Mauritania elections key to aid, trade restart

NOUAKCHOTT: Mauritania goes to the polls on Saturday in an election meant to end the political crisis that has brought international criticism since a military junta seized power last August. General Mohammad Ould Abdel-Aziz overthrew the northwest African country’s first freely elected leader, President Sidi Mohammad Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, in a bloodless coup, ending Mauritania’s democratic experiment after less than two years.

Saturday’s election is a chance not only for Mauritania’s government to reclaim the legitimacy that aid and investment partners demand, but also to reverse a regional trend which has damaged Africa’s democratic credentials.

Until recently, Abdel-Aziz was seen as the only serious candidate, but opposition parties lifted their boycott when the junta agreed to delay the vote from its original date of June 6, and now Ely Ould Mohammad Vall, who mounted a coup in 2005, and veteran opposition figure Ahmed Ould Daddah offer alternatives.

A freely held and genuinely contested election in the desert nation, an ally of the West in the fight against Al-Qaeda, is important for governance and the integrity of the state in West Africa, diplomats say.

“With organized crime, drug trafficking and the threat of terrorism, there is a risk of instablility in the region and Mauritania is at the heart of this fragility,” said a European diplomat in Nouakchott. “The election will allow the strengthening of the institutional and security structures of the country.”

Last weekend, US President Barack Obama used a speech in Ghana to ram home to Africans the importance of democracy as the foundation of peace and prosperity. Ghana’s democratic credentials stand in contrast to Mauritania, which received plaudits for 2007 elections that ended more than two decades of military rule, but was quickly castigated for the Aziz putsch, which served as a reminder of an era of African politics that many had hoped was over.

“What Mauritania lost with the last coup was its attractive image,” said another Western diplomat in Nouakchott.

Not only image but money is at stake. A return to democratic government would open the door for international donors to restart aid programmes shelved in protest at the coup.

“Mauritania is entirely dependent on external aid. If the international community doesn’t recognize this election and doesn’t restart cooperation, the country will not be far away from catastrophe,” said Mauritanian economist Isselmou Ould Mohammad.

The European Union, one of Mauritania’s biggest partners, said in April it could not work with a military government, but has indicated it would be willing to restart cooperation if Mauritania returns to democracy.

Brussels had allocated 156 million euros ($220 million) of aid for 2008-2013, which it suspended after the coup, while in March 2008 it agreed a 4-year deal to fish in Mauritanian waters, which are among the richest in the world, at a cost of 72 million euros per year.

State-owned iron ore miner SNIM, who are the world’s seventh-biggest supplier of the steelmaking raw material, accounts for around 40 percent of export earnings.

Steel firm ArcelorMittal signed an agreement in early 2008 to develop a large iron ore deposit, and Mauritania does produce oil, but output of around 15,000 barrels a day is far below initial expectations.

“Foreign investors will not come here if the international community does not endorse the regime chosen in these elections,” Mohammad said.

Neither the European Union nor United Nations are sending observers, but there will be more than 200 overseers from organizations including the African Union – which lifted sanctions this month – and the Arab League.

“So far, we have not seen any irregularities. There have from time to time been errors on voter lists, but these have been rectified each time,” said Hamdi Ould Mahjoub, vice-president of the electoral commission.

“The presence of international observers will allow us to guarantee the reliability and transparency of the elections, which is very important for us,” he said.

Source: The Daily Star.
Link: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=104293.

Morocco party calls strike in row over first woman mayor

RABAT: The party of a lawyer chosen to be the first female mayor of Marrakesh said Wednesday it had called a strike to protest a recent court decision that would make her unable to take up the post. Fatima Zahra Mansouri’s Party for Authenticity and Modernity said in a statement that the 48-hour strike had been called to “protest the plot against the democratic process.”

A court on Monday invalidated 33-year-old Mansouri’s June 12 election to the municipal council in Marrakesh’s Menara district – due to irregularities in the voting after a complaint was filed by an opposing candidate – and called for a new poll.

If as it stands Mansouri is denied her seat on the municipal council she would be unable to assume the position of mayor of one of Morocco’s biggest cities and a popular tourist destination.

Mansouri’s election as mayor in a municipal council vote on June 22 was only the second time a woman has taken a mayoral position in the north African kingdom.

“Her election reflects the image of a modern Morocco,” the secretary general of PAM, Cheikh Mohammad Biyadillah, said at the time.

Mansouri studied law in France, and is a daughter of a former assistant to the local authority chief in Marrakesh, which has a population of more than one million.

Source: The Daily Star.
Link: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=104294.

Iran’s atomic chief quits after more than 10 years at helm of nuclear program

Ahmadinejad threatens to strike Iran’s enemies ‘in the face’

Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, Iran’s atomic chief who has spearheaded the Islamic Republic’s controversial nuclear program for more than a decade, has resigned, the ISNA news agency said Thursday. It said that Aghazadeh had also quit as the country’s vice president, adding that almost three weeks ago he submitted to President Mahmoud Ahma­dinejad his resignation letter, which was accepted.

The report gave no reasons for the resignation, which comes a day after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton renewed a limited US offer to hold a dialogue with Tehran over the nuclear standoff.

