Update
- Palestinian accused of Embassy bombings denied fair trial
- Pakistan: Refugees at risk at Chaman staging camp
- Libya reinforces troops to guard the president
- Nicaragua: New President Elected
- Anthrax; US may resume mail deliver next week, More US Embassies testing anthrax like substances.
- South Africa--Zambia : Combating violence against refugees
- Saudi Diplomat in US discussing Anti Terrorrism strategy
- Palestine; US Assistance routed through contractors
- Smuggling from Pakistan helps Taliban
- " There is discrimination against women and quite a number of cases of sexual harassment. It seems it is an accepted norm with migrant communities that part of that experience is they might have to perform sexual favours to cross the border, but what jars is the intensity of the violence in South Africa. People feel physically threatened," Abrahams said.
- James Dobbins: US Representative to Afghan opposition
5 November 2001
Palestinian accused of Embassy bombings denied fair trialkeralamonitor.com
- London: Amnesty International is concerned that Samar Alami and
- Jawad Botmeh, convicted in connection with the 1994 Israeli embassy
bombing, have been denied the right to a fair trial and that
their convictions are unsafe.On 1 November 2001, the Court of Appeal denied all
grounds of the appeal against conviction and sentencing by Samar
Alami, a Lebanese-Palestinian, and Jawad Botmeh, a Palestinian,
both of whom are UK residents. They had been sentenced in 1996
to 20 years' imprisonment after being convicted of conspiracy to
cause explosions in 1994 at the Israeli Embassy and Balfour House
in London. Bombs exploded at these locations in July 1994; no one
was killed as a result.Samar Alami and Jawad Botmeh have consistently maintained
their innocence of the charges. There was no direct evidence
connecting either of them to the attacks and both had alibis. The
appeal was based on the grounds that the convictions were unsafe,
including due to the failure of the prosecution to disclose
evidence to the defence, and on the length of the sentences.Amnesty International is concerned that Samar Alami and
Jawad Botmeh have been denied their right to a fair trial because
they have been denied full disclosure -- both during and after
the trial -- of all information, including intelligence
information, that may have been relevant to the investigation of
the bombings. Some of this evidence had been subject to Public
Interest Immunity certificates, thus blocking its disclosure.
Crucial questions remain unanswered concerning the role of the
various intelligence services, the actions of the Israeli embassy
including in the investigation, and the nature of the initial
police investigation.This case highlights some of the dangers of use of Public
Interest Immunity certificates to block disclosure of evidence
and raises questions about the accountability of the intelligence
services.One of the grounds of appeal was based on statements made
by former MI5 agent, David Shayler, that the security services
had received a warning before the bombing that an attack on the
Israeli embassy was being planned. David Shayler alleged that
this information had not been acted upon. Amnesty International
was concerned that the appeal court proceeded, in October 2000,
with a closed hearing in the absence of the defence team.
(Although the judges were willing to include the leading defence
barrister in the hearing, the defence solicitor would have been
excluded and the barrister would have had to give an undertaking
not to disclose information to the accused.) During the closed
hearing the prosecution presented to the court documents which
had not previously been disclosed to the accused or their
lawyers.After the hearing the judges ordered the disclosure of
only one piece of evidence. This consisted of a handwritten note
outlining information received by the intelligence services
before the bombings that a terrorist organization, unconnected to
Samar Alami and Jawad Botmeh, was seeking information about the
location and defences of the Israeli Embassy in London for a
possible bombing attack. The note added that related intelligence
after the bombings indicated that this particular organization
had not carried out the bombing. The note also explained that
this information had not been disclosed to the trial judge by MI5
and Special Branch because of at least six instances of "human
error" and "oversight".Amnesty International has monitored, since 1995, the
arrests and remand hearings of a number of persons in connection
with the bombing attacks; the conditions in which some of the
detainees were held on remand; the prosecution and trial in 1996
of four people, in which two people were acquitted; and the
appeal hearings of Samar Alami and Jawad Botmeh in October 2000
and October 2001.5 November 2001
Pakistan: Refugees at risk at Chaman staging camp
keralamonitor.com
- London: Amnesty International is highly concerned about the location
- and conditions of the Chaman staging camp on the border between
Pakistan and Afghanistan. The refugees there should be
transferred immediately to safer locations further away from the
border, the organization says.The staging camp is located merely a few hundred meters
from the border area -- extremely worrying given UN standards
that refugee camps should be placed a reasonable distance from
any conflict area.Amnesty International has received reports from Chaman
that the Taleban have been present in the camp. For those fleeing
the Taleban, this means that they are not finding the safe haven
they require.The staging camp is meant to be a temporary solution.
