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28 September 2012

Johannesburg, South Africa

 

 “The temptation in our situation is to speak in muffled tones about an issue such as the right of the people of Palestine to a state of their own. We can easily be enticed to read reconciliation and fairness as meaning parity between justice and injustice. Having achieved our own freedom, we can fall into the trap of washing our hands of difficulties that others face. Yet we would be less than human if we did so. It behoves all South Africans, themselves erstwhile beneficiaries of generous international support to stand up and be counted among those contributing actively to the cause of freedom and justice. “

 Nelson Mandela, 4 December 1997

We, South Africans comprising of various organisations and institutions have over the years acted in solidarity with the Palestinians who are living under Israeli Apartheid and have been dispossessed in various waves of ethnic cleansing;

Gathered at Cosatu House, the headquarters of our country’s largest federation of trade unions, in Johannesburg on 28^th September 2012;

Deeply conscious of the limitations of our society’s transformations and the long walk that our country still has to undertake towards a more just life for all, free from poverty, economic  exploitation, sexism, racism and xenophobia;

Fully aware of the interconnectedness of all human suffering and the debt of solidarity that we owe each other and firmly believing that an injury to one, is an injury to all;

Rejecting the patent untruths of imperialism that this is a dispute by religious groups and those that attempt to set themselves up as honest brokers;

Expressing grave concern at the contravention of the UN resolutions and breach of international humanitarian law;

Mindful of

1. Apartheid Israel’s ongoing collective punishment of Palestinians through the occupation and siege of Gaza;
2. The occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the continued construction of the illegal Apartheid Wall and e.g. the equally illegal and repugnant resettlement policies,  eviction of families and communities, the demolition of homes and villages and land grab;
3. The contempt for the will of the Palestinian people displayed by Israel, the US, Canada, the EU and others after the free and open Palestinian elections of 2006;
4. The war crimes committed by apartheid Israel during the invasion of Gaza in 2009, and the 2010 massacre;
5. The continuing discrimination and repression faced by Palestinians within apartheid Israel;
6. The continued exile of millions of Palestinian refugees;
7. The knowledge that many governments have given and continue to provide apartheid Israel direct economic, financial, military and diplomatic support and allow it to behave with impunity;
8. The role of various institutions of global governance in obstructing diplomatic efforts by Palestinians towards their liberation;
9. The role of governments and multi-national corporations, in cooperation with apartheid Israel, in the plundering of Palestinian land and natural resources as well as entrenching apartheid, masquerading these as assistance to the Palestinian people.

Reaffirm our commitment to:

1. Palestinian self-determination
2. Ending the occupation 
3. Oblige apartheid Israel to end complete disregard of UN and regional resolutions
4. Equal rights for all within historic Palestine
5. The full right of return for Palestinian refugees
6. The United Palestinian call of July 2005 for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel
7. Ending imperialism and support the prosecution of perpetrators of violations of Palestinian rights

 Deeply aware of how our own suffering under apartheid and colonialism was reduced by those opposed to our freedom to a dispute between Black and White people;

 Asserting that even-handedness between oppressed and oppressor is escapism, acquiescence, cowardice at the very least and, at worst, complicity;

Immensely indebted to the international community – particularly those from the Frontline Countries in Southern Africa, the Non-Aligned movement and the numerous solidarity formations in Europe, North America and elsewhere who threw their lot in with the oppressed South African people despite their governments’ overwhelming support for the apartheid regime;

 

Respectful of the observations that the veterans and leaders of our own liberation struggle who have spoken of the daily persecution and humiliation of Palestinians in the shadow of Apartheid Israel; some of these observations include:

Israel’s policy towards her neighbouring Arab states clearly unmasks the true nature and character of the regime in Tel Aviv. It is this blatant arrogance, this open aggressiveness towards her neighbours and the ruthless oppression and exploitation of the Arab people of Palestine which compares Israel more and more to apartheid South Africa. The essence is that under the influence of exclusive nationalist ideologies both Afrikaner nationalists and Israeli Zionists, think and act towards the indigenous majorities in their countries and towards their neighbouring states with the callous inhumanity of all who consider others to be of “inferior races” and less human. (Alfred Nzo, Post-Apartheid SA’s first Foreign Minister)

I never tire of speaking about the very deep distress in my visits to the Holy Land; they remind me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa.I have seen the humiliation of the Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks, suffering like we did when young white police officers prevented us from moving about. My heart aches. (Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Winner)

The left and progressive forces need to intensive struggles against racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of xenophobia as critical components of the struggle against the depredations of capitalism and imperialism. Most critically we call upon all left forces globally to intensive solidarity activities with the Palestinian people and their just struggle, and to pressure particularly European governments and the US to facilitate a just solution to the Palestinian and other Middle East problems. (Blade Nzimande, Secretary General of the South African Communist Party and Minister of Higher Education)

Many aspects of Israel’s occupation surpass those of the apartheid regime. Israel’s large-scale destruction of Palestinian homes, levelling of agricultural lands, military incursions and targeted assassinations of Palestinians far exceed any similar practices in apartheid South Africa. No wall was ever built to separate blacks and whites. (Professor John Dugard. Special Rapporteur on Palestine to the United Nations Human Rights Council)

It is perhaps the most pressing moral and ethical challenge of our time, in this the opening years of the 21^st Century, that all of us in this world who are fortunate enough to be free should express our total support and solidarity with the Palestinian people in this hour of perhaps their greatest suffering and need but at the same time a period where their infinite and unconquerable courage and determination shines through.  They will achieve their right to self-determination and join the liberated and independent nations of this world. They will survive and win and be able to contribute their great talents and energy in helping us all build a more prosperous and just world for this and future generations.  I place myself unreservedly in the camp of all those who believe that justice for Palestine means peace, security and justice for all in the Holy Land be they Christians, Jews, Muslims or non-believers, be they Israelis or Palestinians.  This is a just cause which should be supported by the entire international community, by all governments and people of whatever origin, with the same passion that enabled the anti-apartheid movement to see the birth of a non-racist, non-sexist, inclusive democratic South Africa.  (Ronnie Kasrills, Former Leader of our country’s Liberation Army, Mkhonto we Sizwe and former Minister of Water Affairs and Intelligence)

