Lebanon: Tribunal Concealed Evidence Al-Qaeda Cell Killed Hariri

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Tribunal Concealed Evidence Al-Qaeda Cell Killed Hariri

Analysis by Gareth Porter*

See also: Tuesday, August 30, 2011: Lebanon: Hariri Bombing Indictment Based on Flawed Premise

In focusing entirely on the alleged links between four Hezbollah activists and the 2005 bombing that killed Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the indictment issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon earlier this month has continued the practice of the U.N investigation before it of refusing to acknowledge the much stronger evidence that an Al-Qaeda cell was responsible for the assassination.

Several members of an Al-Qaeda cell confessed in 2006 to having carried out the crime, but later recanted their confessions, claiming they were tortured.

However, the transcript of one of the interrogations, which was published by a Beirut newspaper in 2007, shows that the testimony was being provided without coercion and that it suggested that Al-Qaeda had indeed ordered the assassination.

But the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) was determined to pin the crime either on Syria or its Lebanese ally Hezbollah and refused to pursue the Al-Qaeda angle.

Detlev Mehlis, the first head of UNIIIC, was convinced from the beginning that Syrian military intelligence and its Lebanese allies had carried out the bombing and went to extraordinary lengths to link Ahmed Abu Adas, who had appeared in a videotape claiming responsibility for the assassination for a previously unknown group, to Syrian intelligence.

Violating the general rule that investigators do not reveal specific witness testimony outside an actual courtroom, Mehlis described testimony from "a number of sources, confidential and otherwise", which he said "pointed to Abu Adas being used by Syria and Lebanese authorities as scapegoat for the crimes…."

Mehlis cited one witness who claimed to have seen Adas in the hallway outside the office of the director of Syrian intelligence in December 20O4, and another who said Adas had been forced by the head of Syrian military intelligence to record the video in Damascus 15 days before the assassination and was then put in a Syrian prison.

Mehlis quoted a third witness, Zouheir Saddiq, as saying that Adas had changed his mind about carrying out the assassination on behalf of Syrian intelligence "at the last minute" and had been killed by the Syrians and his body put in the vehicle carrying the bomb.

The Mehlis effort to fit the Adas video into his narrative of Syrian responsibility for the killing of Hariri began to fall apart when the four "false witnesses" who had implicated Syrian and Lebanese intelligence in the assassination, including Saddiq, were discredited as fabricators.

Meanwhile a major potential break in the case occurred when Lebanese authorities arrested 11 members of an Al-Qaeda terrorist cell in late December 2005 and early January 2006.

The members of the cell quickly confessed to interrogators that they had planned and carried out the assassination of Hariri, The Daily Star reported Jun. 6, 2008.

Obviously based in large part on the interrogation of the cell members, the Lebanese government wrote an internal report in 2006 saying that, at one point after the assassination, Ahmed Abu Adas had been living in the same apartment in Beirut as the "emir" of the Al- Qaeda cell, Sheik Rashid.

The full text of the report was leaked to Al Hayat, which published it Apr. 7, 2007.

The report said Rashid, whose real name was Hassan Muhammad Nab'a, had pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in 1999 and later to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq.

Rashid had also been involved in the "Dinniyeh Group" which launched an armed attempt to create an Islamic mini-state in northern Lebanon in 2000, only to be crushed by 13,000 Lebanese troops.

The members of the Al-Qaeda cell later retracted their confessions when they were tried by military courts in summer 2008 for "plotting to commit terrorist acts on Lebanese soil", claiming that the confessions had been extracted under torture.

But the Al-Qaeda cell members were being held by the Ministry of Interior, whose top officials had a political interest in suppressing the information obtained from them. The full transcript of the interrogation of one of the members of the cell was leaked to the Beirut daily Al Akhbar in October 2007 by an official who was unhappy with the ministry’s opposition to doing anything with the confessions.

The transcript shows that the testimony of at least one of the members contained information that could only have been known by someone who had been informed of details of the plot.

The testimony came from Faisal Akhbar, a Syrian carrying a Saudi passport who freely admitted being part of the Al-Qaeda cell. He testified that Khaled Taha, a figure the U.N. commission later admitted was closely associated with Adas, had told him in early January 2005 that an order had been issued for the assassination of Hariri, and that he was to go to Syria to help Adas make a video on the group's taking responsibility for the assassination.

Akhbar recalled that Sheikh Rashid had told him in Syria immediately after the assassination that it had been done because Hariri had signed the orders for the execution of Al-Qaeda militants in Lebanon in 2004. Akbar also said he was told around Feb. 3, 2005 that a team of Lebanese Al-Qaeda had been carrying out surveillance of Hariri since mid-January.

Akhbar also told interrogators some details that were clearly untrue, including the assertion that Abu Adas had actually died in the suicide mission. That was the idea that the cell had promoted in a note attached to the videotape Adas made.

When challenged on that point, Akhbar immediately admitted that a youth from Saudi Arabia, who had been sent by Al-Qaeda, had been the suicide bomber. He acknowledged that Rashid had told him that, if detained, he was to inform the security services that he knew nothing about the subject of Abu Adas, and that he was to warn the other members of the cell to do likewise.

But the interrogator employed a trick question to establish whether Akhbar had actual knowledge of the assassination plot or not. He gave the Al-Qaeda cadre a list of 11 phone numbers, four of which were fake numbers, and asked him if he remembered which ones were used in the preparations for the assassination.

Akhbar immediately corrected the interrogator, saying there had only been seven numbers used in the preparations for the assassination, including the five members of the surveillance team. That response corresponded with the information the investigation had already obtained, and which had not been reported in the news media.

The response of UNIIIC, under its new chief, Belgian Serge Brammertz, to the unfolding of an entirely different narrative surrounding the assassination was to shift the focus away from the question of who were the actual perpetrators of the bombing.

In his March 2006 report, Brammertz said the "priority" of UNIIIC "is being given not to the team that carried out the assassination but to those who 'enabled' the crime".

And Brammertz had still not abandoned the story originally planted by the false witnesses in 2005 that the role of Adas in making the videotape had been manipulated by Syrian intelligence.