However, as time progresses, Amnesty International is worried
that adequate alternatives have not been found. Even those other
sites which UNHCR and the government of Pakistan are preparing
for new arrivals do not meet required standards."The staging camp at Chaman has already reached capacity.
We urge that the authorities transfer those refugees presently at
Chaman to proper alternative locations away from the border."The camp at Chaman highlights the risks inherent in
placing refugees in other locations also close to the border.The government of Pakistan still insists on maintaining a
closed border, only letting the few Afghans the authorities
consider to be vulnerable across. The closed border forces
refugees to pay for smugglers and use informal travel routes.
This raises the risk that those who are in need of protection,
such as the impoverished, single women, the elderly and children,
may not be able to cross the border and receive assistance.Amnesty International calls on the government of Pakistan
to open the border immediately and ensure that those Afghans in
need of protection are given refugee status.
Libya reinforces troops to guard the president
keralamonitor.com
NAIROBI, 6 November (IRIN) - Libyan reinforcements arrived in the Central African Republic capital, Bangui, on Monday to help President Ange-Felix Patasse put down a revolt by dissident troops loyal to the sacked army chief, Gen. Francois Bozize, news organisations reported.
Radio France International announced that some 80 heavily armed Libyan troops arrived to join another 100 of their colleagues guarding the president. There were reports of city residents fleeing sporadic fighting - which continued overnight in the city of some 524,000 people - but no casualties were announced.
Fighting broke out on Friday when loyalist forces tried to arrest Bozize, who has sought refuge in a barracks in the far north of the capital, Reuters reported. He was dismissed on 26 Oct. after being accused of involvement in a coup plot and after weapons were found in three homes in the capital, AFP reported. However, he has denied involvement saying he backed Patasse during army mutinies in 1996 and 1997. Bozize had refused to submit to a summons by a judicial commission probing this year's coup attempt, on 28 May. He refused to appear before the commission because, he said, he had not been given sufficient safety guarantees.
Overnight Monday, loyalist troops fought off a rebel attack on the home of Interior Minister Joseph Mozoule, Reuters reported, as the Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Lamine Cisse, continued to mediate in the crisis. The Organisation of African Unity - the continent's foremost political body - says it too is sending its representative, Mahamat Doutoum, to Bangui. They are being joined in the mediation effort by Chad's ambassador in Bangui, Maitine Djoumbe, AFP reported.
Nicaragua: New President Elected
keralamonitor.com
The people of Nicaragua elected Enrique Bolaos, a Nicaraguan businessman as the new President of Nicaragua in an election held on November 4. The tiny Latin American country which was subjected to severe economic hardship and military attacks by the US led Contra rebels once again elected a pro-US government. "We are confident that Mr. Bolaos's lifelong commitment to democracy, his integrity and courage, as well as his extensive experience as a businessman will help Nicaragua address the serious challenges that lie ahead. We applaud the commitments that Mr. Bolaos made on the campaign trail to depoliticize and strengthen democratic institutions, promote economic growth, combat corruption in government, and work in good faith as a hemispheric partner in the war against terrorism and other international organized crime," the US said after the elections. The US has been following a carrot and stick policy in its soft under belly --Central America --where the Sandinista revolution was a thorn in the US flesh. Through a protracted low intensity war, the US was able to overthrow the Sandinista Government of Daniel Ortego. A new pro-US government came to power. " The United States looks forward to working with a new administration on these issues," said a US statement.
"The FSLN/Convergencia conducted a dignified campaign and we commend them for their orderly and peaceful participation in the democratic process.
We acknowledge and welcome the commitment of the FSLN to work
responsibly in opposition and their pledge to support democracy and good
governance, and to join in the fight against corruption, narcotrafficking, and terrorism. The United States supports Nicaragua as it seeks to achieve national reconciliation to face, united, the challenges that lie ahead," the US official spokesman Richard Bousher said. FSLN (Sandinistas) who came to power through a popular revolution retains considerable political clout among the masses.South Africa--Zambia : Combating violence against refugees
keralamonitor.com
JOHANNESBURG, 6 November (IRIN) - A programme to combat sexual and gender-based violence among refugees in Zambia is to be launched by the relief agency Care International at the end of November.
