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September 26, 2002 News |
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Human Price of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine Mission and meaning of Al-Jazeerah
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Top Democrat demands Bush apology WASHINGTON - The nation's top Democratic lawmaker yesterday demanded that President George W. Bush apologise to the American people for politicising a potential war on Iraq and implying that Democrats were not interested in the nation's security. "That is outrageous. Outrageous," Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said on the Senate floor, barely able to contain his anger. "The president ought to apologise to Senator Inouye and every veteran who has fought in every war who is a Democrat in the United States Senate. He ought to apologise to the American people." Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii is a World War II veteran who lost his arm in battle. - AFP
British anti-war lobby to go on the offensive Khaleej Times, 9/26/02LONDON - Opponents of a war on Iraq were yesterday gearing up for a major demonstration in London at the weekend, as the British government defended the need to stick to a hard line on President Saddam Hussein. Unmoved by Prime Minister Tony Blair's dossier on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction, published the day before, the anti-war lobby - including leftist Labour party backbenchers - sought to take the offensive. Labour MP George Galloway, who traveled to Iraq in early August and met Saddam personally, said the Iraqi people would engage in "house-to-house defense" if US forces attacked. "The wrath of the Arab masses will come pouring off the streets of their capitals like molten lava and who knows who will be scorched," the Scottish firebrand said. "Bin Ladenism will have achieved a huge draught of support and a new generation of rabid mosquitoes will fly forth from the swamp of Muslim bitterness and despair." Galloway was among 64 members of the House of Commons - out of a total of 659 - who used a technical vote at the end of a special Iraq debate on Tuesday to voice their opposition to a war. Organisers hope the "Don't Attack Iraq" march across central London to Hyde Park on Saturday will be the biggest peace march in Europe in years, as Mr Blair's government continued to press its case for tough action against Saddam. Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn, another dissenter, said the anti-war rally would show the depth of public feeling on the issue. "Opposition to this war in this country is the most incredible coalition I have ever seen," he said. "You will see Christians, you will see Muslims, you will see the young and the old, trade unionists and peace campaigners ... You will see all sorts of people marching." Foreign Secretary Jack Straw - who yesterday appeared before a parliamentary committee - said the aim of British policy was to rid Iraq of its ability to develop and deploy nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The Foreign Office confirmed that Straw would make a four-day trip to the Gulf region from October 7, including a stop in Iran, Iraq's neighbour. "Our overwhelming aim here, and it's also the aim of the US administration, is to see Saddam Hussein's regime disarmed of its weapons of mass destruction by peaceful means," Mr Straw said on BBC radio. "I don't think there's anybody who would not wish to see the Iraqi regime change," he added. "The focus and the priority is to deal with the threat posed by the Iraqi regime to its own people, to the region and to the international community." Straw also said that once the wording of a UN Security Council resolution on Iraq had been agreed by the United States and Britain, it would be shown to the other permanent members of the council - China, France and Russia - in the hopes of getting their backing. - AFP
Abdullah, Mubarak review Iraq
crisis and Israeli siege RIYADH, 26 September — Prince Abdullah, the regent, and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak yesterday discussed the Iraq crisis and the Israeli siege of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. In the talks, held during Mubarak’s short visit to Riyadh, the two leaders examined the " situation in the region and the precipitous events that could have negative consequences throughout the Arab world". Prince Abdullah and Mubarak also discussed the suffering of the Palestinian people and efforts being made to bring about an end to the latest Israeli siege of Arafat’s Ramallah headquarters. Egypt’s official Middle East News Agency quoted Egyptian Information Minister Safwat El-Sherif, who traveled with Mubarak, as saying the two leaders "discussed the Arab position related to the Iraq issue in light of Baghdad’s announcement agreeing to allow back international inspectors." "On this issue, the two leaders reviewed contacts made with the Iraqi president related to the need for Iraq’s commitment to UN resolutions," Sherif said. Egyptian officials said earlier yesterday the talks would tackle a letter from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to Mubarak and Arab efforts to save "the Iraqi people and the region from more destruction and war". Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said on Tuesday Saddam’s letter stressed that his offer on weapons inspections was unconditional so the world could be sure Iraq did not possess, or want, any weapons of mass of destruction. They also discussed the current Arab, Islamic and international issues and reviewed ways to boost relations between the two countries. Qatar’s Al-Jazeera television channel said Mubarak would study with Prince Abdullah the possibility of holding an Arab summit, but officials in Cairo and Riyadh did not confirm that. The talks were attended by Prince Mishaal, Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, Prince Miteb, minister of public works and housing, Prince Nawaf, director of intelligence and a number of princes. Israel defiant despite US
rebuke OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 26 September — Israel stood defiant yesterday
against pressure from Washington to lift a siege of Yasser Arafat’s
compound that could hurt US efforts to contain Middle East tensions ahead
of possible war with Iraq. The hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon’s government did not respond publicly to a US request to abide by
a UN resolution calling for an immediate end to the six-day-old siege of
the Palestinian president’s headquarters. But Israeli diplomatic sources
said Israel had no intention of complying. Asking Israel to heed the UN resolution, Washington called the Israeli
operation in Ramallah "unhelpful" to international and internal
efforts to persuade Arafat to carry out security and anti-corruption
reforms in his Palestinian Authority. Israeli government sources said they
believed the rare US criticism of Israel stemmed from White House concern
the siege could stoke Middle East tensions and harm Washington’s bid to
win Arab acquiescence in a military campaign against Iraq. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak left Riyadh late yesterday after a
short visit focused on the Iraqi crisis and on the Israeli siege of
Arafat’s headquarters. In talks with Prince Abdullah, the regent of
Saudi Arabia, the two men examined the "situation in the region and
the precipitous events that could have negative results" throughout
the Arab world, the state SPA news agency said. In the Gaza Strip, Palestinian security officials said Israeli
bulldozers destroyed three houses along a road leading to the Netzarim
Jewish settlement. Israeli troops also demolished three houses belonging
to Palestinian activists in the West Bank yesterday, witnesses said. A
house belonging to Diab Schweiki of the Islamic Jihad group was wired with
explosives and blown up on a hillside of the sprawling city of Hebron.
