Gender Issues: For Big Financial Institutions, Profit Trumps Women's Rights

Republished permission Inter Press Service (IPS )copyright Inter Press Service (IPS)
http://www.ipsnewsasia.net/ and http://www.ipsnews.net/

For Big Financial Institutions, Profit Trumps Women's Rights

By Kanya D'Almeida

This year, for the first time, the World Bank dedicated its 2012 annual flagship World Development Report to women as indispensable players in the global economy and launched a media campaign to "think equal".

But while bold statements and glossy reports paint the picture of benevolent financial institutions throwing money behind the gender justice struggle, the paper trail of IFI investments leads elsewhere – down into mines and barren fields, where big business is reaping private profit at the expense of women's safety, equality and dignity.

Back in 2008, the World Bank acknowledged that less developed countries' reliance on "primary commodity exports" was one of the "leading causes of violent, armed conflict", yet international financial institutions (IFIs) continue to pour money into extraction and other natural resource-based projects, often at a deadly cost to women in the community.

Ever since the World Bank approved 360 million dollars worth of loans for Uganda's Bujagali Dam project, locals have been protesting against the potentially devastating environmental impacts of the dam's construction on Lake Victoria, increased debt burden and the exclusionary nature of a hydropower project in a country where 95 percent of the population is off the national grid.

Today, according to International Rivers, the cost of the dam has risen to about 860 million dollars, as well as an additional 74.7 million dollars for transmission lines.

Of the 6,800 people whose lives are directly and negatively impacted by the project, women in the area have shouldered the lion's share of the burden, which has forced them into an extremely fragile existence.

Breeding violence

Betty Obbo, a Ugandan activist, reported a few months ago that the project's developers – namely the Ugandan government, with financial firepower provided by the World Bank and the African Development Bank – paid scant heed to women's concerns over issues of land acquisition and compensation, even though women in the area are the sole guarantors of a family's food security and the are also the real "managers" of environmental resources.

"Women's involvement and effective participation in all stages of project development would have ensured a more gender-sensitive development with a much higher chance of meeting the needs of affected communities," Obbo said.

Aside from placing a massive existential strain on a community that had hitherto sustained itself off the land, the dam's construction has been "overseen by heavy military gear", an foreboding sign of the violence to come.

Monti Aguirre, Latin America campaigner at International Rivers told IPS, "Too often the big development projects favoured by the IFIs go in the opposite direction of what is actually needed. Resource extraction development projects supported by IFIs nearly always leave women out of the benefits side of the equation."

"Women need development that not only benefits the family but also their community. For example, Ruth Buendia Mestoquiari, an Ashaninka leader from the Ene River in Peru, is working to ensure major developments--dams, logging, oil, mining-- are done responsibly."

"People like Ruth should be at the forefront of planning for development in their region, not left out of the process, as is currently the case," she added.

A recent case study by Gender Action also found that IFI investments in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have fuelled brutal sexual violence against women.

According to Pact, out of two million artisanal and small-scale miners in the DRC, nearly 400,000 are women, fifty percent of them likely under the age of 18.

Gender Action's report stated, "GBV has reached epidemic proportions in the DRC's mineral-rich eastern region, where militia groups use rape as a weapon to control the lucrative supply of coltan, tungsten, tin ore, tantalum, diamonds and gold."

"(In addition), the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) confirmed that GBV is widespread in the DRC's mining regions in 2010," it said.

Despite mountains of evidence that female miners earn appallingly low wages, are constantly vulnerable to rape at the hands of migrant male workers and are physically and emotionally threatened by the omnipresence of armed militias who thrive on the blood money surrounding extraction projects, the IFIs keep investing.

Gender-blind funding

The World Bank has poured 50 million dollars into its "Growth with Governance in the Mineral Sector" project, compared to a total of 3.2 million in all its gender-based violence prevention projects for 2010 combined.

Meanwhile, the Bank's 2003-2012 "Private Sector Development and Competitiveness Project", amounting to 120 million dollars in credit, plus an additional 60 million dollar grant to the DRC, focuses exclusively on high-risk, conflict-prone sectors such as mining, transport, telecom and energy, while ignoring community-development investments in health and education.

The project also ignores existing gender inequalities and, according to numerous NGOs, will likely widen the gap by continuing to pump money into industries that break up families, encourage substance abuse, push women into sex work and give rise to transport corridors that eventually become breeding grounds for sexual violence and sexually transmitted diseases.

"I've always said I've found the World Bank behind a Eucalyptus tree," Vandana Shiva, the renowned Indian environmentalist, told IPS during the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington DC earlier this year.

"I never knew the World Bank forced a certain model of development on the world until, as a researcher at the Institute of Management in Bangalore, I found huge swathes of land being allocated to Eucalyptus plantations."

"At the time I asked myself, why would farmers grow trees that don't belong here, that serve no purpose for the land and offer nothing to the farmer herself?"

"That's when I found World Bank loans behind the project," Shiva added. "Now, every time a local movement or women's collective calls me and says 'help us', behind the crisis, behind the destruction, there's always World Bank lending."

Iran: UK behavior has roots in dead British Empire nostalgia - Larijani

Source: IRNA

Tehran, Dec 1, IRNA – UK's today behavior has roots in its dead British Empire nostalgia, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said here Wednesday.

Speaking to Channel two of the Iranian TV, Larijani noted that the UK hostility toward Iran is historical and they continued to have their past colonial behavior against the Iranian nation even after the 1979 revolution.

'London could have change the way and taken a more logical stand towards Tehran after Iran's revolution,' he said.

The Iranian Parliament Speaker underlined that the Iranian Parliament's decision to reduce the level of relations with the UK is because of that country's adventurous behavior against Iran's national interests.

Referring to the expelling of the Iranian diplomatic staff from UK, he continued that the 'UK officials' reaction to the Iranian students' occupation of UK Embassy in Tehran was amateurish'.
'Diplomatic missions have their own formalities and obligations and they should not be misused against the host countries,' Larijani stated.

The British Foreign Secretary William Hague Wednesday evening in an address at the British House of Commons ordered that the IRI Embassy in London must be shut down and the Iranian diplomats and embassy staffs, too, must leave the country within 48 hours.

'This does not amount to the severing of diplomatic relations in their entirety. It is action that reduces our relations with Iran to the lowest level consistent with the maintenance of diplomatic relations,' said Hague.

