European Union found guilty at first session of Russell Tribunal

The Electronic Intifada,

Ewa Jasiewicz and Frank Barat, The Electronic Intifada, 15 March 2010

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine aims to translate the language and expertise of law into everyday activism. (David Vilaplana/imagenenaccion.org)

The first session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RTP) was heard in Barcelona, Spain earlier this month. The RTP is a peoples’ legal initiative designed to systematically try key actors responsible for the perpetuation of human rights violations in Palestine.

In the frame this time was the European Union (EU). Two days and 21 expert witness testimonies later, the RTP found individual states and the EU as a whole guilty of persistent violations and misconduct with regards to international and internal EU law. These included: assistance in perpetrating the crime of apartheid — deepened in definition as applicable to the violation of the inalienable right of return for refugees and the collective punishment and ghettoization of Gaza; aiding the procurement of war crimes and crimes against humanity particularly with regards to Gaza; and violating the Palestinian right to self-determination, aiding illegal colonization, the annexation of East Jerusalem and theft of natural resources.

We may all know this, but knowing exactly how and through which laws and mechanisms allows for a water-tight case for justice for Palestine and the denormalization of Israel’s occupation.

The RTP’s endorsement of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) as a means to hold Israel and its collaborator states accountable under international law was also a boost to European civil society groups and prominent figures sitting on the fence about the tactic.

The RTP aims to reenergize and popularize the necessary delegitimization of Israeli apartheid, occupation and human rights violations. It’s not just about preventing the crime of silence but also about providing a forum for speaking out, active witnessing and active listening, and to tool up civil society on how to publicize and pressure their governments to abide by the law.

The reason the EU and violation-abetting or non-compliant states have continued to treat the observance of international law and Palestinian rights as a policy issue rather than a legal obligation is because civil society has given them this choice through a lack of pressure in these areas. These states should not have a choice; these legal frameworks are not voluntary or optional once signed, they are obligatory.

The language of international human rights law is dense, inert and dispassionate despite the fact that it has been generated through global anti-colonial, anti-occupation struggle and sacrifice. Nevertheless, it’s a language movements should strategically learn and connect to the real-time, felt-on-the-body, resistance and endurance of the Palestinian people and the policy-makers in our parliaments.

Contextualizing the violence of policies of violation in the small print of complicated contracts and treaties, or in casual conversations in presidential dining rooms in Tel Aviv, was enabled by the RTP.

At the RTP, Veronique De Keyser, a European Member of Parliament from Belgium, testified that during a trip to Israel as part of a delegation of European MPs, she was told by then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni that the Israeli government was intent on instrumentalizing Fatah to undermine Hamas. According to her testimony, Olmert and Livni added that Israel had no interest in recognizing a unity government.

Meir Margalit, a former member of the Jerusalem city council, spoke of soldiers demolishing a Palestinian home in the presence of an EU Commissar. When this fact was brought to the attention of the mayor of Jerusalem at the time, Ehud Olmert, it resulted in a delay in the destruction of the home until no MPs were present to witness.

Charles Shamas, a Palestinian legal consultant and founder of the MATTIN group, a voluntary human rights-based partnership in Palestine which focuses on international human rights and international humanitarian law enforcement and third-party state responsibility, mapped the mechanisms by which international law obligations can be triggered in the EU. He explained this could be achieved by targeting obscure internal regulations within EU legal frameworks, deciphering obscure clauses and regulations within EU treaties and targeting them at the appropriate bodies.

Shamas demystified the means by which laws are effectively changed when the EU collaborates in contracts and treaties with Israel. By accepting Israeli definitions of international law rather than its own, the EU is in fact violating its own internal and international laws. For example, a new agreement on civil aviation between the EU and Israel could legitimize the occupation of the Palestinian territories through recognition of airspace and the airports in occupied territory as part of Israel. Shamas cited a challenge to a draft agreement between Europol and the Israeli police authorities which was regarded as unlawful as the police were headquartered in occupied East Jerusalem.

