Saturday, April 14, 2012

Bahrain Grand Prix: Formula One demeans itself with this event



Whoever participates in this race is tainted by association with a malign regime

Editorial
The Observer
, Saturday 14 April 2012

"The kingdom of Bahrain is a repressive regime that has jailed and killed citizens who campaign for the reform of its monarchy. In Shia villages in the minority Sunni-led state, which was propped up by last year's intervention by Saudi troops, protests continue daily.

Only last week, Shia villages were attacked by supporters of the regime with knives and sticks. And while it is true that the country's ruling family commissioned a critical report into the violence of last year, it is also a fact that despite promising reform the regime has reneged on most of its promises while the perpetrators of abuses in its security services have gone largely unpunished.

You might think, in these circumstances, that a leading international sport and those who represent it might feel a little queasy about being asked to stage an event in Bahrain that is already being used by the regime to whitewash what happened last spring and the abuses that are still occurring.....

The reality, however, as Amnesty made clear a few days ago, is that "the human rights crisis in Bahrain is not over". It added: "Despite the authorities' claims to the contrary, state violence against those who oppose the Al Khalifa family rule continues, and in practice, not much has changed in the country since the brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters in February and March 2011."

Perhaps it is too much to expect Ecclestone, who has enriched himself hugely out of Formula One, to show a moral backbone. But the drivers, sponsors and team owners who participate should consider that they will be giving cover to a violently human rights-abusing regime by their participation and will be seen by many Bahrainis and others as accomplices in those continuing abuses. We can act, too, by not watching. Because sport – despite the protestations of Formula One's paid lobbyists – is not divorced from the moral world and this event, and Bahrain's continuing behaviour, demands our disapproval."

Al-Jazeera Video: Egyptian presidential candidates barred


"Election officials in Egypt have barred some of the leading candidates from running for president.

The list includes several high profile names, such as Khairat al-Shater, the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, and Omar Suleiman, Hosni Mubarak's former vice-president and intelligence chief.

Hazem Abu Ismail, the candidate representing the ultra-conservative Salafi al-Nur party, has also been barred, as has Ayman Nour, a prominent opposition leader.

Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros reports from Cairo."

Al-Jazeera Video: Sherine Tadros updates from Cairo


"Election panel excludes 10 presidential hopefuls, including Muslim Brotherhood candidate and ex-spy chief Omar Suleiman."

Eyewitness account from Homs from my Relatives


سأسجل اليوم شهادتي على واقع وقف إطلاق النار وفق خطة عنان وذلك بعد زيارتي لحمص..

باختصار صمد وقف إطلاق النار في حمص لمدة 12 ساعة ومن ثم ابتدأ القصف.. وصلنا إلى حمص قبيل الساعة الحادية عشرة أول صوت انفجار كان في الساعة 10:56 ومن ثم في الساعة 11:02 ومن ثم توالى القصف دون هوادة طيلة الساعات الخمسة التي قضيناها في الخالدية والحميدية والغوطة, سقط خلالها ما لا يقل عن 50 قذيفة على أحياء جورة الشياح والقرابيص والخالدية.

أصابت سيارتنا شظية قذيقة تركت أثرا في سقف السيارة.. أثرا يا ينسى..

في الأيام الثلاثة دخل براد المشفى ( كان في الأصل ملحمة وتبريده لم يكن كافياً لحفظ الجثث) 21 شهيدا في المناطق التي تخدمها الخالدية وهي البياضة وحمص القديمة.. لم يتمكن الأهالي من دفن الشهداء سوا اليوم صباحا بعد منعهم من الدفن لعدة أيام..
جلسنا مع عناصر الجيش الحر ولم يكونوا يحملون أسلحتهم التزاما بوقف إطلاق النار وأكدوا أنهم ملتزمون إلى أقصى حد وهم أصلا لا يستطيعون الرد لأن القصف يأتي من مسافات بعيدة ولا مواجهات بينهم.. كان بين الثوار شخصان مسيحيان من بستان الديوان أكدا رواية الثوار وقالوا بأن القصف طالهم كما طال غيرهم وبأن النظام هو المسؤول.

أرجو أن تعمموا هذه الشهادة لغايات التوثيق...



my other relative



عدت من حمص قبل ثلاث ساعات و عاد الشوق لها أكبر و أكبر!
و كما تعرفونني يا أصدقائي لا أعتمد على التلفاز في الحصول على الحقيقة(و قد أنسى وجوده أحيانا)..
فأردت أن أرى (بأم عيني) إلتزام إتفاقية وقف إطلاق النار..
دخلنا حمص.. و بعد أن رأيت الدمار (بأم عيني) من قذائف الهاون و الدبابات!! في الخالدية و البياضة و الوعر و الحميدية (حي لإخواننا المسيحيين)..
و منذ دخولنا لم يتوقف أو يهدأ صوت قذائف الهاون و صوت القناصات (وكأننا في ساحة حرب و لكن من طرف واحد !)..
و قد حصل الشرف لسيارتي (كساندرا) بأن تصاب بشظية هاون في سقف السيارة خلف السائق (دون إختراقه)..
و في إحدى هروبنا المسرع من القناص في أحد شوارع الحميدية سمعنا و أحسسنا بطلقة القناص القريبة جدا منا و لكن للأ سف لم تنل كساندرا الشرف مرة أخرى..!!
الحمد لله على سلامتنا و سلامة كساندرا التي ستبقى شظية الهاون ذكرى لنا من حمصنا الحبيبة..
و أعلمكم أن السيارة لن تباع مهما قدم طرازها و مهما هرمت.
و قد حصل لي الشرف بأن أقبل رأس أخي و صديقي أسامة البطل (الجريح) و التأكد بأنه سيعود لنا بعد 15 يوما سالما و متل الحصان :) و أكثر ثورانا..
من سياق الحديث عرفتم يا أصدقائي مالذي يحصل في حمص.؟

فأعود و أنصحكم بأن لا تنتظروا شيئا من خارج سوريا..!!و أن لا تتابعوا التلفاز و تنزلوا إلى الساحات لتروا مدى عظمة شعبنا و صموده و تلمسوا الإنتصار مع الثوار في الشارع..
فأجمل و أدق ما قيل في ثورتنا (من سمع ليس كمن رأى)!!!
عاشت سوريا حرة أبية.. و ستبقى حمصنا الجريحة عدية.

المرشح الإسرائيلي عمر سليمانThe Israeli Candidate.

عــ48ـرب

Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Story - The struggle for Egypt's presidency

A GOOD PROGRAM


"As the Muslim Brotherhood calls for a political ban against members of the old regime, who stands to gain from the power struggle?"

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian refugee in Turkey talks to Al Jazeera


"Syrian refugees in Turkey tell Al Jazeera that they are not holding out much hope for a ceasefire."

"Elect the Candidate of the Deposed President!" By Emad Hajjaj



استطلاع: تعاظم انعدام الثقة بالفصائل الفلسطينية وارتفاع في شعبية الجهاد الاسلامي

عرب 48\وكالات

"أكد استطلاع للرأي أجراه مركز رام الله لدراسات حقوق الإنسان، ونشرت نتائجه، اليوم السبت، وجود حالة عدم رضى من قبل الجمهور الفلسطيني تجاه الفصائل الفلسطينية، بالإضافة إلى ارتفاع شعبية الجهاد الإسلامي بنسبة كبيرة.

وقال مدير عام مركز رام الله لدراسات حقوق الإنسان، د. إياد البرغوثي، في مؤتمر صحفي عقد في مركز وطن الاعلامي: كان التأييد الأكبر بين المستطلعين لحركة فتح حوالي (27%)، تليها حماس حوالي (11%)، ثم حركة الجهاد الاسلامي حوالي (8%)، إذا ما نظرنا إلى التأييد لهذه الحركات في قطاع غزة فإننا نرى أن فتح هي الأولى، حوالي (24%)، والحركة الجهاد الإسلامي هي الثانية (16%)، والثالثة هي حركة حماس (13%).

