targeting media in Gaza

Journalists Call Israel to Account over "Premeditated and Precise" attacks on Media in Gaza     The targeting of media by the Israeli military during last month's offensive in the Gaza Strip was "premeditated and precise" and in violation of international law, says the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in a report published today which calls on the United Nations to investigate the attacks and to take action against the Government of Israel. "There should be no double-talk about this," says Aidan White IFJ General Secretary who led a mission of journalists' leaders into Gaza on January 22. "Here was reckless intimidation of media on a shocking scale that should not go unpunished. If it does, it leaves journalists and media exposed to the threat of attack in any conflict at any time in the future." The mission of journalists' leaders from eight countries, was sponsored by the IFJ and the Federation of Arab Journalists (FAJ) and was joined by the FAJ General Secretary Makram Mohamed Ahmed. It was carried out immediately after the unilateral ceasefire declared first by Israel and subsequently by the Islamic resistance movement Hamas. The Mission report, 'Justice in the News: A response to Targeting of Media in Gaza',  assesses the violations and threats to media workers covering the Gaza conflict and  finds that media were subject to intimidation, direct military assault and were deliberately prevented from working freely during the 22-day military offensive. The Mission report also condemns the blockade of foreign media which had been imposed by the Israeli military on November 5. The ban on foreign journalists was maintained despite an Israeli Supreme Court order of January 2 allowing access to Gaza to a limited number of journalists. The report cites evidence of media targeting by Israeli forces on   28 December 2008 and the bombing of the offices of Hamas' TV station al-Aqsa in the al-Nasr district of Gaza City;   9 January 2009 and the attack on al-Johara Tower, in Al-Rimal neighbourhood in Gaza City, which was hit twice by Israeli aircraft, even though the building was clearly marked as housing media staff;   15 January 2009 and the attack on the al-Shuroug Tower housing several media groups in Omar al-Mukhtar street , Gaza City,   "These actions and the ban on access to Gaza by foreign journalists is evidence of concerted efforts by Israel to intimidate, control and manage media," says the Report which calls for an investigation into violations of Geneva conventions protecting journalists in armed conflicts and disregard for United Nations Security Council Resolution 1738 which in 2006 called on member states to protect journalists in conflict zones. But the report also condemns Hamas for its acts of intimidation of media during and after the conflict. "Threats and intimidation of media continue. There are political attempts to control media by Hamas amidst a continuing atmosphere of lawlessness and threats," says the Report. It further says that Hamas interfered in the work of the Mission. There have also been reports of humanitarian help to media being seized and confiscated by Hamas.  The Mission report also makes a series of urgent recommendations for practical humanitarian and professional actions to assist Palestinian journalists including safety training; humanitarian aid to the media families affected by the violence; new efforts to build solidarity between Palestinian journalists in Gaza and the West Bank; and a training programme to combat manipulation of media by Palestinian political factions.     Adnan

