[Peace-discuss] News notes, 1/20/02 (Part 1 of 2)

[C. G. Estabrook]

	NOTES ON THE NEWS OF THE WEEK'S "WAR ON TERRORISM,"
	FOR AWARE MEETING, 1/13/02 (Part 1 of 2)

[In regard to last Sunday's discussion of effectiveness, I offer the
following remark from Noam Chomsky: "If you assume that there's no hope,
you guarantee that there will be no hope.  If you assume that there is an
instinct for freedom, there are opportunities to change things, there's a
chance you may contribute to making a better world. That's your choice."
--CGE]

LAST Wednesday (1/9), Colombian President Andres Pastrana shocked the
nation when he announced that the peace talks with the country's largest
rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, had come to an
end. Pastrana gave the rebels a 48-hour ultimatum to withdraw from the
demilitarized zone that the guerrillas have occupied during three years of
negotiations. Convoys of government troops and tanks are already closing
in on the area.  A rebel spokesman said the FARC was puzzled by Pastrana's
announcement. He said that "It is the government which should return to
the negotiating table, not the FARC, because we never left it."  
Thursday, Pastrana gave a new ultimatum, allowing international mediators
another 48 hours to talk with the rebels.  Human rights groups are warning
that a military invasion of the area could result in mass killings of
civilians that the army or right-wing paramilitaries accuse of aiding the
rebels. In recent months, the paramilitaries have stepped up violence
against people who live just outside the zone, killing mayors, journalists
and others. 90,000 civilians live in the Switzerland-sized zone.  
Colombia has the worst human rights record in the hemisphere. But the Bush
administration Thursday voiced support for Pastrana's ultimatum. Secretary
of State General Colin Powell blamed the FARC for the collapse of peace
talks and for Pastrana's ultimatum. According to the New York Times, the
U.S. has been exerting considerable pressure on Pastrana to take a tougher
line. Last summer, a senior State Department official told Pastrana of
American concerns that the FARC was using the demilitarized zone to train
terrorists. Secretary Powell had been expected to convey a similar message
in a visit to Colombia but was forced to return to Washington because of
the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. The US supports Colombia with $1.3 billion
in mostly military aid.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2002

Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said today that Tulkarm-area
[Palestinian] Tanzim commander Raed Karmi was killed in a "work accident"
yesterday, suggesting he caused his own death by mishandling explosives.
Ben-Eliezer also said, however, that Israel had the moral right to kill
the militia leader who, the minister said, planned new attacks in the
coming days. Karmi, 27, was walking in the street near his home yesterday
when he was killed by a bomb explosion. [JERUSALEM POST]

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2002

In what the NYT dubs "the first major expansion of the war on terrorism,"
600 U.S. soldiers-150 of whom are Special Forces-are on the way to the
Philippines to help that country wipe out a group of Muslim extremist
rebels who may have links to al-Qaida ... The NYT says, "Pentagon
officials have been loath to describe details of the highly classified
mission." But the paper does notice a detail that gives a clue about the
importance of the operation: The brigadier general assigned to oversee the
mission is the head of all Special Operations in the Pacific.  [SLATE]

Ahmed Rashid, a Pakistani journalist and an expert on Afghanistan (he
wrote the book Taliban), reports in the WSJ that Afghan warlords, after
receiving loads of American cash and weapons, "are now refusing to disarm
or accept the writ of the country's fledgling interim government." Rashid
adds that Western diplomats say the warlords, "are even defying the
Americans." For example, says Rashid, "Gen. Rashid Dostum, who was heavily
armed by the Americans, is protecting former Taliban leaders and his own
commanders, who are carrying out widespread pillaging and looting, making
it impossible for U.N. agencies to start humanitarian relief operations."
[SLATE]

THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2002

Israeli F-16 warplanes destroyed the Palestinian government headquarters
in the West Bank town of Tulkarem early Friday, in retaliation for an
attack on a banquet hall by a Palestinian militant that killed six
Israelis and injured 30 others. A Palestinian policeman was killed and
about 20 injured in the air strike, Palestinian security officials said.
The attack reduced the large, two-story complex to rubble. The building
housed the offices of the Palestinian governor of Tulkarem, as well as the
prison and police headquarters. Witnesses said prisoners were freed just
before the air strike. In the earlier attack in Hadera, about 100 people
were inside a banquet hall celebrating a bat mitzvah, or Jewish coming of
age ceremony. Several beat the attacker with a chair and bottles and later
dragged him outside where he was shot by police. Among the dead was the
grandfather of the girl celebrating her bat mitzvah. "The terrorist came
in the main door with an M-16 (assault rifle) at the height of the event
and started shooting everywhere," said Shimon Asraf, one of owners of
Armon David or David's Palace hall. Moti Hasson said he was dancing when
he heard the shooting. "When I saw the Arab I ran toward him with a
chair," said Hasson, a truck driver. "I threw the chair at him." Hasson
said he hit the attacker in the face with the chair while other people
threw bottles at him. Others dove under tables. Some people shouted in
fright. After Hasson hit the attacker, the man's gun jammed. "His gun just
stopped shooting," said Hasson, who was standing outside the banquet hall
wearing a sweat shirt and carrying a bag of the clothes he wore during the
attack, which were soaked with the gunman's blood. Eliahu Iskov said he
saw the attacker on the floor, apparently unconscious from the beating,
and grabbed him by the foot to drag his body outside of the banquet hall.
"I thought that he had explosives strapped to his body and would explode,"
Iskov said. "I though if he exploded it would be best if he exploded
outside." Other people pulled tablecloths from the banquet tables and
wrapped the wounded in them so they could quickly take them outside in
case there were explosions. The attacker was later shot by police, said
police commissioner Shlomo Aharonishki. Police apparently feared that the
attacker's ammunition belt contained explosives [!]. Six people and the
attacker were killed, said police spokesman Gil Kleiman. At David's
Palace, a two story building with a brown facade, workers were washing
blood off the pavement a few hours after the attack. The Al Aqsa Brigades,
a militia linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah, claimed responsibility for the
attack in a phone call to The Associated Press. It was the deadliest
single attack in the region since Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
announced a cease-fire Dec. 16, following more than a year of
Israeli-Palestinian violence that had left hundreds dead on both sides.
The group said that Abed Hassouna from a village near the Palestinian town
of Nablus carried out the attack to avenge the death of Raed Karmi, the
militia's leader in the town of Tulkarem. Hassouna had been a policeman
for the Palestinian Authority for a year, serving at a checkpoint in
Nablus, but left the force two years ago, residents of his village said.
Karmi was killed in a bomb blast earlier this week that is widely believed
to have been carried out by Israel. Militants from the group have vowed to
avenge his death despite Arafat's cease-fire call. In Tulkarem, about a
dozen Al Aqsa Brigades militants marched through the streets after the
attack, shooting into the air in celebration. At about 5:15 a.m. Friday,
an Israeli F-16 warplane attacked the government headquarters in Tulkarem,
destroying part of the compound and killing a policeman, said the local
police chief, Mahmoud Awadallah. About an hour later, the warplane
returning, dropping seven more bombs that razed the building, Awadallah
said. Nineteen prisoners were taken out of the compound before the second
attack, police said. Of those, 10 suspected collaborators with Israel were
moved to a different detention center, while nine suspected Islamic
militants were released, Palestinian intelligence officials said. The
northern city of Hadera is located near the line separating Israel from
the West Bank and has been the scene of several Palestinian bombings in
recent months. [AP]

The White House said that in October, President Bush's top economic
advisor oversaw a study of what would happen to the economy should Enron
collapse. The NYT reports that Enron "has not paid income taxes in four of
the last five years." One way it did that, says the paper, is that it had
900 (!) subsidiaries in tax-haven countries. [SLATE]

The deployment of U.S. troops in the Philippines has some Filipino
legislators are questioning the constitutionality of the operation. The
Journal's story notes, in the 18th graph, that the deployment "risks
widening the Philippine conflict." [WALL ST JOURNAL]

FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 2002

A federal judge on Friday denied a request for televised coverage of the
trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only man charged in the Sept. 11 attacks.
[AP]

Somali-American community leaders called for a boycott of "Black Hawk
Down," charging the new movie depicts their African homeland's people as
savages and could create a backlash against refugees who fled to the
United States. Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice
Advocacy Center in St. Paul, said about a dozen people from the center saw
a preview of the movie this week and were shocked. Minnesota is home to at
least 25,000 Somalis, believed to be the biggest concentration in the
nation. "We don't know what Americans will think of us Somalis after they
watch this movie," Jamal said Thursday. "The Somali people are depicted as
very savage beasts without any human element," he said. "It's just people
shooting each other." [AP] (Cf. letter by David Green of AWARE, in the
News-Gazette, Wednesday 1/16.)

