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By Kurd Net

06 November, 2012

@ Ekurd.net

ANKARA— Shortly after the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) announced that thousands of more prisoners were to join a collective hunger strike, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç made an open call to all prisoners to end the strike.

On Sunday BDP deputy Sabahat Tuncel said 10,000 more prisoners currently held in the country’s prisons for various crimes, including membership in the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its Iranian offshoot, the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK), would join the hunger strike on Monday.

Around 700 Kurdish prisoners began the hunger strike on September 12, with a host of demands including the release of the Kurdish (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan and demanding the right to receive an education in their mother tongue, Kurdish, and the right to address courts in Kurdish.

Tuncel said on Sunday during a press conference she called after attending an Istanbul demonstration by pro-BDP protestors in support of prisoners on hunger strike, “Ten thousand more prisoners are going to join the hunger strike on Monday [Nov. 5] without a time limit or the possibility of backpedaling [before their demands are met by the government].”

“We are calling [on the government] to bring an end to oppression. Who can approve of the isolation [in prison] of the leader of a people? Who can defend barriers to the right to defend oneself and receive an education in the mother tongue?” Tuncel asked, adding that the BDP would continue to stand by the prisoners on the hunger strike. “The BDP supports the Kurdish people, the fraternity of peoples and freedoms. We [BDP deputies] are in Parliament for our people.”

The response to Tuncel’s challenge came from Arınç on Monday who said Turkey was expecting hunger strikers to end their protest. “Please end the hunger strike. Turkey is expecting you to end the strike. You have wives, families and people who love you. The government will do what is necessary in response to your demands forwarded to our government. Turkey has a Parliament to evaluate all rightful demands,” the deputy prime minister stated, addressing the prisoners.

On Sunday, Tuncel also commented on the remarks of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who said last week that the hunger strike would not result in the release of Öcalan from prison. “Don’t turn this strike into blackmail,” the prime minister said on Nov. 3, adding that the Turkish people would not agree to the terrorist leader’s release and that they instead favor bringing back the death penalty. Responding to the prime minister, Tuncel said: “Our friends on the hunger strike are not blackmailing anyone. It is you [Erdoğan] who are blackmailing us.”

 

The announcement for an expanded hunger strike came from Deniz Kaya, lawyer for several PKK prisoners, who released a statement on Sunday. Similarly, Kaya said 10,000 more PKK and PJAK prisoners were to join the hunger strike. “Starting Monday [Nov. 5], all our prisoner friends except the old, the sick and children will join the hunger strike. The full responsibility [for possible sickness or death] will belong to Prime Minister Erdoğan and his government if our demands are not met,” read Kaya’s statement.

 

The statement also said the hunger strike is aimed to “end the oppression of the Kurdish people.” “We want the oppression against our people to end. Who can eliminate or ignore our right to defend and receive an education in the mother tongue? Who can consider the isolation and torture of the leader of a people? Who can stand in the way of negotiations [by state authorities] with our leader,www.ekurd.net which is the key to the coexistence of the two peoples and the restoration of peace? We are making a call to anyone who calls himself a human being to respond to these questions. The demands we are giving voice to are aimed at the Justice and Development Party [AK Party] government. The hunger strike will continue with new prisoners joining until we have our demands met [by the government],” added the statement.

Also on Monday, the Ministry of Justice announced that they learned about new prisoners joining the hunger strike from the Turkish media and that they do not have any other information on the issue.

BDP Co-chairman Selahattin Demirtaş also spoke to the media on Sunday and said he thinks prisoners will give up the hunger strike if the AK Party government agrees to improve the prison conditions of Öcalan. BDP officials have been meeting with striking prisoners for a while. “We have received the impression from the prisoners we have talked to so far that they intend to give up the hunger strike if the government allows regular meetings [between relatives, lawyers, etc.] with Öcalan,” he stated. He also said many of the strikers are in critical condition and that the government has to make a quick decision to meet their needs.

By Bill Van Auken

06 November, 2012

@ WSWS.org

Four days of meetings in Doha, the capital of Qatar, of Western-backed elements backing the overthrow of the Syrian government began in disarray Sunday, following last week’s demand by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for a shakeup within the so-called rebel leadership.

Clinton gave the Syrian oppositionists their marching orders last Wednesday, declaring that the Syrian National Council (SNC), formed barely a year ago and recognized by Washington as the “legitimate representative” of the Syrian people, had lost US backing. She dismissed the leadership that the US had previously supported as a gang of irrelevant exiles who had not set foot in Syria for decades and insisted that Washington wanted to connect with those who were “fighting and dying” in the civil war raging inside the Middle Eastern country.

In reality, it has become clear that the US is bent on fashioning a “respectable” leadership, with representatives from the various religious and ethnic groups that comprise the Syrian population in order to better mask the bitter sectarian character of the conflict that Washington is fueling, as well as the increasingly prominent role played by Islamist militias with connections to Al Qaeda.

The conferences in Doha began with a meeting of the SNC, sponsored by the Arab League and Qatar’s Sunni monarchy, that was designed to bring in new members in an effort to stave off the US bid to deprive it of its franchise as the imperialist-backed Syrian opposition. Dominated largely by the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, the SNC indicated its sharp disagreement with the US move, while failing to clarify at the outset whether it would simply reject it or haggle for a better deal from Washington.

 

The US State Department has indicated that it is prepared to offer the SNC 15 seats in the 50-member leadership of the new front being cobbled together by Washington. Dubbed the Syrian National Initiative, this new front is supposed to convene in Doha on Wednesday and Thursday.

According to press reports, SNC chief Abdelbaset Sieda has rejected the US proposal, while arguing that his Syrian National Council should have at least 40 percent of the seats in the new Syrian National Initiative.

In announcing the shift in US policy during a press conference last week in Croatia, Clinton made it clear that Washington is handpicking a Syrian leadership that it intends to install as a transitional government that would serve as a US puppet. The State Department, she disclosed, had “recommended names and organizations that we believe should be included in any leadership structure.”

The announcement apparently took Washington’s allies by surprise. “The US government gave no advance notice of its intention to renounce the council as the lead umbrella group, diplomats of three countries said,” McClatchy Newspapers reported Monday. “They said their governments learned about the initiative from news accounts.”

One Western diplomat cited by McClatchy questioned the wisdom of Clinton’s remarks about picking the individuals and organizations to include in a new leadership. “Syrians will say the Americans are imposing the names,” he said. “And I am not sure the Americans would propose the right people.”

Turkey, which has played a major role in providing the so-called rebels with arms, military training, bases and other support, scrambled to respond to the US shift, convening a two-hour meeting between Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the leadership of the SNC in Ankara on Friday.

It is not clear whether the Sunni Islamist government in Ankara and the Sunni monarchy in Qatar, which has reportedly funneled large quantities of weapons to Islamist militias fighting inside Syria, are in agreement with the US move.

The American-driven creation of the new Syrian National Initiative has also been dubbed the “Riad Seif plan,” after the principal individual advanced by the State Department to lead it.

Seif is a Syrian capitalist who began as a textile manufacturer before winning the Adidas franchise in Syria in the 1990s. He sought to build a bourgeois party as an alternative to the ruling Baathists and ran afoul of the Assad regime by challenging a deal that placed the country’s major cellphone company in the hands of a member of the Assad family.

As the classified embassy cables made public by WikiLeaks made clear, Seif held regular meetings with officers of the US embassy in Damascus to apprise them of his own activities as well as give his assessment of developments within the Assad regime. In other words, he is Washington’s man.

In her statement last week, Clinton issued her ultimatum to the SNC, declaring that it “can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition.”

This curious choice of words suggests that there is a need for a “visible” leadership, that is secular, solidly bourgeois and oriented to the West, to serve as a front for the real forces waging the war for regime change inside Syria, which are increasingly sectarian and Islamist, including large numbers of Al Qaeda-linked foreign fighters who have poured into the country from Iraq, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Chechnya and elsewhere.

This “visible” leadership would make it politically more feasible for Washington to intervene far more directly in the war in Syria once the US presidential elections are over.

The Russian government denounced the convening of the new opposition front in Doha, declaring that Washington was violating an agreement reached in Geneva last summer committing all parties to seek an end to the fighting and a negotiated transition to a new government in Syria.

The State Department, the Russian Foreign Ministry charged in a statement Monday, has issued “direct orders about what the Syrian opposition should do to form a ‘government in exile’ and about who should join such a government.”

As Washington worked to set up its new opposition front in Doha, the vicious civil war it is fomenting inside Syria continued to give the lie to all the talk of humanitarian concern and democratic transition.

A car bomb went off Monday in a densely populated section of Damascus, killing 11 people and injuring at least two dozen more, many of them critically. The victims included women and children. Another suicide bomber attacked in Hama. The official state news agency, SANA, reported that two civilians were killed in the explosion and 10 others wounded in an attack on a state-run development agency. Opposition sources claimed that they had struck an outpost of Syrian security forces and killed 50.

In a third attack, two people were killed near Damascus by a roadside bomb.

