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Thursday, December 16, 2010

Algiers dance festival features international troupes

2010-12-15

The 2nd International Contemporary Dance Festival of Algiers will open on December 18th, AFP reported on Tuesday (December 14th). Some 240 dancers from Algeria, France, Sweden, Portugal, Syria, the US, Lebanon, Tunisia, Iraq, Mali, Spain, Côte d'Ivoire, Georgia and Morocco are expected to take part in the event. Lectures and workshops will be held on the sidelines of the festival.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/12/15/newsbrief-08.

Libya, Turkey ink environmental protection accord

2010-12-15

Turkey and Libya signed a major environmental accord in Ankara on Tuesday (December 14th), Turkish press reported. The two countries agreed to co-operate in the fight against marine pollution and climate change, to preserve natural and biological diversity and mount reforestation and erosion control projects, Turkish Minister of Environment and Forestry Veysel Eroglu said. Under the new agreement signed by Libyan Health Minister Muhammad Hijazi, Libya also becomes part of a working group against climate change in the Mediterranean.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/12/15/newsbrief-05.

HRW lauds Morocco for Amazigh name measures

2010-12-15

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday (December 14th) noted "positive results" from Morocco's decision to recognize the legitimacy of Amazigh names. In a directive issued last April, the Moroccan interior ministry defined Amazigh names as meeting the legal prerequisite of being "Moroccan in nature". Since then, HRW reported, Amazigh activists have reported fewer complaints that Civil Registry offices had rejected Amazigh names for newborns.

"By explicitly recognizing Amazigh names as Moroccan, the government has eased a noxious restriction on the right of parents to choose their children's names. This move shows greater respect and recognition for Morocco's ethnically and culturally diverse population", the HRW MENA chief said.

Moroccan Amazighs say they are treated as a minority by members of the dominant Arab culture. Last summer, Morocco presented a report to the UN's Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in Geneva on the efforts made by the country to end discrimination against Amazighs.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/12/15/newsbrief-04.

Right to travel curbed in Libya

Libya denies freedom of movement to hundreds of people suspected of political dissent, rights activists allege.

By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis – 15/12/10

While the second annual report on human rights in Libya issued by the Kadhafi Foundation on Sunday (December 12th) touted "significant progress on some issues", the human rights situation remains dire for Libyan citizens denied mobility rights.

Last June, after Salah Ahmid left prison, his family tried to leave Libya. His relatives demanded that the Libyan Minister of Justice revoke their citizenship. The minister claimed that the issue was beyond him and that it was for the security bodies alone to decide.

Hundreds of other Libyans have also been deprived of passports.

Libyan rights activist Faraj Hamid and his brother suffer from diseases that require them to receive treatment at hospitals outside Libya. But they are denied such a right because the security authorities are withholding their passports.

"My story dates back to February 7th, 2007, when we planned to stage a protest sit-in to mark the first anniversary of Benghazi protests," he said. At least 12 people were killed in February 2006, when the police opened fire on demonstrators in Benghazi protesting against the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

"The police attacked us in a repressive way; we were beaten and my house was burnt. Not only this, they even spilled benzene on me and wanted to set me on fire. However, an official at that moment stopped them and saved me from death. Yet, this didn't prevent them from arresting us. Several charges were made against us by the state security prosecution, including toppling the Jamahiriya regime and the people's authority, assaulting the person of Col. Kadhafi, collaborating with foreign entities, communicating with opposition overseas and sparking chaos and demonstrations," Hamid said.

According to Hamid, protesters received sentences ranging from six to 15 years but were released after human rights associations intervened.

"When I asked about the passport, I found out that it was kept with the security officials," he said.

Hamid and his brother need treatment outside the country because they are "suffering from disabilities as a result of torture".

Rights activist Abderrazek Mansouri shared a similar story.

"I was arrested in January 2005 because of publishing articles probing and criticizing the social and political conditions in Libya. All these articles were published on the internet, especially the Libya news website at that time. After that, I was detained for more than a year and a half. I was released in March 2006," he said.

According to Mansouri, the internal security department in Tripoli claimed that his personal documents, such as his ID card and passport, were lost at the offices of that department.

"After I was released, I met with security officials and asked them to look for my documents or give me a certificate evidencing that my documents were lost by the internal security department in Tripoli. However, their answers were just useless promises and nothing more. Did the Libyan internal security department intend to deprive me of my ID documents? Or was it just an administrative mess that always takes place in the systems that govern in the same way as the regime in Libya?" he wondered.

Unlike Abderrazek Mansouri and Faraj Hamid, who are banned from traveling, Libyan analyst and researcher Guma El-Gamaty and his family suffer from inability to return to their homeland. He has been living in Britain for several years, and was not only deprived of his Libyan passport, but is also threatened with imprisonment if he dares to set foot in Libya.

"To me, it's exactly the other way round. I live in diaspora, in Britain, and have not entered Libya for more than three decades. I don't have a Libyan passport. If I want to have a Libyan passport, a thing the Libyan authorities expressed their willingness to give, then I will have to return to Libya through the security gate, and my file with the different security authorities in Libya will have to be resolved. However, I completely reject this, because the security authorities require returnees from overseas to undertake not to engage in any political, rights or media activities, and to completely avoid public affairs," El-Gamaty said in a statement to Magharebia.

He added that "sometimes conditions include a humiliating demand, requiring the returnee to publicly declare his allegiance to Moamer Kadhafi, his theories and ideas. Thus, we see that the withdrawal of passports from people inside Libya is an express violation of their rights. Likewise, conditions for granting passports to people overseas, requiring them to return under these unjust conditions and restrictions, are also a major and express violation of their rights."

According to El-Gamaty, the political authorities in Libya use the passport, "as a tool to punish, submit and tame those who they are not satisfied with", which is "a violation of all international treaties and principles of basic freedoms".

"Therefore, I personally reject to return through the security gate or under any conditions that would restrict my absolute right to thinking, expressing and criticizing whoever I want in their ideas and policies regardless of their positions. I operate out of a conviction that no one in Libya today should be above criticism, above the law or be a red light! Nobody has the right to create red or green lights that limit our freedoms and the margins of our lives in our homeland. As to my children, they are not a part in any political situation. Therefore, their visit to Libya, their homeland, is a natural right," he said.

Article 13 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights stipulates that "everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country" as well as "the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state".

In the first Universal Periodic Review of Libya, a mechanism by the UN Human Rights Council which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN Member States, the country was criticized by Western countries for "limiting the freedom of expression, compulsory disappearance, and treatment of prisoners and illegal immigrants".

The National Organization for Human Rights in the Libyan Jamahiriya denied accusations made by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International against the Libyan government.

In a statement posted on its website on December 4th, the organization said that the data of the two groups "includes a lot of mistakes and have ignored the continuous developments that are taking place in the field of human rights in the Great Jamahiriya. It also ignored Libya's success in the Universal Periodic Review while presenting its report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on November 9th, 2010."

According to article 20 of the Freedom Enhancement Law in Libya, the "freedom of movement and traveling at the time of peace are guaranteed, and failure to issue passports under any pretext is considered a ban on travel in an indirect way".

In March 1985, Moamer Kadhafi brought an end to travel ban lists, declaring at that time that the ban era was over. According to Mahdi Salah, lawyer and founder of the Libyan Association for the Defense of Human Rights, "the Libyan authorities' measures in withholding passports and banning citizens from traveling, represent a stark violation of the rights of those citizens and an express infringement of international laws and treaties".

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/12/15/feature-01.

Algeria considers gender equality bill

"Women are not represented as much as their skills and abilities merit in political matters," said Family and Women's Affairs Minister Nouara Saadia Djaafar.

By Lyes Aflou for Magharebia in Algiers – 15/12/10

Algeria's National Consultative Committee on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (CNCPPDH) held a conference in Algiers on Thursday (December 9th) on ways to implement civil rights legislation and enhance the role of women in politics.