The atomic chief’s resignation comes ahead of sweeping changes expected in Ahmadinejad’s next government which will be unveiled next month.

The hardline president vowed last month to change the structure of the new government by making “considerable changes” to his Cabinet. Aghazadeh is a veteran official of the Islamic Republic and was executive deputy to Mir Hossein Mousavi during his premiership in the 1980s.

Mousavi, Ahmadinejad’s closest rival in presidential polls last month but who lost heavily to the incumbent, has charged that the vote was rigged.

Aghazadeh was also oil minister from 1985 to 1997 after which he was appointed chief of the atomic organization under reformist president Mohammad Khatami. He continued to serve in the same capacity under Ahmadi­ne­jad and has been deeply in­volved in Iran’s nuclear program.

Global powers led by Washington suspect Tehran’s nuclear drive is aimed at making atomic weapons, a charge strongly denied by the Islamic Republic and on several occasions by Aghazadeh himself.

Aghazadeh has supervised the nuclear program which Iran says has developed technology able to master the complete nuclear fuel cycle.

At the heart of Iran’s nuclear controversy lies its defiant continuation of enriching uranium. Highly enriched uranium can be used to make atomic weapons while low enriched uranium is used in nuclear power plants.

Clinton renewed Wednesday a US offer to engage Iran in talks aimed at resolving the nuc­lear crisi, repeating earlier calls to “lead with diplomacy, even in the cases of adversaries or na­tions with whom we disagree.”

Clinton said that neither she nor Obama held “any illusions” that direct talks with Iran “will guarantee success.”

Premier Gordon Brown said Thursday that the world was at a “critical and de­fining moment” on nuclear wea­pons as Britain released a report underlining its willingness to cut arms before talks in 2010.

The report comes ahead of next year’s review of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which aims to limit the spread of nuclear weapons around the world, and after the US and Russia agreed to a landmark cut of their arsenals this month.

“This is a critical and defining moment where Russia and America are saying they are prepared to reduce their nuc­lear weapons,” Brown said.

“There is growing momentum across the globe to tackle these strategic challenges.” He reiterated that Britain was willing to reduce its nuclear arms as part of multilateral talks but accepted that this could be a long way off as he faced questions from a committee of lawmakers in the House of Commons.

“The long term aim of all the countries is on a multilateral basis that nuclear weapons would no longer be necessary, but that is a distant goal as we stand at the moment,” he said.

“As soon as it becomes useful for our arsenal to be included in a broader negotiation, Britain stands ready to act.” Britain has the fifth largest nuclear arsenal in the world, according to experts.

Brown added that all states, including Iran and North Korea, which have repeatedly defied the international community on the issue, should be allowed to use nuclear technology for civilian purposes as long as they “reject the development of nuclear weapons.”

Ahmadi­nejad launched a fierce attack on the West on Thursday, saying Iran’s enemies had tried to interfere and foment aggression in its disputed presidential vote last month.

“In this recent election the enemy tried to bring the battlefront to the interior of this country,” he told a big crowd in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

“But I have told the enemies … that this nation … will strike you in the face so hard you will lose your way home,” he said in comments translated by English-language Press TV.

He also voiced continued defiance in a row over Iran’s disputed nuclear ambitions, saying major powers “will not be able to take the away smallest amount of Iran’s rights.”

Syria tells US envoy it wants all of Golan back

DAMASCUS: Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem told visiting US official Frederic Hof on Thursday that Damascus wants the Golan Heights back as part of any Middle East peace deal. Moallem stressed Syria's wish to "recover the Golan as far as the border of June 4, 1967," before Israel occupied the upland region in that year's Middle East war, Sana official news agency reported.

The Syrian minister reaffirmed "his country's support for achieving a fair and global peace [deal] in the region in line with the principle of exchanging land for peace," the news agency said.

Hof, deputy to US special Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell, reiterated the US desire to work for a peace deal in the region, Sana added.

The United States wants to play an active and balanced role to relaunch peace talks on all Syrian and Palestinian issues with Israel, the report quoted him as saying.

Relations between the United States and Syria have begun to improve since Barack Obama became US president.

Washington announced on June 24 its decision to send an envoy back to Damascus, the latest of a series of cautious signals from the Obama administration.

The United States recalled its ambassador to Syria in 2005 after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which many blamed on Syria though it denies involvement.

The embassy remained open, directed by a charge d'affaires.

Washington has accused Damascus of supporting "terrorist" groups, seeking to destabilize Lebanon and allowing transit through Syria of weapons for fighters in Iraq.

Egyptian street to carry Sherbini's name

Thu, 16 Jul 2009

Egyptian officials have announced plans to name a street after Marwa el-Sherbini, the woman who was stabbed to death in a German courtroom two weeks ago.

"[We have] agreed to give the name of martyr Marwa el-Sherbini" to a street, the governor of her hometown, Alexandria, said during a public mourning ceremony on Wednesday, according to a MENA report.

“The international community should realize that fanaticism has become a public issue that is not restricted to a certain place,” said Adil Labib, governor of the northern Mediterranean city.

