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Saturday, March 20, 2010

Iranians celebrate Persian New Year, Nowruz

Iranians around the globe celebrate the Persian New Year, Nowruz, marking the first day of spring, as a time of renewal, hope and change.

For Iranians, Nowruz is a celebration of new beginnings, a time to visit relatives and friends, and pay respect to senior family members.

Preparation for Nowruz begins with spring cleaning, buying new clothes and setting the Haft Seen, a table containing seven items starting with the letter 'S' — Sabzeh (freshly grown greens), Samanou (sweet wheat paste), Senjed (Jujube), Seeb (apple), Seer (garlic), Somagh (sumac) and Serkeh (vinegar).

Senior family members give presents to their juniors and people renew their friendships and start the New Year with kindness and amity.

Meaning 'new day', Nowruz is celebrated by over 300 million people worldwide on March 21st, the day of the vernal equinox.

The ancient tradition of Nowruz and the rebirth of nature is observed in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Middle East.

The United Nations General Assembly recognized March 21st as the International Day of Nowruz during its sixty-fourth session on Feb 23, 2010.

The Assembly called on its Nowruz-celebrating member states to study the ancient festival's "history and traditions with a view to disseminating that knowledge among the international community and organizing annual commemoration events."

Nowruz was also registered on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on September 30, 2009.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=121281§ionid=351020105.

Russians advise U.S. how to ensclave Afghans

Two Russian veterans of the Soviet Afghan war privately warned Gen. Stanley McChrystal last summer that the key to winning the war would be to pay off the Taliban. The official who wrote up a summary of two meetings between the Russians and US military commanders also wrote that one of the "key take-aways" from the meetings was that extra troops were not the key to victory, the ABC news reported in Friday.

The ABCNews.com has obtained a document summarizing the discussions between two veterans of the Soviet Union's failed Afghan war and McChrystal, the top US general in Afghanistan, during an August 2009 video teleconference. The document also summarizes a private in-person meeting in Moscow between the two Russians and American Brig. Gen. Henry Nowak, the ABC News says.

It is to be mentioned that Gen. McChrystal and Brig. Gen. Henry Nowak surely had talks with active Russian military leadership and not with "veterans" who held the rank of lieutenants during the Russian aggression against Afghanistan 30 years ago.

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/03/20/11678.shtml.

Finnish newspaper published a scenario of war with Russia in 2010

Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat published a scenario of war between Russia and Finland. The action plan was prepared for publication by military experts, who reported the details of military operations.

"A Russian cruise missile flies along the coast of the Gulf of Finland at a low altitude, below the range of Finnish radar. Near Porvoo the computer-guided system turns the accelerator rocket on. The missile rises to an altitude of about 200 meters, takes its course, and finally hits the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) compound in Pasila, in Helsinki", thus Russian attack on a peaceful Finland begins.

Further the newspaper noted that the television and radio broadcasts are cut off in Finland and a chaos start. Authorities are trying to bring the situation under control.

"By decree of the President, the law of the "state of defense" is declared to be in force. The state restricts freedom of assembly and movement, as well as political and economic activities. Interference with private property and censorship become possible", newspaper reports.

The Russian jet fighters rushing to the Helsinki region at supersonic speed suffer their first losses in dogfights with Finnish Hornets. The Defense Forces have moved the country's leaders to safety. The Defense Forces call the reservists.

"On the Karelian Isthmus, Russia's motorized army charges ahead with a force in the tens of thousands, with artillery and air support. The aim is to reach the Finnish capital in two days. However, the forward movement of the forces stops east of the Kymi River, when the Russians confront the Finnish readiness brigades concentrated in the area", Finish paper wrote.

No fixed front lines are established, and the Pasi armored personnel carriers take fighters from one place to another. Russia brings hundreds of tanks from behind the Ural Mountains. Their weaponry can include the infamous depleted uranium armor-piercing shells, the paper said. "Military hospitals fill up.

The highways fill up with lines of refugees heading for summer cottages and Sweden", the Finish paper marks.

The Russians aggressors drop paratroopers at key locations in the Helsinki region. Their aim is to disrupt the distribution of electricity, water, and food.

"The war is ultimately decided in the air. The other side is hugely overpowering. Russia's air force has more than 1,200 jet fighters, and over 700 fighter-bombers, while Finland has just over 100 fighters - 62 Hornets and 49 Hawks", the paper wrote.

Russia does not get the quick victory that it had hoped for as Finland gets plenty of diplomatic support from around the world.

It is to be mentioned that is not for the first time when Russia attack a peaceful, freedom-loving Finland.

On November 30, 1939, after 3 months after the start of the Second World War, the Russian invaders attacked a neutral Finland. The war of the Russian aggressor with the Finnish people continued until March 13, 1940, when the government was forced to sign in Moscow enslaving conditions and to give Russia a Finnish ancestral land, which Russia is brazenly and shamelessly still holding by force.

Russia has taken away from Finland 11% of its territory, despite the fact that it was the best land, and 30% of economic resources.

The mean Russian aggressor hastened to make a peace with Finland in fear of sending the Anglo-French expeditionary force in northern Scandinavia to help the country.

The initial goal of Russians was to seize the whole of Finland and the transform its population into the Russian slaves.

Department of Monitoring,
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/03/20/11677.shtml.

India trying to erode Muslim majority status of IHK: Gilani

Srinagar, March 20 (KMS): Senior Kashmiri Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani has said that efforts are being made to reduce the Muslim majority status of occupied Kashmir.

Syed Ali Gilani addressing a public gathering in Islamabad town said that there was around 85 percent population of Muslims as per census before 1945 and later, it was reduced to 69 percents and there were concerted efforts under a pre-planned conspiracy to reduce the Muslim majority character of the occupied territory. “The census is carried by non-state subjects and they are tasked to accomplish the job to erode the Muslim status,” he added.

He also reiterated the demand to reduce the duration of Amarnath yatra back to earlier times, adding that only a limited number of pilgrims should be allowed as a huge influx posed a dire threat to the water resources and glaciers of Jammu and Kashmir. “Earlier, the yatra lasted only 15 days, but now it has been stretched to nearly four months,” he maintained.

The veteran Kashmiri Hurriyet leader also demanded the inclusion of true representatives of Kashmiris in dialogue process, saying that the dialogue should be meaningful and result-oriented. He said that withdrawal of troops from the occupied territory was imperative for making the dialogue meaningful.

“Indian troops have occupied land against our wishes. Jawaharlal Lal Nehru promised withdrawal of Indian forces and granting right to self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir but the promise has not been fulfilled despite the passage of six decades,” Gilani said, adding that Kashmiri would continue their peaceful struggle till last trooper left the valley.

Syed Ali Gilani said, “Our water resources have been handed over to Delhi for power generation while we get only 11 percent of electricity as royalty and our cities, towns and villages continue to reel under darkness.”

Source: Kashmir Media Service.
Link: http://www.kmsnews.org/news/india-trying-erode-muslim-majority-status-ihk-gilani.

