Discover the astounding healing properties of clove oil

Thursday, September 15, 2011
by: Paul Fassa

(NaturalNews)You may be familiar with clove oil used by the dentist. Some of us have used clove oil to self medicate a toothache. Clove oil is an externally applied local antiseptic that numbs on contact. But very few are familiar with a variety of other clove health benefits, which includes combating Candida.

About Cloves

Clove was originally indigenous to the Spice Islands, now known as Moluccas Islands of Indonesia. The largest producer of clove now is Zanzibar along with Pemba, an island that's part of the Zanzibar archipelago.

The evergreen Eugenia arena tree puts most of its punch into the pink flower buds that grow on it. The buds are picked before they fully flower. When the pink buds dry and turn brown, they are ready for market.

The dried buds contain an aromatic oily substance that is the essence of clove's medicinal and culinary properties. It's wise to purchase cloves in their bud forms. Purchased powders may have lost most of their potency by the time you buy and use them. Dried buds hold up to three times as long.

Whenever you want clove as a powder, you can grind the buds in a coffee grinder. When you shop for cloves, pinch the buds with your fingernails. You should get a strong aromatic scent and a slightly oily feel. Choose organic if possible to avoid irradiated clove spices.

Clove's oil is the key for spicing foods and promoting health. Cloves can be used to make teas by putting the buds or powder into hot (not boiling) water. But the biggest health bang for the buck comes from clove essential oil.

Clove Oil

Clove oil is produced by a steam distillation process. So you're probably better off buying the oil rather than trying to make it yourself. Clove oil is available almost anywhere.

Clove oil is an unusually powerful antioxidant. Antioxidant capacity is measure by ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity). Although the dried buds or powders rank highly among anti-oxidants, clove oil is the monster antioxidant.

As an essential oil, clove's ORAC rating soars to over 10 million. Most other antioxidants are rated in the tens of thousands to a maximum of a few hundred thousand at best.

Producing the oil from clove buds concentrates clove's eugenol, the main active ingredient of clove. Eugenol is an anti-inflammatory. Clove's flavonoids also contribute to the high ORAC level of the essential oil.

And clove oil is a great anti-fungal. It's even recommended by many who treat Candida. The oil is also useful for direct applications to outer skin fungi, such as ringworm and athlete's foot.

Nutritional/Medicinal Value

Clove is one of the highest sources of manganese you'll find. Manganese is vital for metabolism, contributes enzymes, promotes bone strength, and also adds to clove's high ORAC antioxidant value.

Magnesium, calcium, vitamins C and K also make strong appearances in clove. Clove is high in fiber also. Omega-3 is in abundance in clove as well as many phytonutrients that enhance the immune system. Clove greatly boosts your humoral immunity, which protects your blood and tissues.

Clove has anti-viral anti-bacterial properties as well. It has been discovered to help prevent adult onset diabetes by tripling insulin levels.

Caveat

Young children and pregnant or nursing women should avoid clove.

Clove oil is very strong. It can cause temporarily uncomfortable problems. Too much can cause manganese toxicity. So the oil should be diluted as a product or used by putting drops into tea.

Source: NaturalNews.
Link: http://www.naturalnews.com/033579_clove_oil_healing.html.

Jordanian demo demands Israeli embassy closure

Thursday 15/09/2011

AMMAN (AFP) -- Around 200 Jordanians demonstrated near the Israeli embassy in Amman on Thursday, demanding that the government expel the state's envoy and scrap the joint 1994 peace treaty.

"The people want to shut down the embassy. Amman must be liberated from the embassy and ambassador," the protesters chanted outside al-Kaluti mosque near the embassy, where 1,500 anti-riot policemen stood guard, a security source said.

"The people want the downfall of Wadi Araba (peace) treaty," read a banner carried by the demonstrators, including opposition Islamists, leftists and youth groups, who waved national and Palestinian flags.

Some set the Israeli flag ablaze while others tried to get closer to the embassy but were prevented from doing so by police.

Ambassador Danny Navon returned earlier to Israel with his staff ahead of the demonstration, Israeli public radio reported.

"The fact that the Israeli ambassador and his staff left the country is a victory for us," one demonstrator told AFP.

Earlier, a foreign ministry spokesman told AFP: "We have not been officially informed of anything."

Last weekend, a mob ransacked Israel's mission in Egypt and the ambassador and his staff were evacuated from the country. Six Israeli security guards were besieged in the embassy building for several hours before being rescued by Egyptian commandos.

Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab states to have signed peace treaties with Israel.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=420647.

100,000 displaced in Sudan's Blue Nile state

Sept. 14, 2011

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Tens of thousands of people in Sudan's border state of Blue Nile have been displaced by conflict between Sudanese forces and rebels, a U.N. agency said.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in a report on Sudan, said it wasn't able to get an accurate assessment about the situation in Blue Nile state because of lack of access.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir recently called for a cease-fire in South Kordofan and denied reports of mass graves and ethnic violence in the area bordering South Sudan. Conflict, however, has spread to Blue Nile state.

OCHA in a statement said that fighting between Sudanese forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North is estimated to have displaced around 100,000 people.

Sudan claims the reports of violence along the border are overblown. OCHA in its update said that while the situation in Blue Nile state was improving, the situation remains tense.

Displacement continues in South Kordofan, the U.N. agency said but humanitarian groups were able to get some assistance to refugees in the area.

OCHA said, however, that the Sudanese government has restricted the movement of U.N. staff in Blue Nile state.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/09/14/100000-displaced-in-Sudans-Blue-Nile-state/UPI-21151316009491/.

France, Germany, Spain hit EU border move

Sept. 15, 2011

BRUSSELS, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- The European Union's bid to limit members' unilateral border controls within the passport-free zone met resistance from France, Germany and Spain this week.

The foreign ministers of those countries Tuesday rejected a proposal by the European Commission to assert more control over how member states could implement internal border controls inside the Schengen Zone, covering 22 EU countries, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

Since 1995, the Schengen agreement has given residents of EU members the freedom to travel between the countries without having to produce passports. But growing tensions due to waves of immigrants coming into the bloc has tested the limits of those freedoms.

