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Thursday, May 6, 2010

Thai parliament to dissolve in Sept.

Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says the lower house of parliament will be dissolved in September, in an apparent move to end a crippling political crisis.

Vejjajiva announced the time-frame on Thursday after the opposition Red Shirts accepted his reconciliation plan which includes holding early elections on November 14.

Earlier in the day, the ruling Democrat Party held talks in parliament to refine the reconciliation process with the anti-government protesters.

The timing of parliament's dissolution has been a key issue, as the protesters rejected Abhisit's earlier offer to dissolve parliament by the end of the year.

Anti-government protesters have been calling for Abhisit's resignation and snap elections for weeks.

Earlier on Monday, Abhisit announced his five-point roadmap reconciliation plan, including the offer for fresh elections in November, on the condition that all parties accept it and drop their demand for immediate polls.

He also called for immediate freeze of street protests in the Thai capital, Bangkok, as weeks of chaos have badly affected the nation's economy.

Protesters finally signed up to Abhisit's roadmap reconciliation plan to end the political impasse.

However, they demand more details and specific dates of the plans before leaving their protest camp in central Bangkok.

The political standoff has been marred by outbreaks of violence that left 27 dead and more than 1,000 injured last month.

Thousands of troops and riot police have been deployed in Bangkok to enforce a state of emergency since April 7.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125617§ionid=351020406.

Palestinians told to quit Israeli jobs

The Palestinian Authority has set a 2011 deadline for tens of thousands of Palestinians to quit working at construction sites in Israeli settlements.

"There are currently 25,000 Palestinians who make their living by working in Israeli settlements," the Palestinian Authority's Minister of National Economy Hasan Abu Libda told Ma'an news agency on Thursday.

Libda said while Palestinian law prohibited its people from working at Israeli settlements, a large number of people had left their jobs to work at the illegal construction sites.

"They should stop as they are not any different from 200,000 other unemployed workers," the Palestinian official stressed, urging laborers to find another solution for the issue.

According to the official, the Palestinian Authority is planning to stop all economic relations with those residing in settlements in seven months as part of the efforts to create job opportunities for the unemployed and protect national interests.

"So long as Israel continues to discourage the Palestinian national economy, the only alternative is to get the citizens to consume national products."

Libda said the Palestinian Authority should raise the level of consuming national products -- currently standing at 18 percent -- to 40 percent in order to be able to create 50,000 to 60,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, Labor Minister Ahmad Majdalani asserted that Palestinian law did not prohibit people from working in settlements, explaining further that only the import of settlement products were banned.

He, however, urged workers to stop such activities on their own free will out of moral and political considerations.

Israeli settlement expansions on Palestinian lands in the West Bank -- particularly in annexed east al-Quds (Jerusalem) -- has been one of the key issues hindering the Middle East peace process.

Palestinians argue that the ongoing construction activities eat up the land on which their future Palestinian state is to be built and thus render the concept of a two-state solution meaningless.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125613§ionid=351020202.

Tehran Int'l Book Fair opened

Iran has launched the 23rd Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF) with more than 2000 publishers from 80 countries in the world participating in the event.

The annual cultural event -- believed to be the most prominent publishing event in Asia and the Middle East -- was inaugurated in the presence of the country's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi on Tuesday and opened to public on Wednesday.

The exhibitors have put on show an estimated 200,000 books of which 170,000 are foreign titles.

Some 2,000 publishers -- more than 1,100 local and 980 international -- have participated in the 2010 TIBF, where foreign e-books and e-journals are also put up for sale.

Publishing companies from China, Spain, France, Greece, the US, South Korea, Malaysia, Iraq, Russia and other countries are offering their publications during the ten-day exhibition held at the Iranian capital's Mosalla.

The fair also features special sections, including the House of Literati that honors prominent Iranian cultural figures from a variety of disciplines.

The international event opens a great window of opportunity for the country's publication sector and book dealers.

The public may find further information about the event on the fair's official website at: www.tibf.ir.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125614§ionid=3510212.

Ronaldo keeps Real Madrid in title hunt

Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick has helped Real Madrid win a 4-1 victory over European hopefuls Real Mallorca to keep the Spanish giants' title hopes alive.

Ronaldo, the world's most expensive player, netted his first goal, canceling out Aritz Aduriz's 16th-minute header 10 minutes later at Ono stadium in Palma de Mallorca on Wednesday night.

The Portuguese forward put his side ahead in the 56th minute of the game and then completed his treble with 18 minutes by slotting a low right-foot shot past Mallorca goalkeeper Dudu Aouate.

"I have to thank my team-mates for helping me to settle and score so many goals," said Ronaldo. "There was a bit of pressure with Barcelona winning but we scored three in the second half to win the match.”

"We hope Barcelona drop points at Sevilla and all we can do is beat (Athletic) Bilbao at home. We hope and really want to be champions," he added.

Striker Gonzalo Higuain then made it 4-1 for Real Madrid 10 minutes later with a superb deft chip over the keeper to ensure La Liga title race goes down to the wire.

"He (Ronaldo) is a fundamental figure for Real Madrid. His spirit is contagious for the players," said Real Madrid's Chilean boss Manuel Pellegrini. "At present Real Madrid is the spirit of Ronaldo."