وأضاف: يعارض 43% من المستطلعة آراءهم وجود أحزاب وحركات سياسية في فلسطين من حيث المبدأ، ويلاحظ أن الذين يعارضون وجود هذه الاحزاب بشدّة حوالي 19%، وهم ضعف من يؤيدون وجودها بشدّة وهم حوالي 9%.

وأضاف د. البرغوثي: لدى السؤال عن تأييد أو معارضة الاحزاب الدينية مقارنة بالاحزاب العلمانية في فلسطين، نجد أن معارضة أشد لوجود الاحزاب العلمانية، وتأييداً أشد للاحزاب الدينية. فالذين أيدوا وجود الاحزاب الدينية في الضفة والقطاع حوالي (57%)، والذين عارضوها حوالي (41%)، في حين أن من أيد الاحزاب العلمانية (27%)، وعارضها حوالي (67%).
....."

Teen protester 'shot in chest' in Bahrain


Boy among several people wounded when police opened fire as thousands joined funeral procession, opposition group says.

Al-Jazeera

"A 15-year-old boy was shot in the chest by anti-riot police in Bahrain during a funeral procession for an activist killed last month, according to an opposition group.

Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Aziz was in intensive care and several others wounded when police fired on mourners with tear gas and live rounds, the Al-Wefaq group said on Saturday.

Thousands of people attended the funeral procession on Friday for Ahmed Ismail, 22, in Salmabad just outside the capital Manama.

Ismail was described by Al-Wefaq as a citizen journalist. His family and opposition members blamed his death on pro-government gunmen.

The latest clashes came as it was announced that the Bahrain Grand Prix Formula One race would go ahead despite continuing unrest in the Gulf Arab state.

Bahrain's main Shia opposition had called for the event to be cancelled but also urged people not to disrupt the race if it went ahead to avoid damaging their cause.

'Down with Hamad!'

"Down with Hamad!" chanted some marchers on Friday, referring to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa....."

The Baghdad street of books that refuses to die



By Robert Fisk

"....Everyone goes to Mutanabbi Street, its new statue of the Abbasid poet and king-praiser towering at the Tigris end. Here you get a feeling of what is going on in the mind of an educated Baghdadi, who still walks a road that you could get killed on five years ago....

I snap up a faded copy of Zaki Saleh's Mesopotamia 1600-1914 – published in Baghdad more than 55 years ago. Queen Elizabeth I sent the first Brit to Baghdad and Basra, and there are pages of head-chopping history as the sultans of Baghdad, variously loathed and adored by British consuls, meet their sticky ends. And there is a fascinating chapter on the relationship between British romanticism and financial speculation in Iraq, how the names of Babylon and the Tigris (Dijle in Arabic) bestowed a kind of respectability on Western acquisitiveness.

If ancient monuments showed that this was a rich land, a centre of civilisations, why could it not be a rich land again under Britain's guiding hand? Two Brits, Shepstone and Lee by name, published a monograph in Toronto in 1915 under the title "Future of Mesopotamia, how Bible lands may be restored to their former greatness as a result of the world war". Isn't that what our economic wizards told us in 2003, how Western know-how could restore Iraq's greatness?....."

Israel forces airline to cancel tickets of British 'flytilla' activists



Jet2.com move follows pressure from Israel as 2,000 pro-Palestinian activists prepare to fly in on way to West Bank

Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk, Friday 13 April 2012

"Israel has forced low-cost airline Jet2.com to cancel the tickets of three women from Manchester intending to travel to Bethlehem via Tel Aviv this weekend for a gathering of pro-Palestinian activists.

Jet2.com informed the women by email that the airline would refuse to carry them and no refund would be paid. The move follows pressure on airlines from Israel to ban known activists.

One of the women, retired nurse Norma Turner, said Jet2.com had caved in to pressure. "It never crossed my mind that Israel could stop people with British passports leaving British airports," she told the Guardian.

Israel has promised to deny entry to hundreds of activists due to arrive at Tel Aviv airport on Sunday en route to the West Bank for a week of educational and cultural activities......."

Bahrain: Grand Prix Decision Ignores Abuses



F1 Should Consider Rights Implications of Scheduled Race

Human Rights Watch
April 14, 2012

"(Beirut) – The decision to go ahead with the Grand Prix on April 22, 2012, givesBahrain’s rulers the opportunity they are seeking to obscure the seriousness of the country’s human rights situation, Human Rights Watch said today. The decision was announced on April 13 by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and the Formula One Teams Association. As part of a major public relations campaign to clean up Bahrain’s image following the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011, the Bahraini authorities have been lobbying to have the Bahrain Grand Prix reinstated in 2012. The event was cancelled in 2011 because of political unrest. Not only is the event expected to generate significant income, but it is also being used by the Bahraini authorities to support their claim that the political and human rights crisis in the country is over.

“Formula One promoters say their decision to race in Bahrain should not be derailed by political considerations, but the ruling family will attempt to portray today's decision as a political statement of support for its repressive policies,” said Tom Porteous, deputy program director at Human Rights Watch. “The FIA has played into the government’s narrative to gloss over Bahrain’s continuing human rights crisis.”....."

Saudi Arabia must release detained activist on hunger strike



Amnesty International
13 April 2012

"The Saudi Arabian authorities must release a prominent human rights activist who is reported to have been on hunger strike for five weeks in protest at his continuing unfair imprisonment, Amnesty International said.

Mohammed Saleh al-Bajady, co-founder of the unregistered NGO the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), has reportedly refused to take water since last weekend - heightening fears for his health.

He has been held since his arrest on 21 March 2011, a day after he attended a protest in the capital Riyadh by families of detainees arbitrarily held.

Charged with being a member of ACPRA, harming the reputation of the state and having banned books in his possession, Mohammed Saleh al-Bajady has been on trial since August at the Specialized Criminal Court, which was set up to try terrorism and security-related offences.

"Mohammed Saleh al-Bajady is a prisoner of conscience held solely for the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association. All charges against him should be dropped and he should be released immediately," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa programme.

"His hunger strike makes his release all the more urgent as his health must be deteriorating with each day he refuses food and water."....."

Tahrir, Islamists and the bumpy road to theocracy



Bikya Masr

"CAIRO: Thousands of Egyptians filled Tahrir Square to denounce the former head of intelligence Omar Suleiman’s decision to join the presidential race.

Muslim Brotherhood members and Salafists mobilized supporters to the square this morning in a call to “protect the revolution” from a perceived intention of Mubarak-era officials to dominate national politics once again.

“[Omar] Suleiman is the face the old regime. His eligibility to run represents a return to the days of Mubarak,” says an Abu Ismail spokesperson. “Suleiman can only win in a fraudulent election. If he does, there is no doubt that we will return to the streets and reignite the revolution.”

While the parliament recently passed a law banning former Mubarak officials to run for office, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has yet to approve of it.....

Revolutionary youth movements who called for a mass demonstration next week were absent for today’s rally to distance themselves from the Islamists movements."

Welcome to Palestine: 'Even prisoners are allowed visits'


So far, there has been scant US press coverage of 'Welcome to Palestine'
Even Jews can be barred by Israel from travelling to Bethlehem - for the thought crime of supporting Palestinian rights.

By Robert Naiman
Al-Jazeera

"Washington, DC - What difference will it make to the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank when the world meets their demands for freedom and self-determination?

One difference it will make: like other peoples of the world, the Palestinians will get to decide who they can invite to visit them.

Right now, if you, as a citizen of the United States, Canada, or Europe, decide that you want to visit Bethlehem, a Palestinian city in the West Bank - the same Bethlehem that Christians believe to be the birthplace of Jesus - you have two ways to begin your journey. You can fly to Israel, and cross the 1967 border to the West Bank. Or you can fly to Jordan, and cross to the West Bank over one of the bridges. But whichever way you go, you cannot pass to Bethlehem without the permission of the Netanyahu government, which controls all paths you can take to Bethlehem.

