Bismillah [IslamCity] NEWSWEEK: Explaining Darfur
Explaining Darfur Katie BakerNEWSWEEK From the magazine issue dated Apr 27, 2009 Say darfur and hor rific images leap to mind: Janjaweed, genocide. But most of us would be hard- pressed to explain the violence there, beyond the popular no tion that it's ethnic cleansing of Africans by Arabs. Columbia University scholar Mahmood Mamdani's brilliant new book, Saviors and Survivors, explains why this assumption is incor rect, and why it's undermining peace efforts in the region. The Idea:The Darfur conflict, Mamdani says, is fundamental ly between tribes (both Arab and non-Arab) who have rights to a homeland—and through that, political representation— and tribes who don't. This is key to understanding the situation and how to remedy it. The Evidence:When the British colonized Darfur—at the time a polyglot sultanate—they pur sued a retribalization policy that classified certain peoples as na tive and others as immigrant, giving land and political rights to the former while disenfran chising the lat ter. This system produced long- simmering ten sions between nomadic and sedentary Dar furis. Add to that decades of se vere drought that drove nomads south onto their neighbors' land, as well as meddling by Libya, America and Chad— which militarized Darfur tribes as Cold War proxies—and by the mid-'80s, the region had ex ploded in civil war, which spi raled into an international con flict with escalating atrocities. The Conclusion: The old colo nial land-rights system must be overhauled before Darfur's tribes can find a common path forward and integrate into a peaceful, multiethnic whole. URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/194622
Bismillah [IslamCity] Run to Help Gaza Kids by Isma'il Kushkush
Run to Help Gaza Kids By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent The organizers want to break the Guinness Book world-record for the number of people running 100 meters in a 24-hour relay. (IOL photo) LONDON -- A newly established British charity is seeking to help raise funds for the children of Gaza by sponsoring an event that seeks to break the Guinness Book world-record for the number of people running 100 meters in a 24-hour relay. We are trying to get 4,000 runners to run 100 meters in a 24-hour relay, Rahul Tarafder, communications director for IF charity, told IslamOnline.net. The Gaza 100, the charity's first project, aims to promote public participation in innovative, fun campaigns and fundraising projects and sweeping aside all ifs and buts. Each participant will have to raise a minimum sponsorship of £100, so we are hoping to raise at least £400,000 for the children of Gaza. Palestinian Holocaust Museum The current world-record was set in Latvia in 2008 with 3,807 runners. The event is scheduled for Saturday 23 May, at London’s Mile End Stadium. Funds raised at the event will be directed to the charity group Save the Children-UK and its Gaza Appeal. We are working in partnership with Save the Children, explains Naweeda Ahmad, IF’s projects manager. We won’t be taking any administration cost; funds go as direct aid to Gaza. According to a January Save the Children fact sheet, 314 children were killed and 860 wounded during Israel's recent three-week Gaza war. Sixty- one schools and thirty-four health facilities were damaged or destroyed. Money will be going to projects and Save the Children gave us a breakdown, Ahmad continues. Innovative Riz Khaliq, IF's CEO, is hoping to attract mainstream British society to the event. We want the mainstream. [Gaza] is not just a Muslim issue; it’s a humanitarian issue. Khaliq believes that the attempt to break a world-record in London may help appeal to the mainstream. We did not want to do something ordinary; a world-record is different. Because we are trying to bring a world-record to London, every Londoner can have a stake in this. The event has already caught the attention of a number of celebrities including MP George Galloway, Tre Azzam and Ghazal Asif of the TV show The Apprentice-UK version, comedian Jeff Merza and the group Mecca to Madina. It is a fantastic idea and a lot of fun! says Ghazal Asif, who appeared in season three of The Apprentice. This should bring a lot of attention. * Isma’il Kamal Kushkush is a Sudanese-American freelance writer currently based in Khartoum, Sudan. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1239888597083pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
Bismillah [IslamCity] Cairo Conference 14-17 May/Registration form
Cairo Conference 14-17 May Friday, 01 May 2009 For seven years the Cairo Conference has been a vital meeting place for those fighting against war and occupation in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and beyond. Participants come from across the globe, from social movements, the international anti-war movement, political parties, trade unions and national liberation movements. In recent years the Cairo Social Forum has joined the conference adding delegations of striking workers and representatives of thepeasent movement to those attending. The election of Barack Obama has yet to change American foreign policy. Obama has pledged to pour 17,000 extra troops into the disastrous war in Afghanistan and is pressuring European governments to do the same. Meanwhile Israel began 2009 with a massacre over 1,300 Palestinians and the blockading of Gaza. Whilst this was largely ignored by the major governments of the world it was met with an outpouring of anger and resistance from ordinary people, with huge demonstrations being held in solidarity with Gaza and the Palestinians. Stop The War Coalition is encouraging people to attend the Cairo conference and meet face to face with those resisting war in the Middle East, helping to build links and solidarity with the anti-war movement worldwide. At the 2008 Cairo Conference there were over 2,000 people present from many countries including Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Syria, Iran, Lebanon, the US, Britain, Germany, Canada, Turkey, Italy, Holland and South Korea. Join us in 2009. Download registration form... http://stopwar.org.uk/content/view/1212/144/
Bismillah [IslamCity] Muntather was tortured : Interview with Uday al-Zaidi by Isma'il Kushkush
Muntather was tortured Muntather Al-Zaidi's Brother Uday Speaks By Isma’il Kushkush IOL Correspondent — Sudan Uday Al-Zaidi chants slogans at his house after the court sentenced al-Zaidi to three years in prison, in Baghdad (Reuters photo) IslamOnline.net's correspondent in Sudan interviewed Uday Al-Zaidi in Khartoum shortly after his return from Darfur where he was visiting along with an international delegation of activists, academics and diplomats. Muntather was tortured, says Uday Al-Zaidi, brother of the Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes toward former US President George Bush last year in a press conference, to IslamOnline.net in an interview. Muntather Al-Zaidi was sentenced in March to three years in jail, but an Iraqi court decided to reduce his sentencing to one year. Yet, Uday Al-Zaidi still fears for his brother's life We cannot feel safe for Muntather until he is in one of the Arab countries. He must not stay in Baghdad; he must leave it for good. IslamOnline.net: What do you think of your brother's action against the former US president George Bush? Uday al-Zaidi: I am extremely proud of what my brother Muntather Al-Zaidi did just as 250 million Arabs and one billion Muslims are, even though I did not believe it when I was told. I was shocked by this act from Muntather, not because Bush was the president of the most powerful nation, but because of the courage Muntather showed which was surprising. I am grateful to God that he had such courage: the shoe that did not fall on Bush fell on the American flag. This is a source of pride for us Arabs and Muslims. It reclaimed our dignity, even if just partially, from that criminal [George Bush]. IOL: Is there evidence that it was a planned act or was it spontaneous? This was the dream of any honorable person, to reclaim our dignity, and Muntather started this trend. Al-Zaidi:I would lie to you if I said it was simply spontaneous. Muntather was a journalist in the heart of events and saw what American soldiers were doing. In one instance, when Abeer al-Janabi was raped, Muntather cried and said: a fourteen year-old girl was raped, burnt and her family killed! Muntather was also extremely disturbed when the US soldiers fired shots at the Noble Qur'an in al-Ghazaliyya. All of this anger built up inside Muntather. When he saw Bush, and he even said this at the trial to the judge: When I saw Bush I saw the blood of Iraqis flowing under his feet. It was a build-up of anger. He may have not planned it, but this was the dream of any honorable person, to reclaim our dignity, and Muntather started this trend. IOL: You have made statements that Muntather was tortured in custody but Iraqi officials deny this. Is there evidence that he was tortured? Al-Zaidi: Yes, Iraq's minister of human rights acknowledged that Muntather was barbarically tortured, and she delivered a complaint to the Iraqi Judiciary which ignored it. A number of attorneys that met with the President of the Bar, Dhiyaa al-Sa'di, and his assistant, Abd al-Qadir al-Qaysi, stated that Muntather Al-Zaidi was tortured. Dhiyaa al-Kinani, the examining magistrate, said: I saw Muntather and he had been tortured and I will file a lawsuit. Three months later, when Muntather entered the courtroom and in front of all the journalists to see, his face was full of stitches and bruises and one of his teeth was uprooted. On the trial day it was discovered that he has a broken right foot that was not treated. IOL: What do you think of the national Iraqi and international responses to the shoe-throwing incident? Al-Zaidi: I think they were natural responses because of what Bush has done. These responses are what saved Muntather al-Zaidi. If there were no reactions as many as there were, and considerable media coverage, Muntather Al-Zaidi would have been killed in the same instance or even when he was dragged out of the [press conference] room. This verdict is against one billion Muslims, every Arab and free person in the world.It was when the Iraqi government saw people react to this incident in Iraq, the Arab World and the World, even in the United States, and this is what made them not kill Muntather Al-Zaidi. But they are monsters. Muntather was tortured for three months. They tried to compromise by trying to make him say he was sent by an Arab country or Iran or any country and they would then release him instantly. But he insisted that he did this for Iraqis only. IOL: What do you think of the trial and the verdict of three years against Muntather? Al-Zaidi: The verdict did not come from the court; it came from the United States. The three years ruling from the court is criminal. Before the trial I said that the Iraqi Judiciary is under a test and it should know that it is not only trying Muntather but one billion Muslims too. I believe that this verdict is against one billion Muslims, every Arab and
Bismillah [IslamCity] Khaleej Times: Why Arabs are Backing Sudan's Bashir
Opinion Why Arabs are Backing Sudan’s Bashir Karin Friedemann (Letter From America) 10 April 2009 Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir, despite being indicted on March 4, 2009 on seven counts of war crimes by the International Criminal Court, was given a “hero’s welcome” by the Arab League Summit hosted by Qatar last week. The 22 nations warmly supported Al Bashir with a resolution opposing the dubious ICC arrest warrant. Bashir called the ICC an “undemocratic institution that ... applied double standards, targeted the weak and gave a blind eye to the criminals.” Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, also present at the summit, likewise objected to the ICC. “Why do they not order the capture of Bush? Why not order the arrest of the president of Israel?” “If anything happened to Omar Al Bashir and Sudan ended up in chaos, the whole of Africa will sink into chaos,” warned Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Amir of Qatar. Amr Moussa, the Arab League Secretary-General, said that the arrest warrant was aimed “at undermining the unity and stability of Sudan.” In response to the arrest warrant, which was issued at behest of “Save Darfur,” an activist coalition mobilised by pro-Israel organisations committed to pressuring the US administration to treat Sudan like Iraq, Al Bashir evicted 13 western NGOs from his country. Glen Ford of Black Agenda Report comments, “Any government in the world that believes it has been targeted for regime change by the United States and its allies would be foolish to allow western-based nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) to operate freely in its territory.” According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “Almost the entire Arab and African world supports Sudan against the ICC, arguing it is a biased and political tool that only targets Africans and infringes sovereignty.” “The allegations at the ICC have nothing to do with reality, and we will use our friends in the United Nations to stop them,” says Abdel Malik Al Naiem, spokesman for the Sudanese Embassy in Cairo. “In one year we will Sudanise all the aid on the ground and we can fill the gap in food distribution within one year because the Sudanese Red Crescent already distributes 45 per cent of the food in Darfur,” Al Bashir promised during a recent visit to Saudi Arabia. China and Russia back the central government in Khartoum and support local peace agreements between Sudan’s warring tribes while the US, Britain, Israel and France materially support insurgent militias and promote increased foreign intervention with massive, internationally coordinated propaganda. Michel Massih, Al Bashir’s leading attorney points out, “I have never heard in my legal career of a chief prosecutor that launches media campaigns against a defendant, regardless of the nature of the charges.” Columbia Professor Mahmood Mamdani, whose new book ‘Saviours and Survivors’ just came out, says he began to look at the issue of Darfur in 2003. He was struck by the rapid globalisation and the fact-indifference of the Save Darfur movement, which consistently misrepresented the facts in a media blitz. Mamdani points out in a recent IslamOnline interview with Ismail Ikashkash: “The Save Darfur movement does not educate the people… about what issues drive the conflict. So they know nothing about the politics of Darfur, the history of Darfur, the history of the conflict. All they know is that … Darfur is a place where ‘evil lives.’” In his book, Professor Mamdani describes in detail how the Save Darfur Coalition presented itself primarily as an inter-religious coalition promoting Islamophobia by implicitly creating a division of responsibility among faiths: “The Christian faith packets were the most explicit: They spoke of ‘divine empowerment’ and ‘the burden to save’…The Jewish faith packets emphasized the special moral responsibility of Jews as ‘quintessential victims’ to identify genocide whenever it occurs…Muslims were asked to fight oppressors in their midst.” Save Darfur board chairwoman Gloria White-Hammond, an African-American Christian minister in Boston who has been groomed to promote Zionist politics by Israel advocacy group “The David Project,” met with President Obama and his Sudan envoy General Scott Gration, before their recent trip to Sudan. She and Save Darfur president Jerry Fowler pressured Obama to revive Sudan’s internal conflicts and to threaten Khartoum with further international isolation. America imposed economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997, but peace in Sudan requires foreign investment and political reform. Sudan has the largest underground freshwater lake in all of Africa. With some technology, Sudan could become the Breadbasket of Africa. Bush made it illegal for American-allied businesses to invest in life-saving infrastructure, and even threatened a delegation of African-American businesspeople with criminal prosecution for discussing investment ideas
Bismillah [IslamCity] Israel plans to strengthen ties with [Darfur] Sudan rebels
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 Israel plans to strengthen ties with Sudan rebels TEL AVIV — Israel has approved plans to expand relations with rebel movements in Sudan Israeli sources said the plans would focus on collaboration with rebel forces in the war-torn Darfour province, Middle East Newsline reported. The rebels were said to have helped Israel track a Hamas weapons convoy through Sudan in January 2009. The convoy, struck near the Egyptian-Sudanese border, was destroyed by a fleet of Israel Air Force F-15 and F-16 fighter-jets as well as unmanned aerial vehicles. Relations with Darfour rebels are not new, an Israeli source said. In February 2009, the head of the Sudanese Liberation Movement arrived in Israel and met with government representatives. The sources said Abdul Wahid Al Nour arrived in Israel and met Defense Ministry political-military bureau director Amos Gilad, regarded as the top envoy of Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Al Nour also attended the annual strategic Herzliya Conference. He did not address the gathering. The leader of one of the rebel groups in Sudan's Darfour region visited Israel to request its support in the rebel fight against the Sudanese government, the Israeli daily Haaretz said. Al Nour was also said to have met senior officials of Israel's Mossad espionage agency, including director Meir Dagan. The Mossad had been assigned to track Hamas weapons convoys through Sudan. The Sudanese Liberation Movement, founded in 1992, has been fighting the Khartoum regime in Darfour since 2001. Six year later, Al Nour fled to France and began organizing support in Europe for the rebellion. At least 600 Darfour residents have fled Sudan and settled in Israel. The government has granted them asylum and the right to work in Israel. The sources said Israel has long maintained relations with rebel groups in Sudan. But until a few years ago those relations were limited to non-Arab forces in southern Sudan that had waged a 20-year war for independence. In the interests of national security, various meetings are held, the Defense Ministry said after the Al Nour-Gilad meeting. We are not in the habit of responding after each of these meetings. http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2009/af_sudan0279_04_07.asp
Bismillah [IslamCity] A Palestinian-free Jerusalem: Interview with Sheikh Raed Salah by Isma'il Kushkush
A Palestinians-free Jerusalem Interview With Sheikh Raed Salah By Isma’il Kushkush IOL Correspondent — Sudan The Israeli occupation is seeking to Judaize Jerusalem, to practice ethnic cleansing upon our people in Jerusalem..., said Sheikh Raed Salah. (Reuters Photo) The Israeli occupation is seeking to Judaize Al-Quds (Jerusalem), to practice ethnic cleansing upon our people in Jerusalem, hoping to establish a 'Jerusalem' empty of the Palestinian existence, says Sheikh Raed Salah in an interview with IslamOnline.net. Sheikh Salah, a Palestinian activist from the town of Umm Faham inside the 1948 Green Line, has been a fierce critic of Israeli occupation authorities' polices of expelling Palestinian families from Jerusalem which he describes as piracy and bullying. The head and co-founded of Islamic Movement in the 1948 Palestine is also critical of the Israeli excavations near Al-Aqsa Mosque and has spearheaded efforts to bring global attention to the dangers of such activities. IslamOnline.net's correspondent Isma'il Kushkush met Sheikh Raed Salah in London and had this interview with him. IslamOnline.net (IOL): Being the chair of Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage, can you describe the activities of the organization? Sheikh Raed Salah: Al-Aqsa Foundation for Reconstruction of Islamic Sanctuaries was shut down [by the Israeli authorities] about half a year ago; but from our long experience with the injustice practiced by the Israeli institutions, we had established another organization as a substitute that remained in the shadow not functioning. When Al-Aqsa Foundation for Reconstruction of Islamic Sanctuaries was shut down, our substitute organization immediately started working and began its activities advocating for the protection of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the rest of the Islamic sanctuaries. It is now working in all the necessary sites to follow-up on, defend, and preserve [Islamic] holy sites. The Israeli authorities do not use legal or even close to legal methods when they rob these houses. It is piracy and bullying… IOL: What are the current and immediate threats to Palestinian owned properties in Jerusalem generally and Al-Aqsa Mosque specifically? Sheikh Salah: Israeli occupation authorities in Jerusalem are acting now in a hysterical and mad way. Since 2007 and till now, I have been ordered to keep 150 meters distance from Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Israeli occupation is now intensifying its excavation efforts under Al-Aqsa Mosque, Silwan neighborhood, and the Old City of Jerusalem neighborhood. The Israeli occupation has issued orders to destroy and expel the residents of scores of houses in Silwan, Old Jerusalem, and the Sheikh Jarrah, Ras Khamis, and Al-Issawiyya neighborhoods. From what I know, the Israeli occupation plans to destroy 1,700 houses in Jerusalem in 2009. This means that there is a threat to expel 17,000 of our people in Jerusalem who will find themselves in the coming months with no shelter or housing. (read more about Al-Quds evictions ) The Israeli occupation is seeking to Judaize Jerusalem, to practice ethnic cleansing upon our people in Jerusalem, hoping to establish a Jerusalem empty of the Palestinian existence. It is also seeking to build the Temple [of Solomon] at the expense of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This is the bitter and tragic reality that we are witnessing today in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque. (more on Al-Quds tunnels ) We still view the official governmental Islamic and Arab responses as weak, unacceptable, and inexcusable. IOL: Describe for us the legal methods that the Israeli authorities use to harass home and property owners and confiscate their properties? Sheikh Salah: The Israeli authorities do not use legal or even close to legal methods when they rob these houses. It is piracy and bullying; there are no other words that can describe these [methods]. The Israeli occupation make the false claim that Jerusalem is of historical importance to it and therefore the houses of all Jerusalemites must be destroyed and they eventually must be expel out of them. For example, when it recently ordered the destruction of 88 houses in the Silwan neighborhood, what was the reason for this action? The [Israeli occupation authorities] claim that these houses are built on a land called The Garden that is of importance in Jewish history; this is what they claim. But this piece of land, where 88 houses are, belongs to our people in Silwan according to our Islamic history and what all Muslim historians have recorded; it is a land that [the Caliph] 'Uthman ibn 'Affan gave as a waqf (endowment) to the poor of Jerusalem. It was given as a spring endowment because there is a spring in this land known as the Spring of Silwan. (read more about Silwan case ) Whatever the Israeli occupation authorities claim other than that is nothing but a lie that has no legal
Bismillah [IslamCity] Chavez opposes arrest warrant for Bashir
Chavez opposes arrest warrant for Bashir www.chinaview.cn 2009-03-31 18:28:20 DOHA, March 31 (Xinhua) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez here Tuesday voiced objection to the arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes in Darfur. Upon his arrival at the Doha International Airport to attend the 2nd Arab-South American Summit scheduled for Tuesday, Chavez told reporters that the ICC should be requested to prosecute former U.S. President George W. Bush and Israeli President Shimon Peres, according to Spanish EFE news Agency. Why (the ICC) not order the capture of Bush? Why not order the arrest of the president of Israel?” he was quoted as asking. Leaders of the 22-member Arab League who held a summit on Monday passed a communiqué on rejecting the ICC’s arrest warrant for Bashir. Chavez said the ICC “has no power to make a decision against a sitting president, but does so because it is an African country, the third world,” said Chavez, whose country is a signatory to the ICC. The ICC has requested all its signatory members to arrest Bashir. The Second Summit of Arab-South American countries will be held in the afternoon, with the participation of leaders and senior officials from 12 South American countries and 22 Arab states, plus delegates from the Arab League. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/31/content_11107937.htm
Bismillah [IslamCity] Zeina: A Photo Iconography: Interview with Sudanese Photographer Issraa El-Kogali
Zeina: A Photo Iconography * Interview With Sudanese Photographer Issraa El-Kogali Interviewed By Isma’il Kushkush The Juba Lane © Issraa El-Kogali. Issraa El-Kogali is a Sudanese born photographer currently residing in Khartoum. Her latest project, Zeina: A Photo Iconography, is a collection of iconic images from Sudan’s Northern State, Al-Shamaliyya. This collection features photographs from northern Sudanese towns and villages such as Dongola, Wadi Halfa, Abri, Wawa and elsewhere in which El-Kogali attempts to present positive images of Sudan. Zeina was exhibited at the Waterloo Gallery in London, April 2008, the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology at the University of London, May 2008, and Universal Café in Khartoum, December 2008. El-Kogali holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Film from Boston University, USA. Her previous projects have been exhibited in Khartoum, Cairo, London and Washington D.C. IslamOnline.net's correspondent in Sudan interviewed El-Kogali about her latest exhibition. IOL: What is photo-iconography? El-Kogali: Photo-iconography is a collection of symbols or portraits and things that are representative of a particular subject. In this case, photos that can possibly be iconic; things we look at and then think immediately of a specific place; in this case, Al-Shamaliyya, (the Northern State in Sudan). IOL: How and why did you start this current project of yours, Zeina: A Photo Iconography? El-Kogali: I wanted to make some contribution. Growing up, I did not have any visual references of Sudan. All around me, kids from other parts of the world had these icons, either landmarks like the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids, the Eifel Tower, or the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I had no idea what visual references to conjure up when someone asked me about where I was from. I was working in advertising for a while and felt that I needed to put myself out there and do something creative and thought this is the best thing for me to be doing. In England there was a real sense of appreciation for the work because, I think, people were curious about Sudan and happy to see an alternative perspective. They were happy to see real people going on about their lives.IOL: What images of Sudan do you think people outside of Sudan consider iconic? And what images of Sudan are iconic to you? El-Kogali: No doubt that the main images that come to their minds are the ones that they see on their TV screens [like] these shocking pictures that come from Darfur of decaying bodies out in the desert. I have seen those [images] in major newspapers in the United States and England. The images are so horribly vivid that they stay with you and unfortunately that is what people outside Sudan are familiar with. I think people who know Sudan well will probably say things like the white jallabiyya (long and loose male clothing) and turban, and Sudanese women rapped in tobs (a long body- rap of light cloth). Those familiar with different regions of Sudan may mention things like tribal scarification, whether it is the shalukh (three parallel cheek scars) in the north, or the tribal scarring of the forehead in the south. Not so much in terms of building though, unless we think of the old mosques in the Khartoum souk, like the Khartoum Grand Mosque, the Tomb of The Mahdi [in Omdurman], the Presidential Place or even the old bridges over the Nile. IOL: Why did you start your work in the north? El-Kogali: I started in the north because I have heritage there and also because the north of Sudan has the worst reputation abroad. It is always the evil Arab north [in Western media]. Because of the highly centralized government and issues [related to] the uneven distribution of wealth, people assume that because most members of the Sudanese government are from the north, that the north is the wealthiest part of the country. But going up there I realized that actually nobody is spending any money up there! People have survived because of their own resilience and resourcefulness. I also wanted to visually identify with what it meant to be from the north, to be from [the city of] Dongola. IOL: What makes a good photo-shot? El-Kogali: I think it is a matter of taste. That is a difficult question. It is a matter of preference, some people like to get really close-up and initiate with their subjects and you see they have these really close-cropped pictures. Others prefer wide-angle shots. I am not sure if there is a formula, but generally, something captures my eye and I take the shot. I usually take several shots and change the angels; I may stand up right or crouch down a little. I know what appeals to my visual sense. But what you see with your eyes is not what the camera sees, especially with digital cameras. I think I had more success before I switched to digital cameras. When you take a picture, frame it right and take it, that is what you get on
Bismillah [IslamCity] Beware Human Rights Fundamentalism! by Mahmood Mamdani
Beware Human Rights Fundamentalism! MAHMOOD MAMDANI:COMMENT - Mar 20 2009 09:24 When former South African president Thabo Mbeki makes the African case for a postponement of the International Criminal Court's (ICC) indictment of President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, what can he say with dignity and foresight? To begin with, he should remind his audience that nowhere in the world have rights existed outside an enabling political context. No democracy enforces a fixed standard of rights regardless of the country's political context. Few can forget how the Bush administration diluted the Bill of Rights in the interest of pursuing Homeland Security. In the relation between law and politics, politics is always paramount. Precisely because the struggle for rights is a political struggle, enforcers of rights -- and not just its violators -- need to be held politically accountable lest they turn rights enforcement into a private vendetta. Mbeki can then share with his audience the lessons Africans have learned in the struggle for peace and justice over the past several decades. Contrary to what many think, this lesson is not that there needs to be a trade-off between peace and justice. The real trade-off is between different forms of justice. This became evident with the settlement to end apartheid. That settlement was possible because the political leadership of the anti-apartheid struggle prioritised political justice over criminal justice. The rationale was simple: where there was no victor, one would need the cooperation of the very leaders who would otherwise be charged with war crimes to end the fighting and initiate political reforms. The essence of Kempton Park can be summed up in a single phrase: forgive but do not forget. Forgive all past crimes -- in plain words, immunity from prosecution -- provided both sides agree to change the rules to assure political justice for the living. The South African lesson has guided African practice in other difficult situations. In Mozambique Renamo sits in Parliament instead of in jail or in the dock. In South Sudan, too, there would have been neither peace nor a reform of the political system without an agreement not to pursue criminal justice. Why not in Darfur? Mbeki would also be well advised to keep in mind that in the court of public opinion -- unlike in a court of law -- the accused is considered guilty until proven innocent. The public needs to be reminded that when the justices of the ICC granted the prosecutor's application for a warrant to arrest the president of Sudan, they were not issuing a verdict of guilty. The justices were not meant to assess the facts put before them by the prosecutor, but to ask a different question: if those facts were assumed to be true, would the president of Sudan have a case to answer? Unlike court, which took the facts for granted at the pre-trial stage, we need to ask: to what extent are these facts true? And, to the extent they are true, are they the whole truth? The prosecutor's case The prosecutor's application charged President al-Bashir with (a) polarising Darfuri tribes into two races (Arab and Zurga or Black), (b) waging a violent conflict (2003-2005) leading to the ethnic cleansing of Zurga ethnic groups from their traditional tribal lands, and (c) and planning the malnutrition, rape and torture of internally displaced persons (IDPs) so as to slow death in the camps -- a process that the prosecutor claimed went on from 2003 to the time the application was submitted in 2008. The racialisation of identities in Darfur had its roots in the British colonial period. As early as the late 1920s, the British tried to organise two confederations in Darfur: one Arab, the other Zurga or black. Racialised identities were incorporated in the census and provided the frame for government policy and administration. In spite of official policy, Arabs never constituted a single racial group. Contemporary scholarship has shown that the Arab tribes of Sudan were not migrants from the Middle East but indigenous groups that became Arabs starting in the 18th century. This is why there can be no single history of Arab tribes of Sudan. Little unites privileged sedentary tribes of riverine Sudan and impoverished nomads of Western Sudan. Unlike the Arabs of riverine north, who have tended to identify with power, the Arabs of Darfur are the most marginalised group in a marginalised province. The largest of the Arab tribes in Darfur, the cattle nomads of the south, were never involved in the government-organised counterinsurgency. Those involved -- the camel nomads of the north and refugees from Chad -- were from among the poorest of the poor. The idea that the Arabs of Darfur were part of a single cohesive Arab bloc facing black Africans is a recent invention driven mainly by an external media, and now by the ICC. Its main effect has been to demonise Arabs and to obscure the real
Bismillah [IslamCity] HANDS OFF SUDAN! EMERGENCY PROTEST: WASHINGTON DC, WED MARCH 11
Please forward and announce! EMERGENCY PROTEST!! HANDS OFF SUDAN!! A rally and press conference to denounce the ICC arrest warrent of Sudan's President Omar Al-Bashir will take place Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 1:00 pm in front of the Embassy of Sudan, 2210 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC 2008. The African Union, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement all stand in solidarity with the Sudanese government against this immoral western attempt at regime change that does nothing to help the peace process in Darfur. Concerned citizens of the U.S. plan to show their support for Sudan as well. For more information contact Hodari Abdul-Ali of the Give Peace A Chance Coalition at 301-728-8949 or Akbar Muhammad of the Youth4Africa Foundation at 314-422-4338.
