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Παρασκευή 31 Οκτωβρίου 2008
Strange Strike - Strange Timing ..
Strange Strike
http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5636
With one deadly strike, the Bush administration has offered a fitting epitaph to its "might makes right" policy towards Syria — and the rest of the Middle East.
On October 26, nine days before the election, American Special Operations forces, allegedly pursuing a "top operative" of Al Qaeda in Iraq, carried out a helicopter attack on Sukkariyah, a small Syrian village six miles from the Iraqi border. U.S. officials claim the "successful operation" raid killed Abu Ghadiya, an Iraqi suspected of heading an insurgent cell. A Wall Street Journal editorial not only praised the strike but added, "Mr. Obama has promised he'll engage Syria diplomatically as part of an overall effort to end the conflict in Iraq. If he really wants to end the war faster, he'll pick up on Syria where the Bush Administration has now ended." The details of the attack remain murky and the White House has declined to comment. Not so murky is the deplorable fact that eight Syrian civilians, including a farmer, three children, and a fisherman, died as a result of the strike. They were all victims of collateral damage, like the Iraqis and Afghans who have perished as a result of Bush's reckless wars.
Questions
Numerous questions abound about the timing, purpose, and legality of the strike. Was the attack directed specifically against Syria, which has cooperated with the United States in the War on Terror and the Iraq War, or is it more of a desperate pre-election move by the Bush administration to showcase the image of stability and U.S. resolve? Other pundits have called the attack a "parting shot" from President George W. Bush and neoconservatives in his administration, who have long advocated but failed to bring regime change to Damascus, particularly in response to Syria's early opposition to the invasion of Iraq. By violating Syrian airspace and apparently not consulting the Syrians about its supposed intelligence on Abu Ghadiya ahead of the attack, the Bush administration has confirmed, yet again, its disdain for international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter. Indeed, the United States, in the name of fighting "terrorists," has carried out other cross-border raids in recent months, including along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border against the Taliban. In justifying the Syria attack, a senior U.S. official told The Washington Post: "You have to clean up the global threat that is in your backyard, and if you won't do that, we are left with no choice but to take these matters into our hands." Does this standard apply to other countries and legitimize their counter-terrorism operations as well? Imagine if Cuba offered a similar justification for going after scores of anti-Castro Cuban exiles in Miami, including Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles, who carried out the October 6, 1976 bombing of a Cuban civilian airliner, killing all 73 passengers and crewmembers on board.
Strange Timing
U.S. accusations against Syria that it's "not doing enough" to secure its porous, 300-mile-long border with Iraq isn't new, but look at the facts offers a contradictory view. That is, as Iraq's neighbor, as a country that has absorbed at least 1.5 million Iraqi refugees since 2003 (more than any of Iraq's other neighbors), as a country that fears the spillover effects of violence and sectarianism on its own borders and has pursued a strategy of engaging with Iraq's various political players (Moqtada al-Sadr traveled to Damascus in February 2006), Syria logically has good reason to work towards the emergence of a stable Iraq. In the next few weeks, high-level Iraqi and Syrian officials are scheduled to meet to discuss Iraqi security alongside American officials, which raises further questions about the purpose and timing of the strike. Earlier this month, Syria's first ambassador to Iraq in 26 years took his post in Baghdad, in a further sign of improving relations. Approximately 10,000 Syrian troops patrol the Iraq border. Many of them had previously monitored Syria's border with Israel, yet were transferred to the east in response to U.S. demands. After interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi visited Damascus in July 2004 and met with President Bashar al-Asad, Syria and Iraq formed a joint security committee to monitor their borders. The State Department's 2006 Country Reports on Terrorism further acknowledged that Damascus "upgraded physical security conditions on the border and began to give closer scrutiny to military-age Arab males entering Syria." The 2007 edition noted that "the Syrian government worked to increase security cooperation with Iraq. In July, Syria hosted a meeting of technical border security experts representing Iraq's neighbors, the United States, and other countries. Syria also participated in two ministerial-level Iraq Neighbors' Conferences in May and November, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and Istanbul, respectively…According to U.S. and Iraqi officials, 2007 witnessed a marked reduction in the flow of foreign terrorists transiting through Syria into Iraq."
The August 2007 National Intelligence Estimate reiterated that Damascus has "cracked down on some Sunni extremist groups attempting to infiltrate fighters into Iraq through Syria because of threats they pose to Syrian stability." And just last December, outgoing U.S. Commander in Iraq General David Petraeus acknowledged Syria's cooperative role in improving border security. Last month, according to Al Jazeera, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told Bush that Syria and Iran "no longer pose a problem to Iraqi security." Such facts contradict U.S. claims that Syria hasn't cooperated with the Americans and Iraqis in working towards stability in Iraq. Moreover, as the Syrians are learning yet again with the recent strike, when it comes to relations with Washington, no good deed goes unpunished.
Dashing Hopes for Better Relations
In fact, the October 26 U.S. raid doesn't represent the first time that Special Operations forces in neighboring Iraq have violated Syrian sovereignty, to chase down alleged Al Qaeda linked insurgents. Back in June 2003, as Seymour Hersh reported in The New Yorker, Task Force 20, an American Special Operations team in Iraq, expanded its operations into Syria, carrying out a botched attack near the Iraqi border that left nearly 80 people killed. The Syrian response to the attack was muted, as they still hoped for improved relations with the U.S. in exchange for security cooperation. At the time, then-CIA Director George Tenet had called for increased intelligence cooperation with the Syrians, based on the dossiers of intelligence on Al-Qaeda that the U.S. had received from Syria after 9/11. In one example, Damascus provided intelligence that helped prevent an attack on the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. Flynt Leverett, a former member of Bush's National Security Council during his first term, confirmed that Syrian cooperation helped "thwart an operation that, if carried out, would have killed a lot of Americans."
In a more gruesome example of anti-terrorism "cooperation" between 2001 and 2002, Syria even participated in Bush's infamous "extraordinary rendition" program. Asad's government had bet that such cooperation would help improve Syrian-U.S. relations. However, Donald Rumsfeld and neoconservatives in the Department of Defense didn't share Tenet's same enthusiasm for engaging with Damascus. They viewed cooperating with Syria as "rewarding terrorist sympathizers," because of Damascus's relations with Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran.
Immediately following the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, Bush accused Syria of facilitating the entry of foreign fighters into Iraq and providing Iraqi fighters with military equipment. Officials, including then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, issued warnings to Damascus that it could be next on the regime-change list if it didn't cooperate with the Americans in Iraq. At this same time, the United States pursued a policy of isolating Damascus and issued a series of demands to Syria as conditions for improved relations, such as ending its political support for Hamas and Hezbollah.
In December 2003, President Bush signed the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act (SALSA), legislation that banned U.S. exports to Syria and Syrian aircraft from flying into and leaving the United States. He has continued to renew sanctions under SALSA since 2004 (never mind that Syrian planes don't fly to the United States). In May 2005, as the United States escalated its accusations against Damascus, particularly in the wake of the February 14, 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri (which a UN tribunal is investigating), Syria announced that it would end formal intelligence cooperation with the United States.
Failed Policy
Clearly, Bush's policy of isolating Syria hasn't worked, particularly as the administration has acknowledged the need to engage Damascus in Iraq (such as to address border security and Iraqi refugees) and the larger Middle East peace process. The Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group reached this conclusion in December 2006. Nevertheless, while Syria has asked the United States to again post an ambassador to Damascus (the United States withdrew the last one there in 2005, to protest Hariri's assassination) and U.S. engagement in restarting peace talks between Syria and Israel, the Bush administration has refused.
Putting the U.S. attack on Syria into perspective, it says little about the Bush administration's ability to promote regional security. This past year alone, Syria and Israel have been engaging in indirect talks, under Turkey's leadership. The administration had advised Israel against responding to Syrian peace feelers over the past years, and now Turkey has stepped in an attempt to restart the peace process between those two countries. For 18 months, Lebanon went without a government and it was through the leadership of Qatar, the Arab League and specifically Syria's participation, which led to the brokering of a peace accord this past May in Doha, ending the political impasse there. Syria has also used its influence in the Israeli-Palestinian arena, helping to broker a fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. All of this puts a big question mark on the U.S. government's ability to resolve, instead of create and inflame, regional crises.
Whatever details may later emerge, the U.S. strike in Syria further represents another example of how the Iraq War is destabilizing the entire region. Through the violent deaths of Syrian civilians, a spotlight has been cast on the direct consequences of the war on Iraq's neighbors. As a result of the war, 2.7 million Iraqis are internally displaced and over 2.4 million refugees have sought safety in Jordan, Syria, and elsewhere in the region, creating new stresses and new instabilities.
Syrian Ambassador to the United States Imad Moustapha, in an interview two years ago, observed, "the war has further destabilized the whole region, creating more violence and bloodshed in a region already troubled by too many wars. The long-term effects are yet to be seen…Anti-Western sentiments have been stirred across the Middle East-this will have a long-lasting effect and cause problems for the U.S. and Arab states." Already, according to the 2008 Arab Public Opinion Poll, conducted by Professor Shibley Telhami of the University of Maryland, 83% of those polled in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and the UAE hold an unfavorable view of the United States. The latest strike in Syria won't help burnish that impression. Increased anti-American sentiment does precious little to enhance U.S. interests in the Middle East and throughout the world — a fact both Barack Obama and John McCain should be mindful of. Neither does pursuing a policy of "might makes right," whether in Syria or elsewhere in the name of pursuing terrorists. Bush's illogical policy towards Syria throughout his administration, dominated by threats, coercion, and isolation with only a few glimpses of cooperation, offers the next U.S. president with a clear guideline of what not to do in the Middle East.
Farrah Hassen is the 2008 Carol Jean and Edward F. Newman Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus. She wrote her Master's thesis in 2007 on Syria and the Iraq War at American University's School of International Service.
http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5636
With one deadly strike, the Bush administration has offered a fitting epitaph to its "might makes right" policy towards Syria — and the rest of the Middle East.
On October 26, nine days before the election, American Special Operations forces, allegedly pursuing a "top operative" of Al Qaeda in Iraq, carried out a helicopter attack on Sukkariyah, a small Syrian village six miles from the Iraqi border. U.S. officials claim the "successful operation" raid killed Abu Ghadiya, an Iraqi suspected of heading an insurgent cell. A Wall Street Journal editorial not only praised the strike but added, "Mr. Obama has promised he'll engage Syria diplomatically as part of an overall effort to end the conflict in Iraq. If he really wants to end the war faster, he'll pick up on Syria where the Bush Administration has now ended." The details of the attack remain murky and the White House has declined to comment. Not so murky is the deplorable fact that eight Syrian civilians, including a farmer, three children, and a fisherman, died as a result of the strike. They were all victims of collateral damage, like the Iraqis and Afghans who have perished as a result of Bush's reckless wars.
Questions
Numerous questions abound about the timing, purpose, and legality of the strike. Was the attack directed specifically against Syria, which has cooperated with the United States in the War on Terror and the Iraq War, or is it more of a desperate pre-election move by the Bush administration to showcase the image of stability and U.S. resolve? Other pundits have called the attack a "parting shot" from President George W. Bush and neoconservatives in his administration, who have long advocated but failed to bring regime change to Damascus, particularly in response to Syria's early opposition to the invasion of Iraq. By violating Syrian airspace and apparently not consulting the Syrians about its supposed intelligence on Abu Ghadiya ahead of the attack, the Bush administration has confirmed, yet again, its disdain for international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter. Indeed, the United States, in the name of fighting "terrorists," has carried out other cross-border raids in recent months, including along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border against the Taliban. In justifying the Syria attack, a senior U.S. official told The Washington Post: "You have to clean up the global threat that is in your backyard, and if you won't do that, we are left with no choice but to take these matters into our hands." Does this standard apply to other countries and legitimize their counter-terrorism operations as well? Imagine if Cuba offered a similar justification for going after scores of anti-Castro Cuban exiles in Miami, including Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles, who carried out the October 6, 1976 bombing of a Cuban civilian airliner, killing all 73 passengers and crewmembers on board.
Strange Timing
U.S. accusations against Syria that it's "not doing enough" to secure its porous, 300-mile-long border with Iraq isn't new, but look at the facts offers a contradictory view. That is, as Iraq's neighbor, as a country that has absorbed at least 1.5 million Iraqi refugees since 2003 (more than any of Iraq's other neighbors), as a country that fears the spillover effects of violence and sectarianism on its own borders and has pursued a strategy of engaging with Iraq's various political players (Moqtada al-Sadr traveled to Damascus in February 2006), Syria logically has good reason to work towards the emergence of a stable Iraq. In the next few weeks, high-level Iraqi and Syrian officials are scheduled to meet to discuss Iraqi security alongside American officials, which raises further questions about the purpose and timing of the strike. Earlier this month, Syria's first ambassador to Iraq in 26 years took his post in Baghdad, in a further sign of improving relations. Approximately 10,000 Syrian troops patrol the Iraq border. Many of them had previously monitored Syria's border with Israel, yet were transferred to the east in response to U.S. demands. After interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi visited Damascus in July 2004 and met with President Bashar al-Asad, Syria and Iraq formed a joint security committee to monitor their borders. The State Department's 2006 Country Reports on Terrorism further acknowledged that Damascus "upgraded physical security conditions on the border and began to give closer scrutiny to military-age Arab males entering Syria." The 2007 edition noted that "the Syrian government worked to increase security cooperation with Iraq. In July, Syria hosted a meeting of technical border security experts representing Iraq's neighbors, the United States, and other countries. Syria also participated in two ministerial-level Iraq Neighbors' Conferences in May and November, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and Istanbul, respectively…According to U.S. and Iraqi officials, 2007 witnessed a marked reduction in the flow of foreign terrorists transiting through Syria into Iraq."
The August 2007 National Intelligence Estimate reiterated that Damascus has "cracked down on some Sunni extremist groups attempting to infiltrate fighters into Iraq through Syria because of threats they pose to Syrian stability." And just last December, outgoing U.S. Commander in Iraq General David Petraeus acknowledged Syria's cooperative role in improving border security. Last month, according to Al Jazeera, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told Bush that Syria and Iran "no longer pose a problem to Iraqi security." Such facts contradict U.S. claims that Syria hasn't cooperated with the Americans and Iraqis in working towards stability in Iraq. Moreover, as the Syrians are learning yet again with the recent strike, when it comes to relations with Washington, no good deed goes unpunished.