In his June 2006 report, Brammertz said the Commission continued to "entertain the idea" that whoever detonated the bomb may have been "coerced into doing so". And in the September 2006 report, he suggested that Adas may have been coerced into delivering the videotape, just as Mehlis had suggested in 2005.

Despite the official Lebanese government report confirming it, Brammertz never publicly acknowledged that Adas was deeply involved with an Al-Qaeda cell, much less that its members had confessed to the killing of Hariri.

Daniel Bellemare, the prosecutor for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, similarly chose not to pursue that evidence, which directly contradicts the assertion in his indictment that it was a Hezbollah operative - not Al-Qaeda - who had convinced Adas to make the videotape.

*Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist specialising in U.S. national security policy. The paperback edition of his latest book, "Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam", was published in 2006.

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

Iran: Source refutes claims of Iran targeting Saudi Arabia

Source: IRNA

Iran on Wednesday dismissed certain media claims that it has targeted Saudi Arabia, saying such vain claims are totally baseless.

An informed source at Foreign Ministry, rejecting claims of Saudi Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Prince Nayef that problems caused by Iran are targeting Saudi Arabia, said Iran has always been favoring stability, tranquility and progress in Saudi Arabia and no so-called problem targeting Saudi Arabia ever exists.

He said security of Saudi Arabia and Iran are intertwined and the Islamic Republic of Iran considers Saudi security as its own.

The source expressed shock over the media claims over Saudi Arabia being targeted by Iran and said such claims are the result of the anti-Iran news propaganda aimed at raising doubts among regional states over the country.

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

South Sudan: Over 1800 returnees arrive in South Sudan

Source: Miraya FM

Over 1800 internally displaced people (IDPs) returned to South Sudan Wednesday from Sudan.

Speaking to journalists at Juba River Port, the Head of the Repatriation Taskforce of South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC), Gatwech Peter Kulang, said 250 of the returnees will go to Torit, and 170 of them will go to Western Equatoria State.

Kulang added that most of the returnees are from Central Equatoria State.

He explained that World Food Program will provide food and shelter for the returnees to help start a new life in South Sudan.

The International Organization for Migration, in collaboration with the SSRRC, have funded and facilitated the return of the 1800 IDPs.

Meanwhile the returnees said that they were delighted to be home despite the challenges they encountered along the way.

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

Afghanistan: Afghan officials tour Australia to improve their water management skills

Source: Australian Agency for International Development

Two officials from the Uruzgan Provincial Government in Afghanistan recently visited Australia to improve their understanding of agricultural and water management systems.

Engineers Hashim and Kabir were brought to Australia on an AusAID funded study tour, spent three weeks in Australia furthering their understanding of effective water management techniques that could be used in Uruzgan.

The pair visited water and agriculture organisations in Canberra, Perth and Adelaide, including visits to rural water and sewage treatment facilities, training farms, irrigation systems, small and major dam construction projects.

Engineer Hashim, the Director of the Department of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, manages rural infrastructure activities such as canal, bridge and road construction, as well as water supply and sanitation.

Engineer Kabir, Director of the Department of Energy and Water, manages water supply, helping to improve access to clean water in Uruzgan.

They were accompanied by Mr Hamidi, who is contracted by AusAID to work with the Uruzgan Provincial Reconstruction Team as a cultural adviser and interpreter. His work is vital to ensuring effective communications between AusAID’s development advisers, local communities and the Provincial Government.

Engineer Kabir said that Australia had a lot of experience that would benefit their work.

“There are similarities between the climate in Afghanistan and Australia, it is useful for us to see how Australia uses water, and protects water,” he said.

“As I have told many times to colleagues at AusAID, we will not tell them to give us the fish, but will ask how to catch the fish.”

Engineer Hashim said it was useful to see how the Australian Government provides clean water to its population.

“I want future generations [in Afghanistan] to have access to clean water,” he said.

AusAID contracted AGWEST International, the commercial arm of the WA Department of Agriculture and Food, to deliver the study tour.

The tour also helped build networks for Afghanistan’s Government with Australia, linking their officials and engineers with agricultural and water management expertise here.

The tour is part of Australia’s broader efforts to build the capacity of the Afghan Provincial Government in Uruzgan to deliver improved services to its people.

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

Kosovo: Operation Storm for Kosovo revealed

Source: Pravda.Ru

by Н. Zejak　
Ed. Kosovo is Serbia

Translated from the Serbian version by: Lisa Karpova

More terrorist criminal violence planned against the Serbian population of Kosovo　

Pristina authorities have prepared a military operation "Storm Kosovo" if a solution is not found to incorporate the institutions in the north, sources from the top "justice" authorities in Pristina said. The source said that the Kosovo government has a constitutional obligation to apply all available resources to establish its authority throughout Kosovo.

This is why Kosovo will become unique in the world, in which the government plans to let in international forces, using force based on the model of Croatia, to carry out their "Storm Kosovo," says our source.

The existence of the plan "Storm Kosovo," with the alleged goal of trying to establish sovereignty and territorial integrity was confirmed by Bajram Rexhepi, Kosovo's interior minister, who also said in a statement that outside of any negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina, parallel structures will be abolished.

"It is a constitutional obligation of the government. We must establish government throughout the province and eliminate parallel structures that are supported by all our international friends. Therefore it is the obligation of the government without making any concessions to establish the rule of law in Kosovo's north" said Rexhepi, pointing out that the parallel structures will stop working throughout the province.

Rexhepi has indirectly confirmed that the closure plan for parallel structures and occupation of northern Kosovo involves a concerted action of security forces, which bring together the KPS, the intelligence and security agencies and associations of war veterans and their families, which were made available to Kosovo Prime Minister and war criminal, Hashim Thaci.

"The government's decision to establish the law in the north must be carried out," said Rexhepi, by announcing that the agreement between Belgrade and Pristina on the free movement of KPS and withdrawing all Serbian driver and vehicle registrations and Serbian identity documents.

