War
Content
War
The worst genocides of the 20th Century
http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/dictat.html http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080221101039AA5GFEn
More war in 2011 - but building peace trend live
Published 2011-04-04 15:20
Photo: Rebecca Blackwell, Muhammed Muheisen and Nasser Nasser / AP Ivory Coast, Yemen, Libya - the number of conflicts seems to have exploded this year. It is not just a feeling: The year's bloody insurgency, the number of conflicts in the world again. Yet, the level is far below the 90's, and leading peace researcher maintains a cautious optimism. They see no motivation for a new martial era. Print Text Size
• • •
2 comments 3 Blogs 1 recommendations
Share with others:
• • • • •
Andrew Mack
The protests in the Middle East and North Africa
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Algeria Police and Protest in Algeria Police officers marched in Algeria Police and protesters in Algeria Bahrain Newspaper banned in Bahrain More arrested in Bahrain Bahrainkonflikt have diplomatic consequences Egypt Mubarak: I have served the nation honestly Two men killed in the Liberation Square Egyptian presidential elections in autumn Iran Foreign Ministry condemns Iranian arrests Police call-damped Iran Protests Regime-life streets of Tehran Yemen Mediation Try Yemen Lethal hindsight after demonstrations At least two dead in Yemen Libya North Koreans are asked to stay in Libya American warplanes leaving Libya Refugees rescued at sea Tunisia Ben Ali's brother arrested Foreign Office amends travel advice for Tunisia Tent and power to Tunisia
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Background Revolt The wave began in Tunisia Chats Chat with Carl Bildt on the crisis in Libya Jordan Jordan opens to protests Deaths in rioting in Amman Uproar at the demonstration in Amman Opinion Syria: The Laughing tyrant freezes down spring El Général raps on Revolution Front against Gaddafi Spirit of the bottle Libya: A rule by violence run amok Djibouti Opposition leaders released in Djibouti Opposition leaders were arrested in Djibouti Morocco Manifestation in Morocco Protesters beaten down in Morocco Morocco's king promises reforms Syria City surrounded by Syrian concern City surrounded by Syrian concern Tense after the funeral in Syria Saudi Arabia Arabic with our Saudi glacial Saudi municipal elections in April Many arrested at protests in Riyadh Read more Concern turns to growth in Arab countries Rebels stopped outside Sirte Yemen: New Government and New Constitution Revolts against the tourism Syrian forces continue shooting protesters Yemeni president ready to resign Khaddafis forces attacked Misrata Khaddafis son killed in air strikes
• • • • • • • • •
Libya: We are ready for a ceasefire United States intervenes militarily against Libya Analysis New washers are required in the Middle East's power game Everything speaks for international military assistance to the Libyan rebels Oman Oman's Sultan says yes to reforms New government in Oman after protests "Swedish tourists have not noticed by the turmoil"
Annons: It was a long time last year started with so many war zones as 2011. Strictly speaking, throughout North Africa and the Middle East is boiling, while the wars in Somalia and Afghanistan continues unabated. Sectarian and criminal violence in Pakistan and Mexico claims more deaths than the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. A new war has broken out in West Africa, raising memories of the region's bloody past periods. Advertisement:
In addition, Sweden is indented in several places, and Swedes are dead, which reinforces our feeling that the armed violence in the world is growing. And it does. When the year added up, the statistics show that the level of conflict has increased. - The rebellions in North Africa and the Middle East will undoubtedly affect the overall death toll in world conflicts, since the clashes in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Libya all have reached the limit of 25 deaths in one year, finds peace researcher Andrew Mack at Canada's Simon Fraser University in a e-mail interview with DN.se. Many analysts see a more uncertain world begin to emerge. But the increase is from a historically low level, and the acceptance of armed violence reduced rather than increased, according to Professor Mack, who leads the project Human Security Report (HSR).