Indian army occupy Ganderbal's tourist spot

Srinagar, March 20 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, Prang in central district of Ganderbal, once regarded as one of the famous tourist resorts in the valley, has now virtually vanished, as it has been occupied by Rashtriya Rifles since 2004.

Bestowed with a natural beauty, with River Indus running on the west, a beautiful forest on the east and a unique quality of its cool breeze and natural vegetation has no more remained a tourist resort. Its charm may soon become history as it has been virtually turned into an army camp.

Recalling the past, Mushtaq Ahmad, 30, said that he used to go there in his childhood when he was a student of 6th class. "I was surprised to see that it has turned into an army camp," Mushtaq, who is now a doctor, said.

Many people of the valley who remember their beautiful moments spent at Prang, eulogizing its natural beauty and tourism value, are shocked at the Army camp located there.

Some of the locals told media men that army was occupying the whole area of the once famous picnic spot and it was being converted into a full-fledged army base camp. Mukhtar Ahmad, a resident said that Prang had lost its sheen and was no more a picnic spot after the Indian army occupied it.

Another local, Nazir Ahmad said that a huge chunk of the local people was associated with the tourism trade of the picnic spot and as a result of establishment of army camp they too had lost their livelihood that had hit the economy of the area.

Source: Kashmir Media Service.
Link: http://www.kmsnews.org/news/indian-army-occupy-ganderbals-tourist-spot.

Kashmir not an issue of bad governance but of self-determination: Mirwaiz

Geneva, March 20 (KMS): During the 13th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, a seminar entitled, “Overcoming Barriers to Realizing the Self-determination” was organized by “The International Educational Development”, an NGO accredited with the United Nations.

The seminar was chaired by the Executive Director of Kashmir Center Washington, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai. In his opening remarks, Dr Fai reminded the listeners that self-determination was a basic principle of the United Nations and that self-determination and peace and international security were interrelated. The denial of right to self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, he said, has brought India and Pakistan, both important countries, to the brink of nuclear catastrophe.

“For last 63 years they have been talking about Kashmir but there has been no face of the people of Kashmir. We want to make it clear that when the UN gave the right of self-determination, it also gave it to the people of Kashmir, whatever their religion, wherever they live,” he said. Therefore, he added, the genuine leadership of Kashmir must be included in the talks. For the talks to be meaningful, Dr Fai suggested that there should be an envoy of ‘an international standing’ acceptable to India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris. He proposed that Bishop Desmond Tutu should be appointed as the special envoy.

The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in his presentation said, the APHC has time and again tried to talk about Jammu and Kashmir with a view to present the real situation on the ground. It is a political dispute, it is not a territorial issue between India and Pakistan, it is an issue concerning the fate of more than 15 million people. We believe unless and until the international community, especially the UN, comes forward, the dispute cannot be resolved.

The government of India, he said, has tried to camouflage the dispute by putting irrelevant issues. “It is not an issue of bad governance or giving people economic benefits. Nor is it an issue, which has been sponsored by Pakistan since 1947. It is high time the government of India realizes that such a huge movement that has been there since 1947 and especially after 1990 is a peoples’ struggle. The government of India has to stop people viewing Kashmir from the prism of Pakistan,” he said. The Mirwaiz pointed out that hundreds of thousands of people had been killed, tortured, jailed, and were still missing and added that no struggle of such magnitude could be sponsored by an external party.

“Who are these people who are dying? They are Kashmiris, not Pakistanis, who have stood up for their basic rights, their right of self-determination. We urge the international community that the Kashmiris seek a bright and better future for all peoples of South Asia, which is not possible without peace in Jammu and Kashmir,” he maintained.

Affirming that the struggle was not a terrorist or extremist one, the Mirwaiz said that the All Parties Hurriyet Conference had taken the initiative to initiate a dialogue even when doing so presented grave risks. “We came forward and said it is time to talk, even when the dialogue process was not working.” He deplored that although India talked about peace in Kashmir, however, its approach was totally military. “They speak the language of peace but they talk through the barrel of the gun,” he said. The APHC Chairman indicated that it was ‘far from reality’ to think that the people of Kashmir would forget their struggle and he believed that the recent uprisings of 2008 and 2009 were indicative of the strength of a peaceful movement of protest. “We had more than a million people marching. They were not people with guns, or hand grenades, they were people who were asking for their rights to be restored to them; but the response was brute force,’ he lamented.

The Mirwaiz said that although India claimed to be the biggest and largest democracy of the world but her views in relation to Kashmir were very negative, particularly in relation to the black laws, which had enabled the military forces to act with impunity, especially the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the Disturbed Areas Act. The APHC, he said, has made suggestions regarding the repeal of the black laws, the release of political prisoners and gradual demilitarization to give the people, strangled under oppression for the last twenty years, some respite.

The Mirwaiz also made it clear that Kashmiris wished well to the people of India but it was important to realize that the issues won’t disappear, unless they were addressed. “It is high time that we all sit together. The time has come when we need to come forward, if we continue to evade the problem we will have a situation like in 1965 and 1971 when India and Pakistan fought wars, but now these two countries have nuclear weapons. We Kashmiris want to talk, to engage, to let the dialogue process be meaningful, let there be a mechanism. We need a system of engagement,’ he said.

Lord Nazir Ahmed, the Member of British House of Lords expressed the opinion that the UN resolutions were the only legal documents, which existed in relation to Kashmir. He pointed out that since 9/11 the world had changed, adding, “Whereas support was given for a UN administered plebiscite in East Timor, as well as to self-determination in the former Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, since 9/11 the UN position has weakened.” He said, ‘We now have a situation where those who have been oppressed, are called terrorists, it is very unfortunate, the language has changed. We need to get back to the values, which the UN stood up for. The UN authority needs to be reinstated.” One way for its authority to be reinstated, Lord Ahmed suggested, was for a special criminal tribunal to be set up under international law to investigate those who are responsible for the unmarked graves.

Lord Nazir Ahmed said, the UN ought not to allow any country that disregards the UN Security Council resolutions to join the Security Council and have permanent membership. “I think that it is time for the Secretary General to say enough is enough, if we can have a special envoy on Afghanistan Iraq, then we need a special envoy on Kashmir,” he added. Lord Nazir also indicated that Kashmiris should be included in any discussions and a start could be made in releasing political prisoners and investigating custodial disappearances in occupied Kashmir.

Ambassador Zamir Akram, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN office in Geneva, pointed out that the two longest and most deserving cases on the UN agenda in terms of self-determination were Palestine and Jammu and Kashmir. ‘We see a lot of attention being given to Palestine, as it should be, but Kashmir gets very little international coverage, which is regrettable. But it does not detract from the fact that the denial of the right of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir is a violation of the Human Rights charter. Self-determination is a fundamental human right and this right has been granted to the people of Jammu and Kashmir more than 60 years ago,” he added. Ambassador Akram also emphasized that, for successive Pakistani governments, the commitment to allowing the people of Jammu and Kashmir their self-determination lies at the heart of our policy, because self-determination was also the basis on which Pakistan was created. Unfortunately, he said, the UN guided plebiscite was not held in Jammu and Kashmir and today the situation in Jammu and Kashmir presented a grave danger to international peace and security, not just regional.