Bismillah [IslamCity] IAPSCC Statement on Sudan
Manik Mukherjee, General Secretary of the International Anti-imperialist and People’s Solidarity Coordinating Committee (IAPSCC), has issued the following statement condemning the indictment of President Omar Hasan Ahmad Al Bashir of the Republic of Sudan by the International Criminal Court. RESIST THE IMPERIALIST MANEUVER TO DESTABILIZE SUDAN BY INDICTING PRESIDENT OMAR HASAN AHMAD AL BASHIR The International Anti-imperialist and People’s Solidarity Coordinating Committee (IAPSCC) strongly condemns the recent action of the International Criminal Court of issuing a warrant of arrest of H.E. Omar Hasan Ahmad Al Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan. This is an assault on the sovereignty of an independent state, and is nothing but an imperialist conspiracy against Sudan which is following a policy of development not guided by the imperialist dictates. Sudan has not granted the imperialist powers access to its rich oil resources and opposed the US-led war against Iraq and its subsequent occupation. This has infuriated USA and its allies who are bent on destabilizing the country. They fanned up ethnic conflicts in Sudan and militarily trained, aided and incited the rebel groups to fight against the Sudan Government. It is a common imperialist strategy to foment mistrust and division among the different ethnic groups in a country, to instigate civil wars, and to allow these to continue through direct intervention and supporting one group against the other. Afterwards they cry hoarse on ‘war crimes’ and ‘crimes against humanity’, and demand that the perpetrators must be tried and punished. We witnessed it in Cambodia, in Rwanda, in Yugoslavia. And everywhere such charges were leveled against that side which was most opposed to the imperialists. On an entirely motivated and false allegation about possession of weapons of mass destruction USA and its allies invaded and occupied Iraq and devastated the country. We witness a similar imperialist policy in action against Sudan - a conspiracy is being hatched against the country. After instigating the internal conflict the imperialist powers are now vocal about ‘genocide’ in Darfur. They have launched a propaganda blitz on the sufferings of the people in Darfur and are calling for direct military intervention and a permanent presence of Western powers in Sudan to monitor the situation. The imperialist powers are using the International Criminal Court as their tool to destabilize independent countries and bring them under their control. They have done this in the past and they are doing it now. We emphasize that the Sudanese people are the sole custodians of their country. It is they alone who can chart out a course for tackling all their internal problems without any foreign interference or any external pressure. Sudanese people do not need to be taught by the imperialists how to protect human rights. The IAPSCC affirms its solidarity with the Sudanese people in their fight against imperialism to protect the sovereignty of their country. The IAPSCC calls upon the freedom-loving people all over the world to come out in protest against the imperialist maneuvers and organize movements to foil their conspiracy. Sent by: Office of International Anti-imperialist and People’s Solidarity Coordinating Committee (IAPSCC). e-mail – aiaif_2...@yahoo.com
Bismillah [IslamCity] Jordan: Islamist movement holds demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians, Sudanese president
Jordan: Islamist movement holds demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians, Sudanese president IAF Secretary General Zaki Bani Rsheid (left) and overall leader of the Muslim Brotherhood movement Hamam Said attend a demonstration on Saturday (Reuters photo by Ali Jarekji) By Mohammad Ben Hussein AMMAN - The Islamist movement on Saturday staged a sit-in to protest Israeli plans to demolish 88 Palestinian homes in Jerusalem and the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Bashir. The protest was held in front of the Abdali headquarters of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, after the government did not grant to the movement permission to organise a public rally, according to IAF Secretary General Zaki Bani Rsheid. Under the Public Gathering Law, no party is allowed to organise an event in public without the written approval of the governor. “Why do we have this modest sit-in where protesters are surrounded by security forces? This is because the government refused to grant us permission to hold a rally in support of Jerusalem. If a request was made to open a bar, permission would have been granted easily,” added Bani Rsheid, who called for political reform in the Kingdom. He decried the government’s “shameful stance” regarding Israel’s measures in Jerusalem, calling for an amendment to the Constitution under which “people can govern themselves”. “Today’s question is who aborted the efforts to take Israel to court for its war crimes? If it was the government, then it should be dismissed. If it was the Parliament then we are better off without it,” Bani Rsheid told dozens of supporters. Following the Jerusalem Municipality’s announcement late last month, Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Nabil Sharif, who is also government spokesperson, strongly denounced the plans to demolish 88 Palestinian homes in Al Bustan. Stressing Jordan’s rejection of the “measure”, Sharif said it is a breach of international law and a violation of UN resolutions which state that all measures taken by the Israeli authorities in Jerusalem are null and void as they seek to change the legal situation of the city as an occupied territory. He said Jordan and all other concerned parties will work together to stop this move, warning that unilateral steps would only increase tensions and disrupt Arab and international efforts seeking to achieve Middle East peace. At the time, Fakhri Abu Diab, a member of the Committee for the Defence of the Territory of Silwan, was quoted by Reuters as saying the demolition orders had been issued on the pretext that the homes had been built without the required zoning and construction permits. He said the real motive was ethnic cleansing and part of Israel’s plan to gradually drive the Arab population out of the city which Israel claims as its undivided capital. At yesterday’s sit-in, Bani Rsheid also called for scrapping the 1994 peace treaty with Israel. “It is time to end this dirty Wadi Araba peace treaty and someone ends it with a pen, not a sword,” he said. He saluted the people of Silwan and Jerusalem “as they stand defiant against Israeli measures to uproot them. We are supporting you and God willing, liberation of Palestine will start from Jordan”, Bani Rsheid added. Protesters chanted slogans expressing support for Jerusalemites and condemning Israel for its actions in the city. Bani Rsheid also called on Bashir to remain defiant in the face of the conspiracy by the West against his country: “We are supporting you in your position like we supported Hamas and people of Gaza in the war.” “Sudan is paying the price of its independence. They want Sudan to be a follower of Western policies and normalise with Israel,” he added.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Sudan Diaspora Flock Home to Polish Image by Isma'il Kushkush
Sudan Diaspora Flock Home to Polish Image By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent If I can impact one person’s image of Sudan…that’s one less person with negative feelings toward Sudan, El-Kogali told IOL. KHARTOUM — Many young Sudanese professionals who grew up abroad are returning to their home country to help contribute to its development and improve its image. Sudan has an image problem because we don’t know how to market ourselves to the rest of the world, Issraa El-Kogali, a freelance photographer who grew up in Egypt, the UK and the US, told IslamOnline.net. Conflict in Darfur, commonly described as a genocide pitting Arabs against Africans, has brought much international media attention to Sudan. There isn’t a genuine interest in the cultural of Sudan; the focus is on political conflicts and economic difficulties, regrets El-Kogali, 29. Critical of international media coverage of her country, she came back in 2003 after spending twenty-one years of her young life abroad and decided to work as a communications professional. She uses her talent to present positive images of Sudan. Her recent exhibition, Zeina: A Photo Iconography, was held in Khartoum, London and Washington DC, presenting iconic images from northern Sudan. We have two images of Sudan; [the first] is a distorted media-created identity that focuses [only] on civil war and hunger, explains Malak Abubaker, 26, who was born and raised in Kuwait and educated in the United Arab Emirates. But what sinks my heart is that beautiful images of Sudan are not published; we have a lot to show for and present. She also returned to Sudan three years ago and is a communications manager with a management consultancy company. Development Abusin (L) and Abubaker believe their company can positively help Sudan’s image by showcasing businesses and individuals.While all the young professionals seek to contribute to Sudan’s development and improve its image, they are doing it in different ways. Mustafa Khogali, 35, was born in Cote d’Ivoire, raised in Kuwait and educated in the USA. Hearing so much negativity about Sudan [abroad] made me want to come back, asses for myself and make a difference, he told IOL. Khogali currently manages an oil field suppl y company in Khartoum. He believes that his education allows him to work with investors and bring needed experience to the Sudanese economy. I convinced a Malaysian company to come to Sudan who were initially reluctant, he noted, adding that the Malaysians are telling him that the situation is not bad as the media projects it. They are here now and they are happy. Mazin Abusin, 37, who grew up in the US and UK, came back to found a management consultancy company. He seeks to help clients to manage their projects in a more effective and efficient manner. Sudan has witnessed an increase in foreign direct investments in the past five years with the discovery of oil and the end of civil war in the south. Abusin believes that his company can positively help Sudan’s image by showcasing businesses and individuals. Abubaker, who is the company's communication manager, agrees. We are trying to showcase Sudan as a successful county not denying the challenges but looking out for solutions. Despite political challenges, Sudan has witnessed double digit economic growth in the past five years because of oil revenues and foreign investment. Abubaker says that foreign investors she has spoken to have been encouraging her work. 'The time for it is now' they tell me. While none of these young professionals believe they will see an immediate change in perceptions of Sudan abroad, they are hopeful because of the positive feedback they are getting. If I can impact one person’s image of Sudan, one khawaja [foreigner], that’s one less person with negative feelings toward Sudan, maintains El-Kogali, the photographer. Luis Bueno, deputy head of the mission of the Embassy of Spain in Khartoum, has seen her works and is quite impressed. She dwells in the history of the country’s symbols, he notes. The pictures [leave] a positive impression of Sudan. * Isma’il Kamal Kushkush is a Sudanese-American freelance writer currently based in Khartoum, Sudan http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1235628700237pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
Bismillah [IslamCity] Darfur war crimes indictment threatens to split international community
Darfur war crimes indictment threatens to split international community Judges in The Hague prepare to indict Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's president – putting western governments on collision course with Africa, China and Russia Simon Tisdall Monday 16 February 2009 17.02 GMT Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, looks certain to be charged with war crimes. Photograph: Mohamed Nureldin Abdalla/Reuters Britain, France and the US are up against a united front of African and Muslim countries, backed by China and Russia, over the imminent indictment of Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur. Diplomatic sources said yesterday that a pre-trial panel of three judges at the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague was expected to authorise an arrest warrant within the next two weeks. Bashir will be the first head of state to be charged by the ICC since it was founded in 2002. The court has kept its cards very close to its chest. But that's the expectation, a western diplomat said. You prepare for all eventualities and an indictment is the most difficult. But the search for peace and justice cannot be precluded by concerns over what might happen. The African Union (AU), the Arab League, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, and an influential UN bloc of developing nations known as the Group of 77 and China have all backed Sudan's calls for the ICC prosecution to be dropped, with some officials arguing that it smacks of white man's justice. They say an attempt to arrest Bashir could destabilise Sudan and endanger international aid and peacekeeping missions. An estimated 200,000 people have died and 2.7 million have been displaced since fighting erupted in Darfur in 2003. The UN has more than 20,000 personnel in Sudan, including two peacekeeping missions, while hundreds of NGOs and aid agencies operate there. Sudanese officials say they cannot be held responsible if the UN or foreign organisations become the focus of public outrage over an indictment. Western diplomats say any decision to freeze or drop the case could destroy the credibility of the ICC and force the resignation of chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. Yet a decision to go ahead could permanently alienate African and other countries that have signed the ICC treaty. Britain, France and the US say they are not alone is backing the ICC process. The Latin American countries, Japan, other European countries, they all understand and support what we are doing, one official said. In a unanimous statement issued at this month's summit in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, the AU expressed deep concern at the impending indictment, warning it could seriously undermine efforts to end the Darfur conflict. If the court is allowed to go ahead, it will cause a lot of trouble for the whole Horn of Africa region. Sudan is big. It touches everyone, said a senior diplomat from one of Sudan's neighbours. British and French officials and diplomats are adamant that they will not support attempts to freeze the ICC process under a UN security council procedure known as an Article 16 deferral. At this moment we're not ready to support an initiative that would implement Article 16, said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, France's deputy UN ambassador. Lord Malloch-Brown, Britain's minister for Africa, said last week that a deferral was completely unlikely. The US is not a signatory to the ICC's founding treaty but has strongly supported the case against Bashir. It has backed two previous ICC indictments of Sudanese officials over Darfur, including charges of war crimes brought against Ahmad Muhammad Harun, a former minister of state for the interior. Neither suspect has been handed over. The Obama administration has taken a tougher line on Sudan than its predecessors. Susan Rice, the new US ambassador to the UN, condemned the ongoing genocide in Darfur in her first press conference, and said efforts to support Unamid, the UN's military mission in Darfur, were a top priority. Obviously we will continue to look at what is necessary to deal with any obstruction, continued violence or reprisals that may occur or may emanate as a result of a potential indictment, she said. She drew attention to new fighting around Muhajiriya, in southern Darfur, between government and rebel forces. UN officials and rebel spokesmen have suggested the surge in violence is part of the government's response to the looming Bashir indictment. In a sign of growing unease over the possible fallout, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, said he had personally urged Bashir to eschew reprisals when they met at the AU summit. Whatever the ICC decision may be, it will be very important for President Bashir and the Sudanese government to react very responsibly and ensure the safety and security of UN peacekeepers, protect human rights ... and faithfully
Bismillah [IslamCity] Haaretz: Darfur rebel leader visited Israel
Last update - 01:33 16/02/2009 Darfur rebel leader visited Israel By Amos Harel and Barak Ravid The leader of one of the rebel groups in Sudan's Darfur region recently visited Israel to discuss with a senior Israeli official the situation in Sudan. Abdel Wahid al-Nur is the head of the Sudan Liberation Movement. While in Israel, he met with the senior official and discussed with him the ongoing conflict in Sudan. Al-Nur came to Israel earlier this month at his own initiative, to attend the annual Herzliya Conference. He came with a group of European Jews, most of them French, who have been active on behalf of the Darfur refugees. He did not speak at any of the sessions, but did observe several. At the conference, he was introduced to the senior official, and the two arranged a meeting, which took place a few days later. The Defense Ministry responded, In the interests of national security, various and sundry meetings are held. We are not in the habit of giving responses after each of these meetings. The Sudan Liberation Movement was founded in 1992. It is a secular group that opposes the Islamist regime of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, and its official stated goal is to turn Sudan into a democracy that grants equal rights to all its citizens. However, it also has a military wing that has been fighting government forces in Darfur since 2001. Close ties Al-Nur fled to France in 2007 and has not been back to Sudan since then. He has won support from international human rights organizations and is considered very close to French Jewish philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy. In the past, he has spoken in favor of establishing diplomatic ties between Sudan and Israel, and a year ago, he even announced that his movement was opening an office in Tel Aviv, staffed by Sudanese refugees who found asylum in Israel after fleeing the massacres committed by Bashir's forces in Darfur. However, this was his first visit here. Israel currently has more than 600 Darfur refugees, and Ehud Olmert's government decided to grant them all asylum and work permits. This decision was made in part because Bashir's government announced that any Sudanese refugee who set foot in Israel would be considered a Mossad agent and would therefore be sentenced to death should he or she ever return to Sudan. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1064417.html
Bismillah [IslamCity] The Left and Support for Islamist Anti-Colonial Resistance
The Left and Support for Islamist Anti-Colonial Resistance Speech delivered by Nadine Rosa-Rosso http://atheonews. blogspot. com/2009/ 02/left-and- support-for- islamist- anti\ .html http://atheonews. blogspot. com/2009/ 02/left-and- support-for- islamist- ant\ i.html The massive demonstrations in European capitals and major cities in support of the people of Gaza highlighted once again the core problem: the vast majority of the Left, including communists, agrees in supporting the people of Gaza against Israeli aggression, but refuses to support its political expressions such as Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Left not only refuses to support them, but also denounces them and fights against them. Support for the people of Gaza exists only at a humanitarian level but not at the political level. Concerning Hamas and Hezbollah; the Left is mainly concerned with the support these groups have amongst the Arab masses, but are hardly interested in the fact that Israel's clear and aggressive intention is to destroy these resistance movements. From a political point of view we can say without exaggeration that the Left's wish (more or less openly admitted) follows the same line as the Israeli government's: to liquidate popular support for Hamas and Hezbollah. This question arises not only for the Middle East but also in the European capitals because, today, the bulk of the demonstrators in Brussels, London and Paris are made up of people of North African origin, as well as South Asian Muslims in the case of London. The reactions of the Left to these events are quite symptomatic. I will cite a few but there are dozens of examples. The headline of the French website 'Res Publica' following the mass demonstration in Paris on the 3rd of January read: We refuse to be trapped by the Islamists of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah! The article continued: Some activists of the left and far left (who only turned out in small numbers) were literally drowned in a crowd whose views are at odds with the spirit of the French Republican movement and of the 21st Century Left. Over 90% of the demonstrators championed a fundamentalist and communitarian worldview based on the clash of civilizations which is anti-secular and anti-Republican. They advocated a cultural relativism whose harmful tendencies are well known, particularly in England. Res Publica is neither Marxist or communist, but one would be hard pressed to find even the most remotely positive words about Hamas on Marxist websites. One does find formulations such as Whatever we think about Hamas, one thing is indisputable: the Palestinian people democratically elected Hamas to lead Gaza in elections held under international supervision. Looking further at what we can think of Hamas one finds on the websites of both the French Communist Party and the Belgian Labour Party an article entitled How Israel put Hamas in the saddle. We learn little more than the assertion that Hamas has been supported by Israel, the United States and the European Union. I note that this article was put online on January 2nd after a week of intensive Israeli bombardment and the day before the ground offensive whose declared aim was the destruction of Hamas. I will return to the quotation of Res Publica, because it summarizes quite well the general attitude of the Left not only in relation to the Palestinian resistance, but also in regard to the Arab and Muslim presence in Europe. The most interesting thing in this article is the comment in parentheses: 'the Left and far Left (who only turned out in small numbers)'. One might expect following such a confession some self-critical analysis regarding the lack of mobilisation in the midst of the slaughter of the Palestinian people. But no, all charges directed against the demonstrators (90% of the whole protests) are accused of conducting a war of civilizations. At all the demonstrations I participated in Brussels, I asked some demonstrators to translate the slogans that were chanted in Arabic, and they did so with pleasure every time. I heard a lot of support for the Palestinian resistance and denunciation of Arab governments (in particular the Egyptian President Mubarak), Israel's crimes, and the deafening silence of the international community or the complicity of the European Union. In my opinion, these were all political slogans quite appropriate to the situation. But surely some people only hear Allah-u-akbar and form their opinion on this basis. The very fact that slogans are shouted in Arabic is sometimes enough to irritate the Left. For example, the organizing committee of the meeting of 11 January was concerned about which languages would be used. But could we not have simply distributed the translations of these slogans? This might be the first step towards mutual understanding. When we demonstrated in 1973 against the pro-American military takeover by Pinochet in Chile, no one would have dared to tell the Latin
Bismillah [IslamCity] ICC Prosecutor Threatens Peace in Sudan
Embassy of The Republic of the Sudan: ICC Prosecutor Threatens Peace in Sudan WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Embassy of The Republic of the Sudan - Washington: In yet another vivid demonstration of the true inspiration behind the Prosecutor's actions, the anticipated issuance of an arrest warrant for President al-Bashir, is preempted by a dubious announcement through the media. New York Times reported on Wednesday evening that some anonymous United Nations' officials confirmed to the Secretary General Ban Ki Moon the approval of an arrest warrant by the judges who allegedly would make an official announcement shortly. If in fact such an announcement is imminent, it's a proceeding that requires a degree of care and some level of professionalism from a prosecutor. It is rather embarrassing for the Court, that it had to release a statement this morning denying having reached a decision let alone issuing an arrest warrant. Still the NYT has disseminated the story again this morning and has widely been reproduced by other media outlets. This incident is reminiscent of Ocampo's behavior when he initially made his intentions to charge the President public. He first leaked the information to the media and soon after embarked on a political campaign that continues to this day, touring city to city from one country to the next in a desperate bid to elevate his profile internationally. And of course this is all done at the expense of our people in Darfur whose suffering should be the focus of the world, but attention on their plight was suddenly eclipsed and quickly receded into the shadows while spotlight was diverted by the man whose irresponsible actions have only exacerbated their miserable conditions. It is to be noted that Ocampo and those pulling his strings are fully cognizant of the implications of such a motion and the grave threat it poses to the peace and security of the country. To verify this fact does not require expertise on the matter, the evidence, since the prosecutor concocted the charges in July of 2008 abounds. Violence in Darfur (killing of civilians, attacks on Humanitarian aid workers, ambushes, killing of peacekeepers, attacks on cities) escalated dramatically as the perpetrators of those egregious crimes saw an ally in Ocampo. He ensured their immunity from international scorn as the Government invariably received the blame for all incidents including instances where it was protecting its civilians. He would consolidate impunity for the rebels. Yet perhaps even more poignant is the timing of this leak. Sudan is at a pivotal moment as the Government and the Rebels began discussions just a day ago. The hopes of all the people of Sudan are pinned on these talks, which have rightly received international support. However, it is clear now that the Prosecutors latest stunt will severely undermine these hopes as the rebels will undoubtedly begin to consider recourse to violence because this indictment is, to them, a green light to continue their atrocities and abandon peace talks. This is an incident preceded by a series of others where the pattern of sabotaging efforts at the decisive moments has been noted. It must be made clear that the Sudanese will hold Ocampo accountable for the fate that may befall them as a consequence of his reckless actions. Sudan also regrets deeply the deplorable posture assumed by some members of the United Nations Security Council who, in clear grasp of what such a move portends for the peace and security of the country, choose political games in the face of an existential threat to millions of lives. We call on the world to denounce and reprimand the prosecutor for worsening the conditions of an already besieged people who need nothing else but peace. The African Union has made its position clear and does not wish to be the victim or the guinea pig of the ICC. And the Arab League has also voiced its concerns about a court that has already botched its first case against an alleged Congolese warlord. We call on the Security Council to heed to the calls of the vast majority of the world that demands the dismissal of these dubious charges and help with the efforts of peace building in Darfur. SOURCE Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104STORY=/www/story/02-12-2009/0004971746EDATE=
Bismillah [IslamCity] Sudan's Latin America Diplomatic Offensive by Isma'il Kushkush
Sudan's Latin America Diplomatic Offensive By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent Latin American countries have become important because some have a position in the UN Security Council, Abdallah told IOL. KHARTOUM — Sudan is moving to create new political and economic allies in Latin America in what is seen as a diplomatic offensive against mounting pressures from the West over the Darfur conflict. A Sudanese diplomat will be leaving to Caracas soon, Omar Hamid Abdallah, head of the Venezuela desk at the External Relations Ministry, told IslamOnline.net on Sunday, February 8. There are two Venezuelan diplomats in Khartoum at the moment. Initial contacts between Khartoum and Caracas began at the Arab-Latin American summit in Brasilia in 2005 and continued at the Africa-Latin America summit in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2006. Sudan was a backer of Venezuela's issues and Venezuela was a backer of Sudan's issues, Javier Merayo Garces, head of mission at the Venezuelan embassy in Khartoum, told IOL. Venezuela has always backed the position of Sudan on the ICC. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is expected to decide as early as this month whether to issue an arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir. ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has accused Bashir of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Arab and African leaders oppose the move and are lobbying of at a one-year renewable suspension in the case, warning it could threaten the peace process. The Darfur conflict broke out in 2003 when rebel groups took arms against the government accusing it of neglect and discrimination. According to the UN, nearly 300,000 people have lost their lives as a result of fighting, disease and malnutrition and 2.5 million have been displaced. The Sudanese government puts the death toll at 10,000. No independent inquiry has been made up to date. Diplomatic Offensive Garces says a Sudanese embassy in Caracas would be a platform to deliver Sudan's message to Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America. The Sudanese-Venezuelan rapprochement is seen as being part of a diplomatic offensive to build new ties to counter Western pressures. Latin American countries have become important because some have a position in the UN Security Council, said Abdallah, the External Relations Ministry official. Historically, Sudan's relations with Latin America have been minimal. The trend started to change when Sudan established diplomatic relations with Brazil in 2004. Garces, the Venezuelan diplomat, says a Sudanese embassy in Caracas would be a platform to deliver Sudan's message to Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America. Many experts agree. I think the reason Sudan is extending its foreign relations in this time is the many external challenges that it's facing, Hasan Haj Ali, a political science professor at the University of Khartoum, told IOL. Some countries like Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico are emerging as significant international players, he explained. Sudan is trying to break attempts to isolate it. Haj Ali says economic cooperation between Sudan and Venezuela, especially in the oil sector, will provide Khartoum with alternative trading partners. Sudan can benefit from Venezuelan expertise in the oil sector, he said. South-South relations are becoming important to Sudan and many African leaders since they are seen as not being based on political conditions like those from the global North. * Isma’il Kamal Kushkush is a Sudanese-American freelance writer currently based in Khartoum, Sudan http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1233567720277pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
Bismillah [IslamCity] Fidel Castro: Contradictions Between Obama�s Politics and Ethics
Fidel Castro: Contradictions Between Obama´s Politics and Ethics Havana, Feb 5 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro reiterated his questioning to the US political system that denies every principle of justice and formulated some questions to President Barack Obama. In his Thursday Cubadebate article entitled Contradictions Between Obama´s Politics and Ethics, Fidel Castro wrote about the statesmans willingness to renounce his prerogative, to order the assassination of a foreign political adversary usually coming from an underdeveloped country. The revolutionary leader also investigates if Obama knew about actions against Cuba by successive US administrations, included the mercenary Bay of Pigs [Giron] invasion, the terror campaigns, the introduction to our territory of a great amount of weapons and ammunition, and other similar actions. Fidel Castro asks President Obama whether he is aware that for decades our country was the victim of deliberately introduced viruses and bacteria carrying diseases and plagues which affected people, animals and plants, and bacterium, as well as the imposition of a disrupting Cuban Adjustment Act and the criminal blockade lasting almost 50 years. Prensa Latina is posting below the full text of Fidel Castros reflection. REFLECTIONS BY COMRADE FIDEL CONTRADICTIONS BETWEEN OBAMAS POLITICS AND ETHICS A few days ago I referred to some of Obamas ideas which point to his role in a system that denies every principle of justice. Some throw their hands up in horror if anything is said to criticize the important personality, even if it is done with decency and respect. This is usually accompanied by subtle and not so subtle darts from those with the means to throw and transform them into the elements of media terror imposed on the peoples to sustain the unsustainable. Every criticism I make is always construed as an attack, an accusation and other similar qualifiers reflecting callousness and discourtesy towards the person involved. This time Id rather address some questions of many that could be raised and that the new President of the United States should answer. The following for example: Whether or not he renounces his prerogative as President of the United States --that his predecessors with few exceptions exercised as a right per se-- to order the assassination of a foreign political adversary usually coming from an underdeveloped country? By any chance, has any of his many assistants ever informed him of the sinister actions carried out by former presidents from the days of Eisenhower through the years 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, and 1967 against Cuba, including the mercenary Bay of Pigs [Giron] invasion, the terror campaigns, the introduction to our territory of a great amount of weapons and ammunitions, and other similar actions? It is not my intention to blame the current President of the United States, Barack Obama, for actions conducted by former presidents when he had not been born or when he was just a 6-years-old boy born in Hawaii to a black Moslem Kenyan fathers and a white Christian American mother. On the contrary, this is an exceptional merit of the U.S. society and I am the first to admit it. Is President Obama aware that for decades our country was the victim of deliberately introduced viruses and bacteria carrying diseases and plagues which affected people, animals and plants? Does he know that some of them like the Hemorrhagic Dengue Fever later became a scourge that took the lives of thousands of children in Latin America and that other plagues impinge on the economy of the peoples of the Caribbean and the rest of the continent as collateral damages that have yet to be removed? Does he know that several politically submissive Latin American countries, which are today embarrassed by all the damages they caused, also took part in such terrorist and economically harmful actions? Why is our country the only one in the world enduring the imposition of a disrupting Cuban Adjustment Act which promotes trafficking in persons and other events that take the lives of people, mostly women and children? Was it fair to impose on our people an economic blockade lasting almost 50 years? Was it right to arbitrarily demand from the world to accept the extraterritorial application of this economic blockade which can only bring hunger and shortages to the people? The United States cannot meet its vital needs without extracting large mineral resources from a great number of countries often limited in their exports of them by the intermediate process of refining. In general, when it is convenient to the interests of the empire, these products are traded by big transnational companies operating with Yankee capital. Will that country renounce such privileges? Would that renunciation be compatible with the developed capitalist system? When Mr. Obama promises
Bismillah [IslamCity] Sudan: Israel arming Darfur rebels/Pirates receive $3.2M for Israeli ship
Sudan: Israel arming Darfur rebels Mon, 02 Feb 2009 09:49:09 GMT http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=84418sectionid=351020504 An Israeli soldier covers his ears as a mobile artillery unit fires a shell towards Gaza in mid-January. Israel receives at least $2 billion a year in US weapons. Israel has supplied a rebel group involved in the Darfur conflict in Sudan with a considerable amount of weaponry, a new report says. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has received considerably heavy military logistical support from Israel, Sudan's state media reported on Sunday. The shipment has been sent through France, which is in charge of training military personal inside neighboring Chad, the Sudanese Media Center, a news outlet with links to Sudan's security service said. France maintains a 1,650 soldier mission to Chad as part of the EUFOR mission to protect refugees who have fled the conflict in Darfur in neighboring Sudan. The JEM which seized the city of Muhageriya about two weeks ago is considered Darfur's most powerful rebel group. The group managed to capture the city form forces loyal to the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) faction of Minni Minawi, which is the only rebel group to have signed a peace deal with Khartoum. Sudan accuses Chad of providing military and logistical support for the rebel group's attacks on Southern Darfur. Chad, however, blames Sudan for the creation of the Union of Resistance Forces, an umbrella group for the main Chadian rebel factions created in late January 2008. The two neighbors broke off diplomatic relations last year, with each accusing the other of supporting rebel assaults on their capitals. Although relations were re-established in November, ties still remain tense between the two central African nations. MT/DT / Pirates receive $3.2M for Israeli ship Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:28:54 GMT http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=84529sectionid=351020501 The Israeli-owner of a Ukrainian-flagged arms-loaded ship held by Somali pirates pays 3.2 million dollars in return for the vessel's release. The MV Faina and its crew-- 17 Ukrainians, three Russians and one Latvian national-were captured on September 25 in the notorious Somali waters. The vessel was carrying with a cargo of 33 Soviet-type battle tanks, rocket launchers and ammunition, allegedly expected to reach rebels in the Sudanese violent Darfur region. On Tuesday, a plane from South Africa carrying $ 3.2 million dropped the demanded ransom onto the Faina upon an agreement between the pirates and the ship's owner, Press TV correspondent reported. The pirates said they will release the ship in a few hours, as soon as they count the sum and confirm there are no warships to hunt them. The news comes after the Israeli owner of the vessel had earlier refused to hold talks with the bandits, who had repeatedly threatened the lives of the crew members unless they were paid a multi-million ransom. The capture of the arms-laden ship four months ago triggered a controversy over the cargo's final destination. The pirates' spokesman Sugule Ali said in October that the ship was originally destined for Sudan using the Kenyan port city of Mombasa as a stopover. Sudan's state media also revealed the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Darfur's most powerful rebel group, has received considerably heavy military logistical support from Israel. MRS/DT
Bismillah [IslamCity] African Union (AU) Statement on Gaza
PRESS STATEMENT The Commission of the African Union continues to follow with great concern the worsening and unbearable humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestine Territory particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip. The Commission further maintains its strong condemnation of the ongoing intolerable air raids and onslaughts on the Gaza Strip by Israel, which have resulted so far in the death of more than 1000 Palestinians, while more than 4000 have been injured, including innocent women and children. The Commission recalls the United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution No. 1860, which among other important provisions, called for “an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire” and “the unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance, including food, fuel and medical treatment”. The Commission urges Israel to comply fully with the UN Security Council Resolution, cease its massive attacks against the civilian population in the Gaza Strip and respect the provisions of international humanitarian law, by lifting the siege and ending the wanton destruction of life and property. The Commission further calls upon the international community to exert the necessary efforts for an effective implementation of this Resolution aiming to reach an end to all military activities and to bring all parties back to the path of peace guided by current diplomatic efforts, including the Egyptian Initiative. Moreover, the Commission stresses the urgency of continued efforts by the international community and relevant UN organs and specialized agencies to effectively address the humanitarian, socio-economic and security ramifications of the crisis which by all accounts has exacerbated the severe humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Palestine Territory and undermined international efforts towards achieving a just and lasting peace in the region. Addis Ababa, 15 January 2009 http://www.africa- union.org/ root/au/Conferen ces/2009/ january/pr/ PRESS%20STATEMEN T%20-%20% 20GAZA%2015- 01-09.doc
Bismillah [IslamCity] The African Walk to Makkah by Isma'il Kushkush
The African Walk to Makkah * By Isma’il Kushkush Freelance Writer http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1228489966826pagename=Zone-English-ArtCulture%2FACELayout A caravan sent by Darfur sultan, Ali Dinar, to Makkah in 1904. (Picture is taken from the Sultan Ali Dinar Museum in El Fashir, Darfur.) Performing the pilgrimage to Makkah has captivated the minds of West African Muslims for centuries. Imbedded in history are the legendry pilgrimages of West African Muslim rulers such as Mansa Musa, the sultan of Mali, and the pilgrimage of Askia Muhammad, the ruler of Songhai. Ali Dinar, the last sultan of Darfur was famous for his annual caravan to the holy land that always included a kiswa, a covering for the Kabah. West African pilgrimage routes were many including one through the Sahara, to Cairo and onward to Makkah. But another famous route was one through the Muslim Sudanic belt, which included the savannah areas that stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. An unknown fact about this pilgrimage route to many is the fact that West African Muslims in the past walked their way to Makkah. Walking to Makkah From the advent of Islam in West Africa in the fourteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, devout West African Muslims could be found traveling on foot to and from Makkah anywhere between Senegal and Sudan. This, according to Professor Al-Amin Abu-Manga of the Institute of African and Asian Studies in Khartoum, was due to a prevalent understanding among many West African Muslims that the pilgrimage, hajj, should be performed with difficulty as to maximize the divine reward. West African Muslim also held a romantic view of and spiritual attachment to the east as a place where the divine revelations were revealed in the cities of Makkah, Medina and Jerusalem. This pilgrimage route took West African Muslims from places as far west as Shinqit, Timbuktu and Sokoto through the savannah grasslands to Darfur, and then to Sinnar or Shendi along the Nile in modern day Sudan. There, pilgrims split in route to the Red Sea ports of Sawakin or Massawa, and then to the port of Jeddah in Arabia, and finally to Makkah. Ten Years of Adventures! The road to Makkah was not a safe one. Dr. Umar Ahmad Saeed of the International University of Africa in Khartoum explains that the long road to Makkah was filled with challenges and dangers such as bandits, slaver raiders, wild beasts, diseases and the threat of running out of water and food. At times, some pilgrims would abandon their dream to reaching Makkah and return to their homelands heartbroken. Such trips at best took several months. But for most, it took not less than two years to reach the holy land. Many pilgrims would temporary settle in towns and villages on the way to work and to generate income to aid them in their journey. A trip to Makkah and back took an average of ten years. This is why at times a person going on the pilgrimage would offer his wife the option of divorce so she would not have to wait for his return. They worked as farmers, cattle herders, skilled craftsmen, says Dr. Mahdi Sati of the International University of Africa in Khartoum. Many were also teachers of Qur'an and taught in khalwas (schools teaching Qur'an). Others, however, unable to continue, would end up settling permanently in newly adopted homes. Communities of West Africans, especially members of the Fulani, Hausa, and Takarur ethnic groups, can be found all along the route of the hajj road as far east as Sudan. Exchanging Cultures and Traditions Villages, such as Mayerno, south of the city of Sinnar in central Sudan today, are mainly composed of West Africans who migrated from northern Nigeria on the path to Makkah. In many of Sudan’s main cities, it is not uncommon to find neighborhoods made up of ethnic Fulanis and Hausa who eventually chose to settle in these towns. These migrants brought with them their traditions, economic expertise and cultures. Thus, the road to Makkah had become a means of cultural and economic exchange between the peoples of the Sudanic belt. The pilgrims that eventually returned to their original homelands, however, where greeted with elaborate celebrations. Pilgrimage to Makkah elevated one’s social status tremendously, who became known as al-hajj. Today, this African pilgrimage route is no longer. By the 1950s, colonial borders, political tensions and airplanes had contributed to the demise of this once vibrant route. But the legacy of this pilgrimage route remains in the cultural impact that many West Africans have left in the areas they eventually settled in, and more importantly, in the imagination of historians, poets and future pilgrimage goers. * References: -Abu-Manga, Al-Amin. “Hajj Voyages and their Social and Economic Impact in the Nile Valley Sudan.” 2008. (In Arabic). -Saeed, Umar Ahmad. “Social and