If you are a Likud supporter, flying into the Israeli airport should present no problem. But if you are a supporter of Palestinian rights, the Netanyahu government could stop you from going to Bethlehem on purely political grounds - even if you have never committed any crime and have no intention of ever committing one, even if you have never attended a Palestinian protest in the West Bank and have no intention of attending one. You could be barred by the Netanyahu government from going to Bethlehem simply for the thought crime of supporting Palestinian human rights....."

Friday, April 13, 2012

Guardian Video: Ahdaf Soueif: Egyptian writers' energy used to be spent on describing how bad things were

Interviewed at the Guardian's Open Weekend, Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif speaks about a new wave of creativity that has followed the revolution in Egypt last year. She discusses the street art that has sprung up across Cairo – much of it influenced by Banksy – and how writers' imaginations have started to roam beyond Egypt's borders



Al-Jazeera Video: Bahraini youth vow 'three days of rage' during Formula 1


"The governing body of Formula 1 has confirmed that the Bahrain Grand Prix will continue as planned.

Continued unrest and concerns about human rights violations had led to speculation that the race scheduled for April 22 would be called off.

Ala'a Shehabi speaks to Al Jazeera from Manama about his conversation with Formula 1 Chief Bernie Ecclestone and the Bahraini youth who have promised "three days of rage" during the event."

Al-Jazeera Video: Fresh protests hit Cairo's Tahrir


"A large protest is taking place in Egypt's Tarhir Square, where people are marching in support of a new law that bans Mubarak-era officials from running for office.
Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros reports from Cairo."

Real News Video : Speculation and Criminal Manipulation of Food and Commodities Prices

Michael Greenberger: Weak regulations on speculators swamping markets and lack of enforcement of existing laws on criminal intent, are driving up prices


More at The Real News

Gunter Grass by Khalil Bendib


(Click on cartoon to enlarge)

Syrian Strife Hits Lebanese Villages

By Mona Alami

"QAA, Lebanon, Apr 13, 2012 (IPS) - A few kilometres separate the two Lebanese villages of Ersal and Qaa from the Syrian border, both of which have been unwillingly drawn into the violence of the Syrian uprising. Unrest has been brewing in the region for weeks and recently it was on the receiving end of intermittent gunfire from the Syrian army. The situation remains tense despite the fragile new ceasefire.

Official sources are now reporting Syrian army incursions into Masharii Qaa (the Qaa Projects), a border town consisting of Ersal, a Sunni village, and Qaa, which is predominately Christian. Ersal supports Syrian opposition fighters, whom Qaa residents view with great suspicion....."

Human Rights Abuses Aside, Formula 1 Racers Head to Bahrain



Grand Prix cleared despite safety fears and opposition protest

Common Dreams

"The world's most elite professional race car drivers will head to Bahrain next week to participate in the Bahrain Grand Prix as the sport's governing body has accepted assurances from the ruling monarchy that, despite popular unrest and an ongoing protest movement, the streets will be safe for the drivers and the throngs of international spectators who will attend the race....

Human rights groups were aghast at the decision, and Amnesty International released a special brief [posted below] to expressly tell the world that "the human rights abuses are not over in Bahrain."

"Despite the authorities’ claims to the contrary, state violence against those who oppose the Al Khalifa family rule continues, and in practice, not much has changed in the country since the brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters in February and March 2011," said the statement.

The Formula One race was cancelled in 2011 after Bahraini students and pro-democracy reformers took the streets during the so-called "Arab Spring," demanding an end to the authoritarian rule of the monarchy and asking for democracy reforms. The movement has been violently suppressed, but the government's brutal crackdown has received only tepid condemnation from the United States. Bahrain has long been home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet in the oil-rich region......"

Blockades and the danger of disaster



By Juan Cole
Asia Times

"As nuclear negotiators sit around the table this weekend, a full-scale financial blockade of Iran is raging outside. Even as economic powerhouses China and India decline to join, the escalation from crippling sanctions holds extreme dangers of spiraling into military confrontation, and fueling the bitterness and blowback seen after the Western campaign against Iran in the 1950s.....

As the sanctions morph into a virtual blockade, they raise the specter that all blockades do - of provoking a violent response. Just as dangerous is the specter that the sanctions will drag on without producing tangible results, impelling covert or overt American action against Tehran to save face. And that, friends, is where we came in. "

Syria's opposition can now turn this ceasefire to its advantage



Adrian Hamilton
The Independent

"Whether the Syrian ceasefire holds may be the question that most of the world, including Western leaders, is asking at the moment. And it does obviously matter so far as saved lives and protected civilians are concerned. But, renewed firing or not, the question remains, as it has from the beginning: can the opposition unseat the Assad family and change power in Syria?.....

The reason is blunt and brutal. This is not a fight about democracy in which the ruling regime could, like the generals in Burma or the king in Morocco, give a little in order to preserve themselves in power. This is, like other movements in the Arab world, a revolt against the whole nexus of corruption and internal suppression which keeps the Assad family in wealth as well as power.

Give in with even minor concessions, the regime fears, and the whole edifice will start to crumble as ethnic, religious and regional differences surface. No one need believe for a moment Damascus's claims that it still has the support of most of the population. But it can, and does, play to fear – fear both of the brutality of the security services and fear of the chaos which civil war and religious conflict might bring.....

The opposition's hope is that they can use the period of calm to recuperate, re-supply and bring out their supporters on to the streets in peaceful protest. That is what will achieve their purpose, if anything can. Assad has the upper hand militarily but, if the ceasefire is followed by a resumption of mass and peaceful protest demanding his resignation, what can he do but return to suppression in front of the cameras?"

A Great Cartoon by Dave Brown: The Grand Prix in Bahrain


(Click on cartoon to enlarge)

Assad's guns fall silent – but Syria's terrified people fear fragile ceasefire will not last



With both sides claiming violations, the UN warns that a single shot could derail its peace mission

The Independent
Friday 13 April 2012

"A fragile Syrian ceasefire teetered precariously last night as both sides reported violations and the opposition prepared for large scale demonstrations which will test the Assad regime's commitment to holding fire.

Despite widespread scepticism, a lull in violence was reported over much of the country yesterday as UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's final ceasefire deadline came into force at dawn. However, there was no sign of any significant army withdrawal and activists claimed there had been several incidents of sniper fire and shelling, counting at least five dead. The government also reported breaches and said an "armed terrorist group" had targeted a military bus with a roadside bomb in Aleppo, killing one officer.

For much of the day, the streets in the opposition strongholds of Homs and Hama lay eerily quiet as the tanks that have relentlessly shelled rebel neighbourhoods fell largely silent. But the atmosphere remained tense as army snipers prevented residents from resuming any semblance of normal life, activists said. Videos posted online purporting to be from Homs, where some neighbourhoods have suffered a near-relentless three-month siege, showed army snipers patrolling rooftops. On the deserted streets below, the muzzle of a tank could be seen ominously poking out above a row of sandbags......"

Document - Bahrain: Human rights in Bahrain - Media briefing



13 April 2012

"SUMMARY

The human rights crisis in Bahrain is not over. Despite the authorities’ claims to the contrary, state violence against those who oppose the Al Khalifa family rule continues, and in practice, not much has changed in the country since the brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters in February and March 2011.

The Bahraini authorities have been vociferous about their intention to introduce reforms and learn lessons from events in February and March 2011. In November 2011, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), set up by King Hamad bin ‘Issa Al Khalifa, submitted a report of its investigation into human rights violations committed in connection with the anti-government protests. The report concluded that the authorities had committed gross human rights violations with impunity, including excessive use of force against protesters, widespread torture and other ill-treatment of protesters, unfair trials and unlawful killings.

So far, however, the government’s response has only scratched the surface of these issues. Reforms have been piecemeal, perhaps aiming to appease Bahrain’s international partners, and have failed to provide real accountability and justice for the victims. Human rights violations are continuing unabated. The government is refusing to release scores of prisoners who are incarcerated because they called for meaningful political reforms, and is failing to address the Shi’a majority’s deeply-seated sense of discrimination and political marginalisation, which has exacerbated sectarian divides in the country.

In recent months, the Bahraini authorities have become more concerned with re-building their image and investing in public relations than with actually introducing real human rights and political reforms in their country....."

