The Washington Post
As the uprising in Egypt enters its third week, two questions persist in Washington: Is the Obama administration in direct contact with the Muslim Brotherhood? And, would it accept the group as part of a new Egyptian government?
So far, the White House has walked an exceedingly fine line.
Multiple reports suggest that the United States has been in quiet contact with the banned group for years and that the Obama White House is growing more open to the Muslim Brotherhood having a role in a new government, once Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak steps aside.
Banned in Egypt since 1954, the group has a split image here: as a hostile Islamic organization whose fundamentalist wing could be dangerous for the United States if it took control; and as a band of aging revolutionaries who would play a vital but minority role in any coalition government, enjoying support from no more than 30 percent of the Egyptian public.
Obama, in an interview Sunday night with Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, said the group was not nearly as influential as many of its critics fear.
"I think they're one faction in Egypt," he told O'Reilly. "They don't have majority support in Egypt. But they're well organized. There are strains of their ideology that are anti-U.S. There's no doubt about it."
For U.S. officials trying to gently guide Egypt's future from afar without provoking a backlash, the Muslim Brotherhood's involvement might be necessary, even inevitable.
That possibility clashes with domestic politics, however - from worries among pro-Israel groups about the rise of another Islamic regime in the region, to potential criticism from conservatives that Obama failed to stop the spread of Islamic fundamentalism. So there has been a steady stream of vague messages out of the White House, both to reporters and private groups.
After White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that any transition to democracy "has to include a whole host of important non-secular actors" and must "include opposition voices and parties being involved in this process as we move toward free and fair elections," several pro-Israel groups sought assurances that did not mean the Muslim Brotherhood.
Late last week, a National Security Council official, Daniel B. Shapiro, said on a conference call with Jewish organization leaders that it was U.S. policy not to deal with the Muslim Brotherhood, according to a report by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Whether the group is involved in building a new government, the JTA quoted Shapiro saying, is "something that will be determined by the Egyptian people. ... The United States will not be an arbiter."
But White House officials - including, now, Obama himself - have been intentionally vague in the days since, suggesting they are open to Muslim Brotherhood participation without saying so outright.
In his Fox interview, Obama walked carefully around questions about the group.
"Here's the thing that we have to understand: There are a whole bunch of secular folks in Egypt, there are a whole bunch of educators and civil society in Egypt that wants to come to the fore as well," Obama said. "And it's important for us not to say that our only two options are either the Muslim Brotherhood or a suppressed Egyptian people."
Asked by O'Reilly whether he wants to see the Muslim Brotherhood in the Egyptian government, Obama said: "What I want is a representative government in Egypt. And I have confidence that if Egypt moves in an orderly transition process, that we will have a government in Egypt that we can work with together as a partner."
Protesters in Egypt have urged Obama to call for Mubarak to step down immediately. But administration officials have cautioned that an immediate Mubarak exit would trigger elections in just 60 days. As State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley put it Monday on NPR News, that gives the Muslim Brotherhood a distinct advantage.
"There're only one or two elements within Egyptian society today that have the organizational, you know, skill to run an effective campaign," he said.
"The Muslim Brotherhood being one of them," added NPR's Steve Inskeep.
"Being one of them," Crowley added.
Palin criticizes White House on Egypt - maybe
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, for her part, had another kind of vague message in her first remarks on Egypt.
In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Palin said Obama had gotten the so-called "3 a.m. phone call" from the 2008 presidential campaign - and let it go to voice mail.
"And nobody yet has explained to the American public what they know, and surely they know more than the rest of us know - who it is who will be taking the place of Mubarak and no, not, not real enthused about what it is that's being done on a national level and from D.C. in regards to understanding all the situation there in Egypt," Palin said.
She went on to add, "And, in these areas that are so volatile right now, because obviously it's not just Egypt but the other countries too where we are seeing uprisings, we know that now more than ever, we need strength and sound mind there in the White House. We need to know what it is that America stands for, so we know who it is that America will stand with. And we do not have all that information yet."
Asked about Palin's critique Monday, Gibbs demurred.
"I've got to tell you, I read that answer several times," Gibbs said. "And I still don't really know what she said."
Mostrando postagens com marcador Oriente Médio. Mostrar todas as postagens
Mostrando postagens com marcador Oriente Médio. Mostrar todas as postagens
terça-feira, 8 de fevereiro de 2011
quarta-feira, 2 de fevereiro de 2011
Islam and demography: A waxing crescent
The Economist
Islam is growing. But ageing and slowing. That will change the world
Jan 27th 2011 | from PRINT EDITION
ARE Muslims taking over the world, or at a minimum, transforming Europe into Eurabia? Whatever your hopes or fears for the future of the world’s religions, a report published this week has plenty to stoke them. “The Future of the Global Muslim Population”, produced by the Pew Research Centre, a non-profit outfit based in Washington, DC, reckons Muslim numbers will soar from 1.6 billion in 2010 to 2.2 billion by 2030. In other words, from 23.4% to 26.4% of the global total.
At the heart of its analysis is the ongoing effect of a “youth bulge” which peaked in 2000. In 1990 Islam’s share of the world’s youth was 20%; in 2010, 26%. In 2030 it will be 29% (of 15-to-29-year-olds). But the Muslim world is slowly heading towards paunchiness: the median age in Muslim-majority countries was 19 in 1990. It is 24 now, and will be 30 by 2030. (For French, Germans and Japanese the figure is 40 or over.) This suggests Muslim numbers will ultimately stop climbing, but later than the rest of the world population.
The authors call their calculations demographic, not political. Drawing on earlier Pew research, they say conversion is not a big factor in the global contest between Islam, Christianity and other faiths; the converts balance out. Nor do they assess piety; via the imperfect data of the United Nations, the European Union and national statistics, they aim simply to measure how many people call themselves Muslim, at least culturally, if asked.
New numbers, they say, will change the world map. As Indonesia prospers, its birth rate is falling; South Asia’s remains very high. By 2030, 80m extra mouths in Pakistan will boost its Muslim numbers to 256m, ousting Indonesia (with 239m) as the most populous Islamic land. India’s Muslim minority will be nearly as large at 236m—though growth is slowing there too. And in 2030 India’s Muslims will still constitute only a modest 15.9% of that country’s swelling total, against 14.6% now.
The report asserts no causal link between Islamic teaching and high fertility rates, although it notes that poverty and poor education are a problem in many Muslim lands. In Muslim countries such as Bangladesh and Turkey, it observes, the lay and religious authorities encourage birth control. Better medical care and lower mortality boost poor-country population numbers too.
Some bleak findings concern Nigeria, where Muslim numbers are seen rising to 117m in 2030 from 76m now, edging up from 47.9% to 51.5% of the population. Illiteracy among Nigerian women of child-bearing age is three times as high among Muslims (71.9%) as among others (23.9%). Two-thirds of Nigerian Muslim women lack any formal education; that goes for just over a tenth of their non-Muslim sisters. The fertility rate is between six and seven children per Muslim woman, versus five for non-Muslims. It is hard to prove that these factors are related, but they do seem to form a pattern.
Eurabian nights
The total Muslim share of Europe’s population is predicted to grow from 6% now to 8% in 2030: hardly the stuff of nightmares. But amid that are some sharp rises. The report assumes Britain has 2.9m Muslims now (far higher than the usual estimates, which suggest 2.4m at most), rising to 5.6m by 2030. As poor migrants start families in Spain and Italy, numbers there will rocket; in France and Germany, where some Muslims are middle-class, rises will be more modest—though from a higher base. Russia’s Muslims will increase to 14.4% or 18.6m, up from 11.7% now (partly because non-Muslims are declining). The report takes a cautious baseline of 2.6m American Muslims in 2010, but predicts the number will surge by 2030 to 6.2m, or 1.7% of the population—about the same size as Jews or Episcopalians. In Canada the Muslim share will surge from 2.8% to 6.6%.
How will liberal democracies accommodate such variety? The clarity of a written constitution may give America an advantage over many European countries, where unwritten custom has more sway. Jonathan Laurence, an Islam-watcher and professor at Boston College, thinks Europe could rise to the challenge, but failure is also easy to imagine. Europe’s Muslims should, by 2030, have become articulate and effective political bargainers. But with nativism on the march, it is also highly possible that Muslims will come to feel they have less in common with their fellow citizens than with their growing band of co-religionists elsewhere.
Islam is growing. But ageing and slowing. That will change the world
Jan 27th 2011 | from PRINT EDITION
At the heart of its analysis is the ongoing effect of a “youth bulge” which peaked in 2000. In 1990 Islam’s share of the world’s youth was 20%; in 2010, 26%. In 2030 it will be 29% (of 15-to-29-year-olds). But the Muslim world is slowly heading towards paunchiness: the median age in Muslim-majority countries was 19 in 1990. It is 24 now, and will be 30 by 2030. (For French, Germans and Japanese the figure is 40 or over.) This suggests Muslim numbers will ultimately stop climbing, but later than the rest of the world population.
The authors call their calculations demographic, not political. Drawing on earlier Pew research, they say conversion is not a big factor in the global contest between Islam, Christianity and other faiths; the converts balance out. Nor do they assess piety; via the imperfect data of the United Nations, the European Union and national statistics, they aim simply to measure how many people call themselves Muslim, at least culturally, if asked.
New numbers, they say, will change the world map. As Indonesia prospers, its birth rate is falling; South Asia’s remains very high. By 2030, 80m extra mouths in Pakistan will boost its Muslim numbers to 256m, ousting Indonesia (with 239m) as the most populous Islamic land. India’s Muslim minority will be nearly as large at 236m—though growth is slowing there too. And in 2030 India’s Muslims will still constitute only a modest 15.9% of that country’s swelling total, against 14.6% now.
The report asserts no causal link between Islamic teaching and high fertility rates, although it notes that poverty and poor education are a problem in many Muslim lands. In Muslim countries such as Bangladesh and Turkey, it observes, the lay and religious authorities encourage birth control. Better medical care and lower mortality boost poor-country population numbers too.
Some bleak findings concern Nigeria, where Muslim numbers are seen rising to 117m in 2030 from 76m now, edging up from 47.9% to 51.5% of the population. Illiteracy among Nigerian women of child-bearing age is three times as high among Muslims (71.9%) as among others (23.9%). Two-thirds of Nigerian Muslim women lack any formal education; that goes for just over a tenth of their non-Muslim sisters. The fertility rate is between six and seven children per Muslim woman, versus five for non-Muslims. It is hard to prove that these factors are related, but they do seem to form a pattern.
Eurabian nights
The total Muslim share of Europe’s population is predicted to grow from 6% now to 8% in 2030: hardly the stuff of nightmares. But amid that are some sharp rises. The report assumes Britain has 2.9m Muslims now (far higher than the usual estimates, which suggest 2.4m at most), rising to 5.6m by 2030. As poor migrants start families in Spain and Italy, numbers there will rocket; in France and Germany, where some Muslims are middle-class, rises will be more modest—though from a higher base. Russia’s Muslims will increase to 14.4% or 18.6m, up from 11.7% now (partly because non-Muslims are declining). The report takes a cautious baseline of 2.6m American Muslims in 2010, but predicts the number will surge by 2030 to 6.2m, or 1.7% of the population—about the same size as Jews or Episcopalians. In Canada the Muslim share will surge from 2.8% to 6.6%.
How will liberal democracies accommodate such variety? The clarity of a written constitution may give America an advantage over many European countries, where unwritten custom has more sway. Jonathan Laurence, an Islam-watcher and professor at Boston College, thinks Europe could rise to the challenge, but failure is also easy to imagine. Europe’s Muslims should, by 2030, have become articulate and effective political bargainers. But with nativism on the march, it is also highly possible that Muslims will come to feel they have less in common with their fellow citizens than with their growing band of co-religionists elsewhere.
Il a donc verrouillé encore plus le système en se faisant octroyer, pour la quatrième fois
The Guardian
David Cameron today condemned what he described as "despicable scenes" of violence against protesters in Egypt and said any state sponsorship of it would be "completely and utterly unacceptable".
Speaking outside Downing Street, alongside the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, the prime minister said the transition of power in Egypt must be "accelerated and happen quickly".
Cameron said: "If it turns out that the regime in any way has been sponsoring or tolerating this violence, that would be completely and utterly unacceptable. These are despicable scenes we are seeing and they should not be repeated.
"They underline the need for political reform and for that political reform to be accelerated and to happen quickly. We need to see a clear road map for that reform so that people in Egypt can have confidence that their aspirations for a more democratic future and greater rights is met and that change needs to start happening now and the violence needs to stop."
Ban said: "I am deeply concerned at the continuing violence in Egypt and once again urge restraint to all sides. This is very much an unacceptable situation. Any attacks on peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable and I strongly condemn it."
Earlier, at prime minister's questions, Cameron called on Egypt to draw up a timetable to convince people there will be a "rapid and credible" transition of power that will forge a "stable and more democratic future".
Describing this week's scenes of the protests in Cairo as "incredibly moving", the prime minister also told MPs he took a "very strong view" that political reform – "not repression" – was required following president Hosni Mubarak's decision to stand down.
In a speech broadcast on state television last night, Mubarak sought to quell a week of demonstrations by saying he would not be running for another term of office in the September elections. He promised to work during "the final months" of his term to ensure a "peaceful transfer of power".
But the delayed nature of Mubarak's concession failed to appease protesters, who maintained their presence in Cairo's main square today.
US president Barack Obama also sought to maintain pressure on Mubarak, saying last night: "What is clear is my belief an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now."
Cameron echoed Obama's words and said a timetable was needed to convince people that an orderly transition was under way.
Greater democracy in the Middle East and the Arab world were required to provide the stability required in "the long-term interests of Britain", he told MPs at prime minister's question time.
"President Mubarak says he is going and we respect that," Cameron said. "But what matters is not just the orderly transition but also that it is urgent, it is credible, it starts now. We should be clear we stand with those in this country who want freedom and democracy and rights the world over.
"And the more they can do with a timetable to convince people it's true, the more the country can settle down to a stable and more democratic future."
He said the reforms needed to go beyond simply holding an election.
"Where we need to be clear is that when we talk about democracy, we don't just mean the act of holding an election, we mean the building blocks of democracy," he said.
"I want to see a partnership for open societies where we encourage stronger civil society, stronger rights, stronger rule of law, a proper place for the army in society, proper independent judiciary."
The prime minister reinforced the call for faster progress, telling MPs the transition needed to be "rapid and credible and it needs to start now".
The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, said: "Far from indicating support for extremism, the people on the streets of Egypt are actually demanding some very basic things: jobs, freedom of speech and the right to choose by whom they are governed."
He said democracy represented the "best route to stability" in Egypt.
Cameron told the Commons that the "first concern" remained the safety of UK nationals in Egypt. Travel advice for the estimated 30,000 UK nationals around the Red Sea area had not changed because matters there remain "calm and stable".
In Cairo, where there are about 3,000 citizens, and in Alexandria, with an estimated 300, many had been urged to return to the UK. There were still very good commercial flights and a flight commissioned by the UK government had been added, Cameron said.
He told MPs that 1,000 had returned from Egypt in the past 48 hours, and praised the UK's response.
"I think the UK government has acted swiftly," he said. "We had a rapid deployment of 25 special consulate staff to Cairo. The military logistics' team of eight were sent out immediately and we were the first country to set up a team at the Cairo airport, which many other countries have gone on to imitate.
"I don't take any of this for granted, there needs to be absolutely no complacency, but I think our ambassador, Dominic Asquith, and his team have done an excellent job."
David Cameron today condemned what he described as "despicable scenes" of violence against protesters in Egypt and said any state sponsorship of it would be "completely and utterly unacceptable".
Speaking outside Downing Street, alongside the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, the prime minister said the transition of power in Egypt must be "accelerated and happen quickly".
Cameron said: "If it turns out that the regime in any way has been sponsoring or tolerating this violence, that would be completely and utterly unacceptable. These are despicable scenes we are seeing and they should not be repeated.
"They underline the need for political reform and for that political reform to be accelerated and to happen quickly. We need to see a clear road map for that reform so that people in Egypt can have confidence that their aspirations for a more democratic future and greater rights is met and that change needs to start happening now and the violence needs to stop."