The attacks on British Embassy and Qolhak Garden come two days after the Iranian parliament approved a Bill reducing diplomatic relations with Britain following London's support of recently-upgraded US sanctions on Tehran.

The Bill - which marks a new low point in diplomatic tensions between London and Tehran - requires Iran and Britain to withdraw their ambassadors from each other's country and reduce representation to the level of charge d'affaires.

Iranian parliament on Wednesday ratified emergency of a two-star bill which entails reducing of ties with Britain.

The bill received 162 votes in favor from among 198 votes cast by Majlis deputies.
Diplomatic relations between Tehran and London have considerably deteriorated in recent years.

On April 30th, 1980, the Iranian Embassy was overtaken by a six-man terrorist team who held the building for six days and killed two Iranian diplomats.

After the Revolution of Iran in 1979, Britain suspended all diplomatic relations with Iran. Britain did not have an embassy until it was reopened in 1988.

London's illogical opposition to Iran's peaceful nuclear program also continues to remain a serious obstacle in the improvement of Tehran-London ties.

In the aftermath of the 2009 Iranian presidential election, the UK-Iran relations were further tested. On June 19th, 2009, the Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khamenei described the British Government as the 'most evil' of those in the Western countries, saying that the British Government sent spies to Iran to stir emotions at the time of the elections. Iran then proceeded to expel two British diplomats from the country, for their activities which were inconsistent with their diplomatic status.

On June 24th, 2009, the Iranian foreign minister at them Manouchehr Mottaki announced that the country was considering 'downgrading' its ties with the UK.

Four days later it was reported that the Iranian authorities had arrested a number of British Embassy staffs in Tehran citing their 'considerable role' in the unrests.

Syria: U.S. Journalist denounces spy agency activity in Syria

Translated from the Portuguese version by:

Lisa Karpova

Pravda.Ru

From Damascus, U.S. journalist denounces the CIA, Mossad and M16 operating together in Syria

Western countries are doing everything possible to disrupt civil peace in Syria, denounced the writer and American journalist, Webster Tarpley (Vermelho,. Voltaire) in Damascus, the Syrian capital to TV RT (Russia Today). According to him, Syrian civilians have to deal daily with death squads and blind terrorism, which is typical of covert actions of sabotage and destabilization used by the CIA.

Photo: The U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert S. Ford (left) is, according to reliable sources, the key official of the U.S. State Department which has been responsible for the recruitment of Arab terrorists to create "death squads," usually with activists from Al-Qaeda (the funded organization of the CIA) for these same units as in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and Chechnya, to fight now against the Syrian army and police in Syria and to create a civil war in this country

"How does the average Syrian national of all ethnic groups know what is happening?"

People complain that there are terrorist snipers shooting at people. It is blind terrorism, simply for the purpose of destabilizing the country to make the various ethnic groups confront each other. I would not call it civil war - which is a term that deceives and we are mistaken in using it in referring to what is happening today in Syria.

What is happening here is that civilians are being targeted by professional death squads. It comes to a question of terrorist commandos, a typical method used by the CIA. No one knows how they appeared. "In this case, it is a secret and planned joint action by the CIA, MI6 and Mossad, financed with money from Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar," said Webster.

Professor Webster notes that Syrian society is the most tolerant society in the Middle East, the only place where all kinds of people and ethnic groups can live together in a remarkable harmony, Muslims and Christians of all types.

"Syria is a model of peaceful co-existence between different ethnic groups." The policy of the United States seeks to attack this point precisely to disrupt and create chaos in the Middle East and this is essential to attack ethnic lines, so that they face each other in a fratricidal war," he added.

The laws imposed by Syrian President Assad and his performance as a ruler are increasingly called upon and considered illegitimate by the west.

"After the NATO 'humanitarian help' to Libya, which was really a bloodbath, with 150,000 dead and now with Egypt, people are just now only realizing what it was from the beginning - there was no revolution there at all - it was a failure, and now people are beginning to understand this mistake."

Mrs. Clinton and Ms. Rice continue to encourage and promote this model of revolts, called color revolutions. But this time they are using the support of terrorist troops, mercenaries, fundamentalists, the people of Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood."

"There is an ever growing movement among some fundamentalist groups that says: 'We want reconciliation, we want law and order, and we especially want legality,'" Professor Webster Tarpley points out.

Chile: Capt. Ray Davis Indicted in Chile for alleged role in murder of Charles Horman, Frank Teruggi - Read the Documents

Charles Horman

CHILEAN JUDGE REQUESTS EXTRADITION OF U.S. MILITARY OFFICIAL IN "MISSING" CASE

Capt. Ray Davis Indicted in Chile for alleged role in murder of Charles Horman, Frank Teruggi

Declassified U.S. Documents Used Extensively in Court Indictment

Archive Posts Documents cited in Indictment, including FBI Intelligence Reports Containing Teruggi's Address in Chile

National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 366
Edited by Peter Kornbluh and Erin Maskell

Washington D.C., November 30, 2011 – Thirty-eight years after the military coup in Chile, a Chilean judge has formally indicted the former head of the U.S. Military Group, Captain Ray Davis, and a Chilean intelligence officer, Pedro Espinoza for the murders of two American citizens in September 1973. The judge, Jorge Zepeda, said he would ask the Chilean Supreme Court to authorize an extradition request for Davis as an "accessory" to the murders of Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi.

Both Horman and Teruggi were seized separately at their homes in Santiago by Chilean soldiers and subsequently executed while in detention. Their murders, and the seeming indifference of U.S. officials, were immortalized in the Oscar-award winning movie "Missing" which focused on the search by Horman's wife and father for him in the weeks following the U.S.-supported coup.

The indictment accused the U.S. MilGroup of passing intelligence to the Chilean military on the "subversive" activities of Teruggi that contributed to his arrest; it stated that Davis "was in a position" to stop the executions "given his coordination with Chilean agents" but did not do so.

In his indictment, Judge Zepeda cited a number of declassified U.S. government documents as the basic foundation for the case-although none of them tie Davis or Espinoza to the crimes. "These documents are providing the blocks for building a case in these famous killings," said Peter Kornbluh who directs the Chile Documentation Project at the Archive, "but they do not provide a smoking gun." To successfully advance court proceedings as well as a successful extradition request, according to Kornbluh, the judge will have to present concrete evidence of communications between U.S. and Chilean military officers regarding Horman and Teruggi prior to their detentions and their deaths.