Innocence lost The wounds of the victims in Gaza cannot and will never heal, write Sameh Habeeb and Janet Zimmerman Click to view caption Khaled Abd Rabbo amid the rubble of what was once his house searches in vain for what may remind him of his happier days Habeeb is a 23-year-old journalist based in the Gaza Strip, active to bring out the word of his people's suffering. Zimmerman is a 21- year-old journalist and American citizen, determined to help after seeing the crimes perpetrated in Gaza by Israel. They became friends united in the struggle to open the eyes of the world to agonies before which they are often closed. One story that has caught their attention is the personal catastrophe of Khaled Abd Rabbo. We began our journey and were barely able to reach Abd Rabbo's town. As we drove along, our car dipped to the right and to the left. The ground was rutted from the holes that the Israelis tore into the streets with their bombs, their bulldozing, and their fires. The land was also wounded. A once lush and tranquil neighbourhood had been transformed into hell on earth. Our eyes were filled with nothing but devastation, and masses of people covered the place like flies. Our car came to a halt and we walked down the street to Abd Rabbo's shattered home. And there was Abd Rabbo himself, sitting in the rubble of happier times. "This house used to have four floors, and a nice garden. It brought us peace and tranquillity," he began to tell us. "The Israeli army came to this house many times before, but the last was in March of 2008." He explains how they invaded his home and investigated him and his family. "They found nothing. I am a police officer in the Ramallah government; I have nothing to do with Hamas." "That day when they left us, they did not take anything or harm anyone," he continued. "I remember it was 12:50pm on the fourth day of the military ground invasion when the army took control of the region. A real battlefield was born and thousands of people were trapped. Nobody could leave due to the excessive fire from the Israelis, and the soldiers kept on coming, and coming, and coming. "And then the tanks came. One of them was based only metres away from my house. There were 25 of us, and we were all told to leave," he said as his voice trembled and he began to cry. "The soldiers were eating chips and chocolate, and they were smiling when they killed my daughters. My mother, my wife and my three daughters all held white flags when they tried to leave the house. We saw two of the soldiers get out of their tank, and we told them how we wanted to leave. We waited and waited for their response but were given no answer. Then, to our own surprise, a third soldier emerged and he opened fire on the children with insanity. "Souad was only seven years old, Summer was three, and Amal was only two years. My mother was shot as well, and I watched all that I loved fall to the ground. I screamed for them to stop! I ran into the house to call civil defence, ambulances, anyone who could help. "For one hour the injured were bleeding, and two of my daughters were killed despite the so-called ceasefire. No help was able to come to us in time. One of the ambulances tried, but the Israeli soldiers stopped the paramedic and forced him to remove his clothing. They then bombed the ambulance and it was buried in rubble. The paramedic fled naked while their fire surrounded him. "I left the house with some of my family members," Abd Rabbo continued. "We carried my mother in a crib. I held Summer in my arms, and she was still breathing despite her gaping spinal wound. I thought to myself, 'No way can I leave little Summer, even if I end up dead like my other two daughters.' I passed her to my brother and then took the body of Souad in my hands, and my wife held Amal as we left the house. "The soldiers were firing uncontrollably above their heads and everywhere around them. Many of the houses were demolished by their tanks. As we crossed one of the roads, there was a man and he tried to save us but their snipers saw this and killed both him and his horse. When we finally reached the town of Jabalya, we saw that everyone had brought all of the injured citizens there. So shocked were we by what we saw that we threw our bodies to the ground, and for one hour we remained there unable to fathom what has become of our people." When asked why he thought they would kill his children, Abd Rabbo replied, "I am certain they were drunk, or were given orders to kill everyone including the children. This was on Haaretz a couple of days ago, that many Israeli rabbis were giving orders to leave no one alive," he explained. "I don't know why my daughters were killed. They never committed any crimes; they were children! They did not fire rockets at Israel, although Israel claims to only aim at those who have first fired at them. "We are a very peaceful people, we have nothing to do with fighting or rockets. I know if I go to the court about what happened the Israeli army would create thousands of pretexts to make their soldiers appear innocent. They have done this with many other cases before," he went on. "It was not a war between two immense armies. Obviously, it was a war between civilians and the fourth largest army in the world: that of Israel. But they do not call it a war. They call it an 'operation'." An operation where tens of thousands of Gazans were either killed or psychologically and physically wounded: the devastation did not only affect the people, but all you can imagine. Yet while buildings can be repaired and the land will grow again, Abd Rabbo's pain will never be alleviated. He will never hear the laughter of Souad and Amal again, but he will surely hear the aching cries of Summer. She is now rendered paraplegic due to her injuries. The only thing that functions is her mind -- a mind that will forever be retelling the nightmare of what happened to her life. During her first interview in hospital, in every single detail, she narrated the story to Al-Jazeera as Abd Rabbo narrated it to us.   /NA   http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/934/re5.htm