The Portuguese soccer ace was also praised by Real Madrid director general Jorge Valdano for his great performance.

"He's extraordinary. He has played his most important game of the season, he rescued us," Valdano told Spanish television after the game.

"(But) it isn't right to talk about dependency on him. In the two months when he wasn't with us the team were capable of making themselves leaders," he concluded.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125596§ionid=3510211.

Israeli police injure 9 Palestinians

Israeli police have attacked the Palestinian residents of Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds, injuring nine people.

Israeli police forces fired rubber bullets and tea gas canisters at the Palestinians, who were protesting against illegal settlements. One Palestinian was lightly injured after being hit by a military jeep.

The injured were treated at a local clinic, medical sources said, adding that they were treating rubber bullet wounds and respiratory problems resulting from tear gas.

On April 24, clashes erupted between Palestinians and extremist Israelis who had launched a pro-settler rally in the al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan. The on-site medics said at least 30 Palestinians and two doctors were injured by Israeli fire.

The Silwan neighborhood is the site of ongoing demolitions of Palestinian homes and evictions of the families. An EU report issued in December 2009 said that the area has received the least planning permits by Israel's Jerusalem al-Quds Municipality since Israel occupied the neighborhood in 1967.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125594§ionid=351020202.

No Scuds in Lebanon, UNIFIL says

The UNIFIL spokesperson has confirmed that the UN peacekeepers have found no Scud missiles in their area of operation in south Lebanon.

There is no proof that Syria transferred Scud missiles to Hezbollah, Neeraj Singh said.

"We have around 12,000 soldiers and three Lebanese army brigades in a small area. We haven't seen a thing," UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Commander General Alberto Asarta Cuevas stated in remarks published on Wednesday.

Scud missiles are big and they are very difficult to hide, he told the local daily An Nahar in an interview.

Israel and the United States accused Syria of providing long-range Scud missiles to Lebanon's Hezbollah in April, but Damascus dismissed the allegations.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to listen to what Washington says, or else it would have to face "consequences."

Asked about the possibility of a new war, the UNIFIL commander said no one intends to start a war.

In April, United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams said that he did not believe there would be a war in the region, despite the rising tension.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125592§ionid=351020203.

MPs hail Ahmadinejad's nuclear stance

Iranian MPs have signed a letter praising President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his “strong stance” at the UN conference on nuclear disarmament.

197 members of the Majlis, which is Iran's parliament, including some from the minority faction, presented the letter to the Majlis Presiding Board, the Fars news agency reported on Wednesday.

The lawmakers lauded Ahmadinejad's speech at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference, which is currently underway in New York.

On Monday, the delegates of the United States, Britain, and France walked out of the conference venue as Ahmadinejad was delivering his speech.

Ahmadinejad criticized the three Western nuclear powers for failing to fulfill their obligations as NPT signatories.

He stated that nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation have not been realized, saying that the US is to blame for the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

The Iranian president also said the US should dismantle its nuclear bases around the world as a first step for creating a nuclear weapons-free world.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125586§ionid=351020104.

IAEA presses Israel to sign NPT

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano has urged member states to find a way to implement the 2009 resolution on Israel.

In a letter, Amano asked the foreign ministers of the 151 member states to share their views on how to persuade Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and open up its nuclear facilities for inspection.

Amid renewed criticism of Israel from Islamic countries during the NPT review conference, which is currently underway at UN Headquarters in New York, Amano's letter, which came to light on Wednesday, will definitely increase the pressure on Israel to fully disclose its unacknowledged nuclear arsenal.

On Tuesday, Islamic nations used the second day of the conference to call for the Middle East to be declared a nuclear weapons-free zone.

The Islamic countries also criticized Israel for not divulging its nuclear capabilities and refusing to sign the NPT.

Amano has asked member countries for advice on how best to persuade Israel to allow IAEA oversight of its nuclear facilities.

Amano's April 7 letter came seven months after an IAEA annual conference, during which member states narrowly passed a resolution directly criticizing Israel and its nuclear program, with 49 of the 110 nations present voting in favor of the resolution, 45 voting against, and 16 abstaining.

The result was a setback not only for Israel but also for Washington and other supporters of the Zionist regime, which had successfully lobbied for 18 years to ensure that there was never a vote on a resolution against Israel, despite intense debate on the issue.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125584§ionid=351020202.

Iraqis protest Kuwait's 'provocation'

Scores of Iraqi Airways employees demonstrate at Baghdad International Airport to protest Kuwait's "harassment" of the airlines' chief executive at a London airport.

British authorities seized the passport of Iraqi carrier's Chief Executive Kifah Hassan Jabbar upon his arrival at London's Gatwick Airport on Sunday, reportedly on a demand by the Kuwaiti Airways.

Authorities at the London airport also impounded Jabbar's plane, which was on the first commercial flight from Baghdad to London in 20 years.

The measures were taken over claims by Kuwaiti Airways that the Iraqi carrier owes it $1.2 billion, a dispute dating back to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait under the executed dictator Saddam Hussein in 1990.