A Poster Against the Candidacy of Omar Suleiman in Egypt


(Click on the photo to enlarge)

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Syria ceasefire: five potential stumbling blocks

If Kofi Annan's plan fails, the UN security council will lose patience and get tougher with President Bashar al-Assad

Ian Black
, Middle East editor
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 12 April 2012

"Opposition demonstrations

If the ceasefire holds – a big if – the Syrian opposition will test the Annan plan's right to peaceful assembly by holding mass demonstrations, probably as soon as Friday, the usual day for protest during the 13-month uprising. President Bashar al-Assad must decide whether to allow them. Protesters will need to be non-violent to avoid any pretext for a crackdown. Offically organised loyalist counter-demonstrations and provocations by the security forces are likely. The presence of UN monitors and the media, also required by Annan, will embolden anti-Assad forces....."

Günter Grass says Israel ban reminds him of East German Stasi



Writer banned from Israel over critical poem says only other countries that excluded him were East Germany and Burma

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 12 April 2012

"The German Nobel literature laureate Günter Grass has compared the Israeli interior minister to the Stasi, the latest move in an escalating dispute following Grass's publication of a poem criticising Israel.

Eli Yishai on Sunday banned Grass from entering Israel, to which Grass replied in a commentary in Süddeutsche Zeitung by comparing the travel ban to one imposed on him by Erich Mielke, head of East Germany's dreaded secret police.


He wrote that only the communist DDR and Burma had ever banned him from entry before.

"Now the interior minister of a democracy, the state of Israel, has punished me with a travel ban and the tone of his justification reminds me of the verdict of minister Mielke," Grass wrote in the piece which appeared on the Süddeutsche Zeitung's website on Wednesday evening. Grass said he still saw himself as "irrevocably connected to the country of Israel", but while Burma seemed to offer a glimmer of hope for change, Israel was an "unchecked nuclear power" that regarded itself as immune to criticism......"

Al-Jazeera Video: Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught reports from Hatay



"Syria's foreign ministry spokesman has told state TV the ceasefire is holding and the government remains committed to agreement

Activists meanwhile are calling for people to come out onto the streets to test the peace. Anita McNaught reports from Turkey."

Video: Israeli soldiers violently attack Palestinians, international visitors in Hebron’s Old City

By Ali Abunimah



"This account accompanying the video provided by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee......"

Who Owns the Palestine Solidarity Movement?



By Ramzy Baroud
Palestine Chronicle

"A few years ago, after I spoke at a conference in South Africa, Ronnie Kasrils, then the country's Minister for Intelligence Services, leaned towards me and said, "I agree with everything you said, but in order for the boycott of Israel to become adopted by world governments, the call has to be initiated by those who represent the Palestinian people in Palestine, not outside groups."

I was not actually purporting to represent any group, inside or outside Palestine. A few days later I received more counsel from a leading South African official. "A representative from Mahmoud Abbas's office was here few days ago," he said. "He seemed to have different priorities from yours. He asked me to ensure that the South African government continues to isolate Hamas, not Israel."

Kasrils, a legendary member of the African National Congress (ANC), was, of course, right. It was the decisive call of academic boycott made by the ANC in the 1960s which started a process that eventually succeeded in isolating the apartheid regime and speeding up its demise.

Alas, those who are recognised as the representatives of the Palestinians stand on the wrong side of history. Their political fate is now intrinsically linked to that of the very Israeli occupation that continues to torment Palestinians. Ensuring dominion over an occupied nation has proved to be more urgent to them than isolating Israel for its crimes...."

Muslim Brotherhood’s Presidential Aims Challenged



Analysis by Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani

"CAIRO, Apr 12, 2012 (IPS) - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has surprised both supporters and rivals by abruptly announcing its own nominee for upcoming presidential elections, despite earlier promises that it would not field a candidate from within its own ranks.

"The Brotherhood's sudden decision to field a presidential candidate was a hasty one," Amr Shobki, sitting MP and political analyst at the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies told IPS. "The move is sure to have a negative impact on the Brotherhood's credibility and public image.".....

According to political analyst Diaa Rashwan, the decision to nominate al-Shater represents a "watershed" in the Brotherhood's history.

"It's a sea change in the group's policy, from a strategy of gradual change to one of rapid transformation," he said at a Cairo University seminar. "And it's indicative of the Brotherhood's desire to dominate Egypt's post-revolution political arena."....."

The Babylonian Captivity of Washington



by Philip Giraldi, April 12, 2012

"......Many critics of the perennially lopsided relationship that the United States enjoys with Israel have noted a disturbing shift in the relationship during the first three years of the Obama Administration. To be sure, Obama appears to genuinely dislike Israel’s arrogant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a sentiment that is fully reciprocated. But Obama is bound hand and foot into an engagement with Israel in which he lacks leverage over what might or might not take place. Even George W. Bush was able to say no to Israel when it was mooted that Tel Aviv might attack Iran, but Obama has painted himself into a corner where the United States has little influence over what might occur. Whether the Obama reticence is due to the control exercised by his Chicago billionaire patrons, the Crown and Pritzker families, both of which are strong supporters of the Middle East status quo, or whether it is just a more generalized fear about what might happen in the upcoming national elections, the result has been paralysis in Washington. Recent war games conducted by the Pentagon have confirmed that a new conflict with Iran started by Israel would quickly draw the United States in and would become regional in nature. The war would not produce a good result for anyone involved and would be particularly bad for the United States, which would again slide into deep recession as energy prices soar......"

Guardian Video: Ricken Patel: 'closing the gap between the world we have and the world we want'

Ricken Patel, the co-founder of Avaaz, talks to the Guardian about the online political movement that has grown to nearly 14 million members and about its role in providing hi-tech communications to Syria so that activists could speak to the world

Ian Black
and Guy Grandjean
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 12 April 2012

Tunisia's constitution must stand test of time



Amnesty International
12 April 2012

"The Tunisian National Constituent Assembly must use the drafting of the new Constitution to prevent a repetition of the widespread abuses that took place under former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Amnesty International said today in a new briefing.

In the 37-page submission to the National Constituent Assembly, Amnesty International calls on members of the assembly to include a range of provisions in the new Constitution to safeguard human rights and ensure that Tunisia delivers its obligations under international treaties.

"There is a real chance for the Assembly to set out in the Constitution the vision for the new Tunisia, one based on human rights and the rule of law, and Tunisians' aspirations for freedom, dignity, equality, and social justice," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Programme of Amnesty International.

"Continuing restrictions on freedom of expression and the police violence against peaceful protesters in recent days highlights the need for real ambition by those drafting the new Constitution to include language that will stand the test of time and make Tunisia a regional leader in the protection of human rights."

Scores of people were injured on Monday when security forces fired tear gas and used batons to disperse protesters as they sought to enter Bourguiba Avenue in central Tunis to mark Martyrs' Day, defying a 28 March decision by the Minister of Interior banning demonstrations in the area. Several journalists and political and civil society activists were also assaulted...."

Egypt’s Brotherhood turn against the man they had praised



Bikya Masr

"A new secular wave of criticism is hitting the fan and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt are getting smacked in the face. The group is launching a massive attack campaign against the same man they shook his bloody hand during the 18 day uprising, Omar Soliman, who announced his presidential ambitions recently.

The Brotherhood sat with him, had their cup of tea while Egyptian blood was still running warm on the pavements of Tahrir. When he was then Vice-President, Soliman invited the revolutionary powers for negotiations and talks. No one answered but the Brotherhood.

Any followers of the group’s political history can tell that they do not like to walk empty-handed from anything they dip their feet in. So in case the revolution did not work, they sat with the man who headed the Egyptian intelligence body for over a decade, personally implementing the American program of rendition, and approved the torture of thousands of Egyptian “suspects.”

On February 7, 2011, shortly after the Camel battle, in which tens were killed when the deposed ruling party hired thugs with swords and guns, who raided Tahrir square Medieval style, Saad al-Katatny, who is now the Speaker or parliament, said that he “believes Soliman” and called his promises “a positive and important step.” Katatny then pleaded with the nation “to give the regime a chance.”

