Iran: Declassified documents show secret U.S. overture to Iran in 1999, broke down over terrorism allegations

Khobar Towers barracks shortly after the June 1996 bombing

These materials are reproduced from www.nsarchive.org with the permission of the National Security Archive

A highly confidential U.S. overture to Iran in summer 1999 foundered because the intelligence community and FBI believed members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) had a role in the infamous Khobar Towers bombing of June 1996, and because U.S. officials overestimated the Iranian president’s ability to manage the sensitive matter of U.S. relations within Iran’s power structure, according to newly declassified documents.

The new documents, including President Bill Clinton’s message to Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and Tehran’s response, highlight the complexities facing current U.S. policy-makers in their ongoing approaches to the Islamic Republic, particularly the challenge of balancing closer ties to Tehran with concerns over allegations of past support for terrorist groups. Those concerns led the Clinton administration – notwithstanding the president’s personal interest in a rapprochement with Tehran – to order updated contingency plans for military strikes against Iranian targets.

The National Security Archive received the previously Top Secret correspondence from the William J. Clinton Library in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

The June 25, 1996, Khobar Towers bombing destroyed a U.S. Air Force barracks outside Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 19 servicemen and wounding almost 400 others. A small terrorist entity known as Saudi Hezbollah was blamed for the attack, but FBI and other U.S. counterterrorism officials soon concluded the IRGC had played a role in selecting the target and training the perpetrators. (Note 1) However, for at least two years the Saudi government rebuffed U.S. demands for access to critical evidence it had collected from interrogating suspects in Saudi custody.

According to Clinton administration officials, (Note 2) the absence of solid proof that could withstand legal scrutiny and U.S. public opinion led the president to opt not to retaliate directly against Iran (although he did order CENTCOM to revise its strike options, telling his advisers, “I don’t want any pissant half-measures”). (Note 3) When the Saudis finally relented and turned over their evidence, the reform-oriented Khatami, who apparently had not been aware of the plot, had already assumed the presidency and the White House decided that military reprisals at that point would undermine the larger objective of establishing a diplomatic opening to Tehran.

As a kind of compromise, the Clinton administration chose instead to send a letter to Khatami that indicated Washington now had direct evidence of IRGC involvement in the Khobar attacks, insisted that Tehran bring to justice those responsible (either in Iran or Saudi Arabia), and sought Khatami’s help in ending Iranian support for terrorism. Yet, the message also stated that the United States wanted to work toward better relations with Iran and noted the attack had not occurred on Khatami’s watch but before his election.

According to published accounts and Clinton administration officials, the letter was transmitted in June 1999 to the Sultan of Oman whose foreign minister was asked to meet with Khatami and frame the presentation with statements of respect from Clinton and expressions of a genuine desire for improved ties. Two senior envoys, (Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East Martin Indyk and Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Near East and South Asia affairs in the National Security Council Bruce Riedel), delivered the letter to Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said and Foreign Minister Yousef bin Alawi at the Sultan’s chateau near Paris.

Several weeks later, on July 20, Alawi finally met with Khatami and turned over the communication to him. The Iranian president’s reaction was reportedly positive. However, when he discussed the new development with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior officials, he faced a barrage of objections to both the nature and tone of the U.S. demands. (See Document 4).

The official Iranian response (Document 3), delivered to the Americans in early September, was brusque, mirroring the language and tenor of the American letter, and making it clear that Iran’s ruling elite had no intention of pursuing a rapprochement with Washington under those circumstances.

The documents released to the National Security Archive by the Clinton Library are important additions to the public record on the turbulent history of U.S.-Iran relations. It is known that both governments at different times in recent years have tried to signal their interest in closer ties. But either international events or domestic opposition have conspired to scuttle every overture.

One interesting aspect of the Khobar case is that Iran’s possible motives for such a brazen assault on U.S. interests were unclear to many observers at the time. U.S. intelligence had picked up signals of increased Iranian covert activities during the lead-up to the attack, including the purported monitoring of potential U.S. targets. But then-President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani had also been seen as far more pragmatic than his predecessors, having personally taken steps such as helping to free American hostages in order to signal his positive intentions to the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

But the surprising eruption of political discord within Iran’s ruling circles since the presidential elections of June 2009, prompted in part by the Revolutionary Guards’ rise as a leading power-broker, add to the likelihood that divisions among the elite were already underway in the 1990s, in the wake of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s death in 1989. It even raises the question whether it is possible that elements of the IRGC, or perhaps from another branch of the regime such as the Ministry of Information, might have taken it on themselves to participate in a dramatic attack against an American military target – in fact, the most serious of its kind since the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut of October 1983.

The June 1999 Clinton letter itself is also striking in at least one respect – the severity of its language – given that one of its objectives was also to follow up the Iranian president’s call for a dialogue among civilizations. After years of pent-up frustration over the uncertainties surrounding Khobar, the tone may be understandable. And according to U.S. officials involved in the overture, Khatami’s initial positive reaction indicates that the message of reconciliation in fact came through as intended.

But the American side appears to have miscalculated Khatami’s ability to take over the reins of this process on his own, without having to take account of the views of other key Iranian leaders. Given that conception, it was reasonable to expect that the rough edges of the letter could be smoothed over by the positive verbal message to be delivered by the Omani foreign minister. But since Khatami felt obligated to consult with other members of the leadership, any benefit from the Omani minister’s spoken words was undoubtedly lost in translation.