Conflict intensity dropped dramatically from Cold War well into the 2000s. The major conflicts, they called the war and requires at least 1,000 deaths per calendar year, is now 80 percent fewer than in 1990. The number killed in battle during the same period plummeted by 85 percent. When conflict leading researchers in Uppsala and Vancouver last winter, made his latest statements, they saw that the death toll continued to decline, while the number of armed conflicts in the world at the moment relative stability. At the same time, they had already noticed that the period from 2003 to 2008 represented a setback for the positive trend, since the number of conflicts since then increased from 29 to 37. But, as Andrew Mack notes, the increase was exclusively in smaller conflicts, namely those where the death rate is between 25 and 1,000 per calendar year. The average death rate per conflict was ten times higher in the 50s than the 00s. What does this year's sudden accumulation of conflicts? Most of the new outbreak of violence will hopefully eventually be categorized as minor conflicts. But at least two of them, Ivory Coast and Libya, have apparently the label "war", because there are data on over 1,000 dead. It would mean the world this year plagued by six war. The other is raging in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Iraq. (This figure compares with 24 wars in 1984 and 16 in 1998.) Andrew Mack argues that it is too early to say for certain what the conflicts in North Africa and the Middle East will eventually culminate in. He points out that they stem from a desire for something which in itself is peace, namely democracy. - A noticeable trend since the Cold War is that the number of autocracy roughly halved. There are several reasons for this, as the norm of democracy has spread and that it has become increasingly difficult to control complex modern societies by brutal force. But while Mack notes that the transition from dictatorship in recent decades rarely occurred because of violent internal rebellion, and in even fewer cases, it has come about because of intervention from outside. Resistance Movements of the type that was common fifty years ago to fail more often to take power. - East Asia has not seen a single rebel victory since the 1970's. Most of then have been in Africa, where states have traditionally been weak. Today's crises are new, largely unknown logic. Two of the main drivers of conflict, the collapse of the past half century, colonialism and the Cold War, and none of them comes back, says the latest report by Andrew Mack's research group. HSR-scientists can not imagine, as some do, that these drivers can be replaced by Islamist extremism. Popular support is lacking and terrorist groups have no armies to trap states. Radical Islamism can hardly collect the same subversive energy that cold war anti-colonial and Marxist-oriented political movements, they say. The report points to long-term trends that give grounds for cautious optimism: • There are no clear signs that the international community's willingness to conduct peacebuilding and peace-building measures fall. • The economic interdependence between countries continues to grow, which raises the price of war. • The proliferation of standards that reduce the risks of conflict - democracy and human rights - seems to continue in most regions.
None of this gives no guarantee that security will be better for humanity, writes HSRscientists, but the trend "at least offers a powerful antidote to some of the direst pessimistic predictions concerning global security." After the Cold War dichotomy has the world's governments are steadily weave themselves into a network of interlocking organizations and groups of like-minded people. Although it is messy, writes the Canadian-based conflict researchers, but the increasing number of collective efforts - not only within the UN - "is one of the main reasons for the most deadly conflicts have become less". They acknowledge, however, that Rwanda and Darfur show the tragic failures in the new world order. Perhaps the bloody developments in Ivory Coast this year got even worse in the old world. Sipriforskaren Wiharta Sharon said in an earlier DN.se interview that the remarkable case of Ivory Coast is more of the international community's swift and unanimous condemnation of the valstöld that triggered the unrest. How the now-emerging conflicts are handled, both internally and from abroad, thus determines what this new violence does to the world. In a few months maybe we know if 2011 was the year when the conflict cycle picked up again or if the global trend of peace, after all, could be consolidated. Anders Bolling anders.bolling @ dn.se http://www.dn.se/nyheter/varlden/fler-krig-2011--men-langsiktig-fredstrend-lever
Submit charge against Sayedee, ICT asks prosecution
Sayedee' denied bail
Delwar Hossain Sayedee Star
Online Report The International Crimes Tribunal on Tuesday directed prosecutors to press formal charge against Delwar Hossain Sayedee before it by July 11 regarding the Jamaat-e-Islami leader's alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. The prosecution will now have to prepare the charge on the basis of investigation report prepared by the investigators of the tribunal on completion of their probe.