I support a similar call for sanctions against the state of Israel as we had against Apartheid South Africa – Absolutely! Pressure, pressure, pressure from every side and in as many ways as possible: trade sanctions, economic sanctions, financial sanctions, banking sanctions, sports sanctions, cultural sanctions; I’m talking from our own experience. In the beginning we had very broad sanctions and only late in the 1980s did we learn to have targeted sanctions. So you must look to see where the Israelis are most vulnerable; where is the strongest link to the outside community? And you must have strong international solidarity; that’s the only way it will work. You have to remember that for years and years and years when we built up the sanctions campaign it was not with governments in the West. They came on board very, very late. (Professor Allan Boesak, Former Patron of the United Democratic Front)

Our role as activists in the face of what President Nelson Mandela called the greatest moral issue of our time is to raise our voices and mobilise others to stand united in solidarity with the oppressed masses of Palestine and others in the world. For to echo Che Guevara ‘as long as there is a single human being in the world suffering under the yoke of oppression, our struggle cannot be over. (Marius Fransman, Deputy Minister, Department of International Relations and Cooperation)

The occupation wall that the Israeli army has built and continues to build cuts through Palestinian land, separating farmers from their farms. Palestinian farmers experience the daily torture of trying to get to their farms. They have to go through checkpoints that are opened and closed at unpredictable times to tend their olive trees. Many times they are not allowed to and they watch through the barbed wire as their olive trees die – as they and their families get reduced to poverty.  (Pregs Govender, SA Human Rights Commissioner)

Clearly, apartheid was a well-planned and oiled machine of racial segregation, designed from the very beginning to oppress, exploit and dehumanise Black South Africans, especially Black workers and the Black working class. While there are a number of differences between the situation of Black South African workers and Palestinian workers, the oppression and exploitation faced by the Black South African working class and the Palestinian working class resemble each other in many respects, while the Israeli Jewish working class resembles the White labour aristocracy in South Africa. (Zwelinzima Vavi, General Secretary of Congress of South African Trade Unions)

Therefore;

Renew our commitment to act in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinians inside the occupied territories, in the diaspora and within the Zionist state of Israel;

Agree to;

1. The founding principles, organisational structure, and coordination for an effective Coalition for a Free Palestine (CFP)
2. Implement a sustained programme of action and solidarity activities in support of Palestine. We particularly pledge our support to the following practical programmes/campaign actions:

        2.1. Build mass education, research, and monitoring capacity for strengthening our campaign actions in support of the cause of the Palestinian people.

        2.2. Build an international anti-apartheid movement against Israel with a specific focus on our  region and the African continent;

      2.3. Establish networked links and specific campaign actions with Palestinian organisations in the Occcupied Territories, inside apartheid Israel and the Palestinian diaspora particularly those in refugee camps;

        2.4. Mainstream Israel as an apartheid state and expose Israel’s apartheid policies and practices;

     2.5. Take stock of, raise the profile of, and build support for the Palestinian cause in all national, regional, continental and international fora;

       2.6. Actively respond to and support the call from virtually all of Palestinian civil society for a Boycott of Israel in the broadest possible manner, Disinvestment  from companies which deal with Israel and advancing sanctions against the Israeli regime (BDS);

      2.7. Challenge the increasing use of the Israeli lobby and others (albeit in ignorance) in using the Bible, the Christian faith and religiosity in the service of apartheid; and support the prophetic (Palestinian) religious leadership – Christian, Muslim and Jewish – who, in the words of the Kairos Palestine Document poignantly remind us that “The injustice against the Palestinian people which is the Israeli occupation, is an evil that must be resisted.”

      2.8. Launch a media offensive that highlights the plight of the Palestinian people under occupation and apartheid and exposes the media for their unbalanced coverage of the Palestinian question and the deliberate distortion of information relating to the struggle of the Palestinian people.

3. Continue to build the relationship between the various formations comprising the CFP and to welcome new organisations wishing to join the CFP.

4. Create public awareness around the CFP and its solidarity Program of Action.

5. Build links with and support the work and programmes of other solidarity movements in order to give meaning to our belief that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

 

 

 

Call upon our government to immediately end the trade with companies complicit in the Israeli Occupation and Settlements, to terminate diplomatic relations with the State of Israel until it abides by international law and to continue its support for Palestinian self-determination.

In fulfilling our objectives we undertake to adhere to the following guiding principles:

1. We derive our legitimacy from the people in whose name we are waging or supporting this struggle, the Palestinians themselves;
2. Subscribe to the principle of consultation, transparency, accountability and honesty in carrying out support work, raising resources, and advancing progressive views on the issues around Palestine’
3. Recognise the independence of individual organisations making up the Coalition, respecting our differences yet being a common voice built around the needs and aspirations of the Palestinian people;
4. Respect for each other’s organisations and structures and the leadership of the Palestinian people’s organisations engaged in the liberation struggle.
5. Open and frank, yet comradely, critical engagement on issues of principle and views relating to activities to advance the Palestinian struggle;
6. Prioritise the needs of the people and organisations directly involved in the liberation struggle of Palestine;
7. Recognise and affirm the right of the Palestinian people to resist their oppression and fight for their freedom and respect their means of doing so.
8. While rejecting with contempt the attempts to equate criticisms of Israel as anti-Semitism, or all Jewish people with Zionists, we oppose all forms of discrimination – including anti-Semitism and xenophobia – which sully our vision of a world wherein the dignity of all human beings are respected.
9. Develop close cooperation and solidarity with Palestinian organisations and other solidarity groups, including those comrades who conduct the struggle within the apartheid state of Israel.
10. Play our role in mobilising and participating in a coordinated international anti-apartheid movement such as the movement that assisted us in our liberation from apartheid with a special focus on Southern Africa and the rest of the continent.

 

By Joseph Kishore

28 September, 2012

@ WSWS.org

In a bellicose speech before the United Nations Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded a “red line” be placed on Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, outlining a plan of action that would lead to war next year, if not sooner.

Employing a crude cartoon drawing of a bomb with a lit fuse, Netanyahu said that action to physically destroy Iran’s nuclear program would have to take place before the uranium enrichment process began its final stage, which he claimed would happen around the spring or summer of 2013. “The hour is getting late, very late,” he declared.

The Israeli prime minister compared the Iranian government to Al Qaeda, placing the two within the framework of “a fanatic ideology bent on world domination.” He added, “It makes little differences whether these lethal weapons are in the hands of the world’s most dangerous terrorist regime, or the world’s most dangerous terrorist organization.”

Speaking as the head of state for a government that, in close alliance with the United States, is responsible for military aggression throughout the Middle East and beyond, and is engaged in a brutal occupation of Palestine, Netanyahu said that Israel “cherishes peace.” Israel currently has a stockpile of some 400 atomic bombs and has refused to submit to international inspections.