Bismillah [IslamCity] US charity guilty of funding Hamas
UPDATED ON: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 US charity guilty of funding Hamas The verdict came after Holy Land's first trial last year ended in a mistrial A US court has convicted a Muslim charity and five of its former leaders of all 108 charges in the largest terrorism financing trial in US history. The Texas jury reached its verdict on Monday after eight days of deliberations over whether the former Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, once the largest US Muslim charity, had given money to the Palestinian group Hamas. The charity, which was shut down seven years ago, was accused of giving more than $12m to support Hamas, which was designated a terrorist organisation in 1995 by the US government. The hour-long verdict, following a seven-week trial, came after a first trial ended in October 2007 with one man acquitted on 31 charges but jurors unable to agree on verdicts for others. Several relatives of those convicted on Monday wept as the verdict was read out in the Dallas courtroom, with one woman shouting my father is not a criminal. Ghassan Elashi, Holy Land's former chairman, and Shukri Abu-Baker, the charity's ex-chief executive, were convicted of a combined 69 charges, including supporting a specially-designated terrorist organisation, money-laundering and tax fraud, The Associated Press reported. Mufid Abdulqader and Abdulrahman Odeh were convicted on three counts of conspiracy, and Mohammed El-Mezain was convicted on one count of conspiracy to support a terrorist organisation. The Holy Land foundation itself was convicted on all 32 counts. 'Political' case While prosecutors said the foundation raised money for Hamas they did not accuse the charity of directly financing or being involved in terrorist activity. When you're supposed to be able to face your accusers fully and against secret evidence and secret witness, I think that leads to reasonable doubt Lydia Gonzalez, League of United Latin American CitizensProsecutors said the charity was spreading Hamas's ideology by funding schools, hospitals and social welfare programmes controlled by the group in the Palestinian territories, and permitting it to divert funds to the activities of fighters. However, the charity's supporters said the government was politicising the case as part of its so-called war on terror and ignoring the foundation's charitable mission in providing aid to the poverty-stricken Palestinian territories. Government officials had raided Holy Land's headquarters in December 2001, and George Bush, the US president, later announced the seizure of the charity's assets as another step in the war on terrorism. But defence lawyers said their clients had been put on trial partly because of their family ties to members of Hamas - Khaled Meshaal, Hamas's political leader exiled in Syria, is the brother of defendant Mufid Abdulqader. Unidentified Israeli witness Al Jazeera's Tom Ackerman, reporting from Dallas, Texas, where the court case took place, said a former US state department official testified that he was never told that Hamas directed the US charity during intelligence briefings. But an unidentified Israeli witness told the court that the aid was funnelled through Hamas channels. Lydia Gonzalez of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said the defendants did not get a fair trial. When you're supposed to be able to face your accusers fully and against secret evidence and secret witness, I think that leads to reasonable doubt. Muslim groups say the prosecution has made American Muslims more hesitant to fulfil their religious obligation of helping the needy and the foundation's defenders accuse the government of selectively prosecuting the charity. The same charities that these guys gave to the American Red Cross is still giving to, the USAID is still giving to, Mustafaa Carroll of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/11/20081124212126642596.html window.print()
Bismillah [IslamCity] NYT:Early Test for Obama on Domestic Spying Views
November 18, 2008 Early Test for Obama on Domestic Spying Views By JAMES RISEN and ERIC LICHTBLAU WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama will face a series of early decisions on domestic spying that will test his administration’s views on presidential power and civil liberties. The Justice Department will be asked to respond to motions in legal challenges to the National Security Agency’s wiretapping program, and must decide whether to continue the tactics used by the Bush administration — which has used broad claims of national security and “state secrets” to try to derail the challenges — or instead agree to disclose publicly more information about how the program was run. When he takes office, Mr. Obama will inherit greater power in domestic spying power than any other new president in more than 30 years, but he may find himself in an awkward position as he weighs how to wield it. As a presidential candidate, he condemned the N.S.A. operation as illegal, and threatened to filibuster a bill that would grant the government expanded surveillance powers and provide immunity to phone companies that helped in the Bush administration’s program of wiretapping without warrants. But Mr. Obama switched positions and ultimately supported the measure in the Senate, angering liberal supporters who accused him of bowing to pressure from the right. Advisers to Mr. Obama appear divided over whether he should push forcefully to investigate the operations of the wiretapping program, which was run in secret from September 2001 until December 2005. Mr. Obama recently started receiving classified briefings on intelligence operations from Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence. The Obama transition team declined to say whether Mr. Obama had been briefed on the agency’s eavesdropping operations. His transition team also declined requests to discuss his current views on domestic surveillance or how his administration would respond to legal challenges growing out of it. But there has been no shortage of debate among lawyers involved in the challenges to the program. “I don’t think President-elect Obama embraces Dick Cheney’s theory of unfettered presidential power,” said Jon B. Eisenberg, a San Francisco lawyer involved in one lawsuit against the wiretapping program. “So if President-elect Obama doesn’t embrace that theory, one would expect a change in the direction of how the new administration handles this litigation.” But other legal and political analysts suggest that Mr. Obama, as president, may be more willing to accept the broadened presidential powers that he once condemned as a candidate, particularly since Congress has approved expanded surveillance powers for the government. In the proposal in June that Mr. Obama ultimately voted to support, Congress set up a new surveillance framework that gave intelligence officials much broader authority to eavesdrop on international communications without prior court approval. One of the first clues of how the Obama administration will deal with the issue of domestic surveillance may come in a court case in Alexandria, Va., where a judge has ordered the Justice Department to turn over material from the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies on possible eavesdropping on Ali al-Timimi, an Islamic leader convicted of supporting terrorism. The Justice Department has never acknowledged that it has used intercepts from the N.S.A. program in any criminal or civil case, which could be unlawful because the wiretaps were conducted without court warrants. Mr. Timimi has claimed that he did not get a fair trial because prosecutors secretly used N.S.A. wiretaps in his case, and he also argues that the government has turned over to the court only intercepted conversations that make him look guilty, while withholding those that might prove he is innocent. A recently unsealed transcript, citing a closed hearing, strongly suggests that the wiretaps were used in Mr. Timimi’s criminal trial. “We believe that the undisclosed interceptions already uncovered in this case are serious and knowing violations of federal law,” said Jonathan Turley, a lawyer for Mr. Timimi. Meanwhile, an Islamic charity in Oregon that had its assets frozen by the Treasury Department on the ground that it was also supporting terrorism is pushing ahead with a lawsuit of its own. The Obama administration must decide whether to continue to use the state-secrets privilege in order to block the disclosure of information about any N.S.A. eavesdropping. The charity, Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, is charging, based in part on a classified document that the government mistakenly gave to its lawyers, that it was the target of wiretapping without warrants. Lawyers for the group say they believe that the N.S.A. listened illegally not only to the international phone calls of members of the charity itself, but
Bismillah [IslamCity] Israel says will boycott U.N. forum on racism
Israel says will boycott U.N. forum on racism http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081119/ts_nm/us_israel_conference JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Wednesday that Israel had made a final decision not to participate in a U.N. forum on racism and urged other countries to boycott what she termed an anti-Israel tribunal. The United Nations said it regretted the decision. The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to be held in Geneva in April, is a follow-up to a 2001 summit in Durban, South Africa on the same issues. Israel and the United States walked out of the first conference in protest over draft texts branding Israel as a racist and apartheid state -- language that was later dropped. In a speech to visiting U.S. Jewish leaders, Livni said she announced last February that Israel would not participate in the 2009 meeting unless it was clear it would not be used as a platform for further anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic activity. She said documents prepared for next year's forum showed it was turning once again into an anti-Israeli tribunal, singling out and delegitimizing the State of Israel. As a result, she said: I decided that Israel will not participate and will not legitimize the Durban-2 conference. We call upon the international community not to participate in this conference, which seeks to legitimize hatred and extremism under the banner of the fight against racism, Livni added. In August, officials from 21 African countries held talks ahead of the Geneva conference and adopted a text which recommended it discuss, among other issues, the plight of the Palestinian people under foreign occupations. Canada has said it will not take part in the Geneva meeting. The United States, Britain, the Netherlands and France have said they may stay away if Israel's relations with Palestinians stands to eclipse all else. Some countries are also concerned that some Middle Eastern states will try to use the conference to push a declaration that could stifle free expression by labeling criticism of religions as defamatory. The office of U.N. human rights commissioner Navi Pillay said it regretted Israel's decision. Given the critical importance of the issues under discussion at the conference, broad participation is essential, U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said in New York, speaking for the Geneva-based office. These ... are issues which affect all countries and millions of individuals around the world on a daily basis. (Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Additional reporting by Patrick Worsnip at the United Nations; editing by David Wiessler)
Bismillah [IslamCity] Obama's Win Sparks White Backlash
Obama's Win Sparks White Backlash IslamOnline.net Newspapers Many whites feel that the country their forefathers built has been...stolen from them, Potok said. (Google Photo) CAIRO — With some whites seeing Barack Obama's White House victory as a theft of their country, hate crimes are on the rise and some voice have even started talking about the secession of the southern states. What we are seeing now is undeniably a fairly major backlash by some subset of the white population, Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) told the Christian Science Monitor on Monday, November 17. Many whites feel that the country their forefathers built has been…stolen from them. So there's in some places a real boiling rage, and that can only become worse as more people lose jobs. The SPLC reports more than 200 hate-related incidents in the southern states since Obama defeated Republican rival John McCain in the November 4 vote. In Raleigh, North Carolina, the Secret Service has interrogated four college students sprayed race-tinged graffiti in a pedestrian tunnel after Obama's victory. Two days after the Vote Day, a cross was burned on the lawn of a biracial couple in Apolacon Township, Pennsylvania. In Georgia, a group of high-school students posted inappropriate comments about the country's first black president on the web. In Oklahoma, anti-Obama propaganda has been distributed through newspapers and taped to home mail boxes. The vitriol is flailing out shotgun-style, said Brian Levin of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University. They recognize Obama as a tipping point, the perfect storm in the narrative of the hate world – the apocalypse that they've been moaning about has come true. A week before the election, two Tennessee white supremacists were arrested for plotting to shoot and decapitate 102 Afro-Americans, including Obama. Secession Obama's election has also sparked calls for the secession of the southern states. To a lot of people, the idea of secession doesn't seem so crazy anymore, claims Michael Tuggle, a blogger at the League of the South, a white racist and secessionist group. The League says hits on its website jumped from 50,000 a month to 300,000 after the election and its phones are ringing off the hook. People are talking about how left out they feel,…and they feel that something strange and radical has taken over our country, said Tuggle. In the 1860 presidential election, the Republican Party led by Abraham Lincoln campaigned against the expansion of slavery beyond the states in which it already existed. Their election victory resulted in seven southern states declaring their secession from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. Led by Jefferson Davis, they fought against the US federal government, which was supported by all the free states and the five border slave states, from 1861 to 1865. In states like Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, there was extraordinary racial polarization in the vote, notes Merle Black, a political scientist at Emory University in Atlanta. Only 20 percent of native whites in the Deep South states voted for Obama. Black Americans really do believe that Obama is going to represent their interests and views in ways that they haven't been before, and, in the Deep South, whites feel exactly the opposite. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1226908788621pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
Bismillah [IslamCity] Obama advisers discuss preparations for war on Iran
Obama advisers discuss preparations for war on Iran By Peter Symonds 6 November 2008 On the eve of the US elections, the New York Times cautiously pointed on Monday to the emergence of a bipartisan consensus in Washington for an aggressive new strategy towards Iran. While virtually nothing was said in the course of the election campaign, behind-the-scenes top advisers from the Obama and McCain camps have been discussing the rapid escalation of diplomatic pressure and punitive sanctions against Iran, backed by preparations for military strikes. The article entitled “New Beltway Debate: What to do about Iran” noted with a degree of alarm: “It is a frightening notion, but it not just the trigger-happy Bush administration discussing—if only theoretically— the possibility of military action to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program… [R]easonable people from both parties are examining the so-called military option, along with new diplomatic initiatives.” Behind the backs of American voters, top advisers for President-elect Barack Obama have been setting the stage for a dramatic escalation of confrontation with Iran as soon as the new administration takes office. A report released in September from the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington-based think tank, argued that a nuclear weapons capable Iran was “strategically untenable” and detailed a robust approach, “incorporating new diplomatic, economic and military tools in an integrated fashion”. A key member of the Center’s task force was Obama’s top Middle East adviser, Dennis Ross, who is well known for his hawkish views. He backed the US invasion of Iraq and is closely associated with neo-cons such as Paul Wolfowitz. Ross worked under Wolfowitz in the Carter and Reagan administrations before becoming the chief Middle East envoy under presidents Bush senior and Clinton. After leaving the State Department in 2000, he joined the right-wing, pro-Israel think tank—the Washington Institute for Near East Policy—and signed up as a foreign policy analyst for Fox News. The Bipartisan Policy Center report insisted that time was short, declaring: “Tehran’s progress means that the next administration might have little time and fewer options to deal with this threat.” It rejected out-of-hand both Tehran’s claims that its nuclear programs were for peaceful purposes, and the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate by US intelligence agencies which found that Iran had ended any nuclear weapons program in 2003. The report was critical of the Bush administration’ s failure to stop Iran’s nuclear programs, but its strategy is essentially the same—limited inducements backed by harsher economic sanctions and the threat of war. Its plan for consolidating international support is likewise premised on preemptive military action against Iran. Russia, China and the European powers are all to be warned that their failure to accede to tough sanctions, including a provocative blockade on Iranian oil exports, will only increase the likelihood of war. To underscore these warnings, the report proposed that the US would need to immediately boost its military presence in the Persian Gulf. “This should commence the first day the new president enters office, especially as the Islamic Republic and its proxies might seek to test the new administration. It would involve pre-positioning US and allied forces, deploying additional aircraft carrier battle groups and minesweepers, [and] emplacing other war materiel in the region,” it stated. In language that closely parallels Bush’s insistence that “all options remain on the table”, the report declared: “We believe a military strike is a feasible option and must remain a last resort to retard Iran’s nuclear program.” Such a military strike “would have to target not only Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, but also its conventional military infrastructure in order to suppress an Iranian response.” Significantly, the report was drafted by Michael Rubin, from the neo-conservative American Enterprise Institute, which was heavily involved in promoting the 2003 invasion of Iraq. A number of Obama’s senior Democratic advisers “unanimously approved” the document, including Dennis Ross, former senator Charles Robb, who co-chaired the task force, and Ashton Carter, who served as assistant secretary for defense under Clinton. Carter and Ross also participated in writing a report for the bipartisan Center for a New American Security, published in September, which concluded that military action against Iran had to be “an element of any true option”. While Ross examined the diplomatic options in detail, Carter laid out the “military elements” that had to underpin them, including a cost/benefit analysis of a US aerial bombardment of Iran. Other senior Obama foreign policy and defense advisers have been closely involved in these discussions. A statement entitled, “Strengthening the Partnership:
Bismillah [IslamCity] BBC:Hijacked tanks 'for South Sudan'
Hijacked tanks 'for South Sudan' The BBC has seen evidence suggesting that the Ukrainian ship being held by pirates off Somalia is carrying weapons and tanks destined for South Sudan. A copy of the freight manifest appears to show contracts were made by Kenya on behalf of South Sudan's government. Kenya has repeatedly said the weapons on board the MV Faina are for its army. A South Sudanese official said South Sudan had nothing to do with the tanks. The MV Faina is currently surrounded by warships monitoring the situation. Last week, the Somali government said the ship's owners were involved in direct negotiations with the pirates, who are demanding a $20m (£11m) ransom. 'Diplomatic embarrassment' A copy of the MV Faina's manifest given to the BBC appears to confirm that the contract was issued on behalf of South Sudan, although the Kenyan defence ministry is named as the consignee. Contract numbers for tanks, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and anti-aircraft guns contain the initials GOSS, which military sources tell the BBC is a reference to the Government Of South Sudan. This is an acronym commonly used in Sudan. But Francis Nazario, head of South Sudan's mission in Brussels, said he had seen the manifest and it did not prove anything. What I know is that we have nothing at all to do with the content of this ship, and the ship was not heading for South Sudan, he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. I think if there was anything like that we would not hide it because constitutionally we have the right to do so, to bring arms from anywhere. The Kenyan government has not yet commented on the document but it has been presented to the defence and foreign relations committee of Kenya's parliament. Kenya has repeatedly insisted that the shipment was part of a programme to restock its military. The BBC's Karen Allen in Nairobi says that this will be a huge embarrassment to the Kenyan government. Although the import of military hardware is not illegal, it does put Kenya in a tight spot diplomatically, our correspondent says, not least because it was Kenya which helped broker an end to the civil war between South Sudan and the government in Khartoum in 2005. Meanwhile, a Kenyan court has ordered the release of Andrew Mwangura, a spokesman for the Kenyan chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Programme, who had been arrested after he said the tanks were bound for South Sudan. Mr Mwangura was charged with making alarming statements and illegal possession of marijuana. The MV Faina is currently moored off the coast of Somalia, close to the town of Hobyo. There have been conflicting reports about where its cargo was destined for since it was captured two weeks ago. Military balance Last week, Western military experts told the BBC that the tanks on board the MV Faina were going to Sudan and that the shipment indicated an arms race between North and South Sudan had begun. They are reported to both be building up their forces ahead of a referendum on independence for the South in 2011. The military experts, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a previous delivery of tanks had taken place last November. Helmoed Heitman, Africa correspondent for Jane's Defence Weekly, also said he had reports that more than 100 T-72 and T-55 Russian tanks have been received by the southern Sudanese in recent months. If these reports are true, they could change the regional military balance, he told the BBC. Kenya could be seen as playing the same role as Cuba did during the Angolan civil war - when they armed the MPLA. The experts said the tanks would most likely be dug in along Sudan's north-south border, with the tanks using their guns to protect military installations. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7656662.stm Published: 2008/10/07 16:09:25 GMT
Bismillah [IslamCity] Syrian Pastries Sweeten Sudan `Eid by Isma'il Kushkush
Syrian Pastries Sweeten Sudan `Eid By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent I bought baklava and ka’k for Eid, said Ahmad. (IOL photo) KHARTOUM — As sweet and cookies top the menu during `Eid Al-Fitr, Syrian pastries are becoming the most favorite in Sudan during the Muslim festivity. I like Syrian pastries; they are very good, Ghada Faysa, a 38-year-old housewife, told IslamOnline.net on Friday, October 3. Like many across the region, Sudanese families serve pastries, sweet and cookies to guests during `Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. While many families home-bake their pastries, others buy ready-made items from stores, with Syrian pastries coming atop the list. The most favorite Syrian pastries for Sudanese in `Eid include ka’k (cookies), kunafa and baklava, which Sudanese call basta. Sudan celebrated the first day of `Eid on Tuesday, September 29. `Eid Al-Fitr is one of the two most important Islamic celebrations, together with `Eid Al-Adha. After special prayers to mark the day, festivities and merriment start with visits to the homes of friends and relatives. Traditionally, everyone wears new clothes for `Eid, and the children look forward to gifts. Favorite We make our pastries sweeter than traditional Syrian ones, but maintain Syrian quality, said Munjid. (IOL photo) One of the most famous stores selling Syrian pastries in the capital Khartoum is the Syrian House. The Syrian House is one of the best places to buy pastries in Khartoum, said civil servant ‘Alam al-Din Ahmad, 34. I bought baklava and ka’k for Eid. The House was opened in 1991. The store has developed to be one of the most famous pastry shops in Khartoum, said executive manager Dr. Ahmad Munjid. It's a family business, added Munjid, who teaches bio-medical laboratory sciences at the University of Khartoum. Taste is important. We use quality ingredients like pure ghee, Sudanese sugar, German glucose and desiccated Sri Lankan coconuts. My father directly supervises production. The Syrian House is having a major challenge of meeting local Sudanese tastes. Sudanese have a sweet-tooth, Munjid said with a smile. So we make our pastries sweeter than traditional Syrian ones, but maintain Syrian quality. Local ingredients are also used as substitutes for commonly used Syrian ones. We fill our baklava with crushed peanuts instead of pistachio nuts, said Munjid. That way we keep Syrian traditions and meet Sudanese tastes. * Isma’il Kamal Kushkush is a Sudanese-American freelance writer currently based in Khartoum, Sudan. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1221720496513pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
Bismillah [IslamCity] The Guardian:Go home, gringo
Go home, gringo Bolivia and Venezuela's expulsion of their US ambassadors exposes yet another faultline in north American foreign policy Richard Gott guardian.co.uk, Friday September 12 2008 17:03 BST On the 35th anniversary of the military overthrow of Salvador Allende in Chile on September 11, 1973, which had the overt support of the United States, the presidents of Bolivia and Venezuela have asked the US ambassadors accredited to their countries to leave. They both believe they are facing the possibility of an imminent coup d'etat in which they accuse the Americans of being involved. A third country, Paraguay, announced 10 days ago that it had detected a conspiracy involving military officers and opposition politicians. Latin America now faces its most serious crisis since the re-introduction of democratic practice at the end of the last century. Brazil and Argentina have both denounced the violent activities of opposition groups in Bolivia that have led to the closure of the natural gas pipelines to their countries, while President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela has warned that a coup against Evo Morales of Bolivia would be seen as a green light for an armed insurgency in that country. Giving details of a planned coup in his own country, in which retired military officers and opposition figures were involved, Chávez announced the expulsion of the US ambassador, Patrick Duddy, and the withdrawal of his own ambassador from Washington. Any aggression against Venezuela, Chávez said, would involve a halt in the supply of Venezuelan oil to the United States. Chávez's decision came one day after President Morales had thrown out the US ambassador in La Paz, Philip Goldberg, who has been frequently accused by the Bolivian government of plotting with the separatist politicians in the eastern province of Santa Cruz. The situation in Bolivia is immediately more dramatic than in Venezuela, although both countries are facing important electoral battles at the end of the year. Evo Morales, an indigenous politician from the Andes in the west of the country, has organised a referendum on a new constitution to which the rightwing (and white racist) politicians in the eastern lowlands are bitterly opposed. The atmosphere of violence has now broken into the open, with endless political demonstrations and several deaths, the seizure of provincial airports, and sabotage of the oil and gas installations on which the country's economy depends. Morales has accused the regional governors of the five eastern regions of creating the conditions for a coup. Chávez originally announced his decision to expel the US ambassador from Caracas as an act of solidarity with Morales – so that Bolivia is not alone. But it was soon clear that he had his own possible coup d'etat to deal with. A tape recording of phone conversations between retired military officers, some of whom were involved in the failed coup of April 2002, was broadcast on Venezuelan television on Wednesday night, revealing plans to seize the Miraflores presidential palace and to capture or shoot down the presidential plane. The suggestion that there were plans to assassinate the president brought large crowds down from the shanty towns on Thursday night to demonstrate their solidarity with Chávez. Several of the alleged conspirators have been detained. Venezuela, like Bolivia, has an uncertain pre-election climate, since there will be regional and municipal elections in November that will be viewed as a judgment on the popularity of the president. The possible coup in Paraguay appears less serious, since it only appeared to involve preliminary discussions between retired General Lino Oviedo, an old hand at failed coups, and a serving officer. Yet since the government of the left-wing former bishop, Fernando Lugo, has only been in power since August, tales of a possible coup have reverberated through the continent. Brazil declared pointedly that it would not tolerate a coup in Bolivia or in any other Latin American country. The US is, of course, preoccupied with Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, but whichever presidential candidate takes over in January will also find Latin America at the top of his in-tray. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/12/bolivia.venezuela
Bismillah [IslamCity] The Jewish Journal:Biden and the Jews: Strong ties and friendly disagreements
“When I was a young senator, I used to say, ‘If I were a Jew I’d be a Zionist.’ I am a Zionist. You don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist.’” August 23, 2008 Biden and the Jews: Strong ties and friendly disagreements By Ron Kampeas and Eric Fingerhut U.S. Sen. Barack Obama campaigns with his newly named running mate, U.S. Joe Biden, on Aug. 23, 2008 in Springfield, Ill., Obama campaign photo. DENVER (JTA)—Before he announced his vice presidential pick on Saturday, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said he wanted someone to spar with but who ultimately would be loyal enough to create a comfortable working relationship. No one knew then that he had picked U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), 65, but his ISO ad fit Biden’s relationship with the Jewish community perfectly. The loquacious Biden, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 1973, has sparred frequently with the pro-Israel community and with Israelis, particularly on the issue of settlements. But he has a sterling voting record on pro-Israel issues, and has as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee helped shepherd through key pro-Israel legislation. His straightforwardness is considered an asset, even among those supporters who have disagreed with him. “He’s open minded, he votes his own conscience,” said Gary Erlbaum, a Philadelphia-based real estate developer who has backed Biden among other politicians, Democrats and Republicans alike. “I don’t always agree with him” but “he does not try to sugarcoat.” Biden has been especially sharp in criticizing the U.S. and Israeli failure to support Mahmoud Abbas in 2003, when he was the Palestinian Authority prime minister attempting to establish a power base to challenge then-president Yasser Arafat. Abbas was eventually sidelined by Arafat, allowing the Palestinian leader to continue his policies of corruption and stasis until his death—and creating a vacuum ultimately filled in large part by Hamas terrorists. Biden’s longstanding relationship with the Jewish community should reassure Jews who still feel anxious about Obama, who has deep ties to the Chicago Jewish community but who has been on the national stage barely four years, said Cameron Kerry. “I’ve seen the enormous respect he commands in the pro-Israel community,” said Kerry, himself a convert to Judaism and a senior adviser to the 2004 presidential campaign of his brother, U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).He has a well-established record, he knows the issues, and he can talk the talk. He’s may be the best goyische surrogate I’ve seen in the Jewish community.” Biden’s son married into a Jewish family, but his keen interest in the region dates back to his first visit as a U.S. senator, not long before the 1973 Yom Kippur. He met Israel’s then-prime minister, Golda Meir. He came away from that meeting understanding that “there is this inextricable tie between culture, religion, ethnicity that most people don’t fully understand—that is unique and so strong with Jews worldwide,” Biden said in an interview with Shalom TV last year, when he launched his own presidential bid. “When I was a young senator, I used to say, ‘If I were a Jew I’d be a Zionist.’ I am a Zionist. You don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist.’” Mark Gittenstein, who worked for Biden from 1976-1989, said no one matched his breadth of knowledge on Israel—not even his Jewish staffers. “He was much more knowledgeable about Israel and its problems than I was.” Biden has a keen understanding of the Holocaust, partly because of his relationship with Tom Lantos, the late California Democratic congressman who was the only Holocaust survivor elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Biden hired Lantos as an adviser in the late 1970s, a leap into politics that led the Hungarian-born economist to consider a political career. At a memorial service for Lantos in February, Biden cracked up the somber crowd recalling how Lantos marveled at his son-in-laws very Middle American names. “My daughters married Aryans,” Biden recalled Lantos as saying. More substantively, his tutoring by Lantos led Biden to take the lead on genocide issues, and he is currently a champion on efforts to isolate Sudan over the massacre of hundreds of thousands of civilians in its restive Darfur province. “Any country that engages in genocide forfeits their sovereignty,” he said to applause at a National Jewish Democratic Council presidential candidate forum last year. Obama, who has been outspoken in opposing the Iraq war, had considered a number of centrist and conservative Democrats as running mates to balance his own dovishness. Picking Biden, also a war critic, allows Republicans to describe the Democratic ticket as much of a muchness. Among Republican Jews, that means scoring both men for opposing some of the tougher anti-Iran measures embraced by the Republican presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. John McCain
Bismillah [IslamCity] Is Africa A Cold War Battleground?
Is Africa A Cold War Battleground? By Sam Akaki 09 August, 2008 The African Executive Thanks to the dwindling primary natural resources, oil and gas, the West is hounding Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Sudan's al-Bashir, and heaping blame on Russia and China for protecting them; thus setting the stage for a new Cold War to be fought in Africa. The last Cold War saw the savage murder or violent overthrow by the British, Americans, Belgians, French and Portuguese of nationalist African leaders including Patrice Lumumba, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Luis Cabral, Eduardo Mondlane, Samora Marcel, Milton Obote, Hamed Sekou Toure, Gamel Abdel Nasser and Ahmed Ben Bella who were dubbed terrorists or Russian and Chinese sympathizers. The lucky ones - Jomo Kenyatta, Robert Mugabe and Nelson Mandela were given long prison sentences from which they were never expected to come out, alive. Today, Mandela's statue stands as a monument of British cynicism, in Parliament Square, London. The statue stood there for three years until last week when the USA finally removed Mandela's name from the list of international terrorists! The human, social and economic wounds inflicted on Africa by the last Cold War are still very raw. Mozambique, Angola and Namibia are littered with millions of land mines and other unexploded military ordinances, which will kill people for centuries to come. Algeria, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Chad, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Sudan and Uganda are fighting self-destruct wars, while Somalia ceased to be a state in 1992, thanks to western weapons. China is financing infrastructure projects in more than 35 African countries. Overall, the last Cold War left Africa on the life-support machine of western food aid administered by the World Food Program, while their leaders pay lip service to cure the patient. Recently, the Africa Progress Panel (APP), headed by the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, issued a report, Africa Progress Panel responds to the G8 Summit in Hokkaido which said: G8 countries have done little to show how they will fund the shortfall of US$ 40 billion in programmable aid and debt relief identified by the Africa Progress Panel last month...The G8 has yet to present clear timetables outlining future aid provision or to provide increased transparency required to improve the quality of aid. On Global food crisis, the report said, The Panel welcomes the commitment of US$ 10 billion to support food aid and measures to increase agricultural input as a necessary first step... More needs to be done, however, to increase the supply of food to the world's most vulnerable citizens, and immediate measures must be taken to relax export restrictions on commodities such as rice On trade, it said The Panel welcomes the G8 leaders' commitment to the conclusion of an ambitious, balanced and comprehensive Doha agreement... As WTO negotiations enter this crucial period, all parties need to understand that the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals rest in large part on the ability of the continent to trade its way out of poverty. And in conclusion, Mr. Annan declared The success in supporting African development will not only result in tangible benefits for her people but ensure a more secure and prosperous future for the world. For G8 leaders, helping Africa to help itself is not a question of altruism; it is a matter of self-interest. The July 11 UN resolution accused Robert Mugabe of killing 100 opposition supporters and displacing 2,000, and called for punitive sanctions including imposing an arms embargo, a clear signal for attacks on Zimbabwe. Thankfully, China and Russia, which were not at the Berlin Conference, rejected the resolution, saying it would open the way for interference by the Security Council in internal affairs of Members States, which is a gross violation of the UN Charter. To disorganize the AU, the International Criminal Court (ICC), is planning to arrest Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, for leading a campaign of murder, rape and mass deportation in Darfur. The plan is advancing despite the AU statement, which reiterated the AU's concern with the misuse of indictments against African leaders. The Western ruling groups are conceited, full of themselves, ignorant of our conditions, and they make other people's business their business. Incidentally, the conflict in Darfur started 18 years after the one in northern Uganda which killed over 300,000 civilians, caused the abduction of 20, 000 children and drove 2 million into concentration camps. Yet, the ICC never investigated the role of the Ugandan troops in these attrocities, leave alone issuing an arrest warrant for Museveni. That is not surprising. The West is less interested in human rights in Africa than in justifying and setting the stage for a new Cold War. The BBC reported on 13th July it has found the first
Bismillah [IslamCity] Inside Darfur Photogallery by Isma'il Kushkush
http://www.islamonline.net/English/Multimedia/Library/NewsAnalyses/2008/08/Inside-Darfur/index.shtml
Bismillah [IslamCity] From Inside Darfur: British Muslims' Peace Initiative
http://www.islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/Browse.asp?hGuestID=zUCR38 Session Details Guest Name Lord Nazir Ahmad Subject From Inside Darfur: British Muslims' Peace Initiative Date Sunday,Jul 27 ,2008 Time Makkah From... 16:00...To... 17:00 GMT From... 13:00...To...14:00 Name Editor - Profession Question Dear visitors, The session has just started. Please, send your questions. After the session ends, you can view the whole dialogue through the Recent Sessions, or the archive. Best Regards, Muslim Affairs Team Answer . Name Amatullah Ahmed - Profession Question What are the main reasons behind this visit to the Suadan? And Do you think it will have an effect? JAK. Answer Bism Allah. al salam alaykum: Our main reason for coming to Sudan and Darfur is to obey the orders of Allah SWT Make peace between your brethren. We came early this year and spoke with many tribal leaders, political leaders, and civil society. They have all shown their enthusiasm and support, and our partner, Sudan University, helped organize a big peace conference in El Fasher, Darfur, with 250 representitives, and we believe it is very effective. Name Muslim Arabian - Profession Question Thank you for allowing us the chance to talk directly to you As a Muslim, how do you see Sudan's President al-Bashir's accusation as a Muslim leader, isn't that humiliating for Muslims around the world to get the ICC judging one of our leaders? and is that one of the reasons you are now in Darfur? Many Thanks Answer My main reason in Darfur is for peace and reconciliation. This is a bottom-up initiative to bring everyone on board with hope for a better future. Any interference from the ICC could jeopardized the peace efforts made by African Union, UN and the British Muslims. Name Amro - Profession Question How the British Muslims will move in Darfur in order to achieve peace among warring groups? and how will they convince different groups- NGOs, international players, the government, and the like- of their proposal? Answer We started this process seven months ago and consulted with major parties, NGOs, warring factions, rebel groups, tribal leaders, civil society, IDP camps, and mosques. We have been encouraged by the support we have received from everyone concerned. In sha'Allah we hope to continue this process in South Darfur and West Darfur States. Name AIR - Profession Question Darfur is it a genocide or you think that main stream media play a big role in exaggerating the issue? Answer I honestly believe that there are serious crimes committed by all sides. However, I am not in the position to make the judgment in relation to genocide. What I know as a matter of fact is that the UN representative reported to the security council a few months ago and estimated that the total death has gone up from 200,000 to 300,000. However, he produced no evidence and admitted that this was just his guess. Name Mohamed Khadr - Profession Question Who are among this British delegate and what are your aims of the visit ? Answer I already stated my aims as above. There are eight members in my delegation from a diverse background, including Yvonne Ridley, Anas al-Takriti, Dr. Samina Khan, Imam Jalil Sajid, Sayed Lakhti Hasanein, Dr. Haq, and Ferzana Sarwar. Name A.Rashdan - Profession Question We know that you are now in Sudan, how wise do you think President Bashir is absorbing international anger that accompanies the ICC accusation? How do you think, as a British citizen, should he act? Answer I understand that there is a strong feeling for peace and justice in Darfur and in Sudan. My main mission is to deal with the matters related to peace. Therefore, the above question falls out of my expertise, at least on this occasion. Name - - Profession Question Which factions are you meeting in Sudan and Darfur and which ones are you not meeting? Are there certain criteria upon which you decided who to meet? Answer We are meeting everyone who is willing to engage in the peace process and excluding no one from our talks or conferences. I have met with representatives of JEM, SLA-Nur faction, Dr. Hasan al-Turabi, Imam Sadiq al-Mahdi, the Communist Party, leaders of the Tijani Sufi tariqa, civil society representatives, academicians and President al-Basher. Name Esmael - Profession Question As-Salam Alikom, Knowing what the world know about the criminal atrocities being committed by the current brutal regime in Khartoum, why are the Muslim and Arab countries not rushing to support the indictment of Sudan's President al-Bashir? As Muslims we are commanded by Allah Subhanuhu WeTe'alla to be just even if it is against our own selves. I personally read articles written by good and caring Muslims affirming that genocide being committed in Darfur. JazakumuAllah al-kheir