The directives came after Prosecutor Syed Haider Ali informed the tribunal that they had received the report in 15 parts (4,074 pages) from the investigators the same day. Earlier in the day, investigator Md Helaluddin submitted the report and other related documents like CDs and books to Ghulam Arieff Tipoo, chief prosecutor of the tribunal, in the morning. Meanwhile, the three-member tribunal headed by Justice Nizamul Haque rejected a bail petition filed by Sayedee in connection with the war crime charges. The Jamaat leader on Monday sought bail from the tribunal on medical grounds. Sayedee, who was produced before the tribunal from Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital in the morning, was sent back to the hospital at about 10:45am as he fell sick in the court. The tribunal continued the hearing in absence of Sayedee. The investigators on Monday said that they have found evidence of Sayedee’s involvement in war crimes during the 1971 Liberation War.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=30063
Mladic allowed to visit daughter's grave
PHOTO InternetStar Online
Report Authorities in Serbia allowed former war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic to visit his daughter's grave, the national RTS television reported on Tuesday. The Bosnian Serb general spent around 20 minutes at the grave of his daughter Ana in Belgrade under heavy guard, a court spokesman Bruno Vekaric told RTS. Ana committed suicide at the age of 23 in 1994, using her father's trophy pistol. At the time Mladic was Serb commander in the 1992-95 Bosnian war. Mladic, who was arrested in Serbia last week after nearly 16 years on the run, is expected to be extradited to The Hague by Friday to face trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
He has been indicted on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the 1995 massacre of around 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica and shelling and sniper attacks in Sarajevo.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=30069
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/oct/07/iraq.usa
George Bush: 'God told me to end the tyranny in Iraq'
President told Palestinians God also talked to him about Middle East peace
• • • • • •
Share1419
Email Ewen MacAskill The Guardian, Friday 7 October 2005
George Bush believes he is on a mission from God, according to the politician Nabil Shaath. Photograph: Charles Dharapak/AP
George Bush has claimed he was on a mission from God when he launched the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a senior Palestinian politician in an interview to be broadcast by the BBC later this month. Mr Bush revealed the extent of his religious fervour when he met a Palestinian delegation during the Israeli-Palestinian summit at the Egpytian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, four months after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. One of the delegates, Nabil Shaath, who was Palestinian foreign minister at the time, said: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I am driven with a mission from God'. God would tell me, 'George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan'. And I did. And then God would tell me 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq'. And I did." Mr Bush went on: "And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, 'Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East'. And, by God, I'm gonna do it."
Mr Bush, who became a born-again Christian at 40, is one of the most overtly religious leaders to occupy the White House, a fact which brings him much support in middle America. Soon after, the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz carried a Palestinian transcript of the meeting, containing a version of Mr Bush's remarks. But the Palestinian delegation was reluctant publicly to acknowledge its authenticity. The BBC persuaded Mr Shaath to go on the record for the first time for athree-part series on Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy: Elusive Peace, which begins on Monday. Religion also surfaced as an issue when Mr Bush and Tony Blair were reported to have prayed together in 2002 at his ranch at Crawford, Texas - the summit at which the invasion of Iraq was agreed in principle. Mr Blair has consistently refused to admit or deny the claim. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian prime minister, who was also part of the delegation at Sharm el-Sheikh, told the BBC programme that Mr Bush had said: "I have a moral and religious obligation. I must get you a Palestinian state. And I will." Mr Shaath's comments came as Mr Bush delivered a speech yesterday aimed at bolstering US support for the Iraq war. He revealed that the US and its partners had disrupted at least 10 serious al-Qaida plots since September 11, including three planned attacks in the US. "Because of this steady progress, the enemy is wounded - but the enemy is still capable of global operations," he said. He added that Islamic radicals had used a series of excuses to justify their attacks, from conflict with the Israelis to the Crusades 1,000 years ago. "We're facing a radical ideology with unalterable objectives: to enslave whole nations and intimidate the world," he said. He conceded that al-Qaida, led in Iraq by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and other insurgents had gained ground in Iraq but the US would not leave until security had been established. "Some observers also claim that America would be better off by cutting our losses and leaving Iraq now. This is a dangerous illusion, refuted with a simple question: Would theUnited States and other free nations be more safe,