One hundred and fifty delegates, including ministers, UN agency representatives in Algiers, the two houses of parliament, members of diplomatic bodies in Algiers, along with representatives from the judicial police and national police force, took part in the conference, held to mark the 62nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The discussion focused on "non-discrimination in international charters and legislation", and participants called for action to increase the representation of women in Algeria's political institutions.

One bill under consideration for the past two years would require that women constitute at least 30% of elected bodies, according to Maya Sahli, a UN expert on Africa. Sahli is also a member of the national commission responsible for drafting legislation to enforce Article 31 of the Algerian constitution, which guarantees equality between men and women.

It is up to the political parties to apply the provisions of the proposed law, which is awaiting examination by the Constitutional Council. According to Sahli, the bill provides for the suspension of state subsidies to political groups which refuse to abide by the new rules. Additionally, appointments to higher-level posts within the executive fall within the purview of the president.

The level of political representation among Algerian women was too low, despite "the huge political will behind their advancement", according to CNCPPDH head Farouk Ksentini. He also defended the notion of parity between men and women in political posts. The committee is responsible for implementing the UN's "No to discrimination" theme.

Zerdani Belmihoub Meriem, a member of the judicial commission, recommended banning any form of discrimination regarding women and supporting the idea of promoting parity between the sexes in political representation.

Algeria has ratified all the international conventions to promote women's participation. Belmihoub Meriem also recommended the adoption of a quota system when appointing people to cabinet, embassy and other important posts.

Similarly, Sahli said there is a clear discrimination concerning those from the African continent, particularly when it comes to accessing education.

Women are poorly represented among Algeria's governing assemblies. As an illustration, Family and Women's Affairs Minister Nouara Saadia Djaafar cited the level of women's representation within the National Popular Assembly (APN), which is just 7.75%. In the Wilaya Popular Assemblies (APW), the rate is 13.19%, and it is just 0.74% in the Communal Popular Assemblies (APC).

Djaafar suggested that parties and institutions have not done enough for women's advancement, particularly in the political sphere.

"Women are not represented as much as their skills and abilities merit in political matters," Djaafar said.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/12/15/feature-02.

In A Letter Send To Turkish PM; Likud MK Says Israel Should Have Killed All Marmara Passengers

Wednesday December 15, 2010
Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli sources reported Wednesday that Israeli Member of Knesset of the Likud Party, Dani Dannon, sent a sarcastic letter to Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, telling him that Israeli soldiers should have killed all of the passengers of the Marmara Ship that was heading to Gaza to deliver humanitarian supplies.

During the attack that took place on May 31, Israeli soldiers who boarded the ship before towing it to Ashdod, shot and killed nine Turkish activists and wounded several others.

In his letter, Dannon said that he is sorry the soldiers “had lots of discipline and only killed nine activists”.

He added that “should Israel had a prior knowledge that terrorist were on board, the soldiers would have received orders to kill everyone who threatened their safety”.

Dannon also stated that he is sorry because Israel did not conduct a security check on all passengers of the Turkish ship before it sailed, in addition to “being sorry” because Israel “did not prevent the passengers from arming themselves”.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, denied reports stating that Israel intends to pay compensation to the families of the nine Turkish peace activists who were killed when the Israeli army attacked the Turkish Mavi Marmara solidarity ship that was heading to Gaza to deliver humanitarian supplies.

During a Monday session with his Likud Party, Netanyahu said that Israel is holding talks with Turkey to drop all charges against the soldiers who took place in the attack, and added that any official apology or compensation will make it easier for Ankara to file lawsuits against the soldiers.

Source: International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC).
Link: http://www.imemc.org/article/60186.

Turkish firm to build 5 hydroelectric power plants in Albania

A Turkish company will construct five hydroelectric power plants in Albania, a company statement said on Wednesday.

Wednesday, 15 December 2010

A Turkish company will construct five hydroelectric power plants in Albania, a company statement said on Wednesday.

Ayen Enerji Corporation and Albania-based A.S.Energy SH.P.K. consortium has submitted the best offer in the tender for construction of five hydroelectric power plants in Albania.

The Albanian authorities have invited the consortium to sign a contract for the construction of 87.7-megawatt power plants.

The five power plants will have a capacity to generate 377.3-kwh electricity p.a.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=67444.

Gaza's Al-Quds hospital gets new emergency room

GAZA CITY — The emergency room at Gaza City's Al-Quds hospital, which was damaged during Israel's 2008-2009 invasion, reopened on Wednesday as part of a two-million-euro project funded by France.

The new emergency facility at the Palestinian Red Crescent Society hospital, is intended to serve as diagnostic center, and will soon be equipped with high-tech European medical equipment.

The renovation project began in February in spite of an Israeli blockade which severely restricted the import of the construction materials needed to rebuild Gaza's crumbling infrastructure.

Israel imposed the blockade in 2006 after Gaza militants snatched an Israeli soldier during a cross-border raid, and tightened it a year later when Hamas seized control of Gaza.

But the restrictions were loosened this summer after a deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla attempting to break the embargo on Gaza.

"These rehabilitation works started in February 2010 and required the entry of numerous building materials, which was facilitated by the commitments obtained by France from the Israeli government," the French consulate said in a statement.

At a ceremony opening the new facility, which includes emergency room beds with high-tech monitoring equipment and a medical laboratory, consul-general Frederic Desagneaux it showed French support for the Palestinians.

"Our commitment to Al-Quds hospital will continue, our commitment to the needs of the people of Gaza will continue," he said.

More than half of the two million euros (2.6 million euros) set aside for the project is being used to buy equipment, while another 300,000 euros (400,000 dollars) is being spent on training staff and reorganizing the facility's administration.

"This is not the end of the project and of French assistance to the Al-Quds hospital," Desagneaux said, adding that France would continue to lobby for the end of restrictions on Gaza's imports and exports, and for increased freedom of movement for its 1.5 million residents.

"We are aiming at securing the conditions that will make the reconstruction and development of Gaza possible," he said.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

'Forbidden to Men': new TV show for Maghreb women

From household advice to fashion, beauty tips and cultural news, Maghreb women will see it all in a brand new talk show, designed specifically for women of the region.

By Houda Trabelsi for Magharebia in Tunis – 14/12/10

A program exclusively tackling Maghreb women's issues starts airing on Nessma TV on Tuesday (December 14th).

"Mamnua al-Rejal ('Forbidden to Men') is a Tunisian, Maghreb-oriented television show concerned with everything related to the world of contemporary Maghreb women," said Nessma TV director Nabil Karoui.

"However, it will inevitably raise the curiosity of the opposite sex, given that the show is a roundup of the world of women and attraction of women. In each episode, the show crew will address the most important topics related to women and their daily life concerns, as well as their aspirations. Meanwhile, things dictated by the spirit of originality and long-standing Maghreb traditions in this field will be preserved," he said.

The show will be hosted by Morocco's Kaoutar Boudarajja, along with four other anchors from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, who will invite in each episode art and media celebrities to discuss questions of particular interest and concern to women of the Maghreb.

"The problems and concerns of Maghreb women are not the same as in other areas," the channel director said, adding that the new show will be different from similar versions that already exist on several Arab channels.

"I think that the difference will be the selection of topics, because we have special freedom and a language that is close to viewers, unlike some other channels," Karoui said, emphasizing that "the goal of the channel is to focus on the rosy and positive side of Maghreb women, because the street is full of negative aspects".

When asked about the exclusion of Libya and Mauritania from the Nessma TV map and the fact that no one is representing these two countries in the channel, Karoui said, "The channel is still at the beginning stage and we can't enter all Maghreb markets for the time being, especially in the field of advertising." He added, however, that "Libya and Mauritania will have distinguished presence by the beginning of next Ramadan".

Some, however, warned that the new show wouldn't resonate in the entire Maghreb.