Schweiki is wanted by Israel. The second house, south of Hebron in the
village of Dura, belonged to Anis and Akram Namoura, two brothers
imprisoned by Israel a year ago for carrying out attacks on Israelis.
Palestinian sources said both served in Force 17, the personal bodyguard
of President Yasser Arafat, and were members of his Fatah movement. A
third house, belonging to Sheikh Abd Al-Khaliq Natshe, an official of
Hamas, was destroyed in Hebron, witnesses said. Arafat sleeps on floor and eats from cans Khaleej Times, 9/26/02RAMALLAH - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat spends his days giving pep talks to the 250 people trapped inside his besieged compound with him and working the phones to keep in touch with the outside world. And though associates describe the 73-year-old Arafat as angry at a world he feels favours Israel, they say he has kept "faith" in his cause and accepts his fate stuck in a steamy, foul-smelling and overcrowded building. At his own cramped quarters at one end of the only block left intact in his once sprawling headquarters compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Mr Arafat sleeps on the floor and eats out of cans just like everyone else. Such is the picture that emerges from conversations AFP had with those using mobile telephones from inside. Outside, the place now looks like a prison after Israeli troops completed ringing the compound with concertina wire and set up spotlights to illuminate it at night. Tanks and armoured vehicles are also stationed at points where bulldozers have cleared away debris from surrounding buildings the troops had blown up or torn down after the siege began last Thursday. Anybody trying to break out would be caught in the barbed wire or shot on sight, those inside said. Despite the "horrible" conditions, associates say the Palestinian leader tries to brighten the atmosphere, smiling and laughing with Palestinian Authority (PA) administrators, security forces members, and others. "Every day he comes to us and strengthens our morale," said Khaled Hassan, a PA administrator who spoke from the Palestinian headquarters here. He and others said they all had to cope with hunger, heat, overcrowding, water and electricity shortages, foul smells, as well as with their anger at their isolation and fears they may be killed in an assault. Bassam Abu Sharif, an Arafat adviser in daily contact with his boss from outside the compound, said the Israel army was subjecting the group inside to a "psychological war." Besides cutting water, electricity and telephone lines to make life inside difficult, soldiers speaking Arabic over a loudhailer urge those who are not wanted by Israel to leave the building and return to their families. A top official close to Mr Arafat said everyone scoffed at the surrender appeals and sometimes could not even hear what the Israelis were saying. Launched in retaliation for two suicide bombings last week, Israel says the siege will be lifted if around 20 people wanted for "terrorist" activities surrender and it receives a list of names of all those inside. But Mr Arafat has rejected the demands as political suicide, Palestinians say. Analysts say Mr Arafat, whose popularity had sunk over allegations of corruption and incompetence in the PA, has enjoyed a boost in standing, at least momentarily, from the siege. One Palestinian said his leader lives like everybody else, eating one meal a day and sleeping on the floor. "We sit down, but we don't have plates. We eat out of cans. We don't have vegetables and fruit," he said. - AFP
Blair fails to convince Gulf Press of need for war Khaleej Times, 9/26/02BAGHDAD - Iraqi and Gulf dailies said yesterday Britain's dossier offered no proof of any need to wage war on Iraq, and queried if the aim was other than to curb Baghdad's pursuit of arms of mass destruction. "Information in the report presented by (British Prime Minister Tony) Blair are based on doubts and guesswork," wrote Babel, run by the eldest son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Uday. "These accusations are not acceptable under international law and do not justify an unjust war against a peaceful nation," said the daily. Babel said the dossier's failure to prove that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction "is an additional proof of Iraq's sincerity." In Qatar, Al Watan newspaper said "the document that British Prime Minister Tony Blair released yesterday over the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq only succeeded to consolidate the position of those opposing war on Iraq." French and Russian reservations about the use of force were not lifted, it noted. Presenting a long-awaited dossier on Iraq, Mr Blair told parliament on Tuesday that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein may be only a year or two away from possessing a nuclear bomb, and has "military plans" for the use of chemical and biological weapons. Al Watan, noting that Iraq has responded to London's dossier by offering "unfettered access" for UN arms inspectors, said "Washington and London will face extreme difficulty in convincing the world of things that do not exist." "It would have been better for them to respect world public opinion in seeking to achieve peace and reconciliation instead of igniting wars in a region that cannot take more wars anymore," it said. "The world will soon be convinced that the war the US and British desire might have other objectives not related to weapons of mass destruction, the return of the (arms) inspectors or world peace and security," it added. Al Khaleej, from the United Arab Emirates, said London's dossier "did not present any tangible proof of Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction. "....The British document...has a political objective, namely to make an effect on the British public opinion which is against the country joining a US assault on Iraq," the newspaper said. - AFP
