How things have changed. The People Power colour revolutions have spluttered and now faded away as reality starts to bite, as it becomes increasingly apparent that people are not easily duped by pie-in-the-sky promises and crucially, as it becomes blatantly obvious that each nation occupies a cultural space that has to be respected.

 

It therefore comes as no surprise that Viktor Yanukovych has won the Ukrainian Presidential election against Yulia Tymoshenko. And even less of a surprise that the darling of the West, the pock-marked face of the Orange Revolution, outgoing President Viktor Yushchenko is a political nobody in no-man's land. The Ukrainians did not want to join NATO, the Ukrainians did not want to be colonised by the European Union. They want jobs, they want schools, they want hospitals, they want to eat.

 

The first results from exit polls would indicate a clear victory for Viktor Yanukovych with around 49.42% of the vote, with Yulia Timoshenko garnering around 44.46%, a lead of five points.

 

Will we once again witness a sea of protesters in Independence Square, Kiev, chanting "Razom nas bahato! Nas ne podolaty!" (Together we are many! We cannot be defeated!), as was the case in November 2004? In a word, no. Independence Square is empty, the Orange revolution has run out of steam; in fact it never came to the boil.

 

Why? Because it never amounted to anything more than hype created by meddlesome Western influences which wanted Ukraine in NATO. Ukraine and the Ukrainians were used by the arms lobby and Yushchenko was the pawn, the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

President Viktor Yushchenko stepped on thin ice the final days of the campaign: He named a controversial nationalist a "Hero of Ukraine."  Only after collecting a humiliating 5% of the vote in the first round of the elections did he make his declaration.  In Ukraine's most avidly Western-leaning, anti-Russian city, news that the rare honor had been bestowed on Stepan Bandera was met with jubilation. Disgust and dismay swept the Russian-speaking provinces, where Bandera is remembered for what he really was:  a Nazi collaborator.

In a letter to Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, the Simon Wiesenthal Center expressed "deepest revulsion" over the decision to honor Bandera, "who collaborated with the Nazis at the beginning of World War II, and whose followers were linked to the murders of thousands of Jews and others."

Yushchenko has been a petty, inept, corrupt dictator.  He lost almost all voter support during a long series of feuds with prime minister and one-time ally,Yulia Tymoshenko.  They both engaged in a competition of who could undo the other's actions.  The result:  total disaster and imminent economic collapse for Ukraine.

 

In the January election, President Yushchenko received less than six per cent of the vote. For some reason. Firstly, Viktor Yushchenko is an academic. He belongs behind the cloistered walls of a University, not in real life. His foray into the real world saw him destroy any political credibility and saw his power base shrink from half of the electorate to a handful of people with poor judgement. Hence his total isolation from the people, his isolation in parliament.

 

Viktor Yushchenko's idea for the Ukrainian people was to take pot-shots at Moscow, hoping in the process to carve out a national identity. Blind to the problems that his pro-NATO stance would cause not only with Moscow but among the Ukrainians themselves (66% of the population are strongly opposed to any notion of joining the Organization), blind to the effects his russophobic measures would have (33% of Ukrainians speak Russian as their mother tongue), blind to the fury his move to evict the Russian Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol would cause, the result of his failed policies is staring him in the face.

 

Yushchenko's foolish policies saw Ukraine lose its energy subsidies from Russia and saw his country humiliated in the international community as the Ukrainians started stealing Russian energy supplies in transit to Western Europe. He armed Georgia in its murderous act of aggression against Russians, siding with the war criminal Saakashvili.

 

At home, he promised economic prosperity but shamefully mismanaged the economy to such an extent that the Hryvnia lost half its value and managed to become indebted to the IMF, receiving loans which always have neo-conservative and anti-social strings attached.

 

Where now?

 

Tymoshenko's calls of foul play have been dismissed as officials said they had not received any reports of serious violations during the voting.  "The second round got underway smoothly, without blatant violations of public order," Volodymyr Mayevsky, the head of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's public security department, told a news conference in Kyiv.

Petulant Tymoshenko called for street demonstrations, but apparently Ukrainians have had enough of her crying wolf constantly.  The results of responding to her calls have turned out quite badly for them.

 As all exit polls indicated no less than a 5 percent advantage for Viktor Yanukovich in the election, Tymoshenko's threats and sour grapes might throw the election into the courts. The Orange Revolution spelt five years of paralysis for Ukraine. It was an abject failure.

 

Lisa KARPOVA

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

Yanukovich Yushchenko Tymoshenko

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Western Museums are brimming with cultural heritage...from other countries. The Elgin Marbles are just one set of tens of thousands of artefacts looted from distant lands during colonial or imperialist times. However, the same desecration of cultural heritage continues. How many of the 13,000 artefacts stolen from Baghdad National Museum are today in the United States of America?

 

The list was drawn up and given to Vice-President Richard (Dick) Cheney before the first US or British soldier set foot in Iraq. It was a shopping list of archaeological treasures which the White House cronies wanted to see on their shelves in Rhode Island, in Maryland, in Virginia. UNESCO claims that when the Baghdad National Museum was looted in April 2003, 13,000 objects disappeared. How many of these are sitting in private homes in the USA?

 

Much was written about the theft of The Scream painting by Munch in Oslo, 1994. Yet what is the difference between the theft of a painting from a Museum and the wholesale pillage and desecration of cultural heritage perpetrated by invading powers over the centuries? As public interest in Ancient Egypt was revived during Napoleon Bonaparte's Expedition to Egypt (1798-1801), the Louvre's Department of Egyptian Antiquities was set up and "scholars" flocked to Egypt to fill their pockets in the same way in which US troops filled their suitcases in Iraq and Afghanistan, where Kabul National Museum, which once had one of the world's richest collections, has lost 90% of its artefacts. Where are they?

 

Yet not only the French and Americans are guilty of what amounts to wholesale looting of a country's cultural heritage, The British thought nothing of filling their museums with "spoils of war" from the French, which included the Rosetta Stone, today sitting in the British Museum alongside antiquities from Babylon, Greece, Rome, Assyria, Persia, Egypt. How were these "collections" put together?

 

Let us take as a possible answer the case of the Elgin Marbles, made to decorate the Parthenon after the victory against the Persians at Plataea in 479 BCE. During its troubled history the Parthenon was turned into a Christian church, then a Catholic Church (by the Franks), then a Mosque (by the Turks) and was blown up by the Venetian Commander Morosini. The British Ambassador to Athens from 1799-1803, Lord Elgin, obtained permission from the occupying Ottoman authorities to remove pieces from the Acropolis, which he shipped back to Britain. Among these were the "Elgin Marbles"

 

The British Parliament then debated the fate of the marble plaques, exonerated Lord Elgin from his act of vandalism and looting and the British Government bought them for the British Museum, where they have stayed since 1816.

 

This State-sponsored desecration has continued time and again throughout the centuries and throughout the world. Countless treasures from Latin America, from Africa, from Europe, from Asia have been stolen and carted off to foreign lands as part of private collections or worse, state-sponsored museums. The times of "This is ours and that is yours" as lines are drawn on maps apparently continue (cf. Kosovo).

 

Cultural heritage belongs to nobody while it belongs to everybody. If in the past Paris or London had the best conditions to house collections looted from abroad, today the globalization of knowledge has seen the possibility to construct excellent technical conditions to house the original collections in their places of origin where they belong, while faithful replicas are shown elsewhere.

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

 

 

 

 

 

heritage loot booty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The meeting on Thursday between the new President of the Russian Football Union Sergei Fursenko and the Manager of Russia's national soccer team Guus Hiddink ended with a decision for the Dutchman to stay in charge of the team he led to the bronze medal in EURO 2008 for a further two years.

 

The speculation is over. Guus Hiddink stays as Chief Coach of the Russian national soccer team for a further two years after his contract runs out in June, giving him the chance to lead Russia to the UEFA finals in 2012 in Poland-Ukraine. Guss Hiddink arrived in charge of Russia in 2006 and led the team through a brilliant qualifying phase to the finals of the UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria-Switzerland, finishing in equal third place with Turkey.

 

Under Hiddink, Russia finished second in the qualifying group for the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa behind Germany, with 22 points - the best second place, and enough to win several other groups outright. Everything seemed set for a victorious outcome in the play-off over two legs with Slovenia. It ended in disaster, with a 2-1 win in Moscow and a 1-0 defeat away in Maribor in a disorganised, lacklustre and tired performance which saw the team as a shadow of itself just one year previously. Slovenia qualified for South Africa on away goals. Russia will watch the finals on TV.

 

Guss Hiddink's success as a coach is enviable: With PSV Eindhoven, he won the Dutch First Division Championship six times, (1986/87, 1987/88, 1988/89 2002/03, 2004/05 and 2005/06), the UEFA Champions League in 1987/88 and the Dutch Cup three times (1987/88, 1988/89 and 1989/90). To this he added the World Clubs Title with Real Madrid in 1998 and the English FA Cup with Chelsea in 2008/9.

 

As a national team coach, he took Holland and South Korea to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, respectively, in 1998 and 2002 and in 2006, guaranteed Australia their first presence in a World Cup final stage in 32 years.