Phil Shiner of Public Interest Lawyers in the UK presented his own experiences to the RTP of attempting to use the British domestic courts to challenge the UK’s failure to fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law with respect to Israeli activities during its invasion of Gaza last winter. A British court found his claim, which was coordinated with the Palestinian legal organization Al-Haq, to be a matter for “high foreign policy” and denied it. Shiner suggested seeking more compliant alternative EU member state courts to file similar cases.

The applicability of existing international law on conventional weapons was dissected in the context of Israel’s invasion of Gaza by Colonel Desmond Travers, a member of the UN-sponsored Goldstone commission. In his testimony, Travers provided forensic analysis of the flight-path of a flechette dart within the human body. He also discussed Israel’s suspected use of Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME) weapons and depleted uranium. Travers also scrutinized Israel’s use of white phosphorous as a weapon rather than an obscurant. Aside for the need for political action to stop Israeli impunity, Travers explained that a ban on certain weaponry altogether including white phosphorous, urgent environmental clean-up and the need for new laws were necessary and should be advocated.

Expert researcher and Middle East specialist Agnes Bertrand detailed the EU’s passive complicity with Israeli violations. Israel has caused an estimated 56.35 million euros worth of infrastructural damage to works funded by the European Community since 2000, with damage suffered during last year’s Gaza invasion amounting to around 12.35 million euros. The EU Commission has no intention of filing for damages or compensation, instead passing the buck to the Palestinian Authority, stating that as the construction aid was given to the PA, it would have to make the claim for it. Yet no legal advice has been forthcoming on how the PA is supposed to do this. The EU’s Association Agreement with Israel, in particular Article 2 and the framing of the dialogue between the EU and Israel were found to be in breach of articles of the International Law Commission and the 1966 covenant on Civil and Political Rights in their exclusion of the observance and inclusion of international law and any references to occupation.

Translating the language and expertise of law into everyday activism as a tool against the attack on the legitimacy of our movement and Palestinian rights is the challenge ahead that the RTP can play a part in. The Barcelona session is only the beginning. The next RTP session will take place in London at the end 2010 and will focus on international corporations profiting from the occupation as well as labor rights in Israel-Palestine. It will be followed by sessions in South Africa focusing on apartheid, and in the United States focusing on the American and UN role in the conflict.

Full findings/conclusions of Barcelona session of Russell Tribunal on Palestine are available at http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.net/.

Ewa Jasiewicz is a freelance journalist, union organizer and coordinator for the Free Gaza Movement. She was one of the witness for the Russell Tribunal on Palestine.

Frank Barat is coordinator of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine. He can be reached at russelltribunaluk A T googlemail D O T com.

Eight Al-Qaeda Commanders Arrested In Wasit, Iraq

www.presstv.ir
Wed, 17 Mar 2010

Iraqi security forces have arrested eight senior military commanders with links to the al-Qaeda terrorist network in the eastern province of Wasit.

The high-level al-Qaeda militants were captured on Tuesday morning after security forces were tipped off by intelligence agents about their presence in al-Suweira district, which is situated about 135 kilometers (84 miles) north of Kut.

Iraqi security forces stormed several houses, located the militants, and arrested them.

A police source said that the militants were wanted for involvement in several criminal acts and bombings across Wasit province.

He went on to say that arrest warrants had been issued for them months ago.

Al-Qaeda operatives in Iraq are said to have formed an alliance with remnants of the deposed Baath Party, a move US and Iraqi officials describe as a marriage of convenience. Al-Qaeda in Iraq is believed to supply the bombers while the Baathist extremists provide the logistics and planning.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq was headed by the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi until he was killed in a US air strike in June 2006. His successor, Masri, was Zarqawi’s close associate and has a US bounty of $5 million on his head.