The wave of attacks would have been denounced by Washington as terrorism if it had taken place elsewhere in the region, but in Syria such attacks enjoy US backing.

They follow the massacre last Thursday of at least a dozen Syrian soldiers captured by Islamist militiamen outside Saraqeb in northwestern Syria. A graphic video of the massacre uploaded onto social media the same day showed the militiamen beating and kicking wounded soldiers pleading for their lives. Screaming “Assad’s dogs” at them, they forced the unarmed soldiers into a pile and then executed them with automatic rifle fire.

By Countercurrents.org

05 November, 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

South Korea has shut down two nuclear reactors. Last month, authorities temporarily shut down two 1,000-megawatt reactors at separate nuclear plants after system malfunctions which were also blamed for another reactor at Yeonggwang being tripped into automatic shutdown in July.

Japan Today reported [1]:

South Korea has been forced to shut down two nuclear reactors on November 5, 2012 to replace components provided with fake quality certificates, a minister said, warning of “unprecedented” power shortages to follow.

Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Suk-Woo stressed that the “non-core” components posed no safety threat and were unrelated to a string of systems malfunctions at reactors this year that triggered calls for a safety review.

The two affected units at the Yeonggwang nuclear complex in the southwest may have to remain offline until early January, as engineers replace more than 5,000 fuses, cooling fans and other parts provided by eight suppliers.

“Comprehensive safety check-ups are necessary at these two reactors where the uncertified parts were used extensively,” Hong said.

“It’s inevitable that we will experience unprecedented power shortage during the coming winter with the two reactors shut,” he added.

South Korea operates 23 nuclear power reactors which meet more than 35 percent of the country’s electricity needs. It plans to build an additional 16 reactors by 2030.

The government has vowed to stick to its nuclear power program despite public concerns arising from last year’s nuclear disaster in Japan.

If the two Yeonggwang reactors are not brought back online as scheduled, Hong warned of a “dramatic” drop in national power reserves to 300,000 kilowatts in January, compared to the government target of 4.5 million kilowatts.

“Energy authorities are preparing a super-intense power supply emergency plan, which will be carried out in mid-November,” he said, without elaborating.

All parts supplied for use in South Korea’s nuclear plants require quality and safety warranties from one of 12 international organizations designated by Seoul.

The eight suppliers cited by Hong faked 60 warranties covering nearly 7,700 items that had been provided at a cost of $750,000, Hong said.

Of the total, more than 5,200 parts have been used in five reactors—99% of them in the two Yeonggwang units closed on November 5, 2012.

Doubts over nuclear safety standards were fueled in May when five senior engineers were charged with trying to cover up a potentially dangerous power failure at South Korea’s oldest nuclear plant.

The five, including a chief engineer at the Gori-1 reactor, were accused of violating a law on nuclear safety.

The reactor, built in 1978 near the southern city of Busan, briefly lost mains power on Feb 9 and the emergency generator failed to kick in. The power cut caused cooling water to stop circulating.

A BBC report [2] said:

Some parts in the nuclear reactors used had not been properly vetted, an official says.

They included fuses, cooling fans and power switches that did not have the required nuclear industry certificates.

“Comprehensive safety check-ups are necessary at these two reactors where the uncertified parts were used extensively,” the Knowledge Economy minister said.

While none have posed a public risk, opposition to the government’s bid to vastly expand its nuclear industry has been growing, says the BBC’s Lucy Williamson in Seoul.

Source:

[1] “S Korea shuts nuclear reactors, warns of power shortages”, Nov. 05, 2012, http://www.japantoday.com/category/world/view/s-korea-shuts-nuclear-reactors-warns-of-power-shortages

[2] “South Korea shuts nuclear reactors over unapproved parts”, Nov. 5, 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20202354

Lavrov: Some Participant Countries in Geneva Statement Encourage Syrian Opposition to Continue Fighting

Nov 05, 2012

CAIRO, (SANA) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that there is no military solution to the crisis in Syria, adding that Russia is the only country that is dealing with the Syrian government and opposition on the basis of Geneva statement.

In a press conference held in Cairo on Sunday, Lavrov said that some countries that participated in Geneva conference are making contacts with the Syrian opposition only and encouraging it to continue fighting, hoping that these countries will commit themselves to Geneva statement as to join efforts to support the UN envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, in his mission.

He underscored that all sides involved in the crisis in Syria should cease fire and sit at the dialogue table in accordance with Geneva statement.

Minister Lavrov stressed that “We shouldn’t forget the other issues in the region, such as the Palestinian issue and the issue of establishing a region free of nuclear weapons in the Middle East.”

He added that “we supported the Arab peoples in their aspirations for better life, we shouldn’t allow exploiting this matter to destabilize the region.”

Lavor pointed out to the cooperation between Russia and the Arab League in solving conflicts, adding that the two sides agreed on establishing a cooperation forum on the ministerial level to this end.

For his part, the UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said that there is no military solution to the crisis in Syria, adding that the crisis will not remain within the Syrian lands.

Brahimi added that “After the contacts I made with Syrians, in Syria and abroad, and with regional and international countries in addition to sides in the UN I’m more convinced that the Geneva statement, which was released on June 30th 2012, stresses the need to set a plan that leads to a political solution which is acceptable by the Syrian people.”

Terrorist Blast near General Federation of Trade Unions, Injuring Eleven Persons, Causing Huge Material Damage

Nov 04, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Terrorists on Sunday detonated an explosive device near the parking lot of the General Federation of Trade Unions in Damascus, causing the injury of a number of citizens and huge material damage.

SANA reporter quoted a source in the province as saying that the explosive device, weighing 50 kg, was planted by the terrorists in the site.

A source at al Mowasat Hospital said 11 injured persons arrived to the Hospital, most of them suffer medium injuries, and that necessary treatment has been provided to them.

In a statement to SANA, Chairman of the General Federation of Trade Unions, Mohammad Shaaban Azouz, said the terrorist bombing, having taking place at a time when all workers are present in the building, aimed at causing huge damage and casualties and increase the suffering of citizens, particularly the interests of the working class.

The Armed Forces Continue Targeting Terrorists’ Gatherings and Cars

Nov 05, 2012

PROVINCES, (SANA)- Units of the armed forces on Sunday clashed with armed terrorist groups which were sabotaging and looting near al-Rahma gas station in Harasta in Damascus Countryside, killing scores of them.

An official source told SANA reporter that the terrorists burned the bodies of their dead colleagues in order for their identities and nationalities not to be recognized.

An official source told SANA reporter that the armed forces also destroyed a number of terrorists’ machineguns-equipped cars in the clashes.

The source said that a unit of the armed forces killed a number of terrorists in Qubit Jubeir area. A number of cars equipped with weapons were destroyed in the orchards surrounding Harasta, all the terrorists inside them were killed.

The source added that another unit of the armed forces pursued an armed terrorist group which committed killing and sabotaging acts in al-Hajira town in al-Sayeda Zainab area and eliminated all its members including the leader of the group, terrorist Abu Abdullah Hamwi.

The source pointed out that a booby-trapped car went off killing and injuring a number of terrorists while they were trying to move it to another place in al-Hajira.

Meanwhile, a source at Damascus Countryside Police Command said that a dustman was martyred in Tal Menin town in a blast an explosive device which had been planted by gunmen at the entrance of the town.

Popular Committees in al-Yarmouk Camp Repel Terrorists Attempting to Infiltrate Camp

Popular committees in al-Yarmouk Camp affirmed that Palestinians in Syria’s camps will not permit terrorists and those manipulating them to deviate Palestinians from their goals and struggle, and that they will continue to support Syria in the face of conspiracies.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the committees said that armed terrorist groups attempted to infiltrate in al-Yarmouk Camp in Damascus on Sunday evening, but the committees confronted them and repelled them, injuring a number of terrorists.

The statement noted that this attempt came after terrorists announced forming a so-called “Liwa’a al-Asifah” (Storm Brigade) and creating a fake Palestinian force to seize the camp under the claim that this brigade contains Palestinians rather than mercenaries.

The committees said that the terrorists’ failure to infiltrate the Camp prompted them to shell it with Mortar rounds, martyring and injuring a number of civilians including martyrs Tarek Sharif and Nahed Mansour.

Large Amounts of Weapons Seized in Lattakia Countryside

The authorities seized large amounts of weapons and explosive devices inside a hideout for terrorists in al-Haffeh city in the countryside of Lattakia.

SANA reporter quoted a source in the province as saying that the seized weapons included 50 explosive devices of different sizes and weights ready for detonation, four pump-action rifles, seven pistols, a number of detonators, ammunition, in addition to military uniforms and white arms.

Terrorists’ Gatherings Targeted in Deir Ezzor

A unit of the armed forces clashed with terrorists who were sabotaging and looting in Sita Ella Rubaa Street in Deir Ezzor, killing a number of them and wounding others.

Another unit of the armed forces targeted a terrorists’ gathering in al-Mayadin city in Deir Ezzor countryside.

The operation resulted in the killing of a number of terrorists and the injury of others.