Reaffirming the commitment of the government, Rexhepi said that, regardless of international pressure to force at least enforce the decision of completing the national territory, the head of the Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs said that the Pristina delegation in the negotiations following the 2nd of September will not under any circumstances accept any solution that may violate its sovereignty that lead to actions such as on the 25th of July.

Notice of the determination of Kosovo's government to the north, by hook or by crook, to establish an authority, was announced by Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuqi.

"Kosovo Police Service has the capacity to end parallel institutions and structures in the north. Our 'Storm' will not apply to citizens, but to criminals and leaders of criminal groups. The government has the full support of American and international friends to continue the action on 25th of July," said Kuqi.

Kuqi said that the action done against itself and KPS and the power structures are done by criminal gangs, who in the past 12 years have established a system of government, because they have the direct support of Belgrade.

We will protect civilians

Kuqi said that citizens have no reason to fear, because the Kosovo police will maintain control.

"We shall protect civilians. Kosovar customs officers and policemen will be deployed instead of the KFOR and the crossing Jarinje and Brnjak," he says. Kuqi said that the Kosovo police have free rein to assert control over the territory that, as he points out, now is controlled by Serbia.

"There are conflicts and disputes about the continuation of the action of 25 of July. I am sure that the head of EULEX, Xavier Bout de Marnhac's promise given to Kosovo Prime Minister and that he will do his part during the continuation of joint action," Kuqi said.

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

Defense: The Pentagon’s Problems with Budgeting Strategy

Source: ISN

The Pentagon’s budget has almost doubled over the past decade, but the missions it has been asked to perform have also multiplied beyond anything anyone could have predicted. How many of these myriad tasks are likely to be repeated in the future, and where? With the budget showdown in Washington ongoing, it’s all on the table.

By Paul McLeary for ISN Insights

---

“When it comes to predicting the nature and location of our next military engagements, since Vietnam, our record has been perfect,” former Defense Secretary Robert Gates told US Army cadets at West Point earlier this year. “We have never once gotten it right, from the Mayaguez to Grenada, Panama, Somalia, the Balkans, Haiti, Kuwait, Iraq and more – we had no idea a year before any of these missions that we would be so engaged.”

With little apparent sense of irony, Gates made his own prediction about future conflict, saying that “the most plausible, high-end scenarios for the U.S. military are primarily naval and air engagements,” likely to occur in the Pacific. Of course, only time will bear out his predictions, but in making a set of educated assumptions about the future, Gates was hardly stepping out of his lane. As Secretary of Defense, it was part of his job to help identify and define national security threats, marshalling resources in certain areas while accepting risk in others where the threat is thought to be less severe. This is the essence of strategy, and it is something that the Pentagon – and the United States government – has in many ways either forgotten how to do, or refuses to do.

This isn’t to say the Pentagon doesn’t produce doctrine or strategic reviews. It excels at the emission of thick binders on everything from operating concepts to training foreign forces to counterinsurgency warfare to acquisition plans for military hardware. The latest is the eagerly anticipated “comprehensive review” scheduled to be released this fall. Billed as the new “way forward” for the future of the military, as well as the blueprint for how it plans to get there, and how much money it will cost to do so, the blueprint faces substantial “known unknowns” – mainly in the form of the budget cuts that Congress is about to decide upon, which could range from $350 billion to almost $1 trillion over the next decade.

As part of the debt limit agreement passed in early August, the Pentagon stands to lose $350 billion in funding spread over the next ten years (excluding funding for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq), though Congress may slice even deeper this fall when it looks for another $1.2 trillion to cut across the entire federal government.

None of this should come as a surprise. In April, President Obama called for $400 billion in cuts to the base defense budget over a twelve year period, and Pentagon bean counters have been hard at work ever since trying to find places to cut or trim to meet that number. In July, then-Vice Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. James “Hoss” Cartwright said that he was “certainly doing budget drills beyond $400 billion,” in preparation for larger cuts. Those larger cuts haven’t happened yet: this first stab at cuts actually gives $50 billion back to the Pentagon. And, in fact, the government can cut $400 billion from its security portfolio simply by allowing the defense budget to grow only at the rate of inflation for the next twelve years, according to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a Washington, DC-based think tank.

“Everything must be on the table,” as Ashton B. Carter, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, recently told a crowd at a Washington event, adding that “this era will require a different mindset for managers and Congress. Since 9/11, we could always reach for more money. Those days are gone.” Significantly, Carter has just been nominated by President Obama to be the next Deputy Secretary of Defense: the Pentagon’s No. 2 official.

When it comes to weapons programs, The Air Force’s troubled F-35 fighter program has just about worn out Washington’s patience, as the first 28 jets scheduled to be delivered by Lockheed Martin have overshot their cost targets by $771 million and were grounded yet again in August after another testing failure (Total program cost is being quoted at $1 trillion, making it the most expensive program in military history.) The Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship – the current complement of which it plans to increase by 55 over the coming decades, in order to reach its goal of a 313-ship Navy – has also blown up its budget, and one of the first two ships to hit the water was recently found to be corroding, only months after getting wet. The Marines are still struggling to justify their own version of

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

Israel: 'UN Go Home': Israel planning for worst, calling for war?

In September, Palestine will be expecting a UN vote to recognize it as a fully-fledged state. But Israel fears the decision may result in uprisings, and has reportedly started arming settlers and training them to face angry Palestinians. But as Paula Slier reports, by preparing for bloodshed, Israelis might actually be calling for it.

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

Netherlands: Uncommon alliances - Muslim and Jew, left and right

Uncommon alliances: Muslim and Jew, left and right

by Azeem Ibrahim

London – In October, the Dutch Senate will consider the ban on ritual slaughter enacted by the parliament’s lower house in June 2011. Self-described as “an institution that pays little heed to ideas which happen to be fashionable at the time,” the Senate has no one party that holds a majority. It will therefore be interesting to see whether it is able to protect religious freedom or succumb to the pressure to limit it through this law.