 

Fursenko ambitious

 

The new President of the Russian Football Union is Sergei Fursenko, ex-President of Zenit S. Petersburg, who has high ambitions and has made it clear that Hiddink will take on much more than simply managing the senior soccer team, but rather "the development of our game" as he stated in an interview with Russia 24.

 

The first objective of Sergei Fursenko will be to weed out undesirable elements in Russian football, who bring allegations of match-fixing and corruption which do nothing to dignify the game. While this has permeated through Soccer at various levels in many countries, Russian football promises to be clean under Fursenko

 

Secondly, Fursenko has vowed to concentrate on Russia's bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup (opponents in Europe are England, Spain/Portugal and Belgium/Netherlands). Thirdly, Fursenko has claimed "I am convinced we will win the 2018 World Cup and on the way, we will achieve many other victories".

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

Hiddink Soccer Russia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To state that International Terrorism does not exist, is dangerous because it is untrue. To state that International Islamist Terrorism exists as a structured organism with a command and control apparatus that poses a serious danger seems unrealistic. To state that the Islamist Terrorist threat will be easily destroyed in a question of a few years is simplistic.

 

What is the difference between a terrorist and a common murderer? The first has a cause and claims to fight for an ideal, and murders. The second murders. The first murders indiscriminately, not caring whether his/her victims are men, women or children. The second is more likely to target fellow criminals, people associated with him/herself, and most likely, adult males.

 

Therefore we see that there is nothing heroic about the terrorist, for the terrorist fights from under cover, perpetrates his attacks against the defenceless, against innocent members of society and only makes his presence known moments before it is too late to do anything about it. Nothing brave, nothing courageous, nothing mystical, nothing manly.

 

International terrorism

 

In a sense, to have a cause, a terrorist organization must necessarily have a broad base of support among a sector of society, be this within a state or at a supra-national level. In the 1970s and 1980s, the IRA enjoyed support and financing not only within Ulster and to a certain extent in the Republic of Ireland, but fundamentally from the Irish diaspora in the USA, where well-wishing NORAID contributors in New York in fact were funding terrorist attacks.

 

The same attacks were to go full swing and hit New York in the face on 9/11. While there was a certain amount of covert collusion among the Celtic terrorist movements, the IRA in Northern Ireland/UK and the Armee Revolutionnaire Bretonne (ARB), in Brittany, France, there was far more collaboration between ARB and the Basque separatists, ETA, in the 1980s and 1990s and during these decades, in Europe, International Terrorism was reduced to supplies of semtex explosives and financing operations.

 

The real international terrorism however was being fostered by those who supported Islamic extremist movements in Central Asia creating movements hostile to the Soviet Union. To make the break from simply Islamic (following Islam) to Islamist (radical Islam), these movements needed - and found - a common focal point in Wahhabism, a movement based around a stricter following of the Qu'ran, as professed by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703-1792), and which identified as 'takfir' those whose behavior was considered anti-(Orthodox) Islamic.

 

What had been largely a Saudi religious, social and cultural phenomenon, gained roots elsewhere in the Middle East and Central Asia, including Russia's southern flank (Chechen Wahhabis and the Mujaheddin movement, launched from the Madrassah of Pakistan with the CIA's total and wholesome support).

 

To claim that the United States of America created a monster by meddling in complex issues entirely beyond the grasp of those who dictated the country's external politics (traditionally business lobbies not known for their cultural interests and more famous for chortling clubbishly while peppering each other's buttocks with buckshot) would be an understatement. Washington created the Mujaheddin, Washington used bin Laden, directly or not. Yet to claim Washington knowingly created the Taliban and Al Qaeda is an overstatement as unfair as it is untrue. The monster was created when the Mujahedin Jihad leadership (Maktab al-Khadamat) morphed into Al Qaeda. By then the master had lost control.

 

From Wahhabism to Al Qaeda

 

If Wahhabism was to Islam what the Presbyterian or Quaker movements were to Christianity (and one must take into account the socio-cultural-historical comparative vectors followed by both religions over the time of their evolution), then bin Laden, and Al Qaeda, if not the Taliban themselves, have committed the same psychopathic blasphemous mistakes as countless Christian heretics have done. For Usama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden and Al Qaeda (the Islamists), the takfir is now the enemy, the infidel, the non-follower of the word...dictated by the Islamists.

 

Yet it was precisely in the CIA/bin Laden Afghanistan Jihad launched against the Soviet Union, where the roots of Islamist International Terrorism lie, for bin Laden, Ayman al- Zawahiri and Mullah Omar were the focal point around which Islamic zealots from Chechnya, from Uzbekhistan, from Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere gathered, first to form the Mujahedin. After a period of in-fighting among various factions, the Pashtun-based Taliban movement appeared dominant and this was the eventual winner emerging from the struggle, which bin Laden latched his Al-Qaeda onto. Or rather, the leaders of the Jihad became Al Qaeda (1988-1990) and the Taliban became their foot soldiers...without necessarily being one and the same thing at the beginning and over the past decade, far from it, with the Taliban and Afghan warlords having their hands firmly on the revenue from opium production and these days sectors of the Taliban movement being poised to return to Government. The divorce between the Taliban and Al Qaeda appears to be more or less complete and final.

 

 

How dangerous, how real?

 

The debate rages on about how true it is that a chain of command and control can be linked directly from New York/Washington to the mountains of Afghanistan, about the role the diverse American and foreign agencies inside and outside the USA played in the outrage which was 9/11. As usual, the victims were innocent civilians going about their daily lives.

 

If in 2001 Al Qaeda had the capacity to perform the most spectacular marketing coup in the history of terrorism (9/11), building on its previous attacks (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya in 1998; Aden, Yemen in 2000), since then it has been perpetrating ever more rudimentary, though deadly, events: Istanbul, Turkey 2003; Madrid 2004, London, 2005 being the most widely referred yet since 2001, no less than 14,776 terrorist attacks have been carried out by Islamists, murdering 60,000 people and injuring 90,000 others in the widest myriad of geographical destinations.

 

While the spectacular terrorist events make the front pages due to the appalling effectiveness of their atrocities, the thousands of others which murder a handful of people or injure a few kids do not, unless they take place in Western Europe or the USA or against their interests.

 

Increased intelligence and covert operations by the authorities and increased vigilance by common citizens (the front line in the fight against terrorism) have reduced Al Qaeda's intercontinental operating strategy to the realms of the lone, demented shoe bomber and some poor mixed-up Nigerian kid who set fire to his underpants.

 

Those who compare these events with the strategic brilliance of the 9/11 operation (however horrific its effects may have been) conclude that the capacity of Far Enemy Jihadism to strike successfully at massive targets has waned.

 

Conclusions

 

It is clear that International Islamist Terrorism exists and continues to pose a potential threat, while increased attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan on its leadership, and intelligence elsewhere, has seen Al Qaeda's ability to constitute the level of effectiveness it had from 1998 to 2001 reduced to crude attacks with little more than home-made equipment and far more Islamist terrorist attacks being perpetrated against regional competitors than against international foes.

 

International, yes. Dangerous, yes. Real, yes. Room for complacency, no. But does the spectre of an Al-Qaeda capable of carrying out massive terrorist strikes still exist? Time will tell. Until then, vigilance and intelligence at all levels, down to the common citizens, is the best form of prevention, while at a higher level, the leadership of the cause can be undermined through dialogue, through political inclusion and addressing the heart of the problem with a single weight and measure: the question of the Middle East.

 

The bottom line underpinning all of these strategies is to deprive the leadership of its foot-soldiers and this can only come through development. While the Soviet Union was internationalising development, the West was doing what it could to sabotage its models. The need for development is the constant factor in the fight against international terrorism.

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

International terrorism Washington Al Qaeda

Spain must not waver in its position on Kosovo. A colossus among the snivelling bunch of cowards surrounding it, Spain is a champion of international law in refusing to recognise as an independent country what has always been, what is and what always will be a Province of the Republic of Serbia. Kosovo is not an independent State and has no right whatsoever to claim statehood.

 

Spain has showed a great deal of courage in not allowing its hand to be forced over Kosovo, recognising that under international law, this Serbian province has no claim to independence at all. The fundamental principles of international law are set forth under the UN Charter which guarantees the inviolability of frontiers and guarantees the right of State sovereignty over a territory. UN Security Council Resolution 1244 serves to "reaffirm the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" recognising further that Serbia is the recognised successor state.

 

For those who argue that international law is a process which takes place over time and cannot be based upon one document, then let us go back to the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 which set forth the principle of the inviolability of recognised frontiers. This principle was not only accepted at the time, it has been reiterated and has been the fundamental basis of every treaty signed since then, including the universally recognised Helsinki Treaty (Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, 1975) which was signed by the United States of America, Canada and all the European States except for Albania and Andorra.

 

Therefore under the international laws which have been signed and recognised by the signatory states, it is impossible to imagine what was going through the minds of the handful of nations which accepted Kosovo's universal declaration of independence as anything more than fantasies by those who have always defended a Greater Albania in the Balkans, something that 500 years of history has been trying to avoid. Outside Albania, the only advocates of this were Hitler and Mussolini.