Akram reminded his listeners that following the 1998 nuclear tests by Pakistan and India, the then US President, Bill Clinton had described Kashmir as the most dangerous place in the world. “That danger has not subsided. With every day this danger is accentuated. Pakistan and India have engaged off and on in negotiations in a dialogue, which has so far proved to be sterile. Unfortunately our Indian interlocutors have lacked the political will to negotiate in good faith. In our view the United Nations resolutions calling for a plebiscite provide the only viable solution to this dispute, because this dispute can only be resolved on the basis of the wishes of the people,’ he added.

In relation to the role of the international community, he said that it had not delivered either on its political commitments or on human rights. “However, by a queer twist of international politics and the strategic environment in South Asia, which had involved the United States in the region especially in relation to Afghanistan, it seemed that some hope was emerging for a possible solution,” he said. The US realizes that in order for it to have a safe and honorable withdrawal from Afghanistan, it needs to deal with the security concerns of India and Pakistan, which means dealing with the heart of the problem and the heart of the problem is Jammu and Kashmir, he added.

Dr Karen Parker, UN delegate of the International Education Development, suggested that it was necessary to give more meat on the bones to understand the principle of self-determination. ‘So we have an idea of what we are talking about,” she maintained. Self-determination, she said, is not just a term, it is a legal term and it has elements. “There are five basic points to self-determination, firstly, people have the right to self-determination when they have an identifiable territory, when you hear the word Kosovo you can see it, you know where it is, or Western Sahara, or the Moluccas, you know where they are on the map.” The second element, she suggested, was that the people had to had a period of governing themselves in their land. Thirdly, there is normally some distinction, be it cultural, linguistic or religious. Despite the paternalism inherent in the fourth and fifth elements, the people have to demonstrate a will for self-determination and they have to show they have the capacity, these two were also valid elements in defining self-determination. Moreover, as Dr Parker pointed out, “You can’t give the right and then take it away, as has happened with the Kashmiris and then let it vanish. Describing Kashmir as particularly hot, she said that the situation was going to need greater impetus for there to be a resolution.

Internationally renowned peace activist, Dr Angana Chatterji, Co-Chair of the International Peoples Tribunal, spoke in relation to issues, which she had encountered while working in Kashmir. The Kashmir conflict, she said, relates to issues of identity and history, territory and resources. “India Pakistan and China have fought wars over this territory. Whereas India considers the dispute to be an internal matter and that militarization is necessary to secure its borders, in reality the period between 1947 and 1987 witnessed a peoples’ struggle for non-violent self-determination. In 1988 they began an armed struggle before reverting again to non-violence,” she maintained. In order to achieve its objectives, Chatterji said that the Government of India has been responsible for using ‘discipline and death’ as a means of social control, which has resulted in 70,000 deaths, more than 8,000 enforced disappearances between 1989 and 2009 adding that 60,000 people had been tortured, 100,000 had been orphaned and there was also a high rate of people with suicidal behavior and the tragic plight of the half widows who did not know whether their husbands were dead or alive. ‘Periods of long detention and interrogation have had a brutalizing effect,’ she said, adding, ‘I speak having made thirteen trips to the valley since July 2006, after hundreds of thousands of testimonials.’

Chatterji also highlighted that there were 600,000 Indian military personnel in Jammu and Kashmir, which continued to act with impunity, occupying 10.5 million kanals of land on which there were 671 security camps. Detailing her work with Advocate Pervez Imroz on mass graves discovered in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, she said that they documented 2700 unknown graves, 2943 bodies in 55 villages in 3 districts, which hold the bodies of people executed arbitrarily. In relation to the current wave of protests, she said that these were taking place in response to human rights violations in an attempt ‘to address the lacuna in civil society leadership. In closing, Dr Chatterji offered a fragment of a testimonial from a grave digger who said that he had been forced to dig the graves of about 260 people, who described ‘thick soil pressed with bodies, dead in encounters and barbed wire which strangles our land.’

Ms Victoria Schofield, Independent South Asian Analyst and author of Kashmir in the Crossfire and Kashmir in Conflict endorsed the definition of self-determination given by Dr Karen Parker. She said that main hurdle was the attitude of the Indian government which opposed a change in the status quo. Schofield indicated that there were some preliminary objectives such as demilitarization, which could be achieved.

The Executive Director of the Kashmir Center London, Professor Nazir Shawl, suggested that a look at the global arena revealed many conflicts with undemocratic structures and draconian laws. Citing Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, he agreed that the real test of democracy was not what was said in the constitution but how it functioned on the ground. Referring to his own background as an inhabitant of Indian occupied Kashmir, who had been forced to leave the valley, he suggested that if the siege of the army was to be lifted, and people were to be provided with political space, they would throng on the streets. “An ostrich like approach does not solve problems,” he said, adding that that it was the time that the international community acknowledged the gravity of the international dispute as it continued to promote cold war in South Asia. The Kashmiris’ struggle for self-determination, he said, should not be considered as merely a historical burden. “Geopolitical factors should not become an impediment but a source of facilitation in the interests of regional and global peace. The world’s largest military presence has failed to extinguish the flames of freedom,’ he said. Professor Shawl affirmed that there could be no military solution to Kashmir and it was time for India and Pakistan to accept the Kashmiris as partners for resolution. Finally, Professor Shawl pointed out that millions of people in India and Pakistan would welcome a settlement to the lingering dispute. ‘But it should not be dilution of our aspirations. It should not be a hollow truce or patchwork, but a comprehensive agreement,” he added.

Barrister Abdul Majeed Tramboo, the Chairman of Kashmir Center Brussels emphasized that the Kashmir is an issue of self-determination. ‘I believe self-determination is the only solution for the Kashmir dispute within the legal framework of the United Nations,” he maintained. He also pointed out that the issue of unnamed mass graves had been raised in the European Parliament but that it was also necessary to have a hearing at the UN in Geneva in order to ensure an impartial investigation.

Sardar Amjad Yousuf, the Executive Director of Kashmir Institute for International Relations pointed out that the Kashmiris had been facing a difficult situation. ‘We have displacement of more than 500, 000 people from the Line of Control (LoC). He also said that there were at least eight different maps of the state of Jammu and Kashmir depending on particular viewpoint. “There is an Indian map, a Pakistani map, a Chinese map, even an American CIA map,” he said.

Ms Shugufta of University of Azad Kashmir, Kotli elaborated in her paper that the idea and implementation of the right to self-determination was embedded deep in roots of history of civilized world. It is a building block of international law. “The UN Charter provides an environment to different nations of the world to develop a friendly relation among them based upon the principle of right to self-determination,” she said. Shugufta said that in 1947, two new nations, India and Pakistan emerged in South Asia. “With these two countries, decolonization was launched on the basis of the right of self-determination. What was good for itself was not considered suitable for the people of Indian occupied Kashmir,” she deplored.