The banning of religious ritual slaughter of animals has deeply offended observant Jews and Muslims in the Netherlands, where the legislation passed by a margin of 116 to 30 votes. Effectively banning halal (permissible according to Islamic law) and kosher meat according to both religions’ traditions and dietary laws, the legislation was proposed by parliamentarian Marianne Thieme, the leader of the Party for the Animals, out of concern for cruelty to animals. Thieme denies that her bill had any anti-religious intent but it was enthusiastically taken up by Geert Wilders, leader of the far right, anti-Islamic Dutch Freedom Party.

The bill finally passed with an amendment allowing ritual slaughter on the condition that firm scientific evidence is provided within five years to the European Food Safety Authority, proving that slaughter without pre-stunning causes animals no unnecessary suffering.

Jewish and Muslim communities are unhappy with the compromise, saying that it puts the future of religious practices into the hands of scientists and avoids the issue of religious freedom. This is a bizarre state of affairs in a pluralist European society. A recent report by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance notes that the tone of Dutch political and public debate around integration has shown a “dramatic deterioration” in the last ten years. The surprising recent electoral success of the Dutch Freedom Party can be explained by the fact that it provides parliamentary support to the minority cabinet, which in turn seems inclined to protect Wilders, perhaps because of the minority cabinet’s fear of losing its ability to govern.

Some Dutch politicians however, have been outspoken in their call for parliamentary debate about xenophobia in the Netherlands, notably Tofik Dibi, one of seven members of parliament who identify as practicing Muslims. Dutch Labor Party leader Job Cohen has also called for dialogue on the need “to moderate our tone...not to avoid debate but to engage in it openly and with mutual respect.” One hopes that these voices of reason will be heeded.

The common cause of Jews and Muslims uniting against the ban in their concern to protect their traditions of halal and kosher meat is due to the importance both religions place on preventing animal suffering. Many Jews and Muslims view the modern mechanical methods of stunning and killing animals in Western slaughterhouses far more barbaric, and no one seems yet to have come up with a positive scientific measurement of the pain felt by the animals at the point of death by either method.

The arguments for and against ritual slaughter are passionate, subjective and liable to misinterpretation, and provide a potent mixture for populist politicians to exploit when national economies are in trouble and unemployment is rife. Hopefully, the Dutch Senate will reconsider the issue in the light of freedom of religion as laid down by Article 9 in the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

The Senate’s treatment of the ban will be a test of this mature liberal European democracy’s ability to provide consensus, compromise or conformity on a divisive issue within a centuries-old tradition of liberalism, human rights and tolerance for religious minorities.

###

* Dr. Azeem Ibrahim is a Fellow and member of the Board of Directors at the Institute of Social Policy and Understanding, former Research Scholar at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and World Fellow at Yale University. To see more of his writings, visit www.azeemibrahim.com and follow him on Twitter (@AzeemIbrahim). This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).

Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 30 August 2011, www.commongroundnews.org Copyright permission is granted for publication.

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

Afghanistan: Taliban’s use of children as suicide bombers is an egregious affront to humanity

Source: Human Rights Watch

The Taliban’s use of children as suicide bombers in Afghanistan is an egregious affront to humanity that should cease immediately, Human Rights Watch said today. In the latest incident, on August, 27, 2011, residents of Baharak district in northeastern Badakhshan province captured a 16-year-old wearing a suicide vest as he was on his way to blow up a local mosque.

There has been an alarming increase in recent months of suicide bombings, and attempted suicide bombings, by children, Human Rights Watch said. Younger and younger children have been involved. Children as young as 7 have reported that they were deployed as suicide bombers. Surviving children who trained as suicide bombers describe having been given amulets containing verses from the Quran that they were told would protect them from the explosion. They said they were told that when the bomb they carried detonated, everyone around them would die but they would survive.

“The Taliban’s use of children as suicide bombers is not only sickening, but it makes a mockery of Mullah Omar’s claim to protect children and civilians,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Any political movement or army that manipulates or coerces children into becoming human bombs has lost touch with basic humanity.”

The Taliban has pledged to respect the laws of war, published a code of conduct, and recently released a statement by its leader, Mullah Omar, renewing a commitment to protect civilians. The Taliban has denied using children as suicide bombers or for other military purposes.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has collected evidence that the Taliban has been recruiting children ages 11 through 17 to carry out activities including armed combat, planting improvised explosive devices, and smuggling weapons across the Pakistan-Afghan border. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission confirms increasing use by the Taliban of child suicide bombers. The Afghan government has reported that as many as 100 children who were recruited as suicide bombers by the Taliban are in the custody of the National Directorate of Security.

Recent incidents of suicide bombing involving children include:

• On June 26, an 8-year-old girl was killed in central Uruzgan province when a bag of explosives that the Taliban had instructed her to carry to a police checkpoint detonated.
• On May 20, in Nuristan province, a suicide vest strapped to a 12-year-old boy exploded prematurely, killing several suspected insurgents, including the boy.
• In early May, five children, all under age 13, from Logar and Ghazni provinces who had allegedly been trained as suicide bombers were arrested by the National Directorate of Security.
• Around May 3, a 14-year-old boy who said he had been coerced by the Taliban into carrying a bomb under threat that he would otherwise have his hand cut off surrendered to international troops in Ghazni province.
• On May 1, a 12-year-old boy blew himself up in a bazaar in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province, killing four civilians and wounding 12 others.
• On April 13, in Kunar province, an explosive vest detonated by a 13-year-old boy killed 10 people, including 5 schoolboys.

“Growing up in the midst of war, struggling with poverty, illiteracy, and instability, Afghan children are already facing untold challenges,” Adams said. “Mullah Omar and the Taliban fighters he commands should respect their own code of conduct and stop strapping bombs to children and sending them out to commit suicide in a war they are too young to understand.”

In February 2010, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict documented cases of Taliban child suicide bombers. Journalists have documented reports of children being trained by the Taliban in Pakistan to act as suicide bombers against NATO targets in Afghanistan. Children as young as nine have been apprehended crossing the border into Afghanistan allegedly for this purpose. Children as young as five are reported to have been used to plant bombs in southern Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is a party to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, which prohibits non-state armed groups under any circumstances from recruiting or using in hostilities anyone under the age of 18. The use of children as fighters is a war crime.