Iran has denied that is building a nuclear weapon, and international inspectors have found no evidence of anything that goes beyond an energy program. Netanyahu insisted, however, “The red line must be drawn on Iran’s nuclear enrichment program because these facilities are the only nuclear installations we can see and target.” By placing his “red line” before the beginning of the production of weapons-grade uranium, Netanyahu is seeking to establish a pretext for war even before there is any evidence that Iran is actually seeking to build a bomb.

Israeli-US plans for war—which would have devastating and incalculable consequences—are being carried out entirely behind the backs of the American people. One of the principal concerns of the Obama administration has been to delay actions until after the US elections in November, to ensure that the population has no say in the matter.

Whatever their tactical differences, the US and Israel are agreed on basic strategy. “Democrats and Republicans alike” are united in the campaign against Iran, Netanyahu said. He added, “Israel is in discussions with the United States over this issue, and I am confident that we can chart a path forward, together.”

Netanyahu’s remarks came two days after Obama, in his own speech before the United Nations, declared that “a nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained… The United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”

At the same time, Obama indicated that the administration wants to spend more time increasing sanctions on Iran, which have had a crippling impact on the country’s economy.

Netanyahu’s timetable for military action—coming about six months after the US elections—is an indication that his government is seeking to play down differences with the Obama administration over when military action would take place. On the day of his remarks, a report was leaked from Israel’s Foreign Ministry calling for an additional round of sanctions.

The report, obtained by the Tel Aviv daily Haaretz, also details the devastating impact of existing economic sanctions, including a 50 percent decline in oil exports and a sharp rise in prices for food and other commodities.

Commenting on disagreements over “red lines” on Iran’s nuclear program, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said on Thursday, “I think that this whole matter of red lines should be made, but not publicly. And I think that at the moment, the talks between us and the Americans, which are excellent, are precisely about this. We are constantly coming closer in our positions.”

Dennis Ross, a career Middle East diplomat under both Republican and Democratic Presidents, including the Obama administration, also emphasized the basic strategic agreement between the US and Israel. “What you are really seeing is an agreement on the objective of making certain Iran cannot have nuclear weapons,” he said in an interview with MSNBC.

Ross added that “one of the reasons it is so important to create a context where the international community believes… that you have exhausted all the diplomatic options and have given the economic sanctions enough time” is “to create the kind of context that demonstrates unmistakably that we went the extra mile and if we had to use force, in fact we were left with no choice.”

The resort to war, Ross said, is “more and more likely.”

By Neve Gordon

27 September, 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

Most Palestinian analysts maintain that the Oslo agreements are to blame for the collapse of the Palestinian economy

Triggered by gas-price increases, tens of thousands of Palestinian taxi, truck and bus drivers in the West Bank observed a one-day strike, effectively shutting down cities. This, as Al Jazeera reported, was the culmination of several days of protests where thousands of Palestinians, frustrated by the economic crisis in the West Bank, took to the streets. After these protestors forced the closure of government offices, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad decided to decrease fuel prices and cut the salaries of top Palestinian Authority officials in an effort to appease his angry constituents.

Prime Minister Fayyad, a former IMF executive, undoubtedly knows that both his previous decision to increase gas prices as well as his recent decision to decrease them will have no real effect on the looming economic crisis. Report after report has documented the Palestinian economy’s complete dependence on foreign aid, while underscoring the severe poverty and chronic food insecurity plaguing the population. These reports all suggest that Israel’s occupation is to blame for the unfolding economic debacle, raising the crucial question of why the Palestinians’ wrath was directed at Fayyad rather than at Israel.

The clue to this enigma can be found in the missing chapter of a World Bank report published barely a week after the protests subsided. Warning that the fiscal crisis in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is deepening, the World Bank blamed the Israeli government for maintaining a tight grip over sixty percent of the West Bank, denying Palestinians access to the majority of arable land in the area as well as limiting their access to water and other natural resources.

Remarkably, the economists who wrote the report highlight the impact of severe Israeli restrictions to Palestinian land but say nothing about economic policy. They seem to suggest that if only the Oslo process had been allowed to go forward, then the Palestinian economy would not be so badly off. Therefore they fail to mention the detrimental effect of the Paris Protocols, the Palestinian-Israeli Interim Agreement of April 1994 that spells out Oslo’s economic arrangements.

Interestingly, the three foundational documents that Fayyad has published since he began his tenure as Prime Minister—Palestinian Reform and Development Plan from 2008; Ending the Occupation and Establishing a State from 2009; and Homestretch to Freedom from 2010—also fail to discuss the stifling effect the Paris Protocols have had on Palestinian economy.

Spanning thirty-five pages—as opposed to NAFTA’s thousand pages—this economic agreement reproduces Palestinian subjugation to Israel, while undercutting the very possibility of Palestinian sovereignty. The agreement’s major problem, as Israeli economists Arie Arnon and Jimmy Weinblatt pointed out over a decade ago, is that it establishes a customs union with Israel based on Israeli trade regulations, allows Israel to maintain control of all labor flows, and prohibits the Palestinians from introducing their own currency, thus barring their ability to influence interest rates, inflation, etc.

Why, we need to ask ourselves, does Prime Minister Fayyad wish to “improve” the Paris Protocols, and why doesn’t the World Bank even mention the agreement, needless to say the severe limitations that it imposes on the Palestinian Authority’s ability to choose their own economic regime and adopt trade policies according to their perceived interests?

The answer has to do with a shared and ongoing investment in Oslo.

Prime Minister Fayyad, the World Bank and indeed most western leaders perceive the current economic crisis in the Palestinian territories as resulting from the collapse of the 1993 Oslo process. They would like to bring Oslo back on track, develop and expand it. By contrast, most Palestinian analysts currently maintain that the Oslo agreements are to blame for the collapse of the Palestinian economy.

The protesters know that the West Bank’s fragmentation, the Palestinians’ inability to control their own borders and the lack of access to huge swaths of land (which are highlighted in the reports), are intricately tied to the untenable customs union and the absence of a Palestinian currency. These restrictions are all part and parcel of the Oslo Accords and not an aberration from them.

Hence, it would be rash to think that the Palestinian protesters are blaming Prime Minister Fayyad for the economic crisis, since every West Bank resident knows all too well that the crisis is the result of the occupation. It consequently seems reasonable to assume that they are blaming Fayyad for continuing to play the Oslo game.

Palestinians have no sovereignty in the Occupied Territories, and yet they have a president, a prime minister and an array of ministers who for years now have postured as part of a legitimate government in an independent country. The only way to end the occupation is by forsaking Oslo; to force the Palestinian Authority to stop playing this futile game and to deal head on with its disastrous repercussions.