Ban said: "I am deeply concerned at the continuing violence in Egypt and once again urge restraint to all sides. This is very much an unacceptable situation. Any attacks on peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable and I strongly condemn it."
Earlier, at prime minister's questions, Cameron called on Egypt to draw up a timetable to convince people there will be a "rapid and credible" transition of power that will forge a "stable and more democratic future".
Describing this week's scenes of the protests in Cairo as "incredibly moving", the prime minister also told MPs he took a "very strong view" that political reform – "not repression" – was required following president Hosni Mubarak's decision to stand down.
In a speech broadcast on state television last night, Mubarak sought to quell a week of demonstrations by saying he would not be running for another term of office in the September elections. He promised to work during "the final months" of his term to ensure a "peaceful transfer of power".
But the delayed nature of Mubarak's concession failed to appease protesters, who maintained their presence in Cairo's main square today.
US president Barack Obama also sought to maintain pressure on Mubarak, saying last night: "What is clear is my belief an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now."
Cameron echoed Obama's words and said a timetable was needed to convince people that an orderly transition was under way.
Greater democracy in the Middle East and the Arab world were required to provide the stability required in "the long-term interests of Britain", he told MPs at prime minister's question time.
"President Mubarak says he is going and we respect that," Cameron said. "But what matters is not just the orderly transition but also that it is urgent, it is credible, it starts now. We should be clear we stand with those in this country who want freedom and democracy and rights the world over.
"And the more they can do with a timetable to convince people it's true, the more the country can settle down to a stable and more democratic future."
He said the reforms needed to go beyond simply holding an election.
"Where we need to be clear is that when we talk about democracy, we don't just mean the act of holding an election, we mean the building blocks of democracy," he said.
"I want to see a partnership for open societies where we encourage stronger civil society, stronger rights, stronger rule of law, a proper place for the army in society, proper independent judiciary."
The prime minister reinforced the call for faster progress, telling MPs the transition needed to be "rapid and credible and it needs to start now".
The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, said: "Far from indicating support for extremism, the people on the streets of Egypt are actually demanding some very basic things: jobs, freedom of speech and the right to choose by whom they are governed."
He said democracy represented the "best route to stability" in Egypt.
Cameron told the Commons that the "first concern" remained the safety of UK nationals in Egypt. Travel advice for the estimated 30,000 UK nationals around the Red Sea area had not changed because matters there remain "calm and stable".
In Cairo, where there are about 3,000 citizens, and in Alexandria, with an estimated 300, many had been urged to return to the UK. There were still very good commercial flights and a flight commissioned by the UK government had been added, Cameron said.
He told MPs that 1,000 had returned from Egypt in the past 48 hours, and praised the UK's response.
"I think the UK government has acted swiftly," he said. "We had a rapid deployment of 25 special consulate staff to Cairo. The military logistics' team of eight were sent out immediately and we were the first country to set up a team at the Cairo airport, which many other countries have gone on to imitate.
"I don't take any of this for granted, there needs to be absolutely no complacency, but I think our ambassador, Dominic Asquith, and his team have done an excellent job."
Mubarak se resiste a dimitir y Obama le pide que inicie "ahora" la transición democrática
El País
Egipto gritó ayer alto y claro "adiós, adiós Mubarak". Centenares de miles o más de un millón de ciudadanos, el cálculo es imposible, salieron a la calle para celebrar una recién conquistada libertad, evidente pese a la permanencia del dictador, y para reclamar que el presidente abandonara el país de forma inmediata. El apoyo a la reforma política expresado por el Ejército no permitía una vuelta atrás. Pero Mubarak, de casi 83 años y enfermo, se limitó a anunciar por televisión que no se presentaría a la reelección en septiembre, algo que no ha calmado la presión popular. "Moriré en la tierra de Egipto", dijo. La presión al rais egipcio para que ponga fin a sus tres décadas de Gobierno no solo le llegó de la calle. El presidente de EE UU, su más fiel aliado en occidente, le conminó de madrugada a comenzar "ahora" la transición hacia la democracia, instando a la vez al ejército a velar por que el proceso de culmine de forma pacífica.
También el presidente turco, Recep Tayyip Erdogan ha pedido un "paso diferente" a su colega egipcio. esde dentro, Mohamed El Baradei, premio Nobel de la Paz y ex director del Organismo Internacional de la Energía Atómica, rechazó el discurso de Mubarak de "truco" para permanecer en el poder.
Obama, quien mantuvo una conversación telefónica con el mandatario egipcio de media hora como reconoció en el discurso que ha realizado esta madrugada (hora española), envió al diplomático Frank Wisner, antiguo embajador en El Cairo, para instar al presidente egipcio a que renunciara a un nuevo mandato. En su conversación, expresó a Mubarak su opinión de que "la transición tiene que ser verdadera, tiene que ser pacífica y tiene que empezar ahora". Con énfasis en "ahora". También dedicó unas palabras a los egipcios que le escuchaban desde las calles de El Cairo y desde todo el país -los congregados en la plaza Tahrir siguieron el discurso en una pantalla improvisada: "Escuchamos vuestras voces y vuestra voluntad de decidir vuestro destino", dijo. El presidente estadounidense se balancea en un fino alambre: no puede alentar las protestas, pese a que defienden, como EE UU, la democracia, pero tampoco puede actuar decisivamente para forzar la caída de Mubarak, aliado durante décadas como freno al islamismo.
"Si el no se va, nosotros tampoco"
La petición de Obama de una transición "ahora" choca con el anuncio de Mubarak, que aplaza a septiembre todo cambio. Dijo que no se presentaría a una de todas formas improbable reelección en las presidenciales, previstras para ese mes. Además, afirmó en su alocución televisiva que había "escuchado a los jóvenes", que tutelaría una reforma constitucional y una transición, y de nuevo se presentó como único dique "frente al caos". "Moriré en Egipto", prometió, descartando la opción del exilio. La multitud en la plaza cairota de Tahrir (plaza de la Liberación), reaccionó al discurso con gritos furiosos de "fuera, fuera" y con un lema claro "si él no se va, nosotros tampoco". Los presentes ya han anunciado nuevas marchas para el viernes y que no se van a mover de allí hasta que el protagonista de sus protestas abandone el poder. Pero para comprobar la auténtica repercusión de las palabras del presidente hay que esperar, sin embargo, a la jornada de hoy.
Ya noche se vislumbró que las palabras de Mubarak no iban a detener a los manifestantes. Esta mañana, más de un millar de personas, según Reuters, seguían concentradas en la plaza de la Liberación para afrontar el noveno día de protestas trs pasar la noche en la plaza, epicentro de la revuelta. Con megáfonos, algunos congregados seguían enviando al presidente un mensaje: "No nos iremos". Mientras, nuevos manifestantes se unían a la protesta y los más recalcitrantes intentaban mantener la protesta en auge. Muchas tiendas seguían cerradas y muchos servicios suspendidos, aunque algunos cajeros de la ciudad proporcionaban dinero.
Mohamed el Baradei, ex director de la Organización Internacional de la Energía Atómica, premio Nobel de la Paz en 2005 y portavoz provisional de la plataforma de oposición, lanzó algo parecido a un ultimátum: habló del viernes como la fecha límite para que Mubarak y su familia se fueran de Egipto "para evitar un baño de sangre". Tras conocer el contenido del esperado discurso, el líder opositor que no quiso especular sobre la posibilidad de que se presente a las elecciones, lo calificó de "truco" para permanecer en el poder.
En su discurso, Mubarak anunció que permanecerá durante los próximos ocho meses al frente de un nuevo Gobierno -surgido a raíz de las protestas iniciadas hace ocho días- abierto al diálogo con todas las fuerzas y a las reformas democráticas. Pero la oposición se mantiene firme, y asegura que no va a establecer ningún diálogo con el Gobierno hasta la marcha de Mubarak. Toda la oposición, incluido los Hermanos Musulmanes, la gran fuerza islamista de Egipto, han llegado a un acuerdo basado en cuatro puntos: que Mubarak deje el poder, la disolución del Parlamento, una nueva Constitución, y, por último, la creación de un Gobierno de transición.
Sin embargo, Mubarak aseguró que la transición se haría "dentro de la Constitución", que asume sus responsabilidades y que no renunciará a "su deber". No obstante, tras las protestas masivas de ayer, aprovechó su discurso para denunciar los "actos lamentables" que según él se han producido en todo el país. "La realidad obliga a ciudadanos y dirigentes a elegir entre el caos y la estabilidad", afirmó.
EE UU, que subsidia a Egipto con más de 2.000 millones de dólares anuales, entre ayuda militar y civil, e Israel, un vecino muy inquieto por su seguridad en la era pos-Mubarak, apuestan por una transición pilotada por Omar Suleimán, el nuevo vicepresidente, un hombre que había dirigido los servicios secretos y en el que confiaban tanto Obama como Benjamín Netanyahu. El temor de ambos radica probablemente en que la terquedad de Mubarak, empeñado en cumplir su mandato y evitarse la vergüenza del exilio, deteriore aún más la situación y condujera a una revolución de alcance imprevisible.
Durante la jornada circularon rumores sobre donde podría ir el faraón. Uno de los hipotéticos destinos para el exilio de Mubarak podría ser Alemania, donde últimamente había recibido tratamiento contra el cáncer. La jefa del Gobierno, Angela Merkel, pudo invitarle a establecerse de forma indefinida en territorio alemán durante una llamada efectuada el lunes.
Desde la calle no era ya posible hacer más. La multitud desbordó como nunca la emblemática plaza de la Liberación, en El Cairo, gritando contra Mubarak en un tono que se había despojado de la exasperación violenta del viernes, cuando las batallas campales desfondaron a la policía, y había pasado a la impaciencia festiva. Los centenares de miles que no pudieron acudir a la capital, por la paralización de los trenes, se manifestaron en Alejandría, Suez, Asuán, Mansur y otras ciudades. Había muchas mujeres y niños y una completa ausencia de miedo, gracias al beneplácito expresado por los militares. En cierta forma, Mubarak se veía degradado desde la condición de enemigo del pueblo a la de simple estorbo, quizá lo más humillante para un dictador que fue todopoderoso durante tres décadas.
Presión económica
A la imparable revuelta popular se suma la presión económica. Egipto permanece paralizado desde el viernes, no funcionan ni Internet ni los bancos, el puerto de Alejandría no trabajaba, surgen problemas de desabastecimiento, millones de personas pierden sus ingresos cotidianos y las grandes empresas sufren una hemorragia de beneficios. La Agencia Moody's ha degradado la deuda egipcia al nivel de BB, y pronostica un empeoramiento. El país no puede permitirse que la situación durara más tiempo. "Mubarak quiere hacernos un último favor arruinándonos", dijo con sarcasmo Safik Tahiri, un ingeniero de 36 años empleado en el sector del gas, que se manifestaba en El Cairo junto a su familia.
Después de que el pasado lunes el Ejército considerara "legítimas las protestas" y anunciara que "no recurrirá al uso de la fuerza contra el pueblo", el despliegue de soldados que se situó ayer alrededor de la plaza tuvo como misión canalizar la entrada de los miles de manifestantes. La gente se agolpó en torno a las dos únicas vías para acceder al recinto, porque las otras cinco calles que culminan en la plaza fueron cerradas por los soldados como medida de seguridad. Los uniformados se ciñeron a identificar a los manifestantes y a revisar mochilas y bolsas, pero en ningún momento utilizaron la fuerza.
Una posición común
Reino Unido tampoco ha tardado en posionarse. Siguiendo la misma idea expresada por Estados Unidos, un portavoz del primer ministro, David Cameron, ha subrayado que es "importante" para las autoridades egipcias "escuchar las demandas de su pueblo". Para Londres, el "cambio real" significa una "transición" con una administración "de amplio espectro que incluya a personas de la oposición". "Está claro que (el cambio) aún no se está produciendo, y lo consideramos decepcionante", ha dicho el portavoz de Downing Street.
A la cascada de peticiones de libertad se ha unido el primer ministro turco, el islamista moderado Recep Tayyip Erdogan, que ha recomendado a Mubarak que "escuche las demandas" de sus ciudadanos. "Escucha las protestas y las demandas extremadamente humanistas de los ciudadanos", ha señalado Erdogan durante un discurso ante los miembros del partido gobernante AKP. "Atiende sin dudarlo las demandas de libertad de los ciudadanos", ha añadido.
Egipto gritó ayer alto y claro "adiós, adiós Mubarak". Centenares de miles o más de un millón de ciudadanos, el cálculo es imposible, salieron a la calle para celebrar una recién conquistada libertad, evidente pese a la permanencia del dictador, y para reclamar que el presidente abandonara el país de forma inmediata. El apoyo a la reforma política expresado por el Ejército no permitía una vuelta atrás. Pero Mubarak, de casi 83 años y enfermo, se limitó a anunciar por televisión que no se presentaría a la reelección en septiembre, algo que no ha calmado la presión popular. "Moriré en la tierra de Egipto", dijo. La presión al rais egipcio para que ponga fin a sus tres décadas de Gobierno no solo le llegó de la calle. El presidente de EE UU, su más fiel aliado en occidente, le conminó de madrugada a comenzar "ahora" la transición hacia la democracia, instando a la vez al ejército a velar por que el proceso de culmine de forma pacífica.
También el presidente turco, Recep Tayyip Erdogan ha pedido un "paso diferente" a su colega egipcio. esde dentro, Mohamed El Baradei, premio Nobel de la Paz y ex director del Organismo Internacional de la Energía Atómica, rechazó el discurso de Mubarak de "truco" para permanecer en el poder.
Obama, quien mantuvo una conversación telefónica con el mandatario egipcio de media hora como reconoció en el discurso que ha realizado esta madrugada (hora española), envió al diplomático Frank Wisner, antiguo embajador en El Cairo, para instar al presidente egipcio a que renunciara a un nuevo mandato. En su conversación, expresó a Mubarak su opinión de que "la transición tiene que ser verdadera, tiene que ser pacífica y tiene que empezar ahora". Con énfasis en "ahora". También dedicó unas palabras a los egipcios que le escuchaban desde las calles de El Cairo y desde todo el país -los congregados en la plaza Tahrir siguieron el discurso en una pantalla improvisada: "Escuchamos vuestras voces y vuestra voluntad de decidir vuestro destino", dijo. El presidente estadounidense se balancea en un fino alambre: no puede alentar las protestas, pese a que defienden, como EE UU, la democracia, pero tampoco puede actuar decisivamente para forzar la caída de Mubarak, aliado durante décadas como freno al islamismo.
"Si el no se va, nosotros tampoco"
La petición de Obama de una transición "ahora" choca con el anuncio de Mubarak, que aplaza a septiembre todo cambio. Dijo que no se presentaría a una de todas formas improbable reelección en las presidenciales, previstras para ese mes. Además, afirmó en su alocución televisiva que había "escuchado a los jóvenes", que tutelaría una reforma constitucional y una transición, y de nuevo se presentó como único dique "frente al caos". "Moriré en Egipto", prometió, descartando la opción del exilio. La multitud en la plaza cairota de Tahrir (plaza de la Liberación), reaccionó al discurso con gritos furiosos de "fuera, fuera" y con un lema claro "si él no se va, nosotros tampoco". Los presentes ya han anunciado nuevas marchas para el viernes y que no se van a mover de allí hasta que el protagonista de sus protestas abandone el poder. Pero para comprobar la auténtica repercusión de las palabras del presidente hay que esperar, sin embargo, a la jornada de hoy.
Ya noche se vislumbró que las palabras de Mubarak no iban a detener a los manifestantes. Esta mañana, más de un millar de personas, según Reuters, seguían concentradas en la plaza de la Liberación para afrontar el noveno día de protestas trs pasar la noche en la plaza, epicentro de la revuelta. Con megáfonos, algunos congregados seguían enviando al presidente un mensaje: "No nos iremos". Mientras, nuevos manifestantes se unían a la protesta y los más recalcitrantes intentaban mantener la protesta en auge. Muchas tiendas seguían cerradas y muchos servicios suspendidos, aunque algunos cajeros de la ciudad proporcionaban dinero.