In addition, suicide attacks that target civilians, do not discriminate between civilians and combatants, cause disproportionate civilian loss, or are carried out with perfidy – that is, when the attacker feigns being a civilian – are serious violations of the laws of war. Those who carry out, order, or are involved in such attacks as a matter of command responsibility are likewise liable for war crimes.

The Taliban’s use of children as suicide bombers also directly contravenes its code of conduct, the Layha, which was created in 2006 and has since been revised twice. On May 11, the Taliban issued a statement saying that it had “strictly banned participation of adolescents in Jihadic operations as per its policy [and that] the mujahideen [Islamist fighters] [are] not allowing youngsters to join their ranks.”

The use of children also contradicts the message released by the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, on August 28 to commemorate the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Fitr in which he instructed Taliban fighters to respect civilians, including children, and to strictly obey the Taliban code of conduct. He urged Taliban fighters to:

Observe obedience to your amir [leader] and see to implement the codes of conduct of mujahideen which have been delivered to you… You should strictly observe the precautionary measures which are told to you by your leaders... You should be very careful about conduct with the common people. Gain the heart of people through good conduct and behavior.

On May 11, the Taliban denied using child suicide bombers, saying:

As in the past, the propaganda outfits of the enemy claim now time and again that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan uses children and adolescents in its Jihadic operations. They also claim that there are a great number of children in the ranks of the Mujahideen. We would like to make it clear for all that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has strictly banned participation of adolescents in Jihadic operations as per its policy.

“The Taliban’s code of conduct was seen as a positive step, but five years on it seems to be little more than a public relations tool,” Adams said. “Every time a suicide vest is strapped to a child, the code and Mullah Omar’s pronouncements will be seen as meaningless.”

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

Georgia: Making a Luxury Resort a Priority Over IDPs?

While many IDPs have been given apartments, many more who fled Abkhazia and South Ossetia are still waiting. (Photo: Molly Corso)

Originally published by EurasiaNet.org

Georgia: Making a Luxury Resort a Priority Over IDPs?

EurasiaNet.org

Nine days ago in Georgia’s Black Sea region of Achara, President Mikheil Saakashvili unveiled the glitzy, “seven-star” seaside resort of Anaklia -- a complex intended as a response to Russia’s military presence in breakaway Abkhazia.

At an August 22 opening ceremony, the president declared that Anaklia, just several kilometers from Abkhazia, would prove a rival to “Saint-Tropez or Nice,” and show that Georgia’s “main goal is peace.”

But the project, commissioned by the government at a reported cost of 16.5 million euros (about $23.8 million), stands in stark contrast to the living conditions faced by tens of thousands of ethnic Georgians displaced by war from Abkhazia itself; individuals whose homeless state Saakashvili has said makes himself “feel . . .displaced.”

Anaklia’s estimated price tag (an official figure was not available) is approximately six times larger than the 2011 budget for the Ministry for Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodations and Refugees (MRA), which organizes housing for Georgia’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

To date, just a fourth of the estimated 88,000 families from Abkhazia who are eligible for housing have made the move into government-provided residences, according to official data.

Government officials were not available to say what makes Anaklia a budgetary priority. But Deputy MRA Minister Tamar Martiashvili argues that the spending gap does not mean that IDPs from Abkhazia are not a government priority.

“[I]t is absolutely a government priority. Even the prime minister and president state in every speech about . . . the priority of IDPs,” she said.

The ministry’s budget, intended for coordinating government IDP assistance efforts, is calculated with international donors’ contributions in mind. “[A]ll other relative ministries
are engaged and fully involved in this process,” she said.

Construction of houses and other resettlement options for IDPs displaced from Abkhazia started in January 2009 -- just two months after international donors pledged to finance Georgia’s IDP housing effort.

The European Union alone has paid 105 million euros (roughly $151.4 million) for housing, reconstruction and other assistance programs in three separate grants to the Georgian government.

The US government has donated $83 million to IDPs and recently pledged $34.67 million to renovate 92 buildings and upgrade water and sewage systems in 12 IDP settlements. Other donors, like the United Nations High Council for Refugees, have helped pick up the tab for other housing projects.

Martiashvili concedes that the Georgian government’s own funding for the IDP housing program has been comparatively small -- she did not provide an exact figure since government contributions include state-owned assets -- but underlines that its indirect support has been immense.

Tbilisi has donated “up to 700” buildings to the resettlement effort, as well as new roads, gas and electricity lines and other necessary infrastructure, she said.

The government also resettled tens of thousands of families displaced from South Ossetia during Georgia’s 2008 war with Russia in cottage-style houses built in a matter of months.

Martiashvili described the assistance as not “as visible” as the international donor funds, but nevertheless vital.

The overall IDP housing campaign is slated to end in 2014, two years later than expected.

In Poti, a port city just 30 miles from Anaklia, construction for IDP housing, financed by foreign donors, is well underway, although at a noticeably different pace than at Anaklia.

Some 1,200 IDP families from Abkhazia recently moved into several buildings in a 32-building complex. Crisp white curtains hang from windows, crosses adorn doorways and furniture ads adorn building entranceways.

Tina Chitanava, a 60-something IDP from the Abkhaz capital, Sukhumi, says that her family’s two-room apartment is an improvement from the cockroach-infested collective center she inhabited for nearly 18 years after fleeing the breakaway region. “Of course, it is better by comparison,” Chitanava said.

The quality of the construction, however, is at times open to question. Apartment walls in some of the complex’s buildings are already cracking under their new coats of paint and laminated floorboards buckle in places.

With few belongings of their own, many families are sleeping on mattresses, sometimes as many as three to a bedroom.

Some residents said they had hoped to find construction jobs at the resort in nearby Anaklia, but had failed.