It is also interesting that the Iranian response, like the American message, includes language that seems, in retrospect at least, to leave the door open for future approaches. Phrases such as “no hostile intentions towards Americans,” “respect for the great American people,” and “vigorously pursue the policy of détente” may sound like propaganda boilerplate, but if the American side intended its own sharply worded message to incorporate a signal of interest in improved ties, it is possible that members of Iran’s leadership had the same thing in mind. It is also important to note that the IRGC did not commit another attack like Khobar in the wake of the Clinton letter, which suggests that the message got through that Washington would retaliate the next time.

The White House immediately shut down the Omani channel after receiving Iran’s reply, but it was not the last time the Clinton administration put out feelers to Tehran. However, for a variety of reasons none of these attempts produced the hoped for result. Along the way, lessons began to emerge. Martin Indyk, for example, acknowledged that it was a mistake to believe that Khatami could be dealt with in isolation from the rest of Iran’s political leaders. (Note 4) Judging from news reports, the Obama administration has tried to learn from the hard experience of its predecessors – making a point, for example, to address not just the country’s president but also the Supreme Leader directly in its secret communications, and attempting not to set preconditions for talks.

Documents

The first four documents below are presented as they were released to the National Security Archive by the Clinton Library. The final document is the federal indictment relating to the Khobar bombing issued during the George W. Bush administration.

Document 1: Memorandum from Ken Pollack through Bruce Riedel to Samuel R. Berger, “Iranian Response on al-Khobar,” September 15, 1999.

(Source: Clinton Library; Clinton Presidential Records; Near Eastern Asian Affairs; Ken Pollack; OA/Box Number 2962; Folder: “Iran-U.S.”)

This cover memo transmits draft text for National Security Advisor Sandy Berger to send to President Clinton describing the recently received Iranian response to Clinton’s letter to Khatami. The memo makes note of the fact that the entire Iranian leadership, not just Khatami, wrote the response. (Berger’s memo is still classified and has not yet been released.)

Document 2: “Message to President Khatami from President Clinton,” undated, circa June 1999.

(Source: Clinton Library; Clinton Presidential Records; Near Eastern Asian Affairs; Ken Pollack; OA/Box Number 2962; Folder: “Iran-U.S.”)

At the heart of the recent FOIA release, the Clinton letter focuses primarily on the fact that evidence exists pinning blame for the Khobar bombing on members of the IRGC. Although some accounts treat this Clinton initiative as an attempt to open a dialogue (with a verbal message delivered through the Omani foreign minister to confirm U.S. interest), the general thrust of the letter itself – which is all that Khatami’s leadership colleagues saw – is that no improvement in relations could occur without Iran taking certain steps in the area of curbing terrorism. In other words, it appeared to lay down preconditions for any future talks – not unreasonable from the U.S. domestic political perspective but a virtual non-starter for negotiations, according to numerous Iran experts.

Document 3: Iranian Response to Clinton Letter, undated, early September 1999.

(Source: Clinton Library; Clinton Presidential Records; Near Eastern Asian Affairs; Ken Pollack; OA/Box Number 2962; Folder: “Iran-U.S.”)

U.S. officials had intended that Khatami be the only audience for the Clinton letter and accompanying verbal message from the Omani foreign minister. But Iranian political conditions and decision-making practices dictated a coordinated response from the leadership. Therefore, the reform-minded president immediately raised the Clinton signal with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other political leaders. Their joint reply, reproduced here, rejects the U.S. allegations about Khobar as “inaccurate and unacceptable,” and tries to turn the tables on the Americans by demanding that Washington cease its support for unnamed “terrorist elements … with irrefutable records of crimes against the Iranian people.” The text closely mirrors the language of the American letter, sometimes using the same phraseology (“in the gravest terms,” for instance). Interestingly, like the Clinton message, it includes statements that are less confrontational and even positive in their tone. It closes with a self-conscious assertion about the confidence of the Iranian government and about its intention to “vigorously pursue” détente and the rule of law.

Document 4: White House E-mail, “Clinton Urges Iran to Detain Hamas Leaders,” (2-part message forwarding articles from the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Watan, September 10, 1999.)

(Source: Clinton Library; Clinton Presidential Records; Near Eastern Asian Affairs; Ken Pollack; OA/Box Number 2962; Folder: “Iran-U.S.”)

This two-part e-mail message forwards a lengthy article from the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Watan describing what purports to be inside discussion in Tehran’s leadership circles about the Clinton message to Khatami. The article cites Iranian sources to depict hotly contested points of view among various key individuals, such as Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. It is interesting that the White House Situation Room identified the article (translated by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service) and tagged it for distribution to interested NSC staff members, implying the view that the article appeared to be authoritative to U.S. officials. It is also interesting that the article seems to invent another channel of messages between Washington and Tehran in addition to the Omani channel using diplomats in New York.

Document 5: Indictment of Defendants in the Khobar Towers Bombing, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, June 21, 2001.

(Source: www.findlaw.com.)