Around 200 Iraqi Airways employees gathered at the Baghdad International Airport's administration building to protest the measure.

The demonstrators held up placards and banners with slogans condemning Kuwait's "provocation and harassment."

"Stop sucking the blood of Iraqis with your so-called compensation," read another banner.

Kuwait claims 10 of its planes and a number of its aircraft parts were looted after the airport in the oil-rich emirates was seized by Iraqi forces during the 1990 invasion of the country, which previously enjoyed friendly relations with the former Iraqi dictator and was among the prime sponsors of his massive war effort against Iran in the 1980's.

Baghdad admits to the seizure of 10 fighter jets from Kuwait by its executed dictator in 1990 but claims that four of the aircrafts were destroyed at Mosul's Airport during Western bombing raids, while the remaining six were returned to Kuwait via Iran.

"What Kuwait is doing is in contradiction of the rules of Arab and Islamic brotherhood," AFP quoted Iraqi Airways deputy chief executive Nasser Hussein Bandar as saying.

He noted that the Iraqi airlines had dispatched a delegation to Kuwait to discuss the matter, "but the (Kuwaiti) officials refused to meet with us."

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125605§ionid=351020201.

CIA to expand drone raids in Pakistan

The CIA has received authorization to target a wider range of targets in Pakistan by its drone-guided missiles, despite national discontent on growing civilian death toll.

The US will expand its drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal regions, including low-level fighters whose identities may not be known, US officials said Wednesday, quoted in a Reuters report.

The report says the targets include what has been described as 'all militants'.

The US drone strikes began to expand under former President George Bush and have further intensified under President Barack Obama.

Washington claims the strikes are vital in protecting foreign troops in the region and that the targets are selected with 'extreme care'.

The announcement comes as more than 850 people, mostly civilians, have been reported killed in nearly 100 raids by American pilotless planes since August 2008.

In 2009, the CIA launched 44 strikes in North and South Waziristan but managed to kill no more than a handful of notable militants, Anti-War.com reported on its January 14th edition.

Islamabad has repeatedly condemned the strikes, saying they threaten the country's sovereignty, with little impact, since the US raids have continued to intensify.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125604§ionid=351020401.

China tornado kills 23 people

At least 23 people have been killed and 160 others injured as a powerful tornado struck China's southwestern city of Chongqing, destroying homes and crops.

Strong winds and heavy rains ruined many homes and crops in Chongqing on Thursday, at around 2:00 a.m. (1800 GMT Wednesday), the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Power outages have also been reported in at least two towns in the disaster zone, where more than 30 million people live.

The local government has begun organizing rescue and relief operations in the area.

The casualty figure is expected to be revised as the number of dead and injured are still being tallied.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125602§ionid=351020404.

Nigerian president dies

Wed May 5, 2010

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has died, an official at his office confirmed late on Wednesday.

The website 234next.com reported that he died at the Nigerian presidential villa.

Yar'Adua won the 2007 presidential election with 24.6 million ballots cast in his favor, which was 70% of the vote.

But the election was highly controversial. Strongly criticized by observers, as well as the two primary opposition candidates, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) and Atiku Abubakar of the Action Congress (AC), its results were largely rejected as having been rigged in Yar'Adua's favor.

Yar'Adua's new cabinet was sworn in on July 26, 2007. It had 39 ministers, including two from the ANPP.

However, Buhari and Abubakar filed petitions to have the results of the 2007 presidential election invalidated due to alleged fraud, but a court rejected the petitions on February 26, 2008.

President Yar'Adua left Nigeria on November 23, 2009 and was reported to be receiving treatment for pericarditis at a clinic in Saudi Arabia.

He had not been seen in public since and his absence created a dangerous vacuum of power in Nigeria.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/125582.html.

Egypt, Hamas Complicit in Israel's Gaza Blockade

By Mel Frykberg

RAMALLAH, Apr 29, 2010 (IPS) - A convoy of boats laden with humanitarian goods and accompanied by hundreds of journalists, human rights activists and European parliamentarians, is due to challenge Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza at the end of May.

The Free Gaza movement’s ‘Freedom Flotilla’ will see three cargo ships and five passenger boats with about 600 people aboard attempting to deliver hundreds of tonnes of emergency aid to Gaza’s besieged civilian population of 1.5 million people.

The move will also attempt to focus international attention on Israel’s crippling blockade of Gaza and its collective punishment of the coastal territory.

However, while Israel will rightly bear the brunt of the negative publicity, the Jewish state’s siege would not have succeeded without international, regional and even some Palestinian support.

The collusion of fellow Muslim and Arab country Egypt, and the tacit approval of other regional regimes, is a particularly strong rallying point for the collective anger of the Arab street.

"Without the coordinated efforts of regional and international players in supporting Israel in its siege of Gaza it would have failed by now," Ahmed Yousef, Hamas’ deputy foreign minister, told IPS.

Over a million Gazans have been reduced to living in a state of chronic poverty, unemployment, malnutrition and misery in one of the world’s most densely populated areas.

Gaza, 45 km long by 5-12 km wide, has been described as the world’s largest open-air prison.

During Israel’s military assault on the territory, codenamed Operation Cast Lead, from December 2008 to January 2009, civilians had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide in the hermetically sealed territory as the Israeli Air Force carried out extensive and indiscriminate sorties over residential areas.

Although Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, it continues to control the coastal territory’s borders, airspace, coastline, population registry, taxes, large buffer zones along the border, and most of its imports and exports and electricity and water supplies.

Cairo controls the Rafah entry to Egypt in the south of the Gaza Strip. This is predominantly a passenger terminal although some passage of goods has been permitted.

However, all other crossing points into the strip are controlled by the Israelis. These terminals are specifically designed for the passage of goods and produce into Gaza.

In 2005 an agreement between Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority (PA) was signed.

The agreement outlined how European Union monitors and PA officials and security - all linked to Israeli surveillance equipment and cameras - would control Gaza’s side of the Rafah border crossing.

In January 2006 when Hamas won free and democratic elections, Israel started tightening its stranglehold on the coastal territory.

Following Hamas’ military coup in June 2007 Israel imposed a full blockade with the cooperation of the Egyptian authorities.

Even though Hamas now controls Gaza, before Gazans can leave the territory their movement has to be coordinated with the Egyptian authorities who in turn coordinate with the PA and the Israelis as to who may or may not leave.

While Egypt has permitted the entry of limited amounts of humanitarian goods it has forcibly prevented larger convoys as well as activists accompanying the convoys from entering Gaza.

Egypt has been blowing up many of the hundreds of smuggling tunnels that link Gaza with the Sinai and through which most of the necessary day-to-day goods, as well as arms, are smuggled.

The Egyptians recently commenced construction of an underground, bomb-proof 14 km-long steel wall complete with advanced American surveillance technology to prevent further smuggling tunnels from being built.

Samir Awad, from Birzeit University near Ramallah, argues that the Egyptians, as recipients of one of the largest amounts of American foreign aid, are under enormous pressure from the U.S. to cooperate with the blockade.

"If Egypt doesn’t kowtow to Washington’s regional foreign policy they could lose their aid," says Awad. "But the Egyptian authorities are also interested in keeping the region politically stable until President Hosni Mubarak’s son Gamal can take over as his successor.

"They believe pressuring Hamas to sign a reconciliation agreement, which they authored, with the PA is essential to stabilizing the area," Awad told IPS.

The Egyptians are afraid that a successful Islamic regime such as Hamas on their doorstep would provide succor to their own Muslim Brotherhood which poses a serious political threat to the regime of President Mubarak.

Being popular with their people has never been an issue with the Middle East’s dictatorial regimes where democracy and human rights are not priorities. They lost the popularity battle a long time ago.

Instead, they count on continued economic and military aid from the West, particularly the U.S., and political support from their elites who benefit from the mutual cronyism.

By controlling the media the Egyptian authorities have succeeded, to a certain degree, in persuading their public that the fault for the Gaza siege lies with Hamas and Israel exclusively.

Prof. Moshe Ma’oz from Jerusalem’s Hebrew University believes American coercion is less of an issue.

"The Egyptians have their own agenda and what they are doing is coordinating their common interests with that of the Israelis," Ma’oz told IPS.

Yousef, meanwhile, believes the PA is also complicit.

"The PA might say publicly that it is against the collective suffering of Gaza’s civilians under the siege, but actually it is benefiting politically from the blockade as it hopes this will undermine our rule in their favor," he told IPS.

Critics might further argue that Hamas bears some responsibility for the situation by not being more flexible in reaching an agreement with the PA as well as being unwilling to negotiate with Israel.

"Either way, there will be no progress on the lifting of the siege on Gaza until the Palestinian factions get their act together and overcome their differences. That is the essential first step," Ma’oz told IPS.

Source: Inter-Press Service (IPS).
Link: http://www.ipsnews.net/2010/04/mideast-egypt-hamas-complicit-in-israelrsquos-gaza-blockade/.

Torture - Live and Well in Turkey

By Jake R. Hess

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, May 4, 2010 (IPS) - Six years after the ruling Justice and Development Party government declared ‘zero tolerance’ for torture, the practice prevails in Turkey, human rights monitors in the country’s predominantly Kurdish southeastern region say.

As part of its EU membership bid, the Turkish government has expanded legal protections against torture, which is explicitly banned in Turkish law and now carries a mandatory minimum three-year prison sentence.

Detained individuals now have the right to immediately access legal counsel and limits have been placed on the amount of time they can be held in custody without appearing before a judge, though these provisions can be temporarily withheld in the case of terror suspects.

Despite such widely-acclaimed changes, torture is far from being history in Turkey.

According to data provided by the Human Rights Association of Turkey (IHD), documented cases of torture dropped consistently in the years immediately following the announcement of the ‘zero tolerance’ policy, before more than doubling in the year 2008.

Data for 2009 have not been released yet, but data obtained by IPS suggests that they’ll be slightly higher than in 2004, the year after the ruling party’s anti-torture initiative was adopted. That year, IHD recorded 1,040 incidents of torture.