"I think that the Libyan audiences will be least interested in watching this show," Libyan journalist Reem Kadouri told Magharebia. "This is for several reasons, including the frequent use of French words by hosts and the absence of a Libyan host who may represent the Libyan woman, and who may play a major role in attracting Libyan women to watch the show. In addition, the show doesn't shed much light on the different levels of social life of Libyan women."

"I hope that this show will be an opportunity for the appearance of a number of Libyan stars in different fields, and that it will reflect what the Libyan women are living in their society, as part of the Arab Maghreb, given that there is much difference between them and women in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. I really hope so, and I think that the Libyan audiences are keen on watching different media outlets and Arab satellite TV channels, and Nessma TV is one of the channels that have high viewership in Libya," she said.

Kaouther Bardi, a Tunisian actress and one of the show hosts, told Magharebia, "The problems facing Maghreb women are similar to the problems facing women all over the world, because we live in a global village. Therefore, the show can attract all Arab women, and why not women across the world as well!"

"I'll try in the section that I will host to highlight the spirit of Maghreb home through my life experiment as a housewife," Bardi added. "Housewives will find in my section all that is of concern to them in terms of new ideas for arranging their homes, attending to household chores, and we will give them smart and funny tips to help them overcome their daily problems."

In her turn, Algerian singer Salima Abada said: "I don't think that the show will be just a version of other shows in other channels. This is because Maghreb women's concerns and inclinations are different from women's in other areas of the world; something that will make the show a distinguished one."

"I will take care of a section on cultural developments, in which I will propose a selected group of major cultural and art events on the Maghreb level so that Maghreb women may be up to date with the cultural arena, and so that we may get them out of their preoccupation with household affairs and lack of interest in cultural events," she added.

Rym ben Messaoud Zarrouk, a Tunisian who worked with al-Jazeera Children's Channel before joining Nessma TV, told Magharebia, "Mamnuaa al-Rejal is an important opportunity for Maghreb women to express themselves, especially as women in the Maghreb are smart, open and educated and have assumed several important positions. Therefore, I think that the show is for women so that they may freely express what they want and what they aspire to."

She added that "the experiment of working with other colleagues from the different countries in Maghreb is a good opportunity for getting to know about many experiments and cultures." As to her role in the show, she said, "I will take care of a section on elegant life and decoration because this aspect is of concern to Maghreb women who love beauty and elegance."

For her part, Yasmine El Asfar, a member of the TV program "Lamassat" on Morocco's 2M, said, "I will try to focus on the interests of Moroccan and Maghreb women in general through my section, which is concerned with fashion, beauty and major trends in elegance, cosmetics and jewelery." She added that "this side is important for women all over the world, and not just in the Maghreb".

"We hope that this show will be different from the other typical shows that are concerned with women. We also hope that it will add something to the Maghreb women who we believe deserve much attention in the media," Samira El Othmani, a journalist at Morocco's Al Massae daily, told Magharebia.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/12/14/feature-02.

Morocco moves to protect AIDS patients' rights

The UN estimates that 3,000 Moroccans contract AIDS every year and 80% of them are unaware they have the condition.

By Naoufel Cherkaoui for Magharebia in Rabat – 14/12/10

Morocco's Advisory Council on Human Rights (CCDH) signed an agreement on December 6th in Rabat with the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) aimed at protecting the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.

"Within the framework of our work to promote and protect human rights, we will work on raising awareness that people infected and living with HIV/AIDS shouldn't be treated as outcasts," CCDH President Ahmed Herzenni told Magharebia. "We will also work to change the misconceptions about this disease, which can be avoided through prevention. We must also work to safeguard the rights and dignity of people infected with it."

Kamal Alami, director of the UNAIDS program in Morocco, told Magharebia that "this initiative is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region that gives people living with HIV/AIDS the opportunity to benefit from the major progress that was made in the field of human rights in Morocco."

"The agreement is part of efforts to support the national strategic anti-AIDS program within the framework of reviewing the program in terms of human rights," Alami said. "Many recommendations said that this field must be enhanced while working to combat this disease, as when there is exclusion and discrimination against the people living with HIV/AIDS, they would resort to isolation, and in this way they would not benefit from the prevention programs and from support provided to them."

"Morocco is doing good work in combating AIDS, given that there is commitment on the part of the highest authorities in the country," Alami noted. "In regional conferences, Morocco appears to be the most advanced in this field as compared to the rest of countries in the North Africa and Middle East region."

The UN official added that there was more work to be done, particularly "by expanding the prevention programs to reach some remote areas that none of these programs has reached before. In addition, we must encourage people to check for the disease, since we found out that 80% of people infected with the disease in Morocco don't know that they are infected."

In her turn, Aziza Benanni, head of the national anti-AIDS program for the Moroccan Health Ministry, told Magharebia: "Upon reviewing the national, strategic anti-AIDS plan, we found that there was lack of respect of human rights and in other fields as well. In the framework of the partnership which was kicked off today, we hope to cover all fields and to expand the field of respect of human rights."

"Within the framework of partnership with civil society, we are working on expanding access to early detection of AIDS, given that this facilitates the process of living with the disease and providing support for infected people," she added. "However, we notice low turnout on the part of Moroccans in this process."

Benanni noted that "the Moroccan government is expanding access to detection of the disease". She added that the government "established screening centers at non-government organizations. It has also structured the screening at the primary health centers, and ensured that infected people receive tri-therapy free of charge."

As to the number of people infected with AIDS in Morocco, Alami said, "The latest report of the UNAIDS, which was issued two weeks ago, has estimated the number of AIDS patients in Morocco at 26,000 people." He added that "3,000 cases of infections are recorded every year. However, the incidence rate in Morocco is still low, like the Mediterranean Sea area, which is 1 per 1,000, as compared to some African countries, where the incidence rate is 10%."

Speaking to Magharebia, an HIV-infected woman who did not want her identity published, said that she contracted the disease 20 years ago, after her divorce, when she had several unprotected sexual relationships with different people.

"It was at a time when there were not many means of awareness available, as is the case now," she said.

She added, "There is still discrimination against people affected by AIDS," as she was banned from entering the public bath and hair salon as well as a dental clinic after the news of her infection spread. "Mentalities have changed with time," she concluded.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/12/14/feature-01.

Tunisian defense officials visit Algeria

2010-12-14

Tunisian Defense Minister Ridha Grira led an official delegation to Algiers on Monday (December 13th) According to Ansa, the visit aims to strengthen military co-operation between Algeria and Tunisia.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/12/14/newsbrief-05.

بدائل السلطة لمواجهة الاستيطان ضعيفة

15/12/2010 م

حسب محللين فلسطينيين
بدائل السلطة لمواجهة الاستيطان ضعيفة

ضياء الكحلوت-غزة

اتفق محللون وخبراء على أن بدائل السلطة الفلسطينية لمواجهة التعنت الإسرائيلي في قضية المفاوضات والانحياز الأميركي غير مجدية وأنها مناورة يراد بها الضغط على الأميركيين رعاة التفاوض، والإسرائيليين.

وكان الرئيس الفلسطيني محمود عباس قد تحدث عن سبعة بدائل سيتم اتخاذها في حال فشل المساعي الأميركية في التوصل لاتفاق سلام، أبرزها اللجوء إلى مجلس الأمن مع ضمان عدم وجود فيتو أميركي للاعتراف بحدود الدولة الفلسطينية وآخرها اللجوء إلى حل السلطة ردا على فشل هذه الخيارات والمساعي.

ويرى المحللون والخبراء في أحاديث منفصلة للجزيرة نت أن تعدد الخيارات لا يعني قوتها وأن إسرائيل والإدارة الأميركية لا تأخذها على محمل الجد، كما أنها تعبر عن عجز السلطة الفلسطينية.

ضعيفة وضبابية

فقد قال أستاذ العلوم السياسية بجامعة الأزهر بغزة ناجي شراب إن تعدد الخيارات لا يعني قوتها وإنما يعني ضبابية في الاختيار، موضحًا أن طبيعة هذه الخيارات تحتاج إلى بيئة إقليمية وفلسطينية وإسرائيلية لترجمتها.