 

The Kingdom of Spain has stood out as one of the few countries to uphold international law by not recognising what amounts to a flagrant breach of each and every fiber of international diplomacy and every basic precept of international law. The Kingdom of Spain has been right to refuse to take an imperialistic decision which carves off 15 per cent of the Republic of Serbia, including its very heart and the focal point of the psyche of the Serb nation.

 

The Kingdom of Spain has stood up for what is correct where others have faltered, the Kingdom of Spain has followed the terms of the documents it signed and the Kingdom of Spain has taken a coherent path respecting the norm that law is based upon process and not the caprice of the moment.

 

In refusing to recognise the independence of Kosovo, the Kingdom of Spain stands up against international terrorism (the UÇK, or KLA has admitted carrying out terrorist attacks against civilians to provoke the Serbian authorities). The KLA was neither an army (but rather a band of terrorists, bandits and opportunists) nor did it have anything to liberate because Kosovo never belonged to the Albanians.

 

As President of the European Union, the Kingdom of Spain must remain true to its principles and true to itself, not sell its soul to the highest bidder as others have done and leave the entire question of Kosovo for the only competent authority - Serbia - to resolve, as is its right under international law, with no strings attached as to Belgrade's admission to the E.U.

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

LKA terrorists Spain Kosovo

 

 

 

 

 

 

The United Nations Organization recognizes that in post-disaster scenarios, the most effective way to protect human rights and the most vulnerable members of society is to involve women in the relief process, due to their natural capacities and capabilities - despite recognizing that they are also most in need at such times.

 

The United Nations Organization recognizes that in post-disaster scenarios, the most effective way to protect human rights and the most vulnerable members of society is to involve women in the relief process, due to their natural capacities and capabilities - despite recognizing that they are also most in need at such times.

 

CEDAW, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, recognizes that after disasters occur, the natural capacities of women as caretakers of children, the elderly, injured and disabled affords them a critical role in early recovery and in implementation of long-term sustainability mechanisms.

 

Naela Mohamed Gabr, head of CEDAW, stated yesterday that "The needs and capabilities of women must be taken into consideration in all sectors and clusters of the emergency response" however, the UNO must provide them with the protection they need to perform the task, because "whilst the strength and resilience of women are in high demand following such emergencies, they cannot adequately fulfil these roles if their basic needs are unmet and if decision-makers ignore them".

 

Ms. Gabr recognized also that at times of increased stress and lawlessness, women are also the most vulnerable members of society.

 

The UN's World Food Programme has also launched a new scheme focusing on women in food distribution operations, providing them with vouchers which are coloured and dated and which can be exchanged for food on determined days and at certain places. Natasha Scripture, WFP spokesperson in Port-au-Prince, claims that "WFP generally targets female heads of household with food assistance. Distribution to women tends to be more orderly and calm," while stating that "women are often the first ones pushed out of line".

 

Where such policies have been implemented, the UNO has noted that distribution is far more orderly and proceeds without the frantic scrambles which often turn violent.

 

The out-going Chilean President Michelle Bachelet will now be working alongside UNIFEM to advocate for the needs of Haitian women. UNIFEM is the women's fund at the United Nations. It provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies to foster women's empowerment and gender equality.

 

Throughout her Presidency, Michelle Bachelet highlighted women's issues and has committed herself to providing a leading role in engaging international cooperation, especially in Latin America, for the women of Haiti and in formulating a common strategy to "include the voices and perspectives of Haitian women in the recovery efforts" (UNIFEM).

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

UNO disaster relief women

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The dark history of President Alvaro Uribe is well known for its seedy connections to narco-traffickers, terrorists and murderers. When Mayor of the City of Medellin, narco-terrorist death squads sent thousands of civilians to the most horrific deaths. Now, mass graves with thousands of bodies have been uncovered.

 

Columbia is covered in a fine white powder. It is called cocaine. The leaves of the coca plant are crushed and pounded with a solvent. Wax is then removed from the solution and hydrochloric acid is added to the remainder to separate out the cocaine alkaloids. The crystals that are left are dissolved with methyl alcohol, are recrystallized and dissolved in sulphuric acid

 

Millions of doses worth billions of dollars flood the streets of the United States of America, and other countries, every year destroying families, sending crime rates soaring, tearing society apart. The USA backed Colombia's Mayor of Medellin, the epicenter of the narcotics trade, Álvaro Uribe in his bid for the Presidency of Colombia, despite his alleged links to AUC, a paramilitary group classified by Washington as a terrorist organization.

 

As Mayor of Medellin, in the early 1980s, the city was referred to as "The Sanctuary" because the city administration afforded protection to drugs traffickers such as Pablo Escobar, whose projects Uribe (son of the known narco-trafficker Alberto Uribe Sierra) supported. His chief of staff was Pedro Juan Moreno Villa, who controlled not only the cocaine precursor chemical industry (producing substances needed for the production of cocaine) but also the paramilitaries under whose reign of terror in the Department of Antioquia thousands of people disappeared, mainly Uribe's opponents. During the 1980s, Uribe's CONVIVIR vigilantes massacred thousands of civilians, before merging with the terrorist organization AUC.

 

As Director of Columbia's Civil Auronautics Agency between 1980 and 1982, Uribe handed out pilot licences to the Medellin drug cartel, for which he was apparently dismissed. As Senator between 1986 and 1994, he consistently supported legislation favourable to the drugs cartels.

 

President of Columbia since 2002, Uribe has had the chance to hide away the skeletons in his closet. However, in his case there are so many skeletons that the door has burst open.

 

In the village of La Macarena, 200 km from the capital city Bogota, a mass grave with 2.000 bodies has been discovered. The bodies, unnamed, have been deposited there by members of the Columbian Armed Forces since 2005. Meanwhile there have been thousands of rumours of Trade Union leaders, peasant leaders and political activists suddenly disappearing in Columbia under Uribe's reign of terror.

 

The mass graves have been uncovered after the admission of paramilitaries, who admitted that all the fighters in their units had to learn how to dismember people, "and this was often done when the people were still alive". The organization these paramilitaries fought for? AUC.

 

Columbian sociologist Professor Alfredo Molano declares "The General Inspectorate itself speaks of 25.000 'disappeared persons' so they had to be somewhere. There are enormous clandestine cemeteries in Columbia. It is also possible that they got rid of a lot of bodies in Nazi-style ovens".

 

Drug trafficking, terrorism, mass murder. Nazi style ovens...And the United States of America supports Alvaro Uribe?

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

Coca cocaine Uribe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let us spell a message to the Davos World Economic Forum before it gathers next week: Jobs are families. As unemployment rates reach record levels there can be no doubt that the current monetarist-market-oriented economic model contains vectors which create endemic instability, engender extreme instability in the labour market and send families lurching from one crisis to the next in a boom-and-bust climate. Perhaps the economists at Davos can do what they are paid for: produce an alternative that works.

 

The controlled economies of the COMECON block were derided in the west as being unviable. Yet they created continuous growth rates, development rates, financed excellent universal free education, excellent and free universal healthcare, free utilities, free public transports, free and guaranteed housing, communications, zero unemployment, leisure time activities, social mobility and indexed pensions. And policed the streets and provided security.

 

Hardly a bad deal? Ah yes, chortled the West, but how do you pay for it? Well, in answer to that how about we pretend the economy is a giant bank, then money is suddenly readily available isn't it, and in great quantities? Like for example the three trillion dollars which had never existed for pensions and hospitals but which appeared miraculously to bail out the responsible bankers.

 

The economists at Davos should start to hang their heads in shame if they cannot come up with a model to improve the lot of hundreds of millions of people unemployed worldwide. If not, they should declare openly that the controlled economic model is better. Let us compare the zero unemployment of the controlled model with the current situation today.

 

According to the International Labour Organization's annual report Global Employment Trends, released yesterday, the number of unemployed persons worldwide saw an unprecedented increase of 24 million between 2007 to 2009, reaching 212 million people.

 

Worse, according to data from the IMF, the outlook looks bleak for 2010, especially in the USA, E.U. and other developed nations, where the unemployment rate rose to 8.4% in 2009 (5.7% in 2007; 6.0% in 2008), while the number of people without jobs rose by 13.7 million, making up over 40% of the increase in global unemployment. The figure for 2010 is worse still, estimated at 8.9%.

 

Let us compare the zero unemployment rate of the controlled economy with the plight of workers in vulnerable employment, comprising 50.6% of the global workforce, or 1.5 billion people. 110 million people entered this sector in 2009. According to the report, a further 633 million workers earn less than 1.25 USD per day with another 215 million living on the margin of poverty and at risk of falling into that category.

 

Meanwhile youth unemployment reached 13.4%, the worst figure since records began in 1991, while productivity fell in most regions, creating deteriorating working conditions.

 

As ILO Director-General Joan Somavia points out, "As the World Economic Forum gathers at Davos, it is clear that avoiding a jobless recovery is the political priority of today. We need the same policy decisiveness that saved banks now applied to save and create jobs and livelihoods of people. This can be done through strong convergence of public policies and private investment".