Bismillah [IslamCity] Darfur Tribes Reject ICC Bashir Charges by Isma'il Kushkush
Darfur Tribes Reject ICC Bashir Charges By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent African tribal leaders warned that the ICC charges against Bashir would worsen the situation in the war-wracked region. KHARTOUM — Darfur's African tribes have criticized International Criminal Court (ICC) charges against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, warning the accusations would further worsen the agony of the Darfuri people. We denounce his [Ocampo's] decision, Sultan Mansur Dousa, of the Zaghawa tribe, told IslamOnline.net, referring to ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. We don't want the ICC to interfere in Darfur. Last month, Moreno-Ocampo charged Bashir of committing genocide and war crimes in Darfur. He said that Bashir has masterminded a plan to wipe out Darfur's major African tribes, the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit. We did not assign Ocampo to speak on behalf of the Masalit; this is an internal issue, said Taha Taj al-Din of the Masalit tribe. People have more of a right to address their own affairs than others. Sultan Sa'd Bahr al-Din, who governors the Dar Masalit district in West Darfur state, acknowledges that the African tribes were worse affected by the Darfur conflict. But all tribes were hurt by the war, even Arab ones, he said. The Darfur conflict broke out in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the Khartoum regime accusing it of discrimination. The UN estimates some 300,000 people have died in the conflict, while Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000. Up to 2 million have been forced out of their homes in the region the size of France, in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. I am a patriot like many Sudanese; an attack on the president is an attack on all of Sudan, said Bahr al-Din. The UN Security Council adopted Thursday a resolution raising concerns about ICC moves to Bashir for genocide. The resolution said that the council would be willing to discuss freezing any ICC indictment of Bashir for genocide in the interest of peace in Darfur. Most Western powers accepted the resolution's wording but Washington rejected the section on the ICC and abstained from voting. Agony African tribal leaders warned that the ICC charges against Bashir would worsen the situation in the war-wracked region. I think that Ocampo's decision will make matters more complicated; it does not help, said Mahmud Ishaq Ateem of the Fur tribe. It will inflame the Darfur issue. Ateem, who is the mayor of Kabkabia in North Darfur State, believes that the ICC indictment against Bashir would disrupt efforts to bring about peace in Darfur. There are attempts to negotiate and make peace with the rebel groups; this is not a good time for such an act. Taj al-Din, of the Masalit tribe, believes that Sudanese courts can try those committing crimes in Darfur. Trials against individuals who have committed crimes in Darfur have taken place and some were even executed, he said. Sultan Dousa, of the Zaghawa tribe, agrees. We have always had problems and issues and we've always had judges and lawyers to solve these problems, he said. ‘Umda Ateem of the Fur tribe said that Sudanese courts have created several committees to investigate crimes committed in Darfur. Investigators told us that even if an egg was stolen from you we want to know about it, Ateem said. But the process has been slow. Sultan Bahr al-Din, the Dar Masalit governor, said achieving peace in Darfur should be a priority for all parties. We in Darfur are in need of peace with the help of our Arab, African and Muslim brethren; not foreign interference. If we all purify our intentions we can achieve so. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1216208255519pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
Bismillah [IslamCity] Questions to Hamas? IslamOnline Interview with Dr. Mousa Abu-Marzouq
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1216207954190pagename=Zone-English-Muslim_Affairs%2FMAELayout What Are Your Questions to Hamas? IslamOnline.net's Interview with Dr. Mousa Abu-Marzouq By Muslim Affairs Team Logo of Hamas What are Hamas' policies toward Israel? What are its policies toward Fatah? Is Hamas calling for peace or for wiping off Israel? Why has the movement targeted unarmed Israelis? How do they define resistance? Are Gaza's Palestinians held hostage in Hamas' hands? Is Hamas a terrorist organization? Send us your questions to Hamas before July 31, at [EMAIL PROTECTED], and we will be asking them to the deputy cheif of Hamas' political bureau, Dr. Mousa Abu Marzook, in an interview on August 2. Dr. Mousa Abu Marzook has played an active role in the movement shortly after its founding in the late 1980s. He became the first Hamas political bureau chief in 1992. The US-educated leader has published opinion pieces in the Washington Post, LA Times, the Guardian, and other media outlets. Send us your questions to Dr. Mousa Abu Marzook now: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bismillah [IslamCity] IslamOnline LIVE Dialogue: ICC vs. Al-Bashir: Genocide or Interest? Dr. Ghazi Salahuddin Atabani
http://www.islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/Browse.asp?hGuestID=P7vh3khSession=Recent0 Session Details Guest Name Dr. Ghazi Salahuddin Atabani - Advisor to Sudanese President Al-Bashir Subject ICC vs. Al-Bashir: Genocide or Interest? Date Thursday,Jul 17 ,2008 Time Makkah From... 13:00...To... 15:30 GMT From... 10:00...To...12:30 Name Editor - Profession Question Dear visitors, The session has just started. Please, send your questions. After the session ends, you can view the whole dialogue through the Recent Sessions, or the archive. Best, Muslim Affairs Team Answer . Name IOL Vister - Profession Question If we forget about asking questions like: why does not the court try President Bush, Ehud Olmert...etc. and focus precisely on the case of Darfur, Isn't it true that Al-Bachir is responsible for the killings of thousands of civilians? I am sure other parties are responsible as well, but can u answer my question directly. Is Al-Bachir responsible (and to what degree?)for the killings, rapes..etc. in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan? I am not sure if he is, but if that's true, he needs to be tried regardless of any other on the planet. thank you Answer The problem of Darfur has been grossly distorted and misrepresented. The Government recognizes that there is a problem; that is why it became engaged in peace talks to resolve it; the problem is that the rebel groups who are being pampered by Western countries and activists are refusing to sign up to the process. This is the reason for the ongoing suffering and not the activities of the Government in the region. Name Rasheed M Kheir Abdel Gadir - United Kingdom Profession Question Salam Dr Ghazi If the court issues a warrant for the arrest of the president, Will Sudan severe diplomatic relations with any country that supports such a decision? Answer That's an option of course. We keep all options open, but for now we prefer a diplomatic way out. It is the Security Council that has landed us in this predicament in the first place and it is their duty to get us and the rest of the world out of it. The ICC is not an organ of the UN and has no jurisdiction over Sudan and the case should not have been referred to it from the start. Name Isma'íl - Sudan Profession Question Greetngs Dr. Atabani. What effect will Ocampo's decision have on the Darfur peace talks? It is interesting that Abd al-Wahid Nur of the SLM has held back on any participation up to now in any peace talks. Could he have been waiting for the ICC's indictment to strengthen his negotiating position? Answer This reckless move by Ocampu is certain to embolden the rebels who are now rejoicing in fact. It is likely to make them raise the ante for any political settlement. It is weakening one of the most important institutions of the state -the Presidency- and one of the central organs for the implementation of the Peace Agreement with the South. It has done all sorts of damage to peace in the country and in Darfur and has made peace a more distant target, with all the suffering that goes along with that. Name Abdullah - Nigeria Profession Question Salam, unfortunately I've not been following the situation in Sudan, but what do you think is the solution to the present situation and what is the government doing about it? Answer Since the question is coming from Nigeria I would like to recall that a peace settlement has been reached in Abuja two years ago. The government and some rebels accepted and signed. Others did not. The problem is that the so called international community -meaning the West- is rewarding those who have not signed the peace agreement and punishing those who have accepted it. The way out is through a negotiated settlement which the rebels are rejecting. This is often an overlooked fact by Western media when they misrepresent the situation in Darfur, the fact that there is suffering in Darfur precisely because the rebels have rejected peace Name Amro - Profession Question Do you think that indictment of al-Bashir could decapitate the work of UNAMD in Darfur and to what extent do you see the response of African tribes in Darfur to the indictment of al-Bashir? Answer Indictment of a president is a frontal attack on the state and its capability to deliver its duties, including the duty of protecting foreign troops in the country. That is why the government is saying that the Ocampu affair has dealt the state in Sudan a severe blow. No one should expect a wanted president to protect international troops when he cannot protect himself. It is not saying that the government would abdicate its responsibility to protect, we are saying that if you compromise the potency of a state you should not ask it to perform its functions properly. If this risky adventure by Ocampu were to be prosecuted to the end there would be peace no where,
Bismillah [IslamCity] Sudanese Deplore ICC Bashir Charges by Isma'il Kushkush
Sudanese Deplore ICC Bashir Charges By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent Sudanese denounced ICC charges against Bashir as unfair. (Reuters) KHARTOUM — Charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC)'s top prosecutor against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on alleged war crimes in Darfur have drawn fire from ordinary Sudanese as unfair with analysts saying the charges are used by major powers as a 'tool' to achieve political goals in Sudan. I think that the ICC is selective in its choice to prosecute cases, Hisham Osman, an IT worker, told IslamOnline.net on Tuesday, July 15. It has done nothing regarding cases brought to it about crimes committed in Palestine or Iraq against Israel and the United States. ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday charged Bashir of committing genocide and war crimes in Darfur. He said that Bashir has masterminded a plan to wipe out three ethnic groups in the war-torn western province. ICC investigators have not been to Darfur. All of their claimed evidence is based on interviews outside of Darfur, said Osman. If you say there is a crime, you need to visit the ‘crime scene’. Sudan has already rejected the ICC prosecutor's charges, warning they would damage the Darfur peace hopes. The African Union also warned that indicting Bashir would create a power vacuum that risked military coups and widespread anarchy. Veto-wielding China, which has close ties with Sudan as one of the main buyers of the African nation's oil and a key investor in its economy, also warned the move might upset peace hopes in Darfur. China expresses great concern and worry over the ICC prosecutor's accusation against the Sudanese leader, foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters. Measures taken by the ICC should be conducive to maintaining the stability of the Sudanese situation, and to the proper resolution of the problems in Darfur, not the contrary. Grave The ICC's decision and timing may have put the peace talks on hold, said Mekki. (Google photo) Sudanese warned that the ICC charges would have grave repercussions. We want a solution for Darfur; but this (the ICC indictment) does not help, Muhammadayn Al-Zayn, 20, a restaurant worker, told IOL. I think this will open the gates for foreign intervention in Sudan. The Darfur conflict broke out in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the Khartoum regime accusing it of discrimination. The UN estimates some 300,000 people have died in the conflict, while Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000. Up to 2 million have been forced out of their homes in the region the size of France, in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The ICC charges are also feared to have an economic impact on Sudan. This decision will have a negative impact on the current development trend in Sudan, just when foreign investment has increased, a bank official said, wishing not to be named. Investors tend to stay away from countries that are perceived to be instable. Tool Analysts believe that the ICC charges against Bashir are nothing but a 'tool' by major powers to achieve political goals in Sudan. The ICC since its inception has been used as a tool by powerful states against smaller countries to achieve political goals, said Dr. Hasan Haj Ali, a political science professor at the University of Khartoum. The ICC is tied to the UN Security Council which has members who are antagonistic toward Sudan. Ali opines that the charges are meant to pile pressures on Sudan to hand over two indicted Sudanese nationals to the court over alleged war crimes in Darfur. It is possible that pressure was exerted against Ocampo to bring charges against al-Bashir at this time. The ICC issued in April last year arrest warrants for Sudanese State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Harun and militia leader Ali Kosheib on charges of committing crimes in Darfur. Sudan, which is not a party of the ICC statute, has refused to hand over the two men. The Darfur rebel groups will now perceive the Sudanese government as weak and may escalate their war efforts in the region, said Ali. They (rebels) will not negotiate with the government and this may affect the entire region. Professor Hasan Mekki of the International University of Africa agrees. The ICC's decision and timing may have put the peace talks on hold. He, however, believes that the Sudanese government should use the opportunity to push harder for peace in Darfur. The government should let Darfurian members of the [ruling] National Congress Party (NCP) handle the Darfur file and negotiations with the rebels. Abdallah Adam Khatir, a Darfurian writer, shares his view. The Sudanese government now has a golden opportunity to reach a peace agreement in Darfur. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1216122873196pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
Bismillah [IslamCity] IslamOnline will host President Al-Bashir's advisor TODAY Thursday July 17, 2008 - 11:00 GMT
ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday charged Bashir of committing genocide and war crimes in Darfur. http://www.islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/GuestCV.asp?hGuestID=P7vh3k IslamOnline.net will host President Al-Bashir's advisor Dr. Ghazi Salahuddin Atabani Thursday July 17, 2008 - 11:00 GMT Dr. Ghazi Salahuddin Atabani currently is a Presidential advisor to President Omar Al-Bashir; a former Minister of Foreign Affairs; and a former Minister of Culture and Information; and was at one point chairman of the Sudanese government's peace talks negotiating team in Machakos, Kenya that eventually ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in in January, 2005, ending the civil war in south Sudan. Dr. Ghazi is also a key figure in the National Congress Party (NCP). He was elected Secretary- General of the party in 1996-1998 and, as representative of the NCP, became three times a Member of Parliament. Currently he is an elected member of the Leadership Bureau of the NCP, Adviser to the President, and Leader of the NCP Caucus (Majority) in the Parliament. Fluent in Arabic and English and conversational in French, Dr Atabani has contributed many essays and lectures, in Arabic and English, in political thought and current political events. He visited about fifty countries around the world and participated in many summits, including those of Arab League and African Union. He is recipient of the Order of the Republic and the Order of Political Accomplishment
Bismillah [IslamCity] Arab lawyers criticize ICC move against Sudanese president
Arab lawyers criticize ICC move against Sudanese president www.chinaview.cn 2008-07-14 00:17:04 CAIRO, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The Arab Lawyers Union on Sunday strongly slammed the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its expected move to issue an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The ICC decision to charge al-Bashir with war crimes in Darfur is a flagrant violation of international law, norms and human rights, the Arab Lawyers Union said in a statement. The union also criticized the United States for its alleged role behind the ICC move, saying it's a U.S. decision to punish al-Bashir for his firm stand in defense of Sudan's just causes. The United States is in an attempt to drag the ICC into a fight against al-Bashir, which contradicts the aim of the international court, said the statement. At the request of Sudan, the Arab League has been in consultation with Arab foreign ministers to hold an emergency meeting on the disputes between Sudan and the ICC. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department declined on Friday to confirm the reports that ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo would seek the arrest warrant for al-Bashir on alleged genocide charge. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/14/content_8539883.htm
Bismillah [IslamCity] International Criminal Court (ICC) joins the Crusade
Friday, July 11, 2008 International Criminal Court (ICC) joins the Crusade 4:41 PM ET Ali Khan [Washburn University School of Law]: The International Criminal Court (ICC) joins the crusade to defame Islam, demonize internal conflicts in Muslim nations, and prosecute Muslim leaders for crimes against humanity, rape, genocide, and other international crimes. The Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, holds evidence on crimes committed in the whole of Darfur over the last five years. Ocampo will be seeking the arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes committed in Darfur. The ICC is a good idea. We need a world court to hold international criminals accountable. No leader should be able to get away with heinous international crimes. The weakening of personal sovereign immunity is also a welcome legal development in that no leader, army general, senator, representative, or even judge is immune from criminal liability if he or she commits crimes or provides material assistance in the commission of crimes. In practice, however, the ICC is a Western instrumentality that ignores the grave crimes of Western leaders and generals. The ICC has so far shown no interest in prosecuting President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, and State Secretary Colin Powell for the crimes they planned, organized, incited, and committed with the help of lethal weapons in Afghanistan and Iraq. These leaders have destroyed Iraq, a Muslim country, and killed its leader, Saddam Hussein, without a fair trial. The NATO genocide in Afghanistan continues as world leaders sit in high galleries to watch the ghoulish killings of the “Taliban and terrorists.” Ocampo is an incompetent, unethical, and perhaps a racist prosecutor who does not deserve to lead the Prosecutorial office of the ICC. He has already botched up the prosecution of a Congolese warlord, Thomas Lubanga, by wrongly withholding evidence that could have helped the defense. The prosecution of President Omar for the Darfur conflict comes after years of distortions and misreporting in the Western media. The Western media singles out Muslim leaders and Muslim nations for explaining the ills of the world. Syria is listed as a terrorist state, Pakistan is blamed for trouble in Afghanistan, the Iranian President has been turned into an imminent murderer, and President Omar is soon to be prosecuted as a war criminal. Militias that resist Western occupation in their own countries are labeled as terrorists and jihadis. While hardened criminals sit out in shameless liberty, the politically-inspired prosecution of President Omar is, at its best, selective enforcement of international criminal law; and, at its worst, it is one more crusade against the Muslim world. Opinions expressed in JURIST's Hotline are the sole responsibility of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of JURIST's editors, staff, or the University of Pittsburgh. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/hotline/2008/07/international-criminal-court-icc-joins.php
Bismillah [IslamCity] Sheikh Wagdy Ghoneim Forced to Leave South Africa
Sheikh Wagdy Ghoneim Forced to Leave South Africa IkhwanWeb - Egypt Saturday, July 5, 2008 South Africa Court has passed Friday a verdict forcing outspoken Sheikh Wagdy Ghoneim out of the country after jailing him for three days with the charge of Illegitimate Residence Visa”, Ikhwanweb reporter said. This is the same charge he faces during living in the USA and Bahrain after being ousted from Egypt late in 2004. Sheikh Wagdy emphasized that he was forced out of South Africa after a judicial verdict with the charge of having illegitimate residence visa. He indicated that that he was arrested from his house rather than being stopped and arrested at the airport on his way to Yemen. He stressed that he obtained legitimate residence visa at South Africa for three successive years since last March. He indicated that he could travel from and to South Africa with the same documents he had without being harassed or accused. He refused to comment on the decision and said that he would head to Yemen on Thursday in his tour in the Gulf region to attend an Islamic Conference; after which he should decide where he will live. http://www.ikhwanweb.net/Article.asp?ID=17339SectionID=0
Bismillah [IslamCity] Historic Cedar Rapids mosque loses prized artifacts
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080618/NEWS/806180351 Historic Cedar Rapids mosque loses prized artifacts By JESSIE HALLADAY Register Correspondent Cedar Rapids, Ia. — Imam Taha Tawil slipped off his muddy shoes and padded across the cream-colored carpet marred by someone else's muddy footprints. He turned to the northeast and began to pray. Below him, in the basement of the Mother Mosque of America, are the soggy heirlooms of the oldest mosque in America, which were destroyed when floodwaters entered the building last week. Tawil, the mosque's spiritual leader, finally saw the destruction Monday, when the National Guard allowed access to the quiet residential neighborhood on Ninth Street Northwest. It's just amazing how God is great when he wishes to do something, Tawil said. It's amazing while at the same time devastating. Maybe something good will come out of it. We never know the meaning behind it. Water didn't reach the main floor of the mosque, sparing the prayer room that just underwent a $55,000 renovation. But below, in the space where the mosque holds community meetings and teaches school groups, there was total destruction. Dozens of videotapes with the oral histories of Arabs who have come to Iowa lie waterlogged. Mud covers prayer rugs and books. Ceiling tiles have collapsed, and tables have warped. Tawil was overcome with the grief of what was lost. As he began to cry, he commented on the many mosque members who served this country in the military and have called America home. This is their mosque, Tawil said. This is where they gathered to help each other get to the next generation. Arabs, both of Muslim and Christian faith, came to Iowa in the early 1900s, Tawil said. Though at first they prayed in homes throughout the community, they eventually began working together to build houses of worship. By 1925, the Muslim Arabs began raising money to build a mosque - mostly by holding fundraisers where they sold Middle Eastern food, Tawil said. Over the next few years, members volunteered to build. It was finally dedicated and opened on Feb. 15, 1934. Muslims from around the state and country traveled to worship at the mosque, Tawil said. It became symbolic of Mecca because there was no mosque in the area, he said. It would serve as the main place of worship until 1971, when a bigger Islamic Center was opened in town. The building on Ninth Street was sold — used over the years as a teen center and a Pentecostal church before being abandoned. It was purchased by the Islamic Council of Iowa and renovated, reopening again in 1992. Now, Tawil wonders whether the building can be saved. Everything rests on whether or not the foundation is solid, something Tawil won't know until an engineer is able to check it. But if they can stay, Tawil said volunteers are ready.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Zionist Colonial Arrogance Par Excellence (ArabicEnglish)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHpMhAzj-Tk
Bismillah [IslamCity] The Guardian: Darfur's child refugees being sold to militias
Darfur's child refugees being sold to militias Julian Borger, diplomatic editor The Guardian, Friday June 6 2008 Article history Thousands of child refugees from Darfur, some as young as nine, are being abducted and sold to warring militias as child soldiers, a British human rights group reports today. nbsp; The organisation, Waging Peace, has filmed testimony in refugee camps in eastern Chad, describing how children, mostly boys between nine and 15, have been forcibly taken from their families by camp leaders, who are then trafficking them to militias. nbsp; Today's report singles out the Darfur rebel group fighting the Khartoum government, the Justice and Equality Movement, as the main offender. But it says a variety of groups, including the Chadian army and opposing rebels, are also involved. nbsp; This recruitment is taking place every day, in full view of the CNAR [Chadian government body in charge of refugees] and Chadian armed forces, who turn a blind eye to what is going on, and despite the presence of EU troops, the report says. nbsp; The EU force in Chad, Eufor, will be made up of more than 4,000 troops, half of them French, and is due to be fully deployed by next month. Waging Peace is calling on the force, led by an Irish lieutenant general, Patrick Nash, to protect the refugee camps from the militias and to help stop the trafficking. nbsp; Louise Roland-Gosselin, the head of Waging Peace, said: The deployment of the EU force means there is supposed to be security in the camps, but it hasn't come true. People feel deceived. nbsp; Roland-Gosselin said it was impossible to know how many children were being abducted, but the UN estimated last year that between 7,000 and 10,000 child soldiers had been forcibly recruited in Chad, where more than 250,000 refugees from Darfur are in camps. She said the problem had worsened since then, despite attempts by UN agencies and aid groups to negotiate an end to trafficking. nbsp; One of the refugee leaders opposed to the practice told Waging Peace: Now it's worse, it's not only aggressive but worse ... They are selling anybody, you know, the boys from nine to 15 in the camp they are just selling them. nbsp; He accused other senior men in the camp of being involved in the trade. nbsp; Another refugee leader told Waging Peace: We are very concerned about the future of our children who have survived the killing in Darfur. We want them to study and have a future. We don't want them to join the fighters and become useless. nbsp; Serge Male, the head of the UN's refugee agency UNHCR in Chad, said: For a good while we have been trying to call attention to child recruitment in the camps, both forced and voluntary. We definitely condemn this and we are dealing with the Chadian authorities, the UN agencies and all the parties who have something to do with this. nbsp; The report says that, in part because of their role in kidnapping, the Justice and Equality Movement rebels are losing support among the Darfuri refugees in the camp. Efforts to negotiate a peace deal between the rebel groups and the Khartoum government have faltered because the rebel side has splintered and the government has pursued an aerial bombing campaign against rebel strongholds. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/06/sudan.humanrights nbsp;
Bismillah [IslamCity] Sign Petition: Lift Travel Restrictions on Palestinian Journalist Khalid Amayreh
PETITION! Lift Travel Restrictions on Palestinian Journalist By Mary Rizzo • May 28th, 2008 at 15:36 • Category: Israel, Khalid Amayreh, Mary's Choice, Newswire, Palestine, Petitions, Zionism nbsp; SIGN THE PETITION To:nbsp; Israeli and Palestinian Authoritiesnbsp; - nbsp; Palestinian journalist Khalid Amayreh, who lives in the West Bank, has been invited to attend a media conference in Germany. As required, he set about to request all of the necessary travel documents, including a visa that needs to be granted from the German representative office in Ramallah. After routine questioning regarding his political affiliations, it was not only determined that he was not a member of any party, nor formally associated with any organisation, but it was clear that he had never been arrested or detained by Israeli authorities. Mr Amayreh was granted an entry visa to Germany. However, the Israeli military authorities have refused to give him a permit to leave the West Bank. No Palestinian can travel abroad without receiving such a permit beforehand, otherwise he or she would be turned back once arriving at the Israeli-controlled border terminal at the Allenby Bridge. nbsp; Mr Amayreh then went to his local District Coordination Office in Dura, where he was informed that his information was forwarded to the Shin Bet (General Security Services) of the Israeli government. Then two days later, the GSS informed the Palestinian office that Amayreh was barred from leaving the West Bank for security reasons. No further explanation was given. nbsp; His fortune in obtaining the required travel permission did not change as he applied to the Civil Administration Headquarters in Hebron, a metallic pen holding persons seeking the mandatory permission even to go to East Jerusalem for medical treatment, where it is not unusual to find them huddled and waiting their turn for ten or more hours, under the watchful eye of Israeli military watchtowers. nbsp; The Palestinian Civil Affairs Coordination Office in the West Bank was also unable to mediate on his behalf, as they too are entirely dependent upon the decisions, without clarification, evidence or justification, made by the Israeli Security division. nbsp; There is indeed no justification for the violation of this man's civil and human rights, and along with him, the rights of all others who are denied freedom of movement with no justification whatsoever. The Occupation authorities, while they have no sovereignty over citizens of the Palestinian Authority, dictate what must be done with those citizens and the world seems to consider the violation of their rights acceptable and normal praxis. These people are not pawns on a chessboard, but are individuals who seek the basic liberties that all democracies are obligated to provide for their people. The Palestinian Authority does not exercise its duty of guaranteeing civil liberties to its own citizens, and treats them as if they shall be subject to the whims of the Occupier. nbsp; We ask for the immediate revision of the decision regarding Mr Amayreh, so that he is granted the documents necessary for him to exercise his freedom of movement allowing him to continue to provide for himself and his family in the work that he is employed in, as well as for the Palestinian Authority to assume a position that sets the freedoms of its citizens as a priority that is greater than the perceived security risks declared by the agency of the State of Israel. nbsp; http://www.petitiononline.com/k1h2a3l4/petition.html
Bismillah [IslamCity] The Save Darfur Hoax (1 2)
The Save Darfur Hoax (1 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1jpt9-Dg8Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRFUpjzw3-8feature=related between -00-00 and -99-99
Bismillah [IslamCity] Darfur in US Elections by Isma'il Kushkush
Darfur in US Elections By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent I predict that within a year, the Darfur campaign will not be what it is today. More people are discovering that this is a tragedy, but not genocide, Dr. Bechtold told IOL. KHARTOUM As the cut-throat race between Senator Barak Obama and Senator Hilary Clinton continues for the Democratic White House nomination ticket, some experts expect Darfur to become a major debate issue. Clinton and Obama are trying to get as many delegates before the Democratic convention, including super-delegates, Dr. Peter Bechtold, an expert on Sudan and Chairman Emeritus of the Near East and North Africa Area Studies at the Foreign Service Institute at the US State Department, told IslamOnline.net. In order to do this they will try to appeal to all the issues on the minds of the Democrats. Bechtold, also is an adjunct scholar at the Washington D.C based Middle East Institute, believes one of these issues will be Darfur. Most of the people involved in the Save Darfur campaign are voting Democrat. I think there are very few Republicans involved in the Save Darfur campaign, he explains. The Save Darfur Coalition is an alliance of more than 180 religious, political and human rights groups. It has been on the forefront of lobbying the US Congress on Darfur. But the coalition has come under much criticism, including from many on-the-ground humanitarian groups, for misstating facts. The conflict in Darfur erupted in February 2003 when rebel groups attacked government targets, accusing Khartoum of discrimination and neglect. The UN claims that 200,000 have died as a result of war, disease and malnutrition, but the Sudanese government has put the number at 10,000. No accurate, independent account is available to date. The Bush administration has described the conflict as genocide, but the UN and the African Union have rejected the label. Different Approaches Bechtold notes that many in the Save Darfur campaign belong to constituents that usually vote Democrat, such as university students, Hollywood celebrities, American Jews and African Americans. I dont believe Clinton and Obama can say anything that is not consistent from what the American people have been told. The American expert sees some difference between Clinton and Obamas approaches to Darfur. I believe Clinton will follow the line of her supporters in New York and say that there is genocide and the Bush administration has been lax in doing something about it. Dr. Bechtold is critical of such an approach. She is a typical political machine. She is not going to have an analysis about Darfur, she is just going to just follow the machine. Clinton has suggested that the US needs to lead the work in ending this genocide, including by imposing much tougher sanctions that target Sudans oil revenue, implementing and helping enforce a no-fly zone, and engaging n more intense, effective diplomacy to get a political roadmap to peace. The Bush administration announced last May a package of economic sanctions mostly against public-owned Sudanese companies, including firms providing food and medicine. Washington already had in place a set of economics sanctions slapped against Sudan since 1997 on claims of sponsoring terrorism. Obama, for his part, wants the US to intensify pressure on China to use its leverage to secure Khartoums agreement to the expeditious deployment of the hybrid African Union-UN peacekeeping force. Washington must also play a greater and more consistent role in supporting a political process to bring about peace on the ground, he has said. Khartoum has agreed to the deployment of the 26,000-strong force but its deployment has faced many challenges including securing equipment and enough African soldiers, as only soldiers from African countries will be included in the peacekeeping force. Bechtold, the American expert on Sudan, expects the Democratic Party eventual nominee will direct how the party will address Darfur. After the convention, if Clinton wins the nomination, she may try to appeal to the African American community on Darfur. If it is Obama, he may try to look at this as an African issue rather than an American issue. Real Darfur Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee, has given a piece of his mind on the issue in an article for Foreign Affairs. Africa continues to offer the most compelling case for humanitarian intervention, he wrote. the genocide in Darfur demand US leadership. My administration will consider the use of all elements of American power to stop the outrageous acts of human destruction that unfolded there. But Bechtold, the American expert on Sudan, believes Darfur will not influence
Bismillah [IslamCity] The Guardian: The Chinese burden? by Brandon O'Neill
The Chinese burden? Brendan O'Neill April 1, 2008 5:00 PM http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/brendan_oneill/2008/04/the_chinese_burden.html As the Beijing Olympics approach, a sweeping left/right consensus has emerged in the west: that China's interventions in Africa are deeply problematic. Western officials, commentators and activists accuse China of raping Africa, plundering its resources, creating even greater inequalities between rich and poor, and cosying up to genocidal maniacs. On the right, magazines likes the Economist describe the Chinese as the new colonialists; on the left (well, ostensibly the left), human rights advocates slate China for funding genocide in Darfur. Others claim that by doing business with dodgy African regimes, China is undermining the west's attempts to encourage good governance on the once dark continent. This China-bashing dresses itself in radical lingo. Campaigners like to fantasise that they are taking a stand against Chinese colonialism. In truth, there is an imperialistic bent to these criticisms of China for its record in Africa: the aim is not to liberate Africans from outside interference, but rather to preserve Africa as the playground of western do-gooders rather than Chinese businessmen. Western observers are disturbed by Chinese meddling in Africa because it undercuts their own self-styled role as the heroic saviours of the African savage. Save Darfur activists now campaign almost exclusively around attacking China for funding the genocide. Their campaigning comes across as both nasty and naïve. Sunday's New York Times Magazine carried a revealing article about a new group, Dream for Darfur, which is promoting the idea that Beijing 2008 will be the Genocide Olympics. One supporter of Dream for Darfur told the NYT: Darfur is singular. China is the reason Darfur is happening. Such a statement is mind-bogglingly simple-minded. Darfur is anything but singular. As Jonathan Steele argued on Cif recently, There are around a dozen different rebel groups currently fighting the [Khartoum] government. To put the blame on only one party [China] makes no moral or political sense. Yet, as the NYT reporter pointed out, For those on board with Dream for Darfur, connecting the dots between the summer games and hundreds of thousands of African corpses is not much more complicated than saying China is the reason Darfur is happening. Dream for Darfur called in Ben Cohen from the ice-cream maker Ben and Jerry's (the mind boggles) to wage a jihad against China's cute, cartoonish Olympic mascots: Beibei the fish, Jingjing the giant panda, and other big-haired symbols of modern China. Dream for Darfur told Cohen to keep his message short. The message here isn't hard: genocide bad; China helping, it advised. So Cohen is devising an anti-mascot campaign with the message: Looks cute - supports genocide. That sums up the cartoonish politics of the wristband-wearing, latte-drinking, self-serving Save Darfur activists in New York and elsewhere. It seems clear that bashing China over its relations with Khartoum is not based on any serious political assessment of what is happening in Sudan and Darfur; indeed, it overlooks the fact that few serious international organisations describe the conflict as a genocide, and that, even though things are still dire in Darfur, they're not as bad as they were during the intense conflict period of 2003-2005. Instead, this is about humiliating China out of Sudan so that the west can take its rightful position as the hector-in-chief of the Khartoum government. Apparently only white, well-educated, celebrity-connected westerners have a right to determine what should happen in Sudan. As one commentator puts it: Sudan's government feels it can ignore western revulsion at genocide because [thanks to China] it has no need of western money ... China, along with Sudan's other Arab and Asian partners, feels free to trample on basic standards of decency. Those indecent Chinese - how dare they block the righteous path of western revulsion against an African regime? Human Rights Watch is even more explicit. It recently complained that China's growing foreign aid programme creates new options for [African] dictators who were previously dependent on those who insisted on human rights progress. In short, Chinese deal-making with African states has undermined the army of western officials, NGOs and conflict-resolution experts who believe that only they should have free rein to tell Africans how to behave. Attacking China for its support of Khartoum is not a liberationist or pro-African demand; rather it is underpinned by western protectionism, a desire to keep Africa as The White Man's Burden rather than allowing it to become The Yellow Man's Burden. Indeed, some of the China-bashing over Africa is premised on what we might term double racism: first
Bismillah [IslamCity] The Guardian: Why blame China? by Jonathan Steele
Why blame China? Jonathan Steele February 14, 2008 12:30 PM http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jonathan_steele/2008/02/why_blame_china.html The excitement over Steven Spielberg's withdrawal of support for the Beijing Olympics has helped to re-focus attention on Darfur. That is all to the good, especially if it leads his fellow-protesters to look more clearly at what is actually happening there and what moral responsibility China really has in allegedly failing to stop the war in Darfur. Brian Brivati wrote on this blog yesterday that China is the key, but is that really the case? Wars always have at least two sides, and in the Darfur case that is an underestimate. There are around a dozen different rebel groups currently fighting the government. To put the blame on only one party makes no moral or political sense. The best way to stop the fighting and the humanitarian emergency that flows from it is to have an organised ceasefire and hold talks. This is what the Sudanese government did last October on the eve of the peace conference that the UN and the African Union held in Libya. Only a minority of the rebel groups reciprocated the ceasefire offer or attended the conference. They preferred to go on fighting, in part because they feel the one-sided approach of much of the outside world, with its exclusive pressure on the Khartoum government, helps their cause. The point is slowly being accepted by many of the so-called Darfur support groups. Compared with three years ago, when the campaign started, their statements now show a greater willingness to recognise the rebels' negative role in attacking aid workers, stealing humanitarian supplies, and raiding government-held villages and towns. The latest atrocity in early February when Khartoum-backed militias burnt down two towns in Western Darfur was provoked by attacks by the Justice and Equality Movement, one of the main groups which rejects peace talks. The pattern is depressingly familiar from almost every counterinsurgency campaign in history - rebel raids, which produce a government over-reaction. But who is to blame? If the rebels went to the peace table, there would have been no impulse for the government to respond with force. The support groups still seem not to appreciate that the humanitarian situation has changed. Claims of genocide were never accepted by the UN, but the events that gave rise to them occurred in 2003 and 2004. Today's Darfur is still appalling but not so bloody a place. In any case, the death rates of those years are heavily disputed, as is their cause. The victims of hunger and disease exacerbated by forced displacement are one-sidedly, and often deliberately, described by lobby groups as having been killed by government forces or their militias, as though they were executed. Subsequent years have seen a huge deployment to Darfur of UN and other international aid agencies. They eliminated starvation and massively reduced death from disease. Displacement in overcrowded camps is no longterm solution and people need confidence and security to go home. But the need to bring in a more powerful UN peacekeeping force to help to ensure that should not obscure the fact that the humanitarian effort has already been one of the UN's most successful interventions anywhere. Getting governments to fulfil their promises of troops for the new hybrid UN/AU force in Darfur, trying to obtain more helicopters, and building the peacekeepers' bases more quickly are important tasks. But, however well-equipped its force is, the UN cannot impose peace. That can only be done through a ceasefire and political talks. As Ban Ki-moon rightly said last week, the deployment of Unamid will only be as effective as the political process it is mandated to support. How does China relate to this? It helped to pass the UN resolution to set up Unamid. It has contributed several hundred military engineers to Unamid. What more can it realistically do? The idea that it can pressure Khartoum to stop the killing, as Brivati wrote yesterday, is too simple. The killing is more likely to stop when the rebels come to the peace table that the AU and the UN (with China's help) have laid out for them. - You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Who Is Blocking Peace In Darfur?