Neve Gordon is the author of Israel’s Occupation and can be reached through his website.

First published in Al Jazeera, September 27, 2012

Twelve Citizens Killed, 48 Injured in Car Bomb Explosion during Escorting Martyrs in Jaramana, Damascus Countryside

Aug 28, 2012

DAMASCUS COUNTRYSIDE, (SANA) – A car bomb (a taxi) on Tuesday blew up in Tishreen neighborhood in Jaramana city, Damascus Countryside, during the escorting of two martyrs who were killed in the previous day in a terrorist blast in the city.

An official source told SANA reporter that the explosion of the car, which was parked near a cemetery in the abovementioned neighborhood, killed 12 citizens and injured 48 others, some in critical condition, in addition to damaging some of the surrounding buildings.

Early on the day, a family of two parents and their girl child were injured in the city due to a blast of an explosive device which terrorists had stuck to their car.

The Injured: The Terrorist Act Will Not Weaken the Syrians

Yazan Rukab, 18, one of the injured in the bombing lying in Jaramana Hospital, highlighted in a statement to SANA the hatred nursed by the criminals who carried out the terrorist blast against the Syrian people who have stood firm in the face of the conspiracy hatched against their country.

“These crimes will not weaken the steadfastness and determination of the Syrian people,” said William Shiya, another injured citizen, who strongly denounced the terrorist act which targeted a funeral procession for a number of martyrs killed the previous day in another terrorist act.

“I was at home when the blast happened…Our house’ façade was smashed and a number of my family members were injured,” said Ghazal al-Atrash, 16, who still was in a state of panic and shock.

She called for inflicting punishment upon the criminals who “are seeking to destroy the life of the safe Syrians.”

Dr. Bashar Rabah at al-Radi specialized hospital told SANA reporter that they received scores of injured people, at least 10 of them were in critical condition, to whom first aid treatment was applied.

He added that a number of the injured were transferred to Damascus Hospital because of their serious cases.

For his part, Director of Damascus Hospital, Dr. Adib Mahmoud, said 25 of the serious cases received by the hospital needed surgery, noting that 10 operation rooms have been preoccupied.

The fact that funeral procession included all members of mourning families, some of these families were inflicted with cases of martyrdom and injury among their members.

The 15-year-old Mohannad Mohammad Alloulo was martyred in the bombing, while his three-year-younger sister Alaa was injured lying on a bed in one of the emergency department’s rooms at Damascus Hospital.

“My sister was playing with her friends outside the house when she heard the boom. She fell to the ground and couldn’t move,” said Alla’s brother, Mustafa, who was sitting by her side.

“Those who are killing mourners and children can’t be Syrians,” Mustafa added, stressing that the Syrian Arab Army will eliminate the terrorists and foil their backers in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Damascus Countryside Governor: The Terrorist Act Represents the Highest Degree of Criminality

Damascus Countryside Governor, Hussein Makhlouf, along with the Commander of the Police Department in the province, visited the injured in the hospitals and checked their condition, wishing them a speedy recovery.

“This terrorist bombing represents the highest degree of criminality as it targets innocent mourners,” said Governor Makhlouf, asking that God has mercy upon the souls of the martyrs.

Authorities Inflict Heavy Losses upon Terrorists in Aleppo, Homs and Hama, Raid Terrorists’ Hideout in Qamishli

Aug 28, 2012

PROVINCES, (SANA)- Authorities in Aleppo on Tuesday carried out a qualitative operation in al-Bandara neighborhood and inflicted heavy losses upon the mercenary terrorists, SANA reporter said.

The reporter quoted an official source in Aleppo province as saying that units of the armed forces carried out another qualitative operation around Radio and TV broadcasting area in the city of Aleppo, arresting two terrorists and killing the others.

The source told SANA that six bomb boxes, ammunition, rifles, sniper rifles, a PKC machine gun, military uniforms and medical materials were confiscated in teh operation.

The source said that the security authorities clashed with terrorists in the area of Sheikh Saad in the city of Aleppo and kill a number of them and wound others.

Clashes also broke out between the security authorities and a number of terrorists in al-Ashrafiyeh neighborhood in Aleppo city.

SANA reporter said that 7 terrorists were killed in the clashes.

A number of terrorists were killed and tens of them were injured while 3 SUVs and a small truck were destroyed in Mizar street in Saif al-Dawla area in Aleppo during the armed forces’ work to clear the area.

The armed forces also eliminated a number of terrorists, most of them of Arab and foreign nationalities, who attempted to sneak from al-Sukkari neighborhood into Saif al-Dawla area.

Units of the Syrian Army storm hideouts of armed terrorist groups in a number of Aleppo areas

Units of the Syrian Army stormed hideouts of armed terrorist groups in a number of Aleppo areas, killing a big number of them while scores escaped.

A source told SANA reporter that a unit of the Army destroyed hideouts of terrorists in Kiljibrin in Azaz, Bishkaten, al-Eis.

Explosive Device Explodes in Car in Jaramana, Damascus Countryside, Killign Driver

Last night, in Jaramana, Damascus Countryside, an explosive device detonated in a car causing the killing of its driver.

The device was attached to the car by an armed terrorist group.

Authorities Pursue mercenaries in East al-Ghouta, Damascus Countryside

The competent authorities pursued today armed terrorist groups in East al-Ghouta, Damascus countryside.

A source told SANA that the authorities killed a big number of the mercenaries, arrested quantities of weapons, ammunitions and modern communication sets.

Authorities Confront Terrorists Who Mortared al-Mashrafah Village in Homs, Inflict Heavy Losses upon them

The authorities in Homs province confronted last night a group of armed terrorists who mortared al-Mashrafah village in eastern Homs causing injury to a number the citizens.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that the authorities succeeded in inflicting heavy losses upon the terrorists and destroying their DShk-eqipped vehicles.

Army Unit Pursue Terorists in al-Madik Village in Hama

In Hama, an army unit pursued on Tuesday an armed terrorist group in the area of al-Madik village in the countryside of teh province and inflicted heavy losses upon them.

An official source told SANA that the operation resulted in seizing large amounts of weapons and ammunition belonging to the terrorists, adding that a workshop for making explosive devices was found.

The military engineering units dismantled ten explosive devices planted by armed terrorist groups in the area of al-Madik Castle.

SANA reporter said that four explosive devices were planted by terrorists inside a school, and other six explosive devices were planted near grain silos in the area.