Amnesty for justice in Sabra, Shatila case Khaleej Times, 9/26/02LONDON - Amnesty International urged Belgium's highest court yesterday to help deliver justice to Palestinian victims of the Sabra and Shatila massacres as the tribunal prepared a hearing into the 20-year-old tragedy. Israel's Lebanese allies killed hundreds of Palestinian refugees in a 36-hour rampage in September 1982, during Israel's invasion of Lebanon led by Ariel Sharon, then defence minister and now Israel's prime minister. "Allowing the Belgian criminal justice system to conduct such an investigation as an agent of the international community is the least the world can offer to the survivors and victims of the massacre," Amnesty said in a statement. Belgian's Court of Cassation is scheduled to hear an appeal today into a lower court decision in June that threw out a genocide lawsuit against Ariel Sharon, which decided that the Israeli prime minister's absence from Belgium meant that he could not be probed over the 1982 massacre. Survivors of the massacres at the two refugee camps launched the Belgian lawsuit against Sharon last year, relying on a local law allowing trials for war crimes and genocide regardless of where they occurred. "Amnesty International hopes that the Belgian Court of Cassation will review the previous ruling by a Belgian court which led to the suspension of the criminal investigation into the killing of at least 900 Palestinian civilians in Sabra and Shatila," the statement added. - Reuters
Iraq tells arms experts to come to see for themselves Khaleej Times, 9/26/02BAGHDAD - Iraq said on Wednesday that weapons inspectors will soon be able to verify for themselves that it has no weapons of mass destruction in an apparent final bid to stave off US and British threats of war. A cabinet spokesman renewed attacks on British Prime Minister Tony Blair's dossier on Iraq's arsenal, unveiled on Tuesday. "The Blair report is based on lies and allegations that are completely baseless and without any tangible or convincing evidence," he said. "The (UN) inspection teams will soon return to Iraq and will be able to verify in a short period that the content of the Blair report is but full of lies and allegations," said the spokesman, quoted by state television. The inspectors are expected to arrive in Baghdad in about three weeks. However, there is growing doubt that the United States will halt its campaign to oust President Saddam Hussein whatever Iraq does. - AFP Russia, France unmoved by UK's Iraq dossier Khaleej Times, 9/26/02LONDON - Britain's dossier charging Iraq with developing weapons of mass destruction pushed world leaders closer to a showdown yesterday, with hawks saying it proved the need to confront Baghdad and doves scrambling to avoid war. Two key UN Security Council permanent members remained unconvinced. Russia dismissed a 'propaganda furore' surrounding the British report, and France said it still had not seen proof to back its allegations. Germany also was unimpressed. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said only inspectors could verify the British allegations. "I believe that only specialists and experts can judge whether or not Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. We have therefore sought the fastest possible return to Iraq of inspectors," he told reporters in Moscow. "It therefore seems to us that it is not worth creating a great propaganda furore around this report." France also said it was not yet convinced. "We have accepted the British evaluations and are comparing them with our own," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Paris, adding that President Jacques Chirac had seen signs but not firm proof that would support Mr Blair's accusations. EU member countries have clearly failed to reach a consensus, with views ranging from Mr Blair's staunch support of Washington to the open hostility of Germany's Gerhard Schroeder, who won re-election as chancellor days ago with an anti-war platform. German Defence Minister Peter Struck said there was nothing new in the material presented to the Nato ministers in Warsaw. But there were hints of a policy shift in the other UN heavyweight, China. The official English-language China Daily newspaper said in an editorial yesterday that Saddam would lose international cover if he did not cooperate fully with inspections. "This is the last chance for Saddam Hussein to deprive the Americans of a legal case against him," it wrote. - Reuters
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