The US Department of State-funded scheme will focus on two refugee camps - Mwange in the north and Nangweshi in the southwest - with the aim of developing a system to both address and prevent sexual violence. Care emergency coordinator Banda Petros told IRIN on Tuesday that the programme includes a training component for "stakeholders" that involves the police, medical workers, community leaders, and the refugees themselves.
"There is discrimination against women and quite a number of cases of sexual harassment," Petros said. He added that refugee life placed a particular strain on gender relations, which can result in violence, with men feeling emasculated due to their dependency on aid and a perceived erosion of their authority in the household.
According to Petros, among the issues that are to be examined by the year-long programme are alcohol abuse, the placement of services in the camps such as water and food distribution, and education of both male and female refugees. He acknowledged that there were cultural issues governing the "traditional" role of women that needed to be addressed, "but we'll try and put it in the context of something positive for them, rather than trying to undermine their culture".
Zambia is home to more than 260,000 refugees - the largest population in southern Africa - with the majority from war-torn Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). South Africa is another important destination for asylum seekers. By April 2001, the government had received 64,341 applications over a seven-year period and had accepted 16,672 cases.
Bea Abrahams of the Johannesburg-based Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) told IRIN that violence and exploitation can occur at different stages, from pre-flight through to the journey itself, and finally in the place of asylum.
"Refugee women do feel themselves to be particularly vulnerable. There are issues around disempowerment and a high level of domestic violence. Issues around discipline of both women and children are very high on the agenda, and then the issue of sexual violence is very big," she said.
But disturbingly, what the CSVR has discovered in a survey of refugee women in South Africa, is that the levels of violence and sexual exploitation experienced by refugees at the hands of officials and ordinary South Africans is far worse than what they experienced at home.
"It seems it is an accepted norm with migrant communities that part of that experience is they might have to perform sexual favours to cross the border, but what jars is the intensity of the violence in South Africa. People feel physically threatened," Abrahams said.
Abrahams, who is studying issues of reproductive health among refugee populations in South Africa for UNHCR and CSVR, said among both men and women, "the first issue they all raise is the issue of xenophobia". She added that alongside the levels of everyday violence and "humiliation" experienced by refugees, "they are much more vocal about state institutions" where abuse is committed by police and government agencies.
"I acknowledge that the campaign of Roll back Xenophobia" (involving UNHCR and human rights organisations in South Africa) is making inroads, but a lot more needs to be done, and the challenge needs to be put to the government," she told IRIN.
James Dobbins: US Representative to Afghan opposition
keralamonitor.com
The US Secretary of State has decided to appoint Ambassador James Dobbins to be the US Representative to the Afghan opposition. In this capacity,
Ambassador Dobbins will spend the bulk of his time in the region consulting with the Afghan opposition and with concerned governments. Ambassador Dobbins will work closely with Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, Christina Rocca, and with Ambassador Richard Haass, who will continue to be the US Coordinator for Policy regarding the future of Afghanistan.So Ambassador Dobbins keep in touch with a variety of Afghan parties, factions, interests, leading figures, and Ambassador Dobbins would be doing that on a continuing basis, primarily overseas.Afghan opposition groups are in regions from Europe to South Asia, and a few places in between and around elsewhere. 'As we know, the Afghan parties are in a variety of places. There are some people in Europe, there's a lot of people in Pakistan, South Asia, and the region,' the US said yesterday. ''His mission is to continue our work with the Afghan opposition groups, the Afghan parties, to try to help them form a future government for Afghanistan. And that will include working with Haass -- Ambassador Haass here -- but also obviously working with the Afghan parties themselves, and then we will be working with the United Nations as well," the US announced.
Anthrax; US may resume mail deliver next week, More US Embassies testing anthrax like substances.
keralamonitor.com
The US State mail handler, the person who had come down with anthrax, is out of intensive care and has been improving steadily. Random mail sampling is continuing in the State Department s building and elsewhere. The cleaning of State's mail handling facilities and State Department mail rooms, began
this weekend. That is being done by a contractor. The US has sent
information out to posts overseas on decontamination procedures and
how to do that. The US may resume mail delivery next week.The anthrax tests done for white powder and suspicious substance have all come back negative at the US embassies in Athens. " That was one that we got the results of over the weekend and I think put out a statement on Sunday
that it was not anthrax. Montevideo, Abidjan, Islamabad have also
tested substances. We are still doing tests in a half dozen or so
other places," the US State Department said. "At the US Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan, there is a preliminary positive test at a local laboratory on something that we found on October 30th, so we will see what that turns out to be. And there are some places I said where the results are still pending. So that is kind of the update," it said. A anthrax bacteria test in preliminary testing at a local laboratory in Lahore was positive. But the final results of those are still pending from United States testing.