Dashing Hopes for Better Relations
In fact, the October 26 U.S. raid doesn't represent the first time that Special Operations forces in neighboring Iraq have violated Syrian sovereignty, to chase down alleged Al Qaeda linked insurgents. Back in June 2003, as Seymour Hersh reported in The New Yorker, Task Force 20, an American Special Operations team in Iraq, expanded its operations into Syria, carrying out a botched attack near the Iraqi border that left nearly 80 people killed. The Syrian response to the attack was muted, as they still hoped for improved relations with the U.S. in exchange for security cooperation. At the time, then-CIA Director George Tenet had called for increased intelligence cooperation with the Syrians, based on the dossiers of intelligence on Al-Qaeda that the U.S. had received from Syria after 9/11. In one example, Damascus provided intelligence that helped prevent an attack on the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. Flynt Leverett, a former member of Bush's National Security Council during his first term, confirmed that Syrian cooperation helped "thwart an operation that, if carried out, would have killed a lot of Americans."
In a more gruesome example of anti-terrorism "cooperation" between 2001 and 2002, Syria even participated in Bush's infamous "extraordinary rendition" program. Asad's government had bet that such cooperation would help improve Syrian-U.S. relations. However, Donald Rumsfeld and neoconservatives in the Department of Defense didn't share Tenet's same enthusiasm for engaging with Damascus. They viewed cooperating with Syria as "rewarding terrorist sympathizers," because of Damascus's relations with Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran.
Immediately following the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, Bush accused Syria of facilitating the entry of foreign fighters into Iraq and providing Iraqi fighters with military equipment. Officials, including then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, issued warnings to Damascus that it could be next on the regime-change list if it didn't cooperate with the Americans in Iraq. At this same time, the United States pursued a policy of isolating Damascus and issued a series of demands to Syria as conditions for improved relations, such as ending its political support for Hamas and Hezbollah.
In December 2003, President Bush signed the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act (SALSA), legislation that banned U.S. exports to Syria and Syrian aircraft from flying into and leaving the United States. He has continued to renew sanctions under SALSA since 2004 (never mind that Syrian planes don't fly to the United States). In May 2005, as the United States escalated its accusations against Damascus, particularly in the wake of the February 14, 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri (which a UN tribunal is investigating), Syria announced that it would end formal intelligence cooperation with the United States.
Failed Policy
Clearly, Bush's policy of isolating Syria hasn't worked, particularly as the administration has acknowledged the need to engage Damascus in Iraq (such as to address border security and Iraqi refugees) and the larger Middle East peace process. The Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group reached this conclusion in December 2006. Nevertheless, while Syria has asked the United States to again post an ambassador to Damascus (the United States withdrew the last one there in 2005, to protest Hariri's assassination) and U.S. engagement in restarting peace talks between Syria and Israel, the Bush administration has refused.
Putting the U.S. attack on Syria into perspective, it says little about the Bush administration's ability to promote regional security. This past year alone, Syria and Israel have been engaging in indirect talks, under Turkey's leadership. The administration had advised Israel against responding to Syrian peace feelers over the past years, and now Turkey has stepped in an attempt to restart the peace process between those two countries. For 18 months, Lebanon went without a government and it was through the leadership of Qatar, the Arab League and specifically Syria's participation, which led to the brokering of a peace accord this past May in Doha, ending the political impasse there. Syria has also used its influence in the Israeli-Palestinian arena, helping to broker a fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. All of this puts a big question mark on the U.S. government's ability to resolve, instead of create and inflame, regional crises.
Whatever details may later emerge, the U.S. strike in Syria further represents another example of how the Iraq War is destabilizing the entire region. Through the violent deaths of Syrian civilians, a spotlight has been cast on the direct consequences of the war on Iraq's neighbors. As a result of the war, 2.7 million Iraqis are internally displaced and over 2.4 million refugees have sought safety in Jordan, Syria, and elsewhere in the region, creating new stresses and new instabilities.
Syrian Ambassador to the United States Imad Moustapha, in an interview two years ago, observed, "the war has further destabilized the whole region, creating more violence and bloodshed in a region already troubled by too many wars. The long-term effects are yet to be seen…Anti-Western sentiments have been stirred across the Middle East-this will have a long-lasting effect and cause problems for the U.S. and Arab states." Already, according to the 2008 Arab Public Opinion Poll, conducted by Professor Shibley Telhami of the University of Maryland, 83% of those polled in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and the UAE hold an unfavorable view of the United States. The latest strike in Syria won't help burnish that impression. Increased anti-American sentiment does precious little to enhance U.S. interests in the Middle East and throughout the world — a fact both Barack Obama and John McCain should be mindful of. Neither does pursuing a policy of "might makes right," whether in Syria or elsewhere in the name of pursuing terrorists. Bush's illogical policy towards Syria throughout his administration, dominated by threats, coercion, and isolation with only a few glimpses of cooperation, offers the next U.S. president with a clear guideline of what not to do in the Middle East.
Farrah Hassen is the 2008 Carol Jean and Edward F. Newman Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus. She wrote her Master's thesis in 2007 on Syria and the Iraq War at American University's School of International Service.
CHINA , 23 killed in Shaanxi colliery blast - Το μεροκάματο του τρόμου
Ηope dies last !!
Twenty-three are confirmed dead and six others remain missing,after a colliery gas explosion in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Wednesday, rescue officials said on Friday. As of 15 p.m. on Friday, rescuers had retrieved 23 bodies and were continuing to search for the other trapped miners. The blast occurred at around 8 p.m. on Wednesday in a shaft at the Yaotou mine in Chengcheng County. Only seven of the 36 workers in the pit managed to escape, said a spokesman with the provincial government. Rescue work began shortly after the accident, which was reported to the State Administration of Work Safety the same night, said the spokesman.
Yaotou mine is state-owned and run by the local government. Its designed annual output is 330,000 tons. A rescuer said the mine was closed for repairs on Oct. 3, when a pit was flooded. "Drainage and repair work was still going on when the explosion occurred on Wednesday," he said on condition of anonymity. Wednesday was a gloomy day for China's coal mine industry with two more serious accidents. A pit in the northern Shanxi Province, China's leading coal production base, was flooded at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, trapping seven miners. Another colliery flood, reported at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday in central China's Henan Province, has killed six miner and trapped 20 underground. Rescue work is continuing Friday at these two small, licensed coal mines with annual production capacity under 300,000 tons.
Yaotou mine is state-owned and run by the local government. Its designed annual output is 330,000 tons. A rescuer said the mine was closed for repairs on Oct. 3, when a pit was flooded. "Drainage and repair work was still going on when the explosion occurred on Wednesday," he said on condition of anonymity. Wednesday was a gloomy day for China's coal mine industry with two more serious accidents. A pit in the northern Shanxi Province, China's leading coal production base, was flooded at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, trapping seven miners. Another colliery flood, reported at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday in central China's Henan Province, has killed six miner and trapped 20 underground. Rescue work is continuing Friday at these two small, licensed coal mines with annual production capacity under 300,000 tons.
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Χιλιάδες μικρά ορυχεία σε όλη την χώρα δεν πληρούν στοιχειώδη μέτρα προστασίας με αποτέλεσμα συχνά εργατικά ατυχήματα στην Κίνα .
Turkey - Armenian "mutual understanding" - στα πρόθυρα ΑρμενοΤουρκικής φιλίας ?
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLUISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=118874
The rapprochement that started with the Turkish president's visit to Yerevan last month to watch a Turkey-Armenia football match has also intensified the efforts of non-political actors in the two countries. As officials in both countries continue seeking greater formal reconciliation, a group of Turkish and Armenians historians and social scientists gathered around a table in the Armenian capital Yerevan last month to hold an academic discussion about ways to reach mutual understanding.
The academics were brought together by the Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association, or DVV International, the main aim of which is to establish peace and stability in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Turkish and Armenian social scientists and historians brainstormed on the two peoples' past and present relations during a weekend workshop titled “History and Building Bridges for Dialogue and Understanding.” During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on the richness of oral and documentary history that is either not utilized or used selectively to substantiate partisan viewpoints. After scientists became acquainted with each other individually, they analyzed the Turkish-Armenian relations from an academic perspective based on past and present experiences. The countries' education systems were scrutinized, with the official history taught in schools and its effects on future generations specifically criticized.
Participants from Armenia and from Turkey included professor Doğu Ergil, professor Leyla Neyzi of Sabancı University, historian Fikret Adanır and professor Ayhan Aktar, and spoke to the Turkish Daily News about their unique academic workshop in Yerevan. The academics had the chance to discuss, free of prejudice, various issues during the meeting. Ergil, Neyzi, Adanır articulated a shared view, saying they and the Armenian participants were looking for academic means to understand one another and that the chance to meet was an opportunity they cherished. A second meeting will soon be held as part of the project. Historians from both countries will focus on existing historical documents, and social scientists will collect oral history. Based on primary and secondary sources, the academics will then shed light on the experiences of the two peoples over the last century. Figures and documents collected during the project will be gathered in a book that will be written in Turkish, Armenian, German and English and in an easily understandable form and tone. The targeted audience for the book is ordinary citizens in Turkey and Armenia. The book will be sold where it is easily accessible for both peoples.
Bilateral relations through academic lens Ergil, who noted they approached history as a coherent unit during the workshop, said they did not focus on a specific period or event. “We are two peoples who have lived together for centuries,” he said, adding that during the workshop they searched for answers to the following questions: Why was a centuries-long joint journey of two peoples stopped? Can that journey restart? If it restarts, what kind of responsibilities should academics undertake? Ergil said history is full of bitter episodes between Turks and Armenians, but in the end, the two peoples should meet on common ground.
“During the studies we will carry out, we shall not take phenomena we have already had in mind as Turkish and Armenian historians but phenomena that have been experienced by people of both sides. Our main goal is to bring to light a map of emotions and values shared by Turks and Armenians,” he said. An official from DVV International said any meetings between Turks and Armenians often becomes marked by the painful events that occurred in 1915.
“We Armenians still carry traces of that big pain inside us,” the official said. “The attitude of Turkish academics with whom we collaborated was highly objective. We had the opportunity to discuss many issues from a perspective that was free from prejudices.” He also highlighted the significance of cooperation of Turkish and Armenian social scientists. He said such meetings and joint projects would contribute to solving problems and establishing dialogue between the two peoples.
Academics' dream
Neyzi, an anthropologist, said studies they planned to undertake would not be based on official history accounts but focus on ordinary individuals. “We, as Turkish and Armenian academics, share a dream,” she said. “Our dream is for friendship, reconciliation and dialogue.” The biggest mission of such projects is to look at the issues from different perspectives and to prepare ground that will allow for a tolerance-oriented coverage of history to flourish, she said. Adanır, on the other hand, said he was happy to meet Armenian colleagues. “Our project is currently in its preparatory stage. But I am hopeful about the results.”
----------------------------------------------------------
but here is the other part of the 'friendship" story >>.. http://armenianaffairs.blogspot.com/
The rapprochement that started with the Turkish president's visit to Yerevan last month to watch a Turkey-Armenia football match has also intensified the efforts of non-political actors in the two countries. As officials in both countries continue seeking greater formal reconciliation, a group of Turkish and Armenians historians and social scientists gathered around a table in the Armenian capital Yerevan last month to hold an academic discussion about ways to reach mutual understanding.
The academics were brought together by the Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association, or DVV International, the main aim of which is to establish peace and stability in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Turkish and Armenian social scientists and historians brainstormed on the two peoples' past and present relations during a weekend workshop titled “History and Building Bridges for Dialogue and Understanding.” During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on the richness of oral and documentary history that is either not utilized or used selectively to substantiate partisan viewpoints. After scientists became acquainted with each other individually, they analyzed the Turkish-Armenian relations from an academic perspective based on past and present experiences. The countries' education systems were scrutinized, with the official history taught in schools and its effects on future generations specifically criticized.
Participants from Armenia and from Turkey included professor Doğu Ergil, professor Leyla Neyzi of Sabancı University, historian Fikret Adanır and professor Ayhan Aktar, and spoke to the Turkish Daily News about their unique academic workshop in Yerevan. The academics had the chance to discuss, free of prejudice, various issues during the meeting. Ergil, Neyzi, Adanır articulated a shared view, saying they and the Armenian participants were looking for academic means to understand one another and that the chance to meet was an opportunity they cherished. A second meeting will soon be held as part of the project. Historians from both countries will focus on existing historical documents, and social scientists will collect oral history. Based on primary and secondary sources, the academics will then shed light on the experiences of the two peoples over the last century. Figures and documents collected during the project will be gathered in a book that will be written in Turkish, Armenian, German and English and in an easily understandable form and tone. The targeted audience for the book is ordinary citizens in Turkey and Armenia. The book will be sold where it is easily accessible for both peoples.
Bilateral relations through academic lens Ergil, who noted they approached history as a coherent unit during the workshop, said they did not focus on a specific period or event. “We are two peoples who have lived together for centuries,” he said, adding that during the workshop they searched for answers to the following questions: Why was a centuries-long joint journey of two peoples stopped? Can that journey restart? If it restarts, what kind of responsibilities should academics undertake? Ergil said history is full of bitter episodes between Turks and Armenians, but in the end, the two peoples should meet on common ground.
“During the studies we will carry out, we shall not take phenomena we have already had in mind as Turkish and Armenian historians but phenomena that have been experienced by people of both sides. Our main goal is to bring to light a map of emotions and values shared by Turks and Armenians,” he said. An official from DVV International said any meetings between Turks and Armenians often becomes marked by the painful events that occurred in 1915.
“We Armenians still carry traces of that big pain inside us,” the official said. “The attitude of Turkish academics with whom we collaborated was highly objective. We had the opportunity to discuss many issues from a perspective that was free from prejudices.” He also highlighted the significance of cooperation of Turkish and Armenian social scientists. He said such meetings and joint projects would contribute to solving problems and establishing dialogue between the two peoples.