or less safe, with Zarqawi and Bin Laden in control of Iraq, its people, and its resources?" Mr Bush asked.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1007-03.htm http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2005/10/13/AR2005101301688.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2005/10/08/AR2005100801094.html
Laila Freivalds was severely criticised in the Swedish press for the way the Swedish Government handled the 2004 Asian tsunami disaster, and has admitted that her ministry "ought to have reacted much more strongly as early as Boxing Day instead of waiting for more information." In addition, she was heavily criticised for going to the theatre on 26 December 2004, the day of the Tsunami disaster, and for stating that she does not listen to the news when she is not working. On 21 March 2006, she resigned from her office as minister of foreign affairs, after it was confirmed that she lied to media about her involvement in the closing of a website belonging to the Sweden Democrats, in the wake of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. During the controversy the Sweden Democrats published the cartoon on theirweb pages, only to be shut down shortly after by their internet service provider. It was initially discovered that the government had been in contact with the provider and suggested to them the closure, but Freivalds maintained to the media that a subordinate had done so without her knowledge. Offentlighetsprincipen (The Principle of Public Access) — a freedom of information provision enshrined in the Swedish constitution — made it possible to show that this was false. Since all documents in the Swedish state are in principle accessible to the public, internal documents in four places were found that made it clear that she had been fully informed of the event. This information was therefore published in "Riksdag & Department", an intra-governmental newspaper. The potential involvement in closing the website was seen by many as a violation against that part of the Swedish constitution dealing with freedom of the press. Most journalists suggest that the turning point came after Göran Persson, the Prime Minister of Sweden during this time, publicly criticized the civil servant who suggested to the Internet host that they close the website, only to find out later that he had acted with the approval of Freivalds. It is theorised but not confirmed that the Prime Minister privately suggested that she resign, which she subsequently did. Bo Ringholm was Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs[1][2] until 27 March, when Jan Eliasson was appointed to the post.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laila_Freivalds http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy
The worst genocides of the 20th Century
http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/dictat.html http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080221101039AA5GFEn
More war in 2011 - but building peace trend live
Published 2011-04-04 15:20
Photo: Rebecca Blackwell, Muhammed Muheisen and Nasser Nasser / AP Ivory Coast, Yemen, Libya - the number of conflicts seems to have exploded this year. It is not just a feeling: The year's bloody insurgency, the number of conflicts in the world again. Yet, the level is far below the 90's, and leading peace researcher maintains a cautious optimism. They see no motivation for a new martial era. Print Text Size
• • •
2 comments 3 Blogs 1 recommendations
Share with others:
• • • • •
Andrew Mack
The protests in the Middle East and North Africa
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Algeria Police and Protest in Algeria Police officers marched in Algeria Police and protesters in Algeria Bahrain Newspaper banned in Bahrain More arrested in Bahrain Bahrainkonflikt have diplomatic consequences Egypt Mubarak: I have served the nation honestly Two men killed in the Liberation Square Egyptian presidential elections in autumn Iran Foreign Ministry condemns Iranian arrests Police call-damped Iran Protests Regime-life streets of Tehran Yemen Mediation Try Yemen Lethal hindsight after demonstrations At least two dead in Yemen Libya North Koreans are asked to stay in Libya American warplanes leaving Libya Refugees rescued at sea Tunisia Ben Ali's brother arrested Foreign Office amends travel advice for Tunisia Tent and power to Tunisia
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Background Revolt The wave began in Tunisia Chats Chat with Carl Bildt on the crisis in Libya Jordan Jordan opens to protests Deaths in rioting in Amman Uproar at the demonstration in Amman Opinion Syria: The Laughing tyrant freezes down spring El Général raps on Revolution Front against Gaddafi Spirit of the bottle Libya: A rule by violence run amok Djibouti Opposition leaders released in Djibouti Opposition leaders were arrested in Djibouti Morocco Manifestation in Morocco Protesters beaten down in Morocco Morocco's king promises reforms Syria City surrounded by Syrian concern City surrounded by Syrian concern Tense after the funeral in Syria Saudi Arabia Arabic with our Saudi glacial Saudi municipal elections in April Many arrested at protests in Riyadh Read more Concern turns to growth in Arab countries Rebels stopped outside Sirte Yemen: New Government and New Constitution Revolts against the tourism Syrian forces continue shooting protesters Yemeni president ready to resign Khaddafis forces attacked Misrata Khaddafis son killed in air strikes