The Clinton administration came under enormous pressure, notably from FBI Director Louis J. Freeh, to take action against Iran for the Khobar bombing based on intelligence picked up by U.S. agencies. However, until the Saudis unveiled the detailed results of their interrogations of Saudi Hezbollah suspects, Clinton and his national security advisor, Sandy Berger, believed an especially dramatic response would not have sufficient legal or public support. When George W. Bush entered the White House, a different attitude prevailed that included placing a far lower premium initially on developing ties with Tehran. The indictment produced by the Bush Justice Department, which named 13 Saudis and one unidentified Lebanese, was hailed by the administration as a blow against international terrorism but it failed to satisfy many observers (and family members of the victims) because it omitted any charges against Iranian officials, incorporating only general references to their role. The indictment was handed down just prior to the 5th anniversary of the bombing, during Freeh’s final week in office.

Notes

1. The view was not unanimous. Clinton’s defense secretary, William Perry, later concluded that al-Qaeda was the guilty party. (“Perry: U.S. Eyed Iran Attack after Bombing,” UPI, June 6, 2007)

2. For accounts by several former Clinton administration officials, see Martin Indyk, Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East (New York, Simon & Schuster, 2009), Kenneth M. Pollack, The Persian Puzzle: The Conflict between Iran and America (New York: Random House, 2005), Louis J. Freeh, My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005), and Richard A. Clarke, Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror (New York: Free Press, 2004).

3. Clarke, op. cit., p. 118.

4. Barbara Slavin, Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the U.S., and the Twisted Path to Confrontation (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2007), p. 190.

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Romania: Romania joins Schengen area

FOCUS Information Agency - Romania will join the Schengen area in March 2011, Austrian newspaper Der Standard reports.

The external border will then shift to Moldavia. Director of the Romanian border police Buda believes to be well-prepared for this task.

Romania was ready to tear down the internal Schengen borders soon. By joining the Schengen area, Romania - and Bulgaria as well - will be included into the Schengen Information System (SIS).

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Aid Flotilla: Cynthia McKinney - 12,000 internet written word grenade throwers hired by Israel, spread orchestrated disinformation

Pravda: Cynthia McKinney Mourns the Dead of the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: People of the U.S. and the world must end Israeli impunity now!

I am outraged at Israel's latest criminal act. I mourn with my fellow Free Gaza travelers, the lives that have been lost by Israel's needless, senseless act against unarmed humanitarian activists. But I'm even more outraged that once again, Israel's actions have been aided and abetted by a U.S. political class that has become corrupted beyond belief due to its reliance on Zionist finance and penetration by Zionist zealots for whom no U.S. weapons system is too much for the Israeli war machine, and the silence of the world's onlookers whose hearts have grown cold with indifference.

I recently visited the offices of IHH, the Turkish humanitarian organization that sponsored one of the Freedom Flotilla boats, and that was targeted by the Israelis for its murderous rampage. Reports are still coming in as to the full extent of the senseless Israeli violence. Of course, I expect Israel's apologists in the press and in the United States government to shift into high gear to support Israel's lying machine. Take note of their names.

The 12,000 internet squatters/written word grenade throwers, hired by the Israeli Foreign Ministry to defend Israel and attack peace activists online, are already busy spreading their orchestrated disinformation in cyberspace. Be very careful what you read and believe from special interest press and the internet. You could be reading one of Israel's hired hacks. As a news diversion from what Israel has just done, I suspect that we can also expect to see a lot of historical footage of war's atrocities on television: today is Memorial Day in the United States, a day long ago set aside to remember the sacrifices of U.S. war dead.

I encouraged and supported U.S.S. Liberty veteran Joe Meadors's participation in the Freedom Flotilla. Unfortunately, the fate of the U.S.S. Liberty innocents on the high seas, while in international waters, has now been visited upon the participants in the Freedom Flotilla, in large measure because of the Congressional- and Presidential-level cover-up of the 1967 Israeli attack on that U.S. surveillance ship. Combined with the failure of just about every other effort to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, and crimes against the peace.

Belgium and Spain changed their domestic laws of universal jurisdiction after Israeli appeals to do so. The entire musical chairs gang of rotating Israeli leadership are war criminals. During my imprisonment in Israel for attempting to take crayons to the children of Gaza, I called Israel a failed state. If Israel is threatened by unarmed, humanitarian activists to the point of massacring them, then Israel is a failed state. Israel is a failed nuclear state.

Obama's most recent granting of an additional $205 million for Israeli "missile defense" is unconscionable, when in the same week, reports revealed for the first time, Israel's offer of nuclear weapons to apartheid South Africa. Just last week, a paper bearing the signature of former Israeli Prime Minister, Shimon Peres, was released by South Africa, revealing that in 1975, Israel could offer South Africa nuclear weapons "in three sizes." South Africa's then-Minister of Defense, P.W. Botha, was South Africa's signatory to the letter. This information would make the entire Obama Administration look sadly farcical as it points an accusing finger at Iran, except that U.S. obeisance to the Israeli bloodthirst is deadly serious. With deadly outcomes.

Earlier this month, Israel was granted admission to the Organization of Economic and Community Development (OECD), a direct affront to ongoing Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) efforts across the world. Once again, Israel has thumbed its nose at the global community--with bloody results--because it can.

I am proud to serve on the Bertrand Russell Tribunal on Palestine. Its next sitting will be in London, where we will examine corporate complicity in Israel's crimes against Palestine. The Tribunal will sit from November 5 - 7. Please put this on your calendar. We all must do what we can, where we are to end wars against the people at home and wars against human rights abroad.

