanon would be dealt with as a hostile act against Lebanon.

Lebanese opposition representatives stressed during the gathering they have been cooperative in every step taken towards a solution. They added that the opposition had abandoned the demand of forming a national unity government and backed Berri's initiative. They also called on Europe to help ease down Washington pressure on Lebanon. Opposition MPs meanwhile warned against any stance, implication or facilitation to the February 14 bloc to elect a president with the half-plus-one MPs formula instead of the quorum set by the constitution; that is the two-third majority of MPs.

Earlier the ministers visited their respective U.N. contingents in south Lebanon which are part of a UNIFIL force. UNIFIL has been the target of attacks, the most serious of which killed six U.N. troops from the Spanish battalion in June.
Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'alema warned against such attacks, saying no one should even think of carrying them out. "There is a terrorist threat in south Lebanon as well, but ... I tell you that we are here to do our work and no one should even think of threatening the international forces that are in Lebanon," D'alema said after the last meeting. "If there are some terrorists who are thinking of this, then they are wrong," he added.

Villages flee border violence

Ex-ISA detainee gets RM2.5 million

Soon Li Tsin Oct 18, 07 12:29pm

Ex-ISA detainee Abdul Malek Hussin, 51, today won a rare law suit against the government over his arrest and torture in 1998, and was awarded RM2.5 million in damages. Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus in a landmark decision ruled that Abdul Malek's arrest at the height of the reformasi demonstrations was unlawful and that he was assaulted under custody. "The arrest and detention were made in bad faith under Article 5 of the Federal Constitution. "The nature of interrogation was clearly for a political purpose and had nothing to do with genuine concern for national security," Hishamudin told a packed courtroom. Abdul Malek, was arrested under the Internal Security Act - which allows for detention without trial - on the night of Sept 25, 1998, after addressing a demonstration earlier that afternoon in Masjid Negara. This was following the sacking and arrest of Anwar Ibrahim, who was then deputy prime minister. Abdul Malek was detained under the draconian security law for 57 days before he was released without being charged. He filed his civil suit in March 1999, naming special branch officer Borhan Daud, the then Inspector General of Police Abdul Rahim Noor and the government as respondents. Abdul Malek had previously testified that he was stripped naked in an air-conditioned room, blindfolded during interrogation, physically assaulted up to 60 times, beaten until he was unconscious, forced to drink urine and subjected to sexual abuse. He also testified that he saw Rahim punching him at his chin in the interrogation room when his blindfold accidentally dropped. On the assault and battery claims, Hishamudin said he was convinced that it took place after major contradictions were found in the defendants' witnesses compared to Abdul Malek's "consistent statements". Ex-IGP slammed He also opined that the public prosecutor's refusal to prosecute Abdul Malek for making false claims against Rahim implied that there was some truth in his claims. "Both the DPP and police knew there was a lot of truth in the plaintiff's report of assault against the IGP... it shows his report was not a sham," he said. The court also ruled that it was unconstitutional for Abdul Malek to be denied access to his lawyer. When making his decision on the award of exemplary damages, Hishamudin made strong statements about Rahim's conduct as IGP in dealing with Abdul Malek's case. "The despicable conduct of the then IGP Rahim Noor was shameful and a disgrace that shows a bad example to the department of men under his charge. "The award of exemplary damages for the plaintiff is to show the abhorrence of the courts against the gross abuse of power by the police and the use of the ISA," he asserted. Outside the courtroom, Abdul Malek was greeted with cheers from supporters including Abolish ISA Movement (GMI) chairperson Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, rights group Suaram's Yap Swee Seng and corruption watchdog Gerak chairperson Ezam Mohd Noor. Abdul Malek's wife, Faridah Ishak, and two of their children were also present ( right). Bring officers to book Abdul Malek, who is currently the chairperson of polls watchdog Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections (Mafrel), expressed his happiness over the court decision. However, he said the judgment was not about the monetary compensation but bringing the police officers involved in his torture to justice. "It's very traumatic, I tell you. It is not just enough with monetary compensation. Those who tortured me have now gone scot-free and some are promoted. "Many officer have lied in court and gave false testimonies. Those officers involved in the torture should be investigated again. They do not deserve to serve in the force anymore," he told the press. He said he was considering to lodge police report with police headquarters Bukit Aman to investigate the torture and abuse of power by these officers. Abdul Malek also called for the abolition of the ISA saying that "it has no reason to exist in the country". Lawyers R Sivarasa (photo, right) and M Mogananambal appeared for Abdul Malek while senior federal counsel Isnan Ishak represented the defendants. It is unclear if the defendants will appeal the decision as Isnan refused to speak to the press. Landmark decision Attorneys for Abdul Malek said it was the first time that a Malaysian court had awarded significant compensation to a political detainee for illegal detention and abuse. Sivarasa said the verdict was a wake-up call for the government. "This decision should give fresh impetus to the government to set up the long-needed Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to investigate such abuses and this has yet to happen," he told AFP. Groups campaigning against the ISA, which allows for indefinite detention without trial, also welcomed the move. "This sends a message to the government that you cannot entertain such abuse and assault against individuals," said Abolish ISA chairman Syed Ibrahim. "It is good that exemplary damages were given as you really cannot justify the Internal Security Act. Any kind of detention without trial can be opened up to abuse," he added. In an immediate response, Amnesty International Malaysia called on the government to abolish the ISA, which it said was an "arbitrary law that creates a climate for torture and ill-treatment". It said the court verdict "confirms that torture and ill-treatment" occurs in Malaysia under draconian internal security laws that allow for indefinite detention without trial.