The session ended with Nazir Quereshi, Vice President, World Kashmir Freedom Movement, thanking those who had attended the seminar. He pointed out that the continued occupation of Jammu and Kashmir by India had turned the land into a garrison. “In this connection I would say that a step towards the right of self-determination would be demilitarization of the area,” he added.

Source: Kashmir Media Service.
Link: http://www.kmsnews.org/news/kashmir-not-issue-bad-governance-self-determination-mirwaiz.

World urged to support Kashmiris' liberation struggle

Srinagar, March 20 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, the Hurriyet leaders have appealed to the international community to come forward in a big way to support the Kashmiris’ struggle aimed at securing their right to self-determination. The leaders including Syed Ali Gilani, Mian Abdul Qayoom, Aasiya Andrabi and Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, addressing a Seerat Conference in Srinagar, today, said that India was victimizing people as they had challenged its military might in the occupied territory.

They pointed out that no amount of Indian state terrorism would prevent the Kashmiris from continuing their liberation struggle.

On the other hand, dozens of people were injured in Sopore and Baramulla towns when Indian police and troops used brute force on peaceful demonstrators who were protesting against Indian state terrorism in the occupied territory.

A Junior Commissioned Officer of Indian army committed suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon at an Army camp in Meindhar area of Poonch. This raised the number of such deaths amongst the troops to 171 since January 2007. Two troops including a Major were killed in separate grenade explosions in Kangan and Rajouri. An army Captain was found dead at a camp in Leh.

Source: Kashmir Media Service.
Link: http://www.kmsnews.org/news/world-urged-support-kashmiris%E2%80%99-liberation-struggle.

171 Indian troops commit suicide in IHK since January 2007

Srinagar, March 20 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, an Indian army officer has committed suicide by shooting himself with his service rifle in Poonch district.

A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of 49-Rashtirya Rifles committed suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon at an Army barrack in Meindhar area of the district. This raised the number of such deaths amongst the troops to 171 since January 2007.

Meanwhile, a Major of 24 Rashtriya Rifles was killed when a grenade exploded in his hand at Kangan. A trooper was killed in the same way at Corps Battle School in Rajouri.

Source: Kashmir Media Service.
Link: http://www.kmsnews.org/news/171-indian-troops-commit-suicide-ihk-january-2007.

Indonesians hold anti-Israeli demonstrations

Indonesia witnesses thousands-strong demonstration against an Israeli project that poses danger to the al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem (al-Quds).

The Saturday protests, attended by the supporters of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), a member of the ruling coalition, exploded onto the streets of the capital, Jakarta, Jakarta Post reported.

The demonstrators condemned the destructive move, which sees Israel digging a tunnel that will damage the foundation of the mosque.

“We will prove Indonesian people are ready to support any movement to protect al-Aqsa, the third-holiest mosque in the world,” chairman of the party's Jakarta chapter Tri Wisaksana told the audience.

Defying torrential rain, the demonstrators raised up banners emblazoned with “Save al-Aqsa Mosque from Zionist Israel” and “One man one dollar to save Palestine.”

They also called on Tel Aviv to immediately halt its illegal settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories and urged the central government and the Indonesian parliament to assist the Palestinians.

In similar protests last January, Indonesians had condemned Israel over its heavy land, aerial and naval bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=121278§ionid=351020406.

Nowruz festivities set to begin in year 1389

People in the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East, and elsewhere gear up to celebrate Nowruz, as we reach the last hours of the year 1388 on the Iranian calendar.

Over 300 million people around the globe will be celebrating Nowruz (Persian for New Day) on March 21 this year, as their ancestors have been doing for around three millenniums.

This time, however, the new Iranian year begins as the world community acknowledges the occasions and what it stands for, more than ever before.

In February, the UN General Assembly recognized occasion as a global day of celebration, and the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a message marking the first International Day of Nowruz.

Ban Ki-moon started his message by pointing out that this year's decision to recognize the International Day of Nowruz showed the “growing global awareness of the holiday's significance not only in the regions where it is celebrated but around the world.”

“For millennia, when the sun crosses the Equator and the Northern Hemisphere enters spring, peoples in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and other regions have carried out their own special traditions in celebration of Nowruz,” the UN chief said in his message.

“These rituals, from repainting homes to visiting friends to preparing symbolic meals, are infused with a spirit of renewal and can inspire not only those conducting them but all people,” he said.

“As we commemorate this first International Day of Nowruz, I hope countries and people around the world will draw on this festival's history and customs to promote harmony with the natural world and foster global peace and goodwill," he added.

Nowruz, which coincides with March 21 on the Gregorian calendar, is the first day of the year on the Iranian solar calendar.

Just under a century ago, the Persian parliament adjusted the origin of the Iranian calendar in use to the year of the Hegira of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from Mecca to Medina (622 CE).

In Tehran, at exactly 21:02:13 on Saturday evening (00:32:13GMT) it will be 1389 solar years since the prophet of Islam began that landmark journey.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=121276§ionid=3510212.

Chinese-made helicopter makes maiden flight

China's first domestically developed civilian helicopter, the AC313, has made its maiden flight in the mainland's southern province of Jiangxi.

The first ever made-in-China helicopter will mainly be used for emergency search and rescue operations, fighting forest fires, as well as passenger and freight transport, according to a report published by China Central Television.

"It's very stable and easy to operate. Its integrated avionics system makes it very convenient for pilots to handle the aircraft," AC313 pilot Xu Guolin said.

The heavy-lift AC313 helicopter, built by the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), can carry 27 passengers or up to 13.8 tonnes. It has a maximum range of 900km (560 miles).

The AC313 is the latest work of China's aerospace industry, and it is considered a major shift from dependence on products from foreign companies such as Boeing and Airbus to a home-grown industry.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=121277§ionid=351020403.

Sudan Hope To End Feud Between Egypt & Algeria By Hosting A Friendly

Mar 20, 2010

The relationship between the two countries froze during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

By James Momanyi

The Sudanese government is looking forward to organize a friendly between Egypt and Algeria in an attempt to reconcile the relationship between the two countries after ties were fractured during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

Mohamed Ali Abdul-Halim, a top aide of the governor of Khartoum revealed these plans.

"We are in talks with Egypt and Algeria to host a friendly game in Sudan," Abdul-Halim told a press conference in Cairo on Thursday.

"The talks are in preliminary stages. Hopefully, the game can be played as soon as possible.

"Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir has tackled the issue during a recent visit to Algeria," he added.

Diplomatic relations between Egypt and Algeria were at stake for the past five months as media from both countries exchanged accusations of off-the-field violence during their two games in the World Cup qualifiers.

Source: Goal.
Link: http://www.goal.com/en/news/89/africa/2010/03/20/1841277/sudan-hope-to-end-feud-between-egypt-algeria-by-hosting-a.

Erdogan to meet rivals on charter reform

AK Party say changes part of EU bid
Reuters

ANKARA: Turkey’s prime minister said on Friday his party would hold talks with the opposition next week on proposed changes to the Constitution, which secularists see as a direct challenge by the Islamic-leaning government.

The ruling AK Party has said it will seek to win parliamentary approval for the changes – a requirement for Turkey’s European Union membership bid – but has warned opponents it could hold a referendum to push through reforms.