Anonymous Saudi officials told the WP that the U.S. military's presence is
a political liability for Saudi Arabia at home and in relations with other
Arab countries. However, no decision on requesting that the U.S. military
leave will be taken hastily because Crown Prince Abdullah doesn't want to
appear to be catering to Bin Laden. Officially, the Pentagon had no
insight into the matter, but U.S. officials said that if the military is
shown the door, it would be much more difficult for the U.S. to attack
Iraq, and relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia, strained
after Sept. 11, would be further complicated. [SLATE]

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld might keep some of the prisoners at
Guantanamo Bay there indefinitely if they are dangerous. Others may face
war-crimes tribunals, be sent home, or be tried in U.S. civilian court.
[WALL ST JOURNAL]

SCOTT ROSENBERG: So what if Bush and company didn't bail out Enron? The
outrage lies in what politicians did for the company on its way up, not
the way down. [SALON]

SATURDAY, JANUARY 19, 2002

M L KING'S BIRTHDAY.  On April 4, 1967, exactly one year before Dr. King
was assassinated, he gave a speech at Riverside church in New York City
called "Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence." Time
magazine called the speech "demagogic slander that sounded like a script
for Radio Hanoi," and the Washington Post declared that King had
"diminished his usefulness to his cause, his country, his people."
[DEMOCRACY NOW] After Publicly Criticizing The So-Called War On Terror,
Actor Danny Glover Is Dropped From The List Of Speakers At A Martin Luther
King Day Celebration. He Is Then Re-Invited Amidst An Outpouring Of Public
Support ... After publicly criticizing the use of military tribunals in
November, he has been slammed and censored by both media and politicians.
Most notably, the Modesto California City Council attempted to withdraw
its sponsorship of Glover as the featured speaker for the official
celebration of Martin Luther King Day, next Monday [DEMOCRACY NOW]

(Lauderhill FL) - A plaque intended to honor black actor James Earl Jones
at a Florida celebration of the life of Martin Luther King instead paid
tribute to James Earl Ray, the man who killed the black civil rights
leader, officials said yesterday. The embarrassing mix-up was caused by an
error by the plaque's designer, the owner of the company that ordered the
plaque said. It was being corrected in time for Jones's visit to the Fort
Lauderdale suburb Saturday. Over a background featuring stamps of famous
black Americans, including King, the erroneous plaque read, ''Thank you
James Earl Ray for keeping the dream alive.'' [BOSTON GLOBE]

MARY ROBINSON: I have characterized the 11 September terrorist attacks in
the United States as crimes against humanity and called for those
responsible to be made accountable under the law. From the outset,
President George Bush has stated it is the intent of his administration to
bring those individuals to justice. This means the alleged perpetrators
should be brought before a court and tried under due process of law. No
one should underestimate the difficulties of dealing with terrorism under
the rule of law. As a citizen of Ireland I certainly do not. But it is not
impossible. The international human rights and humanitarian standards
allow for flexibility in emergencies but the standards still apply and
must be upheld. These standards are enshrined in various legal
instruments, particularly the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, ratified by America in 1992, and the Geneva Conventions
of 1949. The armed conflict in Afghanistan is of an international nature
and the law of international armed conflict applies. That means the Geneva
Conventions. These prescribe standards of treatment of persons who are
not, or are no longer, taking an active part in hostilities. I am pleased
to note the International Committee of the Red Cross has reached agreement
with the US on visiting prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and Afghanistan. The
individuals detained include members of the Taliban and those suspected of
being part of al-Qa'ida. Some commentators ask if the al-Qa'ida forces are
covered by the law of international armed conflict. Under the Third Geneva
Convention, to the extent that they are characterized as members of
militias or volunteer corps linked to the Taliban, they could qualify. In
any event the starting point is that these prisoners, unless charged with
terrorist offenses, should be presumed to be prisoners of war. The US
authorities' view is that they are "unlawful combatants" and the Geneva
Conventions do not apply. America is entitled to make this case. But the
issue can only be determined by a court. Article 5 of the Third Geneva
Convention provides that should there be doubt as to whether an individual
enjoys PoW status, they shall be treated as such until their status has
been determined by a competent judicial tribunal. America has the right to
try any persons suspected of having committed war crimes during the
conflict or of having committed other international crimes, prior to the
hostilities, such as the terrorist attacks on 11 September. But unless the
prisoners are to face such charges, they must be repatriated once the
conflict is over. States have painstakingly built up the international
standards. In these difficult times for human rights we should be seeing a
strong affirmation of the importance of these standards. If we do not, we
are creating a dangerous precedent that will surely come back to haunt us.
(Mary Robinson is the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights)
[INDEPENDENT UK]