Academics' dream
Neyzi, an anthropologist, said studies they planned to undertake would not be based on official history accounts but focus on ordinary individuals. “We, as Turkish and Armenian academics, share a dream,” she said. “Our dream is for friendship, reconciliation and dialogue.” The biggest mission of such projects is to look at the issues from different perspectives and to prepare ground that will allow for a tolerance-oriented coverage of history to flourish, she said. Adanır, on the other hand, said he was happy to meet Armenian colleagues. “Our project is currently in its preparatory stage. But I am hopeful about the results.”
----------------------------------------------------------
but here is the other part of the 'friendship" story >>.. http://armenianaffairs.blogspot.com/
η άλλη όψη της "ιστορικής" φιλίας " εδω .. >> http://armenianaffairs.blogspot.com/2006/02/armenian-letters-3-justice-does-not_06.html .. Out of twelve tactics of Genocide denial ..>>
DR Congo .. again..
http://garizo.blogspot.com/2008/10/mambo-jumbo-congo-dr-congo-rebels.html-----------------------------------------
The rebel general NKUNDA has called a ceasefire in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, stopping short of seizing Goma, one of the largest towns in the region. Some 20,000 people have fled the advance of Gen Laurent Nkunda's troops. They join an estimated one million already displaced in the region, raising fears of another humanitarian disaster.
What is the conflict about?
For years fighting in DR Congo has been fuelled the country's vast mineral wealth.
DR Congo is about the size of western Europe, but with no road or rail links from one side of the country to the other. A five-year war - sometimes termed "Africa's world war" as it drew in Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Rwanda - ended in 2003 with the formation of a transitional government and the subsequent holding of elections.
Gen Nkunda's forces started fighting again in August 2008, after a lull following a peace deal signed in January.
Why has the fighting broken out again?
Gen Nkunda has always said he is fighting to protect his Tutsi community from attack by Rwandan Hutu rebels, some of whom are accused of taking part in the 1994 genocide. The Congolese government has often promised to stop the Hutu forces from using its territory, but has not done so.
The latest deadline was apparently the end of August - just when the fighting blew up again.
After declaring his current ceasefire, Gen Nkunda told the Associated Press that he wanted to talk to the government about his objections to a $5bn (£3.1bn) deal that gives China access to the region's mineral resources - such as gold and coltan, which is used to make mobile phones.
Does Gen Nkunda have sponsors?
The Congolese government has accused Rwanda of backing Gen Nkunda, with troops and heavy artillery. Rwanda denies the claims but it has twice invaded its much larger neighbour in recent years. Rwanda's president is Paul Kagame - a former Tutsi rebel who ended the genocide, in which some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed.
The Congolese army has been accused of working with the Hutu rebels both on the battlefield and in exploiting the region's mines. So it is plausible that Rwanda could be using Gen Nkunda's forces to put pressure on DR Congo to finally live up to its promises to disarm the Hutu militias.
What is the UN doing?
The UN has 17,000 peacekeepers in DR Congo - its largest mission in the world.
Some Congolese accuse the UN of doing nothing - just being "tourists" - and have attacked their offices in Goma. But the UN mission has sent helicopter gunships to help stop the rebel advance on Goma and has asked for extra forces to help stop the fighting.
---------------------------------------------------------------
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2008/10/2008103132737789516.html
Laurent Nkunda, the leader of the rebel group that has been advancing on the Democratic Republic of Congo's city of Goma, has called for direct talks with the government.
The government has not yet responded to Nkunda's request, but direct talks could build upon a ceasefire, which has halted much of the fighting in the country's turbulent east. Meanwhile, the United States and the United Nations have sent envoys to help set up negotiations. Speaking exclusively to Al Jazeera on Thursday, Nkunda said: "If the government can accept the call, we are ready to talk. We support the position of the international community [to stop fighting]. That's why we are in a ceasefire. "This was a way to show that we are not for fighting, but for peace."
But Nkunda said his National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) had some conditions for the government.
"We want them also to cease firing, because they are the ones attacking us. Second, we want them to respect humanitarian laws, because they are killing [people]. "And we want them to accept that we can have a mediator, so that we can really have peace talks."
Shaky ceasefire
In a letter to the UN mission in Kinshasa, DRC's capital, the rebels said that they were opening humanitarian corridors for refugees camped outside the city. Tens of thousands of residents, refugees and government troops have fled Goma, despite rebel forces declaring a ceasefire. Sporadic gunfire could still be heard on Thursday night in Goma, the provincial capital of eastern Congo, but the city was calm for much of the day.
Marie-Roger Biloa, editor of Africa International, a monthly news magazine, told Al Jazeera that the central government in the DRC is very weak."There really is not much that the government can do in this conflict," she said."Despite the international community expressing its support, the rebels clearly have the upper hand here, and it is ultimately dialogue that is needed, not further violence." The Kinshasa government accuses neighbouring Rwanda of supporting Nkunda, an ethnic Tutsi.
'Catastrophic' situation
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the humanitarian situation in Goma is "catastrophic," with two hospitals having been sacked by looters on Thursday.
Government forces were reported to have fled on Wednesday night, relocating their tanks to the south on the road to Bukavu, in Sud-Kivu province. However, fleeing government forces have been accused of carrying out violence, including theft and rape.
The UN said Congo was facing a "humanitarian crisis of catastrophic dimensions" [AFP]UN tanks had been drawn into position around the peacekeeping force's headquarters near the airport to the north of Goma. Madnodje Mounoubai, a UN spokesman, said that peacekeepers were also deployed at other strategic points.Alain Le Roy, the head of UN peacekeeping operations, said an estimated 800 troops from the UN mission in DRC (Monuc) were currently patrolling Goma.
"We are trying to bring additional troops to protect the civilians in Goma in the coming three to seven days," he said. The reinforcements would be sent from other parts of DR Congo where Monuc has about 17,000 troops. People carrying whatever they could carry streamed out of Goma on Wednesday, while another 45,000 refugees fled a makeshift camp in the nearby village of Kibati. The camp, just north of Goma, had seen an influx of 30,000 people over the past three days joining the 15,000 already there, after the CNDP launched a major offensive in the North Kivu region.Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, has warned that the conflict was "creating a humanitarian crisis of catastrophic dimensions, and threatens dire consequences on a regional scale".
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S. Africa - ANC http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/21354
SA: Another top ANC member resigns
Is Mbeki the cause of resignations?
A top member of South Africa`s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has resigned. The former Congress of South African Trade Union (Cosatu) president Willy Madisha becomes the latest to deepen the woes of the ANC.
Addressing a group of hawkers and some disgruntled ANC members at Burgersfort in Limpopo, the trade union president said his resignation letter was ready and that he would send it to the party soon.An Sabcnews.com report on Thursday said about 200 community members mainly women hawkers came to listen to Madisha. It added that the majority of them complained about lack of service delivery in their area. Madisha follows other renowned people like former minister Monsoiur Lekota and Mbhazima Shilowa who already resigned and are determined to form a new party.The ANC has faced troubles since former president Thabo Mbeki announced his resignation before Kgalema Motlanthe took over. Jacob Zuma is the ANC president and is determined to become South Africa’s next president next year.
Is Mbeki the cause of resignations?
A top member of South Africa`s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has resigned. The former Congress of South African Trade Union (Cosatu) president Willy Madisha becomes the latest to deepen the woes of the ANC.
Addressing a group of hawkers and some disgruntled ANC members at Burgersfort in Limpopo, the trade union president said his resignation letter was ready and that he would send it to the party soon.An Sabcnews.com report on Thursday said about 200 community members mainly women hawkers came to listen to Madisha. It added that the majority of them complained about lack of service delivery in their area. Madisha follows other renowned people like former minister Monsoiur Lekota and Mbhazima Shilowa who already resigned and are determined to form a new party.The ANC has faced troubles since former president Thabo Mbeki announced his resignation before Kgalema Motlanthe took over. Jacob Zuma is the ANC president and is determined to become South Africa’s next president next year.
Prophecies - "Six Predictions about the Coming War and a 10-Step Program"
The Financial Crisis and 9/11by Neta Crawford October 29, 2008
Some commentators compare the current economic crisis to 9/11 — a cataclysm that changed everything.
On September 17, 2001, I wrote "Six Predictions about the Coming War and a 10-Step Program." I got some things right and some quite wrong. I'll open up the time capsule here and lay out a bit of its contents. Then, I'll make some predictions about how economic crisis and military spending will intersect and how we could respond. Three predictions I made were about U.S. domestic politics:
1. The U.S. government will attempt to provide increased security, but perfect security is impossible. Terrorists will use "more inventive and potentially more deadly means of assault."
2. In the name of unity and patriotism, the critics of U.S. domestic and foreign policy will face increasing pressure to follow the party line. Self-censorship will grow and those "in the government who propose alternative responses to terrorism besides the U.S. of military force will be pushed aside in favor of those who urge a more militant response."
3. "The U.S. economy is likely to go into a much worse recession than predicted." I argued that this was in part due to declining consumer confidence and increased military spending, which is overall less productive than spending in other sectors. "One of the consequences of the recession will be that there will be fewer resources available for other programs and causes — environment, health, education, and welfare."
I had three predictions about the international effects of 9/11:
1. "The U.S. will act militarily, diplomatically, and economically against terrorists and the states which are seen to harbor them. While in the short term the world seems united against terrorism, over the medium and long term the war will likely lead to polarization. Why? Military actions to destroy terrorist camps and to find and capture terrorists will in cases where terrorists hide in urban areas, lead to significant casualties among innocent bystanders. Furthermore, the "U.S. has framed its war on terrorism as a crusade where God is not neutral."
2. "Military actions by the U.S. will likely promote greater military action by terrorists whose resolve will grow in the face of increased U.S. presence and activity in the Islamic world, who seek revenge against U.S. retaliation…"
3. Military spending will grow. "Pressures will grow within Iraq, Pakistan, India, China, and other states to acquire more military power as moderates are overshadowed by militants who seek to counter U.S. hegemony." As these states acquire weapons of mass destruction, neighboring states will also feel pressure to acquire them. I said regional instability and perhaps wars will likely increase.
Now I’ve got some predictions for the post-financial crash world and some suggestions for how to make them failed predictions:
1. First, a no-brainer: the U.S. budget will need to be cut to pay for the "rescue." Unless we can mobilize a strong counterweight, the cuts will mainly come from domestic programs — education, health, alternative energy, infrastructure improvements. There may be cosmetic cuts to some military programs.
2. Military spending will continue to be essentially unproductive but its share of government spending may grow. The military spending that focuses on healthcare and education for veterans is "productive," but that may suffer in this climate. We must push for meaningful military budget cuts. For instance, we might argue for a commission on closing U.S. overseas military bases. We should argue for cutting military programs like missile defense, which are both destabilizing and wasteful.
3. Americans will remain afraid — and rightly so. Homeland security is, in a word, a mess. Current U.S. foreign policy results in too many accidental killings of Afghan, Pakistani, and Iraqi civilians, and creates more resentment abroad. Economic anxiety will feed into feelings of insecurity.
4. There will be pressure to approve any program that is said to create jobs, including programs to sell military equipment and nuclear technology overseas. We've seen it already. The long-term counterproductive aspects of these programs will be deemphasized. We need to resist the jobs-at-any-cost mantra and emphasize not only how military spending is less productive than other modes of spending, but also how military and technology export programs have a tendency to "blow back."
5. As after 9/11, American leaders will likely become even more cautious about domestic and foreign policy. Our "leaders" will hunker down, think small, and point fingers. Unless we can mobilize a dramatic rethinking of U.S. foreign policy, it will likely remain much the same no matter who is in the White House. Now is the time to push for creative solutions and stress the need for big thinking. We need to stress how the conventional wisdom has been wrong, not only on U.S. foreign policy but also on the environment, health care, education, and energy. The progressive community needs to continue to be farsighted, proactive, and bold.
Neta Crawford is a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus and a professor of political science and African American studies at Boston University.
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Πέμπτη 30 Οκτωβρίου 2008
Car bomb hits university in north Spain
http://www.france24.com/en/20081030-car-bomb-explodes-university-spain
A car bomb ripped through a parking lot at a university in northern Spain on Thursday injuring 17 people in an attack blamed on the Basque separatist group ETA. Staff at the University of Navarra in the city of Pamplona described how the initial blast at around 1000 GMT set off a series of smaller explosions as several other cars erupted in flames. "There were other small explosions after the fire set off the fuel tanks in the parked cars nearby," professor Bernardino Leon told the Antena 3 TV channel. Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba told a press conference that things could have been much worse as nobody had been that close to the bomb when it went off. "A major tragedy could have occurred today at the University of Navarra," he told journalists, adding, "We have had some luck in the misfortune." Rubalcaba said a man claiming to represent ETA had put in a warning call to the regional DYA traffic department -- a common conduit used by the armed Basque separatist group to provide warning of their imminent attacks. The man said a "white Peugeot" was going to explode at a nearby university without specifying which one, according to Rubalcaba. "Either he did not voluntarily give all the details or else he was mistaken," the interior minister said, adding that the bombing could have been intended as a revenge attack. The blast comes two days after the arrest of four suspected ETA members, three of whom were picked up in Navarra. Spain's interior ministry said the group "were ready to carry an attack, probably in Navarra." The car used in Thursday's attack was stolen on Wednesday evening in the town of Zumaya, Rubalcaba said. A second professor at the university, Ramon Salaverria, described the intensity of the blast. "I felt the whole building shake and I thought it was an earthquake. And then I saw a column of smoke about 30 to 40 metres (100 to 130 feet) high," he said, according to the website of the 20 Minutos newspaper. Some 400 people were evacuated from nearby buildings after the explosion, although the rest of the campus continued to function as normal, said the university's director of communication Jesus Diaz.
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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/30/content_10281537.htm
www.chinaview.cn 2008-10-30 18:52:03
MADRID, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- A car bomb exploded near the University of Navarre in the northern city of Pamplona in Spain on Thursday, the national radio station reported.
it said several cars were on fire after the blast, but didn't mention any casualties.