The Archive today posted a number of the documents cited in the indictment, including key FBI memos that contained Frank Teruggi's Santiago address, as well as other records relevant to the Horman and Teruggi case. The documents derive from an indexed collection: Chile and the United States: U.S. Policy toward Democracy, Dictatorship, and Human Rights, 1970-1990. The collection, just published this week by the Archive and Proquest, contains over 180 documents on the Horman and Teruggi case.

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Read the Documents:

Document 1
Department of State, SECRET Memorandum, "Charles Horman Case," August 25, 1976

This memo by three state department officers implies that the U.S. government could have prevented the murder of Charles Horman. The memo, written after a review of the files on the case, explains that there is "circumstantial evidence" to suggest "U.S. intelligence may have played an unfortunate part in Horman's death. At best, it was limited to providing or confirming information that helped motivate his murder by the GOC. At worst, U.S. intelligence was aware the GOC saw Horman in a rather serious light and U.S. officials did nothing to discourage the logical outcome of GOC paranoia." When this document was initially declassified pursuant to a FOIA lawsuit filed by the Horman family, this critical passage was blacked out. The document was released without redaction in 1999. It was not cited in Judge Zepeda's indictment, but appears to reflect the judicial argument he is pursuing.

Document 2
Department of State, SECRET, "Charles Horman Case: Gleanings,"(Undated but written in August 1976)

This detailed chronology, based on a review of files available to the State Department, contains key information on what the U.S. knew and did in the case of Charles Horman. It also evaluates the possible role of the U.S. in the murder. The document cites the admissions of a Chilean intelligence agent, Rafael Gonzalez, who told U.S. reporters the story of Horman being interrogated in General Augusto Lutz's office and then killed because "he knew too much." Gonzalez claimed there was an American in the room when the interrogation took place, but decades later he would recant that story. In January 2004, he was indicted by Judge Zepeda in the Horman case as an "accessory to murder" for his role in the interrogation, death and secret burial of Charles Horman.

Document 3
United States Embassy, Unclassified Notice, "Missing United States Citizen," October 9, 1973

This document cited in the indictment, states that the U.S. government has received a note from the Chilean Foreign Office dated October 3, 1973, recording that Charles Horman was detained at the National Stadium on September 20 for a curfew violation but had been released on September 21 for "lack of merit." The document includes a photograph of Horman, his date of birth, address in Chile, and fingerprint classification. Horman was actually detained at his home on September 17, 1973.

Document 4
Department of State, Memorandum (classification excised), "Film by Charles Horman," April 12, 1974

In this memo to Assistant Secretary Harry Shlaudeman, State Department officer George Lister describes the film work of Charles Horman. A film that he apparently worked on before the coup was completed after the coup by friends titled "Chile: With Poems and Guns." (The document leaves the impression that Charles "made" the film, but clearly he did not work on it following the coup.) The film describes Chilean history, and the achievements of the Allende government, along with alleged atrocities of the coup and U.S. involvement. Lister goes so far as to imply that Horman's film making in Chile could have been what "led to his death."

Document 5
Chilean Armed Forces, Memorandum, "Antecedentes sobre Fallecimiento de 2 ciudadanos norteamericanos," Octobeer 30, 1973

Chief of Chilean Military Intelligence Service General Augusto Lutz reports on the death of Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi. He asserts that Horman and Teruggi were political extremists attempting to discredit Chilean junta. While he acknowledges that they were both detained by the Chilean military, he maintains that they were later released and that the Chilean military was not involved in their deaths. The document is the only information known to have been provided by the Chilean military to the U.S. embassy after the disappearance of Horman and Teruggi.

Document 6
U.S. Military Group Chile, Memorandum (classification unknown), "Case of Charles Horman," January 14, 1975

Ray Davis forwards a list of documents on the interactions of the U.S. Military Group in Chile with Charles Horman to be provided to the General Accounting Office. The documents raise the issue of the role of embassy officials in the disappearance and death of Horman, and make "certain allegations and statements about members of the Navy Mission, in Valparaiso; comments about a ride given by COMUSMILGP, Captain Davis."

Document 7
Department of State, CONFIDENTIAL Memorandum, "Horman Case," April 20, 1987

This memorandum of conversation reports on an informant who has appeared at the Embassy to give testimony on the death of Charles Horman. According to this informant, Horman was seized by Chilean intelligence units and taken to the Escuela Militar for questioning. He was then transferred to the National Stadium, where they determined he was an extremist. He was forced to change clothes, shot three times, and his body was dumped on the street to appear he had died in a confrontation. The informant said that "the person at the stadium who made the decision on who was to die was Pedro Espinoza, of later DINA fame." The document is the first to tie Pedro Espinoza to the Horman case. He was involved in military intelligence and detainees at the time of the coup. However, the commander of the National Stadium at the time was another military officer named Jorge Espinosa Ulloa.

Document 8
United States Embassy Santiago, CONFIDENTIAL cable, '[Excised] Reports on GOC Involvement in Death of Charles Horman, Asks Embassy for Asylum and Aid,' April 28, 1987

In a report on the informant's information, the Embassy cables Washington with his account of Horman's death. Horman was picked up in a routine sweep, the informant suggests, and was found in possession of "extremist" materials. He was then taken the National Stadium where he was interrogated and later executed on the orders of Pedro Espinoza. Embassy officials note that his story "corresponds with what we know about the case and the [Chilean government] attempt to cover up their involvement," suggesting that the informant is probably telling the truth. In later cables, the Embassy begins to question the credibility of the informant who is never identified.

Document 9
FBI, SECRET Memorandum, [Frank Teruggi's Contact with Anti-War Activist], October 25, 1972

This FBI report cites information provided by "another U.S. government agency" on Frank Teruggi's contacts with an anti-war activist who resides in West Germany. The report also contains his address in Santiago. The document was generated by surveillance of a U.S. military intelligence unit in Munich on an American anti-war dissident who was in contact with Teruggi. The FBI subsequently decides to open a file on Teruggi. This series of FBI documents were cited by Judge Zepeda in his indictment which infers-but offers no proof-- that intelligence from them was shared with Chilean military intelligence in the days following the coup.