Now posters portraying Souliman as a butcher, with blood dripping from his hands, accusing him of being “Israel and Mubarak’s servant” and the “sequel to Mubarak, or Mubarak 2″ and the “revolutionary youth killer”, publishing and republishing anything negative about him on their newspaper and website, announcing they obtained “important documents exposing Souliman as part of the gas deal with Israel”, calling for him to be tried for “treason”.

The MB now, especially after pushing Khairat al-Shater into the presidential feast, are more invested than ever in the process. They repeated over and over again that they would not nominate anyone from within and went as far as firing leading figures, notably Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, for expressing their wish to run in the race.

Now the group is furious.

They want Soliman out of the picture, waging war against him, calling him the reincarnation of Mubarak. Marches, speeches and battles were organized around the country tarnishing Soliman, a tactic that doesn’t need much effort as very few already trust the man. They say if he wins, the elections will have been cooked.

Their lack of faith in the Egyptian voter seems to be pushing them far. They are scared and want to get people on their side. But not for one second have they stopped campaigning for the presidential race.

Yet, the liberals and seculars in Egypt have swallowed the bait oh so well. They have seized organizing and put all their eggs against the Soliman basket. With mass sit-ins and protests on the horizon to get him kicked out of the race, they seem to have lost their focus. The liberals don’t see that while the MB shamelessly attack the same man who they cozied up with during the revolution, always have their eyes, and beards, on the prize.

One can also say that the whole hate campaign against Soliman aims to reestablish their image as a national “selfless” power, instead of a religion abusing, opportunity jumping bunch.

They are telling the people, we will guard the revolution, even if they did occasionally compromise their honor. One of the biggest banners that we saw during the recent protests outside of the now Islamic-run Parliament, was the cover of a magazine in 2005 featuring the former Supreme Guide Mahdi Akef, with the headline “We support president Hosni Mubarak for another term.”

The dirty political games that the Brotherhood plays might not be that dirty in political contexts, but it is a tarnished and soiled playground for the new and clean start Egyptians wish to rebuild their country and political system upon. They do not want manipulations or corrupt politics. They had decades upon decades of it and all agree it is time to move on. But the liberals, who in many ways are the real hope for real change in Egypt, but their emotional drifting and lack of focus will not only harm their political hopes, but the country as a whole."

The labour movement and the future of democracy in Egypt



The actions of the Ultras and the labour movement could determine the future of revolutionary politics of Egypt.

By Mark LeVine
Al-Jazeera

"Irvine, CA, & Cairo, Egypt - There has never been any coordination between them, but over the coming months, the actions of the Ultras and the labour movement could well determine the future of revolutionary politics in Egypt.

Both movements, with their strong working class roots, have been at the front lines of protest in Egypt in the last decade, with institutional memories of opposing unjust rulers, whether in the football stadiums or the factories, going back much further. Each played a crucial role in the 18-day uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak....."

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

الثورة السورية في قاموس إيران وحلفائها


A GOOD ARTICLE

"في توقيت متزامن، خرج رئيس الوزراء العراقي نوري المالكي والأمين العام لحزب الله حسن نصر الله وعدد من القادة الإيرانيين يبشرون بأن فكرة إسقاط النظام السوري بالقوة قد انتهت عمليا، وليس أمام الجميع سوى السعي لحل سياسي، وهو حل لا حاجة للكثير من الذكاء لكي ندرك أنه ينطوي برأيهم على بقاء بشار الأسد والبنية الطائفية التي تتحكم بالبلد مقابل إصلاحات شكلية لا تسمن ولا تغني من جوع، ولا تلبي الحد الأدنى من طموحات غالبية الشعب السوري.

لا حاجة إلى القول إن شعور الأطراف إياها بعدم جدية الولايات المتحدة والغرب (تبعا للكيان الصهيوني بالطبع) في إسقاط النظام بالقوة هو الذي يمنحهم مزيدا من الأمل ببقائه، لكن الأهم في تفسير هذه التصريحات المتزامنة والمتوالية إنما يعود إلى وجود مخاوف جدية من انهيار النظام من الداخل، لا سيما أنهم يدركون أن الأنظمة التي تعتمد على بنية أمنية وطائفية (طائفة الأقلية) يمكن أن تنهار في أية لحظة، وهم لذلك يبعثون رسائل طمأنة وإسناد تضاف إلى الدعم الأمني والعسكري والسياسي والمالي للنظام حتى لا ينهار من الداخل بعد قناعة الناس باستحالة بقائه.

وللتذكير فنحن إزاء دعم واسع النطاق يشمل المشاركة المباشرة في قمع الاحتجاجات وإدارة المعركة برمتها يقدمه الإيرانيون وحزب الله بشكل خاص، وهو دعم لم يعد من الأسرار المكتومة، إذ تتحدث عنه دوائر داخلية وخارجية بكثير من التفصيل في بعض الأحيان.

.....
الأكثر إثارة فيما تابعنا يتمثل في تصريحات المالكي التي لا تخلو من الوقاحة في التعاطي مع الملف السوري، ليس فقط لجهة تأكيده بأن النظام لن يسقط بالقوة، وإنما أيضا لجهة إدانة التدخل الخارجي ومسار العنف، في تجاهل سافر لتاريخه،
......
هل يقبل منطق الدين (منطق المذهب أيضا) الوقوف ضد شعب ثائر ضد الظلم والفساد
والدكتاتورية، لا سيما من أناس يتغنون ليل نهار بالحسين الشهيد (رضوان الله عليه) الذي واجه يزيدا وجيوش الأخير تفتح الأمصار وتواجه أعداء الأمة، ما يعني أن أساس الثورة هو الظلم والفساد، وهل يقبل منطق المقاومة الوقوف ضد شعب عظيم يحب المقاومة وينتمي إليها، لكنه يريد الحرية والكرامة مثل سائر الشعوب العربية الأخرى، وجاءت ثورته ضمن سياق الربيع العربي وليست مؤامرة على المقاومة والممانعة كما يزعمون ومعهم أبواق عالية الصوت، هامشية الحضور في الفضاء الشعبي العربي؟

هو موقف ساقط بمعيار السياسة أيضا، ليس فقط لأن إيران وحلفاءها لن يتمكنوا من حماية النظام من السقوط، بل أيضا لأن خسارتهم لجماهير المسلمين (السنة)، وهم غالبية الأمة لا يوازيها بقاء النظام الذي لو بقي سيكون ضعيفا أمام العدو وأمام الداخل، ولا تسأل عن حقيقة أن بقاءه ستكون له تبعاته الكبيرة على الصراع المذهبي الذي سيصيب إيران ومن معها أكثر من بقية الأمة، مع أن الجميع سيخسر من دون شك، بينما يربح الأعداء، أقله في المدى القريب والمتوسط.

والحال أن مواقف إيران وحلفائها لن تحمي النظام، وكل ما ستفعله هو إطالة أمد الصراع وصولا إلى تدمير سوريا ومعها حالة التعايش المذهبي في المنطقة، وكل ذلك سيصب في مصلحة الكيان الصهيوني. وإذا قال بعض الموتورين إن المعارضة التي تمثل غالبية الشعب السوري ينبغي أن ترضى بالحل السياسي تجنبا لذلك المصير، فليس ذلك سوى دعوة واضحة لتلك الغالبية بالركوع أمام النظام، وهو لعمري الابتزاز الرخيص بعينه. ابتزاز سيرفضه السوريون، وسترفضه جماهير الأمة أيضا، مع أن النظام هو الذي يرفض الحل السياسي من الناحية العملية.
....."

Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Story - Will more diplomacy save Syria?

Real News Video : Human Rights Watch Accuses Assad of Executing Civilians

Vijay Prashad: Outside interference in the Syrian civil war does not excuse the barbaric crimes of the Assad dictatorship

More at The Real News

Kofi Annan's Grace Period for the Butcher of Damascus, by Emad Hajjaj


(Click on cartoon to enlarge)

Shot in the heart - the journalist Assad made into a martyr



Mourners demand answers over fate of cameraman killed on the Lebanese border

By Robert Fisk

"They buried Ali Shabaan as a martyr-reporter yesterday, another journalist of the Syrian war to die in action – but a Lebanese this time, unknown in the West but loved in his little south Lebanon village, not least by the girl to whom he was to have become officially engaged this Saturday....

Shot in the heart. By the Syrians. Forty bullets hit the cameraman's car and that of his fellow crew at Wadi Khaled. A quick death, I suppose....

Every journalist who dies in violence in Lebanon is called a martyr. Not a bad description of all of those who die trying to report the truth, that subtle narrative that must name the guilty party. But Al-Manar, the television station of the Hezbollah – Syria's ally – did not speak of Shabaan as a "martyr" but as a "victim" of a battle between Syrian troops and "terrorists". As one of Shabaan's employers said yesterday, he was wiped off the news agenda of Hezbollah as a victim of "crossfire", the old explanation of Palestinian deaths at the hands of the Israelis. "But for God's sake," he said, "this wasn't an Israeli television station – this was a Hezbollah station!".....

....a larger clutch of Lebanese journalists who believed that this was the result of – I quote one in particular – "a planned murder, Don Corleone-style". According to them, and to New TV (NTV) officials, Shabaan's killing was "a message"......

NTV's staff is adamant that at no point did they enter Syrian territory.....

There was a range of feeling in Maifadoun yesterday. "We are with the Hezbollah when they fight Israel," one villager said, "but we are not with the Syrians when they kill their people."

Ahmed Shabaan watched the body of his only son placed in the earth. Muslims out here have no coffins. And oh yes, Syria sent its official condolences."

Tunisia urged to investigate police violence against protesters



Amnesty International
10 April 2012

"The Tunisian authorities must investigate reports of violence by security forces against protesters in the capital yesterday and allow Tunisians to peacefully exercise their right to freedom of assembly, Amnesty International said today.

Security forces fired tear gas and used batons to disperse protesters marking Martyrs’ Day as they sought to enter Bourguiba Avenue in central Tunis on Monday, defying a 28 March decision by the Minister of Interior banning demonstrations in the area.

Scores of people were injured in the incident, including members of the security forces.

The Ministry of Interior said the demonstrations on Bourguiba Avenue were illegal.

Imposing a sweeping ban on protests to avoid having to deal with protesters is a flagrant breach of international law. The security forces’ actions highlight the urgent need to put in place new legislation that protects the right to peaceful protest in Tunisia,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

As long as laws from Ben Ali’s era exist, such violations of the right to peaceful assembly will continue unabated. It is beyond belief to see the new Tunisian government not only relying on such draconian laws, but also banning protests on the very same street that became a symbol of the uprising.”

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tunis on Monday to commemorate those killed by the French colonial army in 1938, as well as those killed during last year’s uprising....."

Jailed Bahraini activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja’s life in danger



10 April 2012

"The Bahraini authorities must immediately and unconditionally release a prominent human rights activist whose health is rapidly deteriorating as he passes his 60th day of hunger strike, Amnesty International said today.

Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, 52, who is serving a life sentence for his role in anti-government protests last year, has been denied visits by his family and lawyer in the past four days. He has been on hunger strike for 62 days in protest at his unfair imprisonment.

Amnesty International considers Al-Khawaja and 13 other prominent opposition activists held with him to be prisoners of conscience, held solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly, and who have not advocated violence.

These 14 men should all be immediately and unconditionally released – but instead the Court of Cassation has adjourned their appeal and denied them bail,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International.

“In the case of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, this delay will have potentially disastrous consequences for his health, which continues to deteriorate as a result of his hunger strike. We hold the Bahraini authorities responsible for his situation.”

Their single-minded determination to persecute him seems to override any consideration for justice or humanity.”

“At the very least, the authorities must immediately allow Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja’s family and lawyer to visit him.”....."

Günter Grass, Israel and the crime of poetry



In his poem, Nobel laureate Günter Grass criticises Israel and condemns German arms sales to the Jewish state.

A VERY GOOD PIECE
By Hamid Dabashi
Al-Jazeera

"....In this poem, Günter Grass breaks a long standing German taboo and publicly criticises Israel for aggressive warmongering against Iran, identifies the Jewish state as a threat to world peace, accuses "the West" of hypocrisy and denounces his own government for providing nuclear submarines to Israel....

Setting the dubious fear of being accused of anti-Semitism aside, Günter Grass provides ample reasons - European hypocrisy, German complacency, American barefaced double-standards, Ahmadinejad's buffoonery and Israeli warmongering - for his poem to assume the global significance that it has. But the importance of the poem is not in stating the obvious - it is in revealing the repressed.....

With a leading German public intellectual openly criticising Israel, pointing to European hypocrisy, and blaming his own country for aiding and abetting in the aggressive militarisation of the Jewish state - a gushing wound is opened that implicates both Europe and the colonial settlement that in more than one sense is its own creation. In two specific terms, both as a haven for the victims of the Jewish Holocaust and as the legacy of European colonialism, Israel reflects back on its European pedigree. It is here that Grass' poem reveals more than meets the eye.

For over 60 years, Palestinians have paid with their lives, liberties and homeland for a European crime with which they had absolutely nothing to do.

The Zionist project precedes the European Jewish Holocaust -that ghastly crime against humanity following the horrid history of European anti-Semitism expressed and manifested in systematic pogroms over many long and dark centuries. Palestine was colonised by the victims of European anti-Semitism - as a haven against Jewish persecution. That paradox remains at the heart of a Jewish state that cannot forget the truth of its own founding myth.....

European logic of colonialism

Israel is a European colonial settlement, the last astonishingly barefaced remnant of European colonialism in a world that calls itself "postcolonial".

The same people who are with perfect justification enraged by the foolish Ahmadinejad (when he denies the Holocaust) are evidently entirely undisturbed when their Prime Minister Golda Meir or their favourite presidential candidate Newt Gingrich denies the existence of Palestinians.

The daring imagination of Günter Grass' poem - a heroically tragic act precisely because the poet is implicated in the moral outrage of his own poem - is significant precisely because it captures this German and by extension European logic/madness of colonial conquest and moral cannibalism. A German intellectual exposing the structural link between Zionism and colonialism marks the even more innate link between the Holocaust and colonialism - precisely at the moment of warning against the regional warmongering of Zionism as the post/colonial extension of European colonialism.....

There is one, and only one, definitive resolution for that paradoxical consistency to come to an end: the one state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian dilemma. It is only in that basic, simple, elegant, humane, non-violent, enduring and just resolution that the paradox of Zionism as colonialism, and the structural link between the Jewish Holocaust and European colonialism, can once and for all be resolved.

The fact and the inevitability of that solution, delivering both Israelis and Palestinians from their mutual (however asymmetrical) sufferings, has been staring the world in the eye from day one - and yet the belligerent politics of despair has caused an intentional blindness that prevents that simple vision. So, yes, Günter Grass is right - and in this revelation he could no longer possibly be an anti-Semite:

Only this way are all, the Israelis and Palestinians,
Even more, all people, that in this
Region occupied by mania
Live cheek by jowl among enemies,
In the end also to help us. "

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Egypt Suspends Panel Tasked with Writing New Constitution

The decision is seen as a blow to the Muslim Brotherhood
A court in Egypt suspended a panel tasked with writing a new constitution. The panel was the subject of a boycott by liberals, moderate liberals and others who oppose the Muslim Brotherhood. Critics of the panel's makeup claimed that the body was stacked with members of the Muslim Brotherhood, and said the system for electing representatives to the panel favored the majority party too much.

Guardian Video: Syria ceasefire: an activist's view from the ground

Khalid uses the camera on his Skype-connected laptop to remotely lead the Guardian on a makeshift tour of Dourat al-Shiyah, a central district of Homs, the rebel stronghold that has suffered most acutely in the crackdown by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 10 April 2012

طاب الموت../ تميم البرغوثي


إنهم يخيرون الثورة المصرية بين الهزيمة والاحتواء، عمر سليمان يهزمها وخيرت الشاطر يحتويها. والقمع والاحتواء منهجان استعماريان معروفان.