Thousands of North African refugees spilling into Italy in the wake of the Arab Spring upheavals this year and others from the Middle East prompted national leaders, led by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, to seek a new mechanism that would allow re-imposition of border controls to bolster security.

Amid a growing anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe, they are asking for the right to declare migration-related emergencies in order to re-impose border controls.

But Brussels has responded by seeking to clamp down on unilateral border restrictions. The European Commission is proposing to only allow member states to reinstate border controls for a maximum of five days before they would have to seek authorization from Brussels, the Financial Times reported.

The plan is to be adopted by the commission Friday and it brought a pre-emptive denunciation from the interior ministers of France, Germany and Spain, who issued a common statement Tuesday blasting the measure.

"We believe that respecting (this) core area of national sovereignty is very important to the member states. We therefore do not share the European Commission's views on assuming responsibility for making decisions on operational measures in the security field," the statement said.

Decisions on whether to reintroduce temporary checks at the internal borders, it added, are "based on an intensive assessment of the national security situation, which can only be carried out by the member states on the basis of the expertise and resources of their security authorities."

The commission's home affairs spokesman, Michele Cercone, told the EUobserver last week that it's important for the security of Europe for the EU executive to have control of when internal borders can be tightened.

"We have to move to a European system if we want Schengen to be safeguarded and guaranteed," he said.

The new Schengen rules will have to be approved by the European Parliament, where they are likely to receive a warm reception from parties that have already signaled approval for more power for Brussels, the Financial Times said.

They see it as a way to combat the growing wave of anti-immigrant anger in Europe as native workers face a tightening labor market and government-imposed austerity measures are imposed in the wake of the financial crisis.

"The zeitgeist has changed since the days when the EU created Schengen," Heather Grabbe, director of the Open Society Institute in Brussels, told the newspaper. "Law and order populism is on the rise in many member states.

"The risk is that citizens won't realize that the benefits the EU brought them -- like freedom of movement and protection from discrimination -- are being eroded until it's too late."

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/09/15/France-Germany-Spain-hit-EU-border-move/UPI-76801316082840/.

Yemeni forces attack protesters in Taizz

Thu Sep 15, 2011

Yemeni security forces open fire on anti-government protesters in the southern city of Taizz as the nation renew calls for an end to the rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh, Press TV reports.

One protester was killed and 23 others were injured on Thursday in clashes between peaceful demonstrators and Yemen's Republican Guards, who are commanded by Saleh's son Ahmed Ali.

The new outbreak of violence comes after a series of explosions and heavy gunfire hit the capital, Sana'a, and the southern port city of Aden earlier in the day and left at least three civilians killed and five others wounded.

Yemen has been swept up by almost daily protests against Saleh, who refuses to release his three-decade long grip on power.

The Yemeni dictator has been in Saudi Arabia recovering from injuries he sustained in a rocket attack by pro-opposition tribal fighters on his palace in June.

On Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report calling on the Yemeni regime to immediately release all prisoners detained during peaceful protests that erupted in the country in late January.

Navi Pillay also urged Sana'a to put an end to attacks and the use of live ammunition against civilians.

According to local reports, hundreds of Yemenis have been killed and thousands more have been injured since the outbreak of the popular uprising against the US-backed Saleh regime.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/199290.html.

Turkey vows to control Israel at sea

Thu Sep 15, 2011

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the country's navy will patrol the Mediterranean to prevent Israel from assaulting ships in the international waters.

"Israel will no longer be able to do what it wants in the Mediterranean and you'll be seeing Turkish warships in this sea," Erdogan said after a meeting with his Tunisian counterpart Beji Caid Essebsi, AFP reported.

The Turkish leader also reiterated Ankara's call on Israel to formally apologize for last year's deadly takeover of a Gaza-bound aid convoy.

On May 31, 2010, Israel navy commandos launched a deadly attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla while it was sailing in international wasters on a mission to break Tekl Aviv's siege on the Gaza Strip.

The strike left nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists, including a Turkish-American teenager, killed and dozens of others wounded.

"Relations with Israel cannot normalize if Israel does not apologize over the flotilla attack, compensate the martyrs' families and lift the blockade of Gaza," the Turkish prime minister stated.

On September 8, Erdogan said Turkey had taken steps to stop the Israeli regime from unilaterally exploiting natural resources in the Mediterranean.

"Turkish warships, in the first place, are authorized to protect our ships that carry humanitarian aid to Gaza...From now on, we will not let these ships to be attacked by Israel, as what happened with the Freedom Flotilla," he said.

Tel Aviv has refused to apologize for the last May bloodshed, prompting Ankara to expel the Israeli ambassador and cut all bilateral military ties with Israel.

Turkey has also vowed to take action at the International Court of Justice in The Hague to challenge Tel Aviv's four-year siege of Gaza. The blockade has been preventing the flow of food, medicine, and other basic supplies into the impoverished coastal territory.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/199303.html.

Israeli ambassador flees Jordan

Thu Sep 15, 2011

The Israeli ambassador to Jordan has reportedly fled the Jordanian capital of Amman amid fears of massive anti-Israel demonstrations near its embassy over the weekend.

According to Israeli media outlets, Danny Navon and his staff have left Jordan for Israel, AFP reported on Thursday.

No other details have been published about the reported event.

Activists in Jordan have called for a “million-man march” against the Israeli mission in Amman on Thursday. The demonstration is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. local time (1530 GMT) near the embassy.

The development comes following last Friday's massive anti-Israeli protests in Cairo, where Egyptian protesters stormed the Israeli embassy in the capital city, destroying parts of a concrete barricade wall around the building in the process.

The Israeli ambassador to Egypt, Yitzhak Levanon, fled the capital a few hours after the incident.

Three people were killed and many others injured in overnight clashes with the police outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo.

According to the Israeli daily Jerusalem Post, the mass rally in Jordan has been posted on the social networking website Facebook under the banner “No Zionist embassy on Jordanian territory.”

Jordanian protesters gathered outside the US Embassy in Amman on Wednesday, burning Israeli and American flags and demanding an end to relations with Tel Aviv and Washington.

The US has served as the closest ally of the Israeli regime, facilitating as well as justifying the majority of its grave violations against Palestinian territories and its neighboring Arab states.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/199269.html.