 

Possibly, it can. But it won't. People aren't banks. Therefore those who meet at Davos couldn't really care less, as we shall see. What a wonderful system they have created.

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

Davos unemployment jobs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday (January 27) was designated as the Day to Remember the Victims of the Nazi Holocaust, the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp by Soviet troops. What those Soviet soldiers found there, the largest of the many concentration camps spread throughout Europe from Germany to the three Baltic States, stunned the world into silence as images of the most shocking cruelty leaked out.

 

The Holocaust (from the Greek holos - whole and kaustos - burnt) is a word normally associated with the extermination of Jewish people by the Right-wing Nazi Fascist regime at whose apex sat Hitler and whose tentacles spread throughout all of non-neutral Europe with the exception of Britain in the west and the Soviet Union in the East, implementing practices of sheer evil.

 

Yet this evil was not directed only against Jews. The Holocaust victims included homosexuals, gypsies (Romani), the disabled, Jehovah's Witnesses, other religious opponents, political prisoners, Poles, Soviet p.o.w.s and Soviet citizens. While the exact number of people who died during this process is open to debate (official figures may include those who died of natural causes and diseases) and if the preliminary result is not exactly the six million Jews the history books claim, then the final result must be far more if one extrapolates the known records of deaths from certain camps and makes a calculation for the whole.

 

Just in the three Baltic States for example, the figures are staggering: in Latvia, between 70,000 and 85,000 Jews were exterminated in the camps of Mezaparks at Kaiserwald near Riga, Daugavpils, Lenta, Liepaja, Strazdu Manor, Dundaga, Jelgava, Valmiera, Salaspils and Jumpravmuita. In Estonia, up to 30% of the country's Jewish population was murdered in the camps of Auvere, Aseri, Dorpat, Ereda, Goldfields, Idu-Virumaa, Illinurme, Jagala, Johvi, Kalevi-Liiva, Kivioli, Klooga, Kukruse, Kunda, Kuremae, Lagedi, Narva, Narva-Joesuu, Petschur, Putki, Saka, Stara Gradiska, Sonda, Soski, Tartu, Vaivara, Viivikonna and Wesenburg. Estonia's Romany population was practically wiped out: unlike the Jews, most of whom managed to escape, they had nowhere else to go. And in Lithuania, between 135,000 and 220,000 people were slaughtered at the camps of Kovno (Kaunas), Kauen, Slobodka, HKP at Vilna and Prawienischken.

 

So if in this tiny corner of Europe, some 300,000 people (documented cases) lost their lives, the claims that the "real" Holocaust figures were far lower than six million would tend to pale into the absurd, while it is far more probable that the "real" figure would reveal that the six million estimate is if anything conservative, especially since so many different ethnic groups were the victims.

 

Holocaust deniers

 

Those who deny that the holocaust ever happened can be prosecuted under the laws of several states yet instead of lending these people any degree of credence through prosecution, it would seem more befitting to classify them in the same set as those who claim the Earth is flat, that the Moon doesn't exist or that there are fairies at the end of the garden.

 

To claim that the concentration camps and gas chambers and ovens were all a fake is taking the conspiracy theory to the realms of the absurd and is a callous statement of disrespect for the men, women and children who died in the most horrific and appalling circumstances. The very fact that people were held at all, against their will, is an outrage against human rights and whether or not people died in these camps as a result of disease or through systematic extermination does not exonerate those who held them from responsibility.

 

Remembering the past to teach for the future

 

The UNO stresses the importance of holocaust survivors sharing their stories, as a means to encourage respect for diversity and for human rights. As Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon stated, "Holocaust survivors will not be with us forever but the legacy of their survival must live on".

 

The legacy of their survival is firstly, that the holocaust indeed took place, that mankind can easily sink to the most horrific and barbaric levels of depravity within a very short space of time, that unthinkable cruelty and wholesale disrespect for the human condition based upon racist hatred is wholly possible and happened within living memory. The legacy is also one of victory over evil, a message that however hopeless the plight of a human being may seem, there is hope of survival and that if people stand together, the notion of strength through human solidarity is real and valid.

 

As we remember the victims of the Holocaust, not only but also the Jews, the gypsies, disabled, homosexuals, Soviets, Poles and religious groups, among others, we should also remember the Negro Holocaust, which was the holistic burning and desecration of the cultures of hundreds of peoples through the practice of slavery and indeed other acts of barbarity and cruelty perpetrated throughout history.

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

Holocaust concentration camps anti-Semitism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the London Conference on Afghanistan gets under way, it is imperative that the international community gets it right after nearly ten years of mistakes which have cost thousands of lives, hundreds of billions of dollars and have done nothing whatsoever to improve the daily lives of the majority of the Afghan population.

 

Having sided with the war lords against the Pashtun-based Taliban, the international community took a short-term option which has turned into a nightmare, turning the historic ethnic mix of the country upside-down. The appearance of foreign troops has only exacerbated the Afghan population who do not see them as freedom fighters but invaders and vast quantities of the rivers of taxpayers' money being spent in Afghanistan are squandered.

 

While pulling out now is not the solution, making mistakes can be worse than doing nothing. Back in 2001, in this column it was stated that the international coalition should be careful to respect the country's age-old lore and that development was the key, not military invasion and certainly not bombing wedding parties from 30,000 feet. Time and again.

 

Now in 2010 on the eve of the Conference, we reiterate the same words. The troop surge planned by Washington will bring worse results for the population because it will engender more violence, not less. The troops themselves, from the minute they set foot in Afghanistan, only think about how to survive and the day they will leave, spend most of their time barricaded in camps with comforts the local population does not have and becoming sitting ducks for attacks. They alienate everyone.

 

Development is the key, not militarization. Poverty and unemployment create extremism, they create an underclass of endemic unemployed young men who see the Taliban's fat pay checks as the only way to escape a life where a bag of flour is often all they have to eat for a month.

 

In turn, development creates jobs, which create stability and this fosters a climate of peace and moderates extremism and fanaticism. Bringing Afghanistan's women into the equation would do a lot towards resolving issues at the local level, where public and private partnerships, adopting a flexible approach and respecting the regional differences within the country, could make a real difference, building capacities for the local population to manage themselves.

 

Currently so much investment is wasted in paying short-term contractors to give training programmes which are often not tailored to the local culture and which mean spending fortunes on translators. The programs are too short and are often never implemented. To bridge this gap, Afghanistan's brain drain should be reversed, bringing the country's educated persons back and creating the conditions for them to stay.

 

At least they speak the language and understand the culture. If money is to be spent, then spend it on Afghans to teach Afghans.

 

With money comes the need to monitor and this has not been done closely enough. Too much money (over 250 billion dollars) has been poured into Afghanistan and a lot of it has gone into lining the pockets of the corrupt governing classes. Corruption and drugs trafficking and production are named as worse problems than the Taliban by leading members of Afghanistan's society.

 

So it is not a question of militarization, it is a question of money and monitoring and finally, empowerment of women. It is women who take the decisions at village level. Include women in the equation and you have a balanced solution. And this is not imposed by soldiers in uniforms, it is created through development.

 

To note: This is precisely what the Soviet Union was trying to do back in the 1970s and 1980s, supporting a socially progressive Government which combated extremism and terrorism and implemented gender equality in developing the social model, when it was sabotaged by those who created the Mujaheddin to serve their political ends. This is what happens when countries interfere outside their sphere of influence. Now is the time to get it right before Afghanistan and the entire region spin out of control beyond repair.

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

London Conference Karzai Afghanistan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Conference held by Afghan women activists ahead of the Afghanistan Conference on Thursday served as a launching point for their recommendations on good governance and a lasting solution which will bring stability to all members of society, paving the way towards reconstruction. The key? In a word, inclusion.

 

The Afghan women activists' recommendations on security, development and governance are the only input from Afghan women concerning the key decisions being taken about their country...by men.

 

Three quotes, to highlight the plight of Afghanistan's women and to underline why the London Conference gets it right:

 

"As the global community knows, nowhere are women's rights more at stake than in Afghanistan. Therefore it is of grave concern that women's voices and perspectives are largely missing from this London conference on Afghanistan's future. The international community should stand behind the women of Afghanistan, and elevate their voices, not barter away their rights in the name of short-term peace and stabilization". (Wazma Frogh, Afghan Gender and Development Specialist).

 

"Besides the high levels of violence experienced by ordinary women and girls, there has been a very high rate of deadly attacks on women human rights defenders and women in prominent public roles. This makes the determination of the women who have travelled to London to share their concerns and proposals all the more inspiring, and the international community needs to hear what they have to say".  (Anne Marie Goetz, Chief Advisor, Governance Peace and Security for UNIFEM).

 

"Afghan women have the most to gain from peace and the most to lose from any form of reconciliation compromising women's human rights. There cannot be national security without women's security, there can be no peace when women's lives are fraught with violence, when our children can't go to schools, when we cannot step on the streets for fear of acid attacks". (Mary Akrami, Director of the Afghan Women Skills Development Center).

 

The Afghan women activists who met ahead of the London Conference on Afghanistan in London and Dubai are deeply concerned that the Conference will not address fundamental women's rights. 87 per cent of Afghan women suffer domestic abuse.