But while the disparity between Anaklia and government IDP projects may provide grounds to think that the Georgian government favors investment over IDP resettlement projects, the MRA itself remains firm in its commitment to housing solutions, noted Lasha Gogidze, a research analyst at anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International Georgia,

“[Y]ou cannot really say that it is not a priority for [the MRA] to satisfy these people and provide them with a durable housing solution,” Gogidze said.

Eka Gvalia, executive director of the Charity Humanitarian Centre Abkhazeti, which works with Abkhazia IDPs, also believes that the government is making good on the promise to provide housing for all IDPs – albeit much more slowly than anticipated.

“It seems that the MRA has a real priority to provide durable housing to IDPs,” Gvalia said.

The MRA’s Martiashvili blames the delay on the cost and sheer number of people to be resettled.

Still, despite such assurances, a lack of clear information about the government’s IDP housing policy and frequent miscommunication about its intentions mean that many IDPs feel sidelined, Gvalia continued.

“When the MRA says something, they think it will be negative, it will be worse,” Gvalia said, speaking in reference to IDPs. “That is not always the case, but [IDPs] don’t always have official information.”

“At the moment, most of the IPDs still think they are not a priority of the government.”

Martiashvili, stressing that her ministry stays in constant contact with IDPs via a telephone hotline, maintains the opposite. “I think our government, with the help of the donors and foreign governments, made a very successful work and achieved extremely unprecedented results,” she said.

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

Human Rights: NY City Officials Urged to Enforce Law Barring NYPD Mosque Spying

Source: CAIR

A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today called on the New York City Council and Mayor Michael Bloomberg to enforce a law that prohibits the use of racial or ethnic profiling by law enforcement officers.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) made that request following new revelations by the Associated Press (AP) that the New York Police Department (NYPD) "maintained a list of 'ancestries of interest' and dispatched undercover officers to monitor Muslim businesses and social groups."

The revelations are contained in documents that confirm an earlier AP report that undercover NYPD officers in a so-called "Demographics Unit" targeted Muslim communities in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut for surveillance and infiltration. After collecting data on local Muslims, the NYPD would "deploy officers in civilian clothes throughout the ethnic communities." NYPD officials denied the Demographics Unit even exists.

According to the AP: "An NYPD presentation, delivered inside the department, described the mission and makeup of the Demographics Unit. Undercover officers were told to look not only for evidence of terrorism and crimes but also to determine the ethnicity of business owners and eavesdrop on conversations inside cafes."

AP: NYPD Urging Officers to Eavesdrop on Muslim Groups
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1047398

The law CAIR seeks to have enforced, Local Law No. 30 Int. 142-B (2004), states in part: "Every member of the police department or other law enforcement officer shall be prohibited from racial or ethnic profiling."

The law is part of the administrative code of the city of New York. It defines "profiling" as an act "that relies on race, ethnicity, religion or national origin as the determinative factor in initiating law enforcement action against an individual."

SEE: Local Law No. 30 Int. 142-B (2004)
http://tinyurl.com/42f3wbg

"This law clearly prohibits NYPD officers from targeting American Muslims in the manner described by the Associated Press reports," said CAIR Staff Attorney Gadeir Abbas. "We urge members of the New York City Council and Mayor Bloomberg to enforce the clear language of this law."

Abbas noted that a CIA officer oversaw the spy program "while working with the NYPD on the CIA payroll." This action by a CIA agent could be in violation of guidelines prohibiting the agency from spying on American citizens.

Last Week, CAIR's New York chapter, along with a coalition of civil rights and advocacy organizations, held a news conference to call on the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into the initial AP allegations.

At the news conference, more than a dozen concerned leaders -- including a state senator, Christian and Muslim religious leaders, and representatives of rights organizations -- expressed outrage at the potentially illegal program.

CAIR: Coalition Calls for DOJ Probe of NYPD-CIA Program to Spy on Muslims
http://tinyurl.com/3sve53v

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

Australia: Mining Giant Backs New Australian International Arbitration Rules

SOURCE Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration

Vice President of Litigation BHP Billiton, Mr Damian Lovell has today welcomed the introduction of the new ACICA Arbitration Rules designed to speed up the resolution of cross border and international commercial disputes.

Mr Lovell, who is responsible for the dispute resolution strategy for the world's largest diversified mining company, said it is standard practice for BHP Billiton to include arbitration clauses in its cross border contracts:

"We see international arbitration as an integral part of our global dispute resolution strategy. We commend ACICA's initiative in producing these rules which is consistent with this strategy."

In welcoming the endorsement by BHP Billiton, ACICA President and Clayton Utz Head of Major Projects and International Arbitration, Professor Doug Jones AM said servicing cross border dispute resolution is a global billion dollar business and with legislative, regulatory and procedural reforms in place, Australia is an attractive destination to resolve global business disputes:

"Australia is well placed to meet the growing demand for first-rate, cost-effective arbitration services especially in the Asia Pacific region."

Following the Australian Government's decision to appoint ACICA as the sole default appointing authority under the amended International Arbitration Act (1974), the ACICA Arbitration Rules have been updated after extensive consultation with eminent practitioners, policymakers, academics and business leaders. The Rules now include Emergency Arbitrator provisions - a first for an Australian arbitral body.

Chair of the ACICA Rules Committee, Malcolm Holmes QC said the provisions will provide greater flexibility including an option to seek emergency interim measures of protection from an emergency arbitrator before the arbitral tribunal is constituted:

"One of the concerns expressed by the international business community is that arbitration needs to provide means of granting protective measures. A party to a dispute may need to ensure that the other party refrains from taking certain actions before the dispute has been heard. For instance, one party may wish to prevent the other party from destroying evidence, or it may seek to ensure that the other party continues to perform its obligations under an ongoing contract."

A major partner of the Australian International Disputes Centre (www.disputescentre.com.au) and a signatory to agreements with over 50 global arbitral bodies including the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, ACICA has also developed the Appointment of Arbitrators Rules 2011 which establish a streamlined process through which a party can apply to have an arbitrator appointed to a dispute seated in Australia.

A board comprising representatives of the Attorney-General of Australia, the Chief Justices of the High Court and Federal Court, the President of the Australian Bar Association, the President of the Law Council of Australia and industry representatives will oversee the appointment process.