Terrorists’ Hideout Raided in Qamishli, 11 Terrorists Arrested, Weapons Seized

In Qamishli province, the authorities raided a hideout for an armed terrorist group in Qaddor Beik neighborhood arresting 11 terrorists and injuring another.

SANA reporter quoted an official source in the province as saying that the raid resulted in seizing an amount of weapons found in the hideout including 10 machineguns, Nato sniper rifle, 3 pump-action rifles, 11 grenades, a military pistol, a hunting rifle and military uniforms.

An amount of heroine and narcotics, 23 communication devices, 4 computers and remote control devices for detonating explosive devices were also found in the terrorists’ hideout.

Authorities confront an armed terrorist group’s attempt to attack the civilians in al- Qseir countryside

The competent authorities today confronted an armed terrorist group’s attempt to attack the civilians in al-Ziraa, al-Shaiyahat and al-Mashtal in al-Qseir countryside.

SANA reporter quoted a source as saying that the clashes led to the killing of a number of terrorists among them Mohammad Khudre Mokheber know as the assassin.

Al-Moallem: We Believe that the USA is the Major Player against Syria and the Rest are Its Instruments

Aug 29, 2012

LONDON, (SANA) – Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem affirmed that We belive the USA is the major player against Syria and the rest are its instruments under its control.

In an interview with the British newspaper the Independent conducted by journalist Robert Fisk, al-Moallem said that America is behind Syria’s violence, and that he doesn’t understand its slogan of fighting international terrorism when it’s supporting terrorism in Syria.

He pointed out that over 60% of the country’s violence comes from abroad, specifically from Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, with the United States exercising its influence over all others, adding “When the Americans say, ‘We are supplying the opposition with sophisticated instruments of telecommunications’, isn’t this part of a military effort, when they supply the opposition with USD 25 million?”

Al-Moallem pointed out that the goal of what is happening in Syria is to pressure it regarding its relations with Iran and resistance movements in Palestine and Lebanon, saying “We were told by some Western envoy at the beginning of this crisis that relations between Syria and Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, Syria and Hamas are the major elements behind this crisis. If we settle this issue, they will help end the crisis.”

He went on to say that the Americans succeeded in frightening the Gulf countries about Iran’s nuclear capabilities, persuading them to buy arms from the US and fulfilling Franklin Roosevelt’s 1936 dream of maintaining bases for oil transportation.

Regarding the European positions towards the Syrian crisis, al-Moallem said “I tell the Europeans: I don’t understand your slogan about the welfare of the Syrian people when you are supporting 17 resolutions against the welfare of the Syrian people.”

As for Qatari-Syrian relations, al-Moallem noted that Qatar was the one who reneged on these relations, saying that he met Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in Doha in November 2011 when the Arab League launched its initiative which led to sending observers to Syria, pointing out that during this meeting, Hamad told him “If you agree to this initiative, I will change the attitude of Al Jazeera and I will tell Sheikh Yusef al-Qaradawi to support Syria and reconciliation, and I have put down some billions of dollars to rebuild Syria.”

He added that he asked Hamad about having had very close relations with Muammar Gaddafi and why he sent his aircrafts to attack Libya and be part of NATO, with Hamad responding by saying simply “Because we don’t want to lose our momentum in Tunis and Egypt.”

Al-Moallem stressed that the crisis started with legitimate demands subsequently addressed by legislation and reforms and even a new constitution, but then came foreign elements who used these legitimate demands to hijack the peaceful agenda of the people.

“I don’t accept as a citizen to return back centuries to a regime which can bring Syria backwards. In principle …no government in the world can accept an armed terrorist group, some of them coming from abroad, controlling streets and villages in the name of jihad,” he said, adding that as a Syrian citizen, he is sad to see what’s happening in Syria, compared with how it was two years ago.

“There are many Syrians like me – eager to see Syria return to the old days when we were proud of our security,” he concluded.

Russian Foreign Ministry: Foreign Military Support to Opposition Encourages it to Reject participation in National Dialogue

Aug 28, 2012

Moscow, (SANA)-The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the foreign military support to the Syrian opposition encourages it to go ahead in its method which rejects to take part in the national dialogue and pose a threat to escalating confrontation, destabilize the situation in Syria and the whole region.

“Russia has always stated that offering financial, ,military and technical assistance by foreign players to one side in Syria poses a threat to escalating confrontation in Syria, subsequently leading to dangerous repercussions that destabilize the security in the country,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement broadcast by Russian Today site on Tuesday.

Commenting on reports about using bases by the British military in Cyprus to offer assistance to the armed terrorist groups in Syria, the Ministry added that such support paves the way for the opposition to go ahead in its method which rejects dialogue in contradiction with the UN Security Council resolutions, Annan’s plan and Geneva meeting.

Mansour Calls upon All Parties to Stop Supporting Gunmen in Syria…Zebari: What Is Going on in Syria Affects Iraq

Aug 28, 2012

TEHRAN, (SANA)- Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour underscored that solving the crisis in Syria should be form inside Syria and under a Syrian leadership, calling some foreign sides to stop supplying the gunmen with arms and money.

In an interview with al-Alam TV Channel on the sideline of his participation in the meetings of the Non-Aligned Movement Foreign Ministers in Tehran on Tuesday, Mansour expressed his country’s rejection of the foreign interference in Syria’s internal affairs, stressing that Lebanon supports the internal political solution through dialogue between the Syrian leadership and opposition.

Mansour stressed that talking about establishing a no-fly zone over Syria is very dangerous as it doesn’t serve Syria’s unity and constitutes a flagrant interference in Syria’s internal affairs.

He called on the Non-Aligned countries to put pressures on Israel to commit to respect the international resolutions.

He also called for the establishment of a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction.

In a speech at the meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement’s Foreign Ministers in Tehran, Mansour underlined that NAM must tackle the problems encountered in some members states and help them come out of the crisis without foreign intervention.

“The foreign military, financial, media and human interference in Syria became uncovered for the whole world through statements issued by some sides,” Mansour said, wondering about the role of NAM and how it could put an end to the interference in the affairs of member states.

Zebari Stresses Iraq’s Support to any Initiative for Political Solution to Crisis in Syria

Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, stressed on Tuesday that Iraq supports any initiative for political solution to crisis in Syria, adding that what is happening in Syria affects Iraq and all regional countries.

In an interview with al-Alam Channel, Zebari considered the Iraqi stance on the situation in Syria is based on the national interest of Iraq and the interests of the Syrian people as well.

He added that the scale of valence in Syria has reached advanced levels, stressing that violence will not solve the problem.

He warned that al-Qaeda is representing an enormous threat to all peoples of the region, pointing out that it practiced acts of killing and slaughtering against the Iraqis throughout the past years.

The Iraqi Foreign Minister condemned Turkey’s violation of the Iraqi sovereignty, saying that the neighboring countries to Iraq should in the first place respect this country, its people and government and deal with it according to the mutual interests and respect.

Regarding the recent visit of the Turkish Foreign Minister to the north of Iraq, Zebari said that Iraq has condemned this visit and officially expressed rejection of it, considering it unacceptable.

Cabinet to Form Ministerial Committee to Follow up on Displaced Families

Aug 28, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – During a session chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Wael al-Halqi on Tuesday, the Cabinet discussed a number of services and economic issues of interest to citizens in light of the current circumstances.

Premier al-Hamqi stressed the need to stay in touch with citizens through the media, direct meetings, and field tours and to handle their complaints and demands according to available resources, all while explaining to citizens the difficulties hindering the work of the ministries and affiliated bodies.

He called for resolving the situation of families displaced due to the crimes of terrorist groups and providing support from all ministries to help the State Ministry for National Reconciliation Affairs carry out its duties.

Al-Halqi also called for resolving administrative entanglements among some ministries and monitoring administrative spending.

Deputy Prime Minister for Services Affairs and Minister of Local Administration Omar Ghalawanji and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Internal Trade and Consumer Protection Minister Dr. Qadri Jamil briefed the Cabinet on the state of services and economy.

Ghalawanji reviewed the state of displaced families and the government’s efforts to provide them with shelter, services and aid,

The Cabinet decided to form a ministerial committee to follow up on displaced families on the ground, calling on displaced families to return to their homes in the areas that have been cleared of terrorists and have become stable and secure, affirming the government’s readiness to provide the necessary services and needs of these areas.

The Cabinet called on the Petroleum Ministry to double the number of fuel transport tankers to meet citizens’ needs across Syria, in addition to calling on the Health Ministry to provide milk for children in Hasaka Province.

The Cabinet also called on the Electricity and Communications and Technology Ministries to submit their needs and work requirements for approval, and instructed the Education Ministry to finish preparation for the upcoming school term on schedule.

Afterwards, the Cabinet passed a bill on the new state council law, terminating law no. 55 for 1959 and its amendments, in addition to approving the licensing of a number of newspapers and magazines.

NAM Foreign Ministers Discuss Bill of Summit’s Final Statement

Aug 28, 2012

TEHRAN, (SANA)_Works of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Foreign Ministers’ meeting on Tuesday started in the Iranian Capital of Tehran with the participation of a delegation from Syria to discuss the bill of the final statement conducted by experts of these countries during the past two days.

The ministers discuss during their meeting the situation in the region, the world and the Syrian crisis, in addition to supporting the legitimate rights of the member states and activating dialogue for solving the international problems and the joint management of the world.

Experts of NAM member states concluded their meetings in Tehran on Monday agreeing on the final document.

The final document NAM Experts’ underscored the determination to solve the crisis in Syria through peaceful means using all available potentials for this purpose.

The document condemned the western sanctions imposed against Syria, calling for rejection of violence allowing the Syrian Government to carry on with reforms.

Mohammad-Mehdi Akhoundzadeh, secretary of the expert-level meeting, said in press statements yesterday that the document rejects “resorting increasingly to unilateralism”, asserting that ‘NAM member states have expressed deep concern with the forceful economic tactics including unilateral sanctions against developing states…and reiterate that unilateral economic sanctions trample the fundamental rights of people in the targeted countries,”

“The document calls on all parties to take urgent action in view of implementation of Iran’s 1974 proposal for creating a Middle East free from nuclear weapons, and expresses profound concern about the nuclear arms held by Israel and the Israeli threats, and condemns the proliferation and stockpile of nuclear weapons,” Akhoundzadeh added.

Akhoundzadeh declared that the 688-paragraph document “In two paragraphs, the document highlights the inalienable right of all NAM member states to development and use of peaceful nuclear energy and full development of nuclear fuel cycle in compliance with the rights and obligations in the [nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty] NPT,”

Akhoundzadeh added that the document rejects all forms of occupation in the world and deplores double standards on the world issues, asserting that the signals sent by the NAM meeting are peace, justice and respect of law.

The 16th NAM Summit, held under the motto “Lasting Peace through Joint Global Governance ” continued today its deliberations at foreign ministerial level.

A number of NAM member countries’ Foreign Ministers call for not interfering in Syria’s domestic affairs

A number of Foreign Ministers of NAM member countries called for not interfering in Syria’s domestic affairs or militarizing the crisis.

India’s Foreign Minister S.M.Krishna expressed his country’s deep concern over the developments in Syria which could extend to the neighboring countries, renewing India’s support for a political process that brings together all Syrian parties to meet aspirations of the Syrian people.

For his part, Zimbabwe Foreign Minister Simbarashe mumbengegwi underlined that the resolution to the crisis in Syria depends on the Syrians only through a political dialogue which includes all Syrian sides away from any form of foreign military intervention.

Ghana’s Foreign Minister al-Haaj Muhammad Mumuni called for not using pretexts of the human protection to interfere in the internal affairs of countries or exploiting the humanitarian suffering to change the political regimes.

Nepal Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, for his part, called for halting the violence and end the crisis in Syria away from the foreign intervention in a way that lets Syrians decide their future.

Salehi: Need for an Opportunity of dialogue to resolve crisis in Syria

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that the Foreign Ministers who take part in the NAM meeting of Tehran presented different viewpoints to resolve the crisis in Syria, underlining the importance of availing an opportunity for dialogue between the Syrian government and the national opposition without any foreign intervention.

“The foreign ministers gave special importance for the crisis in Syria and proposed several viewpoints in this domain… the best way to end the war on Syria is to facilitate conducting a dialogue between the opposition and the Syrian government,” Salehi said in a statement.

He added that discussions regarding the crisis in Syria are still available at the meeting of NAM foreign Ministers, considering that if the regional countries and international organizations were able to facilitate dialogue between the opposition and the Syrian government, it would be useful and effective.

Abdullahian: Syria’s National Sovereignty to Be Maintained, Iran’s Efforts Focused on Political Solution

Aug 28, 2012

TEHRAN, (SANA)- Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdullahian, stressed that the national sovereignty of Syria is the most important to maintain, noting that Iran’s efforts are focused mainly on finding a mechanism for a peaceful political solution to the crisis in Syria.

In an interview with the Iranian al-Aalam channel published on Tuesday, Abdullahian said Tehran’s search for a political solution to the crisis is based on focusing on the plan of the former UN envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, which was adopted by the UN and is to be continued by the new envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in cooperation with the international and regional parties.

He highlighted that the national dialogue which the Syrian leadership has proposed and came in Annan’s plan has been included among the Iranian proposals.

“When we speak of the opposition we mean the opposition which adopts the political solutions inside Syria and which has its bases inside Syria and doesn’t resort to the terrorist solutions,” the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister told al-Aalam TV.

He said the opposition abroad is not united and lacks a popular base inside Syria, stressing the necessity that the national dialogue be comprehensive and include all the trends and spectra.

Abdullahian affirmed that Syria has passed the stage of danger and foiled the aspirations of the hostile powers targeting it and the entire region, considering that the entry of armed terrorist groups and extremist forces into Syria has impeded reaping the fruit of the reforms proposed by the Syrian leadership.

He reiterated that resorting to weapons is a terrorist act and not a political one.

The Iranian official described the behavior of the so-called ‘Free Army’ as “crimes being committed without any political reading that guarantees the safety of the Syrian people.”

“Therefore,” Abdullahian added, “the Syrian people reject these groups that kidnap and kill the nationals of other countries. Accordingly, these groups can’t be called opposition because they don’t deserve such a title at all.”

He pointed out that Iran already proposed solutions at Tehran consultation meeting a month ago and is having detailed deliberations about those solutions with the other countries, particularly the countries of the region, on the sidelines of the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement.

It may sound surprising to some people, but it’s true that banks are not allowed to trade in commodities in India. The banks are allowed to trade in financial instruments (such as shares, bonds and currencies) in securities market but the Banking Regulation Act of 1949 strictly prohibits banks (both domestic and foreign) from trading in goods and therefore they are not allowed to trade in commodity futures market.

The Section 8 of Banking Regulation Act clearly states that no bank shall “directly or indirectly deal in the buying or selling or bartering of goods, except in connection with the realisation of security given to or held by it.” However, banks are allowed to finance commodity business and provide fund and non-fund-based facilities to commodity traders to meet their working capital requirements. Banks also provide clearing and settlement services for commodities derivatives transactions. In India, banks can also own a stake in the commodity exchanges. For instance, several banks (e.g., State Bank of India and HDFC Bank) own a stake in the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX). But banks cannot trade in commodities themselves.

The Growing Pressure

With the rapid liberalisation of Indian securities markets, pressure is exerted by big foreign banks — who have considerable international experience and expertise in commodity derivatives trading — to allow their entry in the commodity markets.

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the push for amending the Banking Regulation Act has gained new impetus. In a post-crisis world, big international banks are shifting their focus to Asian markets (such as India and China) which are considered to be the “new engines” of economic growth. For these banks, a largely untapped Indian commodity futures market offer enormous profit-making potential. In 2009, Bank of Nova Scotia sought permission to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary to trade agricultural goods and metals on the MCX and National Commodities and Derivative Exchange (NCDEX). But the proposal was rejected by the Reserve Bank of India (country’s central bank) as per the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act.

Since January 2012, New Delhi is considering an amendment in the Banking Regulation Act so as to allow banks’ entry into commodity futures besides providing similar access to mutual funds, pension funds, insurance companies and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to participate in the commodity markets.

The Weak Rationale

The arguments supportive of banks’ direct entry into the commodity trading are highly overstated and backed by very little hard evidence. The proponents argue that this move would enable banks to hedge their exposure to agricultural lending arising out of price fluctuations. In reality, banks in India lend money to farmers and commodity traders but they don’t have any direct exposure to commodities.

By the same logic, banks have large exposures in infrastructure sector, should they get directly involved in building bridges, airports, highways and power plants? At best, banks are expected to advise their borrowers to hedge their price risk in futures markets rather than hedging themselves. By acting as a trader/broker in the commodity derivatives market, banks would be moving away from their core competence — lending money to individuals and firms.

Given the ground realities in the country where 80 percent of farmers are small farmers, not even 0.1 percent of farm borrowers in India trade in the commodity futures exchanges.

Further, there is no rationale for allowing non-banking financial players such as mutual funds, insurance companies and FIIs in the agricultural commodity markets since they have no direct exposure to farm loans and farming community in India.

The Current Regulatory Framework

Banks’ entry into commodity futures trading could turn out to be a risky proposition for several valid reasons. To begin with, the commodity futures market in India is still in its nascent stage of development and therefore the existing regulatory environment cannot handle the sudden entry of big financial players such as banks.

Unlike equity markets regulator, the commodity trade regulator (Forward Markets Commission – FMC) is toothless and has weak regulatory powers to ensure fair trading in commodity exchanges. The FMC does not have any statutory power for compulsory registration of traders and brokers which makes it difficult to monitor and supervise traders. There are plenty of instances where the FMC failed to curb malpractices (such as parallel illegal trading) and prevent excessive speculative activities which distorted the price discovery and hedging function of commodity future markets.

In addition, the existing penalty provisions are grossly inadequate and not in tune with current trading volume in the Indian commodity derivatives markets. It may sound astonishing that FMC — regulating billions of dollars worth of commodity trade — has no powers to directly impose a financial penalty on the traders. At present, only a maximum penalty of Rs.1000 ($18) can be imposed on traders by FMC, and that too through court orders on conviction. A financial penalty of mere Rs.1000 (enforced through lengthy court process) does not act as a deterrent for potential offenders in the commodity markets.

Under the Forward Contracts Regulation Amendment Bill (2010), the government has allowed FMC to impose financial penalties to a minimum of Rs.25000 ($450) and in some offences (such as insider trading) up to Rs.2500000 ($45000). The proposed Bill is still under discussion. Given the fact that FMC is unable to effectively monitor and supervise the existing non-financial players, it would require considerable time, resources and technical expertise to deal with the high trading volumes which the entry of banks into commodity trading would bring about.

The Lack of Domain Knowledge

By and large, Indian banks (both public and private) lack market knowledge and expertise to benefit from trading in commodity futures. The RBI has also expressed concern on the risks posed by domestic banks that lack expertise and skilled manpower to deal with such risky trading instruments.

As pointed out by G. Chandrasekhar, Commodities Editor, The Hindu Businessline, “Given the lack of product knowledge and market knowledge among Indian banks and given the huge volatility of commodity markets, these institutions run the risk of losing money rather than safeguard it. Policymakers have to exercise utmost caution in allowing huge speculative funds to flow into the commodities derivatives, especially agricultural goods.”