The bomb, which occurred without any early warnings, smashed windows of a nearby university building and damaged several cars, the report said
A car bomb ripped through a parking lot at a university in northern Spain on Thursday injuring 17 people in an attack blamed on the Basque separatist group ETA. Staff at the University of Navarra in the city of Pamplona described how the initial blast at around 1000 GMT set off a series of smaller explosions as several other cars erupted in flames. "There were other small explosions after the fire set off the fuel tanks in the parked cars nearby," professor Bernardino Leon told the Antena 3 TV channel. Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba told a press conference that things could have been much worse as nobody had been that close to the bomb when it went off. "A major tragedy could have occurred today at the University of Navarra," he told journalists, adding, "We have had some luck in the misfortune." Rubalcaba said a man claiming to represent ETA had put in a warning call to the regional DYA traffic department -- a common conduit used by the armed Basque separatist group to provide warning of their imminent attacks. The man said a "white Peugeot" was going to explode at a nearby university without specifying which one, according to Rubalcaba. "Either he did not voluntarily give all the details or else he was mistaken," the interior minister said, adding that the bombing could have been intended as a revenge attack. The blast comes two days after the arrest of four suspected ETA members, three of whom were picked up in Navarra. Spain's interior ministry said the group "were ready to carry an attack, probably in Navarra." The car used in Thursday's attack was stolen on Wednesday evening in the town of Zumaya, Rubalcaba said. A second professor at the university, Ramon Salaverria, described the intensity of the blast. "I felt the whole building shake and I thought it was an earthquake. And then I saw a column of smoke about 30 to 40 metres (100 to 130 feet) high," he said, according to the website of the 20 Minutos newspaper. Some 400 people were evacuated from nearby buildings after the explosion, although the rest of the campus continued to function as normal, said the university's director of communication Jesus Diaz.
------------------------------
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/30/content_10281537.htm
www.chinaview.cn 2008-10-30 18:52:03
MADRID, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- A car bomb exploded near the University of Navarre in the northern city of Pamplona in Spain on Thursday, the national radio station reported.
it said several cars were on fire after the blast, but didn't mention any casualties.
The bomb, which occurred without any early warnings, smashed windows of a nearby university building and damaged several cars, the report said
Conservative Party holds event for Turkey
Conservative Party holds event for Turkey
Conservative Friends of Turkey, or CFT, a parliamentary association in England aiming to promote links between Turkey and the Conservative Party, has officially started its activities with an event held Tuesday in London. Turkey's ambassador to London, Yiğit Alpogan, former leader of the Conservative Party, William Hague, and several Conservative Party deputies attended the event.
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Conservative Friends of Turkey
http://www.cfot.org.uk/objectives.html
Oct 28, 2008: Conservative Friends of Turkey is officially launched; Rt Hon William Hague MP, Richard Spring MP, Mark Francois MP and Baroness Warsi give speeches, 150 guests attend the cocktail reception aiming to :
Promote strong Anglo-Turkish relations
Help to foster bilateral trade and business relationships
Build links between the Conservative Party and Turkish counterparties as well as the academic and business community
Increase awareness of the Conservative Party within the Turkish community in the UK
Support parliamentary candidates in marginal constituencies
Support Turkish local politicians and promote greater political involvement of the community
Lobby in favour of Turkish membership of the EU with a stress on Turkey’s role in the bloc, the region and its strong ties to Western institutions
Facilitate access to information on Turkey: its culture, political orientation, economy, and its progress towards EU membership
CFT aims to meet its aims and objectives through:
Briefings/Information Services - information on Turkey will be easily accessible on the website and briefings/newsletters will be made available to peers, MPs and MEPs. In addition, CFT will aim to answer queries related to Turkey or suggest alternative avenues
Events - parliamentary or roundtable meetings in London, Brussels, Ankara or Istanbul in conjunction with other organisations
Parliamentary Delegations - fact-finding and introductory trips to Turkey to meet fellow parliamentarians, academics
Conservative Friends of Turkey, or CFT, a parliamentary association in England aiming to promote links between Turkey and the Conservative Party, has officially started its activities with an event held Tuesday in London. Turkey's ambassador to London, Yiğit Alpogan, former leader of the Conservative Party, William Hague, and several Conservative Party deputies attended the event.
------------------------------
Conservative Friends of Turkey
http://www.cfot.org.uk/objectives.html
Oct 28, 2008: Conservative Friends of Turkey is officially launched; Rt Hon William Hague MP, Richard Spring MP, Mark Francois MP and Baroness Warsi give speeches, 150 guests attend the cocktail reception aiming to :
Promote strong Anglo-Turkish relations
Help to foster bilateral trade and business relationships
Build links between the Conservative Party and Turkish counterparties as well as the academic and business community
Increase awareness of the Conservative Party within the Turkish community in the UK
Support parliamentary candidates in marginal constituencies
Support Turkish local politicians and promote greater political involvement of the community
Lobby in favour of Turkish membership of the EU with a stress on Turkey’s role in the bloc, the region and its strong ties to Western institutions
Facilitate access to information on Turkey: its culture, political orientation, economy, and its progress towards EU membership
CFT aims to meet its aims and objectives through:
Briefings/Information Services - information on Turkey will be easily accessible on the website and briefings/newsletters will be made available to peers, MPs and MEPs. In addition, CFT will aim to answer queries related to Turkey or suggest alternative avenues
Events - parliamentary or roundtable meetings in London, Brussels, Ankara or Istanbul in conjunction with other organisations
Parliamentary Delegations - fact-finding and introductory trips to Turkey to meet fellow parliamentarians, academics
Suicide bomber hits Afghan ministry kill 12 - Nεκροί από βόμβα στο Αφγανιστάν
Suicide attack on Afghan ministry at least kills 5, wounds 12KABUL, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed and 12 more were injured as a powerful explosion rocked Afghanistan Ministry of Information and Culture in the capital city Kabul Thursday morning.
A private television channel Tolo TV in its bulletin put the number of casualties at five.
A private television channel Tolo TV in its bulletin put the number of casualties at five.
It added that it occurred at around 11 a.m. local time (0630GMT) when two suicide attackers entered the ministry building after firing at guards at the gate, then one attacker blew himself up, killing at least five. Meanwhile, Abdullah Fahim, the spokesman of Public Health Ministry, told Xinhua that the 12 injured people were sent to hospital. Earlier, a Xinhua reporter said at the site that the blast occurred at the first floor of the building and policemen are taking out the dead and injured bodies.
-------------------------------------------
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2008/10/2008103065351144571.html
A blast has ripped through the information and culture ministry in the centre of the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least five people, officials say. "It was a suicide bomber and there are casualties. Our ambulances are busy but the number is unclear," Abdullah Fahim, a health ministry official, said. Azizudin, a police official at the site, said Thursday's explosion caused massive damage to the building, which is located in the city centre, at a busy intersection.
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the blast according to the AP news agency.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said three fighters stormed the building by throwing hand grenades at the guards at the main gate. Abdul Jabar, a security guard near the building, said the bomber shot two policemen outside the ministry building before entering the large conference hall inside where he blew himself up. One of the side walls of the building collapsed, while glass littered the roads nearby and office equipment was scattered over the area, a spokesman for the health ministry said.
Hashem Ahelbarra, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kabul, said: "Eyewitnesses said the suicide bomber apparently made his way to ministry and then blew himself up when inside the offices.
"They have retrieved a number of bodies, but don't have a final death count.
A blast has ripped through the information and culture ministry in the centre of the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least five people, officials say. "It was a suicide bomber and there are casualties. Our ambulances are busy but the number is unclear," Abdullah Fahim, a health ministry official, said. Azizudin, a police official at the site, said Thursday's explosion caused massive damage to the building, which is located in the city centre, at a busy intersection.
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the blast according to the AP news agency.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said three fighters stormed the building by throwing hand grenades at the guards at the main gate. Abdul Jabar, a security guard near the building, said the bomber shot two policemen outside the ministry building before entering the large conference hall inside where he blew himself up. One of the side walls of the building collapsed, while glass littered the roads nearby and office equipment was scattered over the area, a spokesman for the health ministry said.
Hashem Ahelbarra, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kabul, said: "Eyewitnesses said the suicide bomber apparently made his way to ministry and then blew himself up when inside the offices.
"They have retrieved a number of bodies, but don't have a final death count.
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Η κατάσταση στο Αφγανιστάν εκτροχιάζεται ?
Πολλοί μιλάνε για ένα χαμένο πόλεμο
Azerbaijan offers total and unconditional surrender to Armenia ?
ο xάρτης - map
a war memorial on the outskirts of Stepanakert !!Azerbaijan offers total and unconditional surrender to Armenia?
The inaugural address of Ilham Aliev, President of Azerbaijan, reiterates that Azerbaijan's stance on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains unchanged, Dr Armen Ayvazyan, Head of the ARARAT Center for Strategic Research told a REGNUM correspondent.
Dr Ayvazyan noted that Baku rules out, even in theory, the possibility for reasonable compromise with the Armenian side regarding not only the question of territories, but also the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh. “As a matter of fact, the Armenian side is dealing with nothing less than Baku's demand for total and unconditional surrender of Armenia.” This uncompromising stance of Azerbaijan completely undermines the current negotiation process, making it a common farce, which in the future will beget nothing but a full-scale war," Dr Ayvazyan stresses.
He noted that the Armenian side continues to invoke the “Madrid agreements,” which mention the right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination. “Yet, the right to self-determination may be defined in various ways. De jure, the now defunct Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast was also a form of self-determination: Nevertheless, it was unable to ensure the physical, demographic or cultural security of the Karabakh Armenians.” Dr Ayvazyan further noted that if the parties to the conflict interpret the very fundamental provisions of their agreements differently, then those “agreements” as well as the negotiations that lead to them have no value whatsoever. “After all, with many different interpretations in place, the interpretation that will be implemented will be the one which the stronger side of the conflict forces upon the weaker, in accordance with the ‘might decides right’ principle. Whereas surrender of territories in the meantime will radically decrease the defensibility of the Armenian side,” says the expert.
In Dr Ayvazyan's opinion, "at a time when Azerbaijan is airing ultimatums, it is suicidal for the Armenian side to make any compromises, especially to concede land — the utmost component of its military security. In this context, the diplomatic overtures by high-ranking Armenian officials towards Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey, are not serious, to say the least. Such unreciprocated pleasantries only mislead the Armenian public. The expert highlights that Armenia's stance lacks precisely that clarity which is explicit in Azerbaijan's position on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “Complementary policy, no less inherent in the Azerbaijani foreign policy than in the Armenian one, succeeds only because it clearly draws the line beyond which no compromise is acceptable. This enables Baku to put constant pressure on Armenia and, at the same time, protects her from the pressure and criticism of the mediators and other third parties,” he explains. “As for the current intensive debate in the press about possible scenarios of how the events may unfold in light of the so called ‘pressures’ by Russia on Armenia, this is very much akin to fortune-telling: they torture themselves with the question 'will they or will they not cede'? This attitude is especially evident in the commentary about the remarks of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who suggested the ceding of liberated territory, which serves as a security/buffer zone around NKR,” argues Dr Ayvazyan.
Ayvazyan believes that the number of unknowns in the Russian initiative does not give Yerevan or Baku, and even more so the expert community, any grounds for making far-reaching conclusions. “There is no doubt Russia is trying to make a diplomatic leap into the former Transcaucasus, and it is possible that Russia wants to achieve this by partly sacrificing the interests of Armenia's military security.” But the expert notes that even this Russian scenario, if it really consists of surrendering territories and deploying Russian peacekeepers in and around Karabakh, would not satisfy the ambitions of Azerbaijan. The latter will hardly agree to the presence of Russian military bases on the Nagorno-Karabakh territory, especially when considering the fate of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. “Such scenario cannot be accepted by the Armenian side either. And in this particular case — namely in this life and death issue — the party to the conflict is not the Armenian government, but all Armenian people,” he noted.
Ayvazyan does not exclude other scenarios as well. “It is possible that an entirely different combination is being laid out by the Kremlin — namely a bluff intended to grab first place in the new game for dominance in the Transcaucasus. A similar short-lived bluff is the Turkish initiative for Caucasus Stability and Security Platform, which, though it has no chance of fruition, is already yielding dividends to Turkey, the initiating side,” Ayvazyan explains.
The expert deduces that the only somber conclusion that can be made in regard to the current peace talks is that the Karabakh conflict cannot be resolved through negotiations. “A peaceful settlement of the conflict could only imply preservation of the status-quo solidified in a legal form, because all other scenarios will imply resumption of war, with unforeseen consequences for the parties to the conflict as well as to the region at large.” Ayvazyan believes that in the current situation the Armenian leadership should focus its attention not so much on the external processes that defy reliable medium-term forecasts, but on strategic constants of security — such as strengthening the army, utilizing the liberated territory, building effective state institutions, and launching a demographic policy focused on mass repatriation of Armenians.
Dr Ayvazyan noted that Baku rules out, even in theory, the possibility for reasonable compromise with the Armenian side regarding not only the question of territories, but also the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh. “As a matter of fact, the Armenian side is dealing with nothing less than Baku's demand for total and unconditional surrender of Armenia.” This uncompromising stance of Azerbaijan completely undermines the current negotiation process, making it a common farce, which in the future will beget nothing but a full-scale war," Dr Ayvazyan stresses.
He noted that the Armenian side continues to invoke the “Madrid agreements,” which mention the right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination. “Yet, the right to self-determination may be defined in various ways. De jure, the now defunct Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast was also a form of self-determination: Nevertheless, it was unable to ensure the physical, demographic or cultural security of the Karabakh Armenians.” Dr Ayvazyan further noted that if the parties to the conflict interpret the very fundamental provisions of their agreements differently, then those “agreements” as well as the negotiations that lead to them have no value whatsoever. “After all, with many different interpretations in place, the interpretation that will be implemented will be the one which the stronger side of the conflict forces upon the weaker, in accordance with the ‘might decides right’ principle. Whereas surrender of territories in the meantime will radically decrease the defensibility of the Armenian side,” says the expert.
In Dr Ayvazyan's opinion, "at a time when Azerbaijan is airing ultimatums, it is suicidal for the Armenian side to make any compromises, especially to concede land — the utmost component of its military security. In this context, the diplomatic overtures by high-ranking Armenian officials towards Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey, are not serious, to say the least. Such unreciprocated pleasantries only mislead the Armenian public. The expert highlights that Armenia's stance lacks precisely that clarity which is explicit in Azerbaijan's position on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “Complementary policy, no less inherent in the Azerbaijani foreign policy than in the Armenian one, succeeds only because it clearly draws the line beyond which no compromise is acceptable. This enables Baku to put constant pressure on Armenia and, at the same time, protects her from the pressure and criticism of the mediators and other third parties,” he explains. “As for the current intensive debate in the press about possible scenarios of how the events may unfold in light of the so called ‘pressures’ by Russia on Armenia, this is very much akin to fortune-telling: they torture themselves with the question 'will they or will they not cede'? This attitude is especially evident in the commentary about the remarks of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who suggested the ceding of liberated territory, which serves as a security/buffer zone around NKR,” argues Dr Ayvazyan.