• • • • • • • • •
Libya: We are ready for a ceasefire United States intervenes militarily against Libya Analysis New washers are required in the Middle East's power game Everything speaks for international military assistance to the Libyan rebels Oman Oman's Sultan says yes to reforms New government in Oman after protests "Swedish tourists have not noticed by the turmoil"
Annons: It was a long time last year started with so many war zones as 2011. Strictly speaking, throughout North Africa and the Middle East is boiling, while the wars in Somalia and Afghanistan continues unabated. Sectarian and criminal violence in Pakistan and Mexico claims more deaths than the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. A new war has broken out in West Africa, raising memories of the region's bloody past periods. Advertisement:
In addition, Sweden is indented in several places, and Swedes are dead, which reinforces our feeling that the armed violence in the world is growing. And it does. When the year added up, the statistics show that the level of conflict has increased. - The rebellions in North Africa and the Middle East will undoubtedly affect the overall death toll in world conflicts, since the clashes in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Libya all have reached the limit of 25 deaths in one year, finds peace researcher Andrew Mack at Canada's Simon Fraser University in a e-mail interview with DN.se. Many analysts see a more uncertain world begin to emerge. But the increase is from a historically low level, and the acceptance of armed violence reduced rather than increased, according to Professor Mack, who leads the project Human Security Report (HSR).
Conflict intensity dropped dramatically from Cold War well into the 2000s. The major conflicts, they called the war and requires at least 1,000 deaths per calendar year, is now 80 percent fewer than in 1990. The number killed in battle during the same period plummeted by 85 percent. When conflict leading researchers in Uppsala and Vancouver last winter, made his latest statements, they saw that the death toll continued to decline, while the number of armed conflicts in the world at the moment relative stability. At the same time, they had already noticed that the period from 2003 to 2008 represented a setback for the positive trend, since the number of conflicts since then increased from 29 to 37. But, as Andrew Mack notes, the increase was exclusively in smaller conflicts, namely those where the death rate is between 25 and 1,000 per calendar year. The average death rate per conflict was ten times higher in the 50s than the 00s. What does this year's sudden accumulation of conflicts? Most of the new outbreak of violence will hopefully eventually be categorized as minor conflicts. But at least two of them, Ivory Coast and Libya, have apparently the label "war", because there are data on over 1,000 dead. It would mean the world this year plagued by six war. The other is raging in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Iraq. (This figure compares with 24 wars in 1984 and 16 in 1998.) Andrew Mack argues that it is too early to say for certain what the conflicts in North Africa and the Middle East will eventually culminate in. He points out that they stem from a desire for something which in itself is peace, namely democracy. - A noticeable trend since the Cold War is that the number of autocracy roughly halved. There are several reasons for this, as the norm of democracy has spread and that it has become increasingly difficult to control complex modern societies by brutal force. But while Mack notes that the transition from dictatorship in recent decades rarely occurred because of violent internal rebellion, and in even fewer cases, it has come about because of intervention from outside. Resistance Movements of the type that was common fifty years ago to fail more often to take power. - East Asia has not seen a single rebel victory since the 1970's. Most of then have been in Africa, where states have traditionally been weak. Today's crises are new, largely unknown logic. Two of the main drivers of conflict, the collapse of the past half century, colonialism and the Cold War, and none of them comes back, says the latest report by Andrew Mack's research group. HSR-scientists can not imagine, as some do, that these drivers can be replaced by Islamist extremism. Popular support is lacking and terrorist groups have no armies to trap states. Radical Islamism can hardly collect the same subversive energy that cold war anti-colonial and Marxist-oriented political movements, they say. The report points to long-term trends that give grounds for cautious optimism: • There are no clear signs that the international community's willingness to conduct peacebuilding and peace-building measures fall. • The economic interdependence between countries continues to grow, which raises the price of war. • The proliferation of standards that reduce the risks of conflict - democracy and human rights - seems to continue in most regions.