Early the afternoon of November 4, the American Embassy in Athens
received lab results which confirmed that bacteria from a diplomatic
mailbag that arrived at the embassy October 31 is not anthrax. The
embassy then briefed the Greek government.The benign bacteria, not associated with disease, is a typical surface contaminant. The embassy has also been informed that a suspicious letter received last week at the Souda Bay naval station has tested negative for anthrax.
Saudi Diplomat in US discussing Anti Terrorrism strategy
keralamonitor.com
- Riyadh; The Saudi foreign policy advisor is in Washington meeting with Mr.Armitage today. The US has found a variety of ways to coordinate with the Saudi Government. We talk with them frequently, both through expert channels and through diplomatic channels. And so we will continue to work very closely with them. 'We are getting a lot of cooperation in the Arab world. We are getting a lot of cooperation from the Muslim world. We have seen countries that are carrying out arrests, we are seeing countries that are imposing financial restrictions and seizing assets. There are a variety of countries that are offering us various kinds of support for the military operation as well, over-flight clearances or what-not,' the US Spokesman said. 'We are very satisfied with the support and help that we have gotten in the Muslim world. And we will continue to work with the governments around the world to make sure that we pursue this.
- Over the weekend, I think you saw some more comments by the Arab League, where Amre Moussa, the Secretary General of the Arab League, made quite clear that Usama bin Laden and al-Qaida do not speak for Arabs and Muslims. They made quite clear that they view this as a battle between Usama bin Laden and the whole world. "So I think we see that the attempts to split the Muslim world in fact are not working, because none of them want to live like the Taliban, frankly. They don't want to have that kind of Taliban oppression imposed upon their societies. But I'll let them speak for themselves,' the spokesman said.
Visit of Egyptian Minister of Economy and Trade, Yousef Boutros-Ghali
keralamonitor.com
Egypt's Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Yousef Boutros-Ghali,
held meetings at the Department of State this week (October 29 -
November 2) with National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice, Deputy
Secretary Richard Armitage, Under Secretary John Bolton, Under
Secretary Alan Larson, and Assistant Secretary Bill Burns. The Minister also met with Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios, and Under Secretary of the Treasury John Taylor.Department of State officials underlined the importance of the growing
economic relationship between the U.S. and Egypt, and agreed that it is
in the interest of both countries that U.S.-Egypt economic ties remain
strong. In this regard, U.S. Trade Representative Zoellick expressed
interest in the possibility of initiating discussions on the elements
of a potential U.S. - Egypt Free Trade Agreement.The United States supports Egypt's efforts to ensure continued private
sector growth and job creation. The United States recognizes the
importance of the economic impact on Egypt of the war against
terrorism, a struggle in which the government of Egypt is a strategic
partner to the U.S. The Administration will look actively for ways to
help Egypt address the challenge presented by recent worldwide economic disruptions stemming from terrorism.
Smuggling from Pakistan helps Taliban
keralamonitor.com
Smuggling from Pakistan to Afghanistan with the Government of Pakistan This has been one of a number of issues the US has discussed with Pakistan related to ending the use of Afghanistan as a haven for terrorists. There is a long tradition of smuggling across the long Pakistan- Afghanistan border. Also, there is currently more confusion than normal along what has always been a lengthy and hard-to-control boundary, given military operations inside Afghanistan and groups of people seeking refuge in Pakistan. If any, shipment of war material to the Taliban from Pakistan is occurring.
Palestine; US Assistance routed through contractors
Washington; The United States does not provide any financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority, the Palestine Liberation Organization, or affiliated groups. U.S. financial assistance is provided to contractors and non-governmental organizations in the West Bank and Gaza for specifically identified projects and initiatives in the areas of economic growth, water resources development, democracy and governance, maternal and child health, education, and community service. These projects are carried out under stringent management and financial controls and supervised by American officers of the U.S. Agency for International Development to ensure that the funds are utilized in accordance with U.S. government laws and regulations.