Finally, a friend just sent a message to me saying that the Israelis had lost their minds. Sadly, based on the past, the Israelis could very well conclude that they can do anything--imprison me for trying to take love to the children of Gaza and kill humanitarian activists trying to do the same--because they know, in the end, they'll get away with it. Instead, I would suggest that we are the ones who have lost our minds, our souls, our spirits, and our human dignity if we allow the Israelis to get away with murder--again--and we do nothing.

I am calling on the people of the United States to change course now.

On this Memorial Day 2010, I am stunned and outraged beyond belief while mourning the dead of the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza.

Sent to: Lisa KARPOVA
PRAVDA.Ru

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Terrorism: David Coleman Headley - playing a fraud on the Indian people by creating a false illusion

By B.RAMAN
See also: www.southasiaanalysis.org

A day before the start of the Indo-US Strategic Dialogue at Washington DC and three days before President Barack Obama’s appearance at a reception to be hosted for the Indian delegation by Mrs.Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, one more charade in Indo-US cooperation will be enacted with the departure of a four-member team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of the Government of India for Chicago to interrogate David Coleman Headley of the Chicago cell of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) on his secret visits to India at the instance of the LET to collect operational information that would facilitate one more terrorist strike by the LET in India----this time directed mainly at Israeli and other Jewish targets.

2. On May 1,2010, Faisal Shahzad, a US citizen of Pakistani origin, tried unsuccessfully to cause an explosion in the Times Square of New York. He was identified and arrested on May 3 as he was trying to flee to Pakistan. Within a week, the US made the Pakistani authorities detain for questioning over 15 persons in Karachi, Islamabad and other places in this connection and US officials including Gen.James Jones, the US National Security Adviser, Mr.Leon Panetta, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) flew to Pakistan thereafter to insist on follow-up action by the Pakistani agencies and to warn the Pakistani leaders of the consequences of their non-cooperation.

3. One admired the seriousness and the sense of urgency shown by US officials for protecting American lives. If the protestations of President Barack Obama and his officials of friendship for India and their repeated assurances of the high priority attached by him to the US relations with India were sincere and honest, one would have expected from them a similar seriousness and sense of urgency in protecting Indian lives by facilitating immediate access to Headley for Indian investigators.

4. The immediate follow-up which they insisted upon from Pakistan to protect American lives, they did not concede to India to protect Indian lives. Headley was arrested by them in the beginning of October, 2009. It has taken them eight months to grant access to the Indian investigators. Even the access which they have now agreed to give after a delay of eight months is a limited one. During this delay of eight months, the LET would have been able to cover up its trail in India, withdraw from India those of its cadres whose identities were known to Headley and reorganize and relocate its sleeper cells.

5. The Indian investigators, it has been reported, will be allowed to question Headley in the presence of his lawyer and an official of the FBI. Do you call this interrogation? What is interrogation? It is not just questioning a person and typing out his replies. It is much more than that. It is a psychological process by which you make the suspect contradict himself by confronting him with evidence which you have been able to collect independently. Ultimately, he realizes the game is up and comes out with the truth.

6.With Headley’s lawyer and the FBI officer sitting there all the time, will the Indian investigators be able to do it? No. Headley will just give proforma replies to the Indian questions and these replies would have been rehearsed with his lawyer and got approved by him. Of what use, his proforma replies? Will we be able to prosecute him in India? If we decide to do so, will the US extradite him to India?

7.The departure of the Indian team to the US just before the Strategic Dialogue and the appearance of Mr.Obama at the State Department to talk to the Indian delegation is meant to prevent this issue from casting a shadow on the dialogue.

8.Do you remember what we were told after the so-called State visit of our Prime Minister, Dr.Manmohan Singh, to Washington DC in November last? We were told of a counter-terrorism initiative which the two countries have embarked upon. We were told of the personal interest taken by Mr.Obama in the Headley case. We were told of his instructions to the FBI chief, Mr.Robert Mueller, to visit India and reassure his Indian counterparts of the FBI’s readiness to co-operate with India in this matter. Subsequently, the US Ambassador to India, Mr.Timothy Roemer, has been repeatedly telling Indian officials and people that the US was working “day and night” to meet the Indian request for access to Headley.

9. The outcome: A delay of eight months in giving us access and that too a limited access which reduces the entire exercise to a charade.

10. Should India have agreed to go along with this charade? Should the Manmohan Singh Government have literally colluded with the Obama Administration in playing a fraud on the Indian people by creating an illusion of Mr.Obama’s cooperation when the US has not been co-operating with India as it expects others to co-operate with it?

11. It would have been more in keeping with our national self-respect and dignity for the Manmohan Singh Government to have politely withdrawn its request to the US for access to Headley because of the lack of sincerity on the part of the Obama Administration and its belated action, which has reduced the utility of any interrogation by Indian investigators. ( 30-5-10)

The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies.

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Child soldiers: Reintegrating child soldiers in Chad

A regional conference on the recruitment and use of children in armed forces and groups will take place 7-9 June in N'Djamena, Chad -- organized by UNICEF and the Government of Chad to seek international commitments on ending the use of child soldiers and better providing for their re-integration and care. Here is a related story.