“Parliament has the authority, the will and the strength to pass these reforms. I want to believe the opposition will behave with common sense. This is a very urgent need for Turkey,” Tayyip Erdogan told AK Party officials in a speech.

“Our colleagues will ask for appointments from opposition parties and will share the contents of the reforms next week,” he added.

The AK Party, which has its roots in political Islam, says changes are needed to curb powers of a conservative judiciary opposed to reforms and to bring Turkey closer to EU standards.

Critics accuse the AK Party, which has a huge majority in parliament, of using liberal reform as a cover for the encroachment of religious rule, and have threatened to take any changes to the charter to the Constitutional Court. The AK Party denies it has an Islamist agenda.

Investors are closely monitoring how hard the government wants to push the changes, which could pit it against a secular elite with strongholds in the judiciary and the military.

Source: The Daily Star.
Link: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=112939.

Turkish prime minister urges Israel to give up new settlement plan in East Jerusalem

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday urged Israel to give up its plan to build new dwellings in East Jerusalem, calling the practice " unacceptable," the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

"They are in an effort to root out Palestine," Erdogan was quoted of telling a meeting of his Justice and Development Party in Ankara, referring to Israel's plan to expand settlements in East Jerusalem.

He said Israel should refrain from steps that will change conditions in Jerusalem and hamper the peace process, noting that Turkey is "raising voices" against Israel's moves "sabotaging peace and order in East Jerusalem."

Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967 and later annexed, are considered by international community as Israeli settlements and one of the main obstacles to Israeli- Palestinian peace process.

Earlier this month, the Israeli Interior Ministry approved building 1,600 new settler homes in East Jerusalem, just one day after U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell announced that the Israeli and Palestinian sides had agreed to hold indirect talks.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90853/6925409.html.

Strong winds blanket Beijing in yellow dust

Beijing - The sky over Beijing was yellow on Saturday morning, as a severe sandstorm covered the streets in a fine dust and reduced visibility.

The sandstorm swept in on strong winds overnight after hitting China's north-western region earlier in the week, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The Beijing Municipal Meteorological Observatory issued an alarm late Friday, warning residents to stay at home or wear masks and goggles if they had to go outside, the report said.

According to China's State Forestry Administration, more than 16 million people had so far been affected by the storm, which also damaged crops in the north-western Gansu and Ningxia regions, the China New Service reported.

The administration said the storm was caused by adverse weather conditions and a loss of moisture in the soil.

China's northern cities have traditionally suffered sandstorms in spring, however afforestation projects in the northwest had helped reduce their frequency in recent years.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/314959,strong-winds-blanket-beijing-in-yellow-dust.html.

ETA 'terrorist' video was actually holidaying Spanish firemen

Barcelona - A group of Spanish firefighters was mistakenly depicted as suspected ETA terrorists in a police video broadcast in France this week, the government of the Catalan region said on Saturday.

The video, which was based on closed circuit television footage showing five men shopping, was issued after suspected ETA militants killed a policeman in a gunbattle south of Paris last Tuesday.

Catalan officials confirmed Saturday they had now asked the French authorities to stop the publication of the video on the internet.

The identity of the men shown in the video clip had been confirmed by their relatives. The firefighters had been on holiday south of Paris.

French officials had originally released the footage claiming that the men belonged to a terrorist group which had killed a police officer while attempting to rob an automobile shop.

Spanish investigators even said that one of the men was a top ETA leader, according to media reports, although this was not officially confirmed by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/314979,eta-terrorist-video-was-actually-holidaying-spanish-firemen.html.

Egyptian police arrest seven African migrants on Israeli border

Al-Arish, Egypt (Earth Times) - Egyptian border guards arrested seven African migrants trying to illegally enter Israel Saturday, in the latest of a line of incidents which has seen the United Nations criticize Cairo for an alleged "shoot to kill" policy.

Navi Pillay, the United Nation's top human rights official, this month sharply criticized Egypt for using lethal force to stop migrants from crossing illegally into Israel.

Pillay said she knew of "no other country where so many unarmed migrants and asylum seekers appear to have been deliberately killed."

Warning shots were fired at the first group of four - who said they were Ethiopians who had paid 1000 dollars to cross the border.

The second group consisted of three Eritreans.

Egypt has been under mounting international pressure to secure to secure its border with Israel and to stop using lethal force to stop migrants from sneaking across the border.

Late last month, border guards said they had fatally shot two African migrants trying to cross the border after the two ignored warning shots and orders to halt.

Such killings suggested a "shoot-to-kill policy," Pillay said.

Russians come out for anti-KGB rallies. Senator McCain support the 'Day of Wrath' in Russia

The initiators of the All-Russia action "Day of Wrath" are the organizations of Solidarity and Federation of car owners in Russia. In several cities extra-parliamentary opposition will unite with the Communist Party, despite the fact that the party leadership opposed the alliance with Solidarity.

"I am indulgently take the words of the Communist Party leadership that we are attaching themselves to their actions - Denis Bilunov, the leader of Russia's Solidarity Organization, said to Russian Kommersant paper. - Today protest activity should be a nature of the coalition. Therein lays its effectiveness".

In many cities, according to organizers, the authorities are trying to prevent holding of rallies: in particular, problems have arisen in Moscow. Police department on the eve called the leader of the Left Front, Sergei Udaltsov, for preventive talks. Later he told that reaching compromise has failed, and the police threatened that if the action occurs as it was scheduled to be held in Pushkin Square, the participants will be detaining.

It became known the night before about closure of the website "20-th of March," which was telling about the planned protests. It was accused of extremism, Echo of Moscow radio reports.

Mass protest rally, in the All-Russia action, has already held at the central square of Vladivostok. As the correspondent of "Interfax" said from the scene on Saturday rally was supported by Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Yabloko, Fair Russia, a political movement Freedom and democracy, public organizations TIGR, Vladmama and others.

About 1,5 thousand people attended the rally. People gathered under the anti-government slogans ("Putin to resign"), as well as appeals to dismiss the leadership of the region, return election of governors and others.

Meanwhile, protests in Russia have caused a great interest in the West, particularly in the United States.

So, Senator John McCain addressed the Congress with a special message on the eve of the planned all over Russia on March 20 protests:

"We should all say a silent prayer and a public word of support for Russia's courageous human rights activists, as they make their voices heard this Saturday.

These brave men and women want the best for their country. They want a government that is not only strong but just, peaceful, inclusive, and democratic.

I urge Russia's leaders to recognize that peaceful champions of universal values are not a threat to Russia, and that groups like this should not face the kinds of violence, repression, and intimidation that Russian authorities have used against similar demonstrators in the past. The eyes of the world will be watching.

Russia is a great nation, and like all Americans of goodwill, I want Russia to be strong and successful. I want Russia's economy to be a vibrant source of wealth and opportunity for all Russians. I want Russia to play a proud and responsible role in world affairs.