Who Is Blocking Peace In Darfur? By Muriel Mirak-Weissbach Global Research, March 30, 2008 The tragic, years-long conflict that has raged in Sudan's three Darfur states, is again competing for headlines, as new estimates on the number of dead are being debated, and yet another United Nations Security Council resolution (1591), is on the table. But neither haggling over figures, nor casting blame and meting out new punishment, is the issue: the issue is peace must be brought to the war-torn region. And for that to happen, key international players backing the rebels, must change course. Jan Egeland, the former Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, and now advisor to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, told Associated Press March 28 (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23848444/) that he thought the figures he had given in 2006, of 200,000 dead, should be revised upward, to double that number. Although the anti-Sudan genocide lobby seized on the statement, demanding that Sudan allow new mortality studies to be conducted, Christina Bennett, a spokeswoman for Egeland's successor John Holmes, made the point that their organization was less concerned with statistics, and they were working as hard as we can to assist the living. And a leading World Health Organization coordinator Richard Garfield, said that, on the basis of surveys conducted throughout last year, Darfur is not experiencing the very high levels of mortality it was experiencing only a few years ago. The numbers game has been cynically exploited by organizations and personalities who allege that the Sudanese government has been involved in genocide, i.e. systematic killing of the people of Darfur. These groups, led by Save Darfur, represent largely a coalition of interests usually labelled the Zionist lobby in the U.S., the Christian fundamentalist right wing, and several misled African-American organizations. (www.savedarfur.org/pages/organizational_members/). (1) Prominent spokesmen of this grouping, like Board of Directors member John Prendergast, along with independent researchers like Eric Reeves of Smith College, have been unmasked as biased propagandists by Dr. David Hoile, author of Darfur in Perspective. Hoile, who recently spoke on the issue at an international conference in Khartoum, has documented how such claims of genocide have been contradicted by the highly reputable Medecins Sans Frontiers, a doctors' organization which, unlike those claiming genocide, actually has thousands of personnel on the ground throughout Darfur.(2) The same groups argue that the Sudanese government is deploying Arab militias against black African Darfurians, an allegation belied by demographic facts, as documented by Hoile and dozens of others. The real nature of the conflict is far more simple, and yet more complex at the same time. Most important, it is a region populated by about 80 clans and tribes, both nomadic and sedentary, who have engaged in conflicts periodically over increasingly scarce water and land resources. Between 1932 and 2001, there were 36 such major conflicts, 25 of them between 1966-2000, which according to the Wali's office of North Darfur state, were always in the control of Darafur's native, social and wise leadership.(3) However, beginning in the 1990s, the conflicts took on a completely new character, as political forces reorganized tribal groups into rebel movements, challenging not each other, but the federal government. A crucial development was the declaration of the Darfur Liberation Army in 2002 against the government and the transformation of the same group into the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), which elected its leaders in October of that year: Abd al-Wahid al-Nur, of the Fur tribe, was chairman, Abdalla Abakkar of the Zaghawa was chief of staff, and Mansour Arbab, from the Massaleit, became deputy chairman. Earlier, another political rebel formation, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) came into being, led by Dr. Khalil Ibrahim, reputedly close to the Zaghawa, and, more significant, close to Islamist leader Dr. Hassan al-Turabi. In Hoile's analysis, Turabi is a central figure in the conflict. In 1999, after he had challenged the leadership of President Omar al-Bashir, and manuevred separately with rebel forces in the southern Sudan conflict, Turabi and the national leadership (largely made up of his students) parted ways; the National Congress party split in 2000-2001, and Turabi set up a separate Popular Congress Party, taking with him many in the youth movement, in the military wing and the financial apparatus. Turabi's support for the JEM was no secret, just as his relations with the Southern Sudanese rebels had also been common knowledge. In fact, the SPLA, then led by the late John Garang, agreed to train the Darfur rebels. This, however, was not the only political factor in the Darfur rebellion: if
Bismillah [IslamCity] The Observer: Those who control oil and water will control the world by John Gray
Those who control oil and water will control the world New superpowers are competing for diminishing resources as Britain becomes a bit-player. The outcome could be deadly John Gray The Observer, Sunday March 30 2008 History may not repeat itself, but, as Mark Twain observed, it can sometimes rhyme. The crises and conflicts of the past recur, recognisably similar even when altered by new conditions. At present, a race for the world's resources is underway that resembles the Great Game that was played in the decades leading up to the First World War. Now, as then, the most coveted prize is oil and the risk is that as the contest heats up it will not always be peaceful. But this is no simple rerun of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, there are powerful new players and it is not only oil that is at stake. It was Rudyard Kipling who brought the idea of the Great Game into the public mind in Kim, his cloak-and-dagger novel of espionage and imperial geopolitics in the time of the Raj. Then, the main players were Britain and Russia and the object of the game was control of central Asia's oil. Now, Britain hardly matters and India and China, which were subjugated countries during the last round of the game, have emerged as key players. The struggle is no longer focused mainly on central Asian oil. It stretches from the Persian Gulf to Africa, Latin America, even the polar caps, and it is also a struggle for water and depleting supplies of vital minerals. Above all, global warming is increasing the scarcity of natural resources. The Great Game that is afoot today is more intractable and more dangerous than the last. The biggest new player in the game is China and it is there that the emerging pattern is clearest. China's rulers have staked everything on economic growth. Without improving living standards, there would be large-scale unrest, which could pose a threat to their power. Moreover, China is in the middle of the largest and fastest move from the countryside to the city in history, a process that cannot be stopped. There is no alternative to continuing growth, but it comes with deadly side-effects. Overused in industry and agriculture, and under threat from the retreat of the Himalayan glaciers, water is becoming a non-renewable resource. Two-thirds of China's cities face shortages, while deserts are eating up arable land. Breakneck industrialisation is worsening this environmental breakdown, as many more power plants are being built and run on high-polluting coal that accelerates global warming. There is a vicious circle at work here and not only in China. Because ongoing growth requires massive inputs of energy and minerals, Chinese companies are scouring the world for supplies. The result is unstoppable rising demand for resources that are unalterably finite. Although oil reserves may not have peaked in any literal sense, the days when conventional oil was cheap have gone forever. Countries are reacting by trying to secure the remaining reserves, not least those that are being opened up by climate change. Canada is building bases to counter Russian claims on the melting Arctic icecap, parts of which are also claimed by Norway, Denmark and the US. Britain is staking out claims on areas around the South Pole. The scramble for energy is shaping many of the conflicts we can expect in the present century. The danger is not just another oil shock that impacts on industrial production, but a threat of famine. Without a drip feed of petroleum to highly mechanised farms, many of the food shelves in the supermarkets would be empty. Far from the world weaning itself off oil, it is more addicted to the stuff than ever. It is hardly surprising that powerful states are gearing up to seize their share. This new round of the Great Game did not start yesterday. It began with the last big conflict of the 20th century, which was an oil war and nothing else. No one pretended the first Gulf War was fought to combat terrorism or spread democracy. As George Bush Snr and John Major admitted at the time, it was aimed at securing global oil supplies, pure and simple. Despite the denials of a less honest generation of politicians, there can be no doubt that controlling the country's oil was one of the objectives of the later invasion of Iraq. Oil remains at the heart of the game and, if anything, it is even more important than before. With their complex logistics and heavy reliance on air power, high-tech armies are extremely energy-intensive. According to a Pentagon report, the amount of petroleum needed for each soldier each day increased four times between the Second World War and the Gulf War and quadrupled again when the US invaded Iraq. Recent estimates suggest the amount used per soldier has jumped again in the five years since the invasion. Whereas Western
Bismillah [IslamCity] VOA: Youth Festival To Forge Solidarity Between Arabs and Africans
Youth Festival To Forge Solidarity Between Arabs and Africans16 March
2008
Akwei's interview with Henry Mukasa - Download (MP3)
Akwei's interview with Henry Mukasa - Listen (MP3)
The Afro-Arab youth festival opened on Thursday in the Ugandan capital of
Kampala. The meeting brings together, for the second time in seven years,
delegates from more than 62 countries. Youths ranging in age from 18 to 25 will
engage in musical events and sports. They will also discuss serious topics such
as HIA/AID aand human trafficking.
Henry Mukasa is a Ugandan journalist covering the event for the New Vision
newspaper. He told VOAs Akwei Thompson that the objective of the conference is
to forge solidarity between Africans and Arabs in the world.
On the agenda are wide ranging issues such as human rights , tourism,
unemployment, poverty and diseases including HIV/Aids.
The opening ceremony, presided over by Ugandas President Yoweri Museveni,
was attended by ministers from several African countries including Yemen,
Sudan, Central African Republic, as well as representatives from the African
Union and the East African Community. The closing ceremony on Monday will be
presided over by Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi.
http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2008-03-16-voa25.cfm
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Bismillah [IslamCity] Darfur rebel group inaugurates local office in Israel
Darfur rebel group inaugurates local office in Israel Wednesday 27 February 2008 07:21. February 25, 2008 (PARIS) A Darfur rebel group announced today that they have inaugurated an office in Israel, according to a press release received today by Sudan Tribune. We are telling our people that we opened Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) office in Israel the statement read. The SLM faction led by Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur praised the Israeli government for protecting Darfur youth from genocide Al-Nur, speaking to Sudan Tribune by phone from Paris, confirmed the inauguration of the office. The office was created by some of the SLM members who sought refuge in Israel from the killings by the Sudanese government. This is our normal practice in any part of the world where we have a presence the rebel leader said. We believe in transparency with our people. We have nothing to hide or be ashamed of he added. AL-Nur said the SLM has a vision for a liberal, secular state in Sudan. As such we encourage tolerance towards all religions and ethnicities as well as peaceful coexistence. Sudanese refugees, particularly from Darfur where a rebellion has cost more than 200,000 civilian lives and made 2.5 million homeless, have been sneaking into Israel in increasing numbers over the past year through the Egyptian borders. This year, Israel granted temporary residency status to 600 refugees from Darfur. Many Israelis feel an obligation to help refugees because of the centuries of persecution Jews endured before they created their own state. The revolution that started in Darfur intends to change some of the norms in Sudan including the taboo regarding the relations with Israel Al-Nur said. Our vision of Sudan as we see it would allow for the opening of an Israeli embassy in Khartoum as long as it is in line with the interests of the Sudanese people he added. Israel considers Sudan, a Muslim-dominated country, an enemy state and maintains a policy of not allowing citizens of a state with this classification of residing in the country. Sudan has no diplomatic relations established with Israel and remains hostile to the Jewish state on the grounds that it is occupying Arab lands. Asked whether he fears the backlash of Arab and Islamic sentiment in Sudan and elsewhere Al-Nur said that he does not customize the fundamental policies of the SLM to appeal to certain groups of people. Our opinion on the Palestinian Israeli conflict is clear. We want both sides to reach an accord that would allow them to live peacefully together. International experts estimate 200,000 people have died in the conflict, which Washington calls genocide, a term European governments are reluctant to use. The Sudan government says 9,000 people have been killed. (ST) http://alain-azria.blog.20minutes.fr/archive/2008/02/28/darfur-rebel-group-inaugurates-local-office-in-israel.html - Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Stop the War Coalition: ACTION ALERT: CONDOLEEZZA RICE IN LONDON, PROTEST FEB 6
ACTION ALERT: CONDOLEEZZA RICE IN LONDON JOIN THE PROTEST ON WEDNESDAY 6 FEBRUARY The Afghanistan war is at last getting mainstream coverage, as the US led occupiers are having to admit that the attempts to pacify the country, largely by terror bombing raids, are failing. With defeat looming, as it always has for every attempt in history at occupying Afghanistan, George Bush is desperate to get other countries to deploy more forces. But instead of responding to his pleas, the coalition countries are falling out amongst themselves, with Canada now threatening to withdraw all its troops, and others, like Germany, saying they will not send troops to South Afghanistan, where much of the fighting is taking place. (See http://tinyurl.com/2q24oh) As Bush tries to stave off disaster in Afghanistan, Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, flies to London next week to talk to Gordon Brown -- George Bush's closest ally -- to find a way to send more troops to Afghanistan. With UK defence minister Des Browne saying recently that Britain could be in Afghanistan for decades (http://tinyurl.com/2lhmqj), Rice will try to get Gordon Brown to commit more troops now, as a lever to get other countries to increase their deployment. Stop the War Coalition is calling an emergency protest on Wednesday 6 February. We do not yet have details of Rice's meetings with Gordon Brown but we anticipate that our protest will be at Downing Street, the timing to be announced as soon as her plans are known. PLEASE WATCH OUT FOR OUR EMAIL GIVING DETAILS OF THE PROTEST AGAINST CONDOLEEZZA RICE'S VISIT. WE WILL ALSO POST INFORMATION AS WE GET IT ON OUR WEBSITE: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/ Bush's only aim for both Iraq and Afghanistan has been to keep the wars going till the end of his presidency. This aim is unravelling in Afghanistan, which is why Condoleezza Rice will be in London next week. But she will also be here to discuss Iraq, with the recent bombings in Baghdad giving the lie to US claims that the US troop surge is bringing stability to the country. And Iran will also be on her agenda, with recent statements by George Bush showing he is still itching to launch an attack. We must ensure that Rice is left in no doubt that the majority of the British people have consistently opposed George Bush's warmongering. When Rice visited the UK in 2006 it turned into a public relations fiasco, as anti-war protestors followed her everywhere she went (see http://tinyurl.com/2nj5fb). We aim to do the same this time. CONDOLEEZZA RICE NOT WANTED HERE END THE WARS IN AFGHANISTAN IRAQ NOW PROTEST WEDNESDAY 6 FEBRUARY (Details of location and time to follow shortly.) - Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Conference: Guantanamo: Law of Force not Force of Law, Jan 26-27, Khartoum, Sudan
Civic Aid International Organization International conference on: Guantanamo Prison: Law of Force not Force of Law Experts in international law from the US, Europe and the Arab World will participate in addition to three former Sudanese detainees and the families of the rest of the Sudanese detainees in Guantanamo. January 26-26, 2008 International Conference Hall-Sudanese Banks Union Khartoum, Sudan To participate contact (249) 9 12607065/0122979798 or email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.civicaid.net http://www.civicaid.net/conference.htm - Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.
Bismillah [IslamCity] International unions' congress Back Sudan against Foreign Intervention
International unions' congress Back Sudan against Foreign Intervention Posted on Thursday, January 17 @ 10:48:21 GMT by admin By: Hafiya Elyas The presidential council of the international unions' congress proclaimed in its second meeting its backing to Sudan's government and Sudanese workers for the sake of justice, stability, and peace. In the last session in the Friendship Hall, members of the presidential council expressed their gratitude to president Omer Al-Bashir for the care and trust he showed to the role of international unions' movements at the national, regional and international levels. The presidential council expressed pride in backing Sudan's Workers Union in the unionist, economic, social and political levels for the sake of workers and people of Sudan. The presidential council also supports the international unions' congress and the Arab, regional and African organizations. Members of the council of the international unions' congress extended their gratefulness for hospitality and excellence organization of this international union's forum. The international unions' congress proclaimed support to the Sudanese government, Sudanese people and workers for the sake of finding solution to Darfur crisis, consolidating comprehensive peace, democracy, social justice and standing against foreign intervention. www.sudanvisiondaily.com - Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Sudanese Journalists Union Message of Solidarity with the International Day to shut down Guantanamo, Jan 11
Sudanese Journalists Union Message of Solidarity http://www.witnesstorture.org/node/859 Sudanese Journalists Union Message of Solidarity with the International Day to Shut down Guantanamo, January 11, 2008 We in the Sudanese Journalists Union consider the continuation of the imprisonment of Sudanese nationals in Guantanamo, including our colleague, Al-Jazeera camera-man Sami El-Haj, for a seventh year without trial, to be an act that transgresses all international and humanitarian norms and agreements. We condemn this act of transgression and confirm that freedom of the press is a right and duty which must be respected. The continuation of the Guantanamo detention camp is now rejected in the United States and outside of it. Its existence reflects and ugly face of US policies and we are in solidarity with global public opinion that strongly demands abolishing this camp. We in the Sudanese Journalists Union demand from the Unites States to apologize and compensate the prisoners who were released and not found guilty of any crime. We also demand that the United Sates apologize to their countries, and to release those who have not been charged with any crime to date, including our colleague, Al-Jazeera camera-man Sami El-Haj. We salute this gathering here in Washington and in the other forty cites world-wide. This is a noble and important act of solidarity against injustice and in defense of human-rights and freedoms. We confirm the importance of protecting journalists in all parts of the world, and call on to respect international agreements and norms that point to the protection of journalists especially in areas of conflict and war. Thank you. - Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Activists Protest Camp of Shame by Isma'il Kushkush
Activists Protest Camp of Shame By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent Protests were organized Friday by the London-based Amnesty International around the world to mark the Guantanamo detainees' day. (Reuters) KHARTOUM Human rights activists marked Friday, January 11, the sixth anniversary of the first orange-clad, shackled detainee to be thrown into the notorious US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay where dozens of detainees are being held without trial and incommunicado. I call Guantanamo the 'camp of shame', Fawzi Ouseddik, an Algerian expert in international law and human rights activist, told IslamOnline.net in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. The US sent the first terror suspect into the Cuba-based prison on January 11, 2002. The US is holding now about 275 detainees in Guantanamo, declaring them enemy combatants to deny them legal rights under American legal system. About 500 other Guantanamo prisoners have been released or transferred to other governments. Today, America's Guantanamo era enters its seventh shameful year, Anthony D. Romero, executive director of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), wrote in an article in online magazine Salon. Protests were organized Friday by the London-based Amnesty International around the world to mark the Guantanamo detainees' day. Australia kicked off the marches with hundreds of people dressed in orange jumpsuit like those worn by Guantanamo detainees took to the streets of Sydney. In Turkey, many dressed like Guantanamo prisoners took part in a demonstration against the US detention facility at Taksim Square in Istanbul. In the Philippines, hundreds protested in front of the US embassy to demand the closure of the US detention camp. Outside the Law By establishing Guantanamo, rights activists say, the US wants to have an island outside the law a place with no lawyers, no rights and, above all, no public scrutiny. Ouseddik, the activist from Algeria and is also the chair of an international campaign to free Al-Jazeera journalist Sami Al-Haj, said the US had developed new legal terms such as enemy combatant to bypass the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War. We should not fight ghosts! The [US] war on terrorism has become a war on Islam and freedom of expression, he said. Boudjellal Bettahar, a French expert in international law, said the US has transgressed international law by its practices in Guantanamo. There are children in Guantanamo, he charged. He said there are there are three types of detainees in Guantanamo. The first are soldiers in the Taliban army who should be treated as Prisoners of War according to the Geneva Convention. Second, there are Afghan civilians, who should have not have been moved outside Afghanistan and cannot be tried outside Afghanistan, he said. The third type is those terror suspects of different nationalities. The US cannot prevent them from their right to be tried, he said. It (Guantanamo) has become a symbol of breaking international law. Australian David Hicks was the only prisoner who has been convicted. He was sent back to Australia to serve a nine-month sentence and was released last month. Amnesty spokeswoman Katie Wood said the Guantanamo was the tip of the iceberg. What we're opposing is the whole of the US's detention policies and practices in the context of the 'war on terror' and we're calling for human rights to be restored to the detainees, she said in a speech. A recent report by the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva pressed for the closure of Guantanamo, which Amnesty once said has become a symbol of abuse and represents a system of detention that is betraying the best US values and undermines international standards. * Ismail Kamal Kushkush is a Sudanese-American freelance writer currently based in Khartoum, Sudan. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1199279467669pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout - Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Final Call: Take another look at the 'Save Darfur' crowd
Take another look at the Save Darfur crowd By William Reed -Guest Columnist- Jan 4, 2008, 03:10 pm Sudan and surrounding countries. Anyone who tells you that genocide is occurring in Darfur and doesnt in the same breath say that the same, or worse, serious situation is occurring in Uganda, the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Occupied Palestine, is engaged in deception about the subject. Under the guise of saving Africans, the Save Darfur Coalition operation is doing a serious disservice to Africas peace and stability. The powerful and well-funded groups business is to sucker Americans into supporting an invasion and occupation of Africas largest county. By attracting sympathetic celebrities, such as Don Cheadle, and Members of the Congressional Black Caucus to voice demands for an American intervention in Darfur, Save Darfur moves a step closer to the military intervention to save Darfurs peopleand at the same timeits rich oil reserves. Save Darfur is Christian Conservative and Neo-liberal groups in an imperialistic alliance to do in Africa what has been done in Iraq. The Save Darfur Coalition claims it is dedicated to ending genocide in Darfur. Under the lofty ideals of democracy and humanitarianism, Save Darfur uses these as pre-texts for U.S. and European imperialist intervention there. The Save Darfur lobby has cowed the U.S. Congress and Bush administration by portraying the conflict as a kind of racial genocide. Their deceptive propaganda portrays pro-government Arab militias as terrorizing unarmed Black civilians; and has caused many concerned Americans to buy into the farce. The Save Darfur Coalition spent $15 million in 2006 and none of that money went to aid groups on the ground in Darfur. Gullible American officials are in on the scam. But, anyone attuned to the humanitarian consequences of our imperialist interventions that are causing the occupation of Iraq, funding Israeli repression of Palestinians and backing reactionary terror around the world should take a moment of reflection. How did traditionally racist white politicians become champions for the lives of Africans? Unfortunately, the Save Darfur propaganda has taken hold among some well-intentioned activists and progressive organizations. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has encouraged that UN-mandated European and Western peacekeepers be placed in Darfur. CBC members claim that putting the weight of the U.S. government behind the insurgent forces in Darfur shows U.S. commitment to the lives of African people. Those calling for imperialist intervention do not talk about the U.S. or Frances role in promoting the conflict, or the horrendous conflicts also occurring in limited-resource countries neighboring Darfur. They do not mention profits that imperialist powers can gain from entering Sudan and breaking it apart. Instead, these progressive or human rights organizations fuel a demonization campaign to view the war as Arabs against Africans. The main division in Darfur is economic: between migratory herders and sedentary farmers. The vast majority of all the people of Darfur are Muslims and all are Black. Recognizing and explaining the complicated economic and political issues there does not make for good propaganda; instead it is more convenient to portray the struggle as one of genocidal Arabs against defenseless Africans. The well-connected people of Save Darfur have made gobs of money for the activist community and made millions of Americans feel good while actually doing squat to save people in Darfur. But, real people for peace reject the rhetoric. Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan labels Save Darfur actions imperialistic. Republican presidential candidate and Congressman Ron Paul criticized the coalition, calling its aims unconstitutional and claims it would be counterproductive to intervene in the war and would prolong it. Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter say that calling events in Darfur genocide is unhelpful. Former Senator, and U.S. Ambassador to the UN, John Danforth says claims of genocide are political. African-Americans should involve themselves in ways to help and not hinder in Africa. The first step is to be about the business of getting the Darfur rebels to the peace table. Over past years, Sudans rebel factions have repeatedly walked away from peace talksencouraged by the anti-government campaign waged by the imperialist powerswhich only prolongs the fighting and expands the crisis. (William Reed is President and Chief Executive Officer of Black Press International.) © Copyright 2008 FCN Publishing, FinalCall.com http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_4231.shtml - Never miss a thing.
Bismillah [IslamCity] US Official Killed, Sudanese Puzzled by Isma'il Kushkush
US Official Killed, Sudanese Puzzled By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent The US official's vehicle was fired upon by unknown assailants in another car. KHARTOUM A US official was killed in a shooting attack in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Tuesday, January 1, leaving baffled Sudanese trying to come to senses with the incident. An American officer with the United States Agency for International Development was shot and wounded, the US embassy said in a statement. The official, identified as 33 year-old John Michael Granville, was moved to a hospital where within hours he succumbed to his injuries and passed away, it added. We are working closely with local authorities to investigate the incident. Sudanese security sources told IslamOnline.net the attack occurred around 3:00 am (0:00 GMT) in Abeid Khatim Street of the western Ryad district, near Khartoum International Airport and the UN headquarters complex. The US official, who was apparently returning from a New Year party, was fired upon by unknown assailants in another car. His driver, a Sudanese national identified as Abdel Rahman Abbas, 40, died instantly in a hail of gunfire. The Interior Ministry said the embassy vehicle had been caught in a fight which broke out as some Sudanese nationals were on the street celebrating the New Year. It announced an investigation to find the culprits and the motivation behind the shooting. The Foreign Ministry described it as an isolated incident which has no political connotations. Puzzled Abd al-Rahman Ja'far, 42, was astonished when he first heard news of the shooting. The IT operative fears this would worsen Sudan's image at a time his country's relations with the US are already bad. Dr. Hasan Haj Ali, a Khartoum University political science professor, says it's too early to point fingers, though he did not rule out some extremist groups could be responsible. Recently, a number of individuals tied to extremist groups who threatened to target Western interests in Sudan were arrested with explosives, he said. This is a possibility. The professor says anti-American sentiments, which have been running high lately, could be the motivation. US-Sudanese relations have been escalating recently. Washington has long had tense relations with Sudan, spearheading a biting international pressure on Khartoum over the situation in war-torn of Darfur. US president George W. Bush signed Monday, December 31, a law that allows state, local governments and monitory funds to cut investment in companies doing business in Sudan. In May, his administration slapped bilateral economic sanctions mostly against public-owned Sudanese companies, including those providing food and medicine. Washington already has in place a set of economic sanctions slapped against Sudan in 1997 on the ground of sponsoring terrorism. Jamal Abd al-Hameed, 47, notes that politically-motivated attacks are rare in Sudan. Political assassinations are not common in Sudan through-out history, says the university professor. It is unusual in Sudan. He agrees with professor Ali that the attack, if proved deliberate, could be an outcome of growing anti-US sentiments. People are seeing what is happening in Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan and US policy toward Sudan, Hameed explains. He believes the US is reaping the price of its policies in the region. * Ismail Kamal Kushkush is a Sudanese-American freelance writer currently based in Khartoum, Sudan. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1199108640838pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout#**1 - Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.
Bismillah [IslamCity] The Palestinian Information Center: Stranded Palestinian refugees at Iraqi borders to resettle in Sudan within days
Stranded Palestinian refugees at Iraqi borders to resettle in Sudan within days [ 29/12/2007 - 08:09 AM ] KHARTOUM, (PIC)-- The Sudanese government has declared that all preparations were finalized on the resettlement of 2,000 Palestinians refugees in the outskirts of the capital, Khartoum, within the few coming days. The Palestinian refugees, who have fled persecution in Iraq at the hands of American occupation forcers and sectarian militias, have been stranded at the Iraqi borders with Syria and Jordan for years. Refugees' commissioner in the Sudan Mohammed Al-Aghbash said that the UNHCR was coordinating with the Arab League in order to provide financing for relocating those refugees in the Sudan. He added in a news report carried by Al-Hayat newspaper based in London that the Sudanese government was committed to settling those refuges in the country out of appreciation to their circumstances . The UNHCR said that around 13,000 Palestinian refugees were still living in Iraq, mostly in the capital Baghdad, where they face daily threats. Meanwhile, Palestinian refugees in Sidon, southern Lebanon, staged a sit-in on Thursday at the UNRWA central offices in the city to protest the Agency's decision to reduce its health and social services. They hoisted placards denouncing the oppressive policy of the UNRWA and said it must shoulder its responsibility. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon constitute 10% of the entire number of Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA and around 11% of the total population of Lebanon. The 500,000 Palestinian refugees live in 12 camps. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7VMecTzQ2p9LB%2bmsq6nPutxgUpkN9F5%2bJmCmyix3aMM%2fm8XsqquOfSDP0sou5qmqnAwwtV4y5A7HCgIdQfQeQTiTDhYyf8GyRO19HfjQ%2f0Qc%3d - Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.
Bismillah [IslamCity] The Empire casts a shadow over Sudan
The Empire casts a shadow over Sudan Friday, December 28, 2007 By: David Feldman Congress signs racist divestment bill The worlds leading imperialist powers have pressed for intervention in Sudans affairs for years. Although the imperialists claim constantly that this is for humanitarian reasons, the real aims are much more sinister. Leading the pack in the drive to subjugate Sudan is the U.S. government. Sudan was a British colony before winning its independence in 1956. A pro-U.S. regime was overthrown in 1989. The new leader, Omar al-Bashir, and his National Congress Party turned to other countries for supportChina, India, Malaysia and others. During the next decade, Washington punished Sudan for its abrupt political turn, labeling the country a state sponsor of terrorism in 1993 and imposing economic sanctions in 1997. When a small number of anti-government rebels refused to sign a peace agreement to end the Darfur conflict, the U.N. Security Council voted to send a massive peacekeeping force to Sudan. In early 2007, the U.S. Congress passed the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, tightening the sanctions on Sudan. President George Bush also blocked U.S. commercial bank transactions with Sudan and barred many Sudanese companies from having any financial dealings with the United States in 2007. Due to imperialist pressure, Sudan reluctantly agreed to allow a joint U.N.-African Union force in the western Darfur region composed of 20,000 troops. Despite this concession, the imperialists did not stop their assault on Sudan. On Dec. 18, the U.S. Congress passed a Sudan divestment bill, which will allow state and local governments and investors to cut business ties with the Sudanese government. The House of Representatives voted 411-0 in favor of the bill. The bill targets four economic sectors the provide revenue to the Sudanese governmentoil, power production, mining and military equipment. Some U.S. states and universities have divested already from Sudan. U.S. corporations will be banned from receiving federal contracts unless they can prove they have not worked with Sudan's military and energy sectors. Posing as a bill aimed at ending a humanitarian crisis, it is in reality imperialist intervention in Sudans internal affairs. Unfortunately, a number of activists have been fooled by the government-media campaign of lies. What is called genocide in the capitalist press is in fact a civil war fueled by imperialist powers. The divestment bill is meant to punish Sudan further for resisting imperialisms objectives. The ultimate goal is to overthrow the government of Bashir and replace it with a regime friendly to the interests of the Western capitalists. The so-called Save Darfur Coalition, which has gained prominence in the bourgeois media as the vanguard of a humanitarian movement, is in fact made up of right-wing U.S. Christian evangelicals and Zionists, such as the Christian National Association of Evangelicals and the American Jewish World Service. The imperialist powers also are attempting to use the U.N. Security Council to force more concessions on Sudan's government. On Jan. 1, the joint U.N.-A.U. force is set to take over the peacekeeping mission in Sudan. Bashir has resisted any further infringements on Sudans sovereignty. As a result, the Washington is pushing a 30-day deadline to force Bashir to accept the deployment of U.N.-A.U. soldiers. Failure to submit to the force would mean that Bashir and other government officials will face targeted sanctions. The new round of targeted sanctions is aimed at economically isolating Bashir and his allies with the hope of making them more susceptible to being overthrown by pro-imperialist forces. The U.S. campaign against Sudan is hypocritical and racist. The humanitarian crisis in Sudan pales in comparison to the brutal realities of the U.S. war on Iraq. The same capitalist press that throws around numbers of 200,000 dead and 2 million displaced in Sudan ignores the fact that U.S. policies in Iraq have killed over 2 million Iraqis since 1990. Four million Iraqis are refugees due to the 2003 invasion alone. U.S. policy in Sudan is just one part of a greater global desire to crush all opposition to imperialism. U.S. hands off Sudan! http://www.pslweb.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr012=pwiyos2bg3.app1bpage=NewsArticleid=7819news_iv_ctrl=1261 - Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Cageprisoners.com: Anwar Al Awlaqi Released from Custody
25/12/2007 Imam Anwar Al Awlaki Released From Custody (Updated with Message from Anwar Al-Awlaki) Cageprisoners.com can confirm that Imam Anwar Al Awlaki was released from prison on 12th December 2007, after almost a year and a half behind bars in Yemen. Imam Anwar wrote, in an email to Cageprisoners The time I spent in detention was a great blessing from Allah. They were moments of contemplation and study which I was greatly in need of. Alhamdulillah, Allah has blessed me during that time of solitude with tranquility and peace to the extent that at most of the time I was preferring detention over freedom. Now that I am free I ask Allah to enable me to thank Him for his blessings. I am greatly moved to know that many of my brothers and sisters have been asking about my situation and praying for my release. I thank them all. May Allah reward all of you with Paradise. We thank all of you who took action on his behalf and remembered him in your prayers. If you would like to send Imam Anwar a message, please email us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] and we will pass it on. http://www.cageprisoners.com/campaigns.php?id=630 - Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Inner City Press: Behind Lockheed's No-Bid UN Contract in Sudan
Behind Lockheed's No-Bid UN Contract, Condi Rice and UN's Guehenno in Late 2006 Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis UNITED NATIONS, December 5 -- The head of UN peacekeeping was urging that U.S.-based military contractor Lockheed Martin be given a no-bid UN contract in Sudan as far back as December 2006, documents obtained by Inner City Press show. This calls into question the UN's defense of the $250 million sole source contract with Lockheed's subsidiary Pacific Architects Engineers (PAE) that the UN announced on October 15, claiming that the UN Security Council's July 31 resolution to send peacekeepers to Darfur required scrapping any competitive process to find the lowest bidder. In fact, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrote to the UN in November 2006 that The U.S. has already provided AMIS $300 million in in-kind assistance, primarily for the construction, operation, and maintenance of 34 troop camps -- the backbone of the AMIS mission. Unfortunately, the U.S. is not currently in a position to provide the 'urgent additional material and financial assistance' you requested for AMIS in your October 7 letter... The financial situation of AMIS and its voluntary partners only underscores the need for rapid transition of AMIS to a UN peacekeeping mission. (Click here for the Rice letter, and then-Ambassador John Bolton's cover letter). The in-kind assistance of the U.S. was money paid by the U.S. State Department to American contractor PAE. The U.S. General Accounting Office had criticized the State Department for its contracting with PAE, and requested the work to be bid out. Instead, Secretary Rice wrote to the UN urging a transition from AMIS to the UN. Two and a half weeks later on December 4, the head of UN peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno wrote to UN Controller Warren Sach urging sole source to PAE: Currently, PAE Government Services contracted by the US State Department provide all camp support to AMIS in Darfur and have deployed significant logistic and engineering capabilities to Darfur to enable them to do this. DPKO has already sought US approval to extend the PAE contract to include support to the UN Light Support Package offered to AMIS. However, it is likely that the US State Department will only agree to sanction the Letter of Assist under which PAE will provide support to the UN for a period of four months. Therefore, it is crucial for the UN to engage PAE directly in order to ensure that they are available to continue to provide the support required and if necessary, extend it to enable to delivery of the Heavy Support Package. The specific area requiring immediate action is the need for an accelerated sole source bidding procedure to be put in place for an engineer and camp management contract between PAE and the UN... In addition to the PAE contract, we will need to follow the same procedure to outsource a contract management capability to supervise all aspects of the running of the PAE contract. Already in the UN's budget committee, the Russian Federal has asked why before the Security Council voted on July 31, 2007 to create the UN mission to Darfur, it wasn't told of moves already afoot to award a no-bid infrastructure contract to Lockheed Martin. The question was based on an April 17, 2007 memo, previously obtained and published by Inner City Press, in which the head of the UN's Department of Field Support (DFS) Jane Holl Lute wrote to Controller Sach urging sole source with PAE. Other member states, including Singapore, Canada and Angola on behalf of the African Group, also expressed concerns about this timing. Now it becomes public that the move to sole source with U.S.-based PAE began in 2006, triggered by a letter from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. There were already questions to be answered, to the UN's Fifth Committee. Condi Rice and Ban Ki-moon, Lockheed's no-bid contract not shown At Wednesday's UN noon briefing, Inner City Press asked spokesperson Marie Okabe: Inner City Press: When you said, maybe it's more than a week ago now... that either someone from Procurement or the Department of Field Support would be coming to talk about the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur sole source contract. When is that going to happen? Deputy Spokesperson: I think we've made that request, and Michele has mentioned to you that as soon as the Fifth Committee deliberations were over, they were prepared to come here. So I can follow up on that for you. Just after this exchange, in a QA not included in the UN transcript, the General Assembly spokesman said that questions remain in the Fifth Committee, and that he could not provide a date when deliberations would end. That is, there is still no date for the UN to provide any public answers to the questions that
Bismillah [IslamCity] Students hired to promote Israel
Students hired to promote Israel 12/17/2007 http://www.jta. org/cgi-bin/ iowa/breaking/ 105928.html An advocacy group is hiring students as on-campus promoters of Israel. StandWithUs is offering up to $1,000 a year this semester to 38 Emerson fellows, Jewish student leaders at key colleges and universities targeted by the organization. Their duties will include bringing in speakers and films that show Israel in a positive light. Officials from StandWithUs told reporters that they gave particular consideration to applicants from problem campuses such as Columbia, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan, which the organization identifies as hotbeds of anti-Israel sentiment. More than 100 students applied for the fellowships, funded by California-based philanthropists Rita and Steven Emerson. StandWithUs is an international pro-Israel education organization founded in 2001. - Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
Bismillah [IslamCity] World Against War Conference
World Against War Conference 1 December 2007 A Call for International Demonstrations on 15-22 March, 2008 Over 1,200 delegates from the anti war movement across the globe came to London for the World Against War International Peace Conference in London. Delegates from 26 countries addressed the conference, reported on developments in their regions and discussed strategy for the movement. The conference issued a declaration which is included below. There was unanimous agreement to organise demonstrations for Troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan and against an attack on Iran in every country around the fifth anniversary of the attack on Iraq between 15 and 22 March. Delgates attended from Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Egypt, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Somalia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States. - Check out the videos of the speeches delivered at the World Against War conference (London, 1 December 2007) on the Web site of the Stop the War coalition. Here are some of the videos: Karamat Ali, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education Abbas Edalat, Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran Sabah Jawad, Iraqi Democrats Against Occupation Marzieh Mortazi Langroudi, Mothers for Peace, Iran Ibrahim Mousawi, Editor, Al Intiqad (Hezbollah's newspaper) Mohammad Omidvar, Tudeh Elaleh Rostami Povey, Campaign Iran Sami Ramadani, a political exile from Iraq and a senior lecturer at London Metropolitan University Hamdeen Sabahy, MP, Al-Karama (Dignity), Egypt - Declaration of World Against War Conference This conference of delegates from peace, anti-war, anti-imperialist and liberation movements across the world declares its opposition to the endless war prosecuted by the US government against states, peoples and movements in all parts of our planet. We oppose the interference of the US and its allies in sovereign states, and assert the right of all peoples to self-determination. We support all people fighting for peace and against imperialism. In particular, we demand: An immediate end to the illegal military occupation of Iraq, which has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and displaced millions of people, a withdrawal of all foreign troops and the full transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people and their representatives. A halt to all preparations for an attack against Iran, and a commitment to solve any issues through exclusively diplomatic means. A withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, allowing the Afghan people to determine their own future Justice for the Palestinian people, and an end to Israeli aggression throughout the Middle East. An end to plans for US missile defence, and that all states actively pursue nuclear disarmament. We affirm the solidarity of all those fighting for peace, social justice and self-determination worldwide, and commit ourselves to strengthening our unity and developing new forms of co-operation. We therefore designate the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq as a worldwide day of action in support of the demands NO ATTACK on IRAN and TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN and call on all national anti-war movements to hold mass protests and demonstrations on that day. - URL: mrzine.monthlyreview.org/waw151207.html - Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Losing Somalia, US Eyes Somaliland
Losing Somalia, US Eyes Somaliland Islamonline.net Newspapers CAIRO With its allies failing to stabilize war-racked Somalia, the US is turning its attention to the breakaway Somaliland as the new card to play in the strategic Horn of Africa region. Somaliland should be independent, one defense official told the Washington Post on Tuesday, December 4. Somaliland is an autonomous region in the north-western portion of Somalia that advocates independence from Mogadishu. The breakaway territory of some 3.5 million people declared independence in 1991, but is not internationally recognized. American officials are now examining whether the US should give support to the region's independence. They argue that Somaliland could offer greater potential for US military assistance inside Somalia. We should build up the parts that are functional and box in unstable regions, particularly around Mogadishu, said the defense official. Somaliland's leaders have long distanced themselves from Somalia's central transitional government. The region has escaped much of the chaos and violence that plagued Somalia since neighboring Ethiopia sent in troops to oust the Islamic Courts in favor of the interim government. Since then, Somalia has plunged into abyss with daily shooting and fighting. Difficult Option The Pentagon's plan is facing opposition from the State Department, which believes Washington should not recognize Somaliland until the African Union does. We do not want to get ahead of the continental organization on an issue of such importance, Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi E. Frazer told the Post. The issue is diplomatically sensitive because recognizing Somaliland could set a precedent for other secession movements seeking to change colonial-era borders, opening a Pandora's box in the region. We're caught between a rock and a hard place because they're not a recognized state, recognizes a senior official in the US Department of Defense. Other Pentagon officials fault the State's view altogether. The State Department wants to fix the broken part first, said the defense official. That's been a failed policy. In Djibouti, US military officials are eager to engage Somaliland. We'd love to, we're just waiting for State to give us the okay, said Navy Capt. Bob Wright, head of strategic communication for the Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa. The force is composed of about 1,800 US troops who conduct military training and reconstruction projects in the region. Washington says Somalia as the greatest source of instability in the Horn of Africa. Pro-Ethiopia But as US officials mull their options, they stand stubborn in supporting their Ethiopian ally in the war-torn nation. Any government that provides Somalis with assistance we support, including Ethiopia, a senior defense official affirmed. In recent months, several human rights groups have spoken out against Ethiopian violations in Somalia. They accuse Ethiopian forces of abuses such as raping, indiscriminate killing of civilians and bombing and burning of entire villages. I am unaware of specific allegations regarding the conduct of the Ethiopian troops, said the Pentagon official. Ethiopia has long been a strong ally of Washington in the strategic Horn of Africa. For years the US has been pouring weapons, military advisers and millions of dollars in military aid into Ethiopia, and the American military has trained Ethiopian troops at bases in the eastern region. http://www.islamonline.net/english/news/2007-12/04/02.shtml - Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Al Jazeera: Joe Sacco on Palestine
Joe Sacco on PalestineBy Omar Khalifa Sacco's work often portrays the Israeli raids as particularly brutal [Fantagraphics] I had a difficult time finding a job in journalism ... One that remotely interested me ... One that addressed the need to do something inspiring ... I never thought of it as a career path; never even thought of it as a hobby. It was a passion ... I would draw comics ... but still wanted to be a hard news reporter... As a result, Maltese cartoonist Joe Sacco, went to the West Bank and Gaza to spend time with Palestinians between 1991 and 1992. On his return to the US, he started writing and drawing the award-winning book, Palestine. With a special edition of the comic book released in November, Al Jazeera speaks to Sacco about his experiences, methodology, and the 15 years since the comic book's first release. Q: What were you trying to do with Palestine? I like to tell a story ... The way I tell a story is via comics, Joe Sacco, Palestine author I don't really know what I was trying to do, but I think my impetus for going was that I felt the American media had really misportrayed the situation [between Israel and the Palestinians] and I was really shocked by that. I grew up thinking of Palestinians as terrorists, and it took a lot of time, and reading the right things, to understand the power dynamic in the Middle East was not what I had thought it was... And basically, it upset me enough that I wanted to go, and, in a small way, give the Palestinians a voice - a lense through which people could see their lives. There are two ways in which Palestinians are portrayed - as terrorist and as victim. There may be truth in certain situations for both descriptions, but Palestinians are also people going to school, who have families, have lives, invite you into their home, and think about their food. I'm deeply saddened by what's going on there ... the same is true for Bosnia. I was appalled by what was going on and went to see what I could do. I was compelled to go and do these stories, was this was the only form of solidarity that I could offer from within me. There are so many things in the Middle East that I'm interested in - Lebanon, Hezbollah, Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria - but I feel that if I'm to pursue this course, I'll need to learn Arabic. Q: What was your methodology in creating Palestine? I wasn't sure what I was gong to be doing when I went to the Palestinian territories. I already had a minor career as a cartoonist and knew that was my direction. I went thinking, well, I'll do a travelogue of my experience there, but I knew I'd be talking to people and taking notes, so when I got there, I felt the journalist impulse came to the fore, interviewing people, getting stories, looking at the occupation and needing to do something about it. So I began looking at major aspects of occupation, finding people who had those experiences and finding people with something to say about it. It became methodical, but there were certainly more random aspects to the book. I let myself be pulled in many ways, with the mindset: What ever comes up, comes up. I took photos purely for reference, and I had a sketch book with me but I found myself not really using it. My photos aren't good; I only use them to have an idea of what things looked like as I mainly wanted to talk to people. The book has a very organic feel. So many of my adventures were random. I'd get into a taxi to a certain city, and I thought: Let's see who comes up to me. Someone was always likely to approach me and I'd say to them: I'm here to see how you live, what your lives are like. More often, the Palestinians I met would say: If you want to see something, follow me. People at that time appreciated your interest in them and their lives, and were less worried or paranoid like they are today. Q: Do you think your work tried to reconcile the differences between Israelis and Palestinians? I wasn't trying to reconcile the differences between Israelis and Palestinians. I wanted to show some of the small issues related to the occupation. In fact, I don't think I showed anything spectacular. I heard torture stories that were unusually harsh, but I decided not to use those kinds of stories, and instead something less shocking, something more of an everyman experience. I think it's the everyman experience that people can relate to. It's harder to imagine; harder to put yourself in the picture of someone who is being humiliated. For the average Westerner, the hooding of a detainee, stress positions, sleep deprivation ... obviously all Americans know that goes on now, but those sorts of things go on in cells all over the world.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Arab Funds for Darfur Reconstruction
Arab Funds for Darfur Reconstruction By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent The Arabs raised $250 million for Darfur, in addition to pledges for establishing a number of clinics, schools and housing projects KHARTOUM The Arab League held on October 30-31 a conference in the Sudanese capital to address the humanitarian situation in Darfur. The conference raised $250 million for the war-torn region, in addition to pledges for establishing a number of clinics, schools and housing projects. IOL interviewed Hasan 'Abd Allah Bargu, head of the Darfur Organizations Network for Peace and Development, a co-organizer. The Network comprises 186 national NGOs involved in different fields of humanitarian work in Darfur. IOL: Who initiated the Arab conference? Bargu: It stated as proposal from the Darfur Organizations Network. We asked to go to Cairo in November 2004, to explain our vision. The Egyptian Council for African Affairs, which is a network for voluntary organizations like us, officially invited us. We agreed with them that the Arab League should play a role, along with civil society organizations, even though the Arab League traditionally focuses on politics, not humanitarian work. We submitted a joint proposal to the Arab League and met Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa in December 2004. We followed up on the proposal till it was approved in the Riyadh summit this year [2007]. No one can claim the success of this exclusively. Many sides helped us, including the Sudanese government, which eased our travel. That is why we asked for the conference to be in Khartoum, to send a strong message. This is the first time that Arab governmental and non-governmental work is integrated, because historically Arab governments feared civil society groups. For us, to meet in this type of humanitarian work is a great achievement. IOL: How do you asses the recent Arab conference? Some say it came too late Bargu: Anyone who says that the Arab conference was a failure is wrong. First, no European country brought us even $ 10 million in cash. The Arabs have provided $ 250 million dollars as a first step. Second, we were able to make a break-through among our people. Some among the African tribes in Darfur, including my tribe, used to think that the Arab governments supported the Sudanese government. This was not true, but this was the impression among some in Darfur. But we were able to correct this impression. This is one of the positive outcomes of the conference that surpasses any dollar amount of aid. Now all the elements in the Darfur society can move forward in the same direction to achieve peace. Third, we need around $ 836 million dollars to re-settle the refugees and re-build the burned villages. When the work starts, we are optimistic that it can be done. IOL: Shouldnt then, theoretically, Arab and Western financial support be enough to re-build Darfur? Bargu: Yes, but we dont see this Western support. It comes in the form of UN armored cars and Land-Cruisers. Go to Airport Street in Khartoum and all you see is UN armored auto-mobiles. Who rides them and why? This is a problem. IOL: Were there any Arab NGOs in the conference that may be considered oppositional or anti-governmental? Bargu: Yes, there were some human rights groups. But we all agreed on the humanitarian dimension and to work together, even with governments. It is our ummah that is targeted, regardless of our opinions of our governments. We officially invited thirty eight organizations, but sixty-eight came. IOL: What about the role of Arab relief organizations? Bargu: We the people of Darfur are clearly aware of what was happening when the crisis started. Arab organizations were present in Darfur from the beginning. But many were concerned with the way the conflict was portrayed by the Western media, as Arab vs. African, so Arab organizations were reluctant to become visible. Arab medical missions were present from day one, but they were not organized. Now theyve become better organized. IOL: Which organizations were present? Bargu: The Saudi Red Crescent, the Egyptian Red Crescent, medical teams from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and almost all the Arab Red Crescent organizations were in Darfur. Arab governments wanted clarification on the nature of the crisis, so we sent our delegation to the Arab League and met with many Arab officials and explained to them that much of what was being reported about Darfur was not true. - http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1195032517497pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout - Be a better sports nut!