Source

- Shamsulkahar

Lebanon Dilemma - Choosing a President

Lebanon's presidential vote; search for consensus Fri, 28 Sep 2007 19:58:03 By Daryoush Bavar, Press TV, Tehran

Lebanon's parliament convened on Tuesday under tight security, but failed to elect a new president. Parliamentary Speaker, Nabih Berri, said in a statement that the session was postponed until October 23 due to the lack of a 'two-thirds quorum'. Lebanon has been locked in political crisis since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005. The Parliament had not convened since November because of a boycott by the opposition who maintain the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is unconstitutional after six opposition cabinet ministers have resigned. They also say the ruling majority is trying to monopolize power in the country. Legislators of the March 14 coalition, who hold a slim majority, attended the session of parliament, but opposition members who had gathered in the building stayed away from the session. The postponement had been expected after the opposition, led by Hezbollah, vowed to boycott the session to block the U.S.-supported majority from electing a president from among their own ranks. Their boycott meant that a quorum, needed to elect a successor to President Emile Lahoud, would not be achieved. The opposition wanted a deal on a consensus candidate before its MPs participated in the session. Parliament needs a two-thirds majority to elect a president in the first round of voting. Under Lebanon's sectarian-based political structure, the president must be a Christian Maronite. This is Lebanon's worst political crisis since the country's civil war during 1975-1990 conflict. Failure to agree on a president could result in two rival governments, plunging the country deeper into instability. In a sign of a possible re-conciliation in the 10-month-old political crisis, the pro-government majority and the opposition both said they were ready for dialogue before a possible vote on October 23. "From now, and until October 23 we have a new chance, it is a real chance for reconciliation," Berri told As-Safir newspaper. The delay in electing a new president was seen by the pro-government and opposition groups as a last chance to prevent an escalation in the political crisis in Beirut. During the brief parliament session, leaders of the ruling majority and the opposition renewed contacts. As-Safir newspaper reported that although the parliamentary session failed to elect a new president, it did provide an entente between the camps. Berri, on Monday, had expressed optimism that a compromise would be reached by the deadline when Lahoud's term ends. Berri said: "By November 24, there will be a president of the republic who will have the approval of all Lebanese." "We are hopeful for good results at the end. And this will not happen without both sides ... working together to salvage the country," Berri added. The ruling majority share the same optimism. "Despite everything, we continue to seek constructive dialogue ... to salvage the presidential election and save Lebanon from the danger of falling into a vacuum," it said in a statement. Majority leader Saad al-Hariri said the session was a chance to "open the door to a solution and dialogue." The pro-government ruling block has expressed their desire "to salvage the election and save Lebanon from falling into a presidential vacuum" through constructive dialogue with the opposition. Failing to agree on a consensus candidate could prompt the feuding groups to form two rival governments, plunging the country deeper into instability. Whenever there have been signs of rapprochement, terrorists have torpedoed the process. Lawmaker Antonie Ghanem was the latest person to be assassinated in a car bombing. The opposition says Ghanem's assassination was intended to foil attempts at reconciliation. With the political climate now showing signs of a thaw, it remains to be seen how far rival factions will go to reconcile. Realizing the need to reach consensus on a new president seems to be the only way out of the political deadlock in Lebanon.