Mohamed el Baradei, ex director de la Organización Internacional de la Energía Atómica, premio Nobel de la Paz en 2005 y portavoz provisional de la plataforma de oposición, lanzó algo parecido a un ultimátum: habló del viernes como la fecha límite para que Mubarak y su familia se fueran de Egipto "para evitar un baño de sangre". Tras conocer el contenido del esperado discurso, el líder opositor que no quiso especular sobre la posibilidad de que se presente a las elecciones, lo calificó de "truco" para permanecer en el poder.
En su discurso, Mubarak anunció que permanecerá durante los próximos ocho meses al frente de un nuevo Gobierno -surgido a raíz de las protestas iniciadas hace ocho días- abierto al diálogo con todas las fuerzas y a las reformas democráticas. Pero la oposición se mantiene firme, y asegura que no va a establecer ningún diálogo con el Gobierno hasta la marcha de Mubarak. Toda la oposición, incluido los Hermanos Musulmanes, la gran fuerza islamista de Egipto, han llegado a un acuerdo basado en cuatro puntos: que Mubarak deje el poder, la disolución del Parlamento, una nueva Constitución, y, por último, la creación de un Gobierno de transición.
Sin embargo, Mubarak aseguró que la transición se haría "dentro de la Constitución", que asume sus responsabilidades y que no renunciará a "su deber". No obstante, tras las protestas masivas de ayer, aprovechó su discurso para denunciar los "actos lamentables" que según él se han producido en todo el país. "La realidad obliga a ciudadanos y dirigentes a elegir entre el caos y la estabilidad", afirmó.
EE UU, que subsidia a Egipto con más de 2.000 millones de dólares anuales, entre ayuda militar y civil, e Israel, un vecino muy inquieto por su seguridad en la era pos-Mubarak, apuestan por una transición pilotada por Omar Suleimán, el nuevo vicepresidente, un hombre que había dirigido los servicios secretos y en el que confiaban tanto Obama como Benjamín Netanyahu. El temor de ambos radica probablemente en que la terquedad de Mubarak, empeñado en cumplir su mandato y evitarse la vergüenza del exilio, deteriore aún más la situación y condujera a una revolución de alcance imprevisible.
Durante la jornada circularon rumores sobre donde podría ir el faraón. Uno de los hipotéticos destinos para el exilio de Mubarak podría ser Alemania, donde últimamente había recibido tratamiento contra el cáncer. La jefa del Gobierno, Angela Merkel, pudo invitarle a establecerse de forma indefinida en territorio alemán durante una llamada efectuada el lunes.
Desde la calle no era ya posible hacer más. La multitud desbordó como nunca la emblemática plaza de la Liberación, en El Cairo, gritando contra Mubarak en un tono que se había despojado de la exasperación violenta del viernes, cuando las batallas campales desfondaron a la policía, y había pasado a la impaciencia festiva. Los centenares de miles que no pudieron acudir a la capital, por la paralización de los trenes, se manifestaron en Alejandría, Suez, Asuán, Mansur y otras ciudades. Había muchas mujeres y niños y una completa ausencia de miedo, gracias al beneplácito expresado por los militares. En cierta forma, Mubarak se veía degradado desde la condición de enemigo del pueblo a la de simple estorbo, quizá lo más humillante para un dictador que fue todopoderoso durante tres décadas.
Presión económica
A la imparable revuelta popular se suma la presión económica. Egipto permanece paralizado desde el viernes, no funcionan ni Internet ni los bancos, el puerto de Alejandría no trabajaba, surgen problemas de desabastecimiento, millones de personas pierden sus ingresos cotidianos y las grandes empresas sufren una hemorragia de beneficios. La Agencia Moody's ha degradado la deuda egipcia al nivel de BB, y pronostica un empeoramiento. El país no puede permitirse que la situación durara más tiempo. "Mubarak quiere hacernos un último favor arruinándonos", dijo con sarcasmo Safik Tahiri, un ingeniero de 36 años empleado en el sector del gas, que se manifestaba en El Cairo junto a su familia.
Después de que el pasado lunes el Ejército considerara "legítimas las protestas" y anunciara que "no recurrirá al uso de la fuerza contra el pueblo", el despliegue de soldados que se situó ayer alrededor de la plaza tuvo como misión canalizar la entrada de los miles de manifestantes. La gente se agolpó en torno a las dos únicas vías para acceder al recinto, porque las otras cinco calles que culminan en la plaza fueron cerradas por los soldados como medida de seguridad. Los uniformados se ciñeron a identificar a los manifestantes y a revisar mochilas y bolsas, pero en ningún momento utilizaron la fuerza.
Una posición común
Reino Unido tampoco ha tardado en posionarse. Siguiendo la misma idea expresada por Estados Unidos, un portavoz del primer ministro, David Cameron, ha subrayado que es "importante" para las autoridades egipcias "escuchar las demandas de su pueblo". Para Londres, el "cambio real" significa una "transición" con una administración "de amplio espectro que incluya a personas de la oposición". "Está claro que (el cambio) aún no se está produciendo, y lo consideramos decepcionante", ha dicho el portavoz de Downing Street.
A la cascada de peticiones de libertad se ha unido el primer ministro turco, el islamista moderado Recep Tayyip Erdogan, que ha recomendado a Mubarak que "escuche las demandas" de sus ciudadanos. "Escucha las protestas y las demandas extremadamente humanistas de los ciudadanos", ha señalado Erdogan durante un discurso ante los miembros del partido gobernante AKP. "Atiende sin dudarlo las demandas de libertad de los ciudadanos", ha añadido.
segunda-feira, 24 de janeiro de 2011
Secret papers reveal slow death of Middle East peace process
The Guardian
The biggest leak of confidential documents in the history of the Middle East conflict has revealed that Palestinian negotiators secretly agreed to accept Israel's annexation of all but one of the settlements built illegally in occupied East Jerusalem. This unprecedented proposal was one of a string of concessions that will cause shockwaves among Palestinians and in the wider Arab world.
A cache of thousands of pages of confidential Palestinian records covering more than a decade of negotiations with Israel and the US has been obtained by al-Jazeera TV and shared exclusively with the Guardian. The papers provide an extraordinary and vivid insight into the disintegration of the 20-year peace process, which is now regarded as all but dead.
The documents – many of which will be published by the Guardian over the coming days – also reveal:
• The scale of confidential concessions offered by Palestinian negotiators, including on the highly sensitive issue of the right of return of Palestinian refugees.
• How Israeli leaders privately asked for some Arab citizens to be transferred to a new Palestinian state.
• The intimate level of covert co-operation between Israeli security forces and the Palestinian Authority.
• The central role of British intelligence in drawing up a secret plan to crush Hamas in the Palestinian territories.
• How Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders were privately tipped off about Israel's 2008-9 war in Gaza.
As well as the annexation of all East Jerusalem settlements except Har Homa, the Palestine papers show PLO leaders privately suggested swapping part of the flashpoint East Jerusalem Arab neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah for land elsewhere.
Most controversially, they also proposed a joint committee to take over the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City – the neuralgic issue that helped sink the Camp David talks in 2000 after Yasser Arafat refused to concede sovereignty around the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosques.
The offers were made in 2008-9, in the wake of George Bush's Annapolis conference, and were privately hailed by the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, as giving Israel "the biggest Yerushalayim [the Hebrew name for Jerusalem] in history" in order to resolve the world's most intractable conflict. Israeli leaders, backed by the US government, said the offers were inadequate.
Intensive efforts to revive talks by the Obama administration foundered last year over Israel's refusal to extend a 10-month partial freeze on settlement construction. Prospects are now uncertain amid increasing speculation that a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict is no longer attainable – and fears of a new war.
Many of the 1,600 leaked documents – drawn up by PA officials and lawyers working for the British-funded PLO negotiations support unit and include extensive verbatim transcripts of private meetings – have been independently authenticated by the Guardian and corroborated by former participants in the talks and intelligence and diplomatic sources. The Guardian's coverage is supplemented by WikiLeaks cables, emanating from the US consulate in Jerusalem and embassy in Tel Aviv. Israeli officials also kept their own records of the talks, which may differ from the confidential Palestinian accounts.
The concession in May 2008 by Palestinian leaders to allow Israel to annex the settlements in East Jerusalem – including Gilo, a focus of controversy after Israel gave the go-ahead for 1,400 new homes – has never been made public.
All settlements built on territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war are illegal under international law, but the Jerusalem homes are routinely described, and perceived, by Israel as municipal "neighbourhoods". Israeli governments have consistently sought to annex the largest settlements as part of a peace deal – and came close to doing so at Camp David.
Erekat told Israeli leaders in 2008: "This is the first time in Palestinian-Israeli history in which such a suggestion is officially made." No such concession had been made at Camp David.
But the offer was rejected out of hand by Israel because it did not include a big settlement near the city Ma'ale Adumim as well as Har Homa and several others deeper in the West Bank, including Ariel. "We do not like this suggestion because it does not meet our demands," Israel's then foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, told the Palestinians, "and probably it was not easy for you to think about it, but I really appreciate it".
The overall impression that emerges from the documents, which stretch from 1999 to 2010, is of the weakness and growing desperation of PA leaders as failure to reach agreement or even halt all settlement temporarily undermines their credibility in relation to their Hamas rivals; the papers also reveal the unyielding confidence of Israeli negotiators and the often dismissive attitude of US politicians towards Palestinian representatives.
Last night Erekat said the minutes of the meetings were "a bunch of lies and half truths". Qureia told AP that "many parts of the documents were fabricated, as part of the incitement against the … Palestinian leadership".
However Palestinian former negotiator, Diana Buttu, called on Erekat to resign following the revelations. "Saeb must step down and if he doesn't it will only serve to show just how out of touch and unrepresentative the negotiators are," she said.
Palestinian and Israeli officials both point out that any position in negotiations is subject to the principle that "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed" and therefore is invalid without an overarching deal.
The biggest leak of confidential documents in the history of the Middle East conflict has revealed that Palestinian negotiators secretly agreed to accept Israel's annexation of all but one of the settlements built illegally in occupied East Jerusalem. This unprecedented proposal was one of a string of concessions that will cause shockwaves among Palestinians and in the wider Arab world.
A cache of thousands of pages of confidential Palestinian records covering more than a decade of negotiations with Israel and the US has been obtained by al-Jazeera TV and shared exclusively with the Guardian. The papers provide an extraordinary and vivid insight into the disintegration of the 20-year peace process, which is now regarded as all but dead.
The documents – many of which will be published by the Guardian over the coming days – also reveal:
• The scale of confidential concessions offered by Palestinian negotiators, including on the highly sensitive issue of the right of return of Palestinian refugees.
• How Israeli leaders privately asked for some Arab citizens to be transferred to a new Palestinian state.
• The intimate level of covert co-operation between Israeli security forces and the Palestinian Authority.
• The central role of British intelligence in drawing up a secret plan to crush Hamas in the Palestinian territories.
• How Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders were privately tipped off about Israel's 2008-9 war in Gaza.
As well as the annexation of all East Jerusalem settlements except Har Homa, the Palestine papers show PLO leaders privately suggested swapping part of the flashpoint East Jerusalem Arab neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah for land elsewhere.
Most controversially, they also proposed a joint committee to take over the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City – the neuralgic issue that helped sink the Camp David talks in 2000 after Yasser Arafat refused to concede sovereignty around the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosques.
The offers were made in 2008-9, in the wake of George Bush's Annapolis conference, and were privately hailed by the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, as giving Israel "the biggest Yerushalayim [the Hebrew name for Jerusalem] in history" in order to resolve the world's most intractable conflict. Israeli leaders, backed by the US government, said the offers were inadequate.
Intensive efforts to revive talks by the Obama administration foundered last year over Israel's refusal to extend a 10-month partial freeze on settlement construction. Prospects are now uncertain amid increasing speculation that a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict is no longer attainable – and fears of a new war.
Many of the 1,600 leaked documents – drawn up by PA officials and lawyers working for the British-funded PLO negotiations support unit and include extensive verbatim transcripts of private meetings – have been independently authenticated by the Guardian and corroborated by former participants in the talks and intelligence and diplomatic sources. The Guardian's coverage is supplemented by WikiLeaks cables, emanating from the US consulate in Jerusalem and embassy in Tel Aviv. Israeli officials also kept their own records of the talks, which may differ from the confidential Palestinian accounts.
The concession in May 2008 by Palestinian leaders to allow Israel to annex the settlements in East Jerusalem – including Gilo, a focus of controversy after Israel gave the go-ahead for 1,400 new homes – has never been made public.
All settlements built on territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war are illegal under international law, but the Jerusalem homes are routinely described, and perceived, by Israel as municipal "neighbourhoods". Israeli governments have consistently sought to annex the largest settlements as part of a peace deal – and came close to doing so at Camp David.
Erekat told Israeli leaders in 2008: "This is the first time in Palestinian-Israeli history in which such a suggestion is officially made." No such concession had been made at Camp David.
But the offer was rejected out of hand by Israel because it did not include a big settlement near the city Ma'ale Adumim as well as Har Homa and several others deeper in the West Bank, including Ariel. "We do not like this suggestion because it does not meet our demands," Israel's then foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, told the Palestinians, "and probably it was not easy for you to think about it, but I really appreciate it".
The overall impression that emerges from the documents, which stretch from 1999 to 2010, is of the weakness and growing desperation of PA leaders as failure to reach agreement or even halt all settlement temporarily undermines their credibility in relation to their Hamas rivals; the papers also reveal the unyielding confidence of Israeli negotiators and the often dismissive attitude of US politicians towards Palestinian representatives.
Last night Erekat said the minutes of the meetings were "a bunch of lies and half truths". Qureia told AP that "many parts of the documents were fabricated, as part of the incitement against the … Palestinian leadership".
However Palestinian former negotiator, Diana Buttu, called on Erekat to resign following the revelations. "Saeb must step down and if he doesn't it will only serve to show just how out of touch and unrepresentative the negotiators are," she said.
Palestinian and Israeli officials both point out that any position in negotiations is subject to the principle that "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed" and therefore is invalid without an overarching deal.
Israel concluye que el asalto a la flotilla de Gaza fue legal
El País
El asalto al buque Mavi Mármara fue legal y los soldados israelíes mataron a nueve civiles turcos "en legítima defensa" durante el abordaje. Esas son las conclusiones fundamentales del informe emitido ayer por la Comisión Turkel, formada por el Gobierno de Israel para investigar la violenta interceptación de la llamada flotilla de la libertad.
El asalto al buque Mavi Mármara fue legal y los soldados israelíes mataron a nueve civiles turcos "en legítima defensa" durante el abordaje. Esas son las conclusiones fundamentales del informe emitido ayer por la Comisión Turkel, formada por el Gobierno de Israel para investigar la violenta interceptación de la llamada flotilla de la libertad, que el pasado 31 de mayo intentó romper el bloqueo y llegar a Gaza.
Nadie esperaba que la comisión culpara al Gobierno o al Ejército de Israel, pero no se esperaba tampoco una absolución tan rotunda, firmada por sus cinco miembros oficiales, juristas israelíes encabezados por el ex magistrado del Supremo Jacob Turkel, y por dos observadores internacionales, David Trimble, ex primer ministro norirlandés y premio Nobel de la Paz, y Ken Watkin, general del cuerpo jurídico del Ejército canadiense.
El primer ministro turco, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, se declaró "pasmado" al conocer las conclusiones y declaró que el informe de la comisión israelí carecía de "valor o credibilidad". El Gobierno turco, que copatrocinó el viaje de la flotilla, ya investigó por su cuenta el asunto y concluyó que Israel había violado las leyes internacionales.
Según la Comisión Turkel, los soldados israelíes que realizaron el abordaje "actuaron profesionalmente y con gran presencia de ánimo dada la extrema violencia que no habían esperado". La comisión considera que "la profesionalidad de los soldados se hizo evidente por el hecho de que sustituyeran sus armas letales por opciones menos letales, y viceversa, con el fin de dar una respuesta adecuada a la naturaleza de la violencia que en cada momento se dirigía contra ellos".