"The biggest problem in Turkey is the problem of mentality," Necdet Ipekyuz, a physician who administers free medical treatment to torture victims on behalf of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV), told IPS in an interview in Diyarbakir. "[Suspects] are innocent until proven guilty. This mentality hasn’t sunken in enough among security units in Turkey."

In 2008, the Justice Minister at the time announced that 4,719 people complained of torture, maltreatment, and being exposed to excessive force in the years 2006 and 2007 alone.

Sezgin Tanrikulu, a prominent human rights lawyer and former chairman of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, told IPS that the most widely-used methods of torture in contemporary Turkey are physical beatings, forcing detainees to listen to music at extreme volumes, and threats.

"Torture takes place in the street, while people are being detained, in official and unofficial detention centers, and prisons," Tanrikulu said.

"In the past, people would be detained for 15 - 20 days, subjected to electric shocks, falaka, forced to hang [in awkward physical positions], cigarettes would be extinguished [on their bodies]," Ipekyuz, a former chair of the Diyarbakir chapter of the Turkish Medical Association, told IPS.

"These things still happen, but rarely," he said, adding that physical beatings and psychological forms of torture, such as threats and insults, are currently the most widespread methods.

The switch to less severe torture methods has been triggered by a de-escalation of the conflict between the Turkish state and PKK guerrillas, legal reforms undertaken with the goal of harmonizing Turkish law with EU regulations, and struggles for change carried out by civil society actors, according to Ipekyuz. Moreover, the purpose of torture has also changed.

"The development of technology has made it easier to watch and follow people, listen to their telephone conversations, read their mail, record their voices from long distances, and collect evidence," Ipekyuz told IPS. "The goal [of torture] is not to make people speak, but to make them own up to" what police purport to have documented them saying in monitored communication, he noted.

Another important change in Turkey’s torture situation concerns the profile of torture victims. According to Tanrikulu, children are currently tortured more often than they were in previous years.

Ipekyuz, the doctor, noted the same trend. "In the past, few children applied to TIHV for treatment," he said. "Now, children younger than 15 apply."

Minors are subjected to torture at demonstrations and verbally threatened and insulted when in police custody, according to Ipekyuz. "The police tell them, ‘we’re going to kill you, disappear you, we won’t let you go to school, you’ll never see your family again, we’ll do certain things to your mother and father, you’re a separatist,’" the physician told IPS.

In a recent report, Amnesty International notes that since 2006, thousands of minors have been arrested and faced prosecution as terrorists for allegedly participating in unauthorized demonstrations in Turkey.

Children are also subjected to beatings in police vehicles and in prison, where minors can be held in pre-trial detention for months, without access to school.

In January, through the agency of their parents, minors being held on terror charges at the Pozanti M Type Children’s Prison in the southern city of Adana claimed that officials there had sprayed them with cold water, beaten them with plastic pipes, and then poured salt in the resulting wounds. "Even the slightest problem can be a justification for torture," parents quoted their children as saying.

According to Amnesty, children previously held at an adult prison in Adana consistently complained of "severe beatings" during transfer to the facility, suggesting that there’s "systematic ill-treatment." Meanwhile, minors awaiting relocation from the adult prison to the one for juveniles asserted that they had "spent periods of more than one week in solitary confinement" before being transferred, according to the London-based human rights group.

One thing that has not changed about torture in Turkey, however, is that impunity is all but the rule for alleged perpetrators. "Administrative protection [for torture suspects] actively continues," Tanrikulu says. "Judges tolerate torture. Prosecutors tolerate torture. Permission isn’t given for investigations," the Kurdish lawyer told IPS.

Following a spate of particularly deadly demonstrations in southeastern Turkey in March 2006, the Diyarbakir Bar Association filed 76 separate official complaints of torture with relevant public authorities. None of them resulted in lawsuits, according to Tanrikulu, who was the Bar Association chairman at the time.

Impunity is not limited to the Kurdish southeast. An investigation by the human rights commission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly found that only two percent of the 2,140 Istanbul police officials subjected to administrative investigations for carrying out torture and maltreatment between the years 2003 and 2008 received punishment.

Source: IPS.
Link: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51307.

About the Issuance of the Black List Issued by the Committee to Protect Journalists

Rejoinder of the Cultural Commission of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
About the Issuance of the Black List Issued by the Committee to Protect Journalists

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

Yesterday, on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued a black list of entities which are allegedly against press freedom. They have included name of the leadership of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) in this list and have claimed that IEA is against the freedom of the press and that its influence has now reached Pakistan.

The Cultural Commission of the Islamic Emirate considers this allegation against the leaders of the Islamic Emirate, leveled by the journalist without borders as baseless and futile. The Cultural Commission believes this accusation is a flagrant violation of the journalistic regulations and therefore, announces as follows:

1. The writ of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is only limited to areas of its influence for activities including military, cultural, administrative, political and judicial. The Islamic Emirate is responsible for conducts of its official organs only in these areas, and can’t be held accountable for activities that occur outside the areas of its control.

2. Any reporter who intends to enter areas under the control of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan for filing their reports should obtain prior permission from local administration of the Islamic Emirate. Those foreigners who fail to obtain the prior permission are dealt with as being violators of the legal prevalent regulations. They would not be considered as genuine journalists and for that, they themselves bear the responsibility.