Ayvazyan believes that the number of unknowns in the Russian initiative does not give Yerevan or Baku, and even more so the expert community, any grounds for making far-reaching conclusions. “There is no doubt Russia is trying to make a diplomatic leap into the former Transcaucasus, and it is possible that Russia wants to achieve this by partly sacrificing the interests of Armenia's military security.” But the expert notes that even this Russian scenario, if it really consists of surrendering territories and deploying Russian peacekeepers in and around Karabakh, would not satisfy the ambitions of Azerbaijan. The latter will hardly agree to the presence of Russian military bases on the Nagorno-Karabakh territory, especially when considering the fate of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. “Such scenario cannot be accepted by the Armenian side either. And in this particular case — namely in this life and death issue — the party to the conflict is not the Armenian government, but all Armenian people,” he noted.
Ayvazyan does not exclude other scenarios as well. “It is possible that an entirely different combination is being laid out by the Kremlin — namely a bluff intended to grab first place in the new game for dominance in the Transcaucasus. A similar short-lived bluff is the Turkish initiative for Caucasus Stability and Security Platform, which, though it has no chance of fruition, is already yielding dividends to Turkey, the initiating side,” Ayvazyan explains.
The expert deduces that the only somber conclusion that can be made in regard to the current peace talks is that the Karabakh conflict cannot be resolved through negotiations. “A peaceful settlement of the conflict could only imply preservation of the status-quo solidified in a legal form, because all other scenarios will imply resumption of war, with unforeseen consequences for the parties to the conflict as well as to the region at large.” Ayvazyan believes that in the current situation the Armenian leadership should focus its attention not so much on the external processes that defy reliable medium-term forecasts, but on strategic constants of security — such as strengthening the army, utilizing the liberated territory, building effective state institutions, and launching a demographic policy focused on mass repatriation of Armenians.
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To παραπάνω άρθρο αποτελέι ανάλυση και υπόθεση, και οχι ειδηση
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σχετικό ..>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagorno-Karabakh
Suicide car bombs rock Puntland, Somalia - 21 killed
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/29/content_10274956.htmExplosions, suicide car bombs rock Puntland, Somaliland
http://www.chinaview.cn/index.htm 2008-10-29 19:10:56
MOGADISHU, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- At least 21 people have been killed and almost 30 others were wounded after a wave of coordinated suicide car bombings hit targets across northern Somalia on Wednesday, officials and witnesses said.
Nearly 20 of the dead were in Hargeysa, the capital of the breakaway republic of Somaliland, where the Presidential Palace, the UNDP office and a commercial office of Ethiopia were attacked by three separate suicide car bombs that exploded within minutes of each other, witnesses told Xinhua. "Nearly twenty-two others were wounded in the three explosions which took place in Hargeysa," Ahmed Ali, a resident in Hargeys, who went to the scenes of the explosion, told Xinhua. In coastal port city of Bossaso, the commercial capital of the northeastern semi-autonomous region of Puntland, two suicide car bombers blew themselves up inside two compounds of the local Anti-terrorism Squad, Adde Musse, president of Puntland, said at a news conference. Musse said it was too early to lay the play on anyone and that investigations were continuing into the attacks which he said were "unprecedented" in Puntland.
One woman was reportedly killed while eight soldiers were wounded in the two compounds which were extensively damaged by the blasts which have coincided with those in Hargeysa and were minutes apart
Τετάρτη 29 Οκτωβρίου 2008
Mambo - Jumbo Congo / DR Congo rebels accuse UN mission
ο νυν αρχηγός των ανταρτών Tutsi , o Laurent Nkunda, early days..
Nkunda today - σήμερα
ο Πρόεδρος Joseph Kabila στα βάσανα ..
rebels of CNDP
εκτός από τους ανθρώπους και οι Γορίλες θύματα
to Goma !!
refuges
the map - ο χάρτης των γεγονότωνDR Congo rebels accuse UN mission
http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/21293
http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/21293
http://garizo.blogspot.com/2008/10/dr-congo-rebels-reject-ceasefire-47.html
Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo loyal to renegade army General Laurent Nkunda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurent_Nkunda) have accused the United Nations Mission (MONUC) of backing the national army. According to the rebels, MONUC is no longer neutral, contending that it should not support one side and leave the other.
Peacekeepers are reported to have attacked the National Congress for the Defense of People (CNDP) rebel group with helicopter gunships to protect civilians after the rebels surged near the provincial capital, Goma. This happened after angry protesters pelted four UN compounds with stones, claiming MONUC failed to protect them from the advancing rebels.Jack Kahora a journalist in the Democratic Republic of Congo said from North Kivu’s restive provincial capital Goma that the current situation is tense after peacekeepers fired warning shots into the crowd of angry protesters, according the VOA. He said MONUC is supporting the governmental forces in the situation of casualties in the military, guys who are wounded. He said the rebels claim they have no choice but to attack MONUC and the national army together.Kahora said residents are expressing their frustration of the failure of the UN mission to protect them against the clashes between the rebels and the Congolese national army.Nkunda's forces, which comprise mostly ethnic Tutsis, refused to integrate with the government forces and have been controlling much of the Kivu area. The dissident general is said to have the backing of Rwanda's Tutsi-dominated government. Kahora said the residents are also complaining that suspected foreigners have attacked village
Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo loyal to renegade army General Laurent Nkunda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurent_Nkunda) have accused the United Nations Mission (MONUC) of backing the national army. According to the rebels, MONUC is no longer neutral, contending that it should not support one side and leave the other.
Peacekeepers are reported to have attacked the National Congress for the Defense of People (CNDP) rebel group with helicopter gunships to protect civilians after the rebels surged near the provincial capital, Goma. This happened after angry protesters pelted four UN compounds with stones, claiming MONUC failed to protect them from the advancing rebels.Jack Kahora a journalist in the Democratic Republic of Congo said from North Kivu’s restive provincial capital Goma that the current situation is tense after peacekeepers fired warning shots into the crowd of angry protesters, according the VOA. He said MONUC is supporting the governmental forces in the situation of casualties in the military, guys who are wounded. He said the rebels claim they have no choice but to attack MONUC and the national army together.Kahora said residents are expressing their frustration of the failure of the UN mission to protect them against the clashes between the rebels and the Congolese national army.Nkunda's forces, which comprise mostly ethnic Tutsis, refused to integrate with the government forces and have been controlling much of the Kivu area. The dissident general is said to have the backing of Rwanda's Tutsi-dominated government. Kahora said the residents are also complaining that suspected foreigners have attacked village
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United Nations peacekeepers said they have used attack helicopters for a second day to try to halt the advance from Nkunda's fighters Clashes were reported in Kibumba, about 30km north of Goma, where the UN aircraft fired on NCDP positions, temporarily stalling their advance and forcing them to retreat to higher ground.
A senior aide to Nkunda, a Tutsi who says he is fighting to protect ethnic Tutsis, told AFP that the CNDP would take Goma. After three days of fighting, the city's population has swelled with panicked villagers fleeing rural areas to escape the fighting. Government forces are blocking roads into Goma from the north, but had pulled out in disarray from a second position further north. The Kinshasa government accuses neighbouring Rwanda of supporting Nkunda, a charge Kigali has denied. Nkunda's troops were "backed by Rwandan tanks which are pounding our positions from border hill positions," a government official said. Rwanda's Tutsi-led government has repeatedly denied DR Congo's accusations that it has sent troops across the border.
A senior aide to Nkunda, a Tutsi who says he is fighting to protect ethnic Tutsis, told AFP that the CNDP would take Goma. After three days of fighting, the city's population has swelled with panicked villagers fleeing rural areas to escape the fighting. Government forces are blocking roads into Goma from the north, but had pulled out in disarray from a second position further north. The Kinshasa government accuses neighbouring Rwanda of supporting Nkunda, a charge Kigali has denied. Nkunda's troops were "backed by Rwandan tanks which are pounding our positions from border hill positions," a government official said. Rwanda's Tutsi-led government has repeatedly denied DR Congo's accusations that it has sent troops across the border.
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47 χρόνια μετά την δολοφονία του Patrice Lumumba (http://garizo.blogspot.com/2008/10/dr-congo-rebels-reject-ceasefire-47.html) από τον φιλοδυτικό Mabutu Sese Seco, την εκδίωξη του Mabutu σαν τον πλέον διεφθαρμένο ηγέτη της Αφρικής , την δολοφονία του Laurent Kabila που τον διαδέχθηκε , και την αναδοχή της εξουσίας στον γιο του Joseph Kabila (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kabila) , και η κατάσταση στο Κονγκό γίνεται πολύπλοκη. Με το δίλημμα του προέδρου J. Κabila, τι θα κάνει μετά τον γάμο του , εφόσον αυτός είναι Προτεστάντης και η Νύφη Kαθολική ! , τους προέκυψε και ο σκληροτράχηλος πρώην αξιωματικός του στρατού του Κονγκό, ο Laurent Nkunda, οπαδός της εκκλησίας της Πεντηκοστής !!, αρχηγός και ιδρυτής του National Congress for the Defence of the People (NCDP) , ο οποίος αφού εγκατέστησε κρατική δομή στις ανατολικές επαρχίες του Κονγκό ( North Kivu) που συνορεύουν με την Rwanda , επελαύνει για την Γκόμα κατηγορώντας παράλληλα τα Ηνωμένα Έθνη ότι δεν είναι ουδέτερα αλλά υποστηρίζουν τον στρατό του Κονγκό.
Οι δυνάμεις του Νkunda αποτελούνται από Τutsi , φυλή που είχε κατασφαγεί από τους HUTU πριν μερικά χρόνια και υποστηρίζεται από την Rwanda. Εκτός από τις φυλετικές διαφορές, η πολιτική σκακιέρα της κεντρικής Αφρικής και του Κονγκο με τα ανεξάντλητα διαθέσιμα μεταλλεύματα στις ανατολικές περιοχές που μαίνονται οι μάχες , αποτελεί από τα λίγα παρθένα καταφύγια ( μαζί με τον Αμαζόνιο και το Βόρνεο) άγριας φύσης και ειδικότερα του Γορίλα ο οποίος καταδιώκεται από την λαθροθηρία.
Οι δυνάμεις του Νkunda αποτελούνται από Τutsi , φυλή που είχε κατασφαγεί από τους HUTU πριν μερικά χρόνια και υποστηρίζεται από την Rwanda. Εκτός από τις φυλετικές διαφορές, η πολιτική σκακιέρα της κεντρικής Αφρικής και του Κονγκο με τα ανεξάντλητα διαθέσιμα μεταλλεύματα στις ανατολικές περιοχές που μαίνονται οι μάχες , αποτελεί από τα λίγα παρθένα καταφύγια ( μαζί με τον Αμαζόνιο και το Βόρνεο) άγριας φύσης και ειδικότερα του Γορίλα ο οποίος καταδιώκεται από την λαθροθηρία.