Los investigadores nombrados por el Gobierno también respaldan al mismo en un hecho fundamental: afirman que el abordaje, realizado en aguas internacionales, fue legítimo porque al intentar romper el bloqueo la flotilla "se había convertido en un objetivo de guerra". En realidad, la comisión culpa directamente a los activistas a bordo del Mavi Mármara de una resistencia "planeada y extremadamente violenta" e indica que unas 100 personas, entre las 600 que viajaban en la nave, no debían ser considerados civiles ni ser tratados como tales, sino como "participantes directos en las hostilidades".
En cuanto al propio bloqueo impuesto sobre Gaza desde hace tres años y medio, la comisión lo considera acorde con la legislación internacional y dice que no existe evidencia de que se vulneren los derechos humanos de los palestinos de la Franja. En el informe, de casi 300 páginas, se afirma que los habitantes de Gaza no padecen hambre sino "falta de estabilidad nutricional" y que su principal problema no es la carencia de comida, sino la carencia de dinero para adquirirla.
El informe de la Comisión Turkel será enviado a Naciones Unidas, para ser añadido a la investigación abierta por la secretaría general de la organización.
El asalto al buque Mavi Mármara fue legal y los soldados israelíes mataron a nueve civiles turcos "en legítima defensa" durante el abordaje. Esas son las conclusiones fundamentales del informe emitido ayer por la Comisión Turkel, formada por el Gobierno de Israel para investigar la violenta interceptación de la llamada flotilla de la libertad.
El asalto al buque Mavi Mármara fue legal y los soldados israelíes mataron a nueve civiles turcos "en legítima defensa" durante el abordaje. Esas son las conclusiones fundamentales del informe emitido ayer por la Comisión Turkel, formada por el Gobierno de Israel para investigar la violenta interceptación de la llamada flotilla de la libertad, que el pasado 31 de mayo intentó romper el bloqueo y llegar a Gaza.
Nadie esperaba que la comisión culpara al Gobierno o al Ejército de Israel, pero no se esperaba tampoco una absolución tan rotunda, firmada por sus cinco miembros oficiales, juristas israelíes encabezados por el ex magistrado del Supremo Jacob Turkel, y por dos observadores internacionales, David Trimble, ex primer ministro norirlandés y premio Nobel de la Paz, y Ken Watkin, general del cuerpo jurídico del Ejército canadiense.
El primer ministro turco, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, se declaró "pasmado" al conocer las conclusiones y declaró que el informe de la comisión israelí carecía de "valor o credibilidad". El Gobierno turco, que copatrocinó el viaje de la flotilla, ya investigó por su cuenta el asunto y concluyó que Israel había violado las leyes internacionales.
Según la Comisión Turkel, los soldados israelíes que realizaron el abordaje "actuaron profesionalmente y con gran presencia de ánimo dada la extrema violencia que no habían esperado". La comisión considera que "la profesionalidad de los soldados se hizo evidente por el hecho de que sustituyeran sus armas letales por opciones menos letales, y viceversa, con el fin de dar una respuesta adecuada a la naturaleza de la violencia que en cada momento se dirigía contra ellos".
Los investigadores nombrados por el Gobierno también respaldan al mismo en un hecho fundamental: afirman que el abordaje, realizado en aguas internacionales, fue legítimo porque al intentar romper el bloqueo la flotilla "se había convertido en un objetivo de guerra". En realidad, la comisión culpa directamente a los activistas a bordo del Mavi Mármara de una resistencia "planeada y extremadamente violenta" e indica que unas 100 personas, entre las 600 que viajaban en la nave, no debían ser considerados civiles ni ser tratados como tales, sino como "participantes directos en las hostilidades".
En cuanto al propio bloqueo impuesto sobre Gaza desde hace tres años y medio, la comisión lo considera acorde con la legislación internacional y dice que no existe evidencia de que se vulneren los derechos humanos de los palestinos de la Franja. En el informe, de casi 300 páginas, se afirma que los habitantes de Gaza no padecen hambre sino "falta de estabilidad nutricional" y que su principal problema no es la carencia de comida, sino la carencia de dinero para adquirirla.
El informe de la Comisión Turkel será enviado a Naciones Unidas, para ser añadido a la investigación abierta por la secretaría general de la organización.
sexta-feira, 7 de janeiro de 2011
Chile reconhece o Estado palestino
O Estado de S. Paulo
SANTIAGO - O governo do Chile anunciou nesta sexta-feira, 7, que vai reconhecer a Palestina como um estado independente. A medida acompanha decisões tomadas por outros países latino-americanos, como Brasil, Argentina, Bolívia e Equador. O Uruguai deve formalizar o reconhecimento ainda este ano.
"O governo do Chile, que permanentemente tem apoiado o direito do povo palestino a coexistir em paz com Israel, reconhece o Estado palestino livrem independente e soberano", disse o ministro das Relações Exteriores Alfredo Moreno.
O anúncio acontece uma semana depois do encontro do presidente chileno, Sebastián Piñera, com o presidente da Autoridade Palestina, Mahmud Abbas, em Brasília, na posse de Dilma Roussef.
A maior parte do mundo ignorou a declaração de um Estado palestino feita por Yasser Arafat em 1988. Mas, com o processo de paz em crise, Abbas tem como plano B buscar o reconhecimento do Estado palestino nas Nações Unidas - embora ele tenha admitido que seja pouco provável conseguir o apoio dos EUA.
Em 1993, os acordos de Oslo constituíram a Autoridade Palestina, que controla as principais cidades da Cisjordânia. Israel, no entanto, detém ainda cerca de 60% do território. Em 2005, os israelenses saíram da Faixa de Gaza, governada atualmente pelo Hamas.
SANTIAGO - O governo do Chile anunciou nesta sexta-feira, 7, que vai reconhecer a Palestina como um estado independente. A medida acompanha decisões tomadas por outros países latino-americanos, como Brasil, Argentina, Bolívia e Equador. O Uruguai deve formalizar o reconhecimento ainda este ano.
"O governo do Chile, que permanentemente tem apoiado o direito do povo palestino a coexistir em paz com Israel, reconhece o Estado palestino livrem independente e soberano", disse o ministro das Relações Exteriores Alfredo Moreno.
O anúncio acontece uma semana depois do encontro do presidente chileno, Sebastián Piñera, com o presidente da Autoridade Palestina, Mahmud Abbas, em Brasília, na posse de Dilma Roussef.
A maior parte do mundo ignorou a declaração de um Estado palestino feita por Yasser Arafat em 1988. Mas, com o processo de paz em crise, Abbas tem como plano B buscar o reconhecimento do Estado palestino nas Nações Unidas - embora ele tenha admitido que seja pouco provável conseguir o apoio dos EUA.
Em 1993, os acordos de Oslo constituíram a Autoridade Palestina, que controla as principais cidades da Cisjordânia. Israel, no entanto, detém ainda cerca de 60% do território. Em 2005, os israelenses saíram da Faixa de Gaza, governada atualmente pelo Hamas.
segunda-feira, 3 de janeiro de 2011
Usina nuclear iraniana será conectada à rede elétrica em fevereiro
O Estado de S. Paulo
TEERÃ - A usina nuclear de Bushehr, a primeira construída no Irã, será conectada à rede elétrica nacional no mês de fevereiro, confirmou o ministro interino de Assuntos Exteriores iraniano, Ali Akbar Salehi, nesta segunda-feira, 3.
Salehi, que é também diretor da Organização da Energia Atômica do Irã (OEAI), quis acabar com os rumores que há dias apontam um novo atraso na usina construída com ajuda russa na localidade meridional de Bushehr, no litoral do Golfo Pérsico.
"Como já dissemos em várias ocasiões, o projeto de Bushehr vai de vento em popa. Esperamos que as provas finais sejam concluídas no início de janeiro, uma vez que já alimentamos e selado o núcleo do reator", explicou.
Teerã começou a construir a usina nuclear na década de 1970 com ajuda alemã, mas o projeto foi interrompido pela Revolução Islâmica que em 1979 depôs o último Xá do Irã, Mohammad Reza Pahlevi. A construção da planta foi retomada há 10 anos com a colaboração da Rússia enquanto as obras foram concluídas no meio do ano de 2010 após diversos atrasos.
As autoridades nucleares iranianas anunciaram no dia 21 de agosto o início da alimentação de combustível da planta e que a usina estaria pronta para ser conectada à rede elétrica entre outubro e novembro de 2010. No entanto, em dezembro de 2010 Salehi explicou que o prazo para tal conexão à rede elétrica atrasou, com previsão para o início de 2011.
Alguns jornais especularam a possibilidade do atraso devido ao ataque do vírus Stuxnet que atingiu o país em setembro. Embora o regime iraniano admitisse que alguns sistemas foram afetados, Salehi voltou a reiterar nesta segunda-feira que a central não foi prejudicada. "São só rumores", ressaltou o responsável, citado pela televisão estatal.
Grande parte da comunidade internacional, liderada pelos EUA e Israel, acusa o regime iraniano de ocultar, sob seu programa civil, ambições bélicas com o objetivo de adquirir armas atômicas. Teerã nega.
TEERÃ - A usina nuclear de Bushehr, a primeira construída no Irã, será conectada à rede elétrica nacional no mês de fevereiro, confirmou o ministro interino de Assuntos Exteriores iraniano, Ali Akbar Salehi, nesta segunda-feira, 3.
Salehi, que é também diretor da Organização da Energia Atômica do Irã (OEAI), quis acabar com os rumores que há dias apontam um novo atraso na usina construída com ajuda russa na localidade meridional de Bushehr, no litoral do Golfo Pérsico.
"Como já dissemos em várias ocasiões, o projeto de Bushehr vai de vento em popa. Esperamos que as provas finais sejam concluídas no início de janeiro, uma vez que já alimentamos e selado o núcleo do reator", explicou.
Teerã começou a construir a usina nuclear na década de 1970 com ajuda alemã, mas o projeto foi interrompido pela Revolução Islâmica que em 1979 depôs o último Xá do Irã, Mohammad Reza Pahlevi. A construção da planta foi retomada há 10 anos com a colaboração da Rússia enquanto as obras foram concluídas no meio do ano de 2010 após diversos atrasos.
As autoridades nucleares iranianas anunciaram no dia 21 de agosto o início da alimentação de combustível da planta e que a usina estaria pronta para ser conectada à rede elétrica entre outubro e novembro de 2010. No entanto, em dezembro de 2010 Salehi explicou que o prazo para tal conexão à rede elétrica atrasou, com previsão para o início de 2011.
Alguns jornais especularam a possibilidade do atraso devido ao ataque do vírus Stuxnet que atingiu o país em setembro. Embora o regime iraniano admitisse que alguns sistemas foram afetados, Salehi voltou a reiterar nesta segunda-feira que a central não foi prejudicada. "São só rumores", ressaltou o responsável, citado pela televisão estatal.
Grande parte da comunidade internacional, liderada pelos EUA e Israel, acusa o regime iraniano de ocultar, sob seu programa civil, ambições bélicas com o objetivo de adquirir armas atômicas. Teerã nega.
Selon Nétanyahou, Israël était prêt à poursuivre le gel de la colonisation
Le Monde
Le premier ministre israélien, Benyamin Nétanyahou, a affirmé lundi 3 janvier que la renonciation par les Etats-Unis à leur exigence d'un gel de la colonisation des territoires palestiniens résultait de leur propre analyse et non d'un blocage israélien. "La vérité est que nous y étions prêts, mais contrairement à ce qui a été rapporté, Israël n'a pas refusé de prolonger le moratoire, a déclaré M. Nétanyahou, cité par les médias israéliens (voir les articles de Haaretz et Yediot Aharonot), devant une commission parlementaire. En fin de compte, les Etats-Unis ont décidé de ne pas emprunter cette voie, à juste titre à mon avis."
"J'ai dit à Obama que j'étais prêt à présenter cela au gouvernement et à le faire appliquer, mais j'ai reçu un appel téléphonique surprise des Américains me disant qu'ils ne réclamaient plus qu'Israël prolonge le gel", a-t-il assuré.
Les Etats-Unis ont reconnu le 7 décembre l'échec de leurs efforts pour convaincre Israël de décréter un nouveau moratoire sur la colonisation, exigé par les Palestiniens pour reprendre les négociations de paix. Le porte-parole du département d'Etat, Philip Crowley, avait expliqué que Washington était arrivé à la conclusion que le moratoire, demandé par le président Barack Obama jusque dans l'enceinte solennelle des Nations unies en septembre, "ne créait pas une base ferme pour travailler à notre but commun de parvenir à un accord-cadre" de paix israélo-palestinien.
NOUVELLE APPROCHE AMÉRICAINE
M. Nétanyahou avait accepté avec réticence un plan de la secrétaire d'Etat américaine Hillary Clinton prévoyant un moratoire de trois mois sur la colonisation. Mais il exigeait des garanties écrites sur les contreparties offertes par Washington et les deux parties ne sont pas parvenues à s'entendre sur la formulation.
Mme Clinton a ensuite annoncé une nouvelle approche consistant en un retour aux pourparlers indirects sous médiation américaine, sur les questions de fond d'un accord de paix. Mais cette proposition est restée lettre morte. Les Palestiniens, soutenus par la Ligue arabe, ont signifié le 15 décembre aux Etats-Unis qu'une reprise des négociations était exclue sans arrêt de la colonisation, et sommé Washington de présenter une "offre sérieuse".
Le premier ministre israélien, Benyamin Nétanyahou, a affirmé lundi 3 janvier que la renonciation par les Etats-Unis à leur exigence d'un gel de la colonisation des territoires palestiniens résultait de leur propre analyse et non d'un blocage israélien. "La vérité est que nous y étions prêts, mais contrairement à ce qui a été rapporté, Israël n'a pas refusé de prolonger le moratoire, a déclaré M. Nétanyahou, cité par les médias israéliens (voir les articles de Haaretz et Yediot Aharonot), devant une commission parlementaire. En fin de compte, les Etats-Unis ont décidé de ne pas emprunter cette voie, à juste titre à mon avis."
"J'ai dit à Obama que j'étais prêt à présenter cela au gouvernement et à le faire appliquer, mais j'ai reçu un appel téléphonique surprise des Américains me disant qu'ils ne réclamaient plus qu'Israël prolonge le gel", a-t-il assuré.
Les Etats-Unis ont reconnu le 7 décembre l'échec de leurs efforts pour convaincre Israël de décréter un nouveau moratoire sur la colonisation, exigé par les Palestiniens pour reprendre les négociations de paix. Le porte-parole du département d'Etat, Philip Crowley, avait expliqué que Washington était arrivé à la conclusion que le moratoire, demandé par le président Barack Obama jusque dans l'enceinte solennelle des Nations unies en septembre, "ne créait pas une base ferme pour travailler à notre but commun de parvenir à un accord-cadre" de paix israélo-palestinien.
NOUVELLE APPROCHE AMÉRICAINE
M. Nétanyahou avait accepté avec réticence un plan de la secrétaire d'Etat américaine Hillary Clinton prévoyant un moratoire de trois mois sur la colonisation. Mais il exigeait des garanties écrites sur les contreparties offertes par Washington et les deux parties ne sont pas parvenues à s'entendre sur la formulation.
Mme Clinton a ensuite annoncé une nouvelle approche consistant en un retour aux pourparlers indirects sous médiation américaine, sur les questions de fond d'un accord de paix. Mais cette proposition est restée lettre morte. Les Palestiniens, soutenus par la Ligue arabe, ont signifié le 15 décembre aux Etats-Unis qu'une reprise des négociations était exclue sans arrêt de la colonisation, et sommé Washington de présenter une "offre sérieuse".
quinta-feira, 4 de novembro de 2010
'Trabalhamos sem parar pelo processo de paz no Oriente Médio', diz Hillary
O Estado de S. Paulo
AUCKLAND - A secretária de Estado dos EUA, Hillary Clinton, confirmou nesta quinta-feira, 4, seus planos de encontrar o primeiro-ministro de Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, quando o líder do Estado judeu visitar Washington na próxima semana, informou o jornal Haaretz.