وأضاف شراب "كل مكوناتها (الخيارات والبدائل) ليست فلسطينية فالخيارات ترتبط بالتوازن وهذا يتطلب دورا فلسطينيا وعربيا ودوليا ومن الولايات المتحدة".

وفسر شراب ذلك بقوله "عند الذهاب للأمم المتحدة ستعارض واشنطن وسوف يكون هناك استخدام لحق الفيتو والأوروبيون كذلك يربطون الاعتراف بفشل تام للمفاوضات".

وأشار شراب إلى أن هناك حاليا محاولات أميركية لإيجاد حلول وسط لاستئناف المفاوضات يتمثل أحدها في توفير ضمان أميركي بأن تهدم المستوطنات الموجودة ضمن حدود الدولة الفلسطينية حين الاتفاق على الحدود.

وخلص المحلل السياسي الفلسطيني إلى أن هذه الخيارات ضرب من التلويح والتهديد والضغط السياسي على الولايات المتحدة الأميركية وعلى إسرائيل، مشيرا إلى أنها عمل تكتيكي وليست خطة إستراتيجية.

اقتناع بالفشل

ويوافقه الرأي المحلل السياسي مخيمر أبو سعدة الذي يرى أن طرح البدائل "مناورة للضغط على الإدارة الأميركية وإسرائيل"، مبينا أن كثيرا منها صعب وخاصة الذهاب إلى مجلس الأمن وهذا لن يحصل دون موافقة أميركا وهي ترفض ذلك بالطبع.

وأشار أبو سعدة إلى أن إسرائيل والإدارة الأميركية لا تأخذ هذه البدائل على محمل الجد فهذه ليست المرة الأولى التي يهدد فيها عباس "وأعتقد أن الأميركيين يحاولون إنعاش المفاوضات ولكن على حساب الفلسطينيين".

وعن طبيعة البديل، قال أبو سعدة "يجب أن يقتنع الرئيس محمود عباس والسلطة الفلسطينية بأن طريق المفاوضات طريق فاشل لأنها لم تحقق شيئا، والحل هو العودة للشعب الفلسطيني"، معبرًا عن استغرابه تمسك السلطة ومنظمة التحرير بالمفاوضات رغم انسداد أفقها وطريقها.

ويرى أبو سعدة أنه "يجب إنهاء الانقسام الداخلي فهذه مسألة أساسية من أجل الضغط على إسرائيل والمجتمع الدولي".

حالة عجز

وبدوره يعتقد الكاتب والباحث الفلسطيني إبراهيم المدهون أن السلطة الفلسطينية لا تمتلك أي رؤية لمواجهة التعنت الإسرائيلي والانحياز الأميركي، معتبرًا أن الحديث عن بدائل تعبير عن حالة العجز الذي عانى منها المفاوض الفلسطيني.

وقال المدهون إن هذه البدائل ليست جديدة وإنها صعبة للغاية، فحل السلطة مثلاً في رأيه لن يجدي نفعًا لأن هناك قيادات في حركة التحرير الوطني الفلسطيني (فتح) وخارجها جاهزة لتسلم السلطة بدلا من الرئيس عباس.

وأشار المدهون إلى أن العجز الفلسطيني هو امتداد للعجز العربي الرسمي الذي وصفه بأنه "وضع بيضه في سلة واحدة" وهي المفاوضات.

وأوضح المدهون أنه ليس سهلا على السلطة الفلسطينية أن تقوم بأي خطوة بمعزل عن موافقة الإدارة الأميركية، متوقعًا أن تعود السلطة إلى المفاوضات بتغطية عربية مرة أخرى.

المصدر: الجزيرة.
الرابط: http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/EXERES/BD8DB279-2237-4AB1-8525-9F097C3B8B49.htm.

السلطة تغلق وسائل إعلام بالضفة

15/12/2010 م

عاطف دغلس-نابلس

أغلقت السلطة الفلسطينية عددا من المحطات الإذاعية والتلفزيونية المحلية بالضفة الغربية الاثنين بحجة عدم تصويب تلك المحطات أوراقها الرسمية وعدم دفعها الرسوم المالية، الأمر الذي قوبل برفض مطلق من أصحاب هذه المؤسسات.

فقد أكد النائب العام أحمد المغني صدور قرار بإيقاف بث 15 محطة دون أن يعني ذلك إغلاقها كليا، مشددا على أن المسألة قانونية بحتة لأن المحطات لم تحصل على التراخيص اللازمة ولم تقم بتصويب أوضاعها القانونية.

وأكد المغني للجزيرة نت أنه لا يوجد أي أسباب سياسية وراء القرار، وأن السلطة الفلسطينية منحت المؤسسات المعنية عدة فرص لتقوم بإجراءاتها القانونية إلا أنها لم تلتزم، مذكرا بأن هذه المؤسسات وحتى بعد صدور القرار أمهلت يوما كاملا حتى تقدم أوراقها، وأن هناك من استجاب فعليا لهذا القرار.

من جهته نفى وكيل وزارة الإعلام الدكتور متوكل طه علمه المسبق بقرار إغلاق المحطات، وقال إن اجتماعا عقدته اللجنة الثلاثية الفنية المكونة من وزارات الإعلام والاتصالات والداخلية أكد على أن هناك محطات لم تستكمل دفع رسوم ترخيصها ولم تنته إجراءاتها بوزارة الداخلية، "ما يعني أن أوراقها غير مكتملة لديهم كوزارة إعلام".

تنفيذا للقانون

وأكد في حديثه للجزيرة نت أنهم مع تنفيذ القانون بحذافيره "بما فيها تلك التي تتطلب السلامة الأمنية للمحطة والعاملين فيها"، كما أنهم مستعدون للتوصل لتفاهمات بين المحطات والجهات الأخرى لتقسيط المستحقات المالية.

ونفى المسؤول الفلسطيني أن يكون لديهم بصفتهم وزارة إعلام أي قرار بإغلاق محطة إذاعة القران الكريم بنابلس، ودعا القائمين عليها بفتحها وإعادة البث، الأمر الذي قوبل باستغراب من قبل القائمين على هذه الإذاعة، مؤكدين أن مشكلتهم مع وزارة الإعلام حصرا.

وفي هذا السياق، قال مدير عام إذاعة القران الكريم بنابلس رضى ملحس إنهم حصلوا على الأوراق اللازمة من وزارة الداخلية وهي ما تسمى بورقة عدم الممانعة "السلامة الأمنية" من جهازي المخابرات والأمن الوقائي، وعلى تصريح بجودة المعدات وتقنيتها العالية قبل دفع الرسوم المستحقة لدى وزارة الاتصالات.

وأضاف أن المشكلة لا تزال عالقة لدى وزارة الإعلام التي بدورها رفضت إعطاء ترخيص "لمحطة دينية" انطلاقا من قرار وزاري "صدر بعد إنشاء محطتنا بأربع سنوات "ينص على حصر المحطات الدينية بالسلطة الفلسطينية".

وأشار إلى أنهم طرحوا تسوية مع وزارة الإعلام، حيث طلبوا ترخيصا منها باسم الشركة المالكة لإذاعة القرآن "شركة الصفا" وذلك بناء على اقتراحات من مسؤولين بالسلطة، إلا أن الوزارة رفضت ذلك وادعت أنه تحايل على المسمى، وأنه "ليس مطلوبا تغيير الاسم فقط وإنما المحتوى أيضا".

الإغلاق مرفوض

من جهته رفض نقيب الصحفيين بالضفة عبد الناصر النجار إغلاق أي محطة تحت أي ذريعة، وأكد أن هذه المحطات ستعاود العمل في القريب ولمدة شهر كامل، حيث ستبحث النقابة والجهات المختصة خلال هذه الفترة كيفية الخروج من هذا المأزق.