An Armed Forces unit clashed with terrorists in al-Jbaileh neighborhood in Deir Ezzor, eliminating a large number of them including terrorist Mohammad Jassem Shannan and injuring others.

Army kills several terrorists in Zamalka, Damascus countryside

A unit of the armed forces clashed today with an armed terrorist group which perpetrated acts of looting and killing at Zamalka region in Damascus countryside.

A source in Damascus countryside told SANA reporter that the army killed several sniper terrorists, among them Misbah al-Shitini and Abdul-Razak al-Jundi.

Armed Forces Inflict Heavy Losses upon Terrorists in Idleb

The armed forces destroyed several terrorists’ gatherings in Maaret al-Numan in Idleb countryside, killing dozens of terrorists and confiscating their weapons.

An official source told SANA reporter that the weapons included RPG launchers, shoulder-launched rockets, machineguns and bombs.

The source added that the armed forces destroyed a terrorists’ car, killing all terrorists inside of it on Maaret al-Numan road in the province.

Authorities in Daraa Arrest 4 Terrorists Involved in Recent Terrorist Bombing near Telecommunication Establishment

The authorities in Daraa arrested 4 terrorists who were involved in the terrorist bombing which took place near the Telecommunication Establishment in al-Mahatta neighborhood in Daraa city on the first day of Eid al-Adha and caused the death and injury of a number of citizens.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that the authorities continues pursuing the rest of the armed terrorist group that is responsible for carrying out the terrorist bombing.

A Number of Terrorists Eliminated in Daraa, Others Arrested

Units of the Armed Forces pursued a number of terorrists in al-Mukhayam neighborhood and Rariq al-Sad neighborhood in Daraa and clashed with them leading to eliminating a number of the terrorists, wounding others and arresting others.

An official source told SANA reporter that the leader of the so-called “Fedayeen Daraa Brigade” Iyas Mohammad al-Hajj and sniper of the so-called “al-Mansour Brigade” were killed.

The authorities in Daraa also eliminated a number of terrorists during their operations to restore security to Daraa’s western countryside, confiscating wireless communication devices which the terrorists were using to coordinate movements.

In an operation in Daraa’s northern countryside in the area between Basr al-Hariri and al-Dor village, the authorities inflicted heavy losses upon terrorists, killing a number of them and confiscating their weapons which included 3 assault rifles, 4 handguns, grenades and munitions.

Armed Forces Continue Clearing Aleppo and its Countryside from Terrorists

The Armed Forces continued on Sunday clearing Aleppo countryside from the armed terrorist groups and eliminated a large number of terrorists and destroyed their cars which were loaded with weapons.

An official source told SANA reporter that a unit of the Armed Forces attacked dens of terrorists and a weapons cache in al-Bab city and two sites of armed groups’ leaders near Abu Salsal village.

The source added that another unit attacked three cars transferring terrorists.

The Armed Forces carried out a qualitative operation in which the army destroyed a car transferring terrorists and weapons in Sahat al-Milh, terrorist Abdul-Mine’m al-Hammoud, leader of terrorist group, along with all his group’s members were killed during the operation.

An armed terrorist group attacked a march demanding the exit of the terrorists from al-Ma’adi area in Aleppo, the terrorists kidnapped 15 citizens.

In al-Safira area, a unit of the Armed Forces destroyed two cars laoded with weapons and munitions and a den for terrorists near the school of the town.

A unit of the Armed Forces destroyed a place where terrorists were gathering and two cars loaded with weapons and munitions and two cars equipped with machineguns in Jeb Ghabsheh area.

The Armed Forces also destroyed terrorist sites and two cars in Deir Hafer.

In Wadha village, the Armed Forces attacked a weapons cache used by armed terrorist groups and destroyed it completely.

A unit of the Armed Forces attacked a truck loaded with weapons and six cars on Izaz-Aleppo highway.

Another unit of the Armed Forces destroyed 4 cars loaded with weapons and munitions on Handarat-Mare highway.

An official source told SANA reporter that a unit of the Armed Forces destroyed three weapons caches in al-Lairamoun area in Aleppo and eliminated all terrorists inside.

Another unit of the Armed Forces clashed with an armed terrorist group in Bab Antakia area and killed six terrorists and injured tens of them.

The source added that a unit of the Armed Forces attacked gathering of terrorists in al-Sukari area and killed and wounded tens of terrorists.

The Armed Forces foiled an attempt by terrorists to infilitrate from Bustan al-Basha into al-Midan and eliminated several terrorists.

Mikdad: Syrian Government Committed to Providing Facilitations to UNHCR Programs and Projects

Nov 04, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Dr. Fayssal Mikdad discussed on Sunday with Director of the Regional Office for Arab Countries and North Africa for the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Yakoub al-Hillo, means for boosting the standing cooperation.

The two sides discussed means for providing the best possible forms of aid to refugees in Syria which is one of the foremost countries in hosting refugees and helping them in cooperation with the UNHCR.

During the meeting, Mikdad voiced Syria’s satisfaction over the standing cooperation with UNHCR, affirming that the Syrian government is committed to providing facilitations to UNHCR programs and projects.

He pointed out to the current conditions in Syria, particularly the terrorist attacks that damaged infrastructure and affected public and private establishments and the terrorists’ crimes of murdering innocent civilians and displacing them by force to neighboring countries to create excuses for foreign intervention.

Mikdad affirmed that the so-called Syrian refugees issue was created to justify the interference of regional countries, the US and western Europe in Syria’s affairs, stressing the need to stop the support provided by Turkey and some Arab Gulf countries to terrorist groups.

For his part, al-Hillo reviewed the UNHCR’s activities which it carries out with the Syrian government and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) to provide the needs of displaced families.

Minister of Social Affairs and Labor: Government Carries out its Constitutional and Humanitarian Duties towards Affected Citizens by terrorist crimes

For his part, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Dr. Jassem Zakaria, stressed that the government is carrying out its constitutional and humanitarian duties towards citizens affected by terrorist crimes.

During a meeting with the UN official and the accompanying delgation , Minister Zakaria pointed out that the Higher Relief Committee is working to facilitate the work of any foreign organization which wants to offer humanitarian services.

He referred to the importance of rehabilitating temporary residence centers to host affected families.

Yakoub al-Hillo stressed the importance of coordination and consultation between the Higher relief Committee and the UN High commission for Refugee Affairs, pointing out that Syria has received thousands of refugees from various Arab countries and it ranked third internationally in the humanitarian and relief field.

Over 30 People Killed in Massacre Committed by Terrorists in Harem, Idleb Countryside

Nov 04, 2012

IDLEB, (SANA)- Terrorists on Sunday committed a massacre in Harem area in the countryside of Idleb province, causing scores of victims.

An official source told SANA reporter that terrorists perpetrated a massacre against more than 30 citizens in Harem area, noting that the terrorists filmed the massacre and sent the photos and videos to the channels which are involved in the shedding of the Syrian blood to blame the army for it.

The source added that the terrorists who committed the massacre are Abdul-Muneim al-Sabei, Bassel Sayyed Issa, Mohammad Sukeini and Ghassan Ramsan Quweiri.

Hasaka Meeting of Parties, Social and Economic Bodies: Terrorism of Armed Groups Flagrant Aggression on Syrians

Nov 04, 2012

HASAKA, (SANA) – The participants of Hasaka’s meeting of parties, social, intellectual, economic and political bodies on Sunday stressed that the acts of the armed terrorist groups are flagrant aggression on the Syrian people and army.

The participants said that the armed terrorist groups are part of the conspiracy tools, reiterating that these groups are not part of the Syrian opposition.

Secretary-General of the National Youths for Justice and Development Party, Birween Ibrahim, said that the meeting enhances the culture of dialogue, adding that the crisis cannot be solved expect by the Syrians themselves and through dialogue.

For his part, Secretary-General of the Syrian National Youths Party, Maher Mirhej, said that Syria is waiting for the efforts of all of its people to restore security and stability to the homeland, stressing that the honest and serious dialogue is the only way out of the crisis.

Head of al-Baath Arab Socialist Party’s Branch in Hasaka, Hanna Atallah, hailed the efforts exerted by the Syrian army to clear the homeland from the terrorists who seek the destruction of Syria.

He added that Syria is progress in steady steps in the reform process under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad and at the same time is fighting death and destruction.

In turn, Mohammad Izz Eddin, representative of the Syrian Associations Union, lauded the role of the Syrian army and the sacrifices made by the Syrian soldiers to defend the country.

People’s Assembly Listens to Government’s Financial Statement on General State Budget Bill for 2013 Fiscal Year

Nov 04, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – During a session held on Sunday and chaired by Speaker Mohammad Jihad al-Laham, the People’s Assembly listened to the government’s financial statement on the bill of the general state budget for the 2013 fiscal year which is estimated at SYP 1,383 billion.

Finance Minister Dr. Mohammad al-Jleilati said that the funds allocated for ministries and affiliated bodies from the expenditures of the 2013 budget amounts to SYP 317,896,000,000, with the government’s participation in social subsidies increasing from SYP 386 billion in 2012 to 512 billion in 2013.

He pointed out that the increase of subsidies is due to the supply deficit, rising prices of petroleum products, and increasing exchange rate of the SYP against the USD, along with the cessation of petroleum export and rise of electricity costs due to rising fuel prices.

Al-Jleilati said that 17,914,000,000 has been allocated in the 2013 budget to subsidies for economic and services companies that are selling at a price lower than cost, and that 6,127,000,000 has been allocated to cover costs of the new job opportunities for 2013 which amount to around 36,769 job opportunities.

Funds allocated for investment in the 2013 budget amount to 275 billion, marking a decrease of 100 billion from 2012 due to focus on initiated projects that have priority, with 86 billion allocated as reserve funds for investment projects in addition to 30 billion for reconstruction and rehabilitation of public establishments and border fortification.

Al-Jleilati estimated that deficiency in the 2013 budget will be around 745 billion compared to 216 billion, noting that the sanctions imposed on Syria aim to cause a structural disturbance in Syria’s economy as they affect the general state budget, exchange rates, foreign currency reserves, general debt, inflation, unemployment and cash reserves, pointing out that Syrian economy was affected markedly by these sanctions.

He explained that the current conditions imposed a reduction in actual investment spending and forced a focus on existing projects started in 2012 and 2013, in addition to controlling general spending.

Al-Jleilati reviewed a number of policies and steps for financial reform such as controlling general spending, particularly administrative and non-productive spending, and dealing with establishments and companies that operate at a loss or that stopped work, among other steps.

He also stressed the need to increase efforts to combat tax evasion and resolve financial tangles between economic sector companies and establishments.

Interpositions by Assembly members focused on the need for the government to focus and prioritize the restoration of security and stability, providing citizens’ basic needs of food, supplies and fuel, achieving national reconciliation, and devising a rescue plan for areas and individuals damaged by terrorism.

A number of members called for employing more efficient economic policies, controlling spending, limiting squandering, and holding corrupt and negligent individuals accountable.

They stressed the need for providing accurate databases of those eligible for subsidies and delivering aid to those who need it, in addition to combating tax evasion, and reducing taxes and fees imposed on citizens.

The Assembly then referred a number of decrees and bills to the proper committees, including a decree on granting general amnesty to crimes committed prior to October 23, 2012, a bill on exempting due loans of the Agricultural Bank of fees, among others.

The Assembly referred its members’ written questions to the proper bodies through the Prime Ministry. The Questions dealt with water resources and irrigation issues, postponing payment of agricultural loans, and restructuring electricity fees.

The questions also covered issues related to higher education, building new hospitals, area planning and zoning, and health insurance for workers, among others.

The session was adjourned until 12:00 PM on Monday.

Terrorists Assassinate Actor Mohammad Rafei in Damascus, BASP Member in Raqqa

Nov 04, 2012

DAMASCUS / RAQQA, (SANA) – An armed terrorist group assassinated the young actor Mohammad Rafei, son of the renowned actor Ahmad Rafei, two days after abducting him in Barzeh area in Damascus.

Mohammad Rafei’s father told SANA reporter that his son was kidnapped on Friday and killed on Saturday evening. He expressed pride “to be one of the Syrian fathers who offered martyrs for the sake of defending Syria’s dignity.”

The abduction and assassination of Rafei came within the framework of the terrorist groups’ targeting of creative national cadres who announced their principled stances against the global war launched against Syria and rejection of the terrorist criminal practices against the Syrian people.

Actor Mohammad Rafei was born in 1982. He worked at theatre and radio before his participation in a number of TV series.

Member of Leadership of Raqqa Branch of BASP Assassinated

In the same framework, an armed terrorist group on Sunday assassinated Ismael al-Hammadeh, member of the leadership of Raqqa branch of al-Baath Arab Socialist Party (BASP), in his house in al-Salhabiyeh village in Raqqa Countryside.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that terrorists stormed into al-Hammadeh’s house at dawn and opened fire on him causing his immediate martyrdom.

Damascus University Students Donate Blood in Appreciation of Syrian Arab Army’s Sacrifices

Nov 04, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Within the framework of  “We Sacrifice Ourselves  for Syria” campaign organized by Syrian Students’ Union, a number of university students in Damascus on Sunday donated blood in appreciation of the sacrifices of the Syrian Arab Army.

The students pointed out that their blood donation campaign is a very simple and humble issue in comparison with the sacrifices of the Syrian Arab Army, and it is the least they can do to help the wounded soldiers, stressing that they will carry the weapons of knowledge and will do anything they can to stand by the Syrian Arab Army in confronting terrorism which is targeting Syria and its steadfast people.

They added that the events taking place in Syria will increase their determination to achieve victory for the homeland.

According to officials at the Blood Transfer Center at Damascus University, the center has recently suffered from the lack of some blood types because of the current circumstances and because the armed terrorist groups have been attacking the army and law-enforcement forces and civilians; however, the blood donation campaigns have contributed to making up for the lack of those blood types.

Environment Affairs State Minister Affirms Need to Take Urgent Steps to Deal with Pollution Caused by Terrorist

Nov 04, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – State Minister for Environment Affairs Dr. Nazira Serkis on Sunday affirmed the need to take urgent steps to deal with the pollution caused by terrorists’ actions such as burning forests, blowing up oil pipelines and so on.

During a meeting with central directors at the state ministry, Serkis called for coordination with directorates in provinces to stay on top of environmental conditions and ecological issues in each province.

She stressed the need for implementing special plans for the exceptional current circumstances and focusing on field visits to inspect ecological issues and implementing applicable and realistic solutions for them.

Serkis also underlined the need to reduce pollution caused by olive presses by spreading awareness among their owners and carrying out periodic inspections.

A number of directors affirmed the need to spread awareness among citizens of en environmental issues through mass media and awareness campaigns.

Ambassador  Abu Saeed: Armed Groups Perpetrate Massacres against Citizens in Syria out of their Takfiri Thinking

Nov 04, 2012

MOSCOW, (SANA) – Ambassador of the International High Commission for Human Rights in the Middle East, member of the International Parliament for Safety and Peace, Haitham Abu Saeed stressed that the armed terrorist groups in Syria do not hesitate to commit massacres against citizens because that is part of their Takfiri nature of thinking.

Abu Saeed said in an interview with Russia Today TV Channel that “There is a possibility that we witness other massacres committed by the Takfiri armed groups in Syria, as this has been manifested throughout the course of their acts since the beginning of the events in Syria.”

He pointed out to the heinous massacre recently committed by the armed groups in Idleb with cold blood, saying “We will prepare the required reports regarding this massacre to send them to the international bodies including the Human Rights Council, UN Secretary General and all international human rights organizations.”

Abu Saeed highlighted the Commission’s warning of politically exploiting people’s tragedies, particularly those displaced, saying ” We sensed the exploitation of this humanitarian profile by some neighboring countries to Syria, and they always bring it up to pressure Syria at the Security Council, which is unacceptable.”

Earlier in an interview with the Syrian TV, the Ambassador held the countries supporting terrorism responsible for every drop of blood spilled in Syria, pointing out to the clear involvement of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in what is happening in Syria.

Czech Website…Armed Opposition in Syria Commits War crimes, ‘Free Army’ Militias Scorns Religions

Nov 04, 2012

PRAGUE, (SANA) – Czech Website Vlasti Glavo described as “a war crime according to the international law” the crimes repetitively committed by the armed opposition in Syria, the latest of which is the crime of executing civilians and military members in Saraqeb in Idleb.

The website pointed out that killing military captives, the injured and the sick is not only considered a crime according to the international law but also according to the Islamic law, clarifying that some armed groups linked to the so-called free army use a language that scorns and disdains religions and ethnic groups.

The Website pointed out that the countries supporting the armed groups which commit such crimes are held responsible before the International Criminal Court because the convection on establishing this court allows chasing both the perpetrators and those who allow the commission of the crimes.

In this regard, the website clarified that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Britain and the USA are supporting the armed groups with fund and weapons, which makes them partners in the crime according to the international law.

Syrian Students and Communities Abroad Are Mainstay of Confrontation

Nov 03, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – The Syrian citizens inside and outside the homeland have formed a genuine front to uncover the tools of the aggression targeting Syria and to thwart its attempts to prove to the world the vitality and creativity of the Syrian people which constitute the national guarantee for Damascus to remain the capital of civilization.

The Syrian Students Union branches and the Syrian communities overseas, sent by their homeland to learn, have constituted the mainstay of the Syrian confrontation abroad teaching all nations the meaning of steadfastness.

They launched solidarity campaigns with the homeland from the beginning of the aggression on Syria. These campaigns included “The Global Campaign for Solidarity with Syria” which was launched by the Syrian Students Union from October 18 to October 21, organizing popular marches, solidarity stands and visits to friendly countries’ embassies.

Syrian students and communities participated in this campaign in several international capitals starting with those of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States to India, China, Brazil, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, Lebanon, Germany, Italy, Slovak, Armenia, Belgium, France, Hungary, Belarus, Poland, Bulgaria, Spain and Romania.