N'DJAMENA, Chad, 28 May 2010 -- For Dowa Samna, 19, working at a garage in the Chadian capital, N'Djamena, is a far cry from his former life in the armed forces. The former child soldier recalls that conditions in the military were rough. "We did not eat regular meals," he says, "and we had to share everything."

Dowa joined the Chadian National Army when he was 16 but was demobilized a year later when the authorities discovered his true age.

Decades of conflict in Chad have left children like Dowa vulnerable to recruitment by armed forces and rebel groups. There are an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 child soldiers in the country.

But there is reason for hope. Dowa's release from the army followed a 2007 agreement between UNICEF and the Government of Chad to intensify efforts aimed at getting children out of armed groups and forces and back into society.

This accord, in turn, followed Chad's signed commitment to the Paris Principles, an international agreement to stop the recruitment of children in combatant and non-combatant roles.

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Gaza: 1.5 million people imprisoned

Source: B'Tselem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories

The siege on the Gaza Strip: 1.5 million people imprisoned

Since June 2007, when Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, Israel has imposed a tight blockade on the area. According to Israeli officials, the objective of the siege is to bring down the Hamas government and lead to the release of Gilad Shalit. The siege thus constitutes collective punishment of the civilian population, and as such it is unlawful.

Even after the withdrawal, Israel controls the Gaza Strip

Although Israel withdrew its forces from the Gaza Strip in September 2005, it continues to maintain complete control of the area’s airspace and territorial waters, and of most of the land crossings. As a result, Gaza residents wishing to leave the area must first obtain a permit from Israel. Since the siege began, Israel has only granted permits in rare cases that it classifies as “humanitarian.” The policy also applies to residents who merely wish to cross through Israel in order to reach the West Bank.

Departure from the Gaza Strip via Rafah Crossing, for which Egypt is responsible, is also limited; Egypt only opens the crossing in exceptional cases. Even if Egypt is able to open the crossing more often, this does not eliminate Israel’s responsibility toward the residents of the Gaza Strip, including ill persons who are unable to obtain necessary treatment in the area.

Harsh restrictions on imports

Under agreements between Israel and Egypt, the Gaza Strip’s foreign trade must be conducted through Israel. The quantity of goods that Israel allows into the area is less than one-quarter the quantity that entered prior to the siege, and far below the amount required for the population’s needs. The range of goods that Israel allows in is also much smaller: 150 types of goods compared with 4,000 before the siege. Israel refuses to publish the list of products permitted into the Gaza Strip, or the rules used in determining the list. The NGO Gisha filed an action in the Administrative Court demanding this information. In refusing the demand, the state argued that providing this information would harm state security and Israel’s foreign relations. The court has not yet given its decision.

Difficulties in rebuilding destroyed and damaged buildings

Israel prohibits the importing of building materials, including iron and cement. The prohibition has remained in place even after Operation Cast Lead, during which 3,500 houses were completely destroyed, thousands more damaged, and extensive harm caused to infrastructures. Israel’s prohibition is preventing the reconstruction of thousands of buildings destroyed during the operation.

Frequent blackouts, sewage flowing into the sea

The siege also severely impairs the supply of electricity in the Gaza Strip. Since September 2007, when Israel declared the Gaza Strip a “hostile entity” following the firing of Qassam rockets, Israel has cut reduced the supply of industrial fuel, which is needed to operate the power station in Gaza. Following a petition filed by the NGOs Gisha and Adalah, the state agreed to supply some 63 percent of the fuel needed to meet all the residents’ needs. In practice, however, it provides less than this quantity. As a result of Israel’s policy, 98 percent of Gaza residents suffer from planned blackouts lasting up to eight or ten hours a day. The other two percent of the population do not receive any electricity at all, in part due to the shortage of spare parts, which makes it impossible to repair infrastructure, or due to the proximity of their homes to the border with Israel.

The frequent power cuts and shortage of spare parts prevent the proper operation of wells and desalination plants. When combined with excessive pumping over the years, the result is that the water in the Gaza Strip is of poor quality. At the end of 2009, 93 percent of the wells were found to be polluted with high quantities of chloride and nitrates, far in excess of the World Health Organization’s recommended levels. The water supply is defective, and thousands of residents are not even connected to the water grid. Waste treatment has also been affected: every day, some 100,000 cubic meters of untreated, or partially untreated, wastewater flow into the sea.

Almost complete prohibition on exports

Prior to the siege, seventy trucks with goods intended for export, such as furniture, clothes, and agricultural produce, left the Gaza Strip daily. Israel currently prohibits almost all exports. From the beginning of the siege to the end of April 2010, Israel has only allowed the export of strawberries and flowers intended for the European market in isolated cases.

Serious harm to the agriculture and fishing sectors

Agriculture has been hit hard by the siege and thousands of persons have lost their source of livelihood. This is due, in part, to the prohibition on the entry of basic items such as pesticides and spare parts for irrigation systems, as well as the prohibition on exports. In addition, farmers in areas near the Israeli border are unable to reach their land because Israel has declared extensive sections of land a “security strip” to which access is forbidden or restricted. Moreover, Israel has adopted open-fire regulations that permit the shooting of any person who enters these areas, even if the person does not pose any danger. Israel has also restricted the area in which fishing is allowed; since Operation Cast Lead, fishermen are not allowed to go more than three nautical miles from the coast. The waters within this range yield a meager supply of fish, and fishermen find it difficult to make a living and to meet the demand for fish.