وقال إن الخلل يكمن لدى الطرفين، حيث تفرض الجهات المختصة شروطا صعبة بما فيها السلامة الأمنية "حسن السلوك"، وتطلب تراخيص أو تصويب وضع المؤسسة الإعلامية بشكل متكرر دون الاكتفاء بعملها لمرة واحدة فقط، بحيث يمر الطلب الجديد بنفس المراحل المعقدة السابقة.

كما أن أصحاب المحطات لم يلتزموا بدفع المستحقات وإتمام أمور الترخيص رغم الاتفاق الذي وفرته النقابة لهم مع الجهات الرسمية بتقسيط أكثر من 80% من الرسوم المطلوبة.

يشار إلى أن السلطة الفلسطينية كانت قد أغلقت مع بداية العام الجاري عددا من المحطات الإذاعية والتلفزيونية لنفس الأسباب.

المصدر: الجزيرة.
الرابط: http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/EXERES/647C3251-21CC-49BA-930A-D9E72EBE2796.htm.

NATO members, Eurasian countries hold joint exercise in Turkey

ANKARA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- A total of 19 NATO member states and Eurasian countries are holding a joint command exercise in Turkey, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported Tuesday.

Hosted by Turkey's Third Army Corps, the "Eurasian Star-2010 Computer-Aided Command Exercises" started on Dec. 7 and will end on Dec. 15, Colonel Erol Tuna, director of the Third Army Corps for public relations, was quoted as telling a news conference in Istanbul.

Altogether 962 military officials took part in the exercise, coming from NATO members including Turkey, the United States, Germany, Bulgaria, France, the Netherlands, Britain, Spain, Italy, Canada, Romania and Greece as well as Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia and Serbia, said Tuna.

The exercise was aimed at enhancing the training level of headquarters personnel in operational planning and execution and improving cooperation in a peace support operation under the NATO command, said the report.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-12/14/c_13649012.htm.

EU and Jordan sign air transport agreement

The European Union and Jordan have today signed a comprehensive air services agreement, which will open up and integrate their respective markets, strengthen cooperation and offer new opportunities for consumers and operators.

The agreement will establish a “Euro Mediterranean Aviation Area” between Jordan and the EU based on common rules and a liberalization of the air markets. The signing reflects the substantial deepening of the EU–Jordan relationship, which has now culminated in an “advanced status partnership” and a new ENP Action Plan. It coincides with King Abdullah II of Jordan’s visit to the President of the Commission José Manuel Barroso and High Representative Catherine Ashton on 15 and 16 December.

Vice-President Siim Kallas, Commissioner responsible for transport, said: “Today’s agreement will boost trade and tourism in Jordan and the EU. It will allow Jordan to become a full partner of the EU in aviation and pave the way towards a wider Euro Mediterranean Aviation Area. This is a very important step in our strategy of closer integration between the EU and its Mediterranean partners. I want to thank the Jordanian Authorities for their commitment to bringing Jordan and the EU closer together in the field of air transport during over the past few years.”

The agreement will open the respective markets and integrate Jordan into a Common Aviation Area with the EU. As a result of the agreement, Jordan will harmonize its legislation with European standards and implement EU aviation rules in areas such as aviation safety, security, environment, consumer protection, air traffic management, competition issues and social aspects.

The agreement will enable all EU airlines to operate direct flights to Jordan from anywhere in the EU and vice-versa for Jordanian carriers. The cross-investments between Jordan and Europe will be encouraged allowing any EU carriers to set up a subsidiary in Jordan and vice-versa. The agreement will remove all restrictions on prices, routes and quotas of flights between Jordan and the EU.

This agreement will pave the way for the creation of a wider Euro Mediterranean Aviation Area with the various Mediterranean partners. A similar agreement has already been concluded between the EU and Morocco in 2006 and negotiations are ongoing with Israel, Tunisia and Lebanon.

15 December 2010

Source: eucommerz.
Link: http://www.eucommerz.com/a/0646_eu_and_jordan_sign_air_transport_agreement.

Iraq business elite flourish in Jordan safe haven

By Suleiman al-Khalidi
ZARQA, Jordan | Wed Dec 15, 2010

(Reuters) - In the luxury of his smart office in a Jordanian duty free zone, Iraqi entrepreneur Sahib Al-Haddad takes orders for his new milk powder factory from merchants in Baghdad.

Visitors are met by a painting of Iraq's once mighty Tigris river and lush palm trees, hundreds of miles from Al-Haddad's factory in the dusty Jordanian re-export zone.

Al-Haddad, from a prominent Iraqi Shi'ite merchant family, reminisces about his childhood in Najaf and the decades of war, sanctions and isolation which followed. But although violence is decreasing back home and the economy slowly recovering, he says his Crescent Company for Milk Products is staying in Jordan.

"Iraq is still not a secure market," he said in his factory, located on the main land route linking the neighboring Arab states. "We will never move out of Jordan, but maybe we will expand from Jordan to Iraq."

Thousands of Iraqi businessmen took refuge in Jordan in the 1990s, when their country was crippled by U.S. bombing and United Nations economic sanctions following its invasion of Kuwait. The U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 brought more turmoil.

The duty free zone in Zarqa, on the outskirts of the Jordanian capital Amman, expanded as Jordan became a safe haven for Iraqi businesses from construction firms to restaurants specializing in Iraq's famed fish dish -- Masqouf.

Many wealthy Iraqis have set up joint ventures in Jordan with international companies to supply their country with products and services. Some have expanded from that base to do business across the Middle East.

Iraqi investors who poured billions of dollars into the Jordanian economy in the last two decades include the Khawam brothers, traders and industrialists who were backed by Saddam Hussein, major hotelier Jawad Kasab, and the prominent Bunnia merchant family.

BUSINESS "NEEDS STABILITY"

Only a handful of businessmen are considering reopening industries closed after the crushing sanctions imposed for Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait -- in contrast to major oil firms who have moved quickly to establish a presence in the country which sits on some of the world's largest oil reserves.

Lacking the security resources of the big oil companies, Iraq's family-owned businesses are more vulnerable to the ethnic and sectarian strife which still plagues their country.

Nabil Rassam, head of Nabil Company for Food Products, whose family business emerged as a top regional meat processing firm two decades after sanctions hit their Baghdad operations, says Iraq remains a risky place for business.

"When security prevails and there is electricity we can do something. It's not easy now to succeed in Iraq, you need stability," said Rassam, a Christian Iraqi.

The Nabil brand has become a household name in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon as well as Iraq -- although its factories inside Iraq have been closed for years.

Its main Jordan operations have recently been expanded to triple production of high quality processed frozen meat to 90 tonnes daily. Their exports go to the Gulf and include markets in Europe and the United States.

Several Iraqi businessmen in Jordan have won subcontracting work with the oil firms in Iraq. But although they travel between the two countries, most are wary of moving permanently.

Even if security improves, big hurdles to business in Iraq remain with infrastructure degraded by decades of war and sanctions, underinvestment and an economy struggling with inadequate power generation.

UNCERTAIN FUTURE

The Iraqi business class have created their own ambiance in the Jordanian capital and their mansions dot Amman's exclusive residential areas.

Land registry figures rank Iraqis on top of the list of non-Jordanian property buyers, spending over $250 million in the last ten months of this year.

Iraqi arrivals brought in billions of dollars into property assets or Jordanian stocks. They now constitute a substantial chunk of the country's 18 billion dinars (£15.9 billion) of deposits in the banking system.

But some businessmen say Jordan may be losing its appeal, citing tough visa and residency rules that triggered a capital flight to more attractive destinations in Dubai and Lebanon. Stifling bureaucracy has also scared off Iraqi investors.

"We have long told our Jordanian brothers that you should do more to attract businessmen instead of making them flee to other places," said Abbas Shamara, a prominent Iraqi business leader whose group has diverse utilities and energy related holdings.

Jordanian banks were also losing business to Lebanese banks who won over Iraqi firms hungry for capital, filling the vacuum left by an Iraqi banking sector that remains largely isolated from world financial markets and offers little credit.