The Syrian students in those countries expressed rejection of all forms of foreign interference in the internal affairs of their homeland and their support to the reforms commenced by the Syrian leadership.

Participants in the solidarity stands saluted the great role of the Syrian Arab Army in confronting terrorism and terrorists and protecting the security and stability of Syria.

The main titles of the Syrian students’ activities were embodied in condemning terrorism and resolve to confront it, persistence on reform and building the homeland for all its sons and stressing national unity and dialogue.

Homs Governor Calls for Exerting Efforts to Return Companies Affected by Terrorism to Regular Production Output

Nov 03, 2012

HOMS, (SANA) – Governor of Homs Ahmad Munir Mohammad called for increasing efforts to return establishments and companies in the province that were affected by terrorism to their regular production output to meet the needs of citizens.

During inspection tours of al-Walid and al-Hilal mills, Homs Sugar Company and Homs Dairy Company on Saturday, Mohammad stressed the need to end the state of complacency among workers in these companies.

He underlined the need for workers to be committed to working hours and industrial safety regulations, pointing out to the role of mass media in uncovering negativities in order to deal with them.

The Governor listened to the workers’ complaints in the facilities he visited, affirming that the government is working hard to improve citizens’ living conditions.

Moscow Organization of the Russian Communist Party Denounces Aggression on Syria

Nov 03, 2012

MOSCOW, (SANA) – Members of the Moscow Organization of the Russian Communist Party voiced their support for Syria in the face of the western plots aiming to escalate the situation in it and in the region.

A statement issued by the representatives of the Moscow Organization Conference of the Russian Communist Party on Saturday said that NATO countries set up camps and centers for training, particularly in Turkey, to train those who fight against the Syrian people.

The statement said that the western imperialism is using anti-Syria propaganda and blatant lies in an attempt to whitewash terrorist groups in Syria and blame their crimes on the Syrian Army.

The statement denounced the assassination of Syrian journalists and the blocking of Syrian mass media by Arab and western sides, which violates freedom of expression and human rights.

The statement said that the attack on Syria seeks to undermine its nationalist government which has resisted colonialist and Zionist plots in the region for decades, denouncing the biased stances of the Arab League and its subservience to the Arab Gulf kingdoms and sheikhdoms.

The statement affirmed that Russia’s communists stand firmly alongside Syria’s leadership, people and army in their fight for their freedom, independence and territorial integrity, calling on the US, NATO, Turkey and the Arab League to stop their war on Syria.

By Countercurrents.org

05 November, 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

Protest and police action went on in Kuwait, a US ally and member of the OPEC. Police used stun grenades against protesters there as thousands of people marched. Dozens of protesters have been arrested. Kuwait City, the originally planned protest area, was sealed off. Meanwhile, Jordan has denied reports of sending its riot police to Kuwait.

From Kuwait City channelnewsasia.com reported [1]:

Riot police used stun grenades and smoke bombs against thousands of demonstrators who defied a protest ban to block a major road south of the capital on November 4, 2012 as the emir met leading opposition figures.

After elite special forces and police completely sealed off the original protest site in Kuwait City, organisers told supporters via Twitter to gather instead at Mishref, 20 kilometers from the capital.

Although most roads leading to the new location were quickly closed off by police, thousands of people still managed to get through and immediately started marching.

They briefly cut off the sixth ring road, the main motorway in the south of Kuwait before calling off the demonstration barely an hour after it began.

Organisers later announced the end of the protest, declaring it a success but without announcing plans for further demonstrations.

“After we have expressed our message of rejecting any play in the constitution, we announce the end of the procession,” said the organisers on their Twitter account named “The Dignity of a Nation.”

The opposition said protesters numbered around 100,000 but observers said there were less. It was the third major protest since October 21.

The opposition called the march to protest against an amendment to an electoral law ordered by the emir last month ahead of a snap December 1 parliamentary election.

Activists said dozens of protesters were arrested during the march, and organisers said several people were taken in long after it finished. There were no reports of injuries.

Former opposition MP Mubarak al-Waalan criticized the use of force against protesters.

Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah late on November 4, 2012 met four opposition figures including two former Islamist MPs in what appeared to be a mediation effort aimed at ending the stalemate.

Former MP Mohammad Hayef said on Twitter that the emir told them he would accept that the constitutional court rule on the disputed amendment to the electoral constituency law which triggered the current stand-off.

It was the first official meeting between the emir and the opposition since the dispute began several weeks ago.

The government had vowed to use force if necessary to prevent the march, saying that demonstrations were illegal without a permit.

Security forces used tear gas to break up two protests by tens of thousands of demonstrators in the past two weeks in which more than 130 protesters and 16 policemen were injured.

Almost all opposition groups have said they will boycott the December 1 poll in protest at what they see as a bid to create a rubber stamp assembly.

The opposition, made up of Islamists, nationalists and liberals, won a February general election but the constitutional court quashed the vote in June and reinstated the previous pro-government parliament which was dissolved last month.

Opposition leaders insist they have no desire to undermine the ruling Al-Sabah family, and on Friday pledged their loyalty to the emir while renewing their demand for the new electoral law to be repealed.

Kuwait Times also reported [2] protest march by thousands of opposition supporters and use of stun grenades, smoke bombs and tear gas by riot police.

The opposition has insisted that the only way to defuse rising tension in the country and stop protests is by withdrawing the amendment and holding the election on the basis of the previous law. Sultan, a former MP, said that the delegation “informed the Emir that the situation in the country is dangerous and proposed that he withdraw the amendment”. The former lawmaker said that he does not know how the youth activists will react when they know there is no intention to withdraw the amendment. Earlier in the day, the Emir received a number of Salafist clerics who also discussed the situation.

Heavy presence of police forced the organisers to change the location to Mishref near the international fairgrounds. The message was sent to supporters of the opposition through their Twitter account.

Despite the long distance, tens of thousands managed to reach the site and started the march. Police quickly closed the main entrances to the new site but protesters who were arriving in droves managed to join the procession. Riot police arrived quickly to the scene and began firing tear gas and stun grenades at the crowd who quickly moved south.

“We will continue. The opposition no longer cares about government statements,” said an activist who declined to be named.

Barely an hour after it started, organisers called off the demonstration, saying that their message for safeguarding the constitution had been expressed. The move came apparently to prevent police from intensifying its confrontation which could have resulted in casualties. While dispersing, organisers reported that riot police continued to fire tear gas at the protesters, thousands of whom moved to the nearby Sabah Al-Salem area.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of Jordan and Kuwait categorically denied reports that Jordan had dispatched thousands of riot police to the state to help quell protests. Reports of Jordanian special forces deployed in Kuwait are “utterly baseless”, both the ministers stressed.

A Reuters report from Kuwait City carried by guardian.co.uk [3] on November 4, 2012 said:

Next month’s elections will be the second in Kuwait this year after an opposition bloc made up of Islamists, liberals and tribal leaders won a majority in polls in February.

That parliament was effectively dissolved by a court ruling in June that reinstated a more pro-government assembly, but the old legislature was unable to meet due to a boycott by lawmakers leading to another dissolution and a call by the emir for snap elections to end the deadlock.

The emir then announced changes to the electoral law last month which some opposition politicians say are an attempt to give pro-government candidates an advantage in the polls.

The Kuwait stock index fell to its lowest level since July 2004 on Sunday, according to Reuters data.

The 83-year-old emir has the final say in state affairs and picks the prime minister, who in turn selects the cabinet, with most of the important portfolios held by members of ruling family.

Source:

[1] Channelnewsasia.com, “Kuwait police use stun grenades against protest”, Nov. 5, 2012, http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/1235285/1/.html

[2] B Izzak, Hanan Al-Saadoun, “Police choke protest with force, firepower”,

http://news.kuwaittimes.net/2012/11/04/police-choke-protest-with-force-firepower/

[3] “Teargas fired at protesters in Kuwait City”,

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/04/teargas-protesters-kuwait-city

By Cathy Breen

05 November, 2012

Countercurrents.org

Baghdad –Yesterday was a beautiful autumn day in Baghdad . As I was visiting two families in widely different neighborhoods, I was able to traverse a large part of the city. I looked with eyes that have not seen Baghdad for nine years. Today, it is a city of stark contrasts. Bright new autos wherever one looks. I saw them up close as we waited endlessly in gridlocks due to checkpoints. Although I was not conspicuous with my gown and head covering, I was careful not to gaze around and gawk when we were stuck in traffic jams.

Despite the warm welcome I have received everywhere I have traveled on this trip to Iraq , I am conscious that I am from the U.S. In Baghdad especially where the violence has been continuous over the last nine years, I am equally aware that the barricades and checkpoints exist because of my country’s war of choice. And the concrete walls are everywhere.

If anyone thinks that the war is over in Iraq , I have only to open my “At a Glance” calendar where I have tried to note the number of Iraqi casualties each day over the last nine plus years: deaths due to explosions, bombs, assassinations. Just a few randomly selected numbers from 2012 (these are the number of dead, the number of wounded is of course much greater). 63, 54, 78, 97, 28, 36, 105, 24, 41, 115… the list goes on and on.