ACICA will promote the new arbitration rules with a series of presentations next month to be held in global financial centres including Zurich, New York and Shanghai.

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

South Korea: South Korea Rolls Out Nationwide Address Change to Mixed Reviews

Source: Voice of America
Jason Strother

The South Korean government is trying to make giving directions a little easier.

Small blue placards featuring new addresses have been hung up on every building around the country.

They are replacing an older address system some say was not very helpful without a map. But public reaction so far has been mixed to the new building numbers. Some in Korea say the change means a loss of cultural heritage.

Taxi driver Hong Jae-do punches an address into his dashboard-mounted GPS navigator. He has been a cabbie for about four years and says his job would be really hard without this device.

Hong says he relies on his GPS whenever he cannot find an address. Without it, he said he would have a really tough time, especially when he has to travel outside of Seoul.

Japanese model

One reason blamed for the difficulty in navigating is Korea’s address system. It is modeled on the Japanese system, which assigns addresses chronologically instead of geographically. In other words, buildings are numbered according to when they were built - not according to where they are located on a street.

But this complex system soon will be a thing of the past.

A TV commercial introduces viewers to Korea’s new address system, which the government here says will make it easier and quicker to order out food, send packages and get help in case of an emergency.

The new system is more Western-style, using only a building’s number, street and city.

Dual usage of the old and new system will be permitted until December 2013. That is when the Japanese-style addresses will be officially abandoned.

Buddhist opposition

But not everyone is excited about the new system. And, some of the strongest opposition comes from Buddhists.

Monks at Seoul’s Jogye Temple petitioned the government to hold off on using the new system.

Monk To-gyoung explained why his order opposes some of the addresses. He said there are areas and roads that are closely related to Buddhism. He said the monks are protesting because the names of these places are disappearing with the new address system, and they feel they are losing their heritage.

He said the monks do not oppose the new address system in general. They are only asking the government to not change the names of the roads that have a Buddhist connection.

Hopeful business owners

Officials of the South Korean Ministry of Public Administration and Security, the government body in charge of the new addresses, declined to be interviewed. But a spokeswoman said that the ministry is still working out the problems of implementing the new system.

Some business owners say the new building numbers could bring in more customers.

Yeon-il is the 70-year-old owner of a tea house located on a small alley in one of Seoul’s busy tourist neighborhoods. She is glad to see the old system go, she says, but is not getting her hopes up yet about the new street addresses.

She also says because of the way the old address system works, people do have a tough time finding her shop; sometimes, they walk right by it. But she says she is not so sure if the new system will make things any easier because there are so many small alleys in this neighborhood and all around the country. People need to be given clear directions, she says, and look for landmarks to know where to go.

Yeon-il points out that if people could not find what they were looking for under the old system, they still probably will not be able to find it now, no matter what numbers appear by the front door.

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

Libya: Journalists under attack as fighting continues

Source: IFEX

Four Italian journalists who were kidnapped in Libya were released last week, but the fate of both foreign and local journalists - including six Libyan reporters missing since the uprising started in February - remains up in the air as fighting rages on in Tripoli, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

"The events of the past week show how dangerous Libya remains for all journalists," said CPJ. "We hope that as the hostilities subside, the whereabouts of the Libyan journalists who are still missing become clear."

Atef al-Atrash, a contributor to local news outlets in Benghazi, Mohamed al-Sahim, a blogger and critical political writer, cartoonist Mohamed al-Amin, and Idris al-Mismar, a writer and the former editor-in-chief of "Arajin", a monthly culture magazine, have been reported missing.

Two Tripoli-based journalists - Salma al-Shaab, head of the Libyan Journalists Syndicate, and Suad al-Turabouls, a correspondent for the pro-government "Al-Jamahiriya" - were detained in late February, but have not been heard from since.

The four Italian journalists had been captured by forces loyal to Gaddafi on 24 August and were released a day later after a raid on the apartment where they were being held captive, report CPJ, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Their Libyan driver was killed in front of them. According to RSF, they said they were roughed up and their equipment and material was confiscated.

RSF reports that their abduction came on the eve of a visit to Italy by Mahmoud Jibril, the second in command in Libya's National Transitional Council, who was due to meet with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The council has been recognised by many countries as Libya's provisional government.

The same day, Matthew VanDyke, a U.S. journalist who had been missing in Libya since 13 March, was freed from Abu Salim prison in Tripoli with several inmates after the prison was seized by rebel forces, reports CPJ. His mother told CPJ that he had been held in solitary confinement for most of his imprisonment.

Earlier this month, Tracey Shelton, a freelance Australian journalist was brutally attacked by two armed men in her Benghazi hotel room, but escaped by jumping to a nearby balcony, said CPJ. She is recovering in another Benghazi hotel, with rebels protecting her.

Also in August, about 35 foreign journalists mainly from the U.S and U.K. were held hostage in Tripoli's Rixos Hotel for five days, report CPJ and RSF. CNN's Matthew Chance said the journalists negotiated with armed guards to win their release.

Journalists in the hotel said that snipers were positioned around the property where pro-Gaddafi forces were still operating. According to RSF, they had little access to food and frequent cuts to the power and water supply.

A video from the "Guardian" shows reporters and photojournalists trapped inside.

Journalists who had passed through the Rixos in the past six months said they feared becoming human shields for the regime in the event of a rebel assault, said the "Guardian". Regime officials have regularly accused foreign journalists of being spies and passing information to NATO and rebel forces.

With Gaddafi forces refusing to surrender, journalists continue to be in the firing line. Two French journalists, Paris Match photographer Alvaro Canovas and France 2 cameraman Bruno Girodon, sustained gunshot wounds while covering the fighting around Gaddafi's Bab al-Azizya compound in Tripoli last week, report RSF and CPJ.

A Russian journalist, Orkhan Djamal of the daily "Izvestia", sustained a leg injury during fighting in Tripoli on 22 August, reports RSF.

CPJ and RSF are urging all the parties involved to ensure the safety of journalists in Libya.