"We deterred many Iraqi investors. If we had acted more wisely we would have attracted at least triple the investments that have come from Iraq," said Ziyad Basha, a Jordanian business consultant who advises leading Iraqi firms.

(Editing by Dominic Evans and Samia Nakhoul)

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6BE31L20101215.

Jordan condemns Chabahar attack

Wed Dec 15, 2010

Jordanian King Abdullah II has condemned the recent terrorist attack in the southeastern Iranian city of Chabahar, which killed and injured scores of people.

At least 33 people, including women and children, were killed and almost 83 others were wounded in an attack which occurred at the Imam Hussein mosque in Chabahar on Wednesday.

People were commemorating the martyrdom of the third Shia Imam.

King Abdullah II "sent a cable to [Iran's] President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, condemning the terrorist bombing," AFP quoted an announcement by Jordan's royal palace as saying.

"[King Abdullah II] stressed Jordan's support for the brotherly Iranian people to overcome their terrible ordeal."

President Ahmadinejad invited King Abdullah II to visit Tehran in a letter delivered on Sunday. The Jordanian King welcomed the invitation and called for more relations between Tehran and Amman.

Chabahar Governor Ali Bateni announced earlier on Wednesday that Iran's security and civil forces have arrested one of the perpetrators of the attack.

The terrorist group Jundallah has claimed responsibility for the attack, the Arabic-language al-Arabiya satellite news channel reported earlier on Wednesday.

Jundallah, a Pakistan-based terrorist group, has carried out numerous bombings, assassination attempts, and terrorist attacks in Iran.

Its leader Abdolmalek Rigi was arrested by Iranian intelligence forces in February 2010 and executed in June for 79 counts of crimes, including armed robbery, bombing operations and armed attacks on police and civilians.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/155621.html.

Israel eying free US F-35 fighter jets

Wed Dec 15, 2010

Despite rejecting US calls for extending a partial settlement freeze on the occupied Palestinian territories, Israel is still looking to acquire another 20 US-built F-35 fighter jets free of charge.

Earlier in November, the United States offered Israel a package of incentives in return for stopping the expansion of Jewish settlements for 90 days in the occupied West Bank.

The offer included providing Israel with another 20 radar-evading Joint Strike Fighter jets worth USD 3 billion, vetoing or opposing any initiatives at the UN Security Council critical of Israel, and signing a comprehensive security agreement with Israel.

It was aimed at saving the new round of direct negotiations between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel.

Despite speculations that Israel's refusal to renew its partial settlement freeze has effectively taken the package of incentives offered by the US off the table, media reports suggest that Tel Aviv is still exploring ways to acquire an extra 20 stealth fighters.

Earlier in August, the US agreed to sell Israel 20 radar-evading Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets for more than USD 3 billion. The systems were due to be delivered by approximately 2016.

The deal made Israel the first buyer outside the aircraft's nine-nation co-development group.

"We ordered 20 F-35s, then, during the talks about freeze, the Americans put 20 additional plane on the table,” a senior Israeli official told AFP on Wednesday, adding that Tel Aviv is not willing to pay for the additional 20 jets and is "trying to find another arrangement."

"It was discussed during the summer when the United States was talking about the USD 60 billion weapons deal with Saudi, in the context of the American policy of maintaining Israel's qualitative military edge. But nothing was settled. We will continue to discuss it", he added.

The new round of direct negotiations between Israel and the PA started in Washington in September after a 20-month hiatus.

However, the talks reached a deadlock shortly after re-launch over Tel Aviv's refusal to meet the Palestinian side's demand for extending the partial settlement freeze in the West Bank. Israel resumed its illegal construction work hours after the expiry of the 10-month moratorium.

Palestinians believe that the expansion of Jewish settlements on the occupied lands will reduce the likelihood of the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/155649.html.

Israeli forces raid Palestinian MP house

Wed Dec 15, 2010

Israeli military forces have broken into the house of Palestinian lawmaker Samira al-Halaika and questioned her along with her son during a raid in the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron).

The Hamas politician said that four Israeli army vehicles stopped in front of her home in the Shuyukh district of the city at noon on Tuesday and questioned all those inside, including her son Osama, the Palestinian Information Center reported.

Last month, Israeli army soldiers stormed Halaika's house, locked up all her family members in one room and took away her eldest son, Anas, in a pre-dawn raid.

Halaika said she would hold Israel responsible for any repercussions that might befall her son.

More than 11,500 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons under harsh conditions, according to Palestinian sources. A total of 270 of the detainees are under the age of 18 years and 33 of the prisoners are women.

According to Palestinian data, the prisoners are subjected to various kinds of mistreatment and torture in Israeli detention facilities and are often deprived of visits by their family .

The Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners states that almost half of the 315 prisoners arrested before the Oslo Agreement have been in Israeli jails for more than 20 years.

There are more than 1,500 illness cases among prisoners in Israeli jails including heart problems, kidney failures, and cancer. Israeli authorities deprive these ailing prisoners of adequate medical care and often medication is limited to painkillers alone.

There also prisoners kept in solitary confinement, which leads to psychological problems. The data indicates that about 14 prisoners have been subjected to isolated confinement for more than five years.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/155578.html.

Ireland to deploy troops to Lebanon

Wed Dec 15, 2010

The Irish Republic has given the green light for the deployment of the country's soldiers in South Lebanon under the command of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

A total of 440 Irish peacekeeping troops are heading back to Lebanon after the government on Tuesday backed a recommendation by Defense Minister Tony Killen.

They are expected to serve with the UNIFIL forces from the second quarter of 2011, The Irish Independent newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The Irish troops will conduct extensive mobile patrols in armed military vehicles and will monitor activities along the Lebanon-Israel border. Their area of operation will be a 140-square-kilometer block, which extends from Tibnin in the South to the UN-drawn Blue Line along the border with Israel.

“It is vitally important for Ireland to maintain a level of commitment to international peacekeeping operations and the obligations it has assumed through its membership of the UN,” Killeen said.

“Overseas operations contribute greatly also to the professional development of our defense forces. Savings being achieved through the drawdown of troops from other overseas missions will partially offset the cost of Ireland's participation in UNIFIL, most of which will be met by the UN.”

Irish troops previously served in Lebanon for nearly a quarter of a century until their withdrawal in 2001. In October 2006, 150 Irish soldiers served in Lebanon as peacekeepers following a month-long war between Israel and Lebanon in July of that year.

A total of 47 Irish troops have lost their lives while serving in South Lebanon.

The UNIFIL was set up in 1978 to monitor the border between Israel and southern Lebanon and was given a wider role after the 2006 war Israel waged against Lebanon.

However, UNIFIL's inaction towards border conflicts and almost daily violations of Lebanese airspace by Israeli war planes has made it unpopular among the people of southern Lebanon.

In November, a former UNIFIL commander, Alain Pellegrini, revealed Israel's attempts to spy on the international troops.

He told al-Manar TV station that Israeli agents had access to all the reports and information submitted by the UNIFIL forces to the United Nations, adding that he did not know the exact mechanism allowing this infiltration.

“The information goes to the Israelis either by tapping, or at the time it reaches the United Nations in New York,” Pellegrini said.

"Every time I send my semi-annual report to the UNIFIL, attached by details for the leadership of United Nations forces alone, and despite the fact that the report is encrypted, I immediately receive after each report to New York, a letter from the Israeli Army, containing suggestions for writing the report, hoping to amend it!"

In an earlier interview with the Lebanese daily As-Safir, Pellegrini disclosed repeated attempts by Washington to persuade UNIFIL to fall in line with its own policy.

"I was offered to join American officers in the event of launching joint operations," he said in a reference to events around the July-August 2006 war Israel waged against Lebanon.

"The US had deployed (off the coast of Lebanon) the 24th Marine Intervention Unit, which has the capability to intervene in my operational area and would be ready to provide me with reinforcements in case of launching any operation."

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/155589.html.