Aμπντουλλάχ Οτζαλάν: Αυτά που συμβαίνουν είναι κάτι παραπάνω από επανάσταση
Aμπντουλλάχ Οτζαλάν: Αυτά που συμβαίνουν είναι κάτι παραπάνω από επανάσταση http://infognomonpolitics.blogspot.com/2008/10/blog-post_3213.html
Abdullah Otsalan
Abdullah Otsalan
Ο Κούρδος λαϊκός ηγέτης Αμπντουλλάχ Οτζαλάν πραγματοποίησε την εβδομαδιαία τακτική συνάντησή του με τους δικηγόρους του. Ο Οτζαλάν, αξιολογώντας τις αντιδράσεις του κόσμου μετά την άσκηση φυσικής βίας στο πρόσωπό του από το προσωπικό των φυλακών, είπε ότι η απόφαση που πήρε ο λαός να αντιδράσει με τον συγκεκριμένο τρόπο, είναι κάτι που ξεπερνά την επανάσταση και τόνισε ότι ο ίδιος θεωρεί ότι οι αντιδράσεις του λαού είναι σωστές και τις χαιρετίζει. Ο Οτζαλάν είπε επίσης ότι όταν οι δημοκρατικές αντιδράσεις του λαού ενταθούν και φθάσουν σε σημείο να εισακουστούν από την κυβέρνηση και σε περίπτωση που του ζητηθεί να διαμεσολαβήσει, ο ίδιος θα κάνει το αυτό που του αναλογεί. Συγκεκριμένα ο Οτζαλάν είπε...:Η απολογία μου δεν έχει φθάσει ακόμα στο ευρωπαϊκό δικαστήριο ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων" Είναι υπόθεση δυο ημερών, γιατί δεν την έστειλαν, δεν το καταλαβαίνω. Στην απολογία μου δεν λέω τίποτα που να είναι εναντίον της Τουρκίας. Το ΕΔΑΔ πρέπει να επιμείνει και να λάβει την απολογία μου, στην οποία αναλύω το καπιταλιστικό σύστημα. Η ανάλυσή μου πηγάινει πέρα από την προσέγγιση του Μαρξ. Νομίζω ότι φοβούνται την ιδεολογική απογύμνωση που θα υποστούν, γι' αυτό δεν στέλνουν την απολογία μου στο ΕΔΑΔ. Οι συχνές αναφορές του Ιλκέρ Μπασμπούγ (αρχ. ΓΕΕΘΑ) στο κράτος-έθνος και του Ερντογάν σε ορισμένα ζητήματα, σχετίζονται με το περιεχόμενο της απολογίας μου. Γι' αυτό λέω ότι το ΕΔΑΔ πρέπει να επιμείνει και να ζητήσει την απολογία μου".Το ΕΔΑΔ πρέπει να εγγυηθεί για την απολογία μου"Στην απολογία μου αξιολογώ και αναλύω και τον εβραϊκό παράγοντα και κάνω εναλλακτικές προτάσεις για να βρεθεί λύση στο πρόβλημα. Λές και κάποιες εξωτερικές δυνάμεις ενοχλήθηκαν από αυτά που έγραψα. Υπάρχουν πιέσεις από τις ΗΠΑ και το Ισραήλ. Στο θέμα αυτό το ΕΔΑΔ πρέπει να εγγυηθεί ότι θα φθάσουν σ' αυτό τα εκίμενα της απολογίας μου. Είναι σημαντικό θέμα. Αυτό που γίνεται τώρα παρεμποδίζει το δικαίωμά μου να υπερασπιστώ τον εαυτό μου. Για να συνεχίσω να γράφω την απολογία μου, πρέπει να υπάρχει μια εγγύηση από πλευράς του ΕΔΑΔ. Το ΕΔΑΔ πρέπει να παρέμβει σε αυτές τις πιέσεις που δέχομαι."Υπάρχουν εξωτερικές δυνάμεις που δεν θέλουν τη λύση"Ο Αβνί Όζγκιουρελ (Avni Özgürel) έγραψε κάτι που είχα πει στο παρελθόν ότι σε περίπτωση που εγώ επιχειρήσω να συμβάλλω στην οριστική επίλυση του Κουρδικού, θα με σκοτώσουν. Το ότι τολμούν και το γράφουν αυτό κάποιοι Τούρκοι διανοούμενοι είναι σημαντικό, επειδή υπάρχουν ξένες δυνάμεις που δεν θέλουν τη λύση. Αυτό λέει και εκείνος. Αυτό έλεγα πάντα και εγώ. Υπάρχουν δυνάμεις, ομάδες και λόμπι που δεν θέλουν τη λύση. Αυτό δεν το βλέπει η Τουρκία."Η λύση του εβραϊκού θα είναι λύση για ολόκληρο τον κόσμο"Η άποψή μου για τον εβραϊσμό είναι καθαρή. Έμβάθυνα και ανέλυσα το εβραίκό ζήτημα στην απολογία μου με τέτοιον τρόπο, που ξεπερνά και εξουδετερώνει τις διάφορες αντιεβραϊκές προσεγγίσεις. Στην απολογία ανέδειξα και το θέμα της εναλλακτικής λύσης στο πρόβλημα των Εβραίων. Όπως λέει ο Μαρξ ότι η απελευθέρωση της εργατικης τάξης είναι στην ουσία η απελευθέρωση της ίδιας της κοινωνίας, έτσι λέω και γω ότι η απελευθέρωση του εβραίκού λαού, είναι η απελευθέρωση όλου του κόσμου. Η σκέψη μου επεκτείνεται και στη δική τους απελευθέρωση. Τα λέω αυτά για να μην βγει ένας δεύτερος Χίτλερ και πάλι για τους Εβραίους. Εγώ είμαι αντίθετος σε τε΄τοιου είδους εθνικισμούς. Τουρκικός, κουρδικός, γερμανικός, αραβικός εθνικισμός, για μένα δεν έχουν διαφορά, είμαι αντίθετος σε όλους, καταδικάζω τους εθνικισμούς".Αυτά που συμβαίνουν στις μέρες μας είναι αποτέλεσμα της συνόδου του Καΐρου"Η Τουρκία βαδίζει ολοταχώς σε μια σοβαρή κρίση. Η Τουρκία κάνει ιστορικά λάθη και εγώ δεν θα ήθελα να συμμετέχω σ' αυτά. Δεν θα επιτρέψω να τα χρεώσουν σε μένα. Αυτά που συμβαίνουν στην Τουρκία έχουν και ιστορικές διαστάσεις. Είναι αποτέλεσμα της συνόδου του Καΐρου, που έγινε το 1920 και των αποφάσεων που ελήφθησαν εκεί. Ένας σύντροφός μου αναφέρει επίσης κάτι τέτοιο σε μια επιστολή του που μου έστειλε από μια φυλακή που βρίσκεται φυλακισμένος. Συμφνωώ με όσα αναφέρει. Η σύνοδος του Καΐρου είναι ένα ντοκουμέντο. Στη συνόδο αυτή αποφασίστηκε ο διαμελισμός του Κουρδιστάν και η διατήρηση σε εκκρεμότητα του Κουρδικού Προβλήματος, για να το επαναφέρουν κατά καιρούς στο προσκήνιο και έτσι να κρατούν υπό τον έλεγχό τους τη Μέση Ανατολή. Διαμελίζοντας το Κουρδιστάν σε τέσσερα κομμάτια, έθεσαν υπό τον έλεγχό τους τέσσερα κράτη της Μέσης Ανατολής. Σημαντικό ρόλο στη λήψη της συγκεκριμένης απόφασης έπαιξε η Αγγλία. Όλες οι προσπάθειες που έχουν γίνει μέχρι σήμερα για να αποτραπεί η επίλυση του Κουρδικού, σκοντάφτουν στις αποφάσεις εκείνης της συνόδου. Και γω βρίσκομαι σε αυτή τη φυλακή γι' αυτό το λόγο......Οι διεθνείς δυνάμεις κάνουν ό,τι περνάει από το χέρι τους για για να υλοποιήσουν τις αποφάσεις εκείνης της συνόδου. Γι' αυτό και γω λέω σε όσους έρχονται να συζητήσουμε, ελάτε να λύσουμε μεταξύ μας το πρόβλημα, μην το αφήνουμε στα χέρια των ξένων δυνάμεων. Υπήρξαν μάλιστα και αξιωματούχοι που ήθελαν λύσουμε το πρόβλημα μεταξύ μας."Ο Ερντογάν έχει κάνει συμφωνία με το στρατό"Ο Οζάλ έκανε κάποιες προσπάθειες για τη λύση. Τον παρεμπόδισαν. Μετά επιχείρησε να κάνι κάτι και ο Ερμπακάν. Δεν του το επέτρεψαν. Επίσης, κάποιοι από το στρατό το επιχείρησαν. Ο Κιβρίκογλου, την εποχή που ήταν αρχηγός ΓΕΕΘΑ, είχε στείλει έναν συνταγματάρχη. Ο στρατός ήθελε να επιβάλλει τη δική του λύση. Δεν το επέτρεψαν. Δεν δέχτηκαν τη λύση του Οζάλ, ούτε του Ερμπακάν, ούτε του στρατού. Έτσι το πρόβλημα παρέμεινε άλυτο. Ακόμα και ο Ετζεβίτ πήρε κάποιες πρωτοβουλίες για λύση το 2002. Όταν με έφεραν εδώ, στη φυλακή, ήλθε κάποιος αξιωματούχος και μου είπε ότι εκπροσωπεί τον ίδιο τον Ετζεβίτ. Εγώ τα έχασα. Ο νόμος της Ραχσάν Ετζεβίτ που έδινε χάρη σε ορισμένους πολιτικούς κρατουμένους δεν ήταν άσχετος με τις διαθέσεις και τις προθέσεις του Ετζεβίτ για λύση. Ούτε αυτό το επέτρεψαν. Τότε το εθνικιστικό κόμμα ΜΗΡ παρεμπόδιζε τη λύση. Πιο μετά ο Ερντογάν θέλησε να κάνει κάτι, όμως παρεμποδίστηκε από τις ΗΠΑ και από άλλες ξένες δυνάμεις. Στη συνέχεια ο Ερντογάν συμφώνησε με τους στρατηγούς και για να παραμείνει στην εξουσία, παραχώρησε το Κουρδικό στο στρατό. Γι' αυτό έγινε και εκείνη η περίφημη δήλωση, ότι το ΡΚΚ είναι ο κοινός μας εχθρός".Σε όλες τις πρωτοβουλίες και τις κινήσεις που έγιναν για λύση, ανταποκρίθηκα θετικά"Εγώ ανταποκρίθηκα θετικά σε κάθε κίνηση που έγινε για να βρεθεί λύση. Έγραψα από εδώ στον πρόεδρο Γκιούλ μια επιστολή δέκα σελίδων, με προτάσεις για λύση. Το ίδιο έκανα και στην απολογία μου στον εισαγγελέα του 2ου Κακουργιοδικείου της Προύσας, όταν με εγκάλεσε και μου επέβαλε ποινή απομόνωσης. Σε κάθε κίνηση που έγινε για εξεύρεση λύσης, ανταποκριθήκαμε θετικά. Από τότε που ήρθα εδώ, στη φυλακή, είπα ότι θα βοηθήσω να βρεθεί λύση και καταβάλλω προσπάθειες προς αυτή την κατεύθυνση. Αν με ρωτήσετε αν έχουμε κάνει λάθη στο θέμα της λύσης, θα έλεγα ότι έχουμε κάνει λάθος σε δυο περιπτώσεις. Τη μια φορά είχε έλθει και νοίκιασε διαμέρισμα στην πολυκατοικία που έμενα, στη Δαμασκό, ο στρατιωτικός ακόλουθος της Τουρκίας. Εμείς νομίσαμε ότι ήλθε για να βάλει βόμβα στο διαμέρισμά μας. Γι' αυτό δεν ξαναπήγαμε σε εκείνο το διαμέρισμα. Μετά σκέφθηκα ότι εκείνο το άτομο ίσως να ήλθε στη συγκεκριμένη πολυκατοικία ακριβώς για να ανοίξει ένας διάλογος. Σκέφτομαι ότι τότε, ίσως να σχολίασα και να εκτίμησα λανθασμένα εκείνη την κίνηση. Ίσως η περίπτωση εκείνη να ήταν μια ευκαιρία διαλόγου, μια ευκαιρία για τη λύση.Το άλλο λάθος ήταν το ότι αργήσαμε να απαντήσουμε στην επιστολή Οζάλ. Μετά το 1999, από τότε που ήλθα εδώ, όλοι γνωρίζουν ότι κατέβαλα και καταβάλω προσπάθειες για την εξεύρεση λύσης".H εκκρεμότητα και η μη επίλυση του Κουρδικού, είναι αποτέλεσμα της κρίσης στο εσωτερικό του κράτους"Ο Οζάλ δεν κατάφερε να λύσει το Κουρδικό και πέθανε ή τον σκότωσαν. Ο Ερμπακάν δεν κατάφερε να το επιλύσει, έχασε τις εκλογές, ο στρατός δεν κατάφερε να λύσει το Κουρδικό, ο Ετζεβίτ το ίδιο, ο Ερντογάν το ίδιο. Δεν μπορεί να το λύσει ο ένας, δεν μπορεί να το λύσει ο άλλος, αυτά είναι δείγματα της κρίσης που υπάρχει στο εσωτερικό του τουρκικού κράτους από τις αρχές του 1990. Εκτός αυτού, το 1995-1999 υπήρχε μια εσωτερική κρίση και στο εσωτερικό του ΡΚΚ. Κατέβαλα τεράστιες προσπάθειες για να βρω λύση σε εκείνη την κρίση που αντιμετωπίζαμε. Έλεγα στα μέλη μας, όταν πολεμάτε, να πολεμάτε σαν πραγματικοί μαχητές, αλλοιώς δεν υπάρχει νόημα. Παρόλες τις προσπάθειες που κατέβαλα, δεν μπορούσα να ξεπεράσω την κρίση. Όπως είναι γνωστό, υπήρχε το τρίγωνο του Ντιγιαρμπακίρ. Εκεί έγιναν πολλά, όχι μόνο προς τα έξω, αλλά και προς τα μέσα, στο εσωτερικό μας. Εκεί χάσαμε δεκάδες αξιόλογα στελέχη του κόμματός μας. Εκ των υστέρων είδαμε ότι υπεύθυνοι για εκείνες τις πράξεις ήταν άτομα και δυνάμεις εντός του ΡΚΚ που δεν ήθελαν τη λύση. Ήταν άτομα που είχαν σχέσεις με την ΕΡΓΕΝΕΚΟΝ και τον Βελή Κιουτσούκ."Στην Ευρώπη χωθήκαμε στο βάλτο"Το 1999, όταν κατάλαβα ότι πρέπει να φύγω από τη Δαμασκό, σκεφτόμουν νύχτα-μέρα ποιόν δρόμο έπρεπε να ακολουθήσουμε. Υπήρχαν μπροστά μου δυο επιλογές. Να πάω στο βουνό ή στην Ευρώπη. Δεν μπορούσα να αποφασίσω, προβληματίστηκα πολύ. Αν ρωτήσετε γιατί δεν πήγα στα βουνά, θα σας πω ότι σκέφθηκα την αντίδραση της Τουρκίας. Η Τουρκία θα μπορούσε να απογειώσει 300 αεροσκάφη και να βομβαρδίσει όλο το Κουρδιστάν, για να με σκοτώσει. Αυτό θα είχε τεράστιες συνέπειες και στο λαό. Θα βομβάρδιζαν τα πάντα, θα υπήρχαν τεράστιες απώλειες. Κάναμε έντονες συζητήσεις γύρω από τον διπλωματικό και τον πολιτικό αγώνα και έτσι πήρα την απόφαση να πάω στην Ευρώπη. Μίλησα με Έλληνες υπευθύνους για το θέμα της διπλωματικής και της πολιτικής λύσης και για να μπορέσω να εργαστώ πάνω σε αυτό το θέμα πήγα στην Ευρώπη. Όταν όμως έφθασα στην Ευρώπη αντιλήφθηκα ότι δεν υπήρχαν κατάλληλες συνθήκες για κάτι τέτοιο. Έτσι χώθηκα σε ένα βάλτο και τελικά βρέθηκα εδώ πέρα."Αυτό που γίνεται δεν είναι επανάσταση, είναι μια οργανωμένη, δημοκρατική λαϊκή αντίδραση"Eγώ συνεχίζω να καταβάλλω προσπάθειες για εξέυρεση λύσης και από εδώ που βρίσκομαι. Αν έλθει κάποιος κρατικός αξιωματούχος και συνομιλήσει μαζί μου, κανείς δεν έχει να χάσει τίποτα. Εγώ δεν έχω καμία απαίτηση για βαθμούς, θέση ή οτιδήποτε άλλο, ας είναι οποιοσδήποτε αξιωματούχος. Το σημαντικό για μένα είναι να βρεθεί μια δημοκρατική και έντιμη λύση. Αν γίνουν κινήσεις προς αυτή την κατεύθυνση, αν δεν θέλουν να μιλήσουν μαζί μου, ας μιλήσουν με τον Μπαρζανί, τον Ταλαμπανί, το Κόμμα Δημοκρατικής Τουρκίας (DTP). Αρκεί να γίνουν βήματα για την εξεύρεση λύσης. Όμως θα πρέπει να ληφθεί υπόψη ότι ο κουρδικός λαός έκανε τις επιλογές του για τη λύση. Αυτό δεν μπορούν να το αγνοήσουν. Ο λαός λέει για μένα ότι είμαι η τιμή και η υπερηφάνεια του κουρδικού λαού. Και φυσικά είμαι η περηφάνεια του κουρδικού λαού. Δεν το λέω για να επαινέσω τον εαυτό μου. Απλά, είναι φανερό ότι έχω να παίξω ένα ρόλο για τη λύση. Τα τελευταία γεγονότα και οι αντιδράσεις του λαού αυτό δείχνουν. Ακόμα και οι γυναίκες την περίοδο αυτή υπαρασπίζονται την περηφάνεια τους. Σε αυτές τις διαδηλώσεις υπάρχουν και πολλές γυναίκες. Ο λαός μας βγήκε στους δρόμους, επαναστάτησε για τα δικαιώματά του. Αυτά που συμβαίνουν το τελευταίο διάστημα είναι κάτι που ξεπερνά την επανάσταση. Στην επανάσταση ο κόσμος βγαίνει ασύντακτος στους δρόμους, χωρίς συγκεκριμένα αιτήματα και στόχους. Ενώ αυτά που γίνονται τώρα είναι οργανωμένες, αποφασιστικές, συντονισμένες, δημοκρατικές αντιδράσεις, όχι επανάσταση. Εγώ δεν κάλεσα από εδώ το λαό να αντιδράσει. Αυτό είναι απόφαση του ίδιου του λαού, γι' αυτό και δεν κάνω έκκληση να σταματήσουν τις αντιδράσεις. Την απόφαση που πήραν και τις διαδηλώσεις που κάνουν τις βρίσκω σωστές και τις χαιρετίζω. Εάν ο λαός μας εντείνει τις δημοκρατικές του αντιδράσεις και υψώσει τη φωνή του, τότε αυτή ίσως να φθάσει και στα αυτιά της κυβέρνησης και αν το ζητήσει ο λαός μας, τότε μπορώ να μεσολαβήσω για να βρεθεί λύση. Αν ο λάος μας ανοίξει έναν δρόμο για διάλογο και με καλέσει να κάνω το διαμεσολαβητή, τότε θα συμμετέχω και γώ σε αυτή τη διαδικασία. Σε αυτή την περίπτωση, θα κάνω ό,τι είναι δυνατό για να υπάρχει ένας έντιμος και ουσιαστικός διάλογος. Αν υπάρχει ένας ουσιαστικός διάλογος, τότε είμαι έτοιμος για να εργαστούμε για τη λύση. Θα δουλέψω με όλη μου τη δύναμη για να βρεθεί μια έντιμη λύση".