>from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >subject: Cuba: Blockade of Iraq intensified. Recipe? Iran -Jewish >defendants > > [MORE THAN A WEEKLY] > [BIENVENIDOS A GRANMA INTERNACIONAL] July 20, >2000 > > Blockade of Iraq intensified > > � Confirms Mohammed M. K. H. Al Amili, that country's >ambassador to Cuba, referring to maneuverings and attacks >mounted by the United States and Britain. > BY JOAQUIN ORAMAS > > SPEAKING on the 32nd anniversary of the July Revolution, >Mohammed M. > K. H. Al Amili, the Republic of Iraq's ambassador to Cuba, >reiterated > the charge of continued air attacks on his country by U.S. >and UK air > forces and obstacles placed on Iraqi economic activities by >the > Washington and London governments. > > News agencies noted that 1,989 contracts with other >countries signed > by the Baghdad government were suspended by the UN >Sanctions > Committee at U.S. and UK insistence. > > In that respect, the Iraqi minister of trade affirmed that >throughout > the seven stages of the UN Oil for Food Program passed to >date, the > committee has ignored contracts worth $3.1 million USD >which could > alleviate the situation of penury in Iraq. Most of the >reports from > UN specialized agencies acknowledge that the >abovementioned >program > does not extend to satisfying the needs of the Iraqi people. > > The persecution even extends to the point of preventing >the country > from importing pencils for schoolchildren, on the pretext >that they > contain graphite, a material described as dangerous. "My >country will > not give in or yield to the blackmail it is being subjected to >by > imperialism," Al Amili affirmed. > > The diplomat emphasized that since the 1990 aggression, > Anglo-American military forces have employed weapons >contravening > international agreements, which have adversely affected >public >health > and the environment. As a consequence, thousands of >hectares of >crops > have been destroyed and previously non-existent >epidemics have >broken > out among the population. > > Virtually every Iraqi family in the country has experienced >at least > one case of cancer or some kind of malign disease, as a >result of > prohibited weapons used in the air attacks, the >ambassador added, > while denouncing the lack of medicine and foodstuffs >suffered by his > compatriots due to the blockade and continued aggression >over 10 > years. > > Bombardments of oil installations and food factories >undertaken by > the air forces of these two powers have nothing to do with >Security > Council resolutions, he noted. These actions go hand in >hand with > funds utilized to foment counterrevolutionary activities >and support > for traitors who are received by the vice president of the >United > States. > > In relation to Anglo-American proposals on Iraq's >situation, he > reiterated that the only solution Baghdad would accept is >the lifting > of the blockade and an end to the aggression against its >territory, > as well as the restoration of its sovereignty and self- >determination. > > He stated that the Iraqi government highly values Cuba's > comprehension of the problems suffered by his country >and >reaffirmed > the support of the Iraqi people for the Cuban people's >struggle > against the U.S. blockade imposed more than 40 years ago. >Ambassador > Al Amili added his personal pleasure to international >rejoicing at > Elian Gonzalez' return to Cuba, which he described as a >political > victory against the Miami mafia and the most reactionary >elements > within the United States. > > ABOUT GRANMA INTERNATIONAL ONLINE >Spanish | French | Portuguese | German | Italian | Javier Sotomayor >Magazine � Copyright. 1996-1999. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. >GRANMA INTERNATIONAL/ ONLINE EDITION > > ********* >sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >X-From_: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Aug 6 06:47:51 2000 >Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Reply-To: "Karen Lee Wald" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "Karen Lee Wald" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "mike weaver" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: The practical meaning of sanctions --anywhere >Date: Sat, 5 Aug 2000 > >HARD TO SWALLOW > The following is kind of hard to take, so if you have a weak >stomach, or are not up to looking directly at the outcome of the >policies being carried out in our names, please do not go any >farther. > >Recipe > >Into a quart jar >place two cups water >taken from a ditch >beside the pasture >where the cattle once grazed. >If you do not live near a pasture >water from any drainage ditch >or from an urban creek >may be substituted. > >Add one cup water >from the toilet bowl >where you rinsed the baby's diaper >when she was sick. >Be sure you do not >flush the toilet first. > >Ask your husband >to urinate into the jar. >Only a little is needed. > >When your neighbor washes his car >scoop up some of the run-off. >Add half a cup to the jar. > >Put in a tablespoon or more >of fine dirt. >Screw down the lid. >Shake well. > >Although the cholera >and typhoid bacilli >will probably be lacking -- >and the amoebae, >following this recipe carefully >will result >in a reasonable facsimile >of the solution drunk >every day >by millions of people in Iraq >whose sewage treatment plants >and water purification systems >were bombed to smithereens in 1991 >and cannot be rebuilt >under the conditions of siege >referred to as >"sanctions" >maintained by military