Hezbollah slams Congress bill
Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:23:09

Hezbollah slams US congress bill

Hezbollah has condemned US interference in Lebanon's internal affairs calling it a cover up for its crimes in Palestine and Iraq.

The US Congress has passed a bill stressing the importance of Lebanon's presidential elections being held on time and accusing Syria of hindering the process.

Hezbollah has issued a statement saying that no bill passed by the US Congress would be recognized or its aims and outcomes deliberated.

"The people of Lebanon desire complete freedom and do not appreciate any foreign interference" the statement said.

Although the US professes to have no desire to interfere in Lebanon's affairs, many Lebanese prominent political and religious figures believe that Washington's constant meddling in Lebanon's domestic issues is the main problem.

"The US intends to postpone Lebanese talks until the Israeli regime can sort out its problems in the region" the statement added.

Banned Anti War Protest takes place in LOndon

Anti War movement in US - a Reminder

Waziristan Mujahideen kill 40 as 250 Pak soldiers said massacred by own forces

Publication time: 10 October 2007, 19:39

Finally the much feared assault on Waziristan has been unleashed by apostate Musharraf regime using heavy artillery, attack helicopters and air force jets, pounding suspected Mujahideen positions in the populous area of Mirali. There are conflicting claims of casualties on both sides amid reports of heavy civilian deaths and indiscriminate bombing of population centers. The assault comes just a day before the new military command of Munafiqeen Pakistan Army took charge on 8th October. The present fighting around Mirali s been described as the heaviest since 2001.

Heaviest Assault Ever

The military experts have described the current operation as the heaviest since the apostate Musharraf regime joined the so called US War on Terror against Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan, betraying the Taliban Mujahideen and selling the Arab Mujahideen to US intelligence in exchange for dollars. There was already continuous build up of heavy artillery around the tribal areas for the last few months and it came to prominence just after Lal Mosque Massacre orchestrated by apostate Musharraf and his butcher commanders. The Mujahideen began striking heavy blows on the Pak forces stationed in the frontier province especially in Swat area adjoining tribal areas. As earlier reported by JUS, the assault feared as imminent is finally in full swing.

The current assault began on Sunday, when Mujahideen ambushed a security check post and an army convoy as part of their ongoing campaign against Munafiqeen army. The Munafiqeen army employed attack helicopters and air force jets to strike at Mujahideen positions. There were initial reports of deaths of 25 Pak soldiers and martyrdom of 65 Mujahideen but later the casualty figures of Pak Munafiqeen were revised to more than 50. The Musharraf regime forces are heavily pounding the population areas of Mirali in North Waziristan resulting in martyrdom of atleast 52 civilians including innocent women and children. The area of Mirali had become a stronghold of the Mujahideen after the fragile Waziristan Peace Accord took effect last year. Moreover there are reports of over 50 Munafiqeen troops gone missing in Mirali who are believed to be captured by Mujahideen.

According to reports the fate of more than 250 soldiers taken captive by Mujhideen hangs in balance amid unconfirmed reports that apostate Musharraf's forces have bombed and massacred all of them.

According to reports from local officials there is intense fighting going on in various areas around Mirali including Barro Khel, Maski, Essu Khel, Khushali and Hyder Khel throughout the night while more Mujahideen strikes were reported on Pak army check posts in Miranshah. According to Pak Mercenaries spokesman Maj Gen Waheen Arshad, the Mujahideen are highly trained and are getting ammunition from Afghanistan. A mercenary official reported from the area that three foreign Mujahideen were martyred during a clash in Mulgam near Miranshah including one Uzbek and two Arabs. There are also unconfirmed reports of Arab Mujahideen being martyred. The reports mention that most of the foreign Mujahideen in the Mirali area are Uzbeks who would certainly fight alongside local Mujahideen.