Israeli diplomats evacuate embassy in Amman after Jordanians' call to protest

Thursday, 15 September 2011

By DINA AL-SHIBEEB

Israeli diplomats evacuated the embassy in Amman after Jordanians scheduled to stage a protest outside the building, Alarabiya correspondent reported on Thursday.

Israel’s ambassador to Jordan, Danny Navon, remained behind to be in charge of the evacuated embassy, but later received orders from his government to immediately return to Tel Aviv.

Navon was returning to Israel with his staff on Thursday, fearing a large demonstration planned outside the embassy later in the day, Israeli public radio reported.

Jordanian activists have posted calls for a mass rally on social networking site Facebook under the banner “No Zionist embassy on Jordanian territory.”

The Israeli foreign ministry spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

Jordanian opposition groups, including Islamists, leftists and youth activists, have said they plan to hold their demonstration at around 6:30 pm (1530 GMT).

In Jordan, a foreign ministry spokesman told AFP: “We have not been officially informed of anything.”

The incident comes as a continuation of last week's episode, when dozens of protesters stormed into the Israeli Embassy in Cairo, dumping hundreds of documents out of the windows. The incident which left more than 215 people injured after violent clashes between protesters and security forces, compelled the Egyptian ruling army to declare a state of alert.

Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, was keen not to disturb its relations with the Jewish state, and had some of its Egyptian commandos escorting six Israeli staff to safety.

Both governments communicated that they wanted relations to stay unchanged, but Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood urged its government to “revise” its relations with Israel.

In Jordan, despite signing the peace treaty with Israel in 1994, many Jordanians still reject the relation. The Arab World traditionally sees the formation of the Jewish state as an occupation of Palestinian land, and at least half of Jordan’s population are consisted of former Palestinians.

Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton extended a Middle East trip on Wednesday to hold more talks aimed at averting a Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations, Reuters reported officials as saying.

Ashton is in the region to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders as well as diplomats from Arab countries, part of an intense international effort to revive peace talks.

Senior U.S. envoys were due in the Middle East as well this week, in what appears to be a last-ditch push to dissuade the Palestinians from seeking to upgrade their U.N. status this month -- a step Israel strongly opposes.

Washington has expressed concern that bringing the issue of Palestinian statehood to the United Nations would damage prospects for new peace talks aimed at creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Meanwhile, hardline Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned Wednesday there will be “harsh and grave consequences” if the Palestinians persist with their plan to seek U.N. membership as a state.

Source: al-Arabyia.
Link: http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/09/15/166924.html.

Yemen: Fightings for Zinjibar continue

12 September 2011

Despite the fact that the Yemeni puppet president Saleh claimed victory over the Mujahideen in the capital of the Islamic Emirate of Abyan, the fightings in Zinjibar continue.

According to the news agency Xinhua, not less than 3 puppet soldiers were killed and another four wounded on Sunday in a mine explosion against a military convoy of the Saleh's regime. The explosion was carried out by the Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Abyan.

One of the officers of the Yemeni regime told the news agency that the bomb had detonated on eastern outskirts of the city of Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, which is currently under siege by combined American, Saudi Arabian and Saleh's troops.

"A landmine exploded when an army convoy was heading to the Amodia area", said the army officer of the 119th tank brigade.

At the same time, the Chinese news agency reports that a source close to Al-Qaeda allegedly said that the Mujahideen had promised to begin a guerrilla warfare which would cover the whole territory of the Islamic Emirate of Abyan.

Meanwhile France-Presse refuted the Saleh's lie about the capture of Zinjibar. According to the agency, units of local puppets control at the moment only the northern and the eastern parts of Zinjibar.

In addition, fierce fightings between the Mujahideen al-Qaeda and puppet soldiers did not abate throughout Sunday in Zinjibar, although the infidelity-enforcement thugs earlier argued that most of the Islamic fighters allegedly fled the city and moved to a nearby Jaar which is controlled by the Mujahideen since March.

According to the officer, puppets are hesitant to enter the city center.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/09/12/15112.shtml.

Reality of creating single Islamic Front in Africa getting closer

WARNING: Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

12 September 2011

Despite US hopes that the killing of Sheikh Osama bin Laden (martyr, Insha'Allah) Islamic movement would suffer irreparable damage, branches of the Al Qaeda and the Salafi groups that adhere to the same path, not only did not weaken, but continue to strengthen their influence, including in the African country of Nigeria, which had not previously been considered by Americans as the source of Jihad, according to the UmmaNews website.

Nigerian Mujahideen remain active in the north-eastern part of Nigeria. Their objective coincided with the objectives of fighters of al-Qaeda. The movement was founded in 2002. It is known as "Boko Haram" - meaning the ban on the spread of Western education, culture and values.

Growth in the number of fighters, "Boko Haram" - is another warning for the West, because it shows how quickly this branch of Al-Qaeda may grow, evolve and eventually become a threat to local puppet regime, the US and its allies.

Islamic fighters from the "Boko Haram" conduct active military operations, which include raids on offices and checkpoints of puppet police, seizure of weapons and ammunition, as well as training of young Muslims who are fighting and training in the desert at the border towns between Nigeria and Niger.

The activities of the Mujahideen were aimed at overthrowing pro-US regime and establish an Islamic government, which they nicknamed the "Nigerian Taliban".

The group was founded in city of Kanam. In 2003, "Boko Haram" began to operate in other major cities, including in Maiduguri and Damaturu, state capitals of Yobe and Borno.

Nigerian puppets took a concerted effort to stem the onslaught of the Mujahideen and the restoration of relative calm. That was in 2003, but since then the group has become much more experienced and stronger. Mujahideen of "Boko Haram" have begun to apply new tactics - Istishhad, or self-sacrifice, operations.

In June, just one month after the Inspector-General of Police Hafiz Ringim had argued that he was "determined" to eliminate the Jihad, the Mujahideen carried out an Istishhad operation against police headquarters in the capital of Abuja. The main purpose of Islamic fighters was to kill Hafiz Ringim, and he barely escaped.

Last month, the Mujahideen detonated a car bomb at the UN building complex in Abuja. As a result of this attack at least 16 foreign aggressors were killed. The operation was a warning to the ruling regime of Nigeria and the Western alliance as well.