ARTICLE 19 is calling on the council to guarantee the right to free expression in the interim Constitutional Charter, in line with international human rights law and standards.

"The absence of freedom of expression under the Gaddafi government led to widespread and systematic human rights violations, and the Transitional National Council has a duty to the people of Libya not to repeat this," said ARTICLE 19.

On the ground there's hope. In Benghazi, which was taken over by rebels in February, young activists are "using every means possible to express themselves," said Shahira Amin, a Libyan journalist and TV anchor who resigned her post as deputy head of state-run Nile TV in February, writing for Index on Censorship.

"The graffiti on the walls, the launch of new radio stations and Internet TV channels, the public debates about their future, the increased volunteerism and political activism are all manifestations of their newfound freedom," she said - signs that Libyans are forging ahead with building a new, democratic Libya.

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

Paraguay: UN Lukewarm to Paraguay Indian Tribe's Concerns

By Eva Weiler

Courtesy IDN-InDepth NewsReport

LONDON (IDN) - Survival International, an organization working for tribal peoples' rights worldwide, is urging the President of Paraguay and head of the government’s Indian affairs department (INDI), to title the threatened Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indian tribe's remaining lands to them without delay.

At the same time, it has criticized the United Nations (UN) for not responding adequately to Indian tribe's complaint.

Survival is concerned that several of the Brazilian companies who own land within the ancestral territory of the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indians in the Chaco have been clearing it illegally. “This is in flagrant violation of injunctions which prohibit any such work in the area," says the movement for tribal people based in London.

The organization warns that the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode have been claiming a small part of their ancestral territory since 1993, but have still only recovered a fraction of it. Some members of the tribe are still uncontacted, and their survival is seriously at risk as more and more of the forest where they live is being destroyed.

"The deforestation is also in clear violation of Paraguay's laws and Constitution, which explicitly recognize the right of the indigenous population to the ownership of their traditional lands," Survival says

What appears to be worse is that Ayoreo Indians in Paraguay have been left amazed by the United Nations' reaction to a formal complaint they issued against a cattle ranching company Yaguarete Porá. The Brazilian company "owns a 78,000 hectare plot in the heart of their territory, very near where uncontacted Ayoreo were recently sighted," reports Survival.

Yaguarete plans to bulldoze most of it to create a cattle ranch – this will have a devastating effect on the Indians’ ability to continue living there, organization points out. Since 1969 many have been forced out of the forest, but some still avoid all contact with outsiders.

In May 2011, Ayoreo leaders issued a formal complaint against the Brazilian company's involvement in the UN Global Compact, an initiative allegedly designed to encourage businesses to comply with environmental and human rights principles.

The Ayoreo pointed out that the company has been found guilty of illegally clearing forest in their ancestral territory and withholding evidence proving that uncontacted Ayoreo Indians are living there.

According to Survival, the UN's response to the Indians' request that it remove the company from the initiative stated, "We have neither the resources nor the mandate to conduct investigations into any of our participants."

But the UN Global Compact has meanwhile written to Yaguarete. However, far from taking issue with its human rights abuses, the UN complained that Yaguarete was displaying its logo without having filled in the necessary form, and asked it to remove the logo from its website. The Global Compact logo immediately disappeared from the company's website.

Survival's Director Stephen Corry said: "This makes an utter mockery of the UN Global Compact. If the UN doesn't make sure companies displaying its logos abide by the rules, such initiatives become entirely meaningless. Yaguarete should be forced to leave the compact immediately."

Yaguarete Porá won Survival International's 'Greenwashing Award' in 2010 for "dressing up the wholesale destruction of a huge area of the Indians' forest as a noble gesture for conservation."

UNPRECEDENTED

In an unprecedented move, Paraguayan authorities have fined the Brazilian cattle-ranching firm accused of illegally clearing forest which is home to the last group of uncontacted Indians outside the Amazon basin.

"The company, Yaguarete Pora SA, concealed key information about the existence of indigenous people in the area where it had a licence to work," said Paraguay’s Environment Ministry (SEAM), which imposed the fine.

Yaguarete failed to acknowledge that the rich forest it is bulldozing in order to graze cattle is the ancestral territory of uncontacted Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indians, some of whom have recently been seen nearby.

SEAM's response is to fine the company approximately 75 million guaranies ($16,000 or £10,500) and order it to write a new report, an 'Environmental Impact Assessment', before considering whether to issue the company with a new licence.

SEAM made it clear that some Totobiegosode, who have already been contacted, have confirmed the existence of uncontacted relatives in the area where Yaguarete has been working.

Yaguarete recently accused Paraguay’s Environment Minister, Oscar Rivas, of working for Survival International after Survival’s exposé of the company's destruction of thousands of hectares of the Totobiegosode's forest, and the subsequent cancellation by SEAM of Yaguarete’s licence to work there.

Survival director, Stephen Corry, said: "Whilst this fine sends out a welcome message, SEAM shouldn’t only fine Yaguarete: it should ban the company from working there. That forest is the ancestral territory of the Totobiegosode, and the Indians have been trying to gain land title to the area since 1993. Destroying that forest is both immoral and unconstitutional."

Of the several different sub-groups of Ayoreo, the most isolated are the Totobiegosode ('people from the place of the wild pigs'). Since 1969 many have been forced out of the forest, but some still avoid all contact with outsiders.

Their first sustained contact with white people came in the 1940s and 1950s, when Mennonite farmers established colonies on their land. The Ayoreo resisted this invasion, and there were killings on both sides.

In 1979 and 1986 the American fundamentalist New Tribes Mission helped organize "manhunts" in which large groups of Totobiegosode were forcibly brought out of the forest. "While several Ayoreo died in these encounters, and others succumbed later to disease," states Survival.

The views expressed by authors or media organisations other than Mike Hitchen, do not necessarily reflect the views of Mike Hitchen Online. This blog aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis. The source of every article is prominently displayed and should be considered when reading.

Thought For The Day: Sep 01, 2011

No one is always right. Not even right is always right

Copyright Mike Hitchen. All rights reserved