Bismillah [IslamCity] CAIR: OFFICEMAX DROPS MICHAEL SAVAGE ADS OVER ANTI-ISLAM BIAS
OFFICEMAX DROPS MICHAEL SAVAGE ADS OVER ANTI-ISLAM BIAS (WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/15/2007) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today announced that OfficeMax, a leading office products retailer, has joined a growing list of companies that have stopped advertising on Michael Savage's nationally-syndicated radio program because of the host's anti-Muslim views. CAIR recently reported that Savage, whose The Savage Nation airs on more than 300 radio stations nationwide, screamed attacks on Muslims, Islam and the Quran, Islam's revealed text, during his October 29, 2007, program . To listen to Savage's bigoted statements, click here. SEE: National Radio Host Goes on Anti-Muslim Tirade The Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group called on radio listeners of all faiths to contact companies that advertise on Savage's program to express their concerns about the host's anti-Muslim bigotry. Companies that have dropped ads from Savage's program include Citrix Systems Inc., a global leader in application delivery infrastructure. It is encouraging that companies nationwide are choosing not to associate with Mr. Savage's hatred and bigotry, said CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin. Freedom of speech includes the right not to subsidize hate. Rubin thanked OfficeMax for its prompt response to Muslim concerns. She said CAIR is asking other Savage advertisers to follow that company's example. CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 33 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. - END - CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; CAIR Communications Coordinator Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787 or 202-341-4171, E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] SEE ALSO: CAIR ACTION ALERT #529 ASK JCPENNEY TO FOLLOW OFFICEMAX'S EXAMPLE IMMEDIATE ACTIONS REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE. Hostile comments can and will be used by Savage to further defame Islam and Muslims.) 1. CONTACT JCPenney, today's featured Savage Nation advertiser. (Other advertisers will be featured in the future.) As part of the ongoing campaign to ask companies that advertise on The Savage Nation to stop buying air time on that program, today's featured company is JCPenney. Please contact company officials to express your concerns about their support of such a hate-filled program. CONTACT: Mr. Myron E. Ullman Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer J.C. Penney Company, Inc. 6501 Legacy Drive Plano, TX 75024 Tel: 972-431-1000 Fax: 972-431-9140 E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] COPY TO: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 2. Because The Savage Nation is a syndicated program, many of the advertisers vary from station to station. FIND OUT which station carries Michael Savage's program in your area, LISTEN to the program and write down the contact information for both local and national advertisers. CONTACT those advertisers to POLITELY inform them that you and your friends and family will not purchase their products or services as long as they continue to subsidize a hate-filled program. For a listing of radio stations that air Michael Savage's program, click here. 3. CONTACT Talk Radio Network, Michael Savage's syndicator, to express your concerns about his hate-filled attacks on Muslims, Islam and the Quran. Mr. Mark Masters Chief Executive Officer Talk Radio Network P.O. Box 3755 Central Point OR 97502 Phone: 541-664-8827 or 541-474-2297 Fax: 541-664-6250 or 866-876-5075 - Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Holy Land Foundation: Mistrial Declared in Muslim Charity Case
Mistrial Declared in Muslim Charity Case Judge Declares Mistrial for Most Defendants in Muslim Charity Trial By DAVID KOENIG The Associated Press DALLAS A judge declared a mistrial Monday for most former leaders of a Muslim charity accused of funding terrorism, after chaos broke out in the court when three jurors disputed the verdict that had been announced. One of the defendants, former Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development Chairman Mohammed El-Mezain, was acquitted of most charges. The outcome came about an hour after a confusing scene in the courtroom, in which three former leaders of the group were initially found not guilty. But then when jurors were polled, three of them said those verdicts were read incorrectly. Judge Joe A. Fish sent the jury back to resolve the differences, but after about an hour, Fish said he received a note from the jury saying 11 of 12 felt further deliberations will not lead them to reach a unanimous decision. The jury forewoman said she was surprised by the three jurors' actions. When we voted, there was no issue in the vote, she said. No one spoke up any different. I really don't understand where it is coming from. In all, five former Holy Land leaders and the group were accused of providing aid to the Middle Eastern militant group Hamas. The U.S. government designated Hamas a terrorist group in 1995 and again in 1997, making financial transactions with the group illegal. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. DALLAS (AP) A judge declared a mistrial Monday for most former leaders of a Muslim charity accused of funding terrorism, after chaos broke out in the court when three jurors disputed the verdict that had been announced. One of the defendants, former Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development Chairman Mohammed El-Mezain, was acquitted of most charges. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3760351 __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
Bismillah [IslamCity] Fury at DNA pioneer's theory: Africans are less intelligent than Westerners
Fury at DNA pioneer's theory: Africans are less intelligent than Westerners Celebrated scientist attacked for race comments: All our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really By Cahal Milmo Published: 17 October 2007 One of the world's most eminent scientists was embroiled in an extraordinary row last night after he claimed that black people were less intelligent than white people and the idea that equal powers of reason were shared across racial groups was a delusion. James Watson, a Nobel Prize winner for his part in the unravelling of DNA who now runs one of America's leading scientific research institutions, drew widespread condemnation for comments he made ahead of his arrival in Britain today for a speaking tour at venues including the Science Museum in London. The 79-year-old geneticist reopened the explosive debate about race and science in a newspaper interview in which he said Western policies towards African countries were wrongly based on an assumption that black people were as clever as their white counterparts when testing suggested the contrary. He claimed genes responsible for creating differences in human intelligence could be found within a decade. The newly formed Equality and Human Rights Commission, successor to the Commission for Racial Equality, said it was studying Dr Watson's remarks in full. Dr Watson told The Sunday Times that he was inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa because all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours whereas all the testing says not really. He said there was a natural desire that all human beings should be equal but people who have to deal with black employees find this not true. His views are also reflected in a book published next week, in which he writes: There is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically. Our wanting to reserve equal powers of reason as some universal heritage of humanity will not be enough to make it so. The furore echoes the controversy created in the 1990s by The Bell Curve, a book co-authored by the American political scientist Charles Murray, which suggested differences in IQ were genetic and discussed the implications of a racial divide in intelligence. The work was heavily criticised across the world, in particular by leading scientists who described it as a work of scientific racism. Dr Watson arrives in Britain today for a speaking tour to publicise his latest book, Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science. Among his first engagements is a speech to an audience at the Science Museum organised by the Dana Centre, which held a discussion last night on the history of scientific racism. Critics of Dr Watson said there should be a robust response to his views across the spheres of politics and science. Keith Vaz, the Labour chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: It is sad to see a scientist of such achievement making such baseless, unscientific and extremely offensive comments. I am sure the scientific community will roundly reject what appear to be Dr Watson's personal prejudices. These comments serve as a reminder of the attitudes which can still exists at the highest professional levels. The American scientist earned a place in the history of great scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century when he worked at the University of Cambridge in the 1950s and 1960s and formed part of the team which discovered the structure of DNA. He shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for medicine with his British colleague Francis Crick and New Zealand-born Maurice Wilkins. But despite serving for 50 years as a director of the Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory on Long Island, considered a world leader in research into cancer and genetics, Dr Watson has frequently courted controversy with some of his views on politics, sexuality and race. The respected journal Science wrote in 1990: To many in the scientific community, Watson has long been something of a wild man, and his colleagues tend to hold their collective breath whenever he veers from the script. In 1997, he told a British newspaper that a woman should have the right to abort her unborn child if tests could determine it would be homosexual. He later insisted he was talking about a hypothetical choice which could never be applied. He has also suggested a link between skin colour and sex drive, positing the theory that black people have higher libidos, and argued in favour of genetic screening and engineering on the basis that stupidity could one day be cured. He has claimed that beauty could be genetically manufactured, saying: People say it would be terrible if we made all girls
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] No Genocide in Darfur: Carter
No Genocide in Darfur: Carter IslamOnline.net Newspapers If you read the law textbooks ... you'll see very clearly that it's not genocide, said Carter. CAIRO The United States is exaggerating when it described the Darfur conflict as genocide, former US president Jimmy Carter has said, warning that the use of the term was legally inaccurate and unhelpful, The Christian Science Monitor reported Friday. There is a legal definition of genocide and Darfur does not meet that legal standard. The atrocities were horrible but I don't think it qualifies to be called genocide, said Carter, a member of the group of Elders who visited Darfur and included Archbishop Desmond Tutu, rights advocate Graca Machel, and entrepreneur Richard Branson. Nobel laureate Carter, whose charitable foundation, the Carter Center, worked to establish the International Criminal Court (ICC), said: If you read the law textbooks ... you'll see very clearly that it's not genocide and to call it genocide falsely just to exaggerate a horrible situation I don't think it helps. Carter said the problems in Darfur need a political solution and called on participants at crucial peace talks in Libya on October 27 to be patient. Washington is almost alone in branding the 4 1/2 years of violence in Darfur genocide. Khartoum rejects the term, European governments are reluctant to use it and a UN-appointed commission of inquiry found no genocide. The World Health Organization has further said the term is much hyped, but said there is a humanitarian catastrophe in the troubled region. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a group of people because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion, or race. The term, derived from the Greek genos (race, tribe, or nation) and the Latin cide (killing), was coined by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-born jurist who served as an adviser to the U.S. Department of War during World War II. Pampering Brahimi said the West has pampered Darfur rebels a lot. Carter's criticism of the West's handling of the Darfur crisis was joined by veteran UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who accused the West of pampering the rebels. The international community has acted rather irresponsibly on all this in the past by pampering a lot of these people around - not really wondering whether they really represented anybody and whether they were acting responsibly, said Brahimi. Brahimi warned that the West needs to ensure that the people of Darfur are properly represented at the talks. Brahimi also urged a comprehensive peace in Sudan, Africa's largest country. We cannot solve Darfur if the CPA (comprehensive performance assessment) is crumbling, he said. Brahimi's and Carter's comments come at the end the Elders' two-day mission to Sudan. Wrapping up their visit on Thursday, October 4, the Elders called for the rapid deployment of a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur. It's quite clear to us that the crucial element to end the suffering of the people of Darfur is for the hybrid force to be deployed as soon as possible, Tutu told reporters in Khartoum. His comments followed an attack on African Union peacekeepers in Darfur last Saturday that left 10 African troops dead, the bloodiest yet on the struggling AU force. The mission is the first for The Elders, a group launched by fellow Nobel laureate and former South African president Nelson Mandela. They went to experience first hand the suffering of the people of Darfur and find ways to end violence in a region plagued by four years of civil war that has left an estimated 200,000 people dead, according to UN estimates. Sudanese authorities say only 9,000 people have died. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1190886140707pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout - Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network Research Panel today!
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Sudanese Companies Decry US Sanctions by Isma'il Kamal
Sudanese Companies Decry US Sanctions By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent How can we solve Darfur by ending the work of those in the Sugar industry? Osman asks. KHARTOUM Sudanese companies affected by American economic sanctions complain of being punished for a crime they never committed. This has nothing to do with Darfur, insists Farouk Osman, the technical manager of the Sudanese Sugar Company. This is food stuff for the poor. Sugar is the cheapest source of carbohydrates for the poor. Why do they sanction such a company? The company, which deals with the cultivation and processing of sugar cane, is one of thirty-one companies of various specializations barred from the US financial system. US President George Bush announced the new package of sanctions in late May as part of efforts to pile up pressures on Khartoum to solve the Darfur conflict, raging since 2003. The sanctioned companies, which are mostly public-owned, include companies that provide food and medicine. Osman admits that his company depends on American technology for some of the cane loading equipment. We are trying to manufacture all the sugar cane processing equipment here. He does not buy the American argument that the sanctions would help solve the Darfur crisis. There are many Darfuris working here. How can we solve Darfur by ending the work of those in the Sugar industry? Osman asks. We think that this is a war on Sudans economy because this is an important economic sector. Medicine One of the sanctioned companies is WafraPharma, the only public-owned pharmaceutical company in Sudan. We are working in a humanitarian area for the production of essential drugs to help poor people, insists Dr. Abdalla Gargar, the companys general manager. We were astonished! WafraPharma, according to Gargar, focuses on the production of anti-malarial, anti-diarrhea and anti-biotical drugs. He maintains that these essential drugs are prescribed and recommended by the World Health Organization for poor third world countries. WHO sends inspectors from time to time to make sure of our compliance with good manufacturing standards. In addition to manufacturing inexpensive pharmaceuticals, WafraPharma also maintains small stocks of medicine for emergency crisis, such as Darfur and the recent floods that hit eastern and central Sudan. We have just completed our program for circulating pharmaceuticals for Darfur and other provinces, says Gargar. Less Effective We are doing nothing illegal. We are only a pharmaceutical plant, insists Dr. Gargar. Gargar does not think that the American sanctions will have a direct impact, because most of WafraPharma's raw material and machinery is not from the US, but from Europe. If sanctions are expanded to Europe it will create a problem. We are not going to wait for the axe to fall on our head. The fear of Europe joining the US in its sanctions gained more credence after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy threatened on August 31 of toughening sanctions if no progress was made on Darfur. Gargar he has already begun contacting suppliers in Europe to avoid any future problems. You have seen our premises. We are doing nothing illegal. We are only a pharmaceutical plant, is what Gargar intends to explain to his European suppliers. Abd al-Latif al-Buni, a political columnist with the widely-read Al-Rai Al-Aam newspaper, does not think that the sanctions will have a great direct impact. The US left Sudan gradually since 1983, politically and economically, that is why it will not have a serious impact because there are no relations. Khartoum has already agreed to the deployment of a UN-African Union hybrid-force, scheduled to replace the 7000-strong African peacekeeping mission in Darfur on December 31. Despite this political arrangement, the US has not indicated if it will lift sanctions against Sudan. In addition to the new package of sanctions, Washington maintains an earlier set of economic sanctions slapped against Sudan in 1997 on the ground of sponsoring terrorism. Affecting Investments Al-Buni, the political columnist, makes the point that the declaration of sanctions may have an indirect effect. This is an image issue. When the US says it boycotts a county even some Arab countries may become reserved [to invest in Sudan]. Dr. Abu al-Qasim Abu al-Nur, a professor of economics at the University of Khartoum, believes the sanctions impact depends on various factors. While Sudans trade with the US is insignificant he argues, the move may have an impact on the investment environment. Since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] DePaul Panel Lecture Oct 12 In Defence of Academic Freedom
26 August 2007 - In Defense of Academic Freedom - DePaul Students Launch Website and Organize LectureAugust 26th, 2007 | posted by webmaster **FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE** 26 August 2007 Media Contact: Daniel Klimek Tel: 773-817-1291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In Defense of Academic Freedom - DePaul Students and Community Launch Website and Organize Lecture to Highlight Violations October 12 2007 lecture featuring: Tariq Ali, Akeel Bilgrami, Noam Chomsky, Tony Judt and John Mearsheimer CHICAGO, IL -- DePaul University students, concerned over the controversial tenure denials of Dr. Norman Finkelstein and Dr. Mehrene Larudee by its administration, have launched a website (http://www.academicfreedomchicago.org) and have organized a conference to highlight the threat to academic freedom in universities. Since the tenure denials, prominent scholars across the country have begun speaking out. On October 12, 2007, the DePaul University Academic Freedom Committee, International Studies Program and Department of Philosophy, Diskord Journal (University of Chicago) and Verso Books will host a panel lecture featuring: * Dr. Akeel Bilgrami, Johnsonian Professor of Philosophy and Director of The Heyman Center, Columbia University * Dr. Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor Professor of Linguistics (Emeritus), Massachusetts Institute of Technology * Dr. Tony Judt, University Professor and Director of the Remarque Institute, New York University * Dr. John Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago * Dr. Neve Gordon, Professor, Department of Politics and Government, Ben-Gurion University Hosted by: * Tariq Ali, Editor of the New Left Review and Verso Books DePaul students have been protesting for academic freedom since June 2007, when tenure was denied to Professors Finkelstein and Larudee. After a meeting between 30 student leaders and DePaul President Dennis Holtschneider, the students hosted a sit-in in the executive offices of the president. The students were evicted, after several days, under the threat of expulsion. Students furthermore organized a visible protest at DePaul's graduation ceremonies, where countless graduates also refused to shake Fr. Holtshneider's hand, and recently numerous students publicly fasted for one-and-half weeks to express their seriousness and self-control regarding these vital issues and academic injustices. source: http://www.academicfreedomchicago.org/?q=node/40 - Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games.
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Bush executive order: Criminalizing the antiwar movement
Bush executive order: Criminalizing the antiwar movement By Prof. Michel Chossudovsky Global Research Jul 23, 2007, 00:59 The Executive Order entitled Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq provides the President with the authority to confiscate the assets of whoever opposes the US led war. A presidential Executive Order issued on July 17th, repeals with the stroke of a pen the right to dissent and to oppose the Pentagon's military agenda in Iraq. The Executive Order entitled Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq provides the President with the authority to confiscate the assets of certain persons who oppose the US led war in Iraq: I have issued an Executive Order blocking property of persons determined to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people. In substance, under this executive order, opposing the war becomes an illegal act. The Executive Order criminalizes the antiwar movement. It is intended to blocking property of US citizens and organizations actively involved in the peace movement. It allows the Department of Defense to interfere in financial affairs and instruct the Treasury to block the property and/or confiscate/ freeze the assets of Certain Persons involved in antiwar activities. It targets those Certain Persons in America, including civil society organizations, who oppose the Bush Administration' s peace and stability program in Iraq, characterized, in plain English, by an illegal occupation and the continued killing of innocent civilians. The Executive Order also targets those Certain Persons who are undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction , or who, again in plain English, are opposed to the confiscation and privatization of Iraq's oil resources, on behalf of the Anglo-American oil giants. The order is also intended for anybody who opposes Bush's program of political reform in Iraq, in other words, who questions the legitimacy of an Iraqi government installed by the occupation forces. Moreover, those persons or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), who provide bona fide humanitarian aid to Iraqi civilians, and who are not approved by the US Military or its lackeys in the US sponsored Iraqi puppet government are also liable to have their financial assets confiscated. The executive order violates the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the US Constitution. It repeals one of the fundamental tenets of US democracy, which is the right to free expression and dissent. The order has not been the object of discussion in the US Congress. So far, it has not been addressed by the US antiwar movement, in terms of a formal statement. Apart from a bland Associated Press wire report, which presents the executive order as an authority to use financial sanctions, there has been no media coverage or commentary of a presidential decision which strikes at the heart of the US Constitution. . Broader implications The criminalization of the State is when the sitting President and Vice President use and abuse their authority through executive orders, presidential directives or otherwise to define who are the criminals when in fact they are the criminals. This latest executive order criminalizes the peace movement. It must be viewed in relation to various pieces of anti-terrorist legislation, the gamut of presidential and national security directives, etc., which are ultimately geared towards repealing constitutional government and installing martial law in the event of a national emergency. The war criminals in high office are intent upon repressing all forms of dissent which question the legitimacy of the war in Iraq. The executive order combined with the existing anti-terrorist legislation is eventually intended to be used against the anti-war and civil rights movements. It can be used to seize the assets of antiwar groups in America as well as block the property and activities of non-governmental humanitarian organizations providing relief in Iraq, seizing the assets of alternative media involved in a reporting the truth regarding the US-led war, etc. In May 2007, Bush issued a major presidential National Security Directive (National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive NSPD 51/HSPD 20), which would suspend constitutional government and instate broad dictatorial powers under martial law in the case of a Catastrophic Emergency (e.g. Second 9/11 terrorist attack). On July 11, 2007, the CIA published its National Intelligence Estimate which pointed to an imminent Al Qaeda attack on America, a second 9/11 which, according to the terms
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] White Coup at Al-Jazeera Channel
White Coup at Al-Jazeera Channel Abdul Rahman Mansour, Ikhwaneb - Cairo, Egypt Thursday, June 28, 2007 Is there a change in Aljazeera's policies?!! This is what is currenly reported from behind the scenes of the most effective channel in the Middle East and may by in the world soon. Danny Schechter of Mediachannel.org said in his article Pro-US coup At Al-Jazeera: If true, this may mean the end of AlJazeeras journalistic independence and current orientation. Was The Bush Administration behind it? Then hat happened ? !! News carried a radical change in Al-Jazeera network, The Deputy Emir and Heir Apparent H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday issued the Emiri Decision No 28 of the year 2007 forming Al Jazeera Satellite Network board of directors, while Waddah Khanfar, the general manager of Al-Jazeera network and its Board member was absent. During the office tenure of Waddah Khanfar, the channel witnessed its most effective periods, from the Iraq war as Waddah went there and contributed to establishing the first office of the first Arab channel there, as Al-Jazeera office contributed to airinge the atmosphere of the US occupation of Iraq, disturbing successive Iraqi governments, till closing the office upon orders of the Iraqi government and the US administration!! Also, the war of Lebanon erupted to show Al-Jazeera's huge effect on the Arab minds as it contributed to showing the role of the Arab people in supporting the resistance of Israeli occupation of Arab lands. The British Daily Mirror newspaper reported that said it has reliable press reports confirming that US President George Bush informed British Prime Minister Tony Blair that the former plans to direct a strike against Aljazeera!! This proved the huge effect of this small-sized channel in a small country like Qatar!! Al-Jazeera's prominence was highlighted in its airing Muslim activities in Britain, and the United States, and supporting the reform agenda in the Arab world against the foreign reform that the US administration has been imposing on several Arab governments, till Hamas assumed power to turn the table against international and specifically US schemes. Till the latest sudden change took place !! The question is: Why has this white coup or change took place while during Khanfar was absent. and why was it staged by persons who are well known for their controversial professional history? !! It all started when the Emir of Qatar,Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani,received a security envoy from the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and received from the envoy two files about Waddah Khanfar, the first file was prepared by the Palestinian intelligence, and the second file was prepared by the Jordanian intelligence as he, Waddah Khanfar, lived in Jordan as a Palestinian refugee and graduated from a Jordanian university . Waddah Khanfar, an activist in the Hamas movement ( an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood group), and one of the most prominent leaders in Hamas Office in Sudan, where he led Al-Jazeera network towards a proficiency and prominence acknowledged all over the world. He has been moved now from his position and was replaced by Hamad Al Kuwari, Qatar 's previous ambassador to Washington, and ex-Minister of Information in Qatar . The board of directors includes persons who have a controversial professional history. Mahmoud Shamam, a Libyan dissident, appointed a member in the new board of directors, was the former chief of the Arab edition of the US magazine Newsweek which is distributed in the Middle East !! The new board of directors is headed by Hamad Bin Thamer Al Khalifa, the head of the channel's board of directors since it was established. Mahmoud Shamam is a US-leaning journalist. Ahmed Abdullah Al Khulaifi, a delegate member, has wide authorities in the general, executive and financial supervision of the channel, more than the powers given to Waddah Khanfar, the general manager of the network (Al-Jazeera Arabic- Al-Jazeera English - Al-Jazeera Documentary Al-Jazeera channel for children - Sports channels - Al-Jazeera.Net - Al-Jazeera research center- Al-Jazeera training center). Khanfar was removed from the new board of directors . The board includes also a woman for the first time, Mariam Rashed Youssef Al-Khater, an unknown journalist!! Hamad Abdul Aziz Al Kuwari was assigned with restructioning the strategy of the most prominent media channel in the Middle East . The board includes also Abdullah Mubarak Al Khulaifi, the ex- Qatari Minister of Information, and Abdul Aziz Al Mahmoud whom Waddah Khanfar previously ousted from heading the official website Aljazeera.net that covers both Al-Jazeera English and Arabic channels. Mohamed Ghifari, a journalist and observer of media affairs, told Ikhwanweb: What is striking about the new board of directors is that they do not
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] U.N. Mideast line swayed by U.S., Israel: ex-envoy
U.N. Mideast line swayed by U.S., Israel: ex-envoy Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:39PM EDT By Patrick Worsnip UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A former U.N. Middle East envoy quit his job last month making bitter allegations that U.N. policy in the region had failed because it was subservient to U.S. and Israeli interests, according to a leaked document. In a confidential end-of-mission report, seen by Reuters, Alvaro de Soto poured scorn on the Quartet negotiating group of the United States, Russia, European Union and United Nations, and suggested the world body should pull out. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday the report represented De Soto's personal views and disputed his former envoy's conclusion that the Quartet had become a side-show. De Soto, a Peruvian diplomat who formerly worked on El Salvador, Cyprus and the Western Sahara, spent two years on the Middle East before resigning in May, ending a 25-year U.N. career. He was replaced by Briton Michael Williams. His scathing 53-page farewell, addressed to a handful of top U.N. officials and first reported by Britain's Guardian newspaper in Wednesday editions, made clear he left because he was frustrated that he was being ignored. In the document dated May 5, he railed at restrictions he said were placed on him by U.N. headquarters against talking to the Hamas-led Palestinian government and to Syria. De Soto condemned economic sanctions imposed by Israel, the United States and the EU on Hamas after it won Palestinian elections last year and said their effective endorsement by the Quartet had had devastating consequences for Palestinians. The steps taken by the international community with the presumed purpose of bringing about a Palestinian entity that will live in peace with its neighbor Israel have had precisely the opposite effect, he wrote. Even-handedness has been pummeled into submission in an unprecedented way since the beginning of 2007. SIDE-SHOW Speaking to reporters, Ban regretted that De Soto's report had leaked out, but said: I'd like to make it clear that this is his personal view. I would not agree with his point that the Quartet has been kind of some side-show. He said the grouping had been re-energized and noted that at its next meeting, in Egypt later this month, it would meet Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, Saudi Arabian, Jordanian, Qatari, Syrian and Arab League officials. De Soto sharply criticized the Islamist Hamas movement for advocating Israel's destruction, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a foe of Hamas, for weak leadership, and the Palestinian failure to halt militant attacks on Israeli civilians. But he also charged that Israeli policies seemed perversely designed to encourage the continued action by Palestinian militants. De Soto blasted what he called the tendency that exists among U.S. policy-makers ... to cower before any hint of Israeli displeasure and to pander shamelessly before Israeli-linked audiences. But much of his criticism was aimed at the United Nations, where, he said, a premium is put on good relations with the U.S. and improving the U.N.'s relationship with Israel. I don't honestly think the U.N. does Israel any favors at all by not speaking frankly to it about its failings regarding the peace process, De Soto said. He said Ban should seriously reconsider continued U.N. membership in the Quartet, which he said had become pretty much a group of friends of the U.S. De Soto said he regretted that his advice to U.N. headquarters had gone unheeded. I concluded that my uphill effort was not going to succeed, he said. http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1337665520070613 - Got a little couch potato? Check out fun summer activities for kids.