One of my hopes on this trip is to visit Iraqi families who have had to return from Syria . Having fled the violence in Iraq , they came to Syria where I met them as refugees. Now they are threatened once again, and there are no countries willing to take them. Many have returned to Iraq , and we are anxious to know how they are doing.

The parents of one family met us at Bab El Morat in Al Kadimiya, on the crowded street leading to the beautiful shrine of the Imam El Kadem Musa bin Jaffa .

The golden domes glistened in the sun. My senses came alive as the couple led us through a labyrinth of souqs, passed the multi-colored array of goods and the throngs of people to their humble, two–room apartment above the stalls.

What a joy to see this extended family again, the children now another year older. But the joy was tainted with sorrow as our friends related the details of their leaving Syria , and their disappointment in what they have found back in Iraq .

One mother returned to Iraq in Jan. 2012 with her three children. In Syria , the family had received threats that their daughter would be kidnapped if they didn’t leave. Her husband followed in March when he realized there was no hope to be resettled to the United States , at least from Syria where there was no longer a US embassy.

Just a few days ago there was an explosion nearby which has deeply shaken the family. I asked the oldest girl, a beautiful child now in sixth grade, how school was going. Not good, she answered. She described quite dramatically that last week there was a great explosion in her school. The teacher fled leaving the frightened students in the classroom. The door was locked and at first the kids hid under the desks. Later, when banging on the door proved futile, they managed to climb out through an opening above the door. She somewhat proudly showed me the bruises on her arm!

They asked “Do you think we can be resettled to the U.S. ?” I try to explain gently but realistically what the economic situation in the United States looks like with people out of work and losing homes and benefits. Not to mention the cultural differences. The father was adamant saying, “But there are explosions here and people are being killed! We are afraid for the children… People have changed here, even our families. It is not like it was in the past, when people looked after one another.”

The second family we visited had arrived only two weeks ago to their newly rented apartment, a two-room dwelling reached by rather treacherous metal stairs. They are paying $500 a month (includes electricity and generator costs), using money borrowed from both sides of the family. I was appalled by the amount. The family fled Syria in Aug. of 2012. The mother and their four children went to live with her family in an area of Iraq that has been quite violent. “There you can rent a big house for $100 a month, because it is so dangerous with militias. Here it costs $500 to live in a safe area.” The father went to Erbil , in northern Iraq , to look for work. He returned to Syria three weeks later to find their apartment burned and their belongings gone. He stayed only three days in Syria before returning again to Iraq .

They mother and children looked exhausted, especially the mother. She cries each day. She and her husband have been going from house to house until now.

Except for the little toddler who doesn’t know me, the children greet me warmly. The oldest son was traumatized by the war in Iraq . His friend and classmate was killed before his eyes, and he has always had a haunted look about him. A handsome boy, he has grown a foot since I last saw him and is very thin. As we visit I look at the youngest son whom I have known for at least four years now. No, I am not mistaken. He has a visible facial twitch. He has always been the family clown and I have pictures of him over the years making funny faces. He is about 7 or 8 years old now and painfully thin. Their baby girl is now fifteen months old. She too is pale and thin. The government has promised each returnee a sum of money, 4 million Iraqi Dinars, the equivalent of $3,200. This family hasn’t received a penny. They owe money. The father is looking for work. They too asked me if they could be resettled in the United States . Once again I spoke of the obstacles they would face in the United States . “People have changed,” the father said sadly. “The war has destroyed the inside of humanity.”

Afterward in the taxi, driving past the ubiquitous concrete blast walls, I ponder the legacies of war and wonder how a city heals and how we can

By Netty Ismail

5 October  2006

@ Bloomberg

Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) — Andy Xie’s resignation as Morgan Stanley’s chief economist in Asia last week followed an e-mail in which he characterized Singapore as an economic failure dependent on illicit money from Indonesia and China.

Xie, who worked at Morgan Stanley for nine years, sent the e-mail to his colleagues after attending the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings last month in the Southeast Asian island state. The 46-year-old Shanghai-born economist questioned why Singapore was chosen to host the conference, and said delegates “were competing with each other to praise Singapore as the success story of globalization.”

“Actually, Singapore’s success came mostly from being the money laundering center for corrupt Indonesian businessmen and government officials,” Xie, who was based in Hong Kong before leaving Morgan Stanley on Sept. 29, wrote in the e-mail. “Indonesia has no money. So Singapore isn’t doing well.”

Singapore’s $118 billion economy is recovering from three recessions since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and is expecting growth of as much as 7.5 percent this year. The city- state is grappling with growing competition from China and India, two of the world’s most populous nations, where labor costs are less than a quarter of those in Singapore.

Mountain Summit

Officials from the public-relations departments of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the government’s information service declined to comment on the contents of the e-mail. They also declined to be identified.

Xie declined to comment on his departure when contacted on his mobile phone on Oct. 2 and said he hasn’t decided what he will do next.

“I’m not at liberty to comment on anything,” said Xie, who holds a doctorate in economics and a master’s degree in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “I’m in Guangzhou and I’m taking a break on top of a mountain. It’s quite nice here.”

Xie, who said in September that the U.S. economy may fall into a recession in 2008, worked at the corporate-finance division at Macquarie Bank in Singapore before joining Morgan Stanley in 1997. He earlier spent five years as an economist with the World Bank, overseeing the bank’s programs in Indonesia and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the New York-based firm’s Web site.

`Corruption Money’

The Singapore government, which is ending a four-decade ban on casinos, plans to triple tourism revenue to $19 billion and double visitors to 17 million by 2015.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in September that Singapore’s economy may sustain annual growth of 3 percent to 5 percent for the next 10 years to 15 years as the country expands industries ranging from information technology to tourism.

“To sustain its economy, Singapore is building casinos to attract corruption money from China,” said Xie, who ranked No. 2 among regional economists in a 2003 Asiamoney magazine survey.

Morgan Stanley confirmed the contents of the e-mail and said the New York-based firm doesn’t elaborate on the reasons behind employee departures.

“This is an internal e-mail based on personal suppositions and aimed at stimulating internal debate amongst a small group of intended recipients,” said Cheung Po-ling, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for the world’s largest securities firm by market value, in a written statement. “The e-mail expresses the views of one individual and does not in any way represent the views of the firm.

“Morgan Stanley has been a very strong supporter of Singapore and has a great deal of respect for Singapore’s achievements,” Cheung said.

Morgan Stanley Deals

In the U.S., Wall Street analysts have lost their jobs for recommending shares of companies that they privately disparaged. Citigroup Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and eight rival securities firms agreed in 2003 to pay $1.4 billion to settle charges that analysts published misleading stock research in a bid to win investment-banking business.

Morgan Stanley ranks sixth among merger advisers in Singapore this year, handling $1.5 billion of deals, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It advised Temasek Holdings Pte., the Singapore government’s investment company, in the purchase of a 9.9 percent stake in Mumbai-based Tata Teleservices Ltd. Morgan Stanley, the No. 3 arranger of stock sales in Asia outside Japan, hasn’t underwritten a Singapore deal this year, Bloomberg data show.

`Strange Choice’

“I tried to find out why Singapore was chosen to host the conference,” Xie wrote in the e-mail. “Nobody knew. Some said that probably no one else wanted it. Some guessed that Singapore did a good selling job. I thought it was a strange choice because Singapore was so far from any action or the hot topic of China and India. Mumbai or Shanghai would be a lot more appropriate.”

At a dinner party hosted by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, “people fawned him like a prince,” Xie wrote. “These Western people didn’t know what they were talking about,” he wrote, describing the praise for Singapore as “nauseating pleasantries.”

By Bill Van Auken

05 November, 2012

@ WSWS.org

One week after Hurricane Sandy pummeled the Eastern Seaboard of the United States with high winds and a record storm surge, nearly two million homes and businesses remain without power in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut as temperatures fall near the freezing mark.

Fear is growing that Sandy’s death toll, already topping 100, will be augmented by further fatalities, caused not by natural disaster but rather the inability and unwillingness of all levels of government and a social system driven by private profit to mount an adequate relief effort for the millions of people left without electricity, heat, water and food.

On Sunday New York City’s billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that between 30,000 and 40,000 New Yorkers would be left homeless by the storm for a lengthy period, the bulk of them residents of the city’s public housing developments. Much of this housing, he said, will be “out of commission for a very long time.”

Bloomberg said that the numbers left homeless were comparable to those recorded in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, noting that many then left that city for Houston, Texas.

These comments raised the very real possibility that the ruling establishment in New York may well use the devastation of Hurricane Sandy as a pretext for eliminating a section of the city’s public housing, which layers of the financial and corporate oligarchy have long regarded as an anachronism and an impediment to profitable real estate development.