As a result of a failure work of the Nigerian puppet police Mujahideen were able to establish contacts and cooperation with the fighters of al-Qaeda operating across the Sahara Desert, which includes Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Morocco.

According to experts, the Mujahideen of "Boko Haram" fight against those segments of society that are oriented to Western values ​​and lifestyles. Their goals are the puppet politicians, political groups and representatives of Christians working for the regime, as well as those who oppose the introduction of Sharia in the country.

Western officials have expressed the assumption that some senior figures of the regime have been providing covert support to the Mujahideen.

Many wealthy people of Nigeria make large donations to Islamic schools and other Islamic institutions. Experts fear that they are also fund the Mujahideen.
Serious concern to Western intelligence services is the proliferation of Islamic movements across Africa, just south of Sahara. Weak protection of the Nigerian border made it possible for Nigerian and Somali Mujahideen from al- Shabaab to cooperate amongst themselves and with other Islamic movements in Africa.

"The sprawling destabilization of the region", that is how experts describe the current situation in Africa. Contacts of "Boko haram" with al-Shabaab in the south and the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in the north of the continent, cannot not cause major concern to the Western alliance.

It becomes quite apparent that the prospect of unification of all Mujahideen in Africa and creation of a unified Islamic front is getting closer.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/09/12/15115.shtml.

Russian agent urges missile strikes against 4 European countries, the "Kavkaz Center sites"

13 September 2011

A Russian agent in Finland, renegade priest Juha Molari, urged Russian military and the KGB to carry out missile bombings of 4 European countries which, according to his spy data, are sites of activities of the Kavkaz Center. Earlier, the agent gave full names of the citizens of these countries (non-Muslim and non-Caucasian) who are to be eliminated by the KGB for having ties with the Kavkaz Center, an ideological enemy of Putin's totalitarian Russia.

In his Sunday sermon, delivered on his Internet blog on September 11, 2001, the priest of the Finnish Lutheran Church writes:

"I do not understand why the Russian army does not follow the example of the war, the Americans wage against the axis of evil. If the Russian army were to follow the American model to combat terrorist networks, it would have destroy Georgia and Turkey for all times.

Georgia harbors and supports a large number of North Caucasian terrorists. In Turkey live or have lived in for many years Movladi Udugov, Dokku Umarov and Shamil Basayev.

Russian Iskander missiles could hit the targets in Helsinki, the Baltic region (earlier, the Russian agent mentioned a specific target in Estonia - KC), Austria, and Oslo, because these are strategic and tactical locations of the members of the terrorist group of Maskhadov, Basayev and Umarov, and tolerant local politicians in these countries.

Former chairman of the organization Finrosforum, Heidi Hautala, now supports separatism in Russia. The organization continues to keep as its secretary Mikael Storsjo, the owner of the servers of the Kavkaz Center and so on", the agent reports to Moscow on his blog.

It is worth mentioning that the current stories by Moscow KGB newspapers and some Western media that the servers of KC are located in Finland were first launched by Juha Molari.

The Russian agent watched a documentary film on Finnish TV about the Kavkaz Center with the participation of Mikael Storsjo, a Finnish businessman and human rights activist. Mr. Storjo demonstrated his company's servers his Helsinki office, linked to his customers.

In about 2 weeks after the film had been shown on Finnish TV, priest Molari got a "brillaint idea" and came to an idiotic conclusion that these had been the servers of the Kavkaz Center and he reported about that to his bosses in Moscow Center, using sermons on his Internet blog. The Molari's story was quickly picked up by the Russian KGB-controlled media and reprinted in Western press. And nobody among the journalist ever asked how it was possible that the Kavkaz Center could operate from servers in Finland, having a Swedish IP and a Sweden's provider.

Last year, the Russian agent Molari urged the KGB to organize terrorist attacks against the Kavkaz Center, to blow up our servers and kill our editors and journalists. He posted his appeal on YouTube.

Molari also publicly declared that he wants to see "the Kavkaz Center destroyed and the KC journalists executed".

It is to be recalled that Juha Molari has been defrocked and removed from pastoral duties in the parish of Helsinki suburb of Espoo for incitement of hatred. After that, the KGB propaganda channel Russia Today offered Molari to work at their channel as a news analyst.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/09/13/15114.shtml.

C.E. Emir Dokku Abu Usman appoints new Emir for United Province of K.B.K.

13 September 2011

Kavkaz Center has received the texts of Omras (decrees) from the Caucasus Emirate Emir, Dokku Abu Usman, on the appointment of Naibs, or Deputy Emirs (as previously reported) for the Province of Nokhchicho, and the Emir of the United Province of Kabarda-Balkaria-Karachai.

***

Omra # 27

On the appointment of Naib Emirs of Provınce of Nokhchicho of the Caucasus Emirate

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate!

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and all those who follow him until the Day of Judgement. And then:

I decree

1. To appoint Emir Khamzat as Naib Emir for the Provınce Nokhchich's Western Direction.
2. To appoint as Emir Hussein as Naib Emir for the Province Nokhchich's Eastern Direction.
3. This Omra comes into force at the moment of its signing.

Emir of the Caucasus Emirate,
Dokku Abu Usman (Dokku Umarov)
Sha'ban 10, 1432 (11/07/2011)

***

Omra # 28

On the appointment of Emir of the Armed Forces of the United Province of Kabarda-Balkaria-Karachai of the Caucasus Emirate

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate!

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and all those who follow him until the Day of Judgement. And then:

I decree

1. To appoint Alim Zankishev (Emir Ubayda) as Commander of the Armed Forces of the Province of Kabarda-Balkaria-Karachai .
2. This Omra comes into force at the moment of its signing.

Emir of the Caucasus Emirate,
Dokku Abu Usman (Dokku Umarov)
Shawwal 11, 1432 (09/09/2011)

***

Omra # 29

On the appointment of Wali, or Governor, for the United Province of Kabarda-Balkaria-Karachai of the Caucasus Emirate

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate!

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and all those who follow him until the Day of Judgement. And then:

I decree

1. To appoint Alim Zankishev (Emir Ubayda), Emir of the Armed Forces of United Province of Kabarda-Balkaria-Karachai, as Wali of the United Province of Kabarda-Balkaria-Karachai.
2. This Omra comes into force at the moment of its signing.