blockade >principally by the United States of America. > >Take your jar >to your congressperson or senator. >Ask that person >to keep it on the table >where he or she sits >in the halls of Congress >until the water runs clean >from every tap in Iraq >and no baby >dies of dysentery. > > This recipe can be increased > to serve 22 million people. > > > > June 3, 2000 > Carolyn S. Scarr > >(c) 2000 Carolyn S. Scarr > >Copyright by Carolyn S. Scarr, Berkeley, California, USA, 2000. >permission is granted to post this text on non-commercial >internet >sites, provided it remains intact and the copyright note is >displayed. To publish this text in printed and/or other forms >please >contact the author at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > *********** > >sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >From: "robert rodvik" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "CNN" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "Human Rights Watch UK" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "MONTREAL GAZETTE" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "NATIONAL POST" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "NEW YORK TIMES" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "MSNBC" ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "CBS" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "CBC-TV" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "CBCNEWS" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "CBC VANCOUVER" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "CBC THIS MORNING" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "CBC POLITICS" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "CBC DAYSIDE" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "BCTV NEWS" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "Kofi Annan - UN Secretary-General" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Cc: "Bill Graham, MP" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "Jean \"Pepper Guy\" Chretien, MP" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "Sheila Copps, MP" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "lLOYD AXWORTHY" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Fw: Iranian show trial concludes with harsh sentences >against >Jewish defendants Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2000 > > The word is "expediency". What do a dozen or so >victims of >repression matter when the Western "humanitarians" have a >chance to >sell bubble-gum and other vital essentials to Iran? Always nice >to see >"democracy" in action. RR -----Original Message----- >From: robert rodvik <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: Tuesday, July 04, 2000 1:44 AM >Subject: Iranian show trial concludes with harsh sentences >against Jewish >defendants > > >http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/jul2000/iran-j03_prn.shtml >Content-Type: text/html; > name="iran-j03_prn.shtml" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >Content-Disposition: inline; > filename="iran-j03_prn.shtml" >Content-Base: "http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/jul2000/iran- >j03_prn.shtml" >Content-Location: >"http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/jul2000/iran- >j03_prn.shtml" > >World Socialist Web Site www.wsws.org > > >WSWS : <../../../sections/category/news/news.shtml>News & >Analysis : ><../../../sections/category/news/mideast.shtml>Middle East > > >Iranian show trial concludes with harsh sentences against Jewish >defendants > >By Chris Marsden 3 July 2000 > ><iran-j03.shtml>Back to screen version > >The trial of thirteen Iranian Jews accused of spying for Israel >concluded >Saturday, when a judge in the southern city of Shiraz convicted >ten and >sentenced them to prison terms of four to thirteen years. Two >Muslims >accused of being accomplices were given more lenient jail terms >of two >years. > >The culmination of the trial, which began last April, underscored >the >frame-up character of the proceedings. The defendants were >convicted on >charges of �cooperating with a hostile government, membership >in an >illegal (spy) ring and recruitment of new agents.� The court >claimed the >alleged Israeli spy ring was set up more than 20 years ago to >collect >military secrets. > > >But the 72-page verdict, read out to reporters and foreign >diplomats, did not >contain a single substantive piece of evidence of espionage, and >relied >instead on the nebulous claim that the defendants were guilty of >�cooperation� with Israel. Defence lawyer Esmail Naseri- >Mojarrad said the >court had not proved that the defendants had access to classified >information, let alone that they passed it on to Israel. �If they are >not guilty >of passing on information, exactly what kind of cooperation are >they >supposed to have given?