In many of the housing projects, conditions have gone from bad to worse after nearly a week without power, heat and water. Even where lights have been restored, as in the developments on Manhattan’s lower east side, heat remains off and residents are attempting to warm themselves by turning on stove-top burners or boiling water, raising the threat of fire or asphyxiation.

The overwhelming sentiment heard over and over again throughout the region is that victims of the storm have been left behind in working-class and poor areas, while unlimited resources were lavished on getting Wall Street up and running with full power a day after the hurricane ended.

Bloomberg was the target of these sentiments Sunday when he sought to make a brief disaster tour of the Rockaway section of Queens, which has been left without power since the storm. Residents were pushed back by his police escort when they began yelling, “When are we going to get some help?” and questioning what was going to happen to older people trapped in high-rise public housing. The mayor was hastily hustled out of the area by his bodyguards.

The incident took place just a day after Bloomberg was forced to suddenly announce the cancellation of the New York Marathon, an annual event that has been held for more than 40 years. Public anger over the social inequality and class divide that pervades New York focused on the event, particularly after news reports that generators were being set up in Central Park for media tents and other facilities related to the race, while truckloads of food and water were arriving for the runners. People in devastated areas of Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island and beyond demanded to know where their generators, food and water were.

The anger was exacerbated by the fact that the race’s starting point was in Staten Island, where the bulk of the city’s 41 deaths have taken place, and where the bodies of two little boys swept out of their mother’s arms by the storm surge were recovered only on Thursday.

It is still not entirely clear what caused Bloomberg to suddenly reverse himself only hours after he had insisted that the race was necessary to give New Yorkers something “to cheer about” and to boost business. It has been reported, however, that the city’s police commissioner, Ray Kelly, had weighed in heavily in favor of calling off the event. No doubt Kelly was receiving reports from the commanders of the army of police sent to maintain order in the devastated parts of the city that conditions were turning into a social powder keg that could be ignited by fury over the marathon.

Bloomberg on Sunday urged people without heat to go to warming centers and shelters, warning, “You can die from being cold.” However, people in the affected neighborhoods have reported that many of these centers are already overflowing, without room to sleep or enough food to give those coming for help.

Utility companies have given no precise timetable for when power will be restored, with reports that in the more hard-hit areas it could be off for as long as two weeks or more.

Meanwhile, still another storm is set to strike the region by the middle of this week, bringing heavy rains and wind as well as more coastal flooding.

The New York Times noted Sunday that even after power is restored and repairs are completed, the region’s infrastructure will remain “just as vulnerable to the next monster storm,” rendered all the more likely and inevitable by climate change and the increasing frequency of extreme weather.

The unwillingness of big business to make the necessary investments to provide security to the population has become increasingly clear. The Times article and other commentary mention figures like tens of billions of dollars to protect New York City’s subway system or Con Edison’s power stations and delivery system from flooding. This is, of course, a tiny fraction of the money lavished on Wall Street following the financial meltdown of 2008, while Washington is spending at least ten times that much to wage its war in Afghanistan this year.

The attitude of predominant layers within corporate ruling circles was summed up by Ralph LaRossa, the CEO of PSE&G, New Jersey’s major electric utility. Asked about changing the company’s infrastructure to prevent its switchyards and substations from being flooded out, he replied: “If we moved them back, we’d have to condemn property that people are living in.” Referring to the company’s vital equipment, he said, “Some people say, ‘Why don’t they raise them up?’ We’ll raise them eight feet and the next storm will be nine feet.”

Whether the people of New Jersey will have light and heat, it seems, will be determined by the power of the next storm, as Mr. LaRossa concerns himself with more immediate matters, such as PSE&G’s profits for next quarter and his own compensation package, which topped $1.5 million last year.

The Times article suggested that the failure to take any protective measures was a matter of a lack of “public will.” It states that demands for such protection rise in the immediate aftermath of disasters, but then “memory recedes.”

The article continues: “The sun is shining, the refrigerator cools. The trains are running. Aren’t electrical bills high enough? Don’t we pay enough for the trains?”

Behind this cynical statement is the clear message that no resources are to be diverted from the profits of the banks and corporations or the mountains of wealth accumulated by Bloomberg and his ilk to protect the population. Instead, even if any measures are taken, they will be paid for by gouging the working class in the form of higher rates and fees.

By Vacy Vlazna

04 November, 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

Daily, the gorgeous and saintly Tony Blair looks fondly into his mirror and asks ( a rhetorical question), “Magic mirror on the wall who is the fairest and greatest and goodest of them all?”

Automatically, it replies, “You, my Tony, are the most moral leadership exemplar of all.”

But, on 1 November the mirror replied, “Tony, you are full fair blah blah, it is true, but the The Grand Lord Gareth is more erudite, more arrogant, and a more moral peacemaker than you”

After reading Gareth Evan’s speech, ‘ Buying a Ticket for Peace’ (ie buying tickets on himself) one could be forgiven for thinking the priggish Evans was primping himself (note the name dropping – Yitzhak Rabin, Kofi Annan, Vaclav Havel, Bob Hawke, Kofi Annan and Kofi Annan) for the position of Special Envoy of the Middle East Quartet, given, as he states that Blair’s contributions “ can reasonably be described as having been about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.” (Evans link below)

While true,  Evans’ speech is flawless hasbara and a preening pontification on his qualifications for the job: the sine qua non loyalties to the Zionist status quo; urging Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, sympathising with Israel the holocaust victim, promoting the fictional 2 state solution and future Israeli annexation of the illegal settlements, opposing the Palestinian right of return, denouncing accusations of Israeli apartheid, advocating the evils of BDS and Iran.

Addressing mesmerised fans from Australian Palestine solidarity in Adelaide, Evans, former Attorney-General and Foreign Minister of Australia, former Head of the International Crisis Group (ICG) and Chancellor of the  Australian University, offered a grandiose crumb of righteous insistence that Australia should be on the right side of history by supporting Palestine’s bid for statehood recognition in the  UN General Assembly.

However, from this point the reasonableness of the speech deteriorated into exquisite Israeli normalisation and misinformation as in this sanitised and censored version of Palestinian history;

“THE INTENTION OF THE UN IN 1947, which was defensible in the circumstances of the time but never likely to win easy Arab support, was to accommodate both Jewish and Palestinian nationalist aspirations by creating Jewish and Arab states side by side, with new sovereign boundaries but no one physically dispossessed and full citizenship rights for the minorities that would be left in each new state. That fell apart with the terrible war of 1948 and the conflict which continued through the intervening years to erupt again in 1967.”

As a self-proclaimed expert on international law, Evans knows that the UN had and has no legal mandate to partition any foreign lands. Hence Arab opposition. Furthermore, it had a responsibility to fulfil its obligations to grant Palestine full independence under the still binding  Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations. Evans made no mention of the Palestinian Nakba during the ‘terrible war of 1948′  wherein 700,000 Palestinians were systematically ethnically cleansed by Jewish militia nor  mentions the war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Israel in the intervening years that overflow to this very day.

As for the illegal occupation and Israel’s flaunting of UN resolutions since the 1967  war preempted by Israel, Evans  didn’t hold Israel accountable. According to him, it was the  blanketing vagueness of the ‘tragedy of all the years since 1967 is that it has proved simply impossible to deliver on that [land for peace] deal.’

To counter the peace process impasse, Our Action Man energetically shook the mothballs from the 2003 Geneva Accords, a rehash of  previous unsatisfactory negotiations, partly crafted by the government and corporate funded ICG which he  headed. He would have been wiser to distance himself from it as 10 days after the signing, “ More than 500 academics, civil society activists, writers, and journalists signed up to a public statement “The Reality of the ‘Geneva Accord’?” expressing their opposition to the document that was recently signed by Israeli and Palestinian figures. The undersigned, consider this initiative as “inconsistent with the prerequisites of a just and durable peace”. (EI link below)

Evans is aware that the never-ending proliferation of Israeli colonial settlements on stolen Palestinian land breaches ‘not only of international law but of multiple agreements or agreed strategies’, so he offered a generous accommodating solution – for Israel -via the Geneva Accords:

“It is entirely possible to draw a border that allows most of the Israeli settlers to stay and gives the Palestinians a contiguous and viable state that has the same territory as that occupied in 1967.”

Ever dogged, in line with Israel and its PA lackey, the speech energetically promoted the 2 state solution which sustains the defunct peace process which in turn fuels illegal settlement expansion on Palestinian land. He argued this solution has Palestinian  backing by pointing to his mate, Annan who ‘says of Yasser Arafat: “he was the leader who had brought his people to accept the idea of a two-state solution, relinquishing their claim to 78 per cent of mandate Palestine, and had signed the Oslo Accords, which recognised Israel” plus mentioning polls that show  ‘half and two thirds’ support overlooking polls like Palestine Center for Public Opinion, poll number 169, published February 1st, 2010 that showed 62% favoured a one state solution based on equality for all.