Emir of the Caucasus Emirate,
Dokku Abu Usman (Dokku Umarov)
Shawwal 9, 1432 (09/07/2011)

Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/09/13/15117.shtml.

Hamas opposes Palestinian UN bid, warns of consequences

GAZA CITY (BNO NEWS) -- The Palestinian militant group Hamas on Wednesday said it does not support the Palestinian statehood bid at the United Nations (UN) and warned of its consequences, the Palestine News Network (PNN) reported.

A spokesman for the movement, Salah al-Bardawil, said that President Mahmoud Abbas' decision to go to the UN is a tactical move, part of a negotiation process that is 'not based on principles.' He added that Hamas and other Palestinian resistance factions it leads would therefore not support the decision.

Bardawil also told a seminar in Gaza City that if the Palestinian state is ratified within the 1967 borders, the Palestinian resistance would not be able to shoot a single bullet 'against the Israeli occupation,' according to PNN.

On Tuesday, the Fatah Revolutionary Council called for the Palestinian support of the UN bid and urged people to go out and demonstrate in city centers. Fatah said the demonstrations will increase until September 23, when President Abbas will speak to the UN General Assembly.

Last week, the United States said it will veto any Palestinian bid to seek a full United Nations membership and warned that any action at the United Nations will only increase tensions in the region. The United States is one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The U.S. comments came a day after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. officials that the Palestinian bid does not contradict the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, but will end the deadlock that resulted from "Israeli intransigence."

Abbas also said that Palestine is willing to return to negotiations if Israel accepts the terms of reference to the peace process, the two-state solution on the 1967 borders and stops settlements in the Palestinian Territory, according to the Palestine News and Information Agency.

Last year, Israel and the Palestinian Authority stalled the peace negotiations, which were supported by the United States and the United Nations, after the Jewish nation refused to extend a moratorium on settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territory in September.

In response, President Abbas broke off direct talks as recommended by Hamas, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the European Union and countries such as the United States and Israel. Israel has since resumed settlement construction even though they have been labeled as a violation of international law by the international community.

Palestine has demanded a stop to settlement construction in the disputed East Jerusalem and West Bank area as a key element for continuing peace talks, aimed at reaching a two-state solution based on the 1967 Green Line. However, Israeli authorities have rejected the Palestinian solution based on the 1967 borders as that measure would leave a large population of Israelis in Judea and Samaria outside Israel's borders.

About 120 out of 193 countries have currently recognized the State of Palestine and those are seen as possible supporters if the UN votes on the issue. If the UN Security Council resolution to recognize Palestine is approved, Palestine would become the 194th member of the United Nations.

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

Source: WireUpdate.
Link: http://wireupdate.com/news/hamas-opposes-palestinian-un-bid-warns-of-consequences.html.

War against Islam: Tajiks forced to hold European wedding ceremonies

14 September 2011

The war of the Rakhmonov's regime in Tajikistan against Islam intensifies. The Tajiks are now forced to hold the European-style weddings.

A resident of Tajikistan applied to the leader of puppets Rahmonov asking "to permit to hold my wedding in accordance with national and religious traditions."

The request contains in an open letter by Abdurozik Odinamatov, a resident of the district Asht Sughd. In his letter, the Muslim says that local authorities forbade him to hold his wedding ceremony in accordance with such traditions.

"They told me that I should hold my wedding in an European way. That means that both men and women should be staying in the same room, and I was told invite pop singers to the wedding.

I studied for three years in an Islamic madras, and religious traditions are dear to me, therefore I cannot hold my wedding", the author of the letter complains.

"In addition, local officials require that I do not invite representatives of opposition parties and bearded men", says the resident of the Asht region.

Earlier, media reported that local officials banned the residents of the district Asht from reading the Koran at the weddings.

Local human rights organizations openly report that the Rakhmonov's regime actively fights Islam under a pretext of fighting so-called "terrorism and extremism".

In particular, women and boys under the age of 18 are forbidden to visit mosques. The Tajik police detain men with beards and force them to shave them off.

In addition, the authorities prepared a list of issues and texts for sermons during the Friday prayers. During the last two years, the authorities have forcibly returned home more than 2,000 young people who had been studying in Islamic schools abroad.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/09/14/15123.shtml.

Officials Slam Deportation

2011-09-01

U.S. politicians say Malaysia was wrong to extradite a group of Uyghurs to China.

Two senior U.S. lawmakers who co-chair a commission monitoring human rights in China criticized Malaysia on Wednesday for its decision to repatriate nearly a dozen ethnic Uyghurs last month and called on Beijing to reveal the whereabouts of the men.

Republican Representative Chris Smith and Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, chair members of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China, also urged Malaysia not to deport five Uyghur asylum-seekers still in custody.

"Forced returns of Uyghurs to China reflect a blatant disregard for international law, not only by the countries deporting Uyghurs, but by the Chinese government, which is complicit in their return and responsible for egregious rights abuses within its borders," Chris Smith said.

Senator Sherrod Brown noted that the deportation to China was only the latest deportation of Uyghur refugees by countries that have been swayed by the Asian giant’s influence through large trade deals and aid packages.

In recent years, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos have all repatriated the Muslim Uyghurs, allegedly following pressure from Chinese authorities.

Pakistan deported five Uyghurs to China weeks before the Malaysian extradition. The country had previously deported “Xinjiang separatists” to China on at least three occasions.

"Tragically, the deported Uyghur men face the real threat of torture, arbitrary detention, and abuse back in China," Brown said.

"The Chinese government has long waged a harsh campaign of suppression in Xinjiang that violates international law, and it appears to have conscripted its neighbors to help carry out its oppressive policies."

Smith urged Beijing to “end its oppressive policies toward the Uyghurs, stop enlisting its neighbors in its campaigns of suppression, respect the asylum seeker and refugee designations of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), and ensure the fundamental rights and freedoms of all its citizens."

August raid

The deported men were part of a larger group of 16 Uyghurs who were detained by Malaysian authorities on Aug. 6 in separate raids in the capital Kuala Lumpur and in the country’s southern Johor Bahru city, which lies across a narrow strait from Singapore.

Malaysian authorities defended the deportation, saying that the 11 men who were sent back were part of a human trafficking ring that had smuggled other Chinese citizens into the country through Thailand before providing them with fake documentation to travel on to third countries.