None of this gives no guarantee that security will be better for humanity, writes HSRscientists, but the trend "at least offers a powerful antidote to some of the direst pessimistic predictions concerning global security." After the Cold War dichotomy has the world's governments are steadily weave themselves into a network of interlocking organizations and groups of like-minded people. Although it is messy, writes the Canadian-based conflict researchers, but the increasing number of collective efforts - not only within the UN - "is one of the main reasons for the most deadly conflicts have become less". They acknowledge, however, that Rwanda and Darfur show the tragic failures in the new world order. Perhaps the bloody developments in Ivory Coast this year got even worse in the old world. Sipriforskaren Wiharta Sharon said in an earlier DN.se interview that the remarkable case of Ivory Coast is more of the international community's swift and unanimous condemnation of the valstöld that triggered the unrest. How the now-emerging conflicts are handled, both internally and from abroad, thus determines what this new violence does to the world. In a few months maybe we know if 2011 was the year when the conflict cycle picked up again or if the global trend of peace, after all, could be consolidated. Anders Bolling anders.bolling @ dn.se http://www.dn.se/nyheter/varlden/fler-krig-2011--men-langsiktig-fredstrend-lever
Submit charge against Sayedee, ICT asks prosecution
Sayedee' denied bail
Delwar Hossain Sayedee Star
Online Report The International Crimes Tribunal on Tuesday directed prosecutors to press formal charge against Delwar Hossain Sayedee before it by July 11 regarding the Jamaat-e-Islami leader's alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. The prosecution will now have to prepare the charge on the basis of investigation report prepared by the investigators of the tribunal on completion of their probe.
The directives came after Prosecutor Syed Haider Ali informed the tribunal that they had received the report in 15 parts (4,074 pages) from the investigators the same day. Earlier in the day, investigator Md Helaluddin submitted the report and other related documents like CDs and books to Ghulam Arieff Tipoo, chief prosecutor of the tribunal, in the morning. Meanwhile, the three-member tribunal headed by Justice Nizamul Haque rejected a bail petition filed by Sayedee in connection with the war crime charges. The Jamaat leader on Monday sought bail from the tribunal on medical grounds. Sayedee, who was produced before the tribunal from Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital in the morning, was sent back to the hospital at about 10:45am as he fell sick in the court. The tribunal continued the hearing in absence of Sayedee. The investigators on Monday said that they have found evidence of Sayedee’s involvement in war crimes during the 1971 Liberation War.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=30063
Mladic allowed to visit daughter's grave
PHOTO InternetStar Online
Report Authorities in Serbia allowed former war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic to visit his daughter's grave, the national RTS television reported on Tuesday. The Bosnian Serb general spent around 20 minutes at the grave of his daughter Ana in Belgrade under heavy guard, a court spokesman Bruno Vekaric told RTS. Ana committed suicide at the age of 23 in 1994, using her father's trophy pistol. At the time Mladic was Serb commander in the 1992-95 Bosnian war. Mladic, who was arrested in Serbia last week after nearly 16 years on the run, is expected to be extradited to The Hague by Friday to face trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
He has been indicted on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the 1995 massacre of around 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica and shelling and sniper attacks in Sarajevo.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=30069
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/oct/07/iraq.usa
George Bush: 'God told me to end the tyranny in Iraq'
President told Palestinians God also talked to him about Middle East peace
• • • • • •
Share1419
Email Ewen MacAskill The Guardian, Friday 7 October 2005
George Bush believes he is on a mission from God, according to the politician Nabil Shaath. Photograph: Charles Dharapak/AP
George Bush has claimed he was on a mission from God when he launched the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a senior Palestinian politician in an interview to be broadcast by the BBC later this month. Mr Bush revealed the extent of his religious fervour when he met a Palestinian delegation during the Israeli-Palestinian summit at the Egpytian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, four months after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. One of the delegates, Nabil Shaath, who was Palestinian foreign minister at the time, said: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I am driven with a mission from God'. God would tell me, 'George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan'. And I did. And then God would tell me 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq'. And I did." Mr Bush went on: "And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, 'Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East'. And, by God, I'm gonna do it."