“What happened to Marwa can be repeated not only against Muslims, but also against Jews and Christians, as long as fanaticism exists,” he added.

The 31 year-old Sherbini died in a courtroom in the eastern German city of Dresden after being stabbed at least 18 times by a German man of Russian decent in front of her three-year-old son and her husband.

The assailant, identified only as Alex W., attacked Marwa as she was about to give evidence against him in an appeal case held to decide whether he should face heavier fines for calling her a 'terrorist' because of the way she dressed.

At the time of the attack, Sherbini was three months pregnant with her second child. Her husband Elwi Ali Okaz was also injured, suffering stab wounds from Alex W. and gunshots from the police who had mistaken him for the attacker.

The Egyptian officials' decision comes as authorities in Dresden are also mulling the idea of naming a street after Sherbini as a tribute to her.

"We are thinking of naming one of the city's streets after her, but the last time we wanted to do that, it took 16 years,” Dresden's immigration officer, Marita Schieferdecker-Adolph said on Tuesday.

Sherbini's death has created outrage in across the world, with Muslims in various countries giving her the title 'veil martyr' in demonstrations held to condemn the hate crime.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/100823.html.

CIA report: Israel will fall in 20 years

Fri, 13 Mar 2009

A study conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has cast doubt over Israel's survival beyond the next 20 years.

The CIA report predicts "an inexorable movement away from a two-state to a one-state solution, as the most viable model based on democratic principles of full equality that sheds the looming specter of colonial Apartheid while allowing for the return of the 1947/1948 and 1967 refugees. The latter being the precondition for sustainable peace in the region."

The study, which has been made available only to a certain number of individuals, further forecasts the return of all Palestinian refugees to the occupied territories, and the exodus of two million Israeli - who would move to the US in the next fifteen years.

"There is over 500,000 Israelis with American passports and more than 300,000 living in the area of just California," International lawyer Franklin Lamb said in an interview with Press TV on Friday, adding that those who do not have American or western passport, have already applied for them.

"So I think the handwriting at least among the public in Israel is on the wall...[which] suggests history will reject the colonial enterprise sooner or later," Lamb stressed.

He said CIA, in its report, alludes to the unexpectedly quick fall of the apartheid government in South Africa and recalls the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, suggesting the end to the dream of an 'Israeli land' would happen 'way sooner' than later.

The study further predicts the return of over one and a half million Israelis to Russia and other parts of Europe, and denotes a decline in Israeli births whereas a rise in the Palestinian population.

Lamb said given the Israeli conduct toward the Palestinians and the Gaza strip in particular, the American public -- which has been voicing its protest against Tel Aviv's measures in the last 25 years -- may 'not take it anymore'.

Some members of the US Senate Intelligence Committee have been informed of the report.

Senate confirms ex-astronaut Bolden to head NASA

By CHRISTINE SIMMONS, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – The Senate confirmed on Wednesday retired astronaut Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden as administrator of NASA, just in time for the space agency's 40th anniversary celebrations of man's first steps on the moon.

His confirmation also came just hours after the launch of space shuttle Endeavour, which began a 16-day mission to the international space station.

The Senate confirmed Bolden to head the National Aeronautics and Space Administration without objection. Bolden, who has flown in space four times and was an assistant deputy administrator at one point, will be the agency's first black administrator.

Former NASA associate administrator Lori Garver was also confirmed as the agency's No. 2.

The confirmation allows Bolden to be sworn in by July 20, 1969, 40 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing.

Bolden told senators last week that if the U.S. chooses to lead in technology, it must commit to, among other measures, inspiring the rising generation of children to contribute in the fields of science and engineering as well as enhancing NASA's ability and expertise in understanding Earth's environment.

"Either we can invest in building upon our hard earned world technological leadership or we can abandon this commitment, ceding it to others who are working vigilantly to push the frontiers of space," he said during a confirmation hearing on July 8.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., another ex-astronaut, said Bolden will "bring back the magic from a time when we rode rockets to the moon."

Bolden would inherit a NASA that doesn't look much like the still-somewhat-fresh-from-the-moon agency he joined as an astronaut in 1980. NASA now "is faced with a lot of uncertainty," former Johnson Space Center Director George Abbey has said.

President George W. Bush set in motion a plan to retire the space shuttle fleet at the end of next year and return astronauts to the moon and then head out to Mars in a series of rockets and capsules that borrows heavily from the 1960s Apollo program. The shuttle's replacement won't be ready until at least 2015, so for five years the only way Americans will be able to get in space is by hitching a ride on a Russian space capsule. And some of NASA's biggest science programs are over budget.

Bolden, a native of Columbia, S.C., will be only the second astronaut to run NASA in its 50-year history. Vice Adm. Richard Truly was the first.

In 2002, Bush unsuccessfully tried to appoint Bolden as the space agency's deputy administrator. The Pentagon said it needed to keep Bolden, who was a Marine major general at the time and a pilot who flew more than 100 sorties in Vietnam.

Bolden was the pilot of the shuttle flight that launched the Hubble Space Telescope into Earth orbit in 1990.