 

They point out that by including Afghanistan's women in the peace process, sustainable peace can be attained more easily while violence and extremism can be countered and moderated. Women are currently excluded from any reconciliation and negotiation processes in Afghanistan with the Taliban, the war lords or any other segment of society. Why?

 

Don't they have the right to exist?  As women's rights activist Orzala Ashraf points out, "Short-term deals with insurgents will not deliver long-term stability if there aren't guarantees of women's rights".

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

Afghan Women's Leaders' Priorities for Stabilization

Statement and Recommendations

January 27, 2010

 

We, Afghan women leaders and representatives of women's civil society organizations, concerned about the absence of women's perspectives on proposals being discussed at The London Conference on Afghanistan have created recommendations for stabilization that bear in mind the obligation to consult women and address their priorities and needs. These recommendations were developed during consultations with women leaders in Dubai on January 24th and in London on January 26th.

Afghan women are the first to benefit from stability and pay the heaviest price for the resurgence in violence. They are mobilized as never before to protect the gains they have made with the help of the international community since 2001 and to contribute to the peace process by promoting security and good governance grounded in respect for human rights and equality. We call for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and related resolutions calling for women's full participation in peace building as part of all initiatives to accelerate conflict resolution and recovery in the country.

Security

Fundamental to progress in Afghanistan will be enhanced security on the ground. But achieving true security will require more than military stabilization; it will require access to basic services-police protection, health care, education, and clean water. Additionally, it will necessitate social change in private as well as public life; rampant domestic violence and other abuses of women's rights exacerbated by conflict are major contributors to women's insecurity. Women experience instability differently from men; they therefore have specific perspectives on how to achieve security for all Afghan citizens. To fully engage all Afghans in efforts to create a secure environment, we recommend:

1. Ensuring women's representation in peace processes. Consistent with constitutional guarantees for women's representation, women must comprise at least 25% of any peace process including any proposed upcoming peace jirgas. They must be represented in any national and local security policy making forums, such as the Afghan President's National Security Council.

2. Guaranteeing that reconciliation protects women's rights. The government and international community must secure and monitor women's rights in all reconciliation initiatives so that the status of women is not bargained away in any short-term effort to achieve stability.

3. Implementing gender-responsive security policy. All efforts to enhance security in Afghanistan must better serve women. This can be achieved by: a. training national and international security personnel regarding women's rights and security needs;

b. recruiting women to security services, especially national police, UNPOL, international peacekeepers, civilian and military staff of PRTs; and

c. expanding the number of Family Response Units in local police districts to enable more culturally sensitive and responsive engagement with women.

 

 

Governance and Development

In 2001 the number of women in government increased dramatically. Further investment to expand women's engagement and effectiveness in public decision-making, in electoral politics, public administration, and in civil society help to deepen democracy, tackle corruption, increase the legitimacy

of government, and concentrate the focus of public sector management on providing basic services. To strengthen women's leadership skills and to promote gender-responsive public sector performance we recommend:

1. Implementing existing national gender equality policies. International donors should make aid contingent on accelerated implementation of existing policies for the advancement of women in Afghanistan, especially the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan, and the cross-cutting gender component of the Afghan National Development Strategy.

2. Promoting governance for gender equality. Good governance reforms should advance gender equality and the capacity of public services to respond to women's needs by:

a. Creating gender offices or focal points in all national institutions;

b. Extending the current 25% parliamentary quota to provincial, district, and village-level governance structures;

c. Special measures to help women overcome obstacles to effective political competition (e.g.: measures to prevent political violence against women, measures to overcome access barriers to public debate, training, and resources);

d. Applying the 25% constitutional quota to civil service positions;

e. Strengthening of the Ministry of Women's Affairs and ensuring it participates in all decision-making clusters to ensure attention to gender and women's needs.

3. Tracking aid for women's rights. Donor aid to address women's needs should increase [by 20%] and all aid should be monitored to track its effectiveness in promoting women's rights and gender equality. Financing for Afghan women's organizations should increase to strengthen women's implementation of the development agenda and civil society participation in reconstruction.

4. Addressing gender bias in traditional dispute resolution. Traditional dispute resolution systems have historically been gender biased; if used, they must comply with national and international human rights standards. Use of these systems must be monitored to ensure compliance with national and international standards and to provide the opportunity to appeal decisions inconsistent with international norms.

5. Expanding peace education through schools and shuras.

 

Regional Frameworks/International Architecture

We commend the regional cooperative forums focused on trade, refugees, and drug trafficking for their efforts to involve women. As regional mechanisms are developed to address cross-border security challenges, we advise:

1. Building on existent women's regional peace coalitions. Any regional efforts should engage women and leverage the relationships they have built through existing networks.

2. Involving women in efforts to shape new regional mechanisms. Women should help design any new approaches to and structures for stabilization and reconstruction in Afghanistan as well as efforts to create regional forums for cooperation. Any such processes and structures should engage women at all levels of decision-making and should implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and related Security Council resolutions calling for women's participation in conflict resolution, prevention of violence, and protection of vulnerable groups.

3. Using regional forums to stop labor and sex trafficking.

 

Afghanistan women attacks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We all know what the West thought about the 5-day Georgian War in the Summer of 2008  because reputable media outlets suddenly transformed themselves into peddlers of cheap propaganda without an iota of truth. We present a series of views in essays issued by the Russian Center of Analysis of Strategies and Technologies in Moscow. What really happened in the Caucasus?

 

In these essays, three things are clear: Firstly, the discrepancy between the USA's training Georgian elements for counter-insurgency actions in the war against terror and the Saakashvili regime's policy of rearmament for a military assault to retake South Ossetia and Abkhazia. To what extent was the Bush regime aware of this?

 

Secondly, the poor planning and strategic failure from the part of the Georgians, who lost the initiative even before dawn had broken on August 8 th.

 

Finally, the fact that Russia only recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia when it became clear that Saakashvili had no intention of approaching the question from the viewpoint of a negotiated international settlement (which was Georgia's obligation under the terms of the Soviet Constitution in the event of the voluntary dissolution of the Union).

 

Anton Lavrov's essay details the events running up to the conflict. After days of escalating tensions in the area, Georgia's President Mikheil Nikolayevich Saakashvili gave the order for a full-scale attack at 14.30 on August 7, 2008. After failing to gain any ground with his assault using tanks, rockets and self-propelled artillery, he ordered a unilateral ceasefire, on TV, in the evening. During this time, 12,000 Georgian Defense Ministry and Interior Ministry troops massed outside Tskhinval (South Ossetia's capital) and at 23.30, received the order to attack again, under cover of the ceasefire, to seize the Roki Tunnel and cut the main Trans-Caucasus highway.

 

However, the Russian General Staff had long had suspicions about Saakashvili's intentions and had stationed two battalions of motorized infantry poised to move in to the vicinity of the tunnel as a rapid reaction force. They received orders to deploy around 03.00 on August 8 after having been issued an order to line up in formation two hours previously. By dawn, the Georgians had neither managed to deploy their special forces units into Tskhinval, nor had they managed to dislodge the Russian forces or stem their advance. The initiative was lost.

 

The essay by Viacheslav Tseluiko concentrates on the military build-up by Georgia prior to the conflict. Weaponry was procured with the express purpose of retaking South Ossetia and Abkhazia and in his point of view, the Georgian Armed Forces had surpassed the capacities of the defense forces in these two territories, while the best Georgian unit, the 1 st Infantry Brigade, was deployed in Iraq and the best military unit in the region was Russia's 4 th Army in the North Caucasus Military District.

 

The countries which supplied Georgia were Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Uzbekhistan, Turkey, Greece, Israel and the United States of America.

 

Finally, the essay written by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explains the diplomatic aftermath of the conflict, in which Russia suggested that an international conference be held in Geneva while the details of the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan were being drawn up, that this should cover both security issues and also the status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia (since this had never been approached by Georgia despite it being clearly stipulated in the Soviet Constitution that Tblisi was to hold referenda in these territories in the event of a dissolution of the Union).

 

After Georgia's aggression was suppressed, Sergei Lavrov states, Russia suggested that the future status of these two territories should be discussed under an international format, this proving at that time that Russia had no intention whatsoever to occupy these regions or indeed to unilaterally recognize their independence.

 

It was the repeated statements by Saakashvili that he would refuse to discuss Sukhum or Tskhinval under an international format and that the territorial integrity of Georgia would be restored which made it plain that Georgia was once again planning further military incursions and acts of aggression and therefore to protect their peoples against extermination, Russia had decided on the course of action which it followed.

 

Humanitarian concerns, yes. Military aggression, no. The aggressor from the outset was Georgia.

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

Georgia war Russia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the eve of the Afghanistan Conference in London, a male dominated affair hosted and chaired by six men, where decisions will be taken by men and for men, a handful of Afghan women activists, backed by UNIFEM and the Institute for Inclusive Security, are meeting in London to release their recommendations - the only input from consultation with Afghan women on key issues affecting their country and society.