"Eu pretendo encontrar o premiê Netanyahu quando ele estiver nos EUA na semana que vem", disse Hillary em uma conferência de imprensa com John Key, primeiro-ministro da Nova Zelândia. A secretária acrescentou que acredita que o processo de paz no Oriente Médio pode progredir apesar das dificuldades enfrentadas recentemente.
As conversas diretas entre israelenses e a Autoridade Nacional Palestina (ANP) foram retomadas no dia 2 de setembro, mas se estagnaram novamente pouco tempo depois, quando a moratória de 10 meses que Israel declarou sobre a construção de novos assentamentos na Cisjordânia expirou.
Netanyahu tem resistido às pressões dos EUA, dos países árabes e de organismos internacionais para que novas paralisações sejam decretadas. Os palestinos acusam o premiê de destruir as esperanças de paz ao permitir a construção de novas colônias no local reclamado pelos palestinos como o território do seu futuro Estado.
"Estamos trabalhando sem interrupções com nossos colegas israelenses e palestinos para avançar", disse a secretária, acrescentando que ela acredita que Netanyahu e o presidente da ANP, Mahmoud Abbas, estejam compromissados com a resolução do conflito. "Estou bastante envolvida para encontrar uma solução e acredito que estamos aptos a fazê-lo", concluiu.
AUCKLAND - A secretária de Estado dos EUA, Hillary Clinton, confirmou nesta quinta-feira, 4, seus planos de encontrar o primeiro-ministro de Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, quando o líder do Estado judeu visitar Washington na próxima semana, informou o jornal Haaretz.
"Eu pretendo encontrar o premiê Netanyahu quando ele estiver nos EUA na semana que vem", disse Hillary em uma conferência de imprensa com John Key, primeiro-ministro da Nova Zelândia. A secretária acrescentou que acredita que o processo de paz no Oriente Médio pode progredir apesar das dificuldades enfrentadas recentemente.
As conversas diretas entre israelenses e a Autoridade Nacional Palestina (ANP) foram retomadas no dia 2 de setembro, mas se estagnaram novamente pouco tempo depois, quando a moratória de 10 meses que Israel declarou sobre a construção de novos assentamentos na Cisjordânia expirou.
Netanyahu tem resistido às pressões dos EUA, dos países árabes e de organismos internacionais para que novas paralisações sejam decretadas. Os palestinos acusam o premiê de destruir as esperanças de paz ao permitir a construção de novas colônias no local reclamado pelos palestinos como o território do seu futuro Estado.
"Estamos trabalhando sem interrupções com nossos colegas israelenses e palestinos para avançar", disse a secretária, acrescentando que ela acredita que Netanyahu e o presidente da ANP, Mahmoud Abbas, estejam compromissados com a resolução do conflito. "Estou bastante envolvida para encontrar uma solução e acredito que estamos aptos a fazê-lo", concluiu.
Window of opportunity for two-state solution closing, Hague warns Israel
The Guardian
William Hague warned today that the window of opportunity for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was closing and failure by the two parties to reach agreement would be a "serious setback".
Speaking at the end of a two-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, after visiting Jerusalem's Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, the foreign secretary urged Israel to renew its freeze on settlement construction to allow direct talks between the two parties to resume.
"There are many important issues, but this is one that has the potential to get direct talks going," he said. The British government wanted Israel to renew the moratorium on building, and he had "made his views clear" to Israeli politicians and officials during his visit, he said.
Hague met the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, as well as the Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, during his visit.
"I am very worried that the window of opportunity is closing. There is real urgency to that," he said. The current talks were the third attempt in a decade to reach a comprehensive settlement and a two-state solution.
"If they don't succeed there will be a loss of hope. We must never give up trying, but [to fail] would be a serious setback," Hague said.
Direct negotiations began in early September but stalled shortly afterwards when the 10-month partial freeze on construction in settlements expired. The Palestinians insist they cannot negotiate on the boundaries of a future state while Israel continues to build and expand settlements on Palestinian land. All settlements are illegal under international law.
Commenting on the swift collapse of the talks, Hague said it had been right to try to get momentum going. "The early session of the talks were held in an atmosphere of great sincerity," he said. "The UK wants to see a fresh moratorium because the prize here is enormous, of long-term peace. The price being asked to get back into those talks ... is well worth paying."
He indicated that the UK would prefer a substantial extension to the freeze rather than the 60 days demanded by the US. "We don't want to come back to this issue every few months," he said, but he added that the UK was "not managing that process".
Alternatives to a negotiated settlement of the conflict were "difficult", he said. Asked whether the UK would back a tentative plan by the Palestinians to ask the UN security council to recognise a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders, he said: "It can be a false hope to think there is a good plan B or plan C. I would discourage this at this moment."
Hague's first visit as foreign secretary to Israel and the Palestinian territories was in danger of being marred by a row over attempts to obtain warrants in the UK for the arrest of Israeli politicians for alleged war crimes.
A statement issued after Hague's meeting with Netanyahu this morning said Israel welcomed the "clear commitment" by the UK to amend the law on universal jurisdiction under which such warrants were issued.
It added that the next "strategic dialogue" meeting between the two countries, which Israel had postponed in protest, would "take place very soon, in Israel".
Hague described the episode as "a little frustrating", but the difficulties had now been overcome. It had been, he said, "a mistake" on behalf of the Israeli foreign ministry rather than intentional.
Hague also courted controversy by meeting leaders of unarmed protests against the Israeli occupation in West Bank towns and villages in Ramallah on Wednesday. According to the Popular Struggle Co-ordination Committee, the foreign secretary gave "an unequivocal show of support in the face of ongoing Israeli repression".
Today, Hague said there was no contradiction between being a friend of Israel and a friend of the Palestinians.
William Hague warned today that the window of opportunity for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was closing and failure by the two parties to reach agreement would be a "serious setback".
Speaking at the end of a two-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, after visiting Jerusalem's Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, the foreign secretary urged Israel to renew its freeze on settlement construction to allow direct talks between the two parties to resume.
"There are many important issues, but this is one that has the potential to get direct talks going," he said. The British government wanted Israel to renew the moratorium on building, and he had "made his views clear" to Israeli politicians and officials during his visit, he said.
Hague met the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, as well as the Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, during his visit.
"I am very worried that the window of opportunity is closing. There is real urgency to that," he said. The current talks were the third attempt in a decade to reach a comprehensive settlement and a two-state solution.
"If they don't succeed there will be a loss of hope. We must never give up trying, but [to fail] would be a serious setback," Hague said.
Direct negotiations began in early September but stalled shortly afterwards when the 10-month partial freeze on construction in settlements expired. The Palestinians insist they cannot negotiate on the boundaries of a future state while Israel continues to build and expand settlements on Palestinian land. All settlements are illegal under international law.
Commenting on the swift collapse of the talks, Hague said it had been right to try to get momentum going. "The early session of the talks were held in an atmosphere of great sincerity," he said. "The UK wants to see a fresh moratorium because the prize here is enormous, of long-term peace. The price being asked to get back into those talks ... is well worth paying."
He indicated that the UK would prefer a substantial extension to the freeze rather than the 60 days demanded by the US. "We don't want to come back to this issue every few months," he said, but he added that the UK was "not managing that process".
Alternatives to a negotiated settlement of the conflict were "difficult", he said. Asked whether the UK would back a tentative plan by the Palestinians to ask the UN security council to recognise a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders, he said: "It can be a false hope to think there is a good plan B or plan C. I would discourage this at this moment."
Hague's first visit as foreign secretary to Israel and the Palestinian territories was in danger of being marred by a row over attempts to obtain warrants in the UK for the arrest of Israeli politicians for alleged war crimes.
A statement issued after Hague's meeting with Netanyahu this morning said Israel welcomed the "clear commitment" by the UK to amend the law on universal jurisdiction under which such warrants were issued.
It added that the next "strategic dialogue" meeting between the two countries, which Israel had postponed in protest, would "take place very soon, in Israel".
Hague described the episode as "a little frustrating", but the difficulties had now been overcome. It had been, he said, "a mistake" on behalf of the Israeli foreign ministry rather than intentional.
Hague also courted controversy by meeting leaders of unarmed protests against the Israeli occupation in West Bank towns and villages in Ramallah on Wednesday. According to the Popular Struggle Co-ordination Committee, the foreign secretary gave "an unequivocal show of support in the face of ongoing Israeli repression".
Today, Hague said there was no contradiction between being a friend of Israel and a friend of the Palestinians.
quarta-feira, 3 de novembro de 2010
Sakineh ne sera pas exécutée mercredi
Le Monde
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, l'Iranienne condamnée à mort par lapidation et que la communauté internationale tente de sauver, est toujours en vie et ne devrait pas être exécutée mercredi 3 novembre en Iran, contrairement à ce que craignaient ses soutiens. "L'heure des exécutions est maintenant passée, ce n'est donc pas pour aujourd'hui. Mais le danger perdure et cela peut arriver à tout moment", a déclaré à l'AFP Mina Ahadi, porte-parole du Comité international contre la lapidation, domicilié en Allemagne, en citant des sources propres du Comité en Iran.
Selon elle, la communauté internationale a joué un rôle dans le sauvetage de cette mère de famille de 43 ans : "Certains pays comme la France, la Grande-Bretagne, l'Italie, les Etats-Unis ou encore l'Union européenne via sa représentante Catherine Ashton ont très bien réagi mardi", en s'inquiétant publiquement d'une exécution imminente. "Certains de ces pays ont été en contact avec des représentants du gouvernement iranien. Il est sûr que toute cette attention apportée [au cas de Sakineh] a eu un rôle", a ajouté la porte-parole du Comité international contre la lapidation.
L'EXÉCUTION EN SUSPENS
Mme Ahadi précise notamment que "l'exécution n'est que repoussée, elle n'est pas levée". La chef de la diplomatie européenne, Catherine Ashton, a déclaré être "très préoccupée" par les informations sur une éventuelle exécution imminente de l'Iranienne et a demandé" à l'Iran d'arrêter cette exécution et de commuer la condamnation".
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani a été condamnée à mort en 2006 pour adultère. Un jugement l'a condamnée à la pendaison pour son implication dans le meurtre de son mari et un autre à la lapidation pour d'autres charges d'adultère. La première condamnation avait été commuée en appel en une peine de dix ans de prison. Mais la condamnation à la lapidation a été confirmée en 2007 par la Cour suprême.
La crainte d'une lapidation imminente, dénoncée cet été par le fils de Sakineh, Sajjad, 22 ans, avait déclenché une vaste campagne internationale pour éviter ce châtiment. L'exécution de la peine avait été suspendue par la justice iranienne au début juillet. Mais mardi, l'inquiétude a été ravivée par des informations reçues de sources iraniennes par le Comité international contre la lapidation. Selon ces sources, le nom de Sakineh figure sur la liste des condamnés à mort devant être exécutés au cours des prochains jours ou des semaines à venir, établie par la Cour suprême à Téhéran et communiquée récemment dans une lettre à la prison de Tabriz, où est détenue.
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, l'Iranienne condamnée à mort par lapidation et que la communauté internationale tente de sauver, est toujours en vie et ne devrait pas être exécutée mercredi 3 novembre en Iran, contrairement à ce que craignaient ses soutiens. "L'heure des exécutions est maintenant passée, ce n'est donc pas pour aujourd'hui. Mais le danger perdure et cela peut arriver à tout moment", a déclaré à l'AFP Mina Ahadi, porte-parole du Comité international contre la lapidation, domicilié en Allemagne, en citant des sources propres du Comité en Iran.
Selon elle, la communauté internationale a joué un rôle dans le sauvetage de cette mère de famille de 43 ans : "Certains pays comme la France, la Grande-Bretagne, l'Italie, les Etats-Unis ou encore l'Union européenne via sa représentante Catherine Ashton ont très bien réagi mardi", en s'inquiétant publiquement d'une exécution imminente. "Certains de ces pays ont été en contact avec des représentants du gouvernement iranien. Il est sûr que toute cette attention apportée [au cas de Sakineh] a eu un rôle", a ajouté la porte-parole du Comité international contre la lapidation.
L'EXÉCUTION EN SUSPENS
Mme Ahadi précise notamment que "l'exécution n'est que repoussée, elle n'est pas levée". La chef de la diplomatie européenne, Catherine Ashton, a déclaré être "très préoccupée" par les informations sur une éventuelle exécution imminente de l'Iranienne et a demandé" à l'Iran d'arrêter cette exécution et de commuer la condamnation".
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani a été condamnée à mort en 2006 pour adultère. Un jugement l'a condamnée à la pendaison pour son implication dans le meurtre de son mari et un autre à la lapidation pour d'autres charges d'adultère. La première condamnation avait été commuée en appel en une peine de dix ans de prison. Mais la condamnation à la lapidation a été confirmée en 2007 par la Cour suprême.
La crainte d'une lapidation imminente, dénoncée cet été par le fils de Sakineh, Sajjad, 22 ans, avait déclenché une vaste campagne internationale pour éviter ce châtiment. L'exécution de la peine avait été suspendue par la justice iranienne au début juillet. Mais mardi, l'inquiétude a été ravivée par des informations reçues de sources iraniennes par le Comité international contre la lapidation. Selon ces sources, le nom de Sakineh figure sur la liste des condamnés à mort devant être exécutés au cours des prochains jours ou des semaines à venir, établie par la Cour suprême à Téhéran et communiquée récemment dans une lettre à la prison de Tabriz, où est détenue.
segunda-feira, 1 de novembro de 2010
Irã felicita Dilma e diz que quer ampliar relações com Brasil
O Estado de S. Paulo
TEERÃ - O presidente iraniano, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, felicitou nesta segunda-feira, 01, a presidente eleita Dilma Rousseff (PT) através de uma carta.
Segundo a imprensa iraniana, Ahmadinejad também expressou seu desejo de que as relações entre Irã e Brasil sejam ampliadas e fortalecidas nesta nova etapa da política brasileira.
"Tenho certeza de que o Brasil continuará no caminho do progresso e do desenvolvimento, inclusive de forma mais rápida", destacou.
O presidente iraniano também declarou que "os laços de amizade construídos entre os dois países durante a gestão de Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva produziram avanços a nível bilateral, regional e internacional".
"Esses laços entre Irã e Brasil foram consideravelmente ampliados nos últimos anos e tenho certeza de que esta tendência será mantida" no Governo de Dilma, acrescentou.
Por sua vez, o presidente da Comissão de Segurança Nacional e Relações Exteriores do Parlamento iraniano, Alaedin Boroujerdi, ressaltou que a eleição de Dilma é uma boa notícia para o Irã e para o mundo porque "fortalece o bloco antiamericano".
"A América Latina entrou em uma corrente de oposição aos Estados Unidos. O mundo será testemunha, muito em breve, da ampliação e da expansão das relações entre Irã e os Estados da América Latina", acrescentou em declarações divulgadas pela agência de notícias "Irna".
Para o Irã, as relações com a América do Sul são "estratégicas e muito valiosas", pois ele considera a região uma aliada em sua luta contra o capitalismo e o sistema global.
Nos últimos anos, o Governo iraniano estreitou os laços com outra nações latino-americanas, como Venezuela, Bolívia, Equador.
TEERÃ - O presidente iraniano, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, felicitou nesta segunda-feira, 01, a presidente eleita Dilma Rousseff (PT) através de uma carta.
Segundo a imprensa iraniana, Ahmadinejad também expressou seu desejo de que as relações entre Irã e Brasil sejam ampliadas e fortalecidas nesta nova etapa da política brasileira.
"Tenho certeza de que o Brasil continuará no caminho do progresso e do desenvolvimento, inclusive de forma mais rápida", destacou.
O presidente iraniano também declarou que "os laços de amizade construídos entre os dois países durante a gestão de Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva produziram avanços a nível bilateral, regional e internacional".
"Esses laços entre Irã e Brasil foram consideravelmente ampliados nos últimos anos e tenho certeza de que esta tendência será mantida" no Governo de Dilma, acrescentou.