An Egyptian pharaoh

An Egyptian pharaoh statue found in Duhok province in Kurdistan Region /Kurdistan Region-archaeology/ Pharaohs/   An Egyptian pharaoh statue found in Duhok province in Kurdistan Region   Duhok (AKnews) – A statue of Tut Anj Amon, an Egyptian pharaoh, was found in Duhok province in Kurdistan region, said head of Kurdish archaeology association Hassan Ahmed.       "The statue shows relations between Mitanni country and Egyptian pharaohs", he said " It was found in a mountain known as Pharaoh mountain near Duhok lake and its name is Tut Anj Amon dates back to 1333-1324 BC with size of 7*12 cm".       "There seem to be political and social relations between Mitanni country and Egyptian pharaohs. It is likely religious faith in the ancient Kurdistan transferred to Egypt through the relations" he noted.      "At that period Kurds could form a united country consisting of three regions. One of the regions was Nuzi (now Kirkuk), Sarkani region (west Kurdistan now) and Aurkesh region (now it is Mardin Kurdish city in Turkey)"   "That Kurdistan had solid relationships with Egyptian pharaohs for years."     "The discovery proves that Kurdistan has ancient civilization dating with pharaohs" he added.     Pharaoh mountain located in north of Duhok province, 267km from Baghdad. The area also called Duhok waterfall. It has become a tourist area and even many statues found that date back to Zoroastrianism periods.   A.Y.H

Journalist who shoed Bush to go on trial February 19

BAGHDAD: The Iraqi journalist who famously threw his shoes at former US President George W. Bush is to go on trial on February 19 accused of assaulting a foreign leader, a judicial official said Sunday. Muntazer al-Zaidi won global attention when he threw his shoes at Bush during the president's farewell visit to Iraq on December 14.
"The trial will start on February 19 in the central criminal court," judicial spokesman Abdel-Sattar Beyraqdar said. "He is accused of assaulting a foreign president."
Zaidi, 30, also insulted Bush, shouting: "It is the farewell kiss, you dog," in an action that was hailed across the Arab world as an ideal parting gift to an unpopular US president, whose armed forces invaded Iraq in March 2003 based on intelligence later proven to be wrong.
The journalist, who works for Al-Baghdadia television channel, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the charge, but remains defiant about his actions, one of his brothers told AFP.
"My younger brother, Maytham, visited Muntazer four weeks ago," said Dhurgham al-Zaidi. "His health was good, his spirits are high and he refused to apologize for his actions."
The Baghdad court had the option of dismissing the charge following an earlier trial delay, or could have altered it to a lesser one of "attempted aggression" which carries a prison term of one to five years.
Iraq's central criminal court is responsible for "terrorism" cases and is located in the Green Zone, the heavily protected area of Baghdad where the government and some Western embassies are located.
Zaidi's throws during a news conference missed Bush, who ducked, but Iraqi and US security officers grappled with the journalist and hustled him off while the US president tried to joke his way out of the incident.
The incident inspired British student Alex Tew to create a "Sock and awe" (www.sockandawe.com) shoe-throwing website which says it has so far had over 85 million hits in the face of the former US president on the Internet.
Zaidi's lawyer told AFP Sunday that a defense team of 25 is preparing the case and will ask the court to drop the charges.
"Zaidi's act was not an attempt to kill Bush," argued Dhiya al-Saadi. "The shoes were not a criminal tool and it is not justice to treat his trial as if he intended to murder the US president." If the case is not thrown out, Zaidi's defense is likely to rest on the argument that the journalist only tried to insult Bush.
"The defense team will say that his act came under the terms of free expression, and was a rejection of the American military occupation and its policies for Iraq, which has led to ruin and destruction," Saadi said.
"This freedom of expression is guaranteed by national laws and international charters," he added. - AFP