 

On the eve of the Afghanistan Conference in London, a male dominated affair hosted and chaired by six men, where decisions will be taken by men and for men, a handful of Afghan women activists*, backed by UNIFEM and the Institute for Inclusive Security, are meeting in London to release their recommendations - the only input from consultation with Afghan women on key issues affecting their country and society.

 

 

The statement to be released in London one day before the Afghanistan Conference on Thursday will represent the view expressed at a broader meeting on Afghan women civil society activists in Dubai on January 24.

 

The statement will be released by 4 Afghan women's activists at Central Hall, Westminster (John Tudor Room), Storey's Gate, London SW1H 9NH at 11.00 GMT on Wednesday January 27. The message will be that to achieve stability in Afghanistan, it is necessary to guarantee equal rights and security for women. And how can there be peace, if half the members of society - its women - are excluded from any decision-making processes? The women will deliver their recommendations on security and governance priorities for Afghanistan, hoping to galvanise sectors of public opinion before the Conference begins on Thursday.

 

While the hosts of the Conference (British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon) and the Co-Chairs David Milliband (UK Foreign Minister), Rangin Spanta (Afghan Foreign Minister) and Kai Eide (UN Special Representative to Afghanistan) - all of them men - debate around themes such as the need "to match the increase in military forces with an increased political momentum", to "focus the international community on a clear set of priorities across the 43-nation ISAF coalition" and "marshal the maximum international effort to help the Afghan Government deliver" the women will be pointing out that for too long they have been denied a place as key partners in conflict resolution, in combating extremism and in promoting social and economic revitalization.

 

Yet Afghanistan's women are ready, they are organized and they are poised to assume their role as equal partners, defining their place in contributing their equal part towards the country's future.

 

They need the solidarity of the international community, especially civil society activists and women's rights groups.

 

 

Every 30 minutes, an Afghan woman dies during childbirth

87 percent of Afghan women are illiterate

30 percent of girls have access to education in Afghanistan

1 in every 3 Afghan women experience physical, psychological or sexual violence

44 years is the average life expectancy rate for women in Afghanistan

70 to 80 percent of women face forced marriages in Afghanistan

Source: IRIN

 

 

 

Contact: oisika.chakrabarti@unifem.org

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

Afghanistan Taliban women's rights

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International arrest warrants have been requested for George W. Bush, Richard (Dick) Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleeza Rice and Alberto Gonzales at the International Criminal Court, The Hague, Netherlands.

 

Professor of Law Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois College of Law in Champain, United States of America, has issued a Complaint with the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court against the above-mentioned for their practice of "extraordinary rendition" (forced disappearance of persons and subsequent torture) in Iraq and for criminal policy which constitutes Crimes against Humanity in violation of the Rome Statute which set up the ICC.

 

As such, the Accused (mentioned above) are deemed responsible for the commission of crimes within the territories of many States signatories of the Rome Statute, in violation of Rome Stature Articles 5 (1)(b), 7 (1)(a), 7 (1)(e), 7 (1)(g), 7(1)(h), 7(1)8i) and 7(1)(k). Despite the fact that the USA is not a signatory State, the ICC has the jurisdiction to prosecute under Article 12 (2)(a) of the Rome Statute.

 

This Article stipulates that the Court may exercise its jurisdiction if one or more States in which the conduct in question occurred has accepted the jurisdiction of the Court. Furthermore, the forced disappearance of persons and torture in deemed by the Rome Statute as a Crime against Humanity, one which is still ongoing.

 

The Exercise of Jurisdiction may be activated under Article 13, with respect to a crime committed under Article 5 if the Prosecutor has initiated an investigation. Professor Boyle, in his issue of complaint, respectfully requested that such an investigation be initiated.

 

The issue of complaint states "about 100 human beings have been subjected to enforced disappearances and subsequent torture by the Accused", adds that some of them could still be alive today, and that an investigation could save these lives. Regarding those whose enforced disappearances led to their deaths, the Complaint requests a process of explanation and clarification for what would be a murder investigation.

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

war criminal Bush Iraq

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disaster strikes some poor, forgotten corner of the world which most people had never heard of. The media circus descends, outlets vying with one another to show the most shocking pictures. The international aid circus follows this, promises of aid by Governments follow that and finally, in-depth stories and profiles flow on the Net and in newspapers. A week later the story starts to slide. Two weeks later it's behind the Oscars and after the third week, it's forgotten.

 

Then what happens?

 

The aid pledged by the Governments simply does not appear (unless it is to bail out some irresponsible banker) and the food, water and medicines arrive too late to save many (unless it is a military invasion, when miraculously everything is done within hours). The profiles brandishing swords, waved in the faces of former imperial or colonial powers, blaming them for the plight of the nation Armageddon and the Apocalypse themselves were visited upon melt away and the world then slips back into a comfortable self-righteous snooze seeing pics of babies saved after ten days, old ladies after 11 and old men after 12. Those who bothered to donate something can feel satisfied, as well they should, because it is the voluntary donations raised by the hard-working tax-paying public that ends up footing the bill.

 

After all, someone has to pay the banks off for their irresponsibility; someone has to pay NATO's trillion-dollar war bills. Right, that is also the taxpayer but don't tell anyone. (They might get annoyed).

 

So when all is said and done, and forgotten, who is accountable? What about those media reports, those in-depth histories for example about Haiti? Those potted histories in which we read that the Spanish exterminated the local population of Hispaniola (the Isle on which Haiti is situated), just for starters, then the entire country was turned into a giant plantation, a colony, ruled over by Europeans thousands of miles away. Those histories which tell us the country's wealth was stripped, its assets stolen, that dictators were imposed from abroad and democratically elected leaders were kidnapped and whisked away to the Central African Republic, those stories which inform us the country was a gigantic sexual tourism destination, that the first slave revolution was not recognised for decades by nations who were terrified their own slaves would revolt and that an embargo was slapped on the country as a punishment.

 

And a massive reparations package to France which basically meant Haiti was a non-starter with a massive financial boulder round its neck to repay the debt. And interest. For what? Why, independence. Those stories then tell us Haiti had to borrow from Washington to give to Paris. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

 

Right. Those stories that then inform us that the USA massacred 2,000 Haitians at the beginning of its military invasion in 1915, this was after France then Germany had interfered, the stories that tell us that Haiti today is still paying off the massive billion-dollar debt run up by dictators Papa Doc and Baby Doc. The same potted histories tell us that Haiti, once self-sufficient in rice and an exporter of sugar, had its agriculture destroyed by foreign parties (World Bank and IMF), had its rural society ripped apart, which then morphed into slum dwellers in the main cities and lo and behind started to import everything, at exaggerated prices and ever-increasing interest rates, of course.

 

And finally these in-depth profiles which have suddenly sprung up tell us of military coups supported from abroad and the suspension of hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid by the United States of America in 2002 - aid which was going to rebuilding programmes, healthcare and education.

 

So are we supposed to shrug and forget these stories as the media circus moves on? Or is someone somewhere accountable? And what a deplorable, disgusting and revolting comment on Humanity if Haiti does not become a starting point for real change, a new leaf and a fresh start.

  

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

Disaster media Haiti

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Polish Defense Ministry announced that a base with up to eight launch pads manned by some 100 U.S. troops will be installed in Warminsko-Mazurskie Province close to Morag, 37 miles (60 kilometers) from the Poland-Kaliningrad border.  This is a worse option than when first announced, the claim then was that it would be placed 100 kilometers from the border with Russia. 

"In Morag we could offer the best conditions for American soldiers and the best technical base for the equipment," said Polish Radio. 

Poland says the missiles, to be installed in April, will be used to "train" the military.  Train the military to do what remains unclear.  According to the SOFA, U.S. troops will service Patriot missiles that are to be integrated into Poland's national security system.

Poland and the United States signed a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) last December laying out the conditions for the deployment of U.S. troops on Polish soil.  The plan was originally intended as a reward for Poland's acceptance of a US missile defence base, but Obama has not yet decided the fate of the proposed missile defence system.  Although information has been mostly unavailable about the new system, it is believed to entail the deployment of US cruisers and destroyers equipped with sophisticated Aegis radars and antimissile interceptors in the eastern Mediterranean and North Sea.

Why the program continues with the missile defence system shelved from its Polish location is obvious:  it was never meant to be a defensive system.  It will be an offensive system.  It had nothing to do with Iran and everything to do with Russia.  It was about puffing up a country that has no intention of getting along with its neighbors, stirring things up and patching up a wounded ego.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he cannot comprehend the need "to create the impression as if Poland is bracing itself against Russia."  This new development has not seen official Russian government comment beyond Mr. Lavrov.

Poland seems to be bound and determined to make itself a flashpoint for another world war, just like the last one.  What Hitler failed to do during the Great Patriotic War, the US seems determined to make up for and reverse.  The only thing Poland is accomplishing is to make itself the ground zero, primary first strike target in any conflict.

Back in the US, there is still massive wasteful spending on overseas wars and adventurism while the US population has once again sunk into a mire of stupification.  It seems the Obama phenomenon was only a brief shooting star whose light is now extinguished.  The power broker elites have reasserted themselves. 