3. The Cultural Commission of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan urges the Committee to Protect Journalists not to pander to the wishes, ambitions and instructions of the arrogant powers and while preparing these blacklists, should not condone the violations being committed by these arrogants. By doing so, you will prove that you are neutral and are not under the pressure of the influential circles.

4. The presence of the invading forces in Afghanistan is an open threat to journalists and their activities. These foreigners first detained Javaid Ahmad Yazmi for one year and then martyred him. The Journalists Without Borders should fulfill their responsibility by making the foreign invaders to respond to the allegations against them about the death of Martyr Yazami and about the torture of Al-jazeera journalists.

5. Recently a Wikileaks website posted a video on its site about the murder of two Reuter’s journalists in Iraq at the hands of the American troops. The Journalists Without Borders should have included names of the White House and Pentagon rulers for their failure to contain their unscrupulous soldiers from committing this crime in the broad day light. As such, they should have cited in their annual report the names of the perpetrators of this gruesome event as it was their obligation for the protection of the innocent deceased journalists.

Cultural Commission
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Source: Theunjustmedia.
Link: http://theunjustmedia.com/Afghanistan/Statements/May10/Rejoinder%20of%20the%20Cultural%20Commission%20of%20the%20Islamic%20Emirate%20of%20Afghanistan%20About%20the%20Issuance%20of%20the%20Black%20List%20Issued%20by%20the%20Committee%20to%20Protect%20Journalists..htm.

Victories of Mujahideen in the Words of the Enemy

the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan:
Victories of Mujahideen in the Words of the Enemy

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

Recently Pentagon, the American ministry of defense, has released 150-pages report about the growing resistance and influence of the Afghan Mujahideen. The report says, the Kabul surrogate administration maintains its writ in 29 districts out of 121 districts -- which are of paramount strategic importance, for being key terrain for the stabilization of the country. The report reveals, the Islamic Emirate influence has been expanding unremittingly and that the Karzai government control is limited to 25% in these area. The report further says, 2009 was the most successful year for Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate in terms of their extending influence in the country in this period. A 87% increase has been seen in overall attacks and ambushes of the Mujahideen.

The Pentagon military officers-cum-analysts admit that Mujahideen’s tactics are increasing in sophistication and broadness. They are now using complicated methods. The report admits, Mujahideen would never be vanquished completely but instead efforts be made to contain them in order to prevent Karzai government from being ousted.

These are the admissions and statements of a superpower, the president of which W. Bush, had said in 2001 that if we find our enemy in caves in Afghanistan, we will smoke them out and any one who chooses to confront America, in fact, digs his grave with his own hands. Today ground realities in Afghanistan indicate that the enemy and the surrogate administration are ensconced in hide-outs and besieged bases. The Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate have a tangible presence in 80% of the country.

This achievement has not become a reality out of nothing but has a solid foundation behind. The reason is that the aspirations and manifesto of the Islamic Emirate truly reflect the aspirations of the people and they are exactly alike. The people know that the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan are protecting their Islamic, national, cultural and social values and wants. Similarly, this achievement is not the result of any coercion or economic incentives at the hand of the Mujahideen. Contrarily. The enemy has both military might and material means. In the past nine years, they have used both their military power and material incentives to achieve their target. However, ironically, they have failed.

We remind the invading enemy that the reason for your failure is that you have imposed a corrupt administration on the people of Afghanistan; your have invaded the country, Afghanistan and deprived the people of their independence and national sovereignty. You have put thousands of innocent Afghans behind the bars in Guantanamo, Bagram, Pulli-Charkhi, Kandahar and other open and secret jails. You have turned Afghanistan into the cobweb of CIA network; you carry out night raids on people’s houses and martyr defenseless Afghans, and you bombard wedding and funeral ceremonies. Your grip on the country will keep reducing unless and until you put an end to your aggression and stop torturing and martyring the miserable Afghans, and leave the land of the Afghans to the Afghans themselves.

A day will certainly reach when you will have no way except escape and humiliation. Time and situation are both against you. You have to hear this with your ears opened. The more you stay in Afghanistan, the more you will lose your credibility. It is in your interest and in the interest of the whole region to pull your forces out of Afghanistan.

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Source: Theunjustmedia.
Link: http://theunjustmedia.com/Afghanistan/Statements/May10/Victories%20of%20Mujahideen%20in%20the%20Words%20of%20the%20Enemy.htm.

Lithuanian court bans gay pride parade - Summary

Vilnius - A court in Lithuania Wednesday banned a parade of gay and lesbian groups in the capital, Vilnius, which was due to take place this weekend.

The court's ruling - that the event could lead to public disturbances - was branded "beyond understanding" by gay rights associations.

Vilnius County Administrative Court annulled a license permitting the Baltic Pride parade issued by the Vilnius municipal authorities in response to a submission from acting prosecutor general Raimondas Petrauskas.

He claimed that allowing the parade of groups from Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia could lead to public disturbances.

"We have reason to believe that the state will not be able to provide proper protection for the participants," the submission said.