Sweden prolongs Afghan troop mission

Wed, 15 Dec 2010

Stockholm - Sweden's parliament Wednesday extended to 2013 the Swedish troop deployment in Afghanistan in line with a previous agreement between the government and two opposition parties.

In all 290 members of the 349-seat legislature voted to extend the life of the mission. The current mandate expires at the end of this year.

At present Sweden has a 500-strong force. The decision allowed it to be increased by some 385 extra troops next year, if necessary.

Other components were that Sweden would add two rescue helicopters. A gradual handover to Afghan authorities would begin during 2011. The following year a civilian was to head the Swedish mission that includes civilian aid.

Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's government is two seats shy of a majority in parliament and needed backing from the opposition.

Over the weekend Sweden experienced its first suicide attack. Two bystanders were injured while the suspected bomber, a 28-year-old Iraqi-born man was the only fatality. The man, a Swedish citizen, sent a threatening email just minutes before the blasts.

The email included audio files with statements in several languages condemning Sweden's involvement in Afghanistan.

Several politicians said during the debate that Sweden should not bow to pressure, including Karin Enstrom, who chairs the joint committee on foreign affairs and defense.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358344,prolongs-afghan-troop-mission.html.

WikiLeaks founder set to continue legal battle - Summary

Wed, 15 Dec 2010

London/Stockholm- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was Wednesday facing the next stage in his battle to be freed from custody in Britain against "vigorous objections" from Sweden.

The High Court in London will hear an appeal by lawyers representing Swedish prosecutors Thursday, two days after the 39-year-old Australian was granted conditional bail by a magistrates' court in the British capital.

Assange is wanted in Sweden on allegations of sex offenses against two women, which he denies. He was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant, issued by Sweden, on December 7, and is being held at Wandsworth prison in London.

A judge at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court ruled Tuesday that he should be set free against the cash payment of a bail sum of 200,000 pounds (315,000 dollars), plus two sureties of 20,000 pounds.

But, within minutes of the British bail ruling, lawyers for Swedish prosecutors lodged their appeal, arguing that Assange was a "flight risk" on account of his "nomadic lifestyle."

Lawyer Gemma Lindfield, acting for the Swedish authorities, reminded the court that Assange had been placed in custody after his arrest last week because he was considered to be a flight risk.

"It's submitted that nothing has changed since last week to allay the court's fears in this regard," she said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Swedish prosecution agency in Stockholm said the decision to appeal was made by the British legal counsel appointed by the court in London.

"They took the decision, they were not in touch with us," spokesman Fredrik Berk told the German Press Agency dpa.

Presiding judge Howard Riddle, while granting bail, remarked that his decision was taken "despite very vigorous objections."

"These are serious allegations of sexual assault. Mr Assange has the means of flight and his ties to this country are far from strong," said Riddle.

The move to appeal against bail was condemned by supporters of Assange, who alleged that there was a "secret political agenda" behind the Swedish request for his extradition - given the Australian's international notoriety over the recent leaks of masses of confidential US diplomatic cables.

"The suggestion that he is a flight risk is faintly ludicrous," Assange's lawyer, Mark Stephens, said Wednesday. An electronic tag, which his client would have to wear under bail conditions, would allow the authorities to "locate him 24 hours a day."

"One has to ask oneself why are the Swedish authorities so dead-set that he will spend Christmas in jail? Do they have the genes of Scrooge?" asked Stephens.

Bail conditions require Assange to surrender his passport to the police and to observe a curfew, monitored by an electronic tag.

Assange, who was in hiding in Britain for several weeks before he turned himself in at a London police station earlier this month, told the court that he would have a residential address in Britain - a main precondition for bail.

He would be living on the country estate in Norfolk, south-east England, of Vaughan Smith, a wealthy farmer and former Colonel in the British army. Smith runs the London Frontline Club, a center he founded in 2003 to promote independence and transparency in journalism.

Reports from Tuesday's court proceedings said that Assange's initial reluctance to disclose details of his future residential address in Britain were rebutted by the judge who said such behavior would fly in the face of the transparency promoted by WikiLeaks.

Meanwhile, Stephens told the BBC Wednesday that efforts to raise the bail money were going well.

Prominent donors and backers included filmmakers Michael Moore and Ken Loach, author Hanif Kureishi, novelist Tariq Ali and human rights activist Bianca Jagger and Jemima Khan, the ex-wife of former Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan. The general public had also given money.

Meanwhile in Sweden, Berg confirmed that the prosecuting authority had filed a new police complaint after their website unexpectedly went down overnight for the second time in a week. It was up and running again Wednesday morning.

A loose grouping of cyber activists known as Anonymous claimed late Tuesday they had staged the attack, but Berg said no group had contacted the authority, and no sensitive information had been compromised.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358353,legal-battle%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0-summary.html.

UN Security Council rescinds major resolutions on Iraq - Summary

Wed, 15 Dec 2010

New York - The UN Security Council decided on Wednesday to terminate three major resolutions that it adopted after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, in a significant step to restore Iraq's international standing.

The decision to terminate those resolutions was made in consideration of major achievements and progress made by the Iraqi government recently in building a future different from the one under dictator Saddam Hussein.

The council terminated a major resolution it imposed in 1990 that ordered an embargo on weapons and military equipment to prevent Iraq from acquiring the technology to manufacture weapons of mass destruction under Saddam. Some, but not all restrictions were lifted.

The lifting of the weapons embargo allows Iraq to continue efforts to build a civilian nuclear program. Baghdad has signed on to abide by nuclear non-proliferation treaties and protocols on nuclear safety with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The council also terminated an internationally held development fund for Iraq, and turned it over to the sovereignty of Iraq. The funds were created after the US sent troops into Iraq in March 2003. The funds used income from Iraq's oil exports for its own development.

The third decision by the council was to end the so-called oil- for-food program, which was created in the 1990s to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, using the proceeds from oil exports. A residual of more than 600 million dollars from remaining contracts will be turned over the Iraqi government. The oil-for-food scheme was ended after the overthrown of Saddam in 2003. US Vice President Joe Biden presided over the 15-nation council because the US holds the rotating leadership of the body in December. The council adopted separate resolutions to repeal the three resolutions adopted in the past 20 years in its efforts to address the conflicts and humanitarian crisis in Iraq.

Biden said the council's decision to terminate the three resolutions was taken in recognition of democratic progress made so far by the Iraqi government.

"Iraq has emerged from the depth of sectarian violence and its people have earned the chance for a much better future in the days ahead," Biden said.

He said Washington has withdrawn 100,000 US soldiers from Iraq and ended their combat mission there, while leaving behind 50,000 other soldiers with the primary mission of advising and training Iraqi security personnel.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the council that his country still needs international support to continue the tasks of rebuilding the country as well as reforming its political and constitutional institutions. He said a new Iraqi government will be formed "very, very soon."

Baghdad will host a summit of Arab states in March as a "clear signal of progress and the embrace of Arab fellow countries," Zebari said.

The council held a minute of silence before it voted on the resolutions in tribute to US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, who died on Monday. He was also a former US envoy to the UN.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358358,resolutions-iraq-summary.html.

WikiLeaks: Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew disdains Myanmar leaders

Wed, 15 Dec 2010

Singapore - Singapore politician Lee Kuan Yew in a confidential US diplomatic cable released Wednesday by WikiLeaks expressed his scorn for Myanmar's military regime, saying the generals were "stupid", "dense" and difficult to deal with.

Recording a supposed meeting between Lee and US diplomats in Singapore in October 2007, the cable published by the whistleblower website quoted Lee as saying that dealing with the regime was like "talking to dead people."

Singapore's former prime minister and now minister mentor said China had the greatest influence over the Myanmar junta and it was worried that the country could "blow up," according to the cable.

Lee also said he was wary about some members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), noting that Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam should not have been accepted.

He said that stability in the region would be enhanced the more ASEAN was able to "get its act together," according to the cable.