An official with the UNHCR in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur said the agency had tried to meet with the men before they were deported but were refused permission by Malaysian authorities.

Charges of involvement in human trafficking do not preclude access to UNHCR procedures or permit deportation to China, according to international law.

Uyghur residents of Malaysia told RFA at the time that at least three of the five Uyghurs who remain in Malaysian custody hold documents classifying them as “People of Concern” by the UNHCR.

All five have formally sought asylum with the agency.

Uyghur residents also said that one of the 11 deported Uyghurs had married a Malaysian woman and was living in the country legally.

They said that as one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that had not deported Uyghurs to China, majority-Muslim Malaysia had been sought out by members of the minority ethnic group for refuge.

Following the deportation, the London-based Amnesty International said in a statement that it had “very real concerns for the safety of these asylum seekers given the level of repression that Uyghurs face in China,” adding that Malaysia was in “flagrant breach of international law” for deporting the men.

Regional influence

China has used its economic influence in the region to detain and repatriate a number of Uyghurs authorities said were wanted in connection with deadly rioting that gripped the Xinjiang capital Urumqi in 2009, although they did not publicly provide any evidence of their involvement.

In the months that followed the violence in Urumqi, hundreds of Uyghurs were detained and at least nine were executed.

Aside from Pakistan and Malaysia, Thai authorities in August turned over a Uyghur man to Chinese authorities in Bangkok, according to exiled activists.

Cambodia deported the majority of 22 Uyghurs who sought refuge status through the UNHCR shortly after they fled China in the aftermath of the 2009 ethnic violence in Urumqi.

China also used its influence in May to convince Kazakh authorities to deport another Uyghur, Ershidin Israil, a former geography teacher, who was initially given refugee status by the UNHCR and accepted for resettlement by Sweden.

Many of Xinjiang’s estimated 8 million Uyghurs chafe at the strict controls on their religion and culture that China enforces and resent influxes of Han Chinese migrant workers and businesses.

Uyghurs say they have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness despite China's ambitious plans to develop its vast northwestern frontier.

Source: Radio Free Asia.
Link: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/deportation-09012011163342.html.

Uyghur Flag Protesters Detained

2011-09-06

Chinese authorities hold a group of Uyghurs who opposed a national flag raising campaign.

Authorities in northwestern China have detained five ethnic Uyghur Muslims for “inciting separatism” after the men refused to honor the national flag at a ceremony held inside their mosque, according to residents and exile Uyghur groups.

Local officials say the decision to raise the flag on the grounds of the mosque in mid-August was part of a larger campaign to promote patriotism in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where a series of attacks in July left dozens dead and wounded.

Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress, said the five men were arrested after confronting Chinese officials during the flag raising ceremony in Aksu prefecture’s Kucha county.

The five protested against the national flag being hoisted in a mosque, saying it was against Islam.

“Standing against the raising of the Chinese national flag in a mosque was the cause of the detention,” Raxit said. “The five spoke out against the Chinese officials in public, saying that raising the national flag in a mosque is wrong and goes against the principles of Islam.”

A Uyghur high school teacher in Xinjiang, who asked to remain anonymous, said that while he is not a resident of Uchosteng where the mosque is located, he had heard about the detention from acquaintances.

“The people were angry and refused to allow the raising of the Red Flag by standing hand-in-hand in front of the mosque. Finally, the officials decided to temporarily halt the flag raising campaign and reported the incident to the prefectural authorities,” the teacher said.

“No violence occurred on either side and, unexpectedly, the police also did not have a harsh response—they just got into an argument,” he said.

“But last week, a month after the event, two religious figures and three young men who had been active against the flag raising were taken away by the Kucha county secret police.”

The high school teacher said that the campaign had angered Uyghurs throughout the prefecture and that he believed the policy was a reaction to an incident in July which left some 20 people dead after a group of Uyghurs launched an attack on a police station in the western city of Hotan.

“Raising the national flag in a mosque is an insult to the Uyghurs and to Islamic principles. I believe that the campaign is retaliation for the group’s success in removing the Red Flag at the Nawagh police station and raising the Blue [flag of East Turkestan] instead.”

Uyghur groups use “East Turkestan” to refer to the Xinjiang region, which twice enjoyed short-lived independence from China during the 1930s and 40s.

Official response

Contacted by phone on Friday, Ahmet Tursun, chief of Uchosteng town, said he could not comment on the situation and was unaware that the men had been taken away by authorities.

“I had no idea about the detentions,” he said, adding that due to the politically sensitive nature of the question, he was unable to provide further details.

“I’m the one [in charge of religious issues in the town], but we have been notified by higher level authorities not to publicize the flag incident. Please contact higher officials for more information.”

But Rozi Moydin, chief of the Department of Religious Issues in Kucha county, acknowledged the event, calling it a “minor incident.”

“Nobody has protested against the national flag. It was just a few people offering a different view to the Chinese officials. In order to prevent an unexpected incident, we reported the issue to our prefectural level department,” he said.

Rozi Moydin said that the Prefectural Islamic Center decided that raising the national flag in a mosque was “not wrong” because “all people in the mosque are Chinese citizens.”

“Citizens must love and respect national symbols,” he said.

“Even so, they submitted their proposal to the regional department,” he said, which had caused authorities to halt a campaign to raise flags in mosques around the region.

“Now we are waiting for an order from the department to continue the flag raising campaign.”

Rozi Moydin said the campaign, which until the August protest had seen flags raised in 63 of 608 mosques around Kucha county, was launched “after the Hotan incident on July 18.”

Two weeks later, at least 14 people were killed and 40 others injured in the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar, when men wielding knives launched two separate attacks near the city's food market and shopping center.

“The regional government started an educational campaign to increase the pride of national identity. As part of the campaign, the raising of the national flag in mosques was implemented throughout the entire region,” Rozi Moydin said.

Ethnic tensions

Rebiya Kadeer, president of the World Uyghur Congress, said that the flag raising campaign would do little to alleviate the frustration of the Uyghur people with Chinese rule.