Vytautas Valentinavicius, chairman of the Tolerant Youth Association, one of the organizers of the rally, told the Baltic News Service the court's decision was "beyond understanding" and that he would seek legal advice on an appeal.

Tensions in staunchly Catholic Lithuania have been steadily rising ahead of the Baltic Pride parade, which forms part of a five-day festival and conference on the subject of equal rights for sexual minorities.

Official opposition to the event has attracted widespread international criticism of Lithuania.

On April 4 human rights organization Amnesty International issued a statement calling on Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite to voice support for Baltic Pride.

"The banning of the march, or the failure to ensure the safety of its participants, would send a signal to all Lithuanians, and the rest of the world, that human rights are only selectively upheld there," Amnesty International said.

A spokesman for Grybauskaite told BNS Wednesday she was "surprised" by the prosecutor general's concerns given that police had said they were ready to guarantee public safety and "astonished" by the lack of communication between different parts of the state apparatus.

Lithuania has recently also come under attack for introducing legislation called the Law on Protection of Minors from the Detrimental Effects of Public Information, which civil rights groups claimed was explicitly anti-gay.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/322140,lithuanian-court-bans-gay-pride-parade--summary.html.

EU president sad for Greek victims, but says cuts are unavoidable

Brussels - European Union President Herman Van Rompuy on Wednesday expressed his sympathy over the death of three people in violent protests in Athens against planned austerity measures, but insisted the cuts were necessary.

"Our first thoughts today turn to the victims in Athens," Van Rompuy said in Brussels.

Greece's socialist government has pledged to reduce its deficit by a massive 11 percentage points of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2014, in return for a three-year 110-billion-euro (146 billion dollars) loan from eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

But despite the drama unfolding on the streets of Athens and other Greek cities, Van Rompuy insisted the sacrifices imposed by the EU/IMF bailout were unavoidable.

He said the size of the effort demanded was "extremely important" but added that it was "not without precedent," stressing that Greece itself had carried out a fiscal adjustment "of the same entity" in the 1989-1994 period.

At the time, Greece cut the deficit in its primary balance by 10.8 percentage points of GDP over five years, while now it is asked to reduce it by around 11 points in four years.

Van Rompuy, speaking at a press conference which concluded an EU-Canada summit, also railed against market speculation extending to other eurozone countries such as Greece and Spain.

"I now see totally irrational movements on the markets fueled by totally unfounded rumors," the EU president said, alluding to Tuesday's unconfirmed news that the EU and the IMF were preparing another bailout for Spain.

"The situation in those two countries has nothing to do with the situation in Greece," Van Rompuy stressed.

He declaring himself "certain" that the markets would in due time share his analysis and that "the contagion effect will be stopped."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/322142,eu-president-sad-for-greek-victims-but-says-cuts-are-unavoidable.html.

Flash floods kill at least 20 in western Afghanistan

Kabul - Afghan aid agencies and NATO troops on Wednesday rushed relief supplies to western Afghanistan, where flash floods triggered by torrential rains have killed at least 20 people, officials said.

The flooding began in the western provinces of Herat and Ghor on Tuesday, said Ahmad Shekib Hamraz, an official with the Afghan National Disaster Management Commission.

Thirty people were also injured in flooding 100 kilometers east of Herat City, while the "number missing is still unknown," the NATO alliance said in a statement, quoting initial reports by local authorities.

Hamraz said that at least one person was also killed in Ghor, while hundreds of houses were destroyed.

Several roads linking the remote areas to provincial capitals were washed away by the floods, making it more difficult for authorities to transports supplies and rescue teams to the region.

Afghan and NATO officials conducted an aerial survey of Herat's flooded Obeh area, while 200 blankets, five tons of food and 20,000 bottles of water were transported by military helicopters to the area, NATO said.

Similar flooding was also reported in the northern provinces of Balkh and Samangan, but there were no immediate reports of casualties, officials said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/322150,flash-floods-kill-at-least-20-in-western-afghanistan.html.

Poland names new army chief of staff after plane disaster

Warsaw - Poland's acting President Bronislaw Komorowski named a new army chief of staff Wednesday to fill the position left after the plane crash last month in Russia that killed the president and many senior military officers.

Komorowski said he will appoint to the post three-star General Mieczyslaw Cieniuch, the current senior military adviser for the Ministry of National Defense.

Cieniuch is a person of "great knowledge" and experience, who was "remarkably mature for this function," Komorowski told reporters in Warsaw. Komorowski said he would formally appoint Cieniuch at a ceremony on Friday.

Cieniuch graduated from Armour Officer College in 1974, and rose through military ranks to become commander of a tank regiment in 1985.

In 1996 he took over command of the 8th Coast Defense Division in Koszalin, northern Poland. He was later promoted to Major General in 2001.

Cieniuch was Poland's military representative in NATO and the European Union from 2006 to 2009.

Former Chief of Staff Franciszek Gagor was killed along the the president and 94 other high-ranking politicians and military elite on April 10 in Smolensk, Russia.

The crash also claimed the commanders of the land, air, navy, special forces and operations command, which are all currently being lead by replacements.