Evans, the Man with All the Answers, set out reasons for the failure to date of the  peace process including  “ the failure to support Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) in 2005, after he had won in a landslide, was the uncontested leader of all Palestinians, and in a position to sell difficult compromises;”

This is pure hasbara. Since 2006, the unelected Abbas suffered no failure of support propped up, as he is,  by US and EU aid,  and his security forces that arrest, imprison and torture fellow Palestinians not of Fatah ilk are armed and trained by American military experts in Jordan. Evans, of course, would bless  Abbas’ ‘difficult compromises’, which in real terms are the attempted ‘back door deals with Israel’ exposed in the Palestine Papers;  to concede all Israeli settlements in and around East Jerusalem except Bar Homa,  giving up Sheik Jarrah, a mere 5-10,000 refugees picked by Israel  out of 5 million given the right of return, a joint committee to take over the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Another failure was the West’s refusal to engage with Hamas after it won free and fair elections in 2006. Evans implied that Hamas gave the West no choice to do other wise because  “we [ICG] summarised the Hamas response, as we found it, to be ‘let us govern or watch us fight’. This is followed by pure Evans hasbara, “Events since then have done nothing but reinforce the accuracy of that assessment” that deftly ignored the fact that the ceasefires were broken by Israel especially the one that led to Israel’s apocalyptic assault on defenceless Gazan families in 2008/9.

In the speech you cannot find one instance of true human compassion for the 64 years of suffering of the Palestinian people, yet Evans, friend of Israel, loudly beat the drum of Israeli victimhood:

If friends of Palestine really want to be helpful in finally realising the dream of a genuinely independent and viable Palestinian state, I think it is very important to cast the arguments in a way which recognises and accepts that Israel, for all the unacceptability of so much of its behaviour [what a glorious understatement!] , does have legitimate interests which it is entitled to defend [oy vey poor Israel] that it does also have psychological needs, [oy vey poor Israel] born of the terrible history of the Jewish people, [oy vey poor Israel] which must be understood and somehow recognised if progress is to be made; and also that Israelis are presently feeling a little more insecure [oy vey poor Israel] now than they have for a long time in the context of the Arab Spring, with Islamists of one kind or another having a bigger role in government in a number of key regional countries [oy vey poor Israel] , and the steady progress of Iran toward nuclear weapons capability (if not necessarily actual weapon manufacture). [oy vey poor Israel that hasn’t signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]

It’s hard to figure out what helpful strategies  Evans offered the Australian Friends of  Palestine (AFOPA) apart from shutting up about Israeli Apartheid and terminating its BDS actions:

For all the frustration generated by inaction for so long, and for all that some friends of Palestine will find this unpalatable, I strongly believe and urge you to accept that just as physical violence has proved both totally unproductive, and indeed counterproductive, so too is head on political assault of the kind involved in the Zionism as Racism resolution in the UN, and the current sporadic campaign to boycott Israeli-connected businesses. [oy vey poor Israel]

AFOPA has, for more than two years, faithfully maintained a weekly boycott campaign and protest against  the Israeli Seacret cosmetics manufactured illegally by L’Oreal’ from stolen Palestinian mineral resources in the Dead Sea.

Just as Blair will never shake off the IRAQ gorilla clinging to his back, Evans will always be the Indonesian Apologist who helped steal  East Timor’s oil resources. On 11 December 1989, in a plane above suffering Timor, the Australian and Indonesian foreign ministers, Gareth Evans and Ali Alitas  swilled  champagne to celebrate the signing of the  obscene Timor Gap Treaty dividing the stolen Timor gas and oil between their shameless nations.

Far below, in a death net of Indonesian military camps, outposts and checkpoints and closed to the outside world, lay what John Pilger aptly called  ‘A Land of Crosses‘  because Timor’s cemeteries  were burdened with bodies of one third of its population. The Timorese, the most impoverished people in Asia, struggled to  survive physically as well as barely surviving the daily brutalities of the genocidal occupation with its  systematic intimidation, killings, and terror.

11 months after the  signing of the treaty, over 400 young  students from high school and university were brutally massacred in Dili simply for  attending  the funeral procession of  a murdered fellow student. Evans, ever the Indonesian apologist, announced publicly the Santa Cruz Massacre  was not state policy but  an ‘aberration’ ( like calling the Deir Yassin massacre an Israeli aberration).

The aspiring peacemaker, in March 2012, at an academic conference  at the University of Melbourne, ripped the badge off a fellow  plenary speaker, Professor Stephen Zunes, cursed and threatened to punch him in the face for ‘ raising the issue of his support for the Suharto dictatorship in Indonesia during its savage repression in the occupied island nation of East Timor’. (See Zunes below)

All in all, Evans’ speech is a poisoned apple offered to the Palestinians and their supporters; seemingly rosy but with the laced bitter taste of Zionism.

Gareth Evans, Buying A Ticket For Peace http://www.theglobalmail.org/feature/buying-a-ticket-for-peace/456/ Academics, activists and writers oppose “Geneva Accord” http://electronicintifada.net/content/academics-activists-and-writers-oppose-geneva-accord/325 Zunes , Why One of the World’s Leading Peace Advocates Threatened to Punch Me in the Face : http://www.alternet.org/story/154807/why_one_of_the_world’s_

leading_peace_advocates_threatened_to_punch_me_in_the_face/?page=1

Dr. Vacy Vlazna is Coordinator of Justice for Palestine Matters. She was Human Rights Advisor to the GAM team in the second round of the Acheh peace talks, Helsinki, February 2005 then withdrew on principle. Vacy was coordinator of the East Timor Justice Lobby as well as serving in East Timor with UNAMET and UNTAET from 1999-2001.

 

 

 

By The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy

04 November, 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy

Idinthakarai 627 104

Tamil Nadu, India

koodankulam@yahoo.com

H.E. The President of India,

H. E. The Prime Minister of India,

Hon’ble Chief Justice of India,

H.E. The Governor of Tamil Nadu,

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, and

The Fellow Citizens of Tamil Nadu and India

Dear All:

Greetings! We have been struggling continuously against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in peaceful and nonviolent manner for almost a quarter century and for almost 450 days in a more recent concerted campaign. We have been asking in vain for the basic information about the project such as the Site Evaluation Report (SER), Safety Analysis Report (SAR), Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP), the performance report of VVER-1000/412 reactor, and the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) on Liability and so forth.

Instead of getting the above information, we are getting dangerous cases (like sedition, waging war on the state etc.), malicious accusations (that we are foreign funded and instigated), imprisonment, curfew and prohibitory orders, intimidation campaigns, home searches, physical attacks on our persons and properties, police atrocities and other such high-handed behaviors of the State. A few of our honest and hard-working fishermen have just been charged under Goondas Act. All this for practicing our citizenship in the Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic of India!

The UPA government is embarking upon an ambitious plan of setting up scores of nuclear parks all along our coast and in many interiors locations with the help of Russia, France, the United States and many other countries. Our politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen are all pleased with the golden opportunities of making a killing out of this multi-billion dollar business through cuts, commissions, kickbacks, contracts and sub-contracts. Some sections of our scientific community talk about achieving energy security and even energy independence with hardly any original or creative scientific research or accomplishments. Much of our national media toe the government line and try to snatch their share of the pie.

There is no national debate whatsoever on the impact of all these nuclear plants/parks on our farmers’, fishermen’s and workers’ right to life and livelihood; our natural resources; our cattle, crops and seafood; food security; nutrition security; health of our people, and the wellbeing of our progeny.

Even a small mishap in a nuclear facility will destroy millions of people in our highly and densely populated country. We, as a nation, have failed to help our people in Bhopal even after 27 long years; our leaders, bureaucrats and scientists have not even managed to clean up the mess there yet. The dangerous waste still remains there open and exposed. A recent Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Report on the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has concluded that this toothless regulatory agency has not even ensured nuclear and radiation safety in any of our atomic installations.

None of the above bothers our leaders, bureaucrats and scientists. Scores of developed and advanced countries around the world are shunning nuclear power and going for ‘New Energies’. But our national elites are going for nuclear power with no concrete plans to decommission the plants or to store and safeguard the nuclear waste.

Hundreds of thousands of Indians are demonstrating against nuclear power plants and Uranium mines all over the country. And we are doing just the same here at Koodankulam. But the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu are reacting with such violence and vehemence.

We, as citizens of the largest democracy, are fighting for our right. We have upheld our tradition of secularism, democracy and nonviolence. If sedition charges, Goondas Act, home searches, incarceration and severe repression are the gifts that will be handed down to us, we gladly accept them. We are even prepared to die for the future of our children and grandchildren and our country, but under no circumstances are we prepared to hurt or harm or kill anyone.

As the very last and desperate attempt at securing our independence and freedom, thwarting another spell of colonialism and foreign domination, safeguarding India’s natural resources, changing our energy policy and ensuring the wellbeing of our fellow citizens, we would like to appeal to your and our nation’s collective conscience to listen to us, the ordinary people of India, and not to repress us. Those of us who fail in this historic duty will be judged harshly by the future generations.

With best regards and all peaceful wishes,

Yours truly,

S. P. Udayakumar M. Pushparayan M. P. Jesuraj Fr. F. Jayakumar R. S. Muhilan Peter Milton