And I will continue to affirm, in public and in private, that the best way for Russians to secure the things they say they care about most - reduced corruption, a strengthened and equitable rule of law, economic modernization - is by nurturing a pluralistic and free civil society, by building independent and sustainable institutions of democracy, and by respecting the human rights of all", McCain said.

Department of Monitoring,
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/03/20/11676.shtml.

Why Chechen blood is cheaper than Palestinian?

An Australian journalist Brett Stephens asked the following rhetorical question - why the whole world pays great attention to the Palestinian-"Israeli" conflict, and virtually has no interest in what is happening in Chechnya.

Stephens indicated that the so-called "counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya" and the second Palestinian intifada had broke out almost simultaneously.

Victims of the latter, including civilian casualties as a result of a military invasion of Zionists were counted and they make about 6 thousand people.

As for Chechnya, there are no solid figures for the number of killed civilians. Estimates range from 25,000 to 200,000, the journalist writes.

The Chechnya's population, at a little more than one million, is about one third or one fourth of Palestine's.

That makes between 25 and 200 Chechen deaths per 1,000 as against 1.5 to two Palestinian deaths per 1,000.

Keeping in memory the fact that in both cases Muslims are being killed by non-Muslims, Stephens typed the words Palestine and genocide into Google. Search engine found in the Internet 1, 630, 000 results satisfying the search query.

At the same time, the combination of Chechnya and genocide gives only 245,000 results.

Comparing the number of deaths per 1 thousand of the population with the number of results in Google, Stephens came to a conclusion that Palestinian victims of the conflict get 28 times more attention than the Chechen.

Stephens is again convinced that "every Palestinian death is worthy for the world, and nobody cares a damn a Chechen one".

The Australian journalist doesn't accept the argument that Palestinians are abundantly supplied from the outside world with pictures of the results of "Israeli" military operations, demonstrating martyred old people, women and children, while Russian authorities have imposed an information blockade on Chechnya.

Stephens says that to feel the full horror of what is happening in Chechnya, there is no need for video clips.

As a very simple example, he cites evidence of Russian military about the execution of a so-called "Chechen sniper", published in the Los Angeles Times:

"We just tore her apart with two armored personnel carriers, having tied her ankles with steel cables. There was a lot of blood, but the boys needed it".

So talkings that the world supposedly does not know what is happening in Chechnya is a lie. The world is well aware of the Russia' atrocities and the crimes of Russian troops in Chechnya.

Stephens again raises questions to which he cannot find answers:

The "Israeli"-Palestinian conflict inflames the Muslim world in a way the Russian-Chechen does not. But why is it so, when so many more Muslims are being victims of the Russians?

Why to make "solidarity" pilgrimages to Ramallah but not to the Chechen capital of Jokhar?

Why do British academics organize boycotts of "Israel" but not of Russia? Why does every "Israeli" prime minister invariably become a global pariah, when not a single person among 1,000 knows the name of Putin's viceroy in Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, a man who, by many accounts, keeps a dungeon near his house to personally torture his political opponents?

Stephens puts forward his hypothesis:

Maybe the world attends to Palestinian grievances but not to Chechen for the sole reason that Palestinians are, uniquely, perceived as victims of the "jewish state". Or being expelled en masse from Kuwait. Or being excluded from the labor force in Lebanon", the journalist writes and concludes that as for the Chechens, too bad for their cause that "no jew is ever likely to become president of Russia".

These words, obviously, are to be understood assuming the current president of Russia, according to Stephens, is presumably an ethnic Russian (ethnic Russians know well he is a jew - KC), which may challenge many Russian nationalists.

However, as it seems, Stephens' hypothesis still seems uncertain. And it was not that natural attention of the Muslim world is focused on Palestine because the Zionists, with the support of modern Western crusaders, occupy the third holiest site in Islam - Al-Aqsa Mosque and the city of Al-Quds (AKA Jerusalem).

The reason why the world does not notice Russian crimes in Chechnya is not in a presumably "Russian" nationality of the man in the Kremlin, but in much more prosaic motives.

Russia is a great country, it has nuclear weapons, it has great energy resources (the Russians steal them in Siberian countries they illegally occupy - KC) , which are much needed in Europe (and not only there), Russia is still being afraid. And the so-called "Islamic world", presented by puppet regimes operating as puppets of Western democracies, always united against every move to establish the Sharia.

As for the current Palestinian leaders, the national democratic Mahmoud Abbas, his Fatah and "extremist" Hamas, led by the national-Islamists, they have no intention to establish the Sharia. Moreover, the same Hamas had immediately executed Palestinian Muslims, as soon as they demanded to introduce Sharia.

So Hamas has successfully passed a test for democracy.

Ruslan Sinbarigov,
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/03/19/11674.shtml.

Anti-Israeli sentiment overruns Middle East

The Middle East sees more demonstrations as Muslims join hands to voice protest against Israeli violations in Palestine, despite a policy of silence adopted by their governments.

Crowds of Palestinian refugees staged a demonstration in southern Damascus late on Friday to protest Tel Aviv's refusal to heed international calls to halt its illegal settlement construction work in occupied East Jerusalem (al-Quds).

Waving Palestinian flags, carrying placards and chanting anti-Israeli slogans, protesters on Friday criticized the Arab world and the international community for failing to free their land after some 60 years of Israeli occupation.

Similar demonstrations have been held in support for al-Quds and the al-Aqsa Mosque in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Turkey, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and several other Muslim nations.

Angry protesters also condemned the reopening of a synagogue not far from the al-Aqsa Mosque — the third foremost Islamic sanctity — in the Old City in East al-Quds.

Tel Aviv's recent green light for 1,600 new settlement units in East al-Quds and the controversial rededication of the Hurva synagogue short after the confiscation of two holy shrines in the West Bank has sparked a large wave of protests across the Muslim world.

The decision also prompted warnings from Palestinian politicians and Muslim leaders who expressed grave concerns that the violations could serve as a prelude to a full "Judaization" of East al-Quds, long demanded by Palestinians as the capital of their future state.

Analysts, however, believe popular demonstrations are the minimum that could be done against the Israeli occupation in Palestine.

They insist that it is not enough for the Palestinians to be the only objecting force, calling for a firm stance from Arab governments and Muslims across the globe.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=121270§ionid=351020202.

Mexican army and drug gangs clash

The Mexican military has engaged in deadly clashes with suspected drug cartels in the northern state of Nuevo Leon where the suspects have set up road blocks for the second day.

At least three suspected gang members were killed in separate shooting incidents in the northern city of Monterrey where a soldier was also hurt in Friday clashes.

Conflict broke out after the suspects continued to block roads in the city for the second day, in an attempt to prevent security patrols.

They also engaged the Mexican troops first, the army said in a statement.

The criminal groups' members also set a number of vehicles alight and stopped the traffic on 30 roads leading to and out of Monterrey for over 24 hours, local officials said.

At least two have been arrested in connection with the latest episode and the country's naval forces announced that they have captured a top drug cartel operator known as Alberto "Bad Boy" Mendoza in the latest crackdown in the area.

Around 18,000 people have died in drug-related incidents so far since the country's war on drugs was launched in 2006.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=121268§ionid=351020705.