Por sua vez, o presidente da Comissão de Segurança Nacional e Relações Exteriores do Parlamento iraniano, Alaedin Boroujerdi, ressaltou que a eleição de Dilma é uma boa notícia para o Irã e para o mundo porque "fortalece o bloco antiamericano".
"A América Latina entrou em uma corrente de oposição aos Estados Unidos. O mundo será testemunha, muito em breve, da ampliação e da expansão das relações entre Irã e os Estados da América Latina", acrescentou em declarações divulgadas pela agência de notícias "Irna".
Para o Irã, as relações com a América do Sul são "estratégicas e muito valiosas", pois ele considera a região uma aliada em sua luta contra o capitalismo e o sistema global.
Nos últimos anos, o Governo iraniano estreitou os laços com outra nações latino-americanas, como Venezuela, Bolívia, Equador.
sexta-feira, 29 de outubro de 2010
Irã aceita negociar programa nuclear com União Europeia em novembro
O Estado de S. Paulo
BRUXELAS - O governo do Irã respondeu positivamente à proposta da União Europeia (UE) de realizar uma rodada de encontros no mês de novembro com o objetivo de retomar o diálogo sobre seu programa nuclear, informou nesta sexta-feira, 29, a chefe de diplomacia do bloco, Catherine Ashton.
"Recebi uma carta do doutor Said Jalili (principal negociador nuclear iraniano) na qual ele agradece o contato e se diz disposto a iniciar discussões depois do dia 10 de novembro", explicou Catherine em sua chegada à cúpula de chefes de Estado e governo dos 27 membros da UE realizada nesta sexta em Bruxelas.
Há uma semana, a chefe de diplomacia havia proposto a Teerã retomar o diálogo com três dias de reuniões a partir do dia 15 de novembro. Apesar das pressões, o Irã resistia em dar seu parecer, embora se disse pronto para retomar as negociações.
Segundo Catherine, Jalili quer chegar a um acordo sobre datas. Para isso, a UE entrará em contato com as autoridades iranianas para tentar firmar as condições "o mais rápido possível". "Acho que é um movimento muito significativo", assegurou a chefe da diplomacia sobre a disposição de Teerã em negociar.
Desde que assumiu o cargo, em dezembro de 2009, Catherine manifestou disposição para retomar o diálogo sobre o discutido programa nuclear iraniano. Além da UE, neste âmbito ela atua em nome do Grupo 5+1 (EUA, Rússia, China, Reino Unido, França e Alemanha), responsável pela negociação com Teerã sobre o programa nuclear.
As potências ocidentais acusam o Irã de esconder, sob seu programa nuclear civil, outro de natureza clandestina e aplicações bélicas, cujo objetivo seria a aquisição de armas atômicas. Teerã nega tais alegações.
As tensões sobre o programa nuclear iraniano se acirraram no final do ano passado após o Irã rejeitar uma proposta de troca de urânio feita por EUA, Rússia e Reino Unido. Meses depois, o país começou a enriquecer urânio a 20%.
Um acordo mediado por Brasil e Turquia para troca de urânio chegou a ser assinado com o Irã em maio. O acordo, porém, foi rejeitado pelo Grupo de Viena - composto por Rússia, França, EUA e AIEA (Agência Internacional de Energia Atômica) - e o Conselho de Segurança da ONU optou por impor uma quarta rodada de sanções ao país.
BRUXELAS - O governo do Irã respondeu positivamente à proposta da União Europeia (UE) de realizar uma rodada de encontros no mês de novembro com o objetivo de retomar o diálogo sobre seu programa nuclear, informou nesta sexta-feira, 29, a chefe de diplomacia do bloco, Catherine Ashton.
"Recebi uma carta do doutor Said Jalili (principal negociador nuclear iraniano) na qual ele agradece o contato e se diz disposto a iniciar discussões depois do dia 10 de novembro", explicou Catherine em sua chegada à cúpula de chefes de Estado e governo dos 27 membros da UE realizada nesta sexta em Bruxelas.
Há uma semana, a chefe de diplomacia havia proposto a Teerã retomar o diálogo com três dias de reuniões a partir do dia 15 de novembro. Apesar das pressões, o Irã resistia em dar seu parecer, embora se disse pronto para retomar as negociações.
Segundo Catherine, Jalili quer chegar a um acordo sobre datas. Para isso, a UE entrará em contato com as autoridades iranianas para tentar firmar as condições "o mais rápido possível". "Acho que é um movimento muito significativo", assegurou a chefe da diplomacia sobre a disposição de Teerã em negociar.
Desde que assumiu o cargo, em dezembro de 2009, Catherine manifestou disposição para retomar o diálogo sobre o discutido programa nuclear iraniano. Além da UE, neste âmbito ela atua em nome do Grupo 5+1 (EUA, Rússia, China, Reino Unido, França e Alemanha), responsável pela negociação com Teerã sobre o programa nuclear.
As potências ocidentais acusam o Irã de esconder, sob seu programa nuclear civil, outro de natureza clandestina e aplicações bélicas, cujo objetivo seria a aquisição de armas atômicas. Teerã nega tais alegações.
As tensões sobre o programa nuclear iraniano se acirraram no final do ano passado após o Irã rejeitar uma proposta de troca de urânio feita por EUA, Rússia e Reino Unido. Meses depois, o país começou a enriquecer urânio a 20%.
Um acordo mediado por Brasil e Turquia para troca de urânio chegou a ser assinado com o Irã em maio. O acordo, porém, foi rejeitado pelo Grupo de Viena - composto por Rússia, França, EUA e AIEA (Agência Internacional de Energia Atômica) - e o Conselho de Segurança da ONU optou por impor uma quarta rodada de sanções ao país.
Pacotes vindos do Iêmen representam "ameaça terrorista real" aos EUA, diz Obama
Folha de São Paulo
Autoridades de segurança no Reino Unido e nos Emirados Árabes Unidos interceptaram dois pacotes suspeitos enviados do Iêmen para os Estados Unidos, em uma "ameaça terrorista real", disse o presidente Barack Obama nesta sexta-feira. Os pacotes tinham como destino "dois lugares judaicos em Chicago", segundo Obama.
As suspeitas recaíram sobre a Al Qaeda na Península Árabe, que assumiu a responsabilidade por um atentado frustrado contra um avião americano no Natal de 2009.
"Sabemos que a Al Qaeda na península arábica continua planejando ataques contra nossa terra e nosso povo. Os agentes de combate ao terrorismo no nosso país estão levando o assunto muito a sério e estão tomando as medidas necessárias."
"Exames iniciais naqueles pacotes determinaram que eles aparentemente contêm material explosivo", disse Obama, em discurso televisionado na tarde desta sexta-feira, chamando o incidente de "uma ameaça terrorista real contra nosso país".
A Casa Branca disse que "ambos os pacotes saíram do Iêmen" e Obama foi avisado sobre a ameaça ainda na noite de quinta-feira.
A Casa Branca disse ainda que a Arábia Saudita ajudou a revelar que a ameaça vinha do Iêmen, enquanto o Reino Unido, os Emirados Árabes Unidos e "outros amigos e parceiros" também forneceram informações.
"Os EUA são gratos ao Reino da Arábia Saudita por sua ajuda em levantar informações que ajudaram a revelar a iminência da ameaça emergindo do Iêmen", disse o conselheiro de segurança de Obama, John Brennan.
Falando há quatro dias das eleições parlamentares nos EUA, marcadas para terça-feira, Obama disse que um alto auxiliar falou com o presidente do Iêmen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, e ele prometeu cooperar totalmente com as investigações.
PACOTES
Os dois pacotes suspeitos vindos do Iêmen foram encontrados no Reino Unido e nos Emirados Árabes Unidos, após uma informação ter levado autoridades a inspecionar aviões de carga nos dois lados do Atlântico.
Um dos pacotes foi encontrado em um avião de carga da empresa United Parcel Service (UPI), no aeroporto de East Midlands, cerca de 260 km a norte de Londres, no Reino Unido. Ele continha um cartucho de tinta para impressora modificado, segundo a CNN, e foi enviado de Sanaa, no Iêmen para Chicago, nos EUA, em voo com escala no Reino Unido.
O outro pacote foi descoberto em uma instalação da FedEx Corp em Dubai. Uma fonte oficial disse nos Emirados Árabes Unidos disse que "um material explosivo foi encontrado no pacote originário do Iêmen" e que o pacote era semelhante ao encontrado no Reino Unido.
Uma autoridade americana e alguns analistas especularam que os pacotes podem ter sido apenas um teste para os procedimentos de checagem de carga, e da reação das autoridades de segurança nos EUA.
O Departamento americano de Segurança Interna disse que vai endurecer as medidas de segurança na aviação.
AVIÃO ESCOLTADO
Um avião comercial de passageiros da companhia Emirates, proveniente de Sanaa, no Iêmen, com escala em Dubai, nos Emirados Árabes Unidos, foi escoltado na tarde desta sexta-feira por jatos militares canadenses e americanos até o aeroporto John F. Kennedy, em Nova York.
"Isso é apenas porque há uma carga vinda do Iêmen no voo", disse o porta-voz do FBI, Richard Kolko, "Não há nenhuma ameaça associada com essa carga ou esse voo."
Autoridades americanas e britânicas inspecionaram aviões de carga e caminhões da empresa após o pacote ter sido encontrado, e os dois países entraram em estado de alerta.
Nos EUA, aviões da UPS foram inspecionados em Nova York, New Jersey e Filadélfia. Um caminhão da empresa foi inspecionado no Brooklyn.
MEDIDAS PREVENTIVAS
Ainda em resposta às duas suspeitas de bomba encontradas entre ontem e hoje, o governo do Reino Unido decidiu suspender todos os voos de carga diretos entre os dois países.
A ministra do Interior, Theresa May, disse que "a segurança do Reino Unido continua sendo a prioridade número um".
A suspensão se soma a uma decisão, em vigor há mais de um ano, de suspender os voos da companhia Yemenia Airlines.
Já a FedEx, maior empresa aérea de carga do mundo, embargou todas as cargas provenientes do Iêmen, segundo o porta-voz da empresa, Maury Lane. A UPS também decidiu suspender os serviços provenientes do Iemên.
ATENTADO NO NATAL
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, de origem nigeriana, foi acusado de tentar explodir uma aeronave americana com uma bomba na noite de Natal do ano passado.
Ele embarcou em um voo da Northwest Airlines que fazia a rota Amsterdã-Detroit e, perto do fim do trajeto, tentou acionar uma bomba que estava em sua cueca, afirmaram procuradores.
Segundo eles, o dispositivo não detonou completamente e ele foi rendido por passageiros e tripulantes e o fogo foi controlado.
Ele foi acusado pela tentativa de usar uma bomba de destruição em massa, tentativa de assassinato e outros quatro crimes. Se condenado, poderá passar o resto da vida na prisão.
O nigeriano cooperou com investigadores americanos por vários meses e disse a eles ter recebido o dispositivo e treinamento de militantes da rede terrorista Al Qaeda no Iêmen.
Desde então, a Al Qaeda na Península Árabe e um de seus líderes, o clérigo americano Anwar al Awlaki, tornaram-se alvos prioritários dos EUA. Os EUA aumentaram a ajuda militar ao governo iemenita, que tenta derrotar o braço insurgente da Al Qaeda em seu território.
ALERTAS DE TERROR
Após uma série de alertas de terrorismo na primeira semana de outubro --que na sua maioria mostraram-se alarmes falsos--, a União Europeia (UE) e os EUA decidiram nesta quinta-feira buscar fórmulas mais adequadas para comunicar a existência de ameaças terroristas, com o objetivo de informar os cidadãos sem um "alarmismo desnecessário".
Autoridades de segurança no Reino Unido e nos Emirados Árabes Unidos interceptaram dois pacotes suspeitos enviados do Iêmen para os Estados Unidos, em uma "ameaça terrorista real", disse o presidente Barack Obama nesta sexta-feira. Os pacotes tinham como destino "dois lugares judaicos em Chicago", segundo Obama.
As suspeitas recaíram sobre a Al Qaeda na Península Árabe, que assumiu a responsabilidade por um atentado frustrado contra um avião americano no Natal de 2009.
"Sabemos que a Al Qaeda na península arábica continua planejando ataques contra nossa terra e nosso povo. Os agentes de combate ao terrorismo no nosso país estão levando o assunto muito a sério e estão tomando as medidas necessárias."
"Exames iniciais naqueles pacotes determinaram que eles aparentemente contêm material explosivo", disse Obama, em discurso televisionado na tarde desta sexta-feira, chamando o incidente de "uma ameaça terrorista real contra nosso país".
A Casa Branca disse que "ambos os pacotes saíram do Iêmen" e Obama foi avisado sobre a ameaça ainda na noite de quinta-feira.
A Casa Branca disse ainda que a Arábia Saudita ajudou a revelar que a ameaça vinha do Iêmen, enquanto o Reino Unido, os Emirados Árabes Unidos e "outros amigos e parceiros" também forneceram informações.
"Os EUA são gratos ao Reino da Arábia Saudita por sua ajuda em levantar informações que ajudaram a revelar a iminência da ameaça emergindo do Iêmen", disse o conselheiro de segurança de Obama, John Brennan.
Falando há quatro dias das eleições parlamentares nos EUA, marcadas para terça-feira, Obama disse que um alto auxiliar falou com o presidente do Iêmen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, e ele prometeu cooperar totalmente com as investigações.
PACOTES
Os dois pacotes suspeitos vindos do Iêmen foram encontrados no Reino Unido e nos Emirados Árabes Unidos, após uma informação ter levado autoridades a inspecionar aviões de carga nos dois lados do Atlântico.
Um dos pacotes foi encontrado em um avião de carga da empresa United Parcel Service (UPI), no aeroporto de East Midlands, cerca de 260 km a norte de Londres, no Reino Unido. Ele continha um cartucho de tinta para impressora modificado, segundo a CNN, e foi enviado de Sanaa, no Iêmen para Chicago, nos EUA, em voo com escala no Reino Unido.
O outro pacote foi descoberto em uma instalação da FedEx Corp em Dubai. Uma fonte oficial disse nos Emirados Árabes Unidos disse que "um material explosivo foi encontrado no pacote originário do Iêmen" e que o pacote era semelhante ao encontrado no Reino Unido.
Uma autoridade americana e alguns analistas especularam que os pacotes podem ter sido apenas um teste para os procedimentos de checagem de carga, e da reação das autoridades de segurança nos EUA.
O Departamento americano de Segurança Interna disse que vai endurecer as medidas de segurança na aviação.
AVIÃO ESCOLTADO
Um avião comercial de passageiros da companhia Emirates, proveniente de Sanaa, no Iêmen, com escala em Dubai, nos Emirados Árabes Unidos, foi escoltado na tarde desta sexta-feira por jatos militares canadenses e americanos até o aeroporto John F. Kennedy, em Nova York.
"Isso é apenas porque há uma carga vinda do Iêmen no voo", disse o porta-voz do FBI, Richard Kolko, "Não há nenhuma ameaça associada com essa carga ou esse voo."
Autoridades americanas e britânicas inspecionaram aviões de carga e caminhões da empresa após o pacote ter sido encontrado, e os dois países entraram em estado de alerta.
Nos EUA, aviões da UPS foram inspecionados em Nova York, New Jersey e Filadélfia. Um caminhão da empresa foi inspecionado no Brooklyn.
MEDIDAS PREVENTIVAS
Ainda em resposta às duas suspeitas de bomba encontradas entre ontem e hoje, o governo do Reino Unido decidiu suspender todos os voos de carga diretos entre os dois países.
A ministra do Interior, Theresa May, disse que "a segurança do Reino Unido continua sendo a prioridade número um".
A suspensão se soma a uma decisão, em vigor há mais de um ano, de suspender os voos da companhia Yemenia Airlines.
Já a FedEx, maior empresa aérea de carga do mundo, embargou todas as cargas provenientes do Iêmen, segundo o porta-voz da empresa, Maury Lane. A UPS também decidiu suspender os serviços provenientes do Iemên.
ATENTADO NO NATAL
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, de origem nigeriana, foi acusado de tentar explodir uma aeronave americana com uma bomba na noite de Natal do ano passado.