Mr Bush, who became a born-again Christian at 40, is one of the most overtly religious leaders to occupy the White House, a fact which brings him much support in middle America. Soon after, the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz carried a Palestinian transcript of the meeting, containing a version of Mr Bush's remarks. But the Palestinian delegation was reluctant publicly to acknowledge its authenticity. The BBC persuaded Mr Shaath to go on the record for the first time for athree-part series on Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy: Elusive Peace, which begins on Monday. Religion also surfaced as an issue when Mr Bush and Tony Blair were reported to have prayed together in 2002 at his ranch at Crawford, Texas - the summit at which the invasion of Iraq was agreed in principle. Mr Blair has consistently refused to admit or deny the claim. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian prime minister, who was also part of the delegation at Sharm el-Sheikh, told the BBC programme that Mr Bush had said: "I have a moral and religious obligation. I must get you a Palestinian state. And I will." Mr Shaath's comments came as Mr Bush delivered a speech yesterday aimed at bolstering US support for the Iraq war. He revealed that the US and its partners had disrupted at least 10 serious al-Qaida plots since September 11, including three planned attacks in the US. "Because of this steady progress, the enemy is wounded - but the enemy is still capable of global operations," he said. He added that Islamic radicals had used a series of excuses to justify their attacks, from conflict with the Israelis to the Crusades 1,000 years ago. "We're facing a radical ideology with unalterable objectives: to enslave whole nations and intimidate the world," he said. He conceded that al-Qaida, led in Iraq by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and other insurgents had gained ground in Iraq but the US would not leave until security had been established. "Some observers also claim that America would be better off by cutting our losses and leaving Iraq now. This is a dangerous illusion, refuted with a simple question: Would theUnited States and other free nations be more safe,
or less safe, with Zarqawi and Bin Laden in control of Iraq, its people, and its resources?" Mr Bush asked.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1007-03.htm http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2005/10/13/AR2005101301688.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2005/10/08/AR2005100801094.html
Laila Freivalds was severely criticised in the Swedish press for the way the Swedish Government handled the 2004 Asian tsunami disaster, and has admitted that her ministry "ought to have reacted much more strongly as early as Boxing Day instead of waiting for more information." In addition, she was heavily criticised for going to the theatre on 26 December 2004, the day of the Tsunami disaster, and for stating that she does not listen to the news when she is not working. On 21 March 2006, she resigned from her office as minister of foreign affairs, after it was confirmed that she lied to media about her involvement in the closing of a website belonging to the Sweden Democrats, in the wake of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. During the controversy the Sweden Democrats published the cartoon on theirweb pages, only to be shut down shortly after by their internet service provider. It was initially discovered that the government had been in contact with the provider and suggested to them the closure, but Freivalds maintained to the media that a subordinate had done so without her knowledge. Offentlighetsprincipen (The Principle of Public Access) — a freedom of information provision enshrined in the Swedish constitution — made it possible to show that this was false. Since all documents in the Swedish state are in principle accessible to the public, internal documents in four places were found that made it clear that she had been fully informed of the event. This information was therefore published in "Riksdag & Department", an intra-governmental newspaper. The potential involvement in closing the website was seen by many as a violation against that part of the Swedish constitution dealing with freedom of the press. Most journalists suggest that the turning point came after Göran Persson, the Prime Minister of Sweden during this time, publicly criticized the civil servant who suggested to the Internet host that they close the website, only to find out later that he had acted with the approval of Freivalds. It is theorised but not confirmed that the Prime Minister privately suggested that she resign, which she subsequently did. Bo Ringholm was Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs[1][2] until 27 March, when Jan Eliasson was appointed to the post.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laila_Freivalds http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy