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] ANC calls for participation in week of solidarity with Palestinians
ANC calls for participation in week of solidarity with Palestinians RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The African National Congress (ANC) along with a range of other organisations called on all South Africans to join the international week of action in solidarity with the Palestinian people starting 4 June 2007, according to an ANC press release on Monday. Participants in the activities of this week, which marks the 40th anniversary of the occupation by Israel of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights, will add their voice to the global call for an end to the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory by Israel. Protests are being coordinated by the End the Occupation Campaign, comprising almost 20 civil society organisations, social movements, solidarity organisations, political parties and faith-based organisations. Today, thirteen years after the end of apartheid, South Africans need to join hands and act in solidarity with the people of Palestine as they struggle for the realisation of their basic human rights. These include the right to self-determination and the return of the people of Palestine, the ANC press release said. The ANC in Parliament has called for a debate on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Palestine and Israel, particularly the recent detention of members of the Palestinian legislature. On Thursday, Members of Parliament will participate in a picket in the Cape Town City Centre to highlight this campaign. The solidarity activities will culminate, on Saturday 9 June, in a mass march in Cape Town and a mass protest meeting at the Johannesburg City Hall. - Need Mail bonding? Go to the Yahoo! Mail QA for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users.
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Darfur Advocacy Group Undergoes a Shake-Up
I am deeply concerned by the inability of Save Darfur to be informed by the realities on the ground and to understand the consequences of your proposed actions, Aid groups also complain that Save Darfur, whose budget last year was $15 million, does not spend that money on aid for the long-suffering citizens of the region. Darfur Advocacy Group Undergoes a Shake-Up By STEPHANIE STROM and LYDIA POLGREEN June 2, 2007 http://www.nytimes. com/2007/ 06/02/world/ africa/02darfur. html?ex=11814480 00en=7e44ec3f4b 06eeb3ei= 5070emc= eta1 Even as advocacy groups attained the seeming triumph of President Bush's new sanctions against Sudan, the organization that helped bring the conflict in Darfur to the world's attention is in upheaval, firing its executive director, reorganizing its board and rethinking its strategies. At the heart of the shake-up are questions of whether the former executive director of the organization, the Save Darfur Coalition, wisely used a sudden influx of money from a few anonymous donors in an advertising blitz to push for action. The advertisements strained relationships with aid groups working on the ground in Darfur, the western region of Sudan, where at least 200,000 people have been killed and millions have fled their homes. Many of the groups opposed some of the tone and content of Save Darfur's high-decibel advocacy campaign. Coalition board members sought to minimize the dispute, saying that tensions had existed between advocates and aid workers in previous crises, like Kosovo, and that the organization' s rapid growth and changing membership had motivated the board's decision to remove the director, David Rubenstein. We are grateful for the extraordinary job he has done and wish him the best in his search for new opportunities for public service, said Ruth W. Messinger, president of the American Jewish World Service and a Save Darfur board member, who declined to discuss the reasons for Mr. Rubenstein's dismissal. Allyn Brooks-LaSure, a spokesman for the organization, said Mr. Rubenstein was not available for comment. Perhaps no cause in Africa since the campaign to end apartheid in South Africa has drawn such wide and deep grass-roots support across the political spectrum. Many activists, politicians and policy makers praise Save Darfur in particular for its role in raising awareness about the crisis. It is extraordinary, said Samantha Power, a professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. The fact that Darfur is even on the policy map along with Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, global warming, the fact that Darfur merits an 8 a.m. statement by the president, is testament to one thing and one thing alone, and that is this movement. The group says it has delivered more than a million postcards to Mr. Bush, organized mass rallies that have drawn tens of thousands of participants and urged its members to wear green wristbands emblazoned with the anti-genocide motto Not on our watch. But Save Darfur has gotten into hot water with aid groups helping the refugees of the conflict. In February it began a high-profile advertising campaign that included full-page newspaper ads, television spots and billboards calling for more aggressive action in Darfur, including the imposition of a no-flight zone over the region. Aid groups and even some activists say banning flights could do more harm than good, because it could stop aid flights. Many aid groups fly white airplanes and helicopters that may look similar to those used by the Sudanese government, putting their workers at risk in a no-flight zone. Sam Worthington, the president and chief executive of InterAction, a coalition of aid groups, complained to Mr. Rubenstein by e-mail that Save Darfur's advertising was confusing the public and damaging the relief effort. I am deeply concerned by the inability of Save Darfur to be informed by the realities on the ground and to understand the consequences of your proposed actions, Mr. Worthington wrote. He noted that contrary to assertions in its initial ads, Save Darfur did not represent any of the organizations working in Darfur, and he accused it of misstating facts. He said its endorsement of plans that included a no-flight zone and the use of multilateral forces could easily result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of individuals. Another aid group, Action Against Hunger, said in a statement last week that a forced intervention by United Nations troops without the approval of the Sudanese government could have disastrous consequences that risk triggering a further escalation of violence while jeopardizing the provision of vital humanitarian assistance to millions of people. Aid groups also complain that Save Darfur, whose budget last year was $15 million, does not spend that money on aid for the long-suffering citizens of the region. The tension between aid and advocacy is not unique to the Darfur conflict, though it is almost
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Where anti-Arab prejudice and oil make the difference
Where anti-Arab prejudice and oil make the difference The contrast in western attitudes to Darfur and Congo shows how illiberal our concept of intervention really is Roger Howard Wednesday May 16, 2007 Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2080265,00.html In a remote corner of Africa, millions of civilians have been slaughtered in a conflict fuelled by an almost genocidal ferocity that has no end in sight. Victims have been targeted because of their ethnicity and entire ethnic groups destroyed - but the outside world has turned its back, doing little to save people from the wrath of the various government and rebel militias. You could be forgiven for thinking that this is a depiction of the Sudanese province of Darfur, racked by four years of bitter fighting. But it describes the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has received a fraction of the media attention devoted to Darfur. The UN estimates that 3 million to 4 million Congolese have been killed, compared with the estimated 200,000 civilian deaths in Darfur. A peace deal agreed in December 2002 has never been adhered to, and atrocities have been particularly well documented in the province of Kivu - carried out by paramilitary organisations with strong governmental links. In the last month alone, thousands of civilians have been killed in heavy fighting between rebel and government forces vying for control of an area north of Goma, and the UN reckons that another 50,000 have been made refugees. How curious, then, that so much more attention has been focused on Darfur than Congo. There are no pressure groups of any note that draw attention to the Congolese situation. In the media there is barely a word. The politicians are silent. Yet if ever there were a case for the outside world to intervene on humanitarian grounds alone - liberal interventionism - then surely this is it. The key difference between the two situations lies in the racial and ethnic composition of the perceived victims and perpetrators. In Congo, black Africans are killing other black Africans in a way that is difficult for outsiders to identify with. The turmoil there can in that sense be regarded as a narrowly African affair. In Darfur the fighting is portrayed as a war between black Africans, rightly or wrongly regarded as the victims, and Arabs, widely regarded as the perpetrators of the killings. In practice these neat racial categories are highly indistinct, but it is through such a prism that the conflict is generally viewed. It is not hard to imagine why some in the west have found this perception so alluring, for there are numerous people who want to portray the Arabs in these terms. In the United States and elsewhere those who have spearheaded the case for foreign intervention in Darfur are largely the people who regard the Arabs as the root cause of the Israel-Palestine dispute. From this viewpoint, the events in Darfur form just one part of a much wider picture of Arab malice and cruelty. Nor is it any coincidence that the moral frenzy about intervention in Sudan has coincided with the growing military debacle in Iraq - for as allied casualties in Iraq have mounted, so has indignation about the situation in Darfur. It is always easier for a losing side to demonise an enemy than to blame itself for a glaring military defeat, and the Darfur situation therefore offers some people a certain sense of catharsis. Humanitarian concern among policymakers in Washington is ultimately self-interested. The United States is willing to impose new sanctions on the Sudan government if the latter refuses to accept a United Nations peacekeeping force, but it is no coincidence that Sudan, unlike Congo, has oil - lots of it - and strong links with China, a country the US regards as a strategic rival in the struggle for Africa's natural resources; only last week Amnesty International reported that Beijing has illicitly supplied Khartoum with large quantities of arms. Nor has the bloodshed in Congo ever struck the same powerful chord as recent events in Somalia, where a new round of bitter fighting has recently erupted. At the end of last year the US backed an Ethiopian invasion of Somalia to topple an Islamic regime that the White House perceived as a possible sponsor of anti-American terrorists. The contrasting perceptions of events in Congo and Sudan are ultimately both cause and effect of particular prejudices. Those who argue for liberal intervention, to impose rights, freedom and democracy, ultimately speak only of their own interests. To view their role in such altruistic terms always leaves them open to well-founded accusations of double standards that damage the international standing of the intervening power and play into the hands of its enemies. By seeing foreign conflicts through the prism of their own prejudices,
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Israel views Darfur Tragedy as Hasbara opportunity
http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2007/05/13/p16762 Israel views Darfur Tragedy as Hasbara opportunity Khalid Amayreh News Analysis by Khalid Amayreh in East Jerusalem In a clearly propagandistic effort, the Israeli government, in coordination with American Zionist organizations, has decided to give a relatively small amount of aid to Refugees in Darfur. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who vehemently opposes the repatriation of Palestinian refugees to their homes, from which they were expelled at gunpoint by Jewish terrorist gangs in 1948, was quoted on Sunday, 13 May, as saying that the donation of $5 million dollars was intended to relieve the intolerable situation in the tragedy-stricken Western Sudan region. As I said when I spoke before the United Nations last year, there are certain places in which the world must act. Livni was quoted as saying. Livni, however, tacitly admitted that at least one of the reasons, if not the main reason, for the Darfur aid program was to enhance Israels image abroad. In fact, this seems to be the main goal of the proposed aid to Darfur, namely enhancing Israels ugly image. Israel is probably one of the worlds premier criminal state as far as treatment of refugees is concerned, given its systematic persecution of the Palestinian people and rabid refusal to allow Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in what is now Israel. Indeed, apart from stealing Palestinian land, demolishing Palestinian homes and bulldozing Palestinians farms, fields and orchards, the Israeli government has been denying Palestinians free access to food and work, pushing numerous Palestinian families to the brink of starvation and even famine. And Israel always has a ready mantra to justify the ugly practice: Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation. According to a United Nations report presented to the Donors Conference several months ago, 37% of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip had trouble getting food in 2004. Another 27% were at risk of running into such difficulties, Moreover, the report showed that nearly half the Palestinian population was poor, with poverty rate in the Gaza Strip reaching a staggering 65%, the report continued. Up to 16% of Palestinians550,000were living on $1.5 a day, with the likelihood that the figure will rise to 35% if aid is not forthcoming. More to the point, it is widely believed that malnutrition among children in the West Bank and especially in the Gaza strip is now at the highest level since 1967, with the main reason being Israels refusal to allow Palestinian breadwinners to access work. In addition, Israel has been effectively stealing Palestinian money by way of withholding the transfer of more than $750 million dollars of tax revenue to the Palestinian government. Indeed, Israels adamant refusal to release the monthly payments, which represent more than one third of the Palestinian Authority (PA) budget has caused what amounts to be a financial meltdown in the erstwhile autonomous enclaves, crippling the PA governments ability to pay salaries for the estimated 150,000 civil servants. Besides seeking to enhance its essentially ugly image, Israel apparently hopes that by highlighting and publicizing Jewish aid to Muslim refugees, Israeli and Zionist circles will be able to have the moral high ground and therefore divert attention from Israels Nazi-like practices against the peoples of the Middle East, especially the Palestinians and the Lebanese. Last year, the Israeli air force dropped nearly 3000,000 cluster bomblets over Lebanon, causing the death and maiming of numerous civilians. The 3000,000 bomblets would be sufficient to kill or maim at least three million Lebanese children. In other words the storm of carpet bombing was enough to cause a holocaust, or at least half a holocaust. Moreover, Israel effectively has destroyed the basic civilian infrastructure in both Lebanon and Gaza Strip, including power stations, streets, bridges, power stations, and even schools and colleges, inflicting untold misery and suffering to innocent civilians. Hence, it is hard to really thank Israel for doing a good deed that is intended first and foremost to divert attention from Israels brutal ugliness in Gaza, the West Bank and south Lebanon and also to enable the Nazi-minded Israeli government to continue with its apartheid polices and criminal practices against the Palestinians. It is often said that charity begins at home. In Israels case, we see no charity at home. Even the few refugees from Darfur are dumped in detention camps, just like their comrades in suffering, the estimated 11000 Palestinian detainees languishing in Israeli jails for opposing Zionism. In fact, instead of charity, we see
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Checking on Darfur
Checking on Darfur Historic African American Press Delegation visits Sudan By Jehron Muhammad Akbar Muhammad, founder of Youth 4 Africa Foundation realized the importance of seizing this opportunity and contacted James Mtume, Co-Host of Open Line talk radio to solicit his help in organizing members of the African American Press to travel to the Sudan and visit Darfur. This event was a historical trip and the first of its kind for an African American press delegation to travel on a fact finding mission to support what the media in the west has been saying about Two months ago during a live feed to thousands who attended the Nation of Islams Annual Saviors Day Convention President of The Republic of Sudan, Omar El-Bashir extended a special invitation to those interested in visiting Sudan. The invitation was extended through Akbar Muhammad to give individuals the opportunity to ask hard questions about Genocide in the Sudan. The Sudanese government insists that the horror stories we hear in the media are lies and propaganda contrived by special interest groups in America. Sudan or dispute the lies that are being told to millions of Americans about the current crises in Sudan, especially Darfur. Through the efforts of Mr. Muhammad this press delegation met with Ministers of Government in Khartoum, visited IDP camps (internally displaced people) in Darfur, and talked with people in the marketplace, traveled to remote areas in Sudan to ask the pertinent questions. Both BET and TV-One had a one on one exclusive interview with President Omar El-Bashir. His Excellency encouraged the media to feel free to go anywhere in Sudan and talk to anyone. He assured them they would find nothing to support the atrocities that are being charged by the media in the west. It was not long ago that slavery in Sudan was a hot issue but the inability of the media to substantiate chattel slavery in Sudan was replaced by the issue of atrocities allegedly being committed with the backing of the Sudanese government in Darfur. This issue has been pitched to the American people with a special focus in the Black community about Arabs killing Black people. Could it be because Islam is the fasting growing religion in the world especially in the Black Community? According to several European publications and a small article found in the Washington Post, the issue of slavery in Sudan was more fraud than reality. So ridiculous was the perpetuators false campaign against Sudan, that the worlds oldest human rights organization Anti-Slavery International warned the United Nations Commission on Human Rights that: Unless accurately reported, the issue can become a tool for indiscriminate and wholly undeserved prejudice against Arabs and Muslims. (We) are worried that some media reports of slave markets, stocked by Arab slave traders which (we) consider distorted reality fuel such prejudice. Just as suddenly as the issue of slavery in Sudan appeared and then disappeared, the only distorted reality remaining was Arab and or Muslim atrocities against Black Africans. When we traveled in Sudan we found that the lightest Arab is darker than most African Americans and when we enquired about why theyre called Arab, were told simply some of us are Arab because we speak Arabic. So what is the truth concerning atrocities being committed in Darfur? This is a region that is 100 percent Muslims, where Idriss Deby, President of Chad and many Chadian citizens share the same tribal heritage of the people of Darfur. In addition this tribal group called Zagawa based in Chad and Darfur are members of cross border militia groups invading Darfur. So who are its perpetrators, and the facts remaining about the fairly recent implementation of a coalition government between the so-called Arab North and the Black African South and why so little has been reported? These and other questions were being asked by an African American press delegation that went to Sudan. The group according to Akbar Muhammad, leader of the press delegation and coordinator of the tour should report what is really happening in Darfur. If what they are saying is true about the government of Sudan then report it back to the American public and if what they are saying about Arabs killing Black Africans, raping their women, killing their children, pushing Black Africans off their land then by all means report that but if none of this is true then we should report what we find. The press delegation included several African American publications, including the Final Call, Philadelphia New Observer, Trumpet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, BET.com, TV-One and New Yorks KISS FM radio. James Mtume co-host of Open Line on 98.7 KISS-FM has already broadcast live from Sudan. According to Mtume, On Sunday we gave our first historic broadcast from Khartoum. Mtume
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Why I am not a moderate Muslim
from the April 23, 2007 edition - http://www.csmonito r.com/2007/ 0423/p09s01- coop.html Why I am not a moderate Muslim I'd rather be considered 'orthodox' than 'moderate.' True orthodoxy is simply the attempt to piously adhere to a religion's tenets. By Asma Khalid Cambridge, England Last month, three Muslim men were arrested in Britain in connection with the London bombings of July 2005. In light of such situations, a number of non-Muslims and Muslims alike yearn for moderate, peace-loving Muslims to speak out against the violent acts sometimes perpetrated in the name of Islam. And to avoid association with terrorism, some Muslims adopt a moderate label to describe themselves. I am a Muslim who embraces peace. But, if we must attach stereotypical tags, I'd rather be considered orthodox than moderate. Moderate implies that Muslims who are more orthodox are somehow backward and violent. And in our current cultural climate, progress and peace are restricted to moderate Muslims. To be a moderate Muslim is to be a good, malleable Muslim in the eyes of Western society. I recently attended a debate about Western liberalism and Islam at the University of Cambridge where I'm pursuing my master's degree. I expected debaters on one side to present a bigoted laundry list of complaints against Islam and its alleged incompatibility with liberalism, and they did. But what was more disturbing was that those on the other side, in theory supported the harmony of Islam and Western liberalism, but they based their argument on spurious terms. While these debaters including a former top government official and a Nobel peace prize winner were well-intentioned, they in fact wrought more harm than good. Through implied references to moderate Muslims, they offered a simplistic, paternalistic discourse that suggested Muslims would one day catch up with Western civilization. In the aftermath of September 11, much has been said about the need for moderate Muslims. But to be a moderate Muslim also implies that Osama bin Laden and Co. must represent the pinnacle of orthodoxy; that a criterion of orthodox Islam somehow inherently entails violence; and, consequently, that if I espouse peace, I am not adhering to my full religious duties. I refuse to live as a moderate Muslim if its side effect is an unintentional admission that suicide bombing is a religious obligation for the orthodox faithful. True orthodoxy is simply the attempt to adhere piously to a religion's tenets. The public relations drive for moderate Islam is injurious to the entire international community. It may provisionally ease the pain when so-called Islamic extremists strike. But it really creates deeper wounds that will require thicker bandages because it indirectly labels the entire religion of Islam as violent. The term moderate Muslim is actually a redundancy. In the Islamic tradition, the concept of the middle way is central. Muslims believe that Islam is a path of intrinsic moderation, wasatiyya. This concept is the namesake of a British Muslim grass-roots organization, the Radical Middle Way. It is an initiative to counter Islam's violent reputation with factual scholarship. This was demonstrated through a day-long conference that the organization sponsored in February. The best speaker of the night was Abdallah bin Bayyah, an elderly Mauritanian sheikh dressed all in traditional white Arab garb, offset by a long gray beard. The words coming out of the sheikh's mouth all in Arabic were remarkably progressive. He confronted inaccurate assumptions about Islam, spoke of tolerance, and told fellow Muslims an unshy;pleasant truth: Perhaps much of this current crisis springs from us, he said, kindly admonishing them. He chastised Muslims for inadequately explaining their beliefs, thereby letting other, illiberal voices speak for them. I was shocked by his blunt though nuanced analysis, given his traditional, religious appearance. And then I was troubled by my shock. To what extent had I, a hijabi Muslim woman studying Middle Eastern/Islamic studies, internalized the untruthful representations of my own fellow Muslims? For far too long, I had been fed a false snapshot of what Islamic orthodoxy really means. The sheikh continued, challenging Mr. bin Laden's violent interpretation of jihad, citing Koranic verses and prophetic narrations. He referred to jihad as any good action and recounted a recent conversation with a non-Muslim lawyer who asked if electing a respectable official would be considered jihad. The sheikh answered yes because voting for someone who supports the truth and upholds justice is a good action. The sheikh, not bin Laden, is a depiction of true Islamic orthodoxy. The sheikh, not bin Laden, is the man trained in Islamic jurisprudence. The sheikh, not bin Laden, is the authentic
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Muddled thinking on Darfur
Muddled thinking on Darfur Conor Foley April 16, 2007 11:00 AM http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/conor_foley/2007/04/no_tony_blair_this_is_not_abou.html There are two strange features in the debate about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. The first is the tendency of supporters of intervention to exaggerate its scale and the second is the frequency with which Iraq and Israel pop up in the discussion. I had been puzzled by this until I read Adam LeBor's book Complicity with Evil, the UN in the age of modern genocide. The main focus of this is on the genocide in Srebrenica and how it could have occurred in the middle of Europe in the 1990s. It is an interesting account, but contains several rather curious omissions and points of interpretation. Most notably, it argues that the UN's failure to demilitarise the town should be considered a victory and fails to make the obvious connection between the indictment of its Bosniac commander for war crimes and the fury with which the victorious Serbs eventually fell upon its population. The book draws numerous comparisons between the Holocaust in Nazi Germany and the subsequent genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda. It also, tangentially - since it is not related to the book's subject matter - attacks the UN for criticising Israel's human rights violations. The central narrative is very clear: persecuted people cannot rely on the international community to save themselves from annihilation. The west will talk but not act, and its high-minded criticisms of those who must fight against their neighbours for survival are just hypocritical cant. LeBor also claims that 400,000 people have died in Darfur, which is higher than figures cited by most other observers. Last week I asked him where he had got the figure from. He told me that he had taken the UN estimate from two years previously and doubled it. In fact this is not quite true. What he actually did was quote a now-defunct US-based lobby group, the Coalition for International Justice, who published a report in April 2005, which it based on interviews with refugees in Chad, and a statistical extrapolation similar to the one used by the Lancet study which concluded that around 650,000 people had died since the US invasion of Iraq. The figure may well be accurate, but the politics of the discussion are revealing. Darfur has become a major issue in US domestic politics mainly due to the lobbying of a group of human rights and religious organisations. The Coalition for International Justice had been instrumental in persuading the US government to declare that the situation in Darfur amounted to genocide although this was not supported by a UN Commission of Inquiry, which published its own report in February 2005. For LeBor, and others such as Peter Tatchell, Nick Cohen and Glenn Reynolds, the UN's failure to pronounce that Darfur is a genocide is another example of its failure to uphold human rights. LeBor implies the commission was leaned on. Tatchell says it was just down to racism. One cannot help wonder whether the global indifference to the slaughter in Darfur has anything to do with the fact that the victims are black, he says. What everyone agrees is that the majority of deaths have been from malnutrition and disease, rather than direct violence, yet last week when I queried an assertion that 400,000 black African Muslims had been slaughtered by the Sudanese government and Janjaweed militia, a blogger at Harry's Place accused me of genocide denial and belittling mass murder. You almost make me ashamed of my Irish origins, he concluded. Were this confined to debates in cyberspace it would not be so serious. Unfortunately, it also seems to have become a hallmark of Tony Blair's foreign policy. A couple of weeks ago sources in Downing Street let it be known that Blair was pushing the UN security council to authorise military strikes against the Sudanese air force to enforce a no-fly zone over Darfur. The proposal has been widely derided by military experts and a Ministry of Defence official was quick to insist that there are absolutely no plans for any UK military action at all in Sudan or the Darfur region of Sudan, yet a senior Blair aide restated that the UK might be prepared to act unilaterally if its plans did not receive UN approval. The prime minister believes in a values-driven foreign policy and believes you have to evenly apply those values to have any credibility. He sees Darfur as a test of the international community's commitment to its own values. The only point that I can see to this type of spin, gesture and make-believe is that it is intended to make Blair seem tougher than the UN. International Development Secretary, Hilary Benn, who has played an active part in the attempts to find a negotiated solution to the Darfur crisis, has very pointedly distanced himself from this type
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Mogadishu�s Carnage, the Death of the TFG its Fraudulent Reconciliation
Mogadishus Carnage, the Death of the TFG its Fraudulent Reconciliation by Abdi Ismail Samatar; April 05, 2007 Introduction The European Union (EU) and the United States have urged Somalias weak and illegitimate Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to negotiate with moderate elements of the Islamic Courts and other stakeholders in order to form a broad-based and inclusive transitional authority which can advance reconciliation and secure peace. Such a push by the USA and EU is a tacit recognition that the TFG is illegitimate. The EU, unlike the United States which has supported Ethiopias invasion of Somalia and which has endorsed the TFG, informed the latter that it was not prepared to release funds to help the country unless the latter committed itself to the creation of an inclusive government. In response to the EUs demand several TFG ministers traveled to Brussels and reported to the EU that the regime was ready to organize the reconciliation conference in Mogadishu. Although all the details are not known it is clear from the regimes proposal that it will invite 3000 delegates and manage the convention. The EU appears to have accepted the proposal and the ministers returned to Nairobi/Baidoa in a cheery mood. Since then, the TFG leader has declared that the invitees will be solely clan elders and representatives, and a sprinkling of others. These developments have generated some excitement among the TFG and donors, however, if the reconciliation project proceeds along the lines imagined by the TFG and the funders it is highly unlikely that the affair will bear fruitful peace and garner legitimacy for the regime. This dim prospect for reconciliation has further been destroyed by the indiscriminate mass murder of Somalis by the Ethiopian forces in and around Mogadishu. The Ethiopian offensive has completely shattered any possibility for the TFG gaining any acceptance from the Somali people. In other words, the TFG is dead but Somalis must still move forward and work towards genuine reconciliation. Sterile Reconciliation Such grim prognosis is now vindicated by the brutality visited on Mogadishu by Ethiopian troops with the consent of the West. Thoughtful observers who were familiar with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)-led Kenya-based Somali peace process in 2002/4 will recognize the un-mistakable congruence between the proposed congress, the formula put forward for selecting delegates, the attitude of the donors, and the modalities of the previous convention which produced the TFG. The original argument for holding the Kenya conference in the first place was the assumption that the Arta caucus, 1999-2000, that established the former Transitional National Government (TNG) was not inclusive as the warlords who were invited chose not to participate. IGAD and its international partners claimed then that the 2002/4 conference was inclusive since all the merchants of violence were present. Despite ample evidence to the contrary, the donors refused to heed the warning that they were courting disaster by endorsing a fraudulent process that excluded genuine representatives of the major stakeholders, such as civic groups and religious leaders. The IGAD-led convention lasted slightly over two years and had a price tag of millions of dollars. Despite its cost in time, money, and the misery of people waiting for peace the conference produced neither peace nor reconciliation among Somalis. Instead, it sanctioned the warlords to concoct a deeply contradictory transitional charter which the international community endorsed as Somalias transitional constitution. A second consequence of the affair was the selection of the overwhelming majority of parliamentarians by warlords, who then chose a president and cabinet beholden to Ethiopia. The Kenyan host, IGAD, and the so-called international partners who managed and funded the conference hailed these developments as a major breakthrough. Unfortunately, before the ink dried on the documents of the agreement the warlords rekindled their conflicts and broke into two camps: those Ethiopia supported, led my Abdillahi Yusuf and Ali Geedi, moved to Jowhar, and their opponents returned to their Mogadishu base. Divisiveness among warlords and the incompetence of the key TFG leaders disabled the new regime from making any progress towards restoring peace and re-establishing public order. Consequently, Nairobi and Addis Ababa remain to be the hub of Somali politics as the former was the preferred destination of the TFG leaders as well as the headquarters of those elements of the international community involved in Somalia, while the latter city was transformed from the supplier of ammunition to some of the warlords to the virtual capital of the TFG . The stalemate between the two warlord factions was foreseen by honest observers of
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] The Darfur conundrum
The Darfur conundrum French and other European intellectuals are mobilizing for intervention in Darfur. Who are they really writing about, asks KA Dilday for openDemocracy. Image: Wikipedia By K A Dilday for openDemocracy (05/04/07) On 31 March 2007, five African Union peacekeepers in Darfur were killed in the most fatal attack on them since the force arrived in the western province of Sudan in 2004. At the time of writing, the spokesman for the African Union (AU) has been unable to say who was responsible for the attack. This is the conundrum in Darfur: The killers could have belonged to any of the several armed groups there, though most reports suggest that one of the rebel forces was likely responsible. It was this same conundrum - whom to blame, and whom to support, in Darfur - which has, for the past two weeks, been distracting French intellectuals from the imminent presidential election. A battle raged in the opinion pages of France's main newspapers between France's intellectuals: It was a debate that at times, seemed to have a less noble subtext than the surface concern for dying Darfurians. It also raised the question that nags at all levels of global action: much more of the western world is aware of and concerned with the lives of others, yet the quality of action is not keeping pace with the quantity. A French controversy The debate began on 20 March when the group Urgence Darfour, comprised of more than 100 individual associations, organized a meeting at the Mutualité, a grand hall on the left bank of Paris. There, the most prominent of the twelve presidential candidates agreed - either personally or through their representatives - that if elected, they would use their position to try to stop the killings in Darfur. Even President Jacques Chirac sent a letter of support. The meeting was led by Bernard Kouchner, one of the founders of Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), who has long since broken with the group and now stands (unofficially and officially) for various national and international offices; Jacky Mamadou, former president of Médecins du Monde, the group Kouchner founded after leaving MSF; and the journalist and philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, who had just written a long article in Le Monde about his recent journey to refugee camps in Sudan and Chad. Urgence Darfour called for the United Nations and the European Union to immediately send an international force to Darfur to protect the civilians; create safe zones where aid workers can serve the population; and bring those responsible for killings before the international court. Three days later, on 23 March, Paris's main leftist daily newspaper Libération published a polemic written by two representatives of Médecins sans Frontières. The authors responded strongly to what they perceived as the ignorant posturing of Urgence Darfour and invoked MSF's experience through two-decades of presence in Sudan to make a case for a different approach. The worst massacres in Darfur, wrote Jean-Hervé Bradol (president of the MSF's French chapter) and Fabrice Weissman (director of research for the MSF), were in 2003-04. True, there has been a recent resurgence of violence after a period of remission, but the civilian casualties are at present not as numerous, in part because much of the civilian population has already abandoned the war-zones. The Libé article appeared to break from the MSF's traditional role of not advocating political strategies, albeit while couching political recommendations in the rhetoric of protecting civilians. Bradol and Weissman warned that a small United Nations force would not be able to control an area as large as Sudan and that it would be resisted by the Sudanese government, resulting probably in more civilian deaths. A better option was to work with all of the armed factions to reach an accord. They ended by saying that MSF was disappointed in both Urgence Darfour and the presidential candidates: Urgence Darfour for using its prominence to demand an ill-advised and unlikely intervention, and the presidential candidates for showily and blindly signing onto it. The next day, 24 March, a letter addressed to European Union leaders on the eve of its fiftieth anniversary summit in Berlin and signed by a group of prominent writers was published in newspapers in the EU's twenty-seven member-states. The group, which had been assembled by Bob Geldof, excoriated the EU for celebrating its birthday while the atrocities continued in Darfur. Many of Europe's most renowned intellectuals were among the signatories; they included Umberto Eco, Dario Fo, G#369;nter Grass, J#369;rgen Habermas, Vaclav Havel, Seamus Heaney, Harold Pinter, Franca Rame, Tom Stoppard and Bernard-Henri Levy. Libération published the writers' appeal on 27 March on the same page as an article by Richard Rossin, a former secretary-general of
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] The Jewish Factor: Democrats better on Darfur, Church-State
The Jewish Factor: Democrats better on Darfur, Church-State Posted: April 06, 2007 For the first time in the Israel factor surveys, we sought to examine an additional important element in regard to the candidates. We can call this the Jewish factor the ranking of the 2008 candidates according to a list of subjects that are of importance to the American Jewish community, other than Israel. The most interesting of them is the grade relating to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, a crisis in which the Jewish community is a major force in trying to find a solution. In my print edition weekend column I expanded on the new survey and informed my readers on other issues related to the 2008 race. The following paragraphs are a part of it. The Jewish community of America is a primary voice calling to end the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. Its leaders are pushing for sanctions with all their might. They are pressing Congress to pass binding resolutions, the administration to be more aggressive, and economic firms to take independent measures. The panel was asked to rate the candidates based on the members' evaluation of their resolve to deal with this crisis, which is at the head of the Jewish agenda. The response is particularly interesting in connection with Barack Obama, and explains why he has many Jewish supporters even before he expressed strong pro-Israel opinions. Among the candidates, the panel thought that he would deal most vigorously with the Darfur crisis and by a large margin over the other candidates. His score (4.25 out of a possible 5) is higher by half a point than that of any official candidate who follows. The only candidate close to Obama, with 4.13, is Gore, who has not announced that he will be running. In regard to Darfur, the panel believes the Democratic candidates look more promising than their Republican opponents. This is equally true for another issue whose importance to the American Jewish community is not in doubt: the candidates' position on questions relating to separation of religion and state. Clinton and Gore lead in this regard (their positions are the closest to those of the majority of the Jewish community), but with them is one Republican candidate, Rudy Giuliani. All three have a grade of 4.13 out of a possible 5. Giuliani's strength is also his weakness. He continues to lead as the panel's best candidate overall for Israel, and one can suspect that in this he is aided by his hawkish stance on foreign affairs and quite liberal posture on domestic issues. This makes it possible for panel members who look askance at classic Republican conservatism to give Giuliani a high rating, but these are also the positions on which he will be exposed to competition from candidates like Fred Thompson (Last week, the Israel Factor panel received a first package of background material on Thompson. He was not included in the seventh poll, but might very well appear in the next one), and which will make it difficult for him to gain the unreserved backing of the party's conservatives in the primaries). With the exception of Giuliani, all the Democratic candidates get a higher score on religion and state than all the Republican candidates. No complicated calculation is needed by those who want to guess which candidate the Jewish voters will back in 2008: the Jews are the clearest group in opposition to the continuation of the war in Iraq, and probably the most concerned about the mixing of religion and state in America. Among the Republicans, then, only Giuliani, who is well known to Jews from his tenure as mayor of the Jewish city of New York, might have a chance of drawing a large number of votes (relative to a Republican candidate), something George Bush was not able to do in 2004, despite prior expectations that were based on his record regarding Israel. Every other Republican candidate will have a hard time convincing America's Jews to vote for him. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/rosnerBlog.jhtml?itemNo=846221contrassID=25subContrassID=0sbSubContrassID=1listSrc=Yart=1 - Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains.