The result – economic collapse and severe poverty

Israel’s policy has led to economic collapse in Gaza. The prohibition on bringing in raw materials and on exports has led to the closing of 95 percent of the factories and workshops in the area. Tens of thousands of persons have lost their livelihood, and unemployment now exceeds 40 percent. As a result, more than 70 percent of the population depends on aid from international organizations to obtain food. In 2007, humanitarian aid amounted to 3 percent of imports; by 2009, this figure had risen to 26 percent.

The tunnels economy

As a result of the siege policy, an economy has developed in recent years based on tunnels between the southern Gaza Strip and Rafah, Egypt. Large quantities of goods have been imported through these tunnels. The Hamas government supervises the functioning of the tunnels and collects taxes from the operators. In addition to necessities, Palestinians also smuggle in weapons, including rockets. Following the expansion of tunnel activity, it was reported in 2008 that various products were once again available in the markets, and that prices had fallen somewhat due to increased supply. Nevertheless, the use of tunnels for this purpose is not a proper substitute for a stable local economy.

Holding Gilad Shalit as a hostage – a grave breach

The soldier Gilad Shalit was abducted in June 2006, and has been held since then in an unknown location under unknown conditions. His captors have made it clear that he is being held as a hostage and are demanding the release of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. The abductors have not allowed representatives of the International Red Cross, or any other international body, to visit him. Over the year, Hamas published a video tape showing Shalit. Other than that, as far as B'Tselem knows, no information has been provided about his physical or mental health.

Shalit is a hostage due to the circumstances in which he was seized and the manner in which he is being held. International humanitarian law absolutely forbids the taking and holding of a person by force for the purpose of pressuring the adversary to comply with certain demands, while threatening to harm the person if the demands are not met. The taking of hostages is considered a war crime, for which all the persons involved bear personal criminal liability.

The Hamas leadership in Gaza bears an obligation to release Shalit immediately and unconditionally. Pending his release, his captors must treat him humanely and enable representatives of the ICRC to visit him.

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Afghanistan: Humanitarian agency denies allegations of proselytizing

Source: Church World Service (CWS) - International humanitarian agency Church World Service announced today that its long-time work in Afghanistan has been temporarily suspended by the Afghan Ministry of Economy, pending investigation of allegations related to an Afghan television news story claiming that CWS and another humanitarian agency, Norwegian Church Aid, had engaged in religious proselytizing.

CWS further announced in a statement that it has formally denied the allegations and expects the suspension will last only a few days, while the issue is investigated.

CWS is an international humanitarian agency established in 1946 to assist displaced persons after World War II in Europe and Asia with food assistance and relief activities. CWS has been engaged in Afghanistan for over 30 years, providing humanitarian and development assistance.

"Our work is entirely humanitarian -- meaning we are impartial, neutral, and independent," said Church World Service Deputy Director and Head of Programs Maurice A. Bloem. "We fully adhere to and support the Red Cross/Red Crescent Code of Conduct, which mandates that NGOs do nothing to further a religious agenda.

"We have never and will never engage in any religious proselytism. Such activities are contrary to our mandate as a humanitarian organization, and we fully respect the religion of the communities we serve," Bloem said.

"Any allegations that we have engaged in proselytism are entirely false -- and we are fully cooperating with the investigation by the Ministry of Economy and look forward to its result."

Church World Service's work in Afghanistan is intended solely to support the humanitarian needs of Afghan communities, Bloem said -- particularly in the areas of health, livelihood support, and education. In Afghanistan, around 300 local staff work closely with local organizations in providing support to almost half a million people.

"CWS appreciates the trust and support of the communities and partners we work with – unfortunately, they are the ones who suffer when we are hindered in our work," said Bloem.

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Human Rights: Chechnya - authorities continue to nurture "a climate of pervading fear"

Source: Council of Europe (COE)

The situation in the North Caucasus region, particularly the Chechen Republic, Ingushetia and Dagestan, is currently "the most serious and difficult situation" from the angle of protecting human rights and affirming the rule of law in the whole geographic area covered by the Council of Europe, as stressed by the text adopted this morning by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), on the basis of the report drawn up by Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE).

The unanimously adopted draft resolution paints a dark picture, particularly in the Chechen Republic, where the current authorities continue to nurture "a climate of pervading fear", recurrent disappearances of opponents of the Government and champions of human rights "invariably go unpunished" and the judicial organs "plainly do nothing about the misdeeds of the security forces". All of this is happening in an atmosphere of personality cult which is "disgraceful in a democracy".

In Ingushetia, the parliamentarians noted "an alarming upsurge of violence since 2009", while in Dagestan, the outbreak of terrorist acts has prompted "police responses founded on unlawful and counterproductive methods".

The text adopted reaffirmed the Assembly's aversion to any act of terrorism, a phenomenon which can only be fought effectively "while respecting fundamental rights". It also pays tribute to human rights advocates, lawyers and journalists working in difficult circumstances, and often in peril of their lives, to help victims obtain justice and denounce abuses.

The draft resolution calls on the Russian central and regional executive and judicial authorities to combat terrorism "by availing themselves of the instruments provided by the law-based state", and to look for the causes of the radicalisation in progress and the growing hold of religious extremism; to prosecute and try "in accordance with the law all culprits of human rights violations", including members of the security forces, and to co-operate more closely with the human rights defence organisations, while "protecting their staff members effectively against possible reprisals".