Ele embarcou em um voo da Northwest Airlines que fazia a rota Amsterdã-Detroit e, perto do fim do trajeto, tentou acionar uma bomba que estava em sua cueca, afirmaram procuradores.
Segundo eles, o dispositivo não detonou completamente e ele foi rendido por passageiros e tripulantes e o fogo foi controlado.
Ele foi acusado pela tentativa de usar uma bomba de destruição em massa, tentativa de assassinato e outros quatro crimes. Se condenado, poderá passar o resto da vida na prisão.
O nigeriano cooperou com investigadores americanos por vários meses e disse a eles ter recebido o dispositivo e treinamento de militantes da rede terrorista Al Qaeda no Iêmen.
Desde então, a Al Qaeda na Península Árabe e um de seus líderes, o clérigo americano Anwar al Awlaki, tornaram-se alvos prioritários dos EUA. Os EUA aumentaram a ajuda militar ao governo iemenita, que tenta derrotar o braço insurgente da Al Qaeda em seu território.
ALERTAS DE TERROR
Após uma série de alertas de terrorismo na primeira semana de outubro --que na sua maioria mostraram-se alarmes falsos--, a União Europeia (UE) e os EUA decidiram nesta quinta-feira buscar fórmulas mais adequadas para comunicar a existência de ameaças terroristas, com o objetivo de informar os cidadãos sem um "alarmismo desnecessário".
Yemen Emerges as Base for U.S. Attacks
The New York Times
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Not long ago, most Americans had scarcely heard of Yemen, the arid, Texas-size country in the southern corner of the Arabian peninsula.
But on Friday, as news emerged of a plot to send explosives in courier packages from Yemen to synagogues in Chicago, the world’s attention was focused once again on the threats brewing in Yemen’s lawless, strife-torn hinterlands, where American citizens appear to be helping the local branch of Al Qaeda take aim at the United States.
It was the second time in less than a year: on Dec. 25, a Nigerian trained in Yemen tried to detonate a bomb on a commercial flight as it approached Detroit, and Al Qaeda took credit for the attempt. The American-born cleric Anwar al Awlaki had been in contact with the would-be bomber, and some analysts believe the latest effort may also be linked to Mr. Awlaki, a charismatic preacher who remains in hiding in Yemen and has issued threats by Internet.
In recent months, American intelligence officials have grown increasingly concerned about Yemen, despite a renewed cooperation on counterterrorism with the Yemeni authorities in the past year. Al Qaeda’s regional arm, which went quiet for several months after a series of American airstrikes in Yemen that began last December, has become more active since the spring, and has killed several dozen Yemeni soldiers and police officers.
The group has also stepped up its recruitment drive on the Internet, issuing an English-language magazine that includes articles with titles like “Make a Bomb in Your Mother’s Kitchen.” The most recent issue of the magazine, “Inspire,” was published last month and includes an article by an American citizen named Samir Khan titled “I am Proud to be a Traitor to America.” Mr. Khan, who grew up in North Carolina and New York City, is believed to have joined Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch last year.
One important reason for the rising concern about Yemen is the presence of Americans like Mr. Awlaki and Mr. Khan.
It is not clear how many Americans are working with Al Qaeda in Yemen, a group that is believed to comprise several hundred members, including some from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. The group is mostly based in the lawless provinces to the east of Yemen’s capital, Sana, but has carried out attacks in the capital as well.
“These are people with both access to explosives and knowledge of how the United States works,” said Bernard Haykel, a professor of Near Eastern studies at Princeton University who has written on Yemen. “And in Yemen, you can walk into a local branch of FedEx and mail something to the U.S. You can’t do that in Somalia or in rural Afghanistan.”
Al Qaeda’s Yemen-based branch, which calls itself Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, does not consider the United States a key target, intelligence officials and analysts say. The group has tried repeatedly to strike at Saudi Arabia, and says it aims to topple the Yemeni and Saudi governments.
But attacking the United States draws broader publicity, and may be helpful with recruiting. Al Qaeda’s regional arm took credit for a suicide attack on the American Embassy in Sana in September 2008 that left 16 people dead, including the six attackers. There have been other, less deadly attacks on other foreign embassies in Yemen’s capital.
The United States government’s relationship with Yemen has been troubled by mutual suspicion. The country has long been a haven for jihadists, who were welcomed there after returning from fighting the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Yemeni government cracked down on many jihadists, but also maintained relationships with them, paroling some convicted terrorists and cultivating radical clerics. American officials complained; Yemeni officials defended their approach as necessary pragmatism in a country where hard-line Islamist views are common.
Last year American officials showed Yemen’s longtime president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, intelligence reports indicating that Al Qaeda was singling out him and his family members, many of whom hold senior government positions. After that, Mr. Saleh redoubled his commitment to fighting Al Qaeda, and allowed the United States to launch airstrikes on Yemeni terrain.
But Al Qaeda’s presence has also led the United States to vastly increase its military and economic assistance to Yemen, and many Yemeni and American analysts say they fear that Mr. Saleh has a financial interest in maintaining some level of threat in his country.
Another source of concern is the rising chaos of Yemen, which has a fast-growing, desperately poor population of 23 million and is running out of water.
The country’s meager oil reserves, a key source of revenue for the government, are also running dry. The government has limited control outside of major cities, where powerful tribes hold sway and are sometimes willing to shelter Qaeda members. An intermittent rebellion in Yemen’s northwest has created a humanitarian crisis; in the south, a secessionist movement has fostered an increasingly lawless environment where Al Qaeda appears to be flourishing.
Although Al Qaeda has not claimed credit for the packages that were sent to Chicago, this latest incident “is a reminder that we have a serious problem brewing in Yemen, and the current counterterrorism measures have not been able to stop it,” said Gregory Johnsen, an expert on Yemen at Princeton University.
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Not long ago, most Americans had scarcely heard of Yemen, the arid, Texas-size country in the southern corner of the Arabian peninsula.
But on Friday, as news emerged of a plot to send explosives in courier packages from Yemen to synagogues in Chicago, the world’s attention was focused once again on the threats brewing in Yemen’s lawless, strife-torn hinterlands, where American citizens appear to be helping the local branch of Al Qaeda take aim at the United States.
It was the second time in less than a year: on Dec. 25, a Nigerian trained in Yemen tried to detonate a bomb on a commercial flight as it approached Detroit, and Al Qaeda took credit for the attempt. The American-born cleric Anwar al Awlaki had been in contact with the would-be bomber, and some analysts believe the latest effort may also be linked to Mr. Awlaki, a charismatic preacher who remains in hiding in Yemen and has issued threats by Internet.
In recent months, American intelligence officials have grown increasingly concerned about Yemen, despite a renewed cooperation on counterterrorism with the Yemeni authorities in the past year. Al Qaeda’s regional arm, which went quiet for several months after a series of American airstrikes in Yemen that began last December, has become more active since the spring, and has killed several dozen Yemeni soldiers and police officers.
The group has also stepped up its recruitment drive on the Internet, issuing an English-language magazine that includes articles with titles like “Make a Bomb in Your Mother’s Kitchen.” The most recent issue of the magazine, “Inspire,” was published last month and includes an article by an American citizen named Samir Khan titled “I am Proud to be a Traitor to America.” Mr. Khan, who grew up in North Carolina and New York City, is believed to have joined Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch last year.
One important reason for the rising concern about Yemen is the presence of Americans like Mr. Awlaki and Mr. Khan.
It is not clear how many Americans are working with Al Qaeda in Yemen, a group that is believed to comprise several hundred members, including some from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. The group is mostly based in the lawless provinces to the east of Yemen’s capital, Sana, but has carried out attacks in the capital as well.
“These are people with both access to explosives and knowledge of how the United States works,” said Bernard Haykel, a professor of Near Eastern studies at Princeton University who has written on Yemen. “And in Yemen, you can walk into a local branch of FedEx and mail something to the U.S. You can’t do that in Somalia or in rural Afghanistan.”
Al Qaeda’s Yemen-based branch, which calls itself Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, does not consider the United States a key target, intelligence officials and analysts say. The group has tried repeatedly to strike at Saudi Arabia, and says it aims to topple the Yemeni and Saudi governments.
But attacking the United States draws broader publicity, and may be helpful with recruiting. Al Qaeda’s regional arm took credit for a suicide attack on the American Embassy in Sana in September 2008 that left 16 people dead, including the six attackers. There have been other, less deadly attacks on other foreign embassies in Yemen’s capital.
The United States government’s relationship with Yemen has been troubled by mutual suspicion. The country has long been a haven for jihadists, who were welcomed there after returning from fighting the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Yemeni government cracked down on many jihadists, but also maintained relationships with them, paroling some convicted terrorists and cultivating radical clerics. American officials complained; Yemeni officials defended their approach as necessary pragmatism in a country where hard-line Islamist views are common.
Last year American officials showed Yemen’s longtime president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, intelligence reports indicating that Al Qaeda was singling out him and his family members, many of whom hold senior government positions. After that, Mr. Saleh redoubled his commitment to fighting Al Qaeda, and allowed the United States to launch airstrikes on Yemeni terrain.
But Al Qaeda’s presence has also led the United States to vastly increase its military and economic assistance to Yemen, and many Yemeni and American analysts say they fear that Mr. Saleh has a financial interest in maintaining some level of threat in his country.
Another source of concern is the rising chaos of Yemen, which has a fast-growing, desperately poor population of 23 million and is running out of water.
The country’s meager oil reserves, a key source of revenue for the government, are also running dry. The government has limited control outside of major cities, where powerful tribes hold sway and are sometimes willing to shelter Qaeda members. An intermittent rebellion in Yemen’s northwest has created a humanitarian crisis; in the south, a secessionist movement has fostered an increasingly lawless environment where Al Qaeda appears to be flourishing.
Although Al Qaeda has not claimed credit for the packages that were sent to Chicago, this latest incident “is a reminder that we have a serious problem brewing in Yemen, and the current counterterrorism measures have not been able to stop it,” said Gregory Johnsen, an expert on Yemen at Princeton University.
Barack Obama says explosive package terror threat is 'credible'
The Guardian
Security services yesterday thwarted a terrorist attempt to send packages containing explosive material hidden in printer ink cartridges by air from Yemen to strike targets in the US.
Last night Barack Obama called the attempt a "credible threat".
The packages were discovered yesterday in the UK and Middle East aboard planes in an apparent change of tactics by al-Qaida- inspired terrorists who had targeted synagogues in Chicago. The incident sparked an international terror alert on three continents following a tip-off from MI6 to the Americans, the Guardian understands.
One device was intercepted early yesterday morning at East Midlands airport, near Leicester, en route from Yemen to Chicago, via the UK. It had wires protruding from an eight-inch ink cartridge which also had traces of white powder. A second device, described as identical, was intercepted aboard a freight plane in Dubai, whose journey had also started in Yemen, a country identified by western officials as home to terrorists who have tried to strike against the US.
Counter-terrorism sources told the Guardian the device discovered in the UK was not found by chance but specific intelligence led to a decision to subject cargo on the plane to extra searches. Last night John Brennan, assistant to the US president for homeland security and counter-terrorism, said Saudi Arabia had provided vital information.
Officials in Britain and the US were trying to ascertain what the devices were capable of and what the terrorists intended.
Barack Obama said in a statement last night that both packages contained "explosive material" and represented a credible terrorist threat to the US. One UK security source said despite Obama's announcement the aim was probably to cause panic and not to bomb any target.
Obama, speaking in Washington and days before midterm elections, said Yemen's president had pledged to cooperate in the investigation. He effectively named the Islamist group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula as being chief suspects.
Obama said: "I've also directed that we spare no effort in investigating the origins of these suspicious packages and their connection to any additional terrorist plotting. Although we are still pursuing all the facts, we do know that the packages originated in Yemen. We also know that al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, a terrorist group based in Yemen, continues to plan attacks against our homeland, our citizens, and our friends and allies."
The first device discovered, said Obama, was in the UK. It sparked intense activity at the White House as officials scrambled to meet what they believe was the latest terrorist attempt to strike the US.
The plane that landed in the UK was operated by the parcel company UPS. It had taken off from Yemen, and was due to fly to two locations in the US. It made a routine stop at the UK's largest freight airport, East Midlands, at 3.30am on Friday morning and, sources said, intelligence reports led it to be subjected to extra searches.
A source with close knowledge of the events said a large box was found by employees carrying out screening checks in the UPS facility at East Midlands. Initial checks were inconclusive and the UPS flight, which had come from Yemen, was allowed to fly on to the US without the box on board. But the discovery of a freight bomb in Dubai prompted a further check which revealed that a toner cartridge for a Hewlett Packard printer contained a hidden suspect device. The source said the bomb was "cleverly disguised" and a "substantial" device which contained explosives. It was wired with a mobile phone, most likely to act as a timer to detonate the device.
After its discovery the device was then split in two and sent for detailed scientific investigation by the authorities. It is understood that the Dubai bomb was identical.
Minutes after the find in the Midlands, Obama was told in Washington of the discovery, amid concerns that some sort of terrorist action emanating from Yemen was feared.
Scotland Yard said: "Early today, Friday 29 October, an American-registered cargo plane arrived at East Midlands airport from the Yemen en route to Chicago via Philadelphia.
"The plane stopped at East Midlands airport as part of a routine stopover. Cargo removed from the plane was examined. Further tests were carried out. Following this a number of items have been sent for additional scientific examination."
Theresa May, the home secretary, confirmed the package at East Midlands contained explosive material, but it was not clear whether it was a "viable explosive device". May, who spoke with her US counterpart Janet Napolitano yesterday, said: "We have been working closely with US counterparts following the discovery of a suspect package on a flight to Chicago which had landed in transit at East Midlands airport.
"At this stage I can say that the device did contain explosive material. But it is not yet clear that it was a viable explosive device. The forensic work continues."
She said that Cobra, the government's emergency planning committee, met yesterday and would meet again today.
She added: "We are reviewing the security measures for air freight from Yemen and are in discussion with industry contacts."
Yemen has been of increasing concern to western counter-terrorism officials, who suspect its use as a base for al-Qaida inspired terrorists. American officials said intelligence agencies have, over recent months, tracked three other packages out of Yemen for delivery to the US that appeared to be trial runs for the smuggling of a bomb on board a cargo plane. They said that the grounding of planes from the US and UK to Dubai for further searches was in part based on that intelligence.
Their suspicion has been that al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula – which was responsible for the failed attempt to blow up a passenger aircraft over Detroit on Christmas Day last year using a Nigerian suicide bomber – was planning an attack on cargo planes.
American law enforcement officials warned Jewish groups in Chicago and New York that they may be a target for dangerous packages. Fed Ex said it was suspending all deliveries from Yemen.
Gordon Brown banned direct passenger flights from Yemen to the UK in January. The US Department for Homeland Security said it had taken a "number of steps" to enhance aviation security last night.
Brennan said: "The United States is grateful to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their assistance in developing information that helped underscore the imminence of the threat emanating from Yemen.
"Their assistance, along with the hard work of the US counter-terrorism community, the United Kingdom, the UAE, and other friends and partners, helped make it possible to increase our vigilance and identify the suspicious packages in Dubai and East Midlands airport."
Security services yesterday thwarted a terrorist attempt to send packages containing explosive material hidden in printer ink cartridges by air from Yemen to strike targets in the US.
Last night Barack Obama called the attempt a "credible threat".
The packages were discovered yesterday in the UK and Middle East aboard planes in an apparent change of tactics by al-Qaida- inspired terrorists who had targeted synagogues in Chicago. The incident sparked an international terror alert on three continents following a tip-off from MI6 to the Americans, the Guardian understands.
One device was intercepted early yesterday morning at East Midlands airport, near Leicester, en route from Yemen to Chicago, via the UK. It had wires protruding from an eight-inch ink cartridge which also had traces of white powder. A second device, described as identical, was intercepted aboard a freight plane in Dubai, whose journey had also started in Yemen, a country identified by western officials as home to terrorists who have tried to strike against the US.
Counter-terrorism sources told the Guardian the device discovered in the UK was not found by chance but specific intelligence led to a decision to subject cargo on the plane to extra searches. Last night John Brennan, assistant to the US president for homeland security and counter-terrorism, said Saudi Arabia had provided vital information.