The real beneficiaries of this move are likely to be big foreign banks who have a competitive edge over domestic banks in dealing with such businesses. Already foreign banks dominate the financial derivatives market in India. Most of these products are financial in nature with no actual bank lending involved. However, banks make money on these products through fee income. The off-balance-sheet exposure of foreign banks (e.g., currency forward contracts, interest rate derivatives) is currently very high in India. The off-balance-sheet exposure of foreign banks as proportion of their on-balance-sheet exposure was 1860 percent in 2010-11.

Inflationary Concerns

Even though there are various causes of high food inflation in India, the role of futures trading has remained contentious. In 2007, New Delhi had suspended the futures trading in key agricultural commodities due to their alleged role in triggering rapid price hike. “Participation of banks, MFs and FIIs can potentially distort the market instead of advancing it, as too much money would start chasing commodities in short supplies and result in inflation. By allowing more money to flow into commodity market, there is the danger of rising prices without corresponding benefits flowing back to those in the farm sector,” argues Chandrasekhar.

Other Policy Issues

Furthermore, this policy change is contrary to the positions India has taken at various international forums. Not long ago, India’s former Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, voiced concern at G20 over the growing influence of “financialisation” behind the increase in the level and volatility of global oil prices.

At a time when the Indian banks are struggling to raise fresh capital of Rs.4750 bn ($88 bn) before March 2018 to meet the Basel III requirements besides fulfilling mandatory financial inclusion and priority lending targets, such a move could divert resources from developmental banking to speculative trading activities which may weaken the otherwise stable banking system in the long run. For New Delhi, the first priority should be to remove structural bottlenecks in the agrarian economy and improve efficiency of the underlying spot markets in cooperation with state governments.

By Kavaljit Singh

28 August, 2012

@ Global Research.ca

This article is an excerpt from a Policy Brief published by Madhyam (New Delhi) in close collaboration with SOMO (Amsterdam).

Kavaljit Singh is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Global Research Articles by Kavaljit Singh

Yesterday, at a conference of France’s ambassadors held in Paris, newly-elected French President François Hollande called for the US-backed Syrian opposition parties to form a government, which he said France would recognize.

Hollande’s move comes one week after US President Barack Obama threatened to invade Syria if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appeared ready to use chemical weapons against US-backed anti-Assad fighters. This marked the first open threat of direct military intervention into Syria by the imperialist powers. Until then, they had organized the funding and arming of their proxy forces, largely Sunni Islamist fighters, through the offices of the Saudi and Qatari monarchies and the Turkish government.

Hollande’s comments addressed a range of international issues, but centered on the crisis in Syria and the Middle East. They amount to an official declaration by the French government, worked out with Washington, that it is pursuing regime-change by military force in Syria.

Hollande said: “France is asking the Syrian opposition to form a provisional government that will be both inclusive and representative, that can become the legitimate representative of the new Syria. We will work with our Arab partners to accelerate this process, and France will recognize the provisional government of the new Syria as soon as it is formed.”

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland echoed Hollande’s proposal. Speaking of the Syrian opposition, she said: “So that’s the first order of business—for them to all agree on what a transition ought to look like. Obviously, it’s a matter for them to decide if and when they may be prepared to start naming folks.”

This amounts to a plan for Paris, backed by Washington and its other imperialist allies, to impose a new government on Syria that has no popular legitimacy. The anti-Assad forces—comprised of Sunni Islamist militias, various petty-bourgeois “left” groups, and international Islamist terrorist groups affiliated to Al Qaeda—are deeply internally divided and unpopular, especially in Syria’s major cities, Damascus and Aleppo.

Hollande’s proposal is all the more brazen in that France is the former colonial power in Syria. It ruled the country when the League of Nations put it under French mandate in 1920 until shortly after the end of World War II, during which it was briefly controlled by the fascist Vichy regime.

Hollande made clear that he plans to carry out this policy by force of arms, aiding the proxy war by anti-Assad forces in Syria. He said: “We are helping notably those who are organizing the liberated zones on Syrian territory. We are working on the buffer zones proposed by Turkey. We are doing it with our closest partners.”

These proposals involve offering the military protection of France, Turkey, or their allies to anti-Assad forces, so they can seize parts of Syria’s territory and hold it against the Syrian government. Despite the euphemistic terminology, Hollande’s proposal is objectively an act of war, attacking Syria’s territorial integrity with the threat, or the use, of military force.

With his allusion to France’s “closest partners,” Hollande left no doubt that his declaration had been discussed with the United States.

Towards the beginning of his speech, moreover, he said: “Alliances, yes, we have one with the United States, and this relation today is marked by confidence. I have had the opportunity to note with President Obama the magnitude of our agreement on the major international questions, the economic crisis, and the imperative of [economic] growth.”

Hollande also echoed Obama’s threat of military intervention in Syria: “We remain very vigilant with our allies to prevent the use of chemical weapons by the regime, which would constitute for the international community a legitimate cause for direct intervention.”

The invocation of the threat of chemical weapons is no less cynical than Hollande’s concern for the human rights of the Syrian people, who routinely face bombings and shootings organized by Islamist forces armed to the teeth by the NATO powers and their Middle East allies. Even though the US proxy war has lasted for over a year, the Assad government has not used chemical weapons. Moreover, it has pledged not to use them against Syrians.

Far from being politically legitimate, the actions of the United States government and its European allies are fundamentally criminal. They are attempting to impose upon an ex-colonial country an unrepresentative and lawless government, which will be dependent on its ties with world finance capital and the military might of its imperialist backers.

One indication of the class character of such a regime is the record of the Libyan regime installed last year at the end of the NATO war in Libya, in a proxy war similar to the one now being waged in Syria.

Despite elections held on July 7, the country is still wracked by violence between the competing regional, tribal, and Islamist militias who served as NATO’s proxies in the war against the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Libyan Interior Minister Fawzi Abdel Al was recently forced to resign over allegations of complicity in the desecration of Sufi shrines and the burning of libraries by ultraconservative Sunni Islamists.

As it resumed consular services in Libya on Monday, the US State Department advised American citizens that it was too dangerous to visit: “The Department of State warns US citizens against all but essential travel to Libya. The incidence of violent crime, especially carjacking and robbery, has become a serious problem. In addition, political violence in the form of assassinations and vehicle bombs has increased in both Benghazi and Tri

By Alex Lantier

28 August, 2012

@ WSWS.org