In connection with enforcing the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights finding serious and repeated violations of fundamental rights, the text welcomes the "specific efforts made by the Russian authorities", while observing that "appreciable results in the matter are still awaited". The climate of overall impunity illustrated by the Court's judgments "seriously undermine(s) the population's trust in the security forces and the state institutions generally, and thus feed(s) the nefarious spiral of violence".

In the parliamentarians' view, the other Council of Europe member countries should co-operate with the Russian authorities in combating terrorism, "guarantee adequate protection to the Chechen exiles" whom they have received in their territory and "consider with the greatest care and caution extradition requests in respect of exiled Caucasians who would risk being killed, subjected to torture or an unfair trial".

The Assembly will be debating the draft resolution in Strasbourg during its forthcoming summer plenary session (21-25 June 2010).

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Burma: Tricked into slavery by brutal traffickers

Many Burmese men find themselves in exploitive working conditions on fishing boats

Ko Hla* paid an agent US$800 and then started work on a Taiwanese fishing ship, thinking it was good money at $260 a month. He toiled 18 hours a day.

“We weren’t allowed to complain, we weren’t allowed to contact our [families]. Often we were beaten and intimidated,” the 30-year-old said. “It wasn’t what we expected.”

He quit 16 months later and returned home to find that the agent, who was supposed to send his salary to his family, had run away without making a single payment.

Due to limited job opportunities and low incomes, tens of thousands of Burmese seek work abroad, hoping to earn a better living, but many like Ko Hla and his friends fall prey to human traffickers.

Although there is no reliable data on human trafficking in Myanmar, experts believe several thousands are trafficked annually.

Human prey

According to the UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP), Burmese women, children, and men are trafficked to Thailand, China, Malaysia, South Korea, and Macau for sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced labour.

Myanmar is also a transit country for trafficked Bangladeshis to Malaysia and Chinese to Thailand.

The Burmese government says China is the main destination, followed by Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Women and girls are trafficked to China for forced marriage and sex work, while adults and children are sent to Thailand and Malaysia for forced labour and sexual exploitation.

“The victims of trafficking blindly believe whatever they’re told by the brokers without trying to get correct information regarding the job,” Nan Tin Tin Shwe, anti-trafficking coordinator of the international NGO World Vision, told IRIN.

“Children can fall prey to traffickers once they have migrated internally to these areas – or they may end up in exploitative and abusive labour in these areas,” said Lamia Rashid, director of child protection for Save the Children.

Agencies say traffickers with job offers are targeting children and young people in the Ayeyarwady Delta, which was devastated by Cyclone Nargis two years ago.

“Children and young people are keen to take these risks and migrate, and there is a high possibility for them to end up in exploitative working conditions, including sexual exploitation,” Rashid said.

Coordinated fight

The government and international agencies have been working on a national plan of action to combat human trafficking, raising awareness through the media and community meetings.

In addition, the government has 23 anti-trafficking task forces to rescue survivors and stringent laws to punish the traffickers.

Experts say ongoing efforts are needed to protect victims once they have returned home and to scale up prevention efforts in vulnerable communities.

“Victims of trafficking come from source communities that are spread across the country, often living in villages that are remote and situated a long distance from services available from the Department of Social Welfare, the Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation, and NGOs,” said Maciej Pieczkowski, programme manager of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Myanmar.

“Just raising awareness in the country of origin is not enough,” said Ohnmar Ei Ei Chaw, national project coordinator of UNIAP.

“The countries of destination, too, should take action effectively against the industries that use cheap labour and exploit the workers… The international community needs to put pressure on those countries of destination.”

Disclaimer:This material comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States.
Photo: Copyright IRIN

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Mozambique: Creating a "living museum" in Mozambique camp

Life in a refugee camp is not a bundle of fun at the best of times. At Maratane, a typical day for a refugee consists of going to the market, working in the garden and generally pottering around the house without much to do.

So when UNHCR and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently joined efforts to promote inter-generational dialogue and cultural exchanges in this small camp of 4,800 refugees and asylum-seekers in north-western Mozambique, people used it as an excuse to party.

"The goal is to create a living museum, where the various cultures living within the camp can come together to share music, dance, art and handicrafts with each other and with the local community, as well as visitors to the camp," said Margarida Botelho, a Portuguese consultant working in Maratane.

To help break the ice, Botelho brought along Spanish clown Denguito from the "Clowns without Borders" humanitarian group to teach the camp's Congolese acrobatic troupe some of his juggling and other performance skills. But word soon spread about the planned session and when Botelho and Denguito showed, every other aspiring performing group had turned up to take part in the fun.

It soon resembled an African version of the universal "Got Talent" series or a combined dance and music copy of "American Idol." Watching frenzied dancers kick up dust in an impromptu contest between Congolese and Burundian troupes, the camp residents cheered and clapped. "It is wonderful to see them using this forum as positive energy to celebrate their differences," said Botelho.

Almost everyone was determined to take part. Even a group of elderly Congolese women got up and danced to the songs of their youth, much to the delight of the younger set. To cap it all off, Denguito – whose real name is Albert Brau – performed with the acrobats and brought the house down.