Tunisia: Kalima Website Targeted - Police Attack Olpec Secretary General

Other independent sites have been the subject of similar attacks in the past. Tunisnews (http://www.tunisnews.net), which distributes a daily newsletter via e-mail, was targeted in a similar way in April 2008. Judge Mokhtar Yahiaoui's blog ( http://tunisiawatch.rsfblog.org ) was also the object of such an attack in November 2005.
A number Tunisian and foreign websites with a political or human rights focus have been censored in Tunisia for several years. The video-sharing sites Dailymotion and YouTube have also been the target of censors.
Police attack human rights activists
In a separate incident, plainclothes political police officers subjected Bensedrine to physical and verbal abuse in downtown Tunis, as she was making her way to a solidarity rally for writer and activist Zakia Dhifaoui, who is also a political prisoner. Dhifaoui, who was jailed in July, was sentenced to four months and 15 days' imprisonment.
Zouhir Makhlouf, another activist who was on his way to the same rally, was also subjected to physical abuse and insults. The rally was organised by the Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties (FDTL), an opposition party.
OLPEC views the attack on the Kalima website as a violation of free expression and an attempt to muzzle a free media voice. OLPEC condemns the use of violence against human rights activists and the violation of the right to free assembly.
Neziha Rjiba

press release

The online magazine Kalima (http://www.kalimatunisie) has suffered an attack that has completely destroyed its web content.
The site's webmasters have been unable to update or even to access it since the morning of 8 October 2008. The site will now have to be completely rebuilt and uploaded.
According to Kalima editor-in-chief Sihem Bensedrine, "the only people who would benefit from an attack on a website that is already inaccessible to Internet users in Tunisia are the security services."
"I would not rule out the possibility that this act was committed by the secret services, with the aid of hackers or pirates based in Tunisia or abroad," she added.
The attack comes three months after the site was re-launched as multimedia platform and archive.
 
 
Other independent sites have been the subject of similar attacks in the past. Tunisnews (http://www.tunisnews.net), which distributes a daily newsletter via e-mail, was targeted in a similar way in April 2008. Judge Mokhtar Yahiaoui's blog ( http://tunisiawatch.rsfblog.org ) was also the object of such an attack in November 2005.
A number Tunisian and foreign websites with a political or human rights focus have been censored in Tunisia for several years. The video-sharing sites Dailymotion and YouTube have also been the target of censors.
Police attack human rights activists
In a separate incident, plainclothes political police officers subjected Bensedrine to physical and verbal abuse in downtown Tunis, as she was making her way to a solidarity rally for writer and activist Zakia Dhifaoui, who is also a political prisoner. Dhifaoui, who was jailed in July, was sentenced to four months and 15 days' imprisonment.
Zouhir Makhlouf, another activist who was on his way to the same rally, was also subjected to physical abuse and insults. The rally was organised by the Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties (FDTL), an opposition party.
OLPEC views the attack on the Kalima website as a violation of free expression and an attempt to muzzle a free media voice. OLPEC condemns the use of violence against human rights activists and the violation of the right to free assembly.
Neziha Rjiba
 

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Former CIA station chief Andrew Warren accused of rape in algeria

 

Warren supposedly used date rape drugs while he was stationed in Algeria

Ivana Cheong

Two Algerian women separately claimed that a former CIA station chief Andrew Warren, 41, raped them while he was stationed in Algiers last fall, ABC News first reported.
They believe that they were slipped date rape drugs and were brought back to the officer's home, where the rapes happened.
According to CNN, the man went back home to the US for a scheduled trip in October, shortly after the allegations were made. He was ordered not to return to Algiers.
It is reportedly against the law to reveal the officer's name, but according to BCC News, court documents revealed his name.
A search in his Algiers home found that he had pills that seemed to be a common type of date rape drug. Authorities also found tapes that showed Warren in sexual acts with women who seemed to be semiconscious.
However, the date stamp reportedly showed that these tapes were from his tenure in Cairo before he was stationed in Algeria.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said that "the individual in question has returned to Washington and the U.S. government is looking into the matter."
"I can assure you that the agency would take seriously and follow up any allegations of impropriety," CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield said.
Warren has not been charged with anything yet, sources said.
A CIA station chief runs the agency's operations in foreign countries while managing relationships with the host nation's security services.
 

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