The local population has started leaving the area headed for safer places. The wounded people taken to Miranshah hospitals speak of very high number of civilian deaths and heavy destruction. In Mirali, the electricity supply has been severely damaged by intense bombing by apostate forces plunging the area into darkness. A local eye witness reported that he saw around ten security vehicles completely destroyed due to Mujahideen rocket attack on the convoy. A local journalist witnessed 14 dead Pak mercenaries in Hissu Khel and around 30 in Khushali area. There were also reports of downing of army helicopter, the claim army sources strongly deny. Over 30 Munafiqeen dead bodies are also reported to have been recovered.

What really is happening

Amid analysis and speculation as what really is happening in the tribal areas, the closer observation of the situation for the past few months and the nature of conflict the Pak mercenaries are involved in unveil many facts and trends. The recent assault on Waziristan in neither sporadic nor unplanned but a part of well planned military maneuver by the apostate forces. Narrowing down the focus on the region where the intense fighting between the foreign and local Mujahideen and apostate Pak forces is taking place, and tracking the developments taking place during past few months after fragile Waziristan Peace Accord was put in effect last year the true picture comes to light.

The nature of war that the Pakistani army is waging and the Mujahideen are confronting in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan is termed in the military as "Low Intensity Conflict (LIC)", that is described in a spectrum of conflicts chalked out by US military analyst, that involves state armed forces normally trained for traditional warfare and insurgency groups who employ guerilla and urban warfare tactics to strike the enemy. This can be described as "asymmetric warfare". Such kind of conflict needs a favourable population bases where Mujahideen can take refuge and gather resources while easily blending in the local population after carrying out strikes and ambushes on regime's forces. According to Mao Tse Dong, a communist revolutionary who led and won a communist insurgency in China, loyal and favourable population is to the insurgent what water is to fish and fish cannot live in dirty waters. Like previous guerilla wars the training bases and resource centers for Mujahideen are established in inaccessible regions with harsh terrain like forests and mountains. This gives mobility and security to the guerillas' operations and provides for secure bases in which to train and hide, but availability of friendly local population is essential for insurgency in terms of resources and recruitment as well as human cover to some extent. If the regimes forces successfully manage to separate the insurgent from the local population and isolate them in mountains and forests then it gives a heavy blow to insurgency. But in situations where the Mujahideen manage to blend in and take refuge in friendly population the regime forces use all means available and feasible to separate them from local population as first priority. The set of options available to regime's forces include a range of operations including putting the population center under siege and giving an ultimatum to local people to leave the area to avoid indiscriminate bombing. If the local population does not leave either due to the inability or out of support to Mujahideen or guerillas, the regime forces carry out strikes on suspected targets based on credible or no intelligence that may perish innocent civilians but it serves in exerting psychological pressure on the civilians to leave for shelter and isolate the Mujahideen.

After making sure that the resistance has been weakened or neutralized, the regular commandoes with cover fire from regular troops besieging the area move in to clear the area of any residual resistance. This phase involves urban warfare tactics including close range door to door combat to secure strategic buildings of military or psychological significance. This phase is also backed by aerial bombardment from air force or army helicopters. The intelligence based on modern surveillance and local human informants plays vital role in the success of such operations. During the final phase, the regular forces move in to track and destroy any underground bunkers or hideouts of any other sort to kill or capture remaining Mujahideen to avoid possibility of ambushes. Now it must have been noticed that during military operations of this kind, the civilian population is not considered as sacred as thought in the non military circles. In such operations there is always fear of huge innocent civilian casualties excluding those which may involve summary execution or massacre of injured or captured sympathizers, rape of women and brutality on children. In recent times, the regime forces also employ chemical weapons and incendiary bombs to crush the resistance before moving the eilte commando troops in. Sometime chemical weapons like while phosphorus is used to eliminate the dead bodies in order to remove the evidence of massacres. US forces employed the same tactics of urban warfare during their assault in Fallujah in 2004 and were matched by apostate Musharraf's forces during "fake" Lal Mosque operation that massacred more than 2000 innocent women and children.