Το ΡΚΚ ζει την πιο δυνατή του περίοδο"Απευθύνω από εδώ έκκληση στον Ερντογάν. Η Τουρκία βυθίζεται σταδιακά σε μια πολύ σοβαρή κρίση. Θα πτωχεύσει όπως η Ισλανδία. Δεν το αντιλαμβάνονται. Τα επιτόκια πήγαν πάνω από 20%. Η Τουρκία έχει τα υψηλότερα επιτόκια στον κόσμο, δεν διοικείται έτσι μια χώρα. Είναι σε κρίση, τους επηρεάζει βαθειά, όμως το κρύβουν. Αυτή η κρίση είναι σοβαρότερη από του 2000, τα θεμέλιά της βρίσκονται στα χρόνια του '90. Όμως αυτό δεν το βλέπουν ή κάνουν ότι δεν το βλέπουν και το κρύβουν......Από την άλλη πλευρά, το ΡΚΚ θα επεκτείνει τον πόλεμο. Αυτό δεν το λέω εγώ, είναι δική τους απόφαση. Σε αυτή την απόφαση δεν έχω κάποιο ενεργητικό ρόλο. Το ΡΚΚ πήρε τη δική του απόφαση, εγώ δεν λέω κάντο ή μην το κάνεις. Είμαι ένας κρατούμενος που ζω κάτω από πολύ κακές συνθήκες. Κάτω από τέτοιες συνθήκες δεν μπορώ να επηρεάσω τις αποφάσεις του λαού και του ΡΚΚ. Η απόφαση του ΡΚΚ έχει το εξής νόημα. Το ΡΚΚ ζει την πιο δυνατή του περίοδο. Λέει ότι έχει τη δύναμη να διεξάγει έναν συστηματικό, συντονισμένο πόλεμο ανταρτών. Οι συμμετοχές νέων στο ΡΚΚ είναι πολλές, στρατολογούνται νέοι από το Ιράν, τη Συρία, το Ιράκ, την Τουρκία. Αν ενταθεί ο πόλεμος, θα υπάρξουν ομάδες και δυνάμεις που θα το υποστηρίξουν. Το ΡΚΚ έχει τους δικούς του συμμάχους, στους οποίους θα προστεθούν και άλλοι. Εγώ το λέω επειδή ξέρω το ΡΚΚ. Αν ενταθεί ο πόλεμος, η Τουρκία θα συρθεί σε ένα χάος, κανείς δεν θα ωφεληθεί από αυτό. Από το 2004 μέχρι το 2008 έχασαν τη ζωή τους δεκάδες άνθρωποι, ποιός ωφελήθηκε από αυτό; Ο κ. Ερντογάν πρέπει να προσέξει. Τον προειδοποιώ για τον επερχόμενο κίνδυνο και του προτείνω λύσεις για να τον ξεπεράσουμε. Αν δεν ανοίξει ένας έντιμος διάλογος, εγώ δεν μπορώ να κάνω τίποτα. Το ΡΚΚ και ο λαός θα λάβουν και θα υλοποιήσουν τις δικές τους αποφάσεις.Προσπαθούν να μου σπάσουν το ηθικό"Τα προβλήματα στο κελί μου συνεχίζονται, η ψυχολογική πίεση συνεχίζεται, προσπαθούν να μου σπάσουν το ηθικό. Το ηθικό μου δεν μπορούν να μου το σπάσουν εύκολα, γιατί παίρνω δύναμη από τον ίδιο μου τον εαυτό. Και πάλι δεν μου δίνουν τακτικά τις εφημερίδες. Προσπαθώ να καταλάβω γιατί μου συμπεριφέρεται έτσι η διοίκηση. Μπορώ να τηρήσω μια στάση, να αντισταθώ μέχρι τέλους, όπως οι κρατούμενοι στις φυλακές του Ντιγιαρμπακίρ, όπως ο σύντροφος Κεμάλ Πιρ και άλλοι σύντροφοι, των οποίων τη στάση τιμώ. Όμως έχω ιστορικές ευθύνες. Αν βγω νεκρός από αυτή τη φυλακή, δεν θα κερδίσει κανένας. Τουναντίον, θα γίνουν μεγάλες ταραχές, θα προκληθεί χάος. Έτσι έλαβα μια ιστορική απόφαση, δεν θα δώσω εγώ τέλος στη ζωή μου με τη δική μου θέληση. Παρά τις πιέσεις που δέχομαι, θα συνεχίσω να έχω μια υπεύθυνη στάση. Έχω αποφασίσει να μην αφαιρέσω από μόνος μου τη ζωή μου, αυτό να γίνει γνωστό. Αν γίνει κάτι με τη ζωή μου, να ξέρετε ότι θα γίνει παρά τη θέλησή μου. Εγώ δεν φοβάμαι το θάνατο. Ο θάνατος από όπου και αν προέλθει, δεν με φοβίζει, όμως έχω ιστορικές ευθύνες απέναντι στο λαό μου, πρέπει να ζήσω για να τις φέρω εις πέρας. Άρχισα πάλι να χρησιμοποιώ τα φάρμακα που μου δίνουν. Έχω προβλήματα με το εντερικό, έχω φαγούρες και έχουν βγει κάποιοι λεκέδες στο σώμα μου."Η δίκη της ΕΡΓΕΝΕΚΟΝ έχει μετατραπεί σε θέαμα"Η δίκη της ΕΡΓΕΝΕΝΚΟΝ δεν είναι μια πραγματική δίκη, με την ουσιαστική έννοια του όρου. Αφού δεν θα εξεταστούν οι ανεξιχνίαστες δολοφονίες των Κούρδων, το μόνο που θα γίνει θα είναι ένα σόου.Χαιρετώ από εδώ όλους τους φίλους στην Ευρώπη και την Τουρκία. Θεωρώ σημαντικές τις προσπάθειες που καταβάλλουν για την εξεύρεση λύσης άνθρωποι του πνεύματος και των γραμμάτων στην Τουρκία.Χαιρετώ τους σοσιαλιστές στη Γερμανία και την Ευρώπη. Πρέπει να γνωρίζουν αυτά που γίνονται εδώ (στη φυλακή) και στην Τουρκία.Το κάθε χωριό (στο Κουρδιστάν) να κάνει δενδροφύτευση σε εκτάσεις που διαθέτει. Να γίνει δενδροφύτευση στο όρος Τζούντι (Cudi Dağı). Να κάνουν δενδροφύτευση και να την αφιερώσουν στον Νώε. Όλα τα χωριά να κάνουν δενδροφυτεύσεις.Το ξαναλέω: Θα συνεχίσω από εδώ που είμαι να τηρώ υπεύθυνη στάση. Χαιρετώ όλο το λαό μας, ειδικά τις γυναίκες μας και τους συντρόφους μας στη φυλακή."
Russia accuses Kiev of using Holodomor to divert attention - Holodomor ...!!
Law "On the safekeeping of Socialist property"Αν και η κυβέρνηση της Ουκρανίας με τον αναδρομικό εθνικισμό της , τα ρέστα θα έπρεπε να ζητάει κατα βάση από τον στρατηγό Τιμοσένγκο - Ουκρανο στρατηγό στέλεχος του KΚΣΕ, αλλά και τον συμπατριώτη του Σακασβίλι από το Gori της Γεωργίας, τον Ιωσήφ Σταλιν..
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Russia accuses
Kiev using Holodomor to divert attention
UNTIED NATIONS, October 28 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine is using the issue of the 1932-33 famine to divert the nation's attention from the ongoing political and economic crisis, Russia's envoy to the UN said on Tuesday. Ukraine has been seeking international recognition for the Stalin-era famine, known as the Holodomor, as an act of genocide by the Soviet authorities following a similar move by Ukraine's Supreme Rada in late 2006. The United Nations General Committee refused last Thursday to include the famine on its agenda, supporting Russia's recommendation to exclude the Holodomor from the UN session. Said Vitaly Churkin: "The Ukrainian leadership is using this historical humanitarian tragedy for its own political ends, as well as to spread ethnic animosity... and divert the attention of its own people from the ongoing political and economic crisis in Ukraine."
He said the issue was being politicized, as was evident from, among other things, Ukraine's attempt to include the issue in the UN agenda. A senior Ukrainian MP said on Friday that the UN's recognition of the Holodomor would give Kiev legal grounds to claim moral and financial damages from Russia. The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Thursday declaring the famine of 1932-1933, that caused the deaths of millions of Ukrainians, a crime against humanity.
The European Parliament stopped short of using the word "genocide." Its resolution "recognizes the Holodomor (the artificial famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine) as an appalling crime against the Ukrainian people, and against humanity." According to the resolution, the Holodomor "was cynically and cruelly planned by [Soviet leader Joseph] Stalin's regime in order to force through the Soviet Union's policy of collectivization of agriculture against the will of the rural population in Ukraine." Estimates vary widely as to the number of deaths in Ukraine in the early 1930s caused by the forced collectivization, along with the devastating purges of the Ukrainian intelligentsia, religious leaders and politicians under Stalin. Some sources cite figures of over 7 million. The EU parliament also urged "the countries which emerged following the break-up of the Soviet Union to open up their archives on the Holodomor in Ukraine of 1932-1933 to comprehensive scrutiny so that all the causes and consequences can be revealed and fully investigated."
He said the issue was being politicized, as was evident from, among other things, Ukraine's attempt to include the issue in the UN agenda. A senior Ukrainian MP said on Friday that the UN's recognition of the Holodomor would give Kiev legal grounds to claim moral and financial damages from Russia. The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Thursday declaring the famine of 1932-1933, that caused the deaths of millions of Ukrainians, a crime against humanity.
The European Parliament stopped short of using the word "genocide." Its resolution "recognizes the Holodomor (the artificial famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine) as an appalling crime against the Ukrainian people, and against humanity." According to the resolution, the Holodomor "was cynically and cruelly planned by [Soviet leader Joseph] Stalin's regime in order to force through the Soviet Union's policy of collectivization of agriculture against the will of the rural population in Ukraine." Estimates vary widely as to the number of deaths in Ukraine in the early 1930s caused by the forced collectivization, along with the devastating purges of the Ukrainian intelligentsia, religious leaders and politicians under Stalin. Some sources cite figures of over 7 million. The EU parliament also urged "the countries which emerged following the break-up of the Soviet Union to open up their archives on the Holodomor in Ukraine of 1932-1933 to comprehensive scrutiny so that all the causes and consequences can be revealed and fully investigated."
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The Holodomor (Ukrainian: Голодомор) is the famine that took place in Soviet Ukraine during the 1932-1933 agricultural season when the devastating famines also took place in several other regions of the USSR. The Holodomor ravaged the rural population of the Ukrainian SSR, and is considered one of the greatest national catastrophes to affect the Ukrainian nation in modern history.[1][2][3][4] Estimates for the total number of casualties within Soviet Ukraine range between 2.2 million (demographers' estimate)[5] [6] and 3-3.5 million (historians' estimate),[7][8][9] though much higher figures are often quoted by the media and cited in political debates.[10] On the other hand, the Encyclopedia Britannica reports that Ukraine suffered a severe famine in 1932–33 where more than five millioninhabitants of Ukraine[12] died of starvation in an unprecedented peacetime catastrophe.Much higher figures, even as high as 20 million casualties, are often quoted in political debates. The European Parliament has recognized it as a crime against humanity in 2008.The causes of the famine are the subject of current scholarly and political debate. Some historians claim the famine was purposely engineered by the Soviet authorities as an attack on Ukrainian nationalism, while others view it as an unintended consequence of the economic problems associated with radical economic changes implemented during the period of Soviet industrialization There is no international consensus among scholars or politicians on whether the Soviet policies that caused the famine fall under the legal definition of genocide however, as of March 2008, the parliament of Ukraine and the governments of several other countries have recognized the actions causing Holodomor as an act of genocide.