China has said its intelligence officers found more than 20 spying devices
in a Boeing 767 meant to become President Jiang Zemin's official plane
after it was delivered from the U.S., the Financial Times said on
Saturday. Citing Chinese officials, the newspaper said it was unclear when
the aircraft was fitted with the bugs, said to be tiny and operated by
satellite. The devices were detected after the plane emitted a strange
static whine during test flights in China in September, shortly after it
was delivered. One device was found in a lavatory and another in the
headboard of the presidential bed. The discovery came ahead of a planned
summit between President Bush and Jiang in Beijing next month. The Chinese
president was said to be furious about the find, the FT said. The aircraft
was made at the Boeing factory in Seattle and then fitted with VIP
equipment and upholstery by another company. The plane was under
surveillance by Chinese officials throughout, the newspaper said.
[FINANCIALTIMES]

ATTACK ON VOICE OF PALESTINE [CF. BELGRADE, AL-JAZEERA. ETC.] Israel
escalated its campaign against Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority early
Saturday, dynamiting the offices here of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corp
while keeping Arafat under siege in the same city. Israeli forces, backed
up by some 20 tanks and armored personnel carriers, occupied the
seven-storey building after midnight (2200 GMT), ordering its evacuation
and then laying explosive charges inside. [AFP]

The Los Angeles Times scoops its colleagues with the story of six
terrorist suspects in Bosnia taken into custody by the U.S. The case
against the men had been dismissed by the Bosnian Supreme Court due to
lack of evidence. According to the LAT lead, the U.S. laid claim to six
terrorist suspects and flew them out of Bosnia, after that country's
supreme court had ordered them released, citing a lack of evidence. The
six (five Algerians and a Yemeni) were arrested in Bosnia in October on
U.S. intelligence reports, but were not charged. After the dismissal by
the court, the Bosnian government willingly turned the men over to the
U.S. "Bosnia-Herzegovina is still a developing democracy, to put it
mildly, and their rule of law is not quite mature enough to handle this
issue," says an anonymous U.S. military source. 300 Muslims in Sarajevo
tried to block the U.S. military transport. "This is nothing short of a
kidnapping," a DePaul University Law School prof says in the LAT. "This is
a return to the Wild West and is surely likely to affect the credibility
of the U.S. as a country that adheres to the rule of law." But a Yale law
professor calls it a "sheer wartime necessity." According to the LAT,
about 200 Islamic mujahideen remain in Bosnia, many with links to
al-Qaida. [SLATE]

The New York Times , for the fifth consecutive day, leads with
Enron-related news. Today it's Kenneth Lay's cheerful emails to his
employees, encouraging them to load up on Enron stock, even while he was
quietly jettisoning his own shares ... Wednesday's NYT fronted a
full-color Sherron Watkins above the headline, "Author of Letter to Enron
Chief Is Called Tough." That letter went to Kenneth Lay in mid-August and
he asked an outside law firm to look into the accounting problems Watkins
spoke of. Today's NYT lead reports that Lay's email to employees went out
on Sept 26, encouraging them to buy Enron stock and failing to mention the
accounting concerns. Lay had begun to dump, albeit gradually, his own
Enron shares "within days of receiving the warning" from Watkins,
according to the NYT.

The United States came under new pressure Saturday to recognize the
al-Qaida and Taliban prisoners at this Navy base as POWs. Some British
legislators asked for a meeting with the U.S. ambassador in London to
express concern about the prisoners. "You can't play around with human
rights ... and the rights of such prisoners are set out in the Geneva
Conventions which both the U.S. and ourselves are signed up to," said Ann
Clwyd, chairwoman of Parliament's Human Rights Committee ... The United
States has been careful not to use the term "prisoners" because those
detained would then be covered by the Geneva Conventions. Under the
conventions, POWs must be tried by the same courts and under the same
procedures as U.S. soldiers. They could be tried for war crimes through
courts-martial or civilian courts but not by military tribunals. "The
question of legal status is not just an academic question, it is a
question of life and death," said Avner Gidrone, a senior policy adviser
for London-based Amnesty International. "If the intention is for the
United States to try these prisoners through a military commission, it
would almost certainly carry the death penalty, would not meet
international standards and would violate standards of due process." A
group of British diplomats was at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Saturday to
inspect conditions of three detainees who say they are British. The U.S.
military also allowed a Red Cross team to visit the facilities and
interview detainees this week. The Red Cross has said its report will be
confidential, shared only with U.S. officials ... Amnesty International
says the camp's cells - eight-by-eight feet - are below U.S. standards for
ordinary prisoners. [AP]

[continued in part 2]