Again, the country has slipped back into night and darkness as the awakening from their slumber is now obviously seen as having been only temporary.   The failure to elect a Democrat to Senator Ted Kennedy's seat seems to have assured that the enemies of all of Obama's initiatives will now be able to sufficiently block his efforts in every sphere.

The US population, it seems, is now prepared to ingest their own vomit.  They lost their memory of the disastrous Bush administration very quickly and have succumbed to the empty deceitful rhetoric of the elites again, generated largely by desperate insurance companies and corporate interests who envision that the last thing the country's resources will be spent on is for the welfare of its own people.  Heaven forbid a touch of human "socialism" makes the lives of American citizens healthier or more secure.  That is not allowed.

Additionally, the latest airline "terrorist incident" has made them even more willing to accept additional measures that violate privacy and human rights.  These include racial or ethnic profiling, the setting up of privacy-invading databases and the introduction of new technologies, such as body scanners, without proper assessment of their possible ramifications on human rights.

Another indication that nothing has changed is that the utter failure, George Bush, who bungled Hurricane Katrina in the worst possible fashion, is now fund raising for Haiti. 

Why is the US placing men and materials so close to the border of Russia?  Throw away that reset button.  It was all a sham and a farce.  A match needs to be placed on everything to do with START, which won't be worth the paper it gets written on.   Absolutely everything in every realm with the US needs to start from scratch.

"The appearance of American soldiers in Russia's vicinity will be a nail in a coffin in US-Russia relations,' said military analyst Pavel Felgengauer."  Indeed it will be.

Meanwhile, the Russian daily Viedomosti has written that Russia is going to pursue its initial plan to install the Iskander missile system in Kaliningrad, the Russian land corridor near the Polish border. Moscow withdrew that plan when the US backed down from installing the anti-missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic. 

Whatever the plans were for the Iskander missile system, they should be doubled now.  The hostile intentions of the west, the US and Poland are so thick, they can be cut a knife.

So Poland is asking for trouble.  Unfortunately, Poland is likely to find it, along with their American enablers.

Lisa KARPOVA
PRAVDA.Ru

 

 

Patriot missiles Poland US Defense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

President Barack Obama does not have a magic wand. Yet he is expected to be some kind of magician. President Barack Obama inherited one of the worst economic scenarios in the history of the planet. Yet he is expected to be some kind of guru. Do any of those attacking him with such venom in reputable international media outlets realise that an ideal political cycle (for implementation of policy) takes seven years, and not just one?

 

President Barack Obama inherited a hot potato. Not only was the United States of America's image ruined abroad after war crimes in Serbia, the imperialistic Kosovo debacle, war crimes in the illegal war in Iraq and the decision to back the murderous war criminal Saakashvili in Georgia after 2,000 Russian civilians were murdered in the most blatant cowardly act of treachery...its economic infrastructure was at breaking point after eight years of the Bush regime and the banking and economic sectors were in free-fall.

 

So President Barack Obama inherited a broken nation, with a deplorable record abroad, with a need to rebuild bridges which had been systematically dynamited for eight long years with the arrogance and insolence of Messrs. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Ms. Rice. President Barack Obama inherited an internal situation bordering on a nightmare, with thrift (mortgage) institutions bankrupt, millions of people unable to repay loans, companies closing, record levels of bankruptcies.

 

And people expected what? A circus act? A magician? A fairy godmother?

 

The "Yes, we can" campaign was a campaign of brilliance, a campaign based upon the very best that the United States of America has, which is so often either unnoticed or purposefully ignored by a foreign media that likes to pretend the USA is crude, rude, uncultured, raw, ignorant and "colonial" whereas in fact it is already, and slightly over 200 years old, a sophisticated country with pools of excellence in the fields of education and technology, where public services function, where people are free to say their piece, a country which although criminally misled at times, is nevertheless in general terms well-meaning.

 

The "Yes, we can" campaign surpassed that of the more experienced Hillary Clinton. And why? Because Hillary Clinton came from within the system, like Bush, and Cheney, and Rumsfeld, and McCain and Barack Obama came from without. He was not elected because he is black, because he isn't. He is as much "white" as he is "black" and anyway what a wonderful comment the citizens of the USA made to the most sceptical international observers in electing him: race was not an issue and race is not an issue in the USA of today.

 

Every vote cast for Barack Obama in the USA was the reflection of the collective will of the international community, tired of the Clinton and Bush regimes riding roughshod over international law.

 

So why now are the knives out for the man who wooed the world with his intelligence, who wooed the USA with the word "Change"?

 

For the same reason that Mikhail Gorbachev was more popular outside the USSR than inside. Americans might be attentive as to the standing of their nation in the international community, those who have some kind of reason to be interested. Yet what Europeans do not realise is the fact that the USA is far larger than the European Union and has a myriad of cultures and realities between the East and West coasts...and why should the Americans be that worried about what goes on overseas?

 

People vote on domestic issues, they vote on what is going to affect them in their daily lives, and nothing else. The electorate is not stupid (with one exception, the re-election of the Bush regime attenuated by the non-event staged by the Democrats).

 

The fact is that for domestic policies to be formulated and implemented, there exists a political formula which has a life-span of seven years. Therefore those who look towards the smaller picture, claiming that the unemployment rate under Bush was 7% and under Obama, 10%, claiming that bankruptcies have soared by a million, and then complain, basically know nothing at all about macro-economic timetables and therefore have no credence whatsoever in their complaints.

 

Those who criticise Barack Obama do not remember the fact that his 787 billion-dollar stimulus package, in his first year, saved the country's economic infrastructure from catastrophe. Those who criticise him do not remember that he increased Federal spending on anti-poverty packages. Those who criticise him do not understand that job creation comes at the end of the line, not at the beginning, unless one is speaking about a controlled economy.

 

So what is happening in the USA?*

 

The failure to elect a Democrat to Senator Ted Kennedy's seat seems to have assured that the enemies of all of Obama's initiatives will now be able to sufficiently block his efforts in every sphere.

The US population, it seems, is now prepared to ingest their own vomit.  They lost their memory of the disastrous Bush administration very quickly and have succumbed to the empty deceitful rhetoric of the elites again, generated largely by desperate insurance companies and corporate interests who envision that the last thing the country's resources will be spent on is for the welfare of its own people.  Heaven forbid a touch of human "socialism" makes the lives of American citizens healthier or more secure.  That is not allowed.

Additionally, the latest airline "terrorist incident" has made them even more willing to accept additional measures that violate privacy and human rights.  These include racial or ethnic profiling, the setting up of privacy-invading databases and the introduction of new technologies, such as body scanners, without proper assessment of their possible ramifications on human rights.

Another indication that nothing has changed is that the utter failure, George Bush, who bungled Hurricane Katrina in the worst possible fashion, is now fund raising for Haiti. 

Why is the US placing men and materials so close to the border of Russia?  Throw away that reset button.  It was all a sham and a farce.  A match needs to be placed on everything to do with START, which won't be worth the paper it gets written on.   Absolutely everything in every realm with the US needs to start from scratch.

 

* http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/22-01-2010/111786-poland_cruising_bruising-0

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

Lisa KARPOVA

PRAVDA.Ru

 

Obama USA President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The international community is trying to prevent an urban disaster becoming a rural catastrophe, planning to help the new influx of city-dwellers to the countryside establish themselves. Ban Ki-Moon praises the resilience of the Haitian population.  After all, in how many countries would people be singing in the streets and playing musical instruments after what they have been through?

 

The international community is trying to prevent an urban disaster becoming a rural catastrophe, planning to help the new influx of city-dwellers to the countryside establish themselves. Ban Ki-Moon praises the resilience of the Haitian population.  After all, in how many countries would people be singing in the streets and playing musical instruments after what they have been through?

 

As the Government in Haiti launches its program to relocate half a million people in the countryside, the United Nations Organization is trying to make sure the onset of the Spring planting season is not affected negatively by the earthquake which devastated a third of the country 12 days ago.

 

The UN Food and Agricultural Organization is giving priority to farmers with seeds, fertilizers, feed for animals, vaccines and tools, making sure that the exodus from the city to the countryside is met with the right conditions for the planting season in March.

 

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon stated today that he is convinced that the Haitians will overcome this tragedy due to their amazing resilience. After all how many other peoples would be sitting around in tent cities singing and playing musical instruments?

 

"Haitians are people of strong faith, which sustains and comforts them during this difficult time," stated Ban Ki-Moon, remembering that "this is the gravest tragedy in the history of the Organization".

 

Defending the UNO, Ban Ki-Moon stated that "Our mission was up and running again within hours of the disaster, despite the fact that some of those working had lost close family members, friends and colleagues," remembering the tens of UN personnel (nearly 50) who had lost their lives or who are still missing.

 

On Friday the efforts of the international community were finally visible nationwide and not just in the capital city. Various UN agencies fanned out around the affected area (involving around a third of the country's population) reaching villages and towns which had until now been looking after themselves.

 

Former banks, houses, hospitals and universities are today piles of rubble. Yet all of those who have witnessed the amazing resilience of the Haitian population have no doubt that this society will rise up again and surpass the horrific trials of the last two weeks.

 

Maybe this time, with the international community helping Haiti and not holding it back, as was the case right since the declaration of independence in 1801, this country can become proud of itself.