AN EXCELLENT PIECE!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING


Arabs48.com

"....
وتصوري أن الولايات المتحدة فرضت على المجلس العسكري تحالفه مع القيادة الحالية لجماعة الإخوان المسلمين. أدركت واشنطن ضعف العسكر منذ عجزوا عن فرض حظر التجول يوم الثامن والعشرين من يناير عام ألفين وأحد عشر. وأدركت أن العسكر لن يستطيعوا الحكم إذا قرر أكبر تنظيم في البلاد أن يناوئهم بينما الناس لا يزالون في الشوارع. فكان لا بد لهم من فرض تحالف بين قيادة الإخوان والعسكر، وإن كان مؤقتاً. وهو تحالف يضعف الطرفين ويفيد الولايات المتحدة، أما العسكر فيضعفهم أن تسيطر الجماعة على جزء من الدولة، لأن كل ما تحصل عليه الجماعة من سلطة هو مقتطع منهم، والجماعة يضعفها انعزالها عن بقية قوى المعارضة المصرية وظهورها بمظهر من يبيع الثورة بالثمن البخس. وبعد مرور سنة، أثبت العسكر أنهم فاشلون تماماً في وقف الاحتجاجات في البلاد، وبدا أنهم على شفا الانهيار مع كل حادثة كبيرة، أما القادة الحاليون لللإخوان وحزب النور فأثبتوا أنهم ناجحون تماماً في إنقاذ العسكر كلما أوشكوا على السقوط، وأنهم هم صمام الاستقرار في البلاد، لذلك، توصلت بعض الدوائر السياسية في واشنطن إلى استنتاج مفاده أن استقرار مصر منوط بحكم الإسلاميين، فضغطوا على العسكر لكي لا يؤجلوا الانتخابات البرلمانية أيام أحداث محمد محمود، وضغطوا عليهم مرة أخرى لإعادة تأهيل الشاطر ليدخل معترك الحياة السياسية الرسمية. وعزز هذا الاتجاه في واشنطن، ما أبدته قيادات الإخوان من تفهم للمواقف الأمريكية في المنطقة، فالتزم وفدهم المرسل إلى العاصمة الأمريكية باستمرار اتفاقية السلام مع إسرائيل، وزار رئيس البرلمان الإخواني ملك البحرين معلناً بوضوح وقوف تنظيمه مع السعودية وحلفائها ضد إيران وحلفائها، ولو مرحلياً، وحين قتلت إسرائيل جنوداً مصريين امتنع الإخوان عن الحشد
....
في المقابل فإن العسكر لم يكونوا سعداء بهذا الزواج الجديد بين مكتب الإرشاد والولايات المتحدة، لأنه يعني طلاقاً بين واشنطن وبينهم. وهنا التقت مصالح العسكر مع مصالح اللوبي الصهيوني في واشنطن. فإن كان عجز واشنطن يدفعها للقبول باتفاق مع الإخوان، فإن تل أبيب غير مضطرة لقبول ما قبلت به واشنطن. وإسرائيل، والمحافظون الأمريكيون لم ينسوا كيف انتهى الحلف الأمريكي الإسلامي المنعقد ضد الاتحاد السوفييتي في السبعينيات والثمانينيات، حيث رجع الإسلاميون لعدائهم الأصيل مع الولايات المتحدة. بل حتى في الماضي القريب، حين عجز الأمريكيون عن حكم العراق حكماً مباشراً واضطروا للتحالف مع بعض القوى الإسلامية فيه، وهو الحل الذي سمي في واشنطن بالسيستانيزم، نسبة إلى آية الله علي السيستاني، انتهي هذا الحلف بعودة القوى الإسلامية إلى عدائها الأصيل مع الولايات المتحدة، وحالفت طهران بدلاً من واشنطن. أقول إن إسرائيل، ومعها الجمهوريون الأمريكيون، ما يزالون من أنصار سياسة المواجهة المباشرة بين الأمريكيين والمسلمين، ويرفضون سياسة الاحتواء، ويرون أن أي حلف أمريكي إسلامي آيل للانحلال، وأن خيار أوباما احتواء الإسلاميين والتفاهم مع المعتدلين منهم يعرض أمن إسرائيل للخطر مهما أعطوه من ضمانات. يعني مهما أقسم السيد خيرت الشاطر على أنه سيبقي على اتفاقية السلام، فإن إسرائيل ستظل تعتبره خطراً عليها، وإن اطمأنت له فلن تطمئن إلى قواعده وناسه أبداً. وهي تعتبر أن احتمال خروجه غداً من أي حلف أمريكي يدخله اليوم يبقى وارداً بسبب ضغط هؤلاء القواعد. وإن كان خروج رئيس إسلامي مصري عن حلفه مع أمريكا يهدد مصالح أمريكا ، فإنه يهدد وجود إسرائيل لا مصالحها فقط، ومصر أكبر من أن يطمئن لها أعداؤها مهما طمأنتهم. لذلك ترفض إسرائيل ما تقبله أمريكا، وتعتبر الشاطر خطراً عليها مهما قال أو فعل.

هنا، إذن يلتقي العسكر، مع الإسرائيليين واللوبي اليهودي، والمحافظين الأمريكيين. وبينما يجهد وفد الإخوان المسلمين في واشنطن لإقناعها بمزايا الحلف الأمريكي الإخواني، ويقدم لها الضمانات الخاصة بأمن إسرائيل ويعدها بمراعاة مصالحها في الانفتاح الاقتصادي، وقناة السويس والبترول والغاز والقمح والموانئ والمطارات والطرق، يجهد العسكر في إقناع واشنطن بخطر الإسلاميين، وأن كل ما يعدونها به مؤقت وغير مضمون. كأن العسكر والإخوان في مزاد، كأنهما عز الدين أيبك وفارس الدين أقطاي يتنافسان على ود شجرة الدر الأمريكية. ولكي يكسب العسكر أعواناً وأنصاراً يقنعون البيت الأبيض بوجهة نظرهم لجأوا إلى اللوبي اليهودي والحزب الجمهوري، وأتوا لهم بمرشح إسرائيل المفضل عمر سليمان. واللوبي اليهودي في أمريكا كما تعلم هو من أنجع وسائل الضغط والإقناع، وتزيد نجاعته في سنة الانتخابات الرئاسية الأمريكية، وهي على الأبواب في نوفمبر القادم
.....
ونحن؟ أعني مجموع الناس الذين لا يريدون حلفاً لا مع الولايات المتحدة ولا مع إسرائيل، ويريدون تفكيك ما يستتبعه حلف كهذا من سيطرة الأجهزة القمعية على الدولة وبيع خيراتها للعدو؟ ماذا نصنع؟

اجتهادي هو أن نتوحد ونتشدد، فلا سند لنا إلا الشارع، ونحن لن نضمن الشارع إلا بهذين، إن الوسطية والتفاوض والروقان هي بضاعة القيادة الحالية للإخوان المسلمين ووفدهم الذي قابل جفري فيلتمان، مهندس أزمات المشرق، في واشنطن. لقد اختار مكتب الإرشاد إقناع الأمريكان سبيلاً للحكم، ولن نستطيع مباراته في ذلك، لأننا ببساطة لا نستطيع أن نقدم ما يقدمه هو من تنازلات، وإن قدمناها فسيبقى هو أقدر منا على تطبيقها، فإذا خيَّرْنا الناس بين متنازلَين فلماذا يخرجون إلى الشوارع؟ إن الناس لن يعرضوا نحورهم للرصاص من أجل رجل يفاوض أو يناور أو يحب السلامة. بل سيعرضون نفوسهم للخطر إن قدمنا لهم بديلاً يساوي تضحياتهم. إذا أردنا الناس في الشارع فلنعلن عداءنا الصريح للولايات المتحدة وأننا سنلغي اتفاقية السلام واتفاقية الغاز وعقود النفط والذهب وقناة السويس اللتي تنهب البلاد بمقتضاها، وسنعيد ثروات البلاد إليهم بلا مواربة ولا موازنات، فلأجل هذا، لا أقل منه، لقي الناس الرصاص بصدورهم ولأجله لا أقل منه قد يقبلون الخروج مرة أخرى.

لنستعد إذن لثورة ثانية، فهذا صيف طويل، وإلا فهو الموت الأكيد،
....."

The Disgusting Attacks on Gunter Grass

Why No Sympathy for the Palestinians?

By Tariq Ali
CounterPunch

"The German writer Gunter Grass (The Tin Drum) had already predicted the response to his poem in SdZ. There is no reason to be surprised, but there is every reason to be disgusted. Within Germany both the elite and a layer of the population by their words and actions appear to have accepted the disgraceful Goldhagen thesis whereby all German were guilty for the crimes of the Third Reich. This thesis has now been developed further: all Germans are guilty for eternity for the crimes of the Third Reich.

Behind this thinking is the Zionist and Zionophile argument that the crime against the Jews of Europe was unique in the annals of history.....

Gunter Grass was very mild in his criticisms. He concentrated on Israeli warmongering in relation to Iran. He could have said a lot more. The fact that it needs political courage to say even what he did in Germany or France is a sad reflection on the political culture of both these countries......

German citizens should ponder the following: it was not the Palestinians who were responsible for the murder of millions of Jews during the Second World War. Yet they, the Palestinians, have become the indirect victims of the Judeocide. Those to whom evil is done, do evil in return to others. So why no sympathy for the Palestinians?"

Training Terrorists in Nevada: Seymour Hersh On U.S. Aid to Iranian Group Tied To Scientist Killings

Democracy Now!

"Journalist Seymour Hersh has revealed that the Bush administration secretly trained an Iranian opposition group on the State Department’s list of foreign terrorists. Hersh reports the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command trained operatives from Mujahideen-e-Khalq, or MEK, at a secret site in Nevada beginning in 2005. According to Hersh, MEK members were trained in intercepting communications, cryptography, weaponry and small unit tactics at the Nevada site up until President Obama took office. The MEK has been listed as a foreign terrorist groups since 1997, and is linked to a number of attacks, spanning from the murders of six U.S. citizens in the 1970s to the recent wave of assassinations targeting Iranian nuclear scientists. Hersh’s new report for The New Yorker blog, "Our Men in Iran?,"[Was posted on P.P.] comes as nuclear talks are set to resume this week between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency....."

Shock Doctrine in Egypt: Sharif Abdel Kouddous on Post-Mubarak Economic Crisis, Presidential Race

Democracy Now!


"As Hosni Mubarak’s former spy chief Omar Suleiman announces he will run for president and Egypt teeters on the edge of an economic crisis, we discuss the state of post-revolution Egypt with Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous, based in Cairo. Suleiman headed Egypt’s intelligence services for more than 18 years, becoming a close U.S. ally and playing key role in the Bush administration’s extraordinary rendition program. Now he joins a crowded field of candidates in the presidential election set to begin May 23. Kouddous notes Egypt’s economy has reached a critical juncture, as the country faces a large budget deficit and is running out of its foreign currency reserves even as it relies on imports for key food staples, such as wheat. Kouddous is in New York to to accept this year’s Izzy Award for Special Achievement in Independent Media for his reporting on the Egyptian revolution......"

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian forces fire on camp in Turkey


"Syrian security forces have opened fire at a refugee camp in neighbouring Turkey, just a day before the first phase of a ceasefire plan set out by the United Nations.

And the man who person who brokered that deal, former UN head Kofi Annan, is himself due to visit some of the refugee camps on Tuesday.

Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught reports from Antakya on the Turkish-Syrian border."

Real News Video : Military Backs Mubarak's Former Spy Chief Omar Suleiman for President

Candidates of the military and the Islamists expected to dominate Egyptian Presidential campaign


More at The Real News

Are we serious about talking with Tehran?



By Stephen M. Walt

".....It is possible, I suppose, that there's something more subtle going on here. Maybe the real P5+1 position will be a bit more reasonable, and these news stories will be forgotten. Maybe Iran's leaders are feeling the heat, and will be more forthcoming than I suspect. Maybe there's a tacit U.S.-Israeli deal reflected here, where they've agree not to launch a war and we've agreed to put forward a very tough line that leaves options open for the future. Maybe the demand to close Fordow is just a bargaining chip, and we will in fact get a deal on the 20 percent enriched uranium.

A lot of maybes. But from where I sit today, our approach looks like a good way to sabotage the negotiations before they start. What good does that do anyone?"

Surrender now or we'll bomb you later

By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times

"Welcome to the "roll over and die" school of diplomacy over Iran - as perfected by the Barack Obama administration, with vital input from the Israel lobby in Washington. The United States president's ultimatum before international talks over Tehran's nuclear program is a rhetorical missile aimed at demonizing Iran - all to the delight of the "Bomb Iran" crowd......

The point in this whole nuclear "negotiation" shadow play is to sell to American - and world - public opinion the notion that Iran once again is stalling; has a lot to hide; and simply cannot be trusted to be engaged in any "serious" negotiations....."

Syria is too far steeped in blood for resolution by negotiation



The government's use of brutal tactics means that it is always creating fresh enemies

By Patrick Cockburn

"In Northern Ireland it used to be called "the politics of the last atrocity", when the latest act of violence and the retaliation it provoked dictated the direction of day-to-day politics. Syria has travelled far in this direction, its towns convulsed by mini-civil wars too bitter and bloodstained to end by mediation....

So far it is the differences between Libya and Syria which are most striking. In Syria, Nato countries want an excuse not to do anything radical, while in Libya they were looking for a justification to intervene. And without direct action by foreign powers, the only alternative for the Free Syrian Army is to wage an escalating guerrilla war against Bashar al-Assad's government......

Diplomats say Mr Assad's senior officials are in a confident, and possibly an over-confident, mood. They may have stopped the tide of insurgency, but they will be unable to reverse it. Concessions made last spring might have had an impact, but since then too much blood has been spilled."

Toulouse or Not to Lose, by Dave Brown


(Click on cartoon to enlarge)

Syria Eyewitness: Beaten and burnt... a family's tale of torture



The Independent
Monday 09 April 2012

"Ahmed blinks away the tears as he recounts his family's ordeal. His hands, frail and trembling, roll up his trousers to show the bruises on his knees where they first beat him with sticks. Then he lifts his shirt to reveal the deep burns on his back.

"An 80-year-old man," he says, his voice rising. "What can they want with an 80-year-old man? I've worked hard all my life, I've done nothing wrong, and this is how my wife and I are treated in our old age."

It was Friday 23 March when Ahmed and his wife Maha, in her late seventies, and their 44-year-old son Yousef were taken from their home and tortured at the hands of President Bashar al-Assad's soldiers. Ahmed was at the mosque when he heard his house in the Bab Sbaa district of Homs had been shelled and rushed home with his son to pull his wife from the rubble. But his relief that she had escaped relatively unscathed soon faded.

"That's when they came and took us," he said. "They were armed and in uniform and they ordered us to follow them to one of our neighbours homes which was abandoned."

It was there that they were led to separate darkened rooms for interrogation. As he was being beaten, Ahmed could hear his son and wife's cries echoing through the building.

"It was absolute misery," he says. "They just asked over and over again who was working with the Free Syrian Army in the area. Then they brought out the blowtorch, like the kind you use for welding metal. I thought we were all going to die."

The hellish questioning lasted three hours. Yousef's back and arms are littered with dozens of burn marks, some deep gouges as the blowtorch was held to his skin for longer and longer. The fact that the family weren't detained for longer, Ahmed says, is evidence that the soldiers knew that they had nothing to do with the opposition and were just fishing for information.

His wife is now in hospital recovering after the family fled to Lebanon. She escaped the blowtorch but the beating took its toll. Yousef barely speaks, staring blankly around him....."