� he asked. > > >From start to finish, the treatment of the defendants was a >travesty of legal >due process. Prior to the trial, the defendants were imprisoned >for 15 >months and denied access to legal counsel. The trial itself was >held before a >Revolutionary Court, whose proceedings are secret. The >Revolutionary >Court judge acts as investigator, prosecutor and judge, and even >appoints >the defence counsel. > > >The state's case has relied exclusively on confessions extracted >from nine of >the defendants, whose lawyers were not present at the time. Some >of the 13 >were arrested in January 1999, while others were jailed in March >of last >year. Hamid � Dani� Tefilin, a shoe salesman, and Asher >Zadmehr, a senior >religious leader, received 13-year sentences. Tefilin was the first >to be >arrested 18 months ago. He was held incommunicado for five >months and >was one of eight who confessed and were paraded before the >cameras on >national television before and during court proceedings. > > >Defence lawyers said their cross-examination of six of the >accused showed >that some of them had lied in their confessions. Some reports >state that four >of the defendants withdrew their admissions of guilt, saying they >had been >made under intense pressure from the authorities. The three >Jewish >defendants acquitted�Navid Balazadeh, Nejatollah Brukhimnejad >and >Tefilin's brother, Omid�had all refused to confess. > > >As well as Tefilin and Zadmehr, civil servant Nasser Levihaim was >sentenced to 11 years, store clerk Ramin Farzam to 10 and >shopkeeper Javid >Bent-Yacoub to 9. Shopkeeper Farhad Seleh and religion teachers >Shahrokh Paknahad and Farzad Kashi received eight years each, >and >Faramarz Kashi was sentenced to five years. Ramin Nematizadeh, >a shoe >clerk, received four years. Iranian state television said the >sentence >included lashes or fines. But the court clerk who read out the >official >sentence told reporters none of the accused had been sentenced >to lashes. > > >Two Muslims jailed for two years are Ali Akbar Safaei, an >industrialist with >military contacts, and Mehran Yousefi, a military officer. Two >other >Muslims were acquitted, while cases against five others remain >open. > > >Silence of Western governments > > >After months of virtual silence on the anti-Jewish frame-up, the >US, >Britain and the European Union issued statements condemning >the court's >verdict. The belated Western protests were largely pro forma, for >the most >part calling for the sentences to be reduced when the case comes >up for >appeal some time in the next three weeks. > > >US Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke told >reporters, >�This was a kangaroo proceeding�. But Holbrooke, along with >the rest of >the Clinton administration and US State Department, did not just >discover >last Saturday that the trial was a frame-up. Why did they tolerate >it with >only the mildest of criticisms for more than three months? > > >The 12 found guilty at Shiraz are victims not only of the >machinations of >Tehran's clerics, but also of Western real politik. Iran's religious >leaders >mounted the trial to whip up Islamic fanaticism and anti-Semitism >in an >attempt to bolster dwindling support for their regime, after >suffering >heavy defeats in recent elections at the hands of a more pro- >Western >�reform� clerical faction led by President Khatami. The US and >Europe, as >well as Israel, apparently decided it was inexpedient to make the >anti- >Jewish show trial an international issue, lest it weaken the >Khatami faction >and disrupt their plans for new business ventures in Iran and >improved >diplomatic relations with the Tehran regime. Khatami himself >made no >statements opposing the frame-up. > > >Meanwhile, there have been reports of increased repression and >violence >against Iran's Jewish community, including an arson attack on a >textile >shop in Tehran. Significantly, the court chose to deliver its >verdict on the >Jewish Sabbath. > > >Press reports on the verdict indicated that Western diplomats in >Iran were >somewhat surprised by the harsh sentences handed down by the >Revolutionary Court. This would suggest that the US and other >governments >had been given private assurances that the judge would show >leniency, in >return for their near silence on the case. Major Jewish >organisations in the >US with close ties to the government had opposed the holding of >public >protests against the trial. > > >President Khatami is scheduled to visit Germany this month. A >planned visit >to Tehran by Britain's Foreign Secretary Robin Cook for July 4 >was only >cancelled at the last minute, three days before the verdict was >delivered. It >is clear that Cook stopped his visit only to avoid the >embarrassment of being >seen cuddling up to the Tehran government while it was >announcing >harsh sentences against the frame-up victims. > > >It is unlikely that America will be able to avoid some form of >diplomatic >protest against Tehran. But Jon Alterman, program officer of >research and >studies at the US Institute of Peace, predicted that any action >taken would be >minimal. He stated that a death penalty would have solicited a >clearer >response from the US than jail sentences because, �If people >believe the >state of Iran is executing people for their religious beliefs, then >that >becomes a deal-breaker. But if the state of Iran is persecuting >people�we >have relations with a lot of countries which persecute people.� > > >Hossein Mussavi-Tabrizi, a close ally of Khatami, shared this >appraisal of >the trial's impact on US-Iranian relations. He was cited in an >official >newspaper stating, �The verdict is rational and equitable. It will >not have a >(negative) impact on (President Mohammad Khatami's) >government and its >policy of d�tente.� > > >Perhaps the most extraordinary expression of the West's de facto >tolerance >of the show trial has been the editorial silence of the New York >Times. As of >July 2, the day after the announcement of the verdict, the >�newspaper of >record� had chosen not to make a single editorial comment on >the 13-week >trial. > > > Copyright 1998-2000 > World Socialist Web Site > All rights reserved > > > > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