China orders airlines to inspect Boeing 737s

China's Civil Aviation Administration has issued an "Emergency Airworthiness Directive" to impose compulsory safety checks on a total of 160 Boeing 737 planes.

The emergency directive, demanding airlines check the flaps on the horizontal tails of the planes, was issued following recommendations from Boeing after a Ryanair 737-800 traveling from the Netherlands to Spain experienced "severe vibration" on a March 2 flight.

The plane managed to land safely. An inspection afterward found "extensive damage" to the left elevator, which is a movable flap on the tail that controls the vertical pitch of the airplane.

"Severe vibration in this attach point is suspected of allowing rapid wear of the joint and resulted in failure of the attach lugs," states the United States Federal Aviation Administration's preliminary incident report. "This condition, if not corrected, could result in a loss of aircraft control and structural integrity."

The problem with the mechanism of the flap on the horizontal tail of Boeing 737 planes involves the 600, 700, 800 and 900 series.

"Some 160 jets are troubled. We will pay great attention to them and strengthen supervision, in a bid to ensure the flight safety of these jets," a spokesman from Civil Aviation Administration of China was quoted as saying by China Daily.

China's civil aviation authority said it has issued more than 6,500 airworthiness directives from 1986 to 2009, a measure designed to ensure flight safety.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=121266§ionid=351020404.

Blair's secret oil links to Mideast revealed

A watchdog in Britain has revealed that former UK Premier Tony Blair has secretly received cash from a South Korean energy company and from Kuwaiti royals.

The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments says Tony Blair has been receiving cash from the Kuwaiti government and the South Korean UI Energy Corporation which has oil interests in the US and Iraq.

The Advisory Committee had allowed Blair to keep details of both deals from the public for 20 months, since June 2008, as the former prime minister claimed the deals were commercially sensitive.

Blair has reportedly made some 20 million pounds since leaving Downing Street in June 2007 and approximately 1 million pounds sterling from the deal with the Kuwaiti government.

The deals emerged Friday when the chairman of the advisory committee, the former Tory cabinet minister Ian Lang, finally lost patience with Blair and decided to ignore his objections and publish the details of the hidden deals.

The committee website has now published a statement identifying Blair's job as "advice to a consortium of investors led by the UI Energy Corporation (publication delayed due to market sensitivities)."

In a further revelation, a classified memo from Blair to former US President Bush showed the full extent of his support for the toppling of Saddam Hussein.

The personal note shows that Blair wrote eight months before the Iraqi invasion: "You know, George, whatever you decide to do, I'm with you."

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=121261§ionid=351020601.

US to send 2500 troops to N. Afghanistan

US commanders in Afghanistan are planning to deploy about 2,500 more troops to the North of the country due to what they describe as concerns about an increasing Taliban presence there.

The "tentative" plan includes trainers for Afghan security forces as well as possible joint military operations with German forces already in the area. The purpose of the joint operations would be to protect vital supply lines.

The reinforcements are part of the 30,000-troop increase ordered by President Barack Obama in December to turn the war around. Most of the 10,000 that have arrived so far have been sent to the volatile South which is the hotbed of Taliban militant attacks.

Plans for the relocation of forces were formulated after a high-profile German commander said the US-led force was planning an offensive in the northern Kunduz province to fend off the Taliban in northern Afghanistan.

"The operation would be 'similar' to the offensive currently underway in the southern province of Helmand involving 15,000 US, NATO and Afghan troops," General Bruno Kasdorf, chief of staff of the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF), told German ARD public radio on Thursday.

Northern Afghanistan, which has long experienced relative calm, has seen a spike in violence in recent months.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=121272§ionid=351020403.

58 political prisoners still jailed in Azerbaijan

58 political prisoners are still jailed in Azerbaijan, Director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy Leyla Yunus was quoted as saying by Turan.

According to defense attorney, a number of political prisoners have been jailed for 15 years by now: father and son Vagif and Magsud Huseinovs, the former being 72 years old.

Attorney Novella Jafaroglu once again condemned the authorities urging to free bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade, as well as the journalist Eynul Fatullayev. As she said, she has many times asked the country’s president to set free the sick political prisoners.

Another attorney Gojamanli voiced hope the country will manage to solve the issue of the political prisoners.

Source: Panorama.
Link: http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2010/03/19/huseynov/.

Serbia's President will not attend EU Summit on Western Balkans

Serbia’s President Boris Tadic is not going to attend Saturday’s EU Summit on the Western Balkans in Slovenia because independent Kosovo will be represented there.

This has been announced by the Cabinet of the Serbian head of state. Tadic recently made it clear that he would only attend the summit in Brdo, Slovenia, if Kosovo is represented as a UN protectorate, i.e. as UNMIK-Kosovo.

Source: Panorama.
Link: http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2010/03/20/tadich/.

Abdullah Gul to withstand Erdogan's statement of 100 thousand Armenians

Turkey’s Abdullah Gul answered to reporters’ questions on his flight back to Turkey from Congo and Cameroon travels. Turkish President referred to the Armenian issue as well.

According to Turkish Zaman Abdullah Gul was asked whether he’s determined to have another telconversation with U.S. Barack Obama.

Reminding that before the U.S. House of Representatives adopted the Armenian Genocide Resolution he had had a conversation with Obama.

“We’ve talked once. I’m not going to do it again. We’ve talked thoroughly enough, we’ve explained things. They’re perfectly aware of it. We’ve told them what we were expected to.”

The reporters asked President Gul to comment on PM Erdogan’s statement on expelling Armenians from Turkey, reminding that before leaving for Africa, Gul had declared it was time for voiceless diplomacy.

“Mister Prime Minister seems wanted to underscore Turkey’s positive advancement. Besides, I’m not sure that figure is 100 thousand. Those people work in Turkey. They support their families by their earnings. I’m sure it was aimed to show that they aren’t adversely treated in Turkey. Humane issues should be differentiated from political issues.”

Turkey’s president stated that Erdogan’s statement has been differently treated and added: “There is no place to xenophobia and racism in Turkish people. We say USA, Diaspora and Southern Caucasus are quite different issues. We should keep close to the idea of stability and cooperation platform in Caucasus. Status quo isn’t beneficial for either side. That’s why we declared that time for voiceless diplomacy arrived. The achievements of MG are visible.”

Abdullah Gul underscored and hailed Russia’s Medvedev’s efforts to reach the resolution of Karabakh conflict.

Source: Panorama.
Link: http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2010/03/19/gyul-erdoghan/.

President of Azerbaijan receives Secretary General of Turkish Presidential Administration

Baku – APA. On March 19, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received the Secretary General of the Turkish Presidential Administration Mustafa Isen, APA reports quoting AzerTAc news agency. Isen delivered greetings and Novruz congratulations of Turkish President Abdullah Gul to the Azerbaijani leader. He said he has visited Azerbaijan for the fourth time since 1994 and has been very pleased to see the great development Azerbaijan achieved under the leadership of Heydar Aliyev and Ilham Aliyev.