Weather plays important role during such operations. Observing the history of such operations, one can clearly conclude that autumn season is mostly chosen for such kind of operations. US invasion of Afghanistan was carried out on 8th October, 2001, the same day on which the new military commanders take charge in Pakistan military. The US assault of Fallujah was carried out during same season. Whether it has something to do with Ramadhan is another debate. But the part of reason autumn is chosen is purely military domain. This season is followed by harsh winters in mountainous areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan's tribal belt. The first priority of the regime's forces is to crush the resistance in population areas and secure or occupy the area to deny any training ground, resources, refuge and time to the Mujahideen to regroup and reorganize. The insurgent forces would either be killed or captured or would be pushed to surrounding mountains where harsh terrain and approaching winter shall limit their ability to regain their lost resources or capability to reorganize to previous levels. Then the mountain areas where Mujahideen are suspected to have retreated to are surrounded and heavily bombed using heavy artillery and air power to eliminate any residual insurgent elements. This is what happened during 2001 invasion of Afghanistan when Mujahideen forces after being forced out from population areas of Ghazni and Gardez due to intense bombing on civilians areas, towards mountains of Tora Bora and Shahi Kot were surrounded and heavily bombed and gassed. This whole operation is planned to finalize before harsh winter approaches when it becomes difficult for regime's forces to move freely against Mujahideen targets.

Now keeping the above pattern in mind, the present situation in Waziristan can easily be understood as to what the apostate Pakistani mercenaries are planning to achieve before winter approaches. The town of Mirali in North Waziristan had become a new stronghold of foreign and local Mujahideen consolidated their positions and arranged the area for training and organization after heavy defeat of munafiqeen forces led to Waziristan Peace Accord. The peace accord in such conflict situation is never meant to keep permanent peace as this serves no objective to regime forces. These peace accords or prolonged ceasefires are planned to serve a number of objectives including availability of ample time to re-strategize the regime's military plans, regain the morale of forces on ground badly eroded by defeats at the hand of Mujahideen, reassessment of capabilities and strengths and finally wait for winter to pass. On the other hand the Mujahideen also gain time to reorganize and consolidate their positions and reassess their plans. Now there were two possibilities regarding current military assault. Either it would be launched after December when harsh winter had passed and gain the subsequent time to amass ammunition and arm the forces on the ground or during this season before winter approaches to secure as much ground as possible. If this assault fails or suffers heavy defeat then it shall be halted and peace negotiations shall be given chance otherwise it shall continue no matter how ruthless or merciless it may seem because military minds only know how to win lands and they are least concerned how people feel as their emotional spillover can easily be pacified by using public relations decoys like a missile test to boost public morale and confidence in present apostate regime.

It must be noticed that the current operation is being complimented by already ongoing operation on the Afghan side of border by NATO and Afghan mercenaries. This is hammer and anvil approach to crush the mujahideen from both sides and denying them any space to flee the area where they may gain time and space to reorganize and regroup. This time the operations seems to have been designed to eliminate the Mujahideen in Waziristan once and for all and destroy the alleged Al Qaeda bases and uproot its network that is being speculated by US experts to have grown stronger and more capable to plans more strikes inside the United States on much larger scale as compared to 9/11.

The new military command that has taken charge on this Monday, 8th October, includes Gen Pervez Kiyani , the ex-ISI chief and strong loyalist of Musharraf and vice chief Gen Tariq Majid, the butcher of Lal Mosque and Jamia Hafsa, who was Corp Commander Rawalpindi and who orchestrated and conducted the operation under Musharraf's orders involving 15000 regular troops besieging the Lal Mosque complex while Zarrar Company of Special Services Group (SSG), the elite Pakistani Commandos assaulted and massacred the innocent believers, girls, women and children. The apostate Musharraf has been successfully able to install his loyalist munafiqeen down to Major ranks in Pakistani military whose hands are one way or another strained with blood of innocents and Mujahideen. The Pakistani military does include many officers who are deeply religious and abhor the current massacres but they are either among lower ranks and those in higher ranks have gradually dropped out through normal retirement procedures following low chances of promotions.

In these circumstances, it would be vital for Mujahideen forces to intensify their attacks on bases, the communications infrastructure and especially the supply lines of apostate military forces to throw the situation in balance atleast. The recent strikes targeting commandoes and intelligence personnel have mainly been of revenge nature. It remains to be seen how this assault progresses notwithstanding fears of massacres and mass murder as Musharraf's hands are strengthened by recent political arrangement aligning with corrupt and criminal secular parties to secure next five year term as President of the Islamic nation.

Source: Jihad Unspun

Kavkaz Center
(note terms used are original writers and not from e-team)