Document 10
FBI, SECRET Memorandum, "Frank Teruggi," October 25, 1972

This FBI memorandum requests investigation of Frank Teruggi and the Chicago Area Group for the Liberation of Americas of which he was a member nearly a year prior to his death following the Chilean coup.

Document 11
FBI, SECRET Memorandum, "[Excised] SM- Subversive," November 28, 1972

This FBI document again requests investigation on Teruggi based on his contact with a political activist in West Germany. The document mentions that Teruggi is living in Chile editing a newsletter "FIN" of Chilean information for the American left, and that he is closely affiliated with the Chicago Area Group for the Liberation of Americas.

Document 12
FBI, Memorandum (classification unknown), "Frank Teruggi," December 14, 1972

This FBI memorandum demonstrates ongoing efforts to gather information on Frank Teruggi in the year proceeding the Chilean coup. Here, the FBI reports on his attendance at a conference of returned Peace Corps volunteers and his membership in political organizations supporting socialism and national liberation movements in Latin America.

Racial Issues: Is there an ‘All-American Muslim’?

Is there an ‘All-American Muslim’?

by Marwa Helal 29 November 2011

New York, New York - The Learning Channel (TLC) recently aired the new reality television programme, "All-American Muslim", amid a great deal of buzz both within and outside the Muslim American community. Set in Dearborn, Michigan, a city that is well known for its large Muslim and Arab populations, the series focuses on American-born Muslims and aims to answer the question: “What is it like to be Muslim in America?”

America’s Muslim population is diverse in ethnicity, class and religious expression. Attending a Friday prayer or better yet, an Eid celebration showcases this diversity at its best – Turkish Americans next to Bosnian Americans, next to Bangladeshi, Malaysian, Indonesian, Indian, Pakistani, Palestinian and African Americans –the list goes on. There are those who attend mosque regularly and others who show up to socialise during the holidays.

While TLC does not claim to represent all Muslim Americans, by focusing only on American Shia Muslims of Lebanese descent living in Detroit, and with a title that claims to speak on behalf of the “All-American Muslim”, the series certainly raises the question of whether it represents the experience of Muslim Americans in general.

The choice of those Americans featured in the show reflects a desire by the producers to represent many of the issues that Muslim Americans face, such as navigating family and religious pressures when it comes to interfaith marriage, or the pros and cons of wearing the hijab (headscarf).

TLC did an excellent job of portraying equal numbers of Muslim women who wear headscarves and those who don’t – a distinction that the average American may be oblivious to. However, their choice to use Arabs for the cast has frustrated many Muslim Americans because it perpetuates the misconception that Arab is synonymous with Muslim. Many Americans may continue to miss the point that there are considerable Arab Christian and Jewish populations on the one hand, and that in fact only about a third of Muslim Americans are Arab, on the other.

Regardless of the question of representation, the cast of the show certainly makes for good entertainment value. With some strong, dynamic female characters, viewers get a closer look at the oft-misconstrued role of women in Islam. The leading women include business owners and housewives, women in headscarves, and others with tattoos.

Chances are that many readers are as sceptical as I am about reality television. Research shows that reality television is not to be trusted – from casting to editing, there are many ways to shape the final product and manipulate viewers’ perceptions. But what is promising is that Muslim Americans are starting to be featured in all types of television programming – from reality television, to comedies, to the Food Network.

Perhaps this is the beginning of a new trend in the media. Perhaps giving greater, and more positive, exposure to Muslim Americans will foster a deeper understanding of how diverse a community it is and the many different roles Muslims play within American society.

I am growing tired of saying this every time I notice a fresh approach toward Muslims in American media, but I will say it again: this is a start. “All-American Muslim" does at least succeed in scratching the surface of a wide range of subcultures within the Muslim American community.

It succeeds in portraying the diversity in Muslim communities beyond the image of the veiled versus unveiled woman. It includes Muslims who both drink and sell alcohol (something that is prohibited in Islam) and those who do not, and portrays those who pray five times a day and those who do not.

If the producers of the show can manage to engage the community in constructive conversations about some of the issues our community has not yet resolved – such as how some Muslims identify themselves as Muslim, though they do not practice or go to the mosque – that in itself would be an achievement.

The show is a potential gateway for Americans to see the stunning diversity within a faith that is often portrayed negatively in the media. Here, viewers perceive Muslims wanting the very same things that most families around the world want: for their children to grow up and be productive citizens and find good partners who make them happy, and simply to do right by each other and by their faith.

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* Marwa Helal is a non-fiction writer and journalist. She is co-founder and creative and editorial director of FEN Magazine (www.fenmag.com), a magazine dedicated to covering Arab American art and artists. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).

Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 29 November 2011, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.

Turkey: Mystery Surrounds Deaths of Defense Industry Engineers

Originally published by EurasiaNet.org

Mystery Surrounds Deaths of Defense Industry Engineers

by Yigal Schleifer

EurasiaNet.org

Is Turkey's defense industry a dangerous place to work? It certainly was for three engineers working for Aselan, a large military-owned defense contractor, all of whom died under mysterious circumstances in 2006 and 2007 that were ultimately ruled suicides. But questions have lingered about the deaths. For example, if one of the engineers, Huseyin Basbilen, had actually committed suicide, why was he found with his throat slit? Could there have been something more to these three deaths? In the case of Basbilen, investigators are now saying he was murdered. From a Hurriyet report about the case:

A Turkish engineer working on secret military projects was murdered and did not commit suicide, a court-appointed criminal expert has said, contradicting previous explanations for the man’s death in 2006.

Hüseyin Başbilen, an engineer at Turkey's military research and development enterprise, Aselsan, was found dead in his car on Aug. 7, 2006. A court ruled in 2009 that he committed suicide.

The case was reopened by a specially authorized prosecutor in Ankara as part of the "Ergenekon" investigation, which is probing an alleged ultranationalist gang that stands accused of attempting to overthrow the present government by force.

The criminal expert said Başbilen was not alone in his car at the time of death, drawing on material evidence, photographs and video recordings from scene of the incident, Arzu Yıldız of daily Taraf reported.

Other people’s fingerprints were found in the car, and his briefcase was planted in the vehicle after his death, the criminal expert's report said.

Meanwhile, veteran military analyst and Today's Zaman columnist Lale Kemal ups the ante regarding the engineers' deaths, suggesting in a column today that they might have been killed because of their work on making Turkey less dependent on foreign weapons suppliers. Turkey in recent years has been making a concerted push to develop its own weapons industry, promising to build its own fighter jet and light-duty helicopter, and recently launching its first domestically produced naval patrol boat. Were some interests looking to sabotage Turkey's efforts? Kemal (who is no crackpot) suggests so. From her piece:

Back in 2004, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) made a major policy shift in the Turkish defense industry to lessen as much as possible Turkey's dependence on third countries, which stood at around 80 percent at the time when it came to critical military technology. Under the new policy, Turkey abandoned the joint arms systems production model with foreign companies that had not helped at all to create a strong Turkish defense industry base. In this model, Turkey's foreign partners had always been major and leading defense industry companies in the world. Third countries normally prefer to buy arms from a source country building the arms system instead of, for example, from Turkey jointly building the same systems with these major companies. Therefore, the joint partnership model neither helped Turkish defense exports nor contributed to producing Turkish military technology.

Resorting to such wrong models had a direct link to the Turkish state mentality of buying military products off the shelf from major producers instead of making any effort to indigenously build critical arms systems. This mindset increased Turkish dependence on third countries when it comes to critical technology while Turkish arms expenditures always formed the largest bulk of the budget of Turkish ministries.

However, as a result of the 2004 policy, Turkey at least reduced to a certain extent its dependence on foreign technology from abroad while focusing on producing certain arms systems domestically instead of buying them from abroad.

Turkey's ongoing policy of creating a strong defense industry base is also understood to have reduced the appetite of those foreign companies and their local partners, who earned large sums of money at the expense of Turkish taxpayers through marketing the self-defense projects to Turkish buyers.

Aselsan engineer Başbilen, now suspected to have been murdered, was working on a project stipulating the development of a local tank through the maximum usage of local industry capabilities after the government in 2004 canceled the joint production of 1,000 tanks with a foreign company. As a matter of fact, Turkey signed a tank production agreement with local companies in 2006, several months after Başbilen's mysterious death.

Therefore, the years in which Turkish engineers were found dead coincided with the years in which Turkey was at a turning point in boosting its defense industry base.

Reopening old cases where individuals have died under mysterious (or even not so mysterious) circumstances has actually become something of a national pastime in Turkey over the last few years, particularly because of the influence of the sprawling Ergenekon case, which deals with an alleged plot by secularist ultranationalists to topple the Turkish government. Many Turks also believe Ergenekon was behind numerous assassinations and unexplained deaths over the last few decades. For example, a prosecutor in Ankara is currently looking into the 1993 death of Turkish President Turgut Ozal, who died of a heart attack. Members of Ozal's family believe he was poisoned.

Myanmar: A New Peace Initiative

Source: International Crisis Group

Since taking office in March 2011, President Thein Sein has moved remarkably quickly to implement reforms. He has reached out to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, released significant numbers of political prisoners, cut back on media censorship and signed a new law allowing labour unions to form. On the eve of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s early December visit, key benchmarks set by Western countries imposing sanctions, such as releasing political prisoners and creating the conditions for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) to join the political process, appear well on their way to being met. Now, a bold peace initiative has given hope the country’s biggest challenge – the devastating 60-year-long civil war between the government and ethnic groups – can also be resolved.

Until very recently, the conflict situation had not been looking positive. As preparations for the new civilian government were being made in recent years, the outgoing military administration aggravated already fraying relationships with the ethnic minorities. Ceasefires collapsed as it tried to impose a new border guard force scheme on the armed groups that would have brought their soldiers under national army command. Stepped up fighting and treating their long-standing political grievances as a security problem did not address core concerns of making peace, promoting equality, ending human rights abuses, providing economic opportunity, equitable resource sharing and strengthening regional autonomy. President Thein Sein came to power pledging to make the ethnic issue a national priority, offering dialogue with all armed groups and dropping key preconditions for talks but found these words were not enough. He now needs to follow through on the new peace initiative with actions that convince sceptical ethnic communities that he means what he says.

Myanmar has been at war with its own minorities almost since independence in 1948. The military regime that came to power in 1988 temporarily neutralised its largest military threat in the borderlands by signing ceasefire agreements with a number of ethnic armed groups. The ceasefires should have been a watershed, from war to peace and armed to political struggle, but this failed to happen. Instead, these agreements grew stale as promised political talks never materialised and then collapsed when the military government tried by decree to incorporate ethnic armies into a border guard force ahead of a long-planned transition to a new structure of constitutional government.

In his inaugural speech in March, the president laid out a broad reform agenda to catch up with a changing world. As part of this, he acknowledged the importance of the ethnic minority issue, and pledged to make it a national priority. The upsurge in fighting around the same time he took office contradicted his rhetoric and cast a shadow over the reform efforts. It also led to great scepticism on the part of ethnic minority leaders, who felt that once again their grievances were not being accorded genuine national priority.

After his initial speeches on ethnic reconciliation did not promote the kind of dialogue hoped for, the president moved decisively to build momentum behind a new peace initiative. His government has reached out to all armed groups, offering first more flexible terms, including dropping the demand for the groups to become border guard forces, and then an unprecedented national conference to seek political solutions to ethnic divisions. This has convinced some of the major ethnic groups to sign peace agreements and others to agree to verbal ceasefires, with written agreements to be signed in the coming weeks.

While these developments mark one of the most significant moments in the six decades of conflict, lasting peace is still not assured. Ethnic minority grievances run deep, and bringing peace to the country will take more than reaching agreements with the armed groups – it requires addressing the grievances and aspirations of all minority populations, whether or not they are pursuing armed struggle. Renewed clashes with one large group, the Kachin Independence Organisation, have been intense and have created further bad blood on both sides, making any peace agreement more difficult. The new more open political process offers a framework within which these issues could be addressed, but it will require an honest reckoning with the failures of the past and a fundamental re-thinking of the way the country deals with its multi-ethnic make up. A lasting solution to the problem requires going beyond just stopping the wars. Multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious Myanmar can only achieve genuine national unity and reconciliation by embracing its diversity.

As the international community takes stock of the situation, it must understand the complexities of the conflict. There is a positive role for outsiders to play, especially neighbours such as China and Thailand, but it would be foolhardy for the West to make resolving such deep-seated domestic grievances a prerequisite for improving bilateral relations or beginning to lift sanctions. Encouraging the government in Myanmar to find its own way to stop the fighting and address key political concerns of ethnic communities, however, would simultaneously help meet key Western benchmarks on political prisoners, human rights and democracy, as fixing these problems would also be an important part of reconciliation with the country’s ethnic constituencies. The greatest improvements to human rights observance would come from tackling these conflicts. Once peace agreements are reached, there is an important role for donor countries in providing development assistance and peacebuilding support to these areas.

This report, Crisis Group’s first focusing exclusively on the ethnic conflict since 2003, is based primarily on field research carried out in Myanmar, as well as in China and Thailand, over the past several months.

Afghanistan: More than 120 Muslim Leaders Commit to the Future of Afghanistan During International Conference in Turkey

SOURCE George Mason University

From every province of Afghanistan, Imams and civil society leaders will meet together today with Islamic scholars for the first time during the Islamic Cooperation for a Peaceful Future in Afghanistan conference, an unprecedented gathering that opens today in Istanbul, Turkey. More than 80 Afghan scholars will meet with over 20 of the world's most prestigious Muftis and Islamic scholars, with millions of followers across the world, from Pakistan to Indonesia.

The conference participants consider this gathering, discussion and commitment for peace and non-violence as the establishment of a historically significant point of reference for Islamic teachings of moderation, tolerance, peace and cooperation.

The conference is an academic forum created by the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution (CRDC) at George Mason University, together with a highly distinguished Afghanistan advisory board, Marmara University in Turkey, and the Grand Mufti of Istanbul. The conference is designed to foster and provide a safe venue for intensive conversations on peace, Islam and the future of Afghanistan. The conference opening will be observed by senior Turkish officials, senior diplomats from the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), including U.S. President Barack Obama's Special Envoy and the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Turkey.

The goal of the conference is to empower Afghan religious leaders who are committed to peace and cooperation, and help them create a tolerant civic space wherein the Afghan people and their leaders can jointly move toward stability, peace and prosperity.

Aziz Abu Sarah, Co-director of CRDC commented, "There are deep concerns about the use of religious interpretations—often misinterpretations—in justifying violence, particularly against civilians, religious leaders, places of worship, and cultural heritage in Afghanistan and beyond. I believe the participants hope for a responsible and pro-active role in peacemaking and peacebuilding via dialogue and non-violence."

Neamatollah Nojumi, Senior Fellow of CRDC and critical architect of the project concluded, "This alignment of scholars inside and outside Afghanistan will give great strength to Afghan civil and spiritual leaders, and will set the foundation of a new spirit of cooperation with practical projects for nonviolent civil society that will be announced in the near future."

Ethiopia: US Department of Labor awards $10 million to combat child labor in Ethiopia

SOURCE U.S. Department of Labor

The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs has awarded a $10 million cooperative agreement to World Vision to combat exploitative child labor in Ethiopia that will focus on child labor in rural areas and the traditional weaving industry.

"The United States is working with the international community to end all exploitative child labor by 2016," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Our grant will provide increased education and awareness, and critical assistance to families and governments to help bring us closer to our goal."

The project will take a comprehensive approach in addressing exploitative child labor, in cooperation with the Ethiopian government, at the local and national levels. Funds will be used to reintegrate children into formal or non-formal education systems and to transition children of legal working age to vocational education and apprenticeship training. Vulnerable families also will be linked to income-generating opportunities that reduce reliance on child labor. Through collaboration with the University of Gondar, the grantee will raise awareness and train labor inspectors on child labor laws as well as occupational safety and health standards.

Egypt: Same as old boss? New Egypt fails 'virginity test'

Egypt witnessed unprecedented scenes as millions turned out to vote for their future. But Tahrir protesters who boycotted the polls remain skeptical. With doubts already over the influence a new parliament will have, they're sure the autocratic hand of the military will continue to rule the country. RT's Anissa Naouai reports.

Discrimination: CSI Issues Genocide Warning for Religious Minorities in the Middle East

SOURCE Christian Solidarity International (CSI)

Christian Solidarity International (CSI) issued a Genocide Warning today for endangered religious minorities in the Islamic Middle East, and called on President Barack Obama to make their survival a priority as the United States responds to the "Arab Spring".

CSI simultaneously launched a petition to the President, asking him to respond to the upsurge of violence against religious minorities in the Middle East in his upcoming State of the Union Address.

Christians, Jews, Baha'i, Yezidis, Sabeans, and Ahmadias, numbering collectively over 12 million, are among the endangered minorities.

Writing today to President Obama, Dr. John Eibner, CEO of CSI-USA, stated:

"Conditions for genocide against non-Muslim communities exist in varying degrees throughout the region stretching from Pakistan to Morocco. The crisis of survival for non-Muslim communities is especially acute in Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Sudan, the Palestinian territories, Iran and Pakistan."

Eibner also reminded President Obama of genocide warnings issued this year by French President Nicholas Sarkozy and former Lebanese President Amine Gemayal.

He furthermore recalled the President's May 19 speech on events in the Middle East, in which he committed to establish universal human rights, including religious freedom, as "a top priority that must be translated into concrete actions, and supported by all of the diplomatic, economic and strategic tools at our disposal."

CSI urged President Obama to present in his State of the Union Address a Middle East policy that includes:

1. An appeal to the UN Secretary General for the issuance of a Genocide Warning and implementation of preventative measures on the basis of Security Council Resolution 1366 (2001),
2. The commitment of at least 15% of US funding pledged for the support of democratic transition in the region to be devoted to combating Islamic supremacism, and
3. A pledge to withhold U.S. funding for institutions that promote religious discrimination.

Eibner concluded his letter to the President stating: "Millions of lives and the future of a religiously pluralistic civilization in the Middle East are at stake."

Latin America: Poverty levels fall to lowest in two decades

UN - Poverty rates in Latin America have dropped to their lowest levels in 20 years, according to a new United Nations report which highlights public spending levels as one of the key factors that has allowed the continent to continue to grow despite the global economic crisis.

Between 1990 and 2010, the poverty rate decreased from 48.4 per cent to 31.4 per cent, while the rate of indigence – or extreme poverty – fell from 22.6 per cent to 12.3 per cent.

The decline in both rates is mainly due to an increase in wages, according to the latest report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Public money transfers were also a contributing factor, but to a much lesser extent.

The report, presented yesterday in Santiago, Chile, predicts that the region will close this year with 174 million people living in poverty compared to 177 million in 2010.

“Poverty and inequality continue to decline in the region, which is good news, particularly in the midst of an international economic crisis,” said ECLAC’s Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena.

The report also forecasts that the poverty rate will continue to drop in the next year. However, it states that the indigence rate may have slightly increased (up to 12.8 per cent) because of the rise in food prices.

The report reveals that public spending, and in particular social expenditure, received a significant boost in most countries over the past 20 years.

“In response to the global economic crisis, the countries opted to temporarily expand public spending rather than to shrink it, which was the action traditionally taken. Although, the emphasis is not always placed on society, expansion still prevented the rise in unemployment and social vulnerability,” the report reads.

The report spotlights countries that had substantial drops in poverty in the past year, including Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia.

However, Ms. Bárcena warned that progress is threatened by gaps in the productive structure of the region and by labour markets without social protection. Only four out of every 10 workers with formal work are enrolled in the social security system, with a large majority of older persons, women, and workers in rural areas being left out of its benefits.

“To jointly improve productive convergence, labour institutionality and universal social protection in Latin America, steps towards fiscal pacts and social dialogue must be taken,” said Ms. Bárcena.

The report also discusses fertility in the continent, observing that over the past 50 years, the fertility rate dropped rapidly, compared with a moderate drop in adolescent fertility. In addition, a chapter on the Caribbean has been included for the first time, which warns of the high level of unemployment and incidence of HIV/AIDS among young people.

Bahrain: Bahrain's Ambassador to the United States Welcomes the Findings of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

SOURCE Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain

Bahrain's Ambassador to the United States, Houda Nonoo, welcomed the official report and findings of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI). The BICI, chaired by Dr. Cherif Bassiouni, is a fact finding group tasked with establishing the truth regarding events that transpired during Bahrain's unrest earlier this year. The BICI released its official report on November 23. The commission's findings were publicly read in front of Bahrain's royal leadership, cabinet ministers, members of parliament, human rights groups, journalists and others. Ambassador Nonoo stated:

"Bahrain's government is committed to reform, and to implementing progressive policies that will help achieve reconciliation for all Bahrainis. We are committed to that path because the future of Bahrain and its people relies on a meaningful unification strategy.

"The decision made by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to uncover the hard truths about what happened during the unrest was commended by world leaders as an unprecedented and courageous step. This is the first time an independent commission of internationally recognized human rights experts has ever been formed by an Arab nation to voluntarily investigate unrest in its own country.

"The truth of the events that transpired in our country was not easy to hear. But these truths are now Bahrain's reality, and the government has accepted these truths as the foundation from which our reform process will move ahead. His Majesty King Hamad established a National Commission to implement recommendations of the BICI report. The 20-member Commission represents a broad cross-section of Bahraini society and will conclude its work by the end of February 2012.

"Bahrain's comprehensive National Dialogue which ended in July produced 291 recommendations that further strengthen all aspects of our government and society. The process of implementing these recommendations has already begun. National Dialogue attendees also recommended that Bahrain adhere and commit to upholding international human rights standards and the government is working vigorously to achieve that goal.

"Our strong relationship with the U.S. is now more than a century old. We are home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, and we are proud that American servicemen and women work from the shores of Bahrain to maintain peace and security in the region. True friends are honest with one another during challenging times. Bahrain's partnership with the United States on all levels is crucial, now and in the future."

War Crimes: Côte d’Ivoire - "Ivorian victims will see justice for massive crimes"

Laurent Gbagbo, the former president of Côte d’Ivoire, arrived at the International Criminal Court (ICC) today to face charges of crimes against humanity committed during the post-election violence that began in the West African nation nearly a year ago.

The 66-year-old was yesterday surrendered to the ICC, which is based in The Hague in the Netherlands, by Ivorian national authorities. His initial appearance before the pre-trial chamber will be held promptly, the court said in a news release.

Mr. Gbagbo allegedly bears individual criminal responsibility, as indirect co-perpetrator, for four counts of crimes against humanity, namely murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and other inhuman acts, committed in Côte d’Ivoire between 16 December 2010 and 12 April 2011.

“Mr. Gbagbo is brought to account for his individual responsibility in the attacks against civilians committed by forces acting on his behalf. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty and will be given full rights and the opportunity to defend himself,” ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in a statement.

“Ivorian victims will see justice for massive crimes. Mr. Gbagbo is the first to be brought to account, there is more to come,” he added.

In early October the ICC authorized the Prosecutor to probe alleged abuses committed during the bloody unrest in Côte d’Ivoire, which erupted when Mr. Gbagbo refused to step down after he lost the United Nations-certified election to Alassane Ouattara, who was eventually sworn in after Mr. Gbagbo surrendered in April.

According to sources quoted by the prosecution in its application, at least 3,000 people were killed, 72 disappeared and 520 others were subject to arbitrary arrest and detentions during the post-election violence.

It was “one of the worst episodes of violence Côte d’Ivoire has ever known, with ordinary Ivorians suffering immensely and crimes allegedly committed by both parties,” said Mr. Moreno-Ocampo.

“We have evidence that the violence did not happen by chance: widespread and systematic attacks against civilians perceived as supporting the other candidate were the result of a deliberate policy.”

The Prosecutor added that investigations are continuing. “Leaders must understand that violence is no longer an option to retain or gain power,” he stated.

“The time of impunity for these crimes is over.”

Middle East: 'Palestine-Israel Peace Long Overdue'

By Jaya Ramachandran
Courtesy IDN-InDepth NewsReport

GENEVA (IDN) - Some two months after the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas transmitted Palestine's application for membership to the United Nations to the Secretary-General, high-ranking UN officials have reiterated the need for a just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine, which also ensures the rights of Palestinian Bedouin people.

Recalling that sixty-four years ago on November 29, the General Assembly adopted a resolution, dividing the territory known as "mandatory Palestine" into two States; one Jewish, one Arab, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message, "the establishment of a ‎Palestinian State, living in peace next to a secure Israel, is long overdue".‎

Ban led a chorus of UN officials on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which has been observed annually on November 29 since 1977, marking 30 years of the partition of the Palestinian state in 1947.

"The need to resolve this conflict has taken on greater urgency with the historic ‎transformations taking place across the region," Ban said and called on "the Israeli and Palestinian ‎leadership to show courage and determination to seek an agreement for a two-State ‎solution that can open up a brighter future for Palestinian and Israeli children."

Such a ‎solution must end the occupation that began in 1967, and meet legitimate security ‎concerns, he added. "Jerusalem must emerge from negotiations as the ‎capital of two States, with ‎arrangements for the holy sites acceptable to all. And a just and agreed solution must be ‎found for millions of Palestinian refugees scattered around the region," Ban stressed.

Palestinian Bedouin communities

Expressing his solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle for self-determination, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Richard Falk, called urgent attention to the plight of the Palestinian Bedouin people of the occupied West Bank. "The recent unprecedented pressure by Israeli authorities and settlers to expel Palestinian Bedouin communities from Area C is deplorable, illegal and must cease."

Falk, a U.S. national, was designated in 2008 by as the UN Human Rights Council as fifth Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights on Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. The mandate was originally established in 1993 by the UN Commission on Human Rights.

The UN rights experts said in recent months, approximately 2,300 Bedouins who reside in 20 impoverished communities in the hills east of Jerusalem have been informed by the Israeli authorities that they must leave the area, as part of a plan to expel Bedouin communities living in Area C, where Israel exercises total control. Reports indicate that the relocation plan may be implemented in early January 2012.

Falk stressed that "[t]he proposed relocation of the Palestinian Bedouins, without the free and informed consent of the communities, amounts to forced transfer of protected persons under international humanitarian law." International law prohibits the forced transfer of civilians living under occupation, unless temporarily required for their own security or military necessity. "The Israeli authorities’ expulsion of the Bedouins would meet none of these conditions," he said.

Besides, the destruction or confiscation of private civilian property, including homes, as well as the transfer of settlers into occupied territory, is prohibited. Israel, as the Occupying Power, is obligated to protect the residents of the occupied territory and to administer the territory for the benefit of the residents. The establishment and expansion of settlements is a direct breach of these obligations, Falk reminded Israel.

"The proposed transfer of Bedouin communities raises a number of concerns under human rights law, especially with respect to forced eviction and forced displacement," noted the Special Rapporteur. Forced evictions transgress the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which Israel is party. Israel's claim that the Covenant does not apply in the occupied territory has been rejected by all human rights treaty oversight bodies, he said.

The Palestinian Bedouins are the most deprived ethnic group in the occupied territory, residing in the Area C of the West Bank. More than 80 percent of the Bedouins are registered as 1948 refugees originally from the Negev. Over 66 percent are children. The communities have all lost access to land due to settlement expansion.

Most have demolition orders against their homes. None have access to the electricity network and only half are connected to the water network. Despite receiving humanitarian assistance, 55 percent of Bedouin communities in Area C are food insecure. The communities are located in an area intended for further Israeli settlement expansion, as set forth in the E1 plan that envisages a major expansion of the unlawful Ma'ale Adumim settlement, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said.

If implemented, these plans, along with the continued construction of the Separation Wall, seriously encroach upon Palestinian growth and development prospects. They also further cut territorial contiguity between the northern and southern parts of the West Bank, creating two nearly separate areas.

Even more shockingly, Israel proposes to relocate these Bedouin near Jerusalem’s principle garbage dump. The garbage dump pose would a serious health hazard to the communities, and would make it impossible for them to carry on their traditional lifestyles based on herding and nomadic agriculture.

Falk concluded “[t]he forty-four yearlong Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands continues to manifest itself in deprivation and denial of basic rights of Palestinians. Every year, on this International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we are reminded of Israeli authorities’ invidious schemes to permanently empty Palestine of Palestinians. This prolonged human catastrophe must be brought to an end once and for all. Only then can the rights of Palestinians can be realized."

Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro called for translating solidarity into positive action as she addressed UN Headquarters’ observance of the Day, which also featured remarks by a number of senior UN officials.

UNGA President concerned

"The international community must help steer the situation towards a historic peace agreement," she told the meeting. "Failing to overcome mistrust will only condemn further generations of Palestinians and Israelis to conflict and suffering."

General Assembly President Nasser Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, a Qatari, told the gathering that everything must be done to alleviate the daily suffering of the Palestinian people. "The humanitarian situation on the ground is a source of great concern," he said.

Speaking on the occasion of General Assembly Item 37, "Question of Palestine", Al-Nasser said: "This year, and today in particular, the General Assembly has a special responsibility to renew and reaffirm its commitment to finding a just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine. It is my conviction that the General Assembly has a role to play."

He added: "We should continue to work collectively for the attainment of a just and comprehensive negotiated peace settlement in the Middle East. A peace settlement that results in two viable, sovereign and independent States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within recognized pre-1967 borders."

Stating that in the short term, there is need to "take steps to alleviate the daily suffering of the Palestinian people," he urged the 193 member states to solidify their valuable contributions to the work of United Nations Relief and Works agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which together non-governmental organizations and civil society at large, has "played a critical role in alleviating the suffering of the growing Palestinian refugee population." They have done so under extreme political and financial conditions. [IDN-InDepthNews – November 30, 2011]

Picture: Special meeting on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People | Credit: UN

Opinion: Poverty - it's a numbers game

A recent United Nations report boasts poverty levels in Latin America have fallen to their lowest in two decades. In fact, there are now only 174 million people living in poverty compared to 177 million in 2010.

Maybe it's just me, but 174 million people still seems like one hell of a lot of people. As for the three million who apparently have escaped poverty, I doubt they are much better off than they were before - they just scraped across an artificial UN barrier.

Maybe I am just being rather cynical about the numbers, the back-slapping, the fancy words and technical terms used to describe poverty levels.

Maybe those who think they are poor are just imagining it due to the lack of food, money and ability to buy the basic necessities of life.

Quote: "To jointly improve productive convergence, labour institutionality and universal social protection in Latin America, steps towards fiscal pacts and social dialogue must be taken" Try telling that to a mother trying to feed her kids.

But I guess such reports do have to have to have figures, calculations and percentages, so that being the case, how about this for a simple answer...

One Percent.

Thought For The Day: Dec 01, 2011

A good question is the trip wire that can bring down those who think they have all the answers