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Against Sudan Divestment: Testimony of David Rolde the Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts
Testimony of David Rolde representing the Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts in opposition to Senate Bill 1474: 'An Act Relative to Pension Divestment' and in opposition to House Bill 2556: 'An Act Regulating Divestment in Sudan' March 29, 2007 The Green-Rainbow Party opposes Senate Bill 1474 (Docket Number: SD01591 filed by Harriette Chandler), House Bill 2556 (filed by Denis Guyer) and all other bills calling for divestment from Sudan that are before the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives in General Court. We oppose the bills not only because divestment would deprive Sudan of revenue and thus be harmful to the people of Sudan, but also because the bills are based on an unjust and offensively racist demonization of the government and people of an African country whose people have suffered greatly from years of US economic warfare and overt and covert US military warfare against them. Unjust and Hypocritical Demonization of Sudan US imperialist and Zionist organizations have spent millions of dollars on an anti-Sudan propaganda campaign to vilify the Sudanese government and Sudanese people and to try to convince Americans that the Sudanese government is committing genocide against the people of Sudan's Darfur region. In reality there is no genocide. There has been a civil war in Darfur with many armed factions - some anti-government factions being supported by the US - fighting against each other. The numbers of deaths are often exaggerated. The word Janjaweed in Darfur does not refer to a specific organization but refers to any armed group whether they are independant bandits, allied with the government, or allied with one of the anti-government rebel movements. The motivations for the anti-Sudan propaganda campaign are to convince Americans to support war against Sudan in order for the US government to gain control over Sudan's oil and other resources or to install a new Sudanese government more compliant to US wishes. Anti-Sudan propaganda is also part of the general anti-Arab and anti-Muslim rhetoric that is used to gain US domestic support for the war in Iraq, continued US support of Israel, and for the so-called war on terror. The anti-Sudan bills before the Massachusetts legislature demonize the government and people of Sudan - the largest country in Africa. The bills serve to amplify the drums of war against Sudan and set the stage for further U.S. imperial war against Sudan. The Chandler Bill cites Colin Powell and George W. Bush and other U.S. government officials - the same persons who lied about Iraq's non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction and links to Al Qaeda to promote the invasion of Iraq - as accusing the government of Sudan of genocide and of supporting international terrorism. Accusations like these have recently and historically been used by the U.S. government as pretexts to go to war against many countries. All the bills depend on continuing US state department designation of genocide - a designation that can be placed and removed because of Sudanese government compliance or non-compliance with US dictates about other issues and about access to Sudanese resources. International organizations, including the United Nations and the African Union, have not used the term genocide in regards to Darfur, have not accused the Sudanese government of genocide, and have criticized all sides in the civil war. International organizations have also estimated fewer deaths in Darfur than the Chandler bill cites and have not blamed the Sudanese government for all the deaths. The demonization of Sudan as expressed in these bills is hypocritical on several levels. First: the text of the bills blame the Sudanese government for problems that were caused by US intervention. The US has starved Sudan with sanctions and a trade boycott, destroyed Sudan's largest pharmaceutical plant with a missile strike thus rendering Sudan incapable of producing needed medicines for its people and livestock, instigated the civil wars in Sudan, armed the rebels, and then blamed the Sudanese government for all the deaths (whether by violence or famine or disease) and callled it genocide. Second: people in the USA do not hold the moral high ground to be able to accuse others of human rights violations. The United States government itself supports international terrorism and has killed millions of people with direct warfare in Iraq, Korea, and Southeast Asia and thousands of people in Afghanistan, Panama, Somalia and elsewhere. The US government through covert military support of insurgencies and open military support of brutal regimes has killed thousands - and perhaps millions - of people in Palestine, Congo, Sudan, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Colombia, Haiti, etc. The US has committed genocide in Iraq, and is supporting a genocidal colonial settler regime in Palestine. But the Massachusetts legislators are not
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Somali Update: Liberation Front Calls For Volunteers; Uganda To Review Presence; NJ Man Held By US-backed Occupationists
Monday, March 26, 2007Somali Update: Liberation Front Calls For Volunteers; Uganda To Review Presence; NJ Man Held By US-backed Occupationists Somali resistance fighters in Mogadishu remain armed. In late March 2007 fighting escalated aimed at forcing the withdrawal of the US-backed Ethiopian and Ugandan military units from the country. Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos. Somali fighters call for volunteers The video given to Al Jazeera showed members of the Somali Liberation Front preparing to carry out attacks The Somali Liberation Front, an otherwise unknown group, have called on Arabs and Muslims to come to Somalia to fight Ethiopian troops. Speaking in a videotape aired by Al Jazeera on Wednesday, the group's spokesman also said that its fighters had begun a guerrilla campaign against the Somali government. We call on the Arab and Muslim countries to adhere to their responsibilities towards Somalis and to stand by their brethrens in their efforts to liberate their country, the Somali spokesman said, speaking halting Arabic with his face concealed. The short video also showed armed men making plans and training to carry out attacks. The group's self-proclaimed spokesman also said that the African Union should not send troops to support the Ethiopian military which has deployed in Somalia to support the countrys' weak interim government. We call on the African countries to refrain from sending troops to Somalia, as by doing this they legalize the Ethiopian occupation, harm the Somali issue and get themselves involved in a dispensable trouble, he said. Cargo plane 'shot down' Separately, the government of Belarus said that a privately-owned Belorussian cargo plane that crashed north of Mogadishu, the Somali capital, on Friday, had been shot down. The plane was shot down, Kseniya Perestoronina, a transport ministry spokeswoman said in Minsk, the Belorussian capital. She said that the large Ilyushin-76 aircraft, in Somalia to assist struggling African peacekeepers, was hit at a height of 150 metres and that all eleven passengers and crew had died in the crash. The statement appeared to confirm initial reports from both a local Somali radio station and an Islamist web site that a missile had hit the Russian-made aircraft just after takeoff from Mogadishu on Friday afternoon. However Mohamed Mahamud Guled, Somalia's interior minister, said that although investigations were continuing, the crash was due to a technical fault. The plane took off at around five o'clock and as soon as it reached 10,000 feet altitude, the pilot reported an engine problem in engine number two and said he would turn back to the airport, he told a news conference in Mogadishu. The plane had brought a team to fix another Ilyushin lying damaged at Mogadishu airport after flying in peacekeepers. That plane caught fire on the runway in an incident the AU said was a technical fault, but Islamists said was a missile attack. Source: Al Jazeera Somalia: Ethiopians warned to leave Somalia immediately Sun. March 25, 2007 05:43 pm By Mohamed Abdi Farah (SomaliNet) After having intensive meeting in the north of the Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, elders of Hawiye tribe, one of the four main tribes in Somalia, Sunday issued a communiqué over their position towards the best way to find solution for the crisis in the capital which has been stable for the second day. The Hawiye elders agreed on late today several articles including to fully comply with the ceasefire deal they signed with the Ethiopian military officials, as Abdi Imam Omar, among the elders told the reporters. The elders representing the Hawiye tribe said in their statements that they are suggesting the world community to provide support the ceasefire agreement and help it implemented and giving consideration to the human crisis in the capital that resulted from the latest clashes. They called on the Somali people in Mogadishu not to give respect to the governments warning that residents desert the targeted places but remain in the city. The Ethiopian government should immediately pull its troops out of our country as it had already pledged to quit Somalia after the arrival of the African Union peacekeepers, the statement said. The elders said Puntland militia should be withdrawn from Mogadishu and brought back to their home until a national government is formed. The Hawiye chiefs agreed to release all the prisoners captured in the recent clashes in the capital saying what they called the misled soldiers will be handed to their clans. They made it clear that Hawiye is ready to fully participate the coming national conference in the capital on 16 April after the implementation of the ceasefire and appealed the Hawiye people within the interim government to come before the elders to them into accountability for the responsibility they are
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Zimbabwe: When Others Seek to Overthrow the State
Zimbabwe: When Others Seek to Overthrow the State Posted: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 When Others Seek to Overthrow the State, What Must Be the State Response? Analysis by Ghifari al Mukhtar March 21, 2007 Funny the way the recent case of supposed human rights abuses in Zimbabwe attracts great interest in the Western media, while other similar cases hardly or do not get noticed in this same media. Relations between the UK/US soured when Zimbabwe sent troops, together with Namibia and Angola, to defend the Democratic Republique of Congo against a second invasion by Rwanda and Uganda, friends of the US and the UK. (Zimbabwe Under Siege by Dr. Simbi Mubako) When the Mugabe government intercepted arms and a plane load of terrorists (How New Africa Made Fools of the White Mischief-makers, August 2004) sponsored by Britain and the US (Pentagon link to Guinea Coup Plot, September 2004) on their way to violently kill Africans in an attempt to overthrow another oil rich African government, where was the media's reporting in favor of Mugabe's intervention of what would have been more UK/US human rights abuses? Now the US UK are strangling Zimbabwe and its people. Who, therefore, is cruel? Hold strong and firm; for if Mugabe and Zimbabwe were to give room then we are finished as a continent, as a people and as all those seeking to repulse recolonization throughout the world. There are paradoxes that seem divine rather than a willful strategy on the one hand. How they, the resisters, are surrounded with stooges, NGO's, coward states, church and evangelical groups and if suppressed populations, if not deliberate in their opposition, they are enormously ignorant, and in the Black and Brown case, hating themselves for the color they are. If Africa lets Mugabe slip, then shall we say: good bye Africa! Like him or not, the scene in Zimbabwe is either it's Africa or it's Europe, yet we must also watch out for their marauding cousins', the US Israel, with their chisel and hammer diplomacy. It is the stereotype media performance we fail to wise up to. Mugabe is as ironic as Venezuela's Chavez, as Iran's Ahmadinejad, as Kim of Korea, Hizbollah in Lebanon and the Hamas of Palestine. Just pull out your maps and look at the geography, their resources (fullness), their original colors. Indeed, they are so strategic it's as if God placed this resistance (leadership) per region, as the check and balance from the violent dominance of an outsider. A marauder bearing disguised gifts, often resulting in misery, slavery and racist evangelical democracy as the only medicine for our perceived ills. Ills, if at all there are, were created and perpetuated by the marauders' themselves in their laboratories within Wall Street, the Vatican, Chatham House and NATO. The debase, vicious, glutinous White West, that exchanges weapons for war, disunity, chaos and poverty, offer in their hollow speeches peace, development, democracy and aid that bind us to nowhere but to perpetual troubles. We need no more of your expired consultants, no more of the devil's advice, no Bono aid and to hell with the media. This hypocrisy stinks. Mugabe was never commended for his sole prevention of what would have been mass-murder, hatched and orchestrated solely in the West. Instead he is falsely accused of killing -- allegations typical of the White West toward noncompliant state leaders. On the question of public disorder and violence with a virtual attempt to overthrow legitimate governments - this was okayed in Georgia, in Tiananmen Square and Tibet in China; Caracas, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. The facts are there, the West has a track record of human rights abuses that is undisputable, particularly the critics of Robert Mugabe. Not forgetting history, just look at Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Haiti and the U.S. prison and justice system. Lets not compare, lest Mugabe will come out looking immaculately pious. In fact he isn't, he is a warrior that wrestled his nation from the jaws of colonialism's most barbaric and manipulative empires. Mugabe must be firm and should treat those seeking western-type regime changes as no less than criminals, charged with terrorism, anarchy and sedition. In Britain and the US, peaceful demonstrators are being arrested, charged, manhandled, and intimidated through government spying for staging demonstrations against a corrupt president and his lying poodle to stop WAR. Is Mugabe waginig war? Certainly not. He is defending his country, leading Africa's defence. Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://trinicenter.com/cgi-bin/selfnews/viewnews.cgi?newsid1174503090,46959,.shtml Visit: Zimbabwe Watch - Need Mail bonding? Go to the Yahoo! Mail QA for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users.
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Mahmood Mamdani: Darfur: the politics of naming
Darfur: the politics of namingMahmood Mamdani: COMMENT 18 March 2007 11:59 Sudans President Omar al-Bashir soon after coming to power in 1996. (Photograph: AP) The similarities between Iraq and Darfur are remarkable. The estimate of the number of civilians killed over the past three years is roughly similar. The killers are mostly paramilitaries, closely linked to the official military, which is said to be their main source of arms. The victims, too, are by and large identified as members of groups, rather than targeted as individuals. But the violence in the two places is named differently. In Iraq, it is said to be a cycle of insurgency and counter-insurgency; in Darfur, it is called genocide. Why the difference? Who does the naming? Who is being named? What difference does it make? The most powerful mobilisation in New York City is in relation to Darfur, not Iraq. One would expect the reverse, for no other reason than that most New Yorkers are American citizens and should feel directly responsible for the violence in occupied Iraq. But Iraq is a messy place in the American imagination, a place with messy politics. Americans worry about what their government should do in Iraq. Should it withdraw? What would happen if it did? In contrast, there is nothing messy about Darfur. It is a place without history and without politics; simply a site where perpetrators clearly identifiable as Arabs confront victims clearly identifiable as Africans. A full-page advertisement has appeared several times a week in The New York Times calling for intervention in Darfur. It wants the intervening forces to be placed under a chain of command allowing necessary and timely military action without approval from distant political or civilian personnel. That intervention should not be subject to political or civilian considerations, and the intervening forces should have the right to shoot -- to kill -- without permission from distant places: these are said to be humanitarian demands. In the same vein, a New Republic editorial on Darfur has called for force as a first-resort response. What makes the situation even more puzzling is that some of those who are calling for an end to intervention in Iraq are demanding an intervention in Darfur; as the slogan goes, Out of Iraq and into Darfur. What would happen if we thought of Darfur as we do of Iraq, as a place with a history and politics -- a messy politics of insurgency and counter-insurgency? Morally, there is no doubt about the horrific nature of the violence against civilians. The ambiguity lies in the politics of the violence, whose sources include both a state-connected counter-insurgency and an organised insurgency, very much like the violence in Iraq. The insurgency and counter-insurgency in Darfur began in 2003. Both were driven by an intermeshing of domestic tensions in the context of a peace-averse international environment. On the one hand, there was a struggle for power within the political class in Sudan, with more marginal interests in the West calling for reform at the centre. On the other, there was a community-level split inside Darfur, between nomads and settled farmers, who had earlier forged a way of sharing the use of semi-arid land in the dry season. With the drought that set in towards the late Seventies, cooperation turned into an intense struggle over diminishing resources. As the insurgency took root among the prospering peasant tribes of Darfur, the government trained and armed the poorer nomads and formed a militia -- the Janjaweed -- that became the vanguard of the unfolding counter-insurgency. The worst violence came from the Janjaweed, but the insurgent movements were also accused of gross violations. Anyone wanting to end the spiralling violence would have to bring about power-sharing at state level and resource-sharing at community level, with land being the key resource. Since its onset, two official verdicts have been delivered on the violence, the first by the United States, the second by the United Nations. The US verdict was unambiguous: Darfur was the site of an ongoing genocide. The chain of events leading to Washingtons proclamation began with a genocide alert from the management committee of the Washington Holocaust Memorial Museum. The House of Representatives followed unanimously on June 24 2004. The last to join the chorus was Colin Powell. The UN Commission on Darfur was created in the aftermath of the American verdict and in response to American pressure. It was more ambiguous. In September 2004, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, then the chairperson of the African Union, visited UN headquarters in New York. Darfur had been the focal point of discussion in the AU. All concerned were alert to the extreme political sensitivity of the issue. At a press conference at the UN on September
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Western interests in Sudan maintain pressure for Darfur breakaway
Western interests in Sudan maintain pressure for Darfur breakaway by M. S. Ahmed (Sunday, March 4, 2007) - The selective measures being taken by the UN and international community, ostensibly to curb the war in Sudan, will not only worsen the situation but will help the violence to trigger a regional and further humanitarian catastrophe. - For some time Sudan has been under great pressure from the UN and the international community (led by the US) to grant independence, not merely self-rule, to its constituent regions, such as Darfur. The pressure has already forced Khartoum to grant Southern Sudan self-rule and the right to choose between full independence and membership of an federal Sudanese state, and has induced the rebel groups in Darfur to abandon the peace agreements they signed with Khartoum. Their bloody and destructive rebellion has now spilled over into neighbouring countries like Chad, which have their own festering inter-communal strife that can easily become uncontrollable. The pressure is also preventing regional leaders from cooperating to contain the conflicts, driving them to accuse each other of fomenting them instead. How successful the pressure is proving to be in the case of southern Sudan was demonstrated recently when senior ministers from the south and Khartoum admitted in public that it is closer to secession than federation. The two ministers, who were attending a conference organised by a local newspaper on January 21 22 for the discussion of the issue, agreed that the two sides are far from working together to prepare the basis for a popular decision to unite when the referendum on unity or independence is held. The two agreed to hold the referendum two years ago but are by now convinced that the southerners will vote for secession. How keen the south is to secede is also already indicated by the transitional governments decision to act like an independent one and appoint ambassadors, issue passports, and grant visas to foreign travellers. According to Khartoum, many of these travellers are Israelis. The US, which must be pleased with this result, is not likely to ease its pressure to disintegrate Sudan. Secession by the south will be particularly pleasing to the US government, not only because the government there will be controlled by Christians but because Sudans main oil resources are also in the south. Khartoum, which at present has full control of those resources, sells its oil to China, which has come under strong pressure to end its trade and diplomatic relations with Sudan. Beijing has invested about £8 billion in Sudanese oil through the China National Petroleum Company (CNPC). According to the CNPCs annual report, Sudan accounts for about half of all its overseas assets. The connection with China has turned the Sudanese oil industry into a significant one. Last year, for instance, China poured £3.2 billion into Sudans coffers. In 1998 oil-revenues were zero. China now depends on Sudan for about seven percent of all its oil imports; not surprisingly, Chinas stake in Sudanese oil has made it president Bashirs only friend among the leading powers and a strong defender of it in the UN security council. Shortly after the outbreak of fighting in Darfur in 2004, the UN passed resolution 1564, which threatened Sudan with oil sanctions unless it curbed the Janjaweed militia opposed to those fighting the government. But Beijing immediately announced that it would veto any attempt to impose an oil embargo and the threat ceased to have any impact. However, those anti-Khartoum powers and NGOs, including human-rights organisations, continued their pressure outside the security council. They argued that the income from the oil is enabling president Bashir to conduct his war in Darfur, and calling on China to use its influence on the president. According to Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch, to take only one example, China has tremendous leverage over Sudan which it hasnt used. One of the sad aspects of the international communitys reaction to the fighting in Sudan is that it has concentrated on the conduct of the Sudanese government and ignored the role of the rebel militias fighting it, and in some cases fighting each other. Blocking the flow of oil-wealth to Khartoum will not necessarily lead to an end to the fighting in Darfur. It will certainly make the already poverty-stricken people of the entire country even poorer and, consequently, lead to violence almost everywhere. The lack of pressure on or control of the rebel militias will make this violence even more destructive. The Darfur militias have already taken their violence into neighbouring Chad, adding to the misery of a people already in the grip of factional fighting. But yet again the so-called international
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] International Criminal Court (ICC) Dismises Libyan Attorney Shahluf
Prof. Shalluf: For This Reason I Am Under Fire, and Sacked From My Duties Sunday 18 March 2007 I feel liberated from ICC constraints, shall file an objection, By: (sudanvisiondaily) Following his relief by ICC as the Counsel of Defense in Darfur Case, Professor Hadi Shalluf expressed his comfort as a result saying that he now feels liberated from the constraints of that court adding that he is now in a position to defend Sudan if assigned to do so. Professor Shalluf said he would however file an objection against that ICC decision. Shalluf who currently occupies the position of the Paris based European Arab Association of Advocates voiced his full preparedness to form an international legal team to advocate Sudan's case. I have the desire to continue advocating for Sudan's case if the latter asks for that and I will visit Khartoum soon to meet with officials, Shalluf told Sudan Vision in a telephone conversation with the paper's Editor-in-Chief. Professor Shalluf attributed the ICC decision of sacking him from his duties to the conflict within ICC which he said it wanted to influence him but he refused that. As a result, they raised charges against me, he stated Highlighting the general features of his memo to the court, Shalluf said he based his legal defense on Sudan's non-approval of the Rome Convention and so citizens of Sudan should not appear before ICC. Additionally UNSC is not empowered to refer the Darfur case to ICC since three of its permanent members have not approved the Rome Convention. According to Shalluf, memo article (12) of the Rome Convention supports Sudan's case as the Sudanese Judiciary is independent and can take the required legal measures in this connection and that ICC integrates the judicial system of the country concerned. Professor Shalluf added that ICC was expecting him to respond to the comments of UN Human Rights Commissioner and the Chairman of the Commission investigating the crimes in Darfur but according to him article (103) of procedures gives him the right of response or non-response. In principle, I believe that there must be equality before justice and that is why I stated in my memo that if we consider Sudan's case we should also consider the cases in Lebanon, Iraq and Somalia, said Professor Shalluf in his memo. Ever since then the court has considered his replies an advocating of Sudan as motivated by his being a French of an Arab origin. He further pointed out that ICC suspended his fees permanently since October 2006 as a result of his challenging the jurisdictions of ICC as the Court concerned with the Darfur case. He said that since 2005, the Court has become aware that his memos are opposed to its general trend and that of the Attorney General. Shalluf revealed that he submitted a request to the Court to allow him to join the Chief Persecutor in his visit to Sudan but the Court issued a decision in 2007 turning down his request, adding the Court even refused his appeal against that decision. He went to say that there are ethnic and religious conflicts within the Court that led to its decision dated 15 March 2007 sacking him of his duties. Shalluf reaffirmed his conviction of the correctness of his memo which he said he has premised on legal bases and which according to him won the admiration of a considerable number of legal professionals in a number of countries. He said he also presented several lectures in Germany on referral of cases to ICC. http://www.smc.sd/en/artopic.asp?artID=25766aCK=EA - Food fight? Enjoy some healthy debate in the Yahoo! Answers Food Drink QA.
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Prominent call for divestment at Howard
Prominent call for divestment at Howard By: Will Youmans / The Arab American News March 17, 2007 Full article on the Web at: http://arabamerican news.com/ newsarticle. php?articleid= 7919 Activists calling for ending financial support for Israel welcomed a victory at a university in Washington, DC. The faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences at Howard University voted overwhelmingly to call on the university's board of trustees to divest from Israel. The faculty at this historically Black institution came down with a 25 to 2 vote in favor of divestment, beginning with the identification of university funds that are being invested in 'offending' companies that are offering material support to Israeli Occupation. The March 8th call was introduced by David Schwartzman, a biology professor of Jewish origin. He told 'The Arab American News,' there was not much opposition, except by the college's Dean, who refused to put divestment on the agenda. He plans on introducing a similar resolution to the faculty Senate this spring. He sponsored the measure in the hope that 'these resolutions start spreading around the country and generate action comparable to the anti-apartheid movement in the 1980s.' Also, he wants to 'give hope to young Palestinians and to see Americans and Jews like myself taking the right position.' The Arts and Sciences faculty vote was an important step for the few divestment activists at Howard University. This vote actually took place without a vibrant movement on campus. Professor Schwartzman recognized that more activism is needed to get the Board of Trustees, the highest decision-making body at the university, to consider the divestment call. The resolution was modeled on two different bills. It borrowed language and arguments from a faculty senate bill passed at the University of Wisconsin, Platteville campus nearly two years ago. It also drew on a divestment statement passed last year against Sudan, for the continuing violations in the Darfur region. There have been some victories for divestment activists around the world, including school government, church, and labor union resolutions. Last year, England's largest union of instructors in higher education, the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education, called on the union's 67,000 members to sever ties with Israeli professors and academic institutions that fail to distance themselves from Israel's policies towards the Palestinians. The Ontario branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the country's largest union, voted unanimously on May 27, 2006 to urge an economic boycott of Israel. The bill calling for boycott and divestment represents the will of 210,000 members, nearly half of the union's entire national membership. Divestment means the union's pension fund will shed investments in Israel. Student governments at the University of Michigan, Dearborn, and Wayne State University in Detroit have passed important resolutions in the past several years. However, the Sudan movement has fared much better. Major academic institutions such as Harvard and Yale have divested from companies doing business with Sudan. Six states are divesting their pension funds from companies invested in Sudan. The Howard University resolution shows that the Sudan divestment movement is serving as a useful precedent for Israel divestment activists. Professor Schwartzman' s initiative is one more step in his long history of activism. He railed against the American invasion of Vietnam as a student in the 1960s, and was arrested for civil disobedience while protesting at both the South African and Israeli embassies in the 1980s. He is currently involved in the DC Green party, which advocates for DC statehood and equal representation in government, among other issues. The national Green Party backed divestment from Israel in 2005. The Divestment movement needs victories such as this vote. Pro-Israeli activists are pushing divestment from politically weak, impoverished nations such as Sudan and Iran. Divestment activists can gain from the increased use of divestment as a legitimate tactic for morally responsible investing. In fact, many pro-Israel activists fear just this. The Jewish Week reported that a debate ensued at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs' national meeting. Critics of the Sudan movement fear that an economic boycott of any country could be used against Israel, itself the target of divestment efforts. Palestine solidarity advocates should re-insert Israel into debates about divestment. If anything, this will only further its rightful association with the worst human rights offenders. - - - - Editor's note: Howard University President Patrick Swygert rejected the resolution outright. Without qualification, Howard University and I oppose any action calling for a divestiture of university
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Oil, not terrorists, the reason for US attack on Somalia
Oil, not terrorists, the reason for US attack on Somalia Story by WANJOHI KABUKURU Publication Date: 1/22/2007 JUST WHY DID THE US ATTACK Somalia two weeks ago? Of course, the answer given for the US military intervention and the generally accepted notion is the hunt for terrorists. But is it? Are terrorists the only bone of contention the US has with Somalia? When the US military devised Operation Restore Hope in 1993 which was short-lived after they were whipsawed by rag-tag militia in and around Mogadishu, were they fighting the war on terror? They couldnt have been because this war was to start much later, If anything it is a post-Sept 11 phenomenon. So then why did the US bomb ICU extremists in the name of Al Qaeda terrorists and not throughout last year when they occupied Mogadishu? Just why is Somalia so important to the US, and by extension the big boys of Europe and some Gulf states? A UN Somalia Monitoring Group report released in November 2005 reveals that a dozen countries, namely Yemen, Djibouti, Libya, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Iran, Syria, Eritrea, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Uganda were all poking their noses into the Somalia pie. What the UN Somalia Monitoring Group didnt reveal, however, is that these were not the only countries which were interested in the country. The little known yet well-heeled contact group, consisting of Norway, the US, UK, France and Tanzania (just an appendage) are also deeply enmeshed in Somalia. While the terrorism theory holds some water, the reality of the factors contributing to the mess in Somalia is pegged on natural resources. Oil and gas are Somalias Achilles heel. It is an open secret that four US oil giants are sitting pretty on money-spinning concessions expecting to reap huge windfalls from massive resources of both oil and gas in Somalia. The story of Somalia and oil goes back to the colonial period. British and Italian geologists first identified oil deposits during that period of imperialism. The first oil wells historically referred to as the Daga Shabell series were dug in the 1960s. Tiny gas discoveries adjacent to Socotra were also noted.. The race for these precious natural resources took a new turn in 1988, when the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, with the support of the governments of Britain, France and Canada and backed by several Western oil companies financed a regional hydrocarbon study of the countries bordering the Red Sea and the Gulf of Eden. The countries were Somalia, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia was later dropped, but not before it had been established that within the study area, massive deposits of oil and gas existed. The results of the findings were presented to a three-day American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Eastern Hemisphere group conference, in London in September, 1991. Is there oil in Somalia? Listen to the answer: Its there. Theres no doubt theres oil there, said geologist Thomas E. OConnor, the World Banks principal petroleum engineer, who steered the in-depth, three-year study of oil prospects in Somalias Gulf of Eden in the northern coastal region. The study was intended to encourage private investment in the petroleum potential of eight African nations. The conclusions of their findings are quite telling as the geologists put Somalia and Sudan at the top of the list of prospective commercial oil producers. While presenting their results during the conference, two geologists involved in the study (an American and an Egyptian) reported that the investigation of nine exploratory wells dug in Somalia pointed out that the region was situated within the oil window, and thus (is) highly prospective for gas and oil. Geologist, Z. R. Beydoun, who was involved in the survey, noted that the geological parameters conducive to the generation, expulsion and trapping of significant amounts of oil and gas were within the offshore sites. Soon after a race for lucrative deals kicked off in earnest. Four US oil companies, namely Conoco, Chevron, Amoco and Philips have concessions in nearly two thirds of Somalia. This quartet of oil conglomerates was granted these contracts in the final days of Somalias deposed dictator, Siad Barre. The US first military engagement in Somalia was fully supported by Conoco. - Mr Kabukuru is a Nairobi-based freelance journalist http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=25newsid=90008 - Need Mail bonding? Go to the Yahoo! Mail QA for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users.
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] More US Somalia Strikes, World Angry
More US Somalia Strikes, World Angry IslamOnline.net News Agencies MOGADISHU Despite mounting international criticism, US warplanes conducted more air strikes in southern Somalia on Wednesday, January 10, while the Somali deputy prime minister invited American ground troops into the Horn of Africa country. As we speak now, the area is being bombarded by the American air force, A Somalia government source told Reuters Wednesday. American aircraft hit an area close to Ras Kamboni, a coastal village near the Kenyan border where many fleeing fighters of the Supreme Islamic Courts of Somalia (SICS) are believed to be holed up. The source said the Americans hit the four areas of Hayo, Garer, Bankajirow and Badmadowe. Residents also confirmed new US air strikes near the southern towns of Badade and Afmadow. Elders in Badade and Afmadow who made a radio contact with us confirmed there was an American air strike in the same area today, Yusuf Ismail Aden, a resident of Kismayo, told AFP in Mogadishu by phone. They said they could hear over-flights in the morning, he added. A Somali clan elder also reported a US air strike on Tuesday, but that was not confirmed by other sources. This came a few hours after the first US attack in Somalia since 1994 when an AC-130 gunship hit positions in southern Somalia killing more than 19 civilians. The Pentagon claimed the attack targeted Al-Qaeda operatives linked to the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Washington claims the SICS, routed of Mogadishu and other strongholds across Somalia by Ethiopian troops, had provided shelter to a handful of Al-Qaeda members. The SICS has repeatedly denied Al-Qaeda links, dismissing the charge as a pretext to justify foreign intervention in Somalia. US Revenge Many Somalis believe the US is attacking their country to revenge its previous military failures in the Horn of Africa state. Theyre just trying to get revenge for what we did to them in 1993, Deeq Salad Mursel, a taxi driver, told The New York Times Wednesday. Washington withdrew troops in the early 1990s from the UN-backed Operation Restore Hope stabilization mission after suffering heavy losses in what was later dramatized in a book and a film Black Hawk Down. A botched US rapid raid by a helicopter to snatch Somali warlord Mohamed Farah Aidid led to a huge gunbattle in Mogadishu in which hundreds of Somalis and 18 US soldiers were killed and mutilated. A further 18 US troops were killed in Somalia in numerous incidents involving landmines, ambushes and accidents. The US air strikes in Somalia have drawn criticism from both the United Nations and European Union. The secretary-general is concerned about the new dimension this kind of action could introduce to the conflict and the possible escalation of hostilities that may result, said chief UN spokeswoman Michele Montas. The European Union has also blasted the US military intervention in the Somali conflict. Any incident of this kind is not helpful in the long term, said Amadeu Altafaj, spokesman for EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel. Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema also denounced the US attacks, saying Rome opposed unilateral initiatives that could spark new tensions in an area that is already very destabilized. Norway, a member of the international contact group on Somalia, said Washington's explanation of its conduct in Somalia was not sufficient and said the fight against terrorism should be fought in a courtroom and not with military hardware. Invitation Deputy Premier and Interior Minister in the interim Ethiopia-backed Somali government, Mohamed Aideed, invited direct US intervention in the war-torn country. Aideed called for deploying US ground troops in Somalia to hunt down what he said Al-Qaeda operatives, reported the Doha-based Al-Jazeera news television. Experts ruled out US approval to deploy ground troops in the Horn of Africa country but believe the call could be seized on by the Americans to intensify air strikes in southern Somalia. US and French military sources have already reported that US Special Forces were working with Ethiopian troops on the ground in operations inside Somalia, reported Reuters. The US set up a taskforce in Djibouti in 2002 to serve as a major hub for US counter-terrorism training and operations. Members of the 1,800-member Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa have also trained with troops in Ethiopia, and US ships patrol the nearby Gulf of Aden, according to Pentagon documents. Somalia's interim President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was quick to defend Tuesday's US air strikes. The Americans had a right to carry out the air strikes on some
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Guantanamo Detainee Baptized
Guantanamo Detainee Baptized IslamOnline.net Newspapers The documents also showed that US jailers wrapped a Muslim prisoner in an Israeli flag during interrogation sessions to incense him. CAIRO In a new embarrassment to the Bush administration, an FBI probe indicated that detainees at the notorious Guantanamo detention camp were baptized and wrapped in Israeli flags, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, January 3. A US interrogator bragged to an FBI agent that he forced a Muslim detainee to listen to Satanic black metal music for hours, according to documents turned over as part of an ongoing lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union. Then, the US interrogator dressed as a Catholic priest before baptizing the detainee, it added. The FBI internal probe into abuse accusations at Guantanamo revealed 26 cases of mistreatments of the Muslim detainees. The documents also showed that US jailers wrapped a Muslim prisoner in an Israeli flag during interrogation sessions to incense him. Other aggressive questioning techniques used included subjecting detainees to extreme heat and cold and using strobe lights. The tactics were allowed under aggressive Pentagon detention policy place at the time, according to the probe. The US has been holding hundreds of detainees at the notorious detention facility, mostly arrested in Afghanistan after the toppling of Taliban following the 9/11 attacks. Guantanamo buildings hide behind multiple rows of 12-foot chain-link fences covered in green tarpaulins and topped with tight spirals of barbed wire. Old wooden and newer steel watchtowers dot the perimeter. Religiously-oriented FBI agents also reported mistreatment of the Noble Qur'an by Guantanamo jailers. An agent said that a Marine captain squatted over a copy of the Muslim holy book in October 2002, while questioning a detainee who was enraged by the abuse. A second FBI agent described similar events, but it was unclear from the documents whether it was a separate case. The desecration of the Qur'an was first reported in 2005, prompting deadly protests in the Muslim world. At the time, the US military conducted an investigation that confirmed five cases of mishandling the Muslim holy book. It acknowledged that soldiers and interrogators had kicked the Qur'an, had stood on it and, in one case, had sprayed urine on it. The new documents also unveiled repeated desecration of the Noble Qur'an, in a religiously oriented tactic against the Muslim detainees. An FBI agent said he was asked female interrogators to wet their hands and touch detainees' faces, prompting them to consider themselves unclean and unable to continue praying. US interrogators also wrapped a bearded inmate's head in duct tape because he would not stop quoting the Qur'an, according to an FBI agent. The agent, whose account was corroborated by a colleague, said that a civilian contractor laughed about the treatment and was eager to show it off. Root Causes More comprehensive investigation is needed into the root causes and policies that led to those incidents, said Jaffer The new abuse revelation sparked calls for comprehensive investigations into the practices used at Guantanamo. More comprehensive investigation is needed, not only into the scope of abuses but into the root causes and policies that led to those incidents, said Jameel Jaffer, deputy director of the ACLU's National Security Program. Jaffer questioned how aggressively the FBI pursued accusations by its agents, because authorities conducted follow-up interviews in only nine of the 26 cases. An FBI memorandum that accompanied the new documents said that none of the incidents involved FBI or Justice Department employees. The memo said that the reports concerned personnel from other government agencies or outside contractors. The Pentagon said the issues and facts raised in the documents are not new. Amnesty International has called Guantanamo the gulag of our time and said it has become a symbol of abuse and represents a system of detention that is betraying the best US values and undermines international standards. A growing chorus of world dignitaries and politicians, including former US presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, and incumbent British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett have pressed for the closure of Guantanamo. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1165994343925pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout - Cheap Talk? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates.