Some 11 new parliamentarians were also sworn in Wednesday to replace the MPs killed in the plane crash in Smolensk, Russia.

The replacements were chosen based on the number of votes they received in their party during the 2007 parliamentary elections.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/322153,poland-names-new-army-chief-of-staff-after-plane-disaster.html.

NATO head: Missile defense to cost under 200 million euros - Summary

Brussels - It would cost NATO members less than 200 million euros (262 million dollars) over 10 years to set up an anti-missile screen capable of covering their entire territory, the alliance's secretary general said Wednesday.

NATO states are currently debating whether the alliance should take on, as part of its mission, defense against missile strikes from so-called "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea.

"I know that many people hear the words 'missile defense' and see a big bill. But in fact, the cost is very manageable," Anders Fogh Rasmussen told journalists at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

NATO nations are currently developing an anti-missile system designed to protect soldiers on the battlefield.

"The cost of expanding that system to cover not only our soldiers, but also our populations - normal citizens in our cities ... is less than 200 million euros, over 10 years, spread among the 28 NATO countries," Rasmussen said.

NATO's largest member, the United States, is already moving to site anti-missile systems in Central and Eastern Europe as part of its own defensive screen, arguing that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons to strike at US targets.

"We have a sufficient amount of information and intelligence to know that we are faced with a real threat, taking into consideration the Iranian aspirations as regards missile technology and nuclear programs," Rasmussen said.

Iran has always maintained that its controversial nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes.

NATO leaders are expected to decide at a summit in Lisbon on November 19-20 whether the alliance as a whole should set up its own missile screen. The question is contentious, as some states argue that it would cost too much, others say that it would increase US dominance in Europe and others warn that it would anger Russia.

"My question is this: for that price ... how could we not agree to build defense for all our citizens against missile attacks?" Rasmussen asked.

The "marginal" cost would give "full coverage geographically, as well as protection against the threats we can envisage today," he said.

The Dane, who took up his post in August and has made improving relations with Russia one of his top priorities, has already invited NATO's one-time Cold War foe to join the future missile shield.

"We would very much like to explore the possibilities to cooperate, to link the systems," he said, adding that NATO and Russian diplomats would debate the idea "in the coming months."

Rasmussen stressed that he would not try and predict the decision of the November NATO summit.

But he said that he believed there was an "emerging consensus that we are faced with a real threat," and that the revelation of the low cost of the project had had a "real impact" on the debate.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/322154,nato-headmissile-defence-to-cost-under-200-million-euros--summary.html.

Abbas expects to get green light for proximity talks

Amman - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in Jordan on Wednesday that he intended to meet with his top aides on Saturday to get the go-ahead signal for proximity talks with Israel.

He made the remarks after coordination talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II ahead of the Palestinian leader's meeting with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell and his trip to Washington later this month for talks with President Barack Obama.

"Now we cannot say that there is an agreement to start proximity talks. There is a very important Arab recommendation and the Palestinian leadership will meet on Saturday to say its word concerning the indirect talks," Abbas told reporters in Amman.

"Afterwards, we will tell Mitchell that we are ready for the negotiations and for discussing the final status issues. If this scenario comes true, then we will be on the right track," he said.

The Arab League committee met in Cairo earlier this week and gave is backing for starting the US-brokered proximity talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

"We are keen on full coordination with our Arab brethren and we will consult them at any juncture," Abbas said. "The indirect talks will be for four months after which we will return to the Arab follow-up committee for opinion," he added.

The Palestinian leader said that the indirect talks will go directly "to the final status issues, starting with frontiers and security".

Abbas made a stop-over in Amman after a tour that took him to China, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/322171,abbas-expects-to-get-green-light-for-proximity-talks.html.

Hezbollah to boycott Sunday's municipal elections in Beirut

Beirut - The Iranian-backed Shiite Hezbollah movement announced Wednesday that they will boycott the second phase of Lebanon's municipal elections in order to avoid any "sectarian strife."

Hezbollah and the western-backed opposition was suppose to run Sunday's election in one united list, but the two parties failed to reach an agreement.

A statement by the group said that Hezbollah had felt the current conciliatory atmosphere was an opportunity to form a united list, but that the party faced strong opposition from "the other side (the western-backed ruling majority)."

"To avoid an electoral battle to protect the capital from sectarian strife, a reference to forming a competing list to that of Sunni Prime Minister Saad Hariri's, the "Beirut Unity" list, a decision was taken to boycott the Beirut Municipal elections scheduled to take place on Sunday," the statement said.

The group called on their supporters to only participate in Sunday's mayoral elections and boycott the municipal councils.

Lebanese voters will continue to cast their ballots over three Sundays in May, during which some 963 local councils and nearly 2,800 mayors are due to be elected.

Lebanon's 4-million-strong population is divided between Christians, Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims, with around a third each, as well as a number of other smaller religious groups.

Relations over the past few months have improved between the western-backed majority headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri and the Syrian and Iranian backed Hezbollah opposition.

The mayors and councilors which are elected by voters every six years have no legislative powers, but deal with day-to-day affairs such as education.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/322179,hezbollah-to-boycott-sundays-municipal-elections-in-beirut.html.