"This was a really happy day for me. I liked the dancers and the drummers. The clown was very funny," said Jean Minani, an eight-year-old Burundian refugee, after it was all over. "It makes the day more interesting for me," he added.

What would have been a routine day for the residents of Maratane turned out as a rich exchange of cultural traditions that will help establish links and understanding between the different nationalities as well as promoting tolerance.

The joint programme, in which UNHCR and UNESCO are participating, is funded by Spain. The ultimate goals are to promote a more conducive environment for local integration as well as to help prepare the younger generation for a possible return home by maintaining an active link with the culture of their homeland.

Among other activities under the joint programme, UNHCR has been supporting regular cultural events inside and outside Maratane. It also plans to establish a cultural centre in the camp, which will become a living museum for art and cultural activities from the camp residents and local community.

There are some 7,700 refugees in Mozambique, including the 4,800 in Maratane. Most are from Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Source: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
By Tina Ghelli in Maratane Refugee Camp, Mozambique

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Aid Flotilla: American Jewish Committee's response to attack on aid flotilla

Source: American Jewish Committee

AJC condemned the pro-Hamas "Free Gaza" movement and its supporters for deliberately provoking a violent confrontation with the Israeli Navy in its attempt to sail a flotilla of ships to Gaza.

"This tragedy on the high seas could have been avoided, and we regret the loss of life," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "The fact that the flotilla refused to cooperate with Israel's repeated entreaties to unload their humanitarian cargo in Ashdod for delivery to Gaza proves that violent clashes are exactly what the international supporters of Hamas must have been seeking."

Israel, under international law, had every right to intercept the ships, and had warned the flotilla to not attempt to land in Gaza, which is controlled since 2007 by the terrorist Hamas, a group that openly seeks the destruction of Israel, and seized control of Gaza in a violent coup ousting the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas.

"The ironically-named 'Free Gaza' movement, which exists to bolster the despotic Hamas regime and its Muslim Brotherhood support base in Turkey and elsewhere, sailed this flotilla not to deliver humanitarian aid -- which Israel offered to deliver by land after a security check -- but to add an international dimension to the relentless campaign of Hamas against Israel's very existence," said Harris.

When Israeli commandos boarded the ships, they were met with violence from a supposedly non-violent group, including gunfire from automatic weapons and attacks with knives and axes. Several Israelis were wounded. As a result of the clash triggered by the pro-Hamas group, a number of them were killed or wounded in the confrontation.

As the flotilla sailed toward Gaza, Al Jazeera television showed pro-Hamas activists chanting anti-Israel and anti-Semitic songs, including the notorious words, "Khaybar, Khaybar, O Jews, the army of Muhammed will return." One Hamas supporter declared that the aim of the flotilla was either of two "good things...achieving martyrdom or reaching Gaza."

Source: American Jewish Committee

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Aid Flotilla: Muslim civil liberties group - President Obama Must Condemn Gaza Flotilla 'Massacre'

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today urged President Obama to condemn what the Muslim civil rights group called an Israeli "massacre" of civilians on a flotilla of ships in international waters seeking to bring humanitarian aid to the people of the Gaza Strip. Israeli commandos killed at least 10 civilians in a pre-dawn raid on the flotilla.

Israel's attack on the flotilla has already been condemned by the international community.

Israeli Action Widely Condemned (LA Times)

Turkey, Germany, France Lead Condemnation of Israeli Ship Raid

A number of Americans, including former Ambassador Edward L. Peck, are among those taking part in the humanitarian aid effort. Other passengers include Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein and 1976 Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Corrigan Maguire of Northern Ireland. The nationalities of the dead are not yet known.

In a statement, United Nations officials said: "We wish to make clear that such tragedies are entirely avoidable if Israel heeds the repeated calls of the international community to end its counterproductive and unacceptable blockade of Gaza."

"It is imperative that President Obama not only speak out strongly against this massacre of civilians but also demonstrate our nation's outrage at Israel's brutal actions by taking concrete steps to end the humanitarian siege imposed on Gaza with America's support," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "Our nation must now work to end the inhumane and illegal siege on Gaza."

Awad also urged the president to live up to his statement one year ago in Cairo in which he said that America will not turn its back on "the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity and a state of their own."

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War Crimes: Sierra Leonean judge re-elected head of war crimes tribunal

UN - Justice Jon Kamanda of Sierra Leone has been re-elected to serve as President of the United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal set up to deal with the worst acts committed during the long and brutal civil war in the West African nation.

This will be his second term as the Presiding Judge of the appeals chamber, a post which automatically makes him the President of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL).

Justice Emmanuel Ayoola of Nigeria, who previously served as the court's President, also also been re-elected as Vice-President, according to a press release issued today by the court from Freetown, the capital.

The SCSL's judges wrapped up their 14th plenary on Friday in The Hague, voicing “sincere appreciation and gratitude” to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the use of its courtroom and other support for the trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor, who is under indictment for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Special Court is an independent tribunal established jointly by Sierra Leone's Government and the UN in 2002. It is mandated to try those who bear the greatest responsibility for atrocities committed in Sierra Leone after 30 November 1996.

Last September, the eight prisoners convicted and held by the SCSL were transferred to Rwanda to serve their sentences since no prison in Sierra Leone meets the required international standards. The remaining trial, involving Mr. Taylor, is continuing at The Hague, where it was moved for security reasons.

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