Officials in Britain and the US were trying to ascertain what the devices were capable of and what the terrorists intended.
Barack Obama said in a statement last night that both packages contained "explosive material" and represented a credible terrorist threat to the US. One UK security source said despite Obama's announcement the aim was probably to cause panic and not to bomb any target.
Obama, speaking in Washington and days before midterm elections, said Yemen's president had pledged to cooperate in the investigation. He effectively named the Islamist group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula as being chief suspects.
Obama said: "I've also directed that we spare no effort in investigating the origins of these suspicious packages and their connection to any additional terrorist plotting. Although we are still pursuing all the facts, we do know that the packages originated in Yemen. We also know that al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, a terrorist group based in Yemen, continues to plan attacks against our homeland, our citizens, and our friends and allies."
The first device discovered, said Obama, was in the UK. It sparked intense activity at the White House as officials scrambled to meet what they believe was the latest terrorist attempt to strike the US.
The plane that landed in the UK was operated by the parcel company UPS. It had taken off from Yemen, and was due to fly to two locations in the US. It made a routine stop at the UK's largest freight airport, East Midlands, at 3.30am on Friday morning and, sources said, intelligence reports led it to be subjected to extra searches.
A source with close knowledge of the events said a large box was found by employees carrying out screening checks in the UPS facility at East Midlands. Initial checks were inconclusive and the UPS flight, which had come from Yemen, was allowed to fly on to the US without the box on board. But the discovery of a freight bomb in Dubai prompted a further check which revealed that a toner cartridge for a Hewlett Packard printer contained a hidden suspect device. The source said the bomb was "cleverly disguised" and a "substantial" device which contained explosives. It was wired with a mobile phone, most likely to act as a timer to detonate the device.
After its discovery the device was then split in two and sent for detailed scientific investigation by the authorities. It is understood that the Dubai bomb was identical.
Minutes after the find in the Midlands, Obama was told in Washington of the discovery, amid concerns that some sort of terrorist action emanating from Yemen was feared.
Scotland Yard said: "Early today, Friday 29 October, an American-registered cargo plane arrived at East Midlands airport from the Yemen en route to Chicago via Philadelphia.
"The plane stopped at East Midlands airport as part of a routine stopover. Cargo removed from the plane was examined. Further tests were carried out. Following this a number of items have been sent for additional scientific examination."
Theresa May, the home secretary, confirmed the package at East Midlands contained explosive material, but it was not clear whether it was a "viable explosive device". May, who spoke with her US counterpart Janet Napolitano yesterday, said: "We have been working closely with US counterparts following the discovery of a suspect package on a flight to Chicago which had landed in transit at East Midlands airport.
"At this stage I can say that the device did contain explosive material. But it is not yet clear that it was a viable explosive device. The forensic work continues."
She said that Cobra, the government's emergency planning committee, met yesterday and would meet again today.
She added: "We are reviewing the security measures for air freight from Yemen and are in discussion with industry contacts."
Yemen has been of increasing concern to western counter-terrorism officials, who suspect its use as a base for al-Qaida inspired terrorists. American officials said intelligence agencies have, over recent months, tracked three other packages out of Yemen for delivery to the US that appeared to be trial runs for the smuggling of a bomb on board a cargo plane. They said that the grounding of planes from the US and UK to Dubai for further searches was in part based on that intelligence.
Their suspicion has been that al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula – which was responsible for the failed attempt to blow up a passenger aircraft over Detroit on Christmas Day last year using a Nigerian suicide bomber – was planning an attack on cargo planes.
American law enforcement officials warned Jewish groups in Chicago and New York that they may be a target for dangerous packages. Fed Ex said it was suspending all deliveries from Yemen.
Gordon Brown banned direct passenger flights from Yemen to the UK in January. The US Department for Homeland Security said it had taken a "number of steps" to enhance aviation security last night.
Brennan said: "The United States is grateful to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their assistance in developing information that helped underscore the imminence of the threat emanating from Yemen.
"Their assistance, along with the hard work of the US counter-terrorism community, the United Kingdom, the UAE, and other friends and partners, helped make it possible to increase our vigilance and identify the suspicious packages in Dubai and East Midlands airport."
quinta-feira, 28 de outubro de 2010
Ban pede ao Hezbollah que abandone armas e atue como partido político
O Estado de S. Paulo
WASHINGTON - O secretário-geral da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU), Ban Ki-moon, expressou na quarta-feira,27, sua preocupação com o arsenal acumulado pelo Hezbollah e outras milícias e defendeu que o grupo libanês renuncie às armas e atue como partido político.
"O significativo arsenal militar do Hezbollah cria uma atmosfera de intimidação e impõe um desafio-chave para a segurança dos civis libaneses e para o monopólio do governo no uso legítimo da força", destaca Ban em relatório divulgado nesta quarta-feira, no qual pede aos líderes do grupo que se desarmem e atuem como partido político.
Nesse documento, Ban afirma que há milícias operativas, tanto nacionais como estrangeiras, que atuam no Líbano sem o controle do governo, ao passo que reivindica uma decidida "ação política" para desarmar o Hezbollah.
Além disso, o secretário-geral pede a todas as partes que se concentrem no fortalecimento da soberania e da segurança do país e que resolvam questões pendentes como a presença de milícias armadas. "Peço a todos os líderes políticos que superem interesses pontuais e individuais e se esforcem realmente para promover o futuro e os interesses da nação", ressalta Ban.
O Hezbollah atua como uma milícia armada no sul do Líbano. O grupo, considerado terrorista pelos EUA e por Israel, se envolveu em uma guerra sangrenta contra o Estado judeu em 2006. Os israelenses acusam a Síria e o Irã de darem suporte logístico, de treinamento e de armas e equipamentos para os milicianos.
WASHINGTON - O secretário-geral da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU), Ban Ki-moon, expressou na quarta-feira,27, sua preocupação com o arsenal acumulado pelo Hezbollah e outras milícias e defendeu que o grupo libanês renuncie às armas e atue como partido político.
"O significativo arsenal militar do Hezbollah cria uma atmosfera de intimidação e impõe um desafio-chave para a segurança dos civis libaneses e para o monopólio do governo no uso legítimo da força", destaca Ban em relatório divulgado nesta quarta-feira, no qual pede aos líderes do grupo que se desarmem e atuem como partido político.
Nesse documento, Ban afirma que há milícias operativas, tanto nacionais como estrangeiras, que atuam no Líbano sem o controle do governo, ao passo que reivindica uma decidida "ação política" para desarmar o Hezbollah.
Além disso, o secretário-geral pede a todas as partes que se concentrem no fortalecimento da soberania e da segurança do país e que resolvam questões pendentes como a presença de milícias armadas. "Peço a todos os líderes políticos que superem interesses pontuais e individuais e se esforcem realmente para promover o futuro e os interesses da nação", ressalta Ban.
O Hezbollah atua como uma milícia armada no sul do Líbano. O grupo, considerado terrorista pelos EUA e por Israel, se envolveu em uma guerra sangrenta contra o Estado judeu em 2006. Os israelenses acusam a Síria e o Irã de darem suporte logístico, de treinamento e de armas e equipamentos para os milicianos.
E.U. rules let Iran import, export oil, creating possible split from U.S. policy
The Washington Post
TEHRAN - The United States and Europe have worked cooperatively on Iran policy since President Obama took office, but a small crack might have begun to open over sanctions that are beginning to pinch ordinary Iranians.
The European Union issued regulations this week that went well beyond a U.N. Security Council resolution passed in June, outlining tough restrictions on the sale of equipment and technology to the Iranian oil and gas industry, as well as on investment in those sectors. But the regulations - unlike legislation passed by the U.S. Congress - allow for the import and export of oil and gas to the Islamic republic.
"If you want to send a tanker filled with refined petrol to Iran, and you have proved that you are not carrying any other goods that we deem illegal, Europe has no problem," said a European official who specializes in sanction policies and spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. "We don't want any negative effect on the Iranian population or to deprive them of energy, so we do not follow U.S. measures that go beyond United Nations sanctions."
The E.U. will also permit financial transactions needed to import of oil and gas to Iran. The United States, by contrast, penalizes companies if they sell gasoline to Iran, and has increased pressure on international oil companies and refineries to cancel their contracts with the country.
The practical effect of the European action might be minimal because European oil giants might still refuse to supply Iran with fuel for fear of appearing to thwart U.S. sanctions.
U.S. officials said Wednesday that they were broadly pleased with the European regulations, which they said could devastate Iran's oil and gas industry. "We are going at the supply, while they are going at the back end," said a senior administration official who handles the Iran portfolio. "We have had the kind of cooperation and coordination with the Europeans that has been unprecedented."
The U.S. official said he had never heard any concerns raised by his European interlocutors about the effect of the sanctions on ordinary Iranians. "The regulations turned out to be pretty solid," he said. "At each stage, when they have faced a choice between going soft or going heavy, they have gone heavy."
U.S. officials have in the past said that if the increased pressure is hurting ordinary Iranians, they should blame their leaders for the Islamic republic's increasing isolation.
But E.U. officials said Wednesday that they specifically allowed fuel sales to ease the burden on average Iranians.
According to June statistics, Iran needs to import 4.7 million gallons of refined petroleum each day because of the country's low refining capacity. After U.S. sanctions were implemented in July, Iranian leaders announced that they had started an emergency plan to increase local production by mixing oil with high-octane products.
At several European airports, planes belonging to Iran's national carrier, Iran Air, are being refused refueling services by representatives of major oil companies. According to the European Union, there is no legal basis for denying the airline services.
Iran Air has been able to refuel at only three European airports since a Sept. 30 agreement among the State Department and European oil firms Total of France, Statoil of Norway, Eni of Italy and Royal Dutch Shell of Britain and the Netherlands.
They pledged to end their investments in Iran and avoid new activity in the country's energy sector. In turn, U.S. officials said, the companies would be protected from possible U.S. penalties for doing business with Iran.
"We have complained to the U.S. about the extraterritorial effects of their measures on European companies," the European official said. "If those companies submit to U.S. wishes, it is their decision, but we are against these policies. This is a major issue for us."
There have been complaints in the European parliament over U.S. pressure on E.U. companies regarding Iran.
"If Europe accepts U.S. interference through pressure on its businesses, it is giving up independence," said Marietje Schaake, an influential parliament member who represents a liberal party. "The influence of U.S. interference beyond our own sanctions harms the E.U.'s credibility as a global player.
TEHRAN - The United States and Europe have worked cooperatively on Iran policy since President Obama took office, but a small crack might have begun to open over sanctions that are beginning to pinch ordinary Iranians.
The European Union issued regulations this week that went well beyond a U.N. Security Council resolution passed in June, outlining tough restrictions on the sale of equipment and technology to the Iranian oil and gas industry, as well as on investment in those sectors. But the regulations - unlike legislation passed by the U.S. Congress - allow for the import and export of oil and gas to the Islamic republic.
"If you want to send a tanker filled with refined petrol to Iran, and you have proved that you are not carrying any other goods that we deem illegal, Europe has no problem," said a European official who specializes in sanction policies and spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. "We don't want any negative effect on the Iranian population or to deprive them of energy, so we do not follow U.S. measures that go beyond United Nations sanctions."
The E.U. will also permit financial transactions needed to import of oil and gas to Iran. The United States, by contrast, penalizes companies if they sell gasoline to Iran, and has increased pressure on international oil companies and refineries to cancel their contracts with the country.
The practical effect of the European action might be minimal because European oil giants might still refuse to supply Iran with fuel for fear of appearing to thwart U.S. sanctions.
U.S. officials said Wednesday that they were broadly pleased with the European regulations, which they said could devastate Iran's oil and gas industry. "We are going at the supply, while they are going at the back end," said a senior administration official who handles the Iran portfolio. "We have had the kind of cooperation and coordination with the Europeans that has been unprecedented."
The U.S. official said he had never heard any concerns raised by his European interlocutors about the effect of the sanctions on ordinary Iranians. "The regulations turned out to be pretty solid," he said. "At each stage, when they have faced a choice between going soft or going heavy, they have gone heavy."
U.S. officials have in the past said that if the increased pressure is hurting ordinary Iranians, they should blame their leaders for the Islamic republic's increasing isolation.
But E.U. officials said Wednesday that they specifically allowed fuel sales to ease the burden on average Iranians.
According to June statistics, Iran needs to import 4.7 million gallons of refined petroleum each day because of the country's low refining capacity. After U.S. sanctions were implemented in July, Iranian leaders announced that they had started an emergency plan to increase local production by mixing oil with high-octane products.
At several European airports, planes belonging to Iran's national carrier, Iran Air, are being refused refueling services by representatives of major oil companies. According to the European Union, there is no legal basis for denying the airline services.
Iran Air has been able to refuel at only three European airports since a Sept. 30 agreement among the State Department and European oil firms Total of France, Statoil of Norway, Eni of Italy and Royal Dutch Shell of Britain and the Netherlands.
They pledged to end their investments in Iran and avoid new activity in the country's energy sector. In turn, U.S. officials said, the companies would be protected from possible U.S. penalties for doing business with Iran.
"We have complained to the U.S. about the extraterritorial effects of their measures on European companies," the European official said. "If those companies submit to U.S. wishes, it is their decision, but we are against these policies. This is a major issue for us."
There have been complaints in the European parliament over U.S. pressure on E.U. companies regarding Iran.
"If Europe accepts U.S. interference through pressure on its businesses, it is giving up independence," said Marietje Schaake, an influential parliament member who represents a liberal party. "The influence of U.S. interference beyond our own sanctions harms the E.U.'s credibility as a global player.
terça-feira, 26 de outubro de 2010
Fundador do WikiLeaks diz que vazamentos são esclarecedores
O Estado de S. Paulo
WASHINGTON - O fundador do site WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, disse na segunda-feira, 25, em resposta ao Pentágono, que pode não haver novidades para as autoridades nos 391 mil documentos secretos sobre a Guerra do Iraque, "mas não é assim para o resto do mundo".
Foi o que Assange respondeu em entrevista à rede de televisão CNN com o popular apresentador Larry King, ao ser perguntado pelas declarações do Pentágono depois de o site Wikileaks revelar esses documentos na última sexta-feira.
Segundo Assange, o que este material indica é que a morte de civis foi contabilizada desde o início da guerra e põe em dúvida que os militares americanos desconhecessem o que estava acontecendo nas prisões iraquianas, onde "se cometeu tortura".
Tal como indicou na sexta-feira passada o porta-voz do Pentágono, Geoff Morrell, "não há nada que possa indicar a existência de crimes de guerra" no Iraque. Ele destaca, no entanto, que há "300 nomes de iraquianos em possível perigo" e "o país está agora mais vulnerável".
WASHINGTON - O fundador do site WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, disse na segunda-feira, 25, em resposta ao Pentágono, que pode não haver novidades para as autoridades nos 391 mil documentos secretos sobre a Guerra do Iraque, "mas não é assim para o resto do mundo".
Luke MacGregor/Reuters
Para Assange, só a reputação dos políticos corre perigo com os vazamentos
Foi o que Assange respondeu em entrevista à rede de televisão CNN com o popular apresentador Larry King, ao ser perguntado pelas declarações do Pentágono depois de o site Wikileaks revelar esses documentos na última sexta-feira.
Segundo Assange, o que este material indica é que a morte de civis foi contabilizada desde o início da guerra e põe em dúvida que os militares americanos desconhecessem o que estava acontecendo nas prisões iraquianas, onde "se cometeu tortura".
Tal como indicou na sexta-feira passada o porta-voz do Pentágono, Geoff Morrell, "não há nada que possa indicar a existência de crimes de guerra" no Iraque. Ele destaca, no entanto, que há "300 nomes de iraquianos em possível perigo" e "o país está agora mais vulnerável".
Mas, para Assange, "o único aqui em perigo é a reputação dos políticos que puseram estes soldados no Iraque" e que agora terão de enfrentar os dados desses documentos, que revelaram a morte de 100 mil iraquianos desde 2003, dos quais 70 mil eram civis.
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