“The Chinese government doesn’t understand the basic concepts of human nature. Love and respect cannot be created through forceful actions and propaganda,” she said.
“Of course, they may succeed in raising the Red Flag in buildings throughout the region, but the important thing is which flag is being raised in the heart of the Uyghur people.”
Uyghurs say they have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness despite China's ambitious plans to develop its vast northwestern frontier.

Chinese authorities however blame Uyghur "separatists" for a series of deadly attacks in recent years and accuse one group in particular of maintaining links to the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.

Source: Radio Free Asia.
Link: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/flag-09062011180015.html.

Russian parliament passes restrictions on NGOs

July 13, 2012

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's lower house of parliament on Friday passed a bill imposing new restrictions on non-governmental organizations that receive funding from abroad.

Although the bill, which is almost certain to pass the upper house and be signed into law by the president, does not prohibit any organization's operation, it is likely to create a chilling effect on groups' activities. It reflects the suspicion of the West and the fear of rising opposition sentiment held by President Vladimir Putin and his backers in the governing United Russia party.

The bill also adds strain to Russia's relations with Western countries. WHAT THE BILL DOES The bill requires any NGO that receives foreign funding — from governments, groups or private citizens — and engages in political activity to register itself as a "foreign agent," provide detailed reports of its finances and identify itself as a foreign agent in any material it distributes.

WHY THIS IS OF CONCERN TO NGOS "Foreign agent" is a loaded term for many Russians schooled in the country's longstanding self-image as an exceptionalist nation beleaguered by foreign malefactors ranging from Napoleon's troops to Nazi Germany. If an organization identifies itself as a foreign agent, that could undermine its credibility among Russians.

The bill's definition of political activity is so wide and vague that almost any initiative could be considered political, especially if it proposes new legislation or makes even tacit criticism of current conditions.

The financial-reporting requirements could be expensive and inconvenient for organizations with small staffs and shoestring budgets. In addition, the bill can be seen as a reminder to NGOs that they are under close and probably unsympathetic scrutiny.

WHY THE BILL IS USEFUL TO THE KREMLIN Putin and his circle have long exploited suspicion of foreign involvement in the country. He accused Western governments of trying to influence last December's parliamentary elections. A state-owned national television channel denounced Golos, the country's only independent election-monitoring organization, showing suitcases full of dollars the group allegedly had received.

After those fraud-tainted elections set off an unprecedented wave of massive protests, Putin accused the demonstrators of being in the pay of Washington. Although he won a new term as president in March, Putin is under increasing criticism in Russian society and even in the once-submissive parliament. The bill appears to be an attempt at limiting future challenges.

POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES Putin has proposed tripling the amount of state funding given to non-governmental organizations, to three billion rubles ($10 million). Although that could compensate for a reduction in foreign funding for NGOs, it is unclear how the money would be apportioned and any NGO critical of the Kremlin can probably count on little or any of it.

Most NGOs have said they would comply if the bill becomes law. But Lyudmila Alexeyeva, leader of the Moscow Helsinki Group, one of the country's oldest human rights organizations, said Friday that "as soon as this law comes into effect, from that day we will refuse foreign grants" rather than register as a foreign agent.

RECENT ACTIONS AFFECTING OPPOSITION Last month, Putin signed a law sharply increasing the punishment for taking part in an unauthorized protest rallies to 300,000 rubles ($9,000), close to the average annual income in Russia. Although officials gave authorization for several of the massive protests over the winter, authorities historically have been reluctant to give such permission and there are fears the recent relative liberality will be curtailed.

On Friday, Parliament voted to recriminalize libel and slander, just six months after it was decriminalized and made an administrative offense. Although the recriminalization removes the threat of prison terms, it raises the maximum fine to 5 million rubles ($165,000).

Activists worry that the libel law could be used against them "The law about meetings, the law on NGOs, the law on libel, it's all one train and they're probably thinking up something else," Alexeyeva told the Interfax news agency.

EFFECT ON FOREIGN RELATIONS Within hours of the bill's passage, Foreign Ministry official Konstantin Dolgov issued an aggrieved denunciation of earlier U.S. State Department expressions of concern about the legislation.

"Such approaches cannot be perceived other than as attempts of absolutely inappropriate and gross interference in the activities of Russian government bodies and a sovereign lawmaking process," Dolgov said in a statement. The accusation of interference in domestic affairs is a frequent Russian response to foreign criticism.

Also Friday, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry summoned Russia's charge d'affaires to express concern about the bill.

Spanish civil servants protest wage cuts

July 13, 2012

MADRID (AP) — Spanish civil servants, many dressed in mourning black, took to the streets Friday in angry protest as the government approved new sweeping austerity measures that include wage cuts and tax increases for a country struggling under a recession and an unemployment rate of near 25 percent.

Spain is under pressure to get its public finances on track amid concerns in the markets over the state of the country's banks and the wider economy. "Spain is going through one of its most dramatic moments," Deputy Prime Minister Saenz de Santamaria said after a Cabinet meeting at which sales tax hikes and spending cuts were approved.

Admitting that the austerity measures were "neither simple, nor easy, nor popular," she said the government would try to enact the measures "with the maximum justice and equity." The conservative government has come under mounting criticism that the austerity measures are hitting the middle and working classes the hardest.

"The government should go after the big companies that don't pay tax and bankers that have committed fraud and have run this country to the ground," said Pablo Gonzalez, 52, who works for the Madrid regional government. "Instead, we have to pay."

The aim of the latest package of measures is to chop €65 billion ($79 billion) off the budget deficit through 2015, the biggest deficit-reduction plan in recent Spanish history. As dusk fell, several hundred mainly young protesters marched in Madrid, stopping to jeer outside the headquarters of the ruling conservative and opposition Socialist parties before heading to the parliament.

Though the increase in sales taxes, which risks slowing consumption and worsening Spain's recession, will take effect Sept. 1, other reforms will be left for later in the year, including a plan to speed up the gradual raising of the retirement age from to 65 to 67.

Meanwhile, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos announced the creation of a new mechanism to help Spain's 17 regions finance themselves more easily. Some, such as Valencia in the east, are finding it increasingly difficult to tap capital markets for much-needed cash.

The latest bout of austerity is prompting widespread opposition, not least from civil servants. In Madrid, several hundred government workers blocked traffic briefly in different parts of the city. In Valencia, several hundred Justice Ministry workers shouted "hands up, this is a stick-up" at a protest rally.