"However, ASEAN should not have admitted Burma [Myanmar], Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam as members in the 1990s, Lee argued," it said.

The older ASEAN members shared an antipathy to communism and common values, which had been "muddied" by the newer members, Lee was quoted as saying.

The economic and social problems of the new members made it doubtful they would ever behave like the older members, he said according to the US diplomatic message.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358232,yew-disdains-myanmar-leaders.html.

Asylum seekers drown off Australian island

Wed, 15 Dec 2010

Sydney - As many as 50 asylum seekers were believed drowned Wednesday after their boat ran onto rocks on reaching Australia's Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island.

"My understanding is that there are 50 dead and around 30 injured," Royal Flying Doctor Service spokeswoman Joeley Pettit-Scott told the German Press Agency dpa.

The service has sent a jet to Christmas Island to bring three critically injured patients back to Perth.

Kamar Ismail, a Christmas Island councilor, said he and fellow locals watched helplessly as the wooden fishing vessel, which appeared to have lost power, drifted for 45 minutes before smashing against cliffs in the 3-meter swell.

"We were maybe 3 meters from the cliff, but we just couldn't help. ... It was just too dangerous," Ismail told the national broadcaster ABC.

A man who said his name was Jacob and was alerted to the unfolding tragedy by the screams of those on the boat recalled valiant but vain efforts to pull survivors from the water.

"There were a lot of people really trying to help them but it was all completely hopeless," he said. "Someone would grab on to the end of the rope and everyone together would be pulling the rope trying to help them out of the sea but then the rope would go limp and we'd look in the water and the person was dead."

Locals said those aboard the boat - men, women, children and babies - were either Iraqis or Iranians.

In recent months, more than three boats a week have been arriving at Christmas Island. They are loaded with mostly Middle Eastern asylum seekers who have paid people smugglers for their passage across from Indonesia's Java Island in rickety fishing vessels.

More than 2,000 asylum seekers are in the Christmas Island immigration detention center and 3,000 more are held on the Australian mainland.

Total arrivals in Australia this year are expected to be the highest on record.

Christmas Island, which has a permanent population of 1,400 people, is 360 kilometers south of Java and 2,600 kilometers north-west of Perth.

Opposition Liberal Party immigration spokesman Scott Morrison faulted the government for not doing enough to deter people smuggling.

He said the tragedy "highlights once again how very dangerous this business is of people coming by boat and why it's so important again that we do everything possible to ensure that these boats don't come in this way."

Paul Power, head of the Refugee Council of Australia lobby group, urged the government to counter people smuggling by making it easier for asylum seekers to enter legally.

"It's well known how difficult and dangerous this journey can be, but so many asylum seekers continue to make this journey because they feel they have few real options open to them," he said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358242,seekers-drown-australian-island.html.

US cable: Corrupt Ghanian officials aid international drug trade

Wed, 15 Dec 2010

Nairobi/Accra - Corrupt officials have been scuppering attempts to tackle Ghana's role as a hub on the South America-to- Europe drug-smuggling route, according to a leaked cable obtained by Britain's Guardian newspaper.

Citing cables from the United States Embassy in Ghana, the newspaper said Ghanian drug-control officers and local police tipped off traffickers when to travel, sabotaged scanners and channeled passengers carrying drugs into the security-exempt VVIP section at Accra's Kotoka airport.

Ghana, like several West African nations, has become a hub for South American drug smugglers transporting cocaine to European markets - a trade worth over one billion dollars per year, according to the United Nations.

Britain in 2006 set up Operation Westbridge to tackle the problem and, according to figures published on the website of the British High Commission in Accra, has seized 105 million pounds (165 million dollars) worth of drugs.

The situation was so bad that President John Atta Mills even asked for British help in screening his entourage, according to one cable.

"President Mills had expressed interest in acquiring itemisers [portable screening devices] for the presidential suite at the airport in order to screen his entourage for drugs before boarding any departing flight," one cable claimed Roland O'Hagan, the British head of Operation Westbridge, told US officials.

According to a December 2007 cable, the identities of major drug barons were well known, but the government did not have the political will to pursue them.

China's Shaolin monks to open branch in Taiwan

Wed, 15 Dec 2010

Taipei - China's Shaolin Temple, which trains the famous fighting monks, plans to open a branch in Taiwan, press reports said Wednesday.

The Chunghwa Tourism Development Fund has signed an agreement with the temple to open a cultural center and a branch temple in Miaoli, western Taiwan, the United Daily News said.

The cultural center is scheduled to open in 2011 and the temple in 2012.

The Shaolin Temple, based in China's Henan Province, will send monks to teach martial arts and conduct courses on Buddhist meditation, Chinese medicine and therapeutic massage, it added.

"The project is part of our effort to promote tourism in Miaoli," Liu Cheng-chih, director of the tourism fund, told the FTV television channel.

The Shaolin Temple was founded in the 5th century and is one of China's best known Buddhist monasteries, due to its association with marital arts, in particular kung fu.

In the 1990s, the temple began to open kung fu schools and send its monks on performance tours.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358237,monks-open-branch-taiwan.html.

ICC prosecutor to summon suspects over post-election Kenya violence

Wed, 15 Dec 2010

The Hague/Nairobi - The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has said he will issue arrest warrants if the suspects he is due to summon later on Wednesday in connection with the 2007 post-election violence in Kenya do not comply with the court's rules or attempt to intimidate witnesses.

At a press conference in The Hague, Luis Moreno-Ocampo is to name six Kenyans accused of directing the bloodshed that followed disputed presidential elections. More than 1,300 people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in months of ethnic clashes.

The list is expected to include top coalition leaders, businessmen and security chiefs.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Moreno-Ocampo said he expected the suspects to surrender voluntarily.

However, the prosecutor also warned that they would face arrest warrants if they did not observe several "clear conditions."

These include frequently updating the ICC on their whereabouts, refraining from approaching any perceived victims or witnesses of crimes "and attempt to influence or interfere with their testimony," and refraining from tampering with the evidence.

"If the suspects do not comply with the conditions set by the Chamber, I will request arrest warrants. If there is any indication of bribes, intimidation or threats, I will request arrest warrants," Moreno-Ocampo said.

Though the suspects' names have yet to be made public, one prominent Kenyan politician has already moved to try to clear his name.

In an application filed with the court in The Hague last week, suspended higher education minister William Ruto accused Moreno-Ocampo of not probing leads that could exonerate him - in particular reports that the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) had bribed witnesses to implicate him.

A KNCHR report named Ruto and Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta as key figures who orchestrated the 2007-2008 violence.

While Western diplomats have played down concerns that the naming of suspects could lead to fresh outbreaks of violence, political analysts in Kenya described it as a historic development that could trigger changes in the cabinet.

In an apparent nod to security concerns, the Kenyan government said in a statement after a special cabinet meeting Monday that members of the public would be "protected, and peace, stability, and the rule of law will be maintained throughout the country."

The government also promised to set up local courts to deal with lower-level suspects - a move considered another key step in preventing more violence when fresh elections are due to take place in 2012.

The ICC is the world's first permanent international court tasked with prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. It acts as a court of last resort, only intervening if national investigations are deemed unsatisfactory.

Since the beginning of operations, in 2002, the ICC has investigated such crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, the Central African Republic and Sudan's western Darfur region.

Europe continue to dominate world rankings

Wed, 15 Dec 2010

Zurich - Europe continue to dominate the FIFA world rankings with world champion Spain ending the year at the top of the rankings released by football's world controlling body on Wednesday.

The team they beat in the final in South Africa in July, Netherlands, are second, while Germany is ranked third after changing places with Brazil, who are now ranked fourth.

Argentina and England follow in the next two places, while Egypt, who are ranked ninth, are the only non-European or non-South American team to make the top ten.

In a statement released in Zurich, FIFA said that Spain were - for a third year in a row - the Team of the Year, while the Netherlands were the Best Mover of the Year, having earned the highest number of points in 2010.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358250,continue-dominate-world-rankings.html.