 

Those on the ground applaud the restraint and resilience of the Haitian people. After what they have been through, for centuries, there can be no doubt that this is a special people, with special qualities and tomorrow these will be the cornerstones of nation-building.

 

Let us hope that from now on the international community works towards fostering this process and not hindering it, as has been the case to date.

 

http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/19-01-2010/111726-haiti_chance-0

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

Haiti future earthquake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Damaged graves, racist graffiti. Arson against a mosque. Settlements continue to be built in East Jerusalem, against international law. IDF forces seen violating the border. Inhumane blockade on Gaza putting the lives of 1.4 million people at risk. While flouting international law, does Israel realise how disastrous its PR campaign is?

 

 

Israel is in breach of every fiber of international law

 

Is Israel above international law? Is there one law for the international community and another for Israel? Let us examine some rulings by international legal organisms, namely the International Court of Justice, The Hague Convention, the Geneva Convention and the UN Security Council:

 

Article 46 of the Hague Convention prohibits confiscation of private property in occupied territory. Article 55 of the same Hague Convention stipulates "the occupying state shall be regarded only as administrator and usufructuary of public buildings, real estate, forests, and agricultural estates belonging to the hostile State, and situated in the occupied country. It must safeguard the capital of these properties, and administer them in accordance with the rules of usufruct".

 

Article 49, paragraph 6 of the Fourth Geneva Convention explicitly stipulates that "the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies".

 

UN Security Council Resolution 465 (1980-unanimously adopted) made it clear that "Israel's policy and practices of settling parts of its population and new immigrants" in the Occupied Territories constitutes "a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East". The Security Council called upon Israel to "dismantle the existing settlements and in particular to cease, on an urgent ba-sis, the establishment, construction or planning of settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem".

 

The 2004 ruling of the International Court of Justice in The Hague July 9, 2004 declared that "Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, are illegal and an obstacle to peace and to eco-nomic and social development [... and] have been established in breach of international law."

 

Why then does the Israeli Government continue to allow settlements to be built, quite apart from refusing to dismantle those which already exist, again in breach of international law?

 

Dessecration of Palestinian tombs, burning of Mosques

 

Palestinian graves at the village of Awarta are systematically desecrated by Jewish settlers who cross the border in raids, daub racist fascist messages in Hebrew on the graves and on Mosque walls and worse, destroy the tombstones. Not only civilians, but Israeli soldiers have also been seen in the area. Last Tuesday, for example, a group of Israeli settlers and soldiers were seen near Awarta and on Wednesday morning, the local population awoke to see with horror what had happened to their cemetery and Mosque: horrific insults daubed in Hebrew and tombstones smashed.

 

Ten days previously another raid by Jewish settlers from Yitzhar were arrested after a mosque was burned in Yasuf.

 

UNO and NGOs: Israel is jeopardizing health of civilians with Gaza blockade

 

Israel is placing the health of 1.4 million civilians at risk with the inhumane blockade of the Gaza strip. The United Nations Organization and Non-Governmental Organizations have called for an immediate opening of border crossings to allow aid to get through. Max Gaylard, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator of Occupied Palestinian Territories, together with the Association of International Development Agencies, issued a joint statement yesterday claiming that "The continuing closure of the Gaza Strip is undermining the functioning of the health care system and putting at risk the health of 1.4 million people in Gaza".

 

Operation Cast Lead launched by Israel last year damaged 15 hospitals out of 27 in Gaza and destroyed or damaged 43 primary healthcare facilities. These facilities have neither been rebuilt nor replaced. The WHO states that because patients cannot get certain treatments in Gaza, they are referred for treatment outside, in which case they need Israeli transit visas...andIisrael in many cases does not issue them.

 

The Israeli blockade has led to the collapse of the Gaza economy and as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon pointed out last November, it "has severely impaired the realization of a wide range of economic, social and cultural rights, as well as civil and political rights".

 

The Peace Process in tatters

 

Can anyone state that Israel's policies do anything whatsoever to further the Middle East peace process? Or indeed, deny that they are the root cause of the problems? While Israel claims that its "gains" are the spoils of war and refuses to respect the international frontiers recognised by international law, then it is giving rise to the perpetuation of the conflict by those whose lands have been stolen, whose children have been murdered, whose houses have been bulldozed, whose pregnant mothers have been left to die at border crossings.

 

While there are many pro-human rights and pro-Palestinian rights groups within Israel, while a substantial part of Israeli society stands firmly against Zionism and while a great many Israelis want to live in peace beside or integrated with a Palestinian State and deride the colonies as sheer imperialism, these voices are not those which dictate policy, although the international media does little to say they exist.

 

These actions do nothing whatsoever to foster even a modicum of sympathy in the international community towards Israel or its cause. Sooner or later this policy of belligerence is going to cause a flashpoint which will be a tragedy for all.

 

The way forward

 

There is only one way forward. Both sides must respect international law. Both countries must exist inside internationally defined borders and while Israel occupies one millimeter of land that does not belong to it, it should pay a rent to the Palestinian Authority to aid the process of State-building while drawing up and respecting a plan to phase the colonies out over a set period of time.

 

The Palestinians meanwhile have to respect Israel's right to exist under international law and refrain from all types of violence.

 

If there were more cultural exchanges and sports events between the children of these two communities - the citizens of tomorrow - and more educational iniciatives fostering a spirit of friendship and love, then if today's leaders are unable to deliver, maybe tomorrow's can.

Does the world really have to tolerate such mutual hatred, at the beginning of the 21^st century - hatred caused to a great extent by Israel's flouting of international law.

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

 

 

 

 

 

Israel atrocities Middle East

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why should the international community be spending two hundred and fifty billion dollars of its taxpayers' hard-earned money to perform state-building in Afghanistan when this country now produces 40 times more heroin than ten years ago and when corruption accounts for 2.5 billion dollars a year for NATO-trained officials to get rich?

 

A recent UN report, "Corruption in Afghanistan: Bribery as Reported by Victims" issued by the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) reveals that for the vast majority of the citizens of Afghanistan, the worst problem is corruption and not insecurity, despite the fact that this is becoming worse by the day. The report was based upon a survey involving 7,600 people in 12 provincial capitals and 1,600 villages.

 

In the last year, Afghanistan's citizens paid 2.5 billion dollars in bribes to the authorities to secure basic services which were supposed to be a right. Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of UNODC, states in the report "The Afghans say that it is impossible to obtain a public service without paying a bribe". It revealed that 50% of Afghans had to pay some sort of bribe in the period in question.

 

The report reveals that in most cases the bribe was requested explicitly by the service provider and was paid in cash. In a country where the per capita GDP is 425 USD per annum, the average bribe is 160 USD, or 40% of the average national per capita GDP. In the USA, this would be equivalent to 19,000 USD.

 

So is Afghanistan really worth it? According to UN figures, corruption accounts for nearly as much money as the opium trade, 2.5 billion USD as compared with 2.8 bn. Heroin production has risen by 40 times over the last decade and last year is estimated to have accounted for 90,000 deaths worldwide.

 

Is Afghanistan really worth the 250,000,000,000 spent so far in stabilising the country and training public officials, when 25 per cent of Afghans state they have had to pay a bribe to police and local authorities and up to 20% more had to bribe a government official or senior member of the judicial system?

 

Is it really worth spending hundreds of billions of dollars and risking soldiers' lives when the bulk of the terrorists have fled over the border into Pakistan and when the very presence of foreign soldiers is a call to loyal Afghans to defend their territory, as they have been doing for hundreds of years?

 

Is it really worth the effort when over half the Afghans covered in the survey stated that the aid workers in NGOs present in the country are corrupt and are only involved so as to get rich?

 

Almost ten years after NATO invaded Afghanistan, the security situation is worse, heroin production has skyrocketed and presents a threat to the international community 40 times higher than before the campaign, and for what? For thousands of family members across the NATO member states to mourn their loved ones, for the taxpayers of NATO countries to foot the 250 thousand million dollar bill (to date) - where did people think the money came from? - and for a handful of officials to get rich at the cost of the people who are in an even worse plight than before.

True, international terrorism is an evil and a scourge that must be fought and beaten. Yet while so much money and so many resources are concentrated in Afghanistan, the Al Qaeda controllers are operating elsewhere.

 

We are dealing with cowards who are afraid to fight and who use the mentally diminished to carry out their work through suicide bombings. If things start getting tough they are not going to stay in Afghanistan.

 

True, giving up is also not the solution. The solution is something which the Soviet Union started decades ago, a policy which was sabotaged by the West launching fanatical anti-Soviet Islamist groups in central Asia, creating the problem in the first place, a policy which has now backfired The monster is created. The solution is called development.

 

It is not called propping up a corrupt motley group of gangsters and criminals which was always on the fringes of Afghan society. The bottom line is, if you are going to interfere in a foreign country, get it right from the word go, or be involved in a never-ending nightmare which sucks your resources, your will and your people dry. The alternative is a hands-on policy of development through a carefully structured and monitored aid programme, backed up if necessary by discreet military presence and intelligence.

 

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

 

Afghanistan war Taliban