The civil servants — whose wages were cut 5 percent on average in 2010 in the first round of austerity cuts — are usually paid 14 times a year. The government is now axing an extra payment made just before Christmas. The prime minister, his cabinet and lawmakers will also suffer the cut. At the local, regional and central level, there are around 3 million public servants in Spain.

In the Puerta del Sol in downtown Madrid, about 500 civil servants gathered, about half dressed in black. Some women wore veils, as if at funerals. Protesters blew whistles and horns. Civil servants are often ridiculed in Spain and seen as lazy, clock-in and clock-out types with the luxury of lifetime jobs. But many earn as little as €1,000 a month.

Isabel Perez, a 40-year-old librarian, said "our wages have already been cut and now they take away the Christmas payment. I don't make it to the end of the month as it is. The extra payment gave some relief. We're not exactly millionaires." She earns €1,300 a month and had already faced a yearly €330 euro wage cut by the Madrid regional government.

The latest austerity package has come after Spain won approval from the other 16 countries that use the euro for the first €30 billion tranche of a bailout of up to €100 billion for its troubled banking sector. Spain also managed to secure an extra year to meet a European deficit reduction target of 3 percent of GDP. The size of Spain's economy in 2011 is estimated to have been $1.5 trillion.

Investors' response has been lukewarm, and the yield on Spain's benchmark 10-year bonds, a measure of investor wariness of a country's debt, remains very high at 6.61 percent, up 4 basis points for the day.

Investors are also becoming increasingly wary of placing money in Spanish banks, which are having to turn to the European Central Bank for financing. In June, Spanish bank borrowing from the ECB rose 17 percent from May. The accrued total as of the end of that month was €337 billion, 77 percent of all the money owed to the ECB and seven times the figure from June 2011.

A draft memorandum of understanding agreed by eurozone finance ministers for Spain's bank bailout suggests billions in problematic assets should be segregated into an "external asset management agency" to clean up Spanish banks' balance sheets.

It also says that by the end of the year certain areas of jurisdiction — sanctioning and licensing — should be transferred from the Spanish economy ministry to the Bank of Spain. This is seen as paving the way for Europe having a single bank supervisory body that will oversee central banks and be empowered to recapitalize Spanish and other troubled banks directly instead of via debt-laden government.

Harold Heckle contributed to this report.

Sorrow in Srebrenica: Bosnians bury 520 victims

July 11, 2012

SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — The pain that seared Srebrenica 17 years ago burned fresh Wednesday as tens of thousands of Bosnian Muslims came to bury their dead in the town whose name is now synonymous with genocide.

In a ceremony broadcast live on television across the country, 520 coffins were placed in the ground as tears flowed like water from family and friends. On the anniversary of Europe's worst massacre since World War II, 30,000 Muslims traveled to a memorial center in Srebrenica to honor the thousands of Muslim men and boys slaughtered in July 1995 by Serb forces.

Izabela Hasanovic, 27, sobbed over one of the coffins before it was lowered into a freshly dug pit. "My father, my father is here," she sobbed. "I cannot believe that my father is in this coffin. I cannot accept it!"

Another woman dropped on her knees next to a coffin, pressing her lips against the green cloth covering the wood. "It's your sister kissing you. It's me," she whispered, caressing the coffin with both hands until others lowered it.

Then the valley echoed with the sound of dirt landing on the coffins from thousands of shovels, as a voice read out the names of the victims and their ages from loudspeakers. Among them were 48 teenagers as well as 94-year-old Saha Izmirlic, who was buried next to her son who also died in the massacre. On the other side of her grave, an empty space is waiting for her grandson who has not yet been found.

Srebrenica was a U.N.-protected Muslim town in Bosnia besieged by Serb forces throughout Bosnia's 1992-95 war. Serb troops led by Gen. Ratko Mladic overran the enclave in July 1995, separated men from women and executed 8,372 men and boys within days. Dutch troops stationed in Srebrenica as U.N. peacekeepers were undermanned and outgunned and failed to stop the slaughter.

The bodies of the victims are still being found in mass graves throughout eastern Bosnia. The task has been made even more difficult by the fact that the perpetrators dug up mass graves and reburied remains in other areas to try to cover their tracks. The victims have been identified through DNA analysis and newly identified ones are buried at the Srebrenica memorial center every year.

So far 5,325 Srebrenica massacre victims found this way have been laid to rest. In Washington, President Barack Obama issued a statement honoring the memory of the "8,000 innocent men and boys" massacred in Srebrenica.

"The name Srebrenica will forever be associated with some of the darkest acts of the 20th century," Obama said, adding that the U.S. "rejects efforts to distort the scope of this atrocity, rationalize the motivations behind it, blame the victims, and deny the indisputable fact that it was genocide."

In London, Prime Minister David Cameron said Srebrenica should never be forgotten or denied and called on the world to "prevent such atrocities from taking place." Mladic was arrested last year in Serbia and is on trial now at the tribunal in The Hague. He faces 11 charges, including genocide, for allegedly masterminding Serb atrocities throughout the war that left 100,000 dead, especially the Srebrenica massacre. He denies wrongdoing.

Many Serbs still deny the Srebrenica genocide, including Serbia's newly inaugurated president, Tomislav Nikolic. Some of them view Mladic as a national hero. "Serbs believe he is an honorable and fair man," said Bosnian Serb Novica Kapuran from the town of Pale, near Sarajevo. "He is being blamed for something he has not done."

Tired of listening to political speeches every year, the families of the victims allowed only Holocaust survivor Rabbi Arthur Schneier of the Park East Synagogue in New York to address them during Wednesday's ceremony.

"Shalom, Salam," Schneier greeted the crowd, calling them "brothers and sisters." He said the Srebrenica genocide was a crime against humanity but also a crime allowed by the rest of humanity. "Silence is not a solution, it only encourages the perpetrators and ultimately it pays a heavy price in blood," Schneier said.

He reminded the audience that even today, the Syrian regime was killing its own people. "(It's time) for humanity to say in one clear voice: These crimes against people will end!" the rabbi declared. "Here on this sacred day we say 'Never again!' And we mean 'Never again!"

The crowd greeted his words with "Allah Akbar" — "God is great" in Arabic.