President Aliyev expressed gratitude for Abdullah Gul’s greetings and Novruz congratulations and asked to deliver his greetings and holiday congratulations to the Turkish president.

A confidence in further development of Azerbaijan-Turkey relations was expressed at the meeting.

Source: APA.
Link: http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=118350.

Turkish president wins international relations prize

Prestigious Chatham House recognizes role of Gul in 'many of the positive steps' of Turkey.

LONDON - Turkish President Abdullah Gul has won this year's prestigious Chatham House prize for improving international relations, the British foreign policy think-tank announced Friday.

Gul was named for his work in deepening Turkey's traditional ties with the Middle East, his efforts to mediate between fractious groups in Iraq and for bringing together the Afghan and Pakistan leaderships during 2009.

The think-tank also praised his efforts to reunify the divided island of Cyprus, his role in beginning the process of reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia and his work in bringing Turkey closer to the European Union.

"President Gul is recognized for being a significant figure for reconciliation and moderation within Turkey and internationally, and a driving force behind many of the positive steps that Turkey has taken in recent years," it said.

Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, awards the annual prize to the statesperson considered to have made the most significant contribution to improving international relations that year.

Previous recipients are Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who won it last year, and John Kufuor, then president of Ghana, who won in 2008.

Gul will be invited to London later this year to collect the award.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=37930.

Spanish climber killed by Pyrenees avalanche

Madrid - One mountain climber was killed and two others injured Friday in an avalanche in the Pyrenees mountains, Spanish officials reported.

The accident occurred near the winter sports center of Candanchu in Huesca province.

The avalanche struck altogether seven persons, including the three mountain climbers and four cross country skiers. The latter four were able to free themselves from the mass of snow.

Friday's death brought to seven the total of people killed in avalanches in the Pyrenees so far this year, an unusually high number which officials attributed to this winter's heavy snowfalls.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/314912,spanish-climber-killed-by-pyrenees-avalanche.html.

Sweden to allocate 8.5 million euros per year to Turkey to conduct reforms

The Swedish Government has stated that it will provide not only political, but also financial support to the implementation of reforms in Turkey on joining EU, TRT Russian reported.

The website of the Swedish Government issued a statement on intentions to develop strategic cooperation with Turkey. The statement stressed that Turkey's joining the EU will be encouraged and supported by Sweden.

The statement also emphasized that Turkey will be supported in issues of democracy, equality and human rights. According to the statement, Turkey is one of the most important partners of Sweden, and reforms implemented in this country are of great importance.

The statement stresses that Sweden is ready to assist in the implementation in Turkey not only legal reforms, but reforms to attract women to the democratization process and projects related to minority rights. Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Center for Turkish-Swedish friendship under the Swedish Embassy in Istanbul will deal with coordinating the activity on development of cooperation between Turkey and Sweden.

SIDA, in particular, will provide the opportunity to Turkish students to take part in projects dedicated to human rights and democracy. Similar projects will be implemented in Turkey with Swedish students' participation.

According to the support program of the Swedish Government for 2010-2013, 87 million Swedish krona (about 8.5 million euros) will be allocated to Turkey each year, CNN Turk reported.

Source: Trend.
Link: http://en.trend.az/regions/met/turkey/1657367.html.

Hungarian minister demands action after Israeli aircraft sighting

Budapest - Defense Minister Imre Szekeres intends to ask the Hungarian government to re-establish a Military Aviation Authority in the wake of confusion following reports of two Israeli Air Force planes flying low over Budapest's international airport, the state news agency MTI reported on Friday.

Although it transpired that the flights had been authorized by Hungary's National Transport Authority, neither the ministry, nor the civilian or military secret services, had been informed of the fact, Szekeres said.

The defense minister noted that existing regulations stipulate that the ministry must be informed of such exercises in advance.

Szekeres's announcement came a day after the right-wing daily Magyar Nemzet reported that Israeli military aircraft had been sighted flying low over Budapest Ferihegy Airport on Wednesday.

The report prompted Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai to demand an immediate investigation. Szekeres said he expects the results of the government investigation to be available next week.

In the wake of Thursday's media reports, Israel's ambassador to Hungary Aliza Bin-Noun denied that the aircraft had been spy planes, and said the flight had been "routine" and the relevant authorization had been obtained from the National Transport Authority.

Bin-Noun said in response to a question from the Hungarian state news agency MTI that the embassy was not privy to details of the nature of the "routine" flights, saying the embassy's only responsibility was to put in the request for authorization.

Szekeres noted that around 500 authorizations for state-military type flights are issued in Hungary every year.

The Israeli ambassador suggested that "anti-Israeli sentiment" could lie behind the initial newspaper report of the incident.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/314903,hungarian-minister-demands-action-after-israeli-aircraft-sighting.html.

Egypt's Mubarak names replacement for top Muslim cleric

Berlin/Cairo (Earth Times) - Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak has appointed a new head of al-Azhar University, one of the world's most respected institutions of Muslim learning, the government announced Friday.

Mubarak issued a presidential decree appointing Sheikh Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed al-Tayib as the sheikh of al-Azhar, Egypt's Ministry of Information said in a statement.

Al-Tayib's predecessor, Sheikh Mohammed Sayed al-Tantawi, died of a heart attack in Saudi Arabia at the age of 81 over a week ago.

Cairo's 1,000-year-old al-Azhar University is a widely respected educational institution in Egypt and around the Sunni Muslim world. The sheikh, or religious leader, of the institution, has been appointed by the Egyptian president since 1961.

Al-Tayib had served as the president of the university since 2003, and had previously served as Egypt's mufti, the government's top religious authority.

Mubarak, 81, is recovering from surgery in hospital in Heidelberg, Germany.

He had temporarily assigned his duties to Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, but the Egyptian government on Friday said Mubarak had begun to assume some of his responsibilities again.

He had also phoned Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi to thank them for their earlier inquiries as to his health.

Friday's announcement follows state television's broadcast, on Tuesday, of the first footage of the president since his operation.

The pictures were released after the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange posted sharp losses, reportedly caused by concern over the president's health. The market quickly recovered lost ground after the footage was broadcast.

Ahmadinejad wants referendum on economic reform bill

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says holding a referendum is the best way to decide on a government bill that aims to regulate subsidies.

Speaking in a televised interview on Friday, the Iranian president proposed holding a referendum to resolve a dispute over a major economic reform plan which will scrap costly subsidies on energy and goods, seeking to reduce government expenditure.

"The best way to decide on the budget bill is to hold a referendum," President Ahmadinejad was quoted by IRNA as saying.

The Iranian president had proposed saving $40 billion by eliminating subsidies but the country's Parliament approved only half of that amount.

President Ahmadinejad said he believed the bill should be passed unchanged, considering high energy consumption and unequal distribution of wealth in the country.

While critics of the plan maintain that the bill will negatively impact the country's inflation rates, President Ahmadinejad dismissed the possibility of catastrophic consequences, arguing that the idea behind the plan is supported by economists and will benefit all people.

The Iranian president added that the faster the economic reform plan is implemented, the fewer will be the aftershocks that the nation suffers.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=121241§ionid=351020102.