The plan for the state grain collection in the Ukrainian SSR adopted for 1931 was over-optimistic — 510 million poods (8.4 Tg). Drought, administrative distribution of the plan for kolkhozes, together with the lack of relevant management generally destabilized the situation. Significant amounts of grain remained unharvested. A significant percentage was lost during processing and transportation, or spoiled at elevators (wet grain). The total Winter sowing area shrunk by approximately 2 million hectares. Livestock in kolkhozes remained without forage, which was collected under grain procurement. A similar occurrence happened with respect to seeds and wages awarded in kind for kolhoz members. Nevertheless, grain collection continued till May 1932 but reached only 90% of expected plan figures. By the end of December 1931, the collection plan was accomplished by 79%. Many kolkhozes from December 1931 onwards suffered from lack of food, resulting in an increased number of deaths caused by malnutrition registered by OGPU in some areas (Moldavian SSR as a whole and several central rayons of Vinnytsya, Kiev and North-East rayons of Odessa oblasts [24] ) in winter-spring and the early summer months of 1932. By 1932 the sowing campaign of the Ukrainian SSR was obtained with minimal draught power as most of the remaining horses were incapable of working, while the number of available agricultural tractors was too small to fill the gap.
The Government of the Ukrainian SSR tried to remedy the situation but had little success. Administrative and territorial reform (oblast creation) in February 1932, also added to the mismanagement. As a result Moscow had more details about the seed situation than the Ukrainian authorities. In May, 1932, in a desperate effort to change the situation, the central Soviet Government provided 7.1 million poods of grain for food for Ukraine and dispatched adsitional 700 agricultural tractors intended for other regions of USSR.
By July, the total amount of aid provided from Central Soviet Authorities for food, sowing and forage for “agricultural sector” was numbered more than 17 million poods.
Speculative prices of food in cooperative network (5-10 times more as compared with neighboring Soviet republics) brought significant peasant “travel for bread”, while attempts to handle situation with speculation had very limited success. Such provision (quota on carried-on foods) was lifted by Stalin (at Kosior's request) at the end of May 1932. The July GPU reports for the first half of 1932, mentioned the “difficulties with food” in 127 rayons (out of 484) and acknowledged the incompleteness of the information for the regions. The Decree of Sovnarkom on “Kolkhoz Trade” issued in May, fostered rumors amongst peasants that collectivization was rolled-back again as it had been in spring 1930. The number of peasants who abandoned kolkhozes significantly increased.
As a result, the government plans for the central grain collection in Ukraine was lowered by 18.1%, in comparison to the 1931 plan. Still, collective farms were expected to return return 132,750 tons of grain which had been provided in spring 1932 as aid. The grain collection plan for July 1932 was adopted to collect 19.5 million poods. The actual state of collection was disastrous, and by 31 July only 3 million poods (compared to 21 million in 1931) were collected. As of July 20 the harvested area was half of that in 1931. The sovhozes had only sowed 16% of the defined area.
Since July 1932 Ukrainian SSR met with difficulty in supplying the planned amount of food to rationing system was implemented in early 1928 to supply extensively growing urban areas with food. This system became the almost sole source of food delivery to cities while the alternatives, cooperative trade and black market trading, became too expensive, and under-supplied, to provide long-range assistance. By December 1932, due the fault of grain procurement daily rationing for rural population limited to 100-600 grams of bread, some group of rural citizens completely withdrawn from rationing supply. [25] [26]
This disparity between agricultural goals, and actual production grew later in the year. An expected 190 thousand tons of grain were to be exported, but by August 27, 1932, only 20 thousand tons were ready. By October 25, the plan for grain collection was lowered once again, from the quantity called for in the plan of August 22, 1932. Nevertheless, collection reached only 39% of the annually planned total.[34] A second lowering of goals deducted 70 million poods but still demanded plan completion, and 100% efficiency. Attempts to reach the new goals of production proved futile in late 1932. On November 29, in order to complete the plan, Ukraine was to collect 94 million poods, 4.8 of them from sovkhozes. As of January 2, targets were again lowered, to 62.5 million poods. Later that month, on January 14,the targets were lowered even further– by 29.4 million poods, to 33.1 million. At same time, GPU of Ukraine reported hunger and starvation in the Kiev and Vinnytsia oblasts, and began implementing measures to remedy the situation. The total amount of grain collected by February 5 was only 255 million poods (compared to 440 million poods in 1931) while the numbers of “hunger and malnutrition cases” as registered by the GPU of Ukrainian SSR, increased every day.
The Government of the Ukrainian SSR tried to remedy the situation but had little success. Administrative and territorial reform (oblast creation) in February 1932, also added to the mismanagement. As a result Moscow had more details about the seed situation than the Ukrainian authorities. In May, 1932, in a desperate effort to change the situation, the central Soviet Government provided 7.1 million poods of grain for food for Ukraine and dispatched adsitional 700 agricultural tractors intended for other regions of USSR.
By July, the total amount of aid provided from Central Soviet Authorities for food, sowing and forage for “agricultural sector” was numbered more than 17 million poods.
Speculative prices of food in cooperative network (5-10 times more as compared with neighboring Soviet republics) brought significant peasant “travel for bread”, while attempts to handle situation with speculation had very limited success. Such provision (quota on carried-on foods) was lifted by Stalin (at Kosior's request) at the end of May 1932. The July GPU reports for the first half of 1932, mentioned the “difficulties with food” in 127 rayons (out of 484) and acknowledged the incompleteness of the information for the regions. The Decree of Sovnarkom on “Kolkhoz Trade” issued in May, fostered rumors amongst peasants that collectivization was rolled-back again as it had been in spring 1930. The number of peasants who abandoned kolkhozes significantly increased.
As a result, the government plans for the central grain collection in Ukraine was lowered by 18.1%, in comparison to the 1931 plan. Still, collective farms were expected to return return 132,750 tons of grain which had been provided in spring 1932 as aid. The grain collection plan for July 1932 was adopted to collect 19.5 million poods. The actual state of collection was disastrous, and by 31 July only 3 million poods (compared to 21 million in 1931) were collected. As of July 20 the harvested area was half of that in 1931. The sovhozes had only sowed 16% of the defined area.
Since July 1932 Ukrainian SSR met with difficulty in supplying the planned amount of food to rationing system was implemented in early 1928 to supply extensively growing urban areas with food. This system became the almost sole source of food delivery to cities while the alternatives, cooperative trade and black market trading, became too expensive, and under-supplied, to provide long-range assistance. By December 1932, due the fault of grain procurement daily rationing for rural population limited to 100-600 grams of bread, some group of rural citizens completely withdrawn from rationing supply. [25] [26]
This disparity between agricultural goals, and actual production grew later in the year. An expected 190 thousand tons of grain were to be exported, but by August 27, 1932, only 20 thousand tons were ready. By October 25, the plan for grain collection was lowered once again, from the quantity called for in the plan of August 22, 1932. Nevertheless, collection reached only 39% of the annually planned total.[34] A second lowering of goals deducted 70 million poods but still demanded plan completion, and 100% efficiency. Attempts to reach the new goals of production proved futile in late 1932. On November 29, in order to complete the plan, Ukraine was to collect 94 million poods, 4.8 of them from sovkhozes. As of January 2, targets were again lowered, to 62.5 million poods. Later that month, on January 14,the targets were lowered even further– by 29.4 million poods, to 33.1 million. At same time, GPU of Ukraine reported hunger and starvation in the Kiev and Vinnytsia oblasts, and began implementing measures to remedy the situation. The total amount of grain collected by February 5 was only 255 million poods (compared to 440 million poods in 1931) while the numbers of “hunger and malnutrition cases” as registered by the GPU of Ukrainian SSR, increased every day.
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The Holodomor Memorial Website mission is the following:1. To uncover the cause of the Ukrainian Holodomor (famine-genocide) of 1932-1933 through studies of the historical events, social acts, national traits, which were sources of the tragedy.2. To establish a network of Ukrainian scholars directed towards the discovery of the origins of Holodomor -- its political, social and cultural roots, its immediate causes and consequences.3. To establish The Holodomor Memorial Center on the Internet to inform Ukraine and the world about this tragedy.
NOTE:This website is unofficial because at present time it does not belong to an organization, which has a formal status. We plan to become a formal organization in the future.
NOTE:This website is unofficial because at present time it does not belong to an organization, which has a formal status. We plan to become a formal organization in the future.
1. A new approach must be developed if we want to understand the events of the catastrophe of 1932-1933 and to memorialize the perhaps 14 million innocent victims.2. The Holodomor Website through its Internet domain name http://www.HOLODOMOR.org will gather the data, verify the facts, publish studies and thoughts about Holodomor. The information will be coming primarily from Ukraine, from volunteers, supporters, agents, assigns and scholars. Foreign sources will be considered of secondary importance. No effort will be spared to correct the mendacity and injustice of prior reporting, which has compromised the interests of Ukraine and Holodomor survivors for two generations.3. It is assumed that the Ukrainian famine could not have taken place in a society governed by the consent of its people, who share a national spiritual unity and enjoy basic civil rights and freedoms.4. The Holodomor Website seeks answers to these questions: A. How was it possible for a relatively small group of communists to bring many millions of people to starvation in less than 15 months? B. Why was the Ukrainian nation unable to resist an act of life threatening violence on such a colossal scale?The answers may prevent future tragedies by encouraging democracy in Ukraine, and by elevating rational consciousness of its true history, its present duties to Europe, its challenges and its promise as a society.
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Εξωτερικές σχέσεις - EYΡΩΠΑΙΚΟ ΚΟΙΝΟΒΟΥΛΙΟ
Συζήτηση για τον ουκρανικό λιμό (Holodomor)
16-10-2008 - 12:06
Εξωτερικές σχέσεις - EYΡΩΠΑΙΚΟ ΚΟΙΝΟΒΟΥΛΙΟ
Συζήτηση για τον ουκρανικό λιμό (Holodomor)
16-10-2008 - 12:06
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/briefing_page/39373-294-10-43-20081014BRI39372-20-10-2008-2008/default_p001c015_el.htm
Ο εορτασμός της μνήμης του Ουκρανικού λιμού, Holodomor, θα αποτελέσει αντικείμενο συζήτησης την ερχόμενη Τετάρτη στην ολομέλεια. Την συζήτηση δεν θα ακολουθήσει η υιοθέτηση κάποιου σχετικού ψηφίσματος.Ο Μεγάλος Λιμός της Ουκρανίας (1932-1933) ή Holodomor υπήρξε μία από τις μεγαλύτερες εθνικές καταστροφές στη σύγχρονη ιστορία της Ουκρανίας και προκάλεσε το θάνατο εκατομμυρίων ανθρώπων. Θεωρείται δε ως συνέπεια της οικονομικής πολιτικής που ακολούθησε η Σοβιετική Ένωση υπό την ηγεσία του Στάλιν και ειδικότερα του προγράμματος κολεκτιβοποίησης που εφάρμοσε. Στις 28 Νοεμβρίου 2006, ο λιμός αναγνωρίστηκε επίσημα από το ουκρανικό κοινοβούλιο ως γενοκτονία και η 25η Νοεμβρίου ορίστηκε ως ημέρα μνήμης του. Αρκετές ακόμη χώρες έχουν επισήμως αναγνωρίσει το λιμό της Ουκρανίας ως γενοκτονία. Να σημειωθεί ότι η Ρωσία απορρίπτει τις κατηγορίες περί γενοκτονίας. Το 2003, ο Ρώσος πρέσβης στην Ουκρανία Viktor Chernomyrdin δήλωσε: "Δεν πρόκειται να απολογηθούμε... Δεν υπάρχει κανένας λόγος για να απολογηθούμε". Το 2003, 70 χρόνια μετά, ο ΟΗΕ χαρακτήρισε το λιμό ως μια από τις χειρότερες αγριότητες της σύγχρονης ιστορίας χωρίς όμως να κάνει οποιαδήποτε αναφορά στη γενοκτονία.
Διαδικασία: ΣυζήτησηΣυζήτηση: 22.10.2008
Ο εορτασμός της μνήμης του Ουκρανικού λιμού, Holodomor, θα αποτελέσει αντικείμενο συζήτησης την ερχόμενη Τετάρτη στην ολομέλεια. Την συζήτηση δεν θα ακολουθήσει η υιοθέτηση κάποιου σχετικού ψηφίσματος.Ο Μεγάλος Λιμός της Ουκρανίας (1932-1933) ή Holodomor υπήρξε μία από τις μεγαλύτερες εθνικές καταστροφές στη σύγχρονη ιστορία της Ουκρανίας και προκάλεσε το θάνατο εκατομμυρίων ανθρώπων. Θεωρείται δε ως συνέπεια της οικονομικής πολιτικής που ακολούθησε η Σοβιετική Ένωση υπό την ηγεσία του Στάλιν και ειδικότερα του προγράμματος κολεκτιβοποίησης που εφάρμοσε. Στις 28 Νοεμβρίου 2006, ο λιμός αναγνωρίστηκε επίσημα από το ουκρανικό κοινοβούλιο ως γενοκτονία και η 25η Νοεμβρίου ορίστηκε ως ημέρα μνήμης του. Αρκετές ακόμη χώρες έχουν επισήμως αναγνωρίσει το λιμό της Ουκρανίας ως γενοκτονία. Να σημειωθεί ότι η Ρωσία απορρίπτει τις κατηγορίες περί γενοκτονίας. Το 2003, ο Ρώσος πρέσβης στην Ουκρανία Viktor Chernomyrdin δήλωσε: "Δεν πρόκειται να απολογηθούμε... Δεν υπάρχει κανένας λόγος για να απολογηθούμε". Το 2003, 70 χρόνια μετά, ο ΟΗΕ χαρακτήρισε το λιμό ως μια από τις χειρότερες αγριότητες της σύγχρονης ιστορίας χωρίς όμως να κάνει οποιαδήποτε αναφορά στη γενοκτονία.
Διαδικασία: ΣυζήτησηΣυζήτηση: 22.10.2008
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