Iraqi and US officials blame al-Qaeda in Iraq for most of the major bombings in the country, including the attack on a Shia shrine in Samarra in February 2006 that sparked a wave of sectarian violence that nearly tipped Iraq into all-out civil war.

Riots Erupt As Anger Grows At Jerusalem Plan

James Hider, Jerusalem
Times Online
March 17, 2010

Riots broke out in Jerusalem and the West Bank yesterday as Palestinians staged a “day of rage” in protest at Israeli plans to build 1,600 new homes in the disputed east of the city.

The announcement of the planned construction caused the worst diplomatic crisis in decades between Israel and its most important ally, the United States. Washington’s envoy, George Mitchell, yesterday abruptly postponed his trip to the region in protest.

Dozens of masked youths pelted Israeli police with rocks and set tyres ablaze at flashpoints across east Jerusalem and nearby checkpoints.

Thousands of police who had been deployed across the city fired stun grenades, teargas and rubber bullets to try to disperse the crowds. Several dozen Palestinians were arrested but gangs of youths continued to lob rocks at Israeli forces throughout the day.

Palestinian leaders, who had been on the verge of resuming indirect peace talks under American supervision, had warned of violence, especially after Israel recently added West Bank holy sites that are sacred to both religions to an Israeli heritage list. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, said that the move threatened to ignite a “religious war”, while Hamas, his radical Islamist rivals, declared a “day of rage” over the building plans. In an effort to quell unrest, Israeli police have limited entrance to the mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, which Israelis refer to as the Temple Mount, and set up checkpoints in the north of the country to turn back Arab Israelis heading for the city, which is sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians.

Extra police were deployed in the Old City on Monday for the inauguration of a refurbished synagogue that had been destroyed in the 1948 war that flared when Israel announced independence. Although the area remained calm during the ceremony, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference warned that the reopening risked “dragging the region into a religious war”. Read more…

French State Railway Causes Panic With Web Blunder Over ‘Disaster’

Charles Bremner, Paris
The Times
March 17, 2010

People logging on to the website of the SNCF, the French state railway, got a shock this morning. It announced that an explosion had torn through a high-speed express in Burgundy, killing more than 100 people and injuring nearly 400.

For more than 40 minutes, panicked members of the public called the disaster helpline that accompanied the announcement and word of the catastrophe flashed around Twitter and other social networks. Then the SNCF realised that an internal disaster exercise had reached the public site.

Embarrassed managers were at a loss to explain how the drill in public information had gone live. “We often carry out crisis exercises and send information messages to the public and press communiqués,” a spokeswoman said. “There was an error today which meant that the message ended up on sncf.com.”

The announcement, which appeared at 11am, said that normal service on the site had been interrupted because of a dramatic event.

“An explosion of unknown origin occurred today at about 8am on TGV [high-speed train] 1234 near Macon,” it said. “The first estimates from the emergency services report 102 deaths and 380 injured. All victims have been evacuated to hospitals at Mâcon. Read more…

Alliance Of Twenty Rights Organizations Condemn EU Terms For Fund

Staff Reporter
The New Nation, Bangladesh
March 16, 2010

An alliance of twenty rights organizations, led by EquityBD, condemned the EU for imposing conditionality to include the WB in the management of MDTF.

They criticized a recent statement of the Ambassador of the European Union, Mr. Stefan, while he suggested the World Bank to manage the country’s Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) on a temporary basis.

They termed EU position on MDTF as neo-colonial as they have been consistently pushing Bangladesh to accept World Bank to manage the multi donor trust fund. The rights organizations expressed such views through organizing human chain and rally in front of the National Press Club. Mostafa Kamal Akanda of EquityBD moderated the rally while, among others, Prodip K Roy of Online Knowledge Center, Feroze Ahmed of Lead Trust, Shipra Das of Kishani Shova, Tusar Rehman of Citizen Rights Movement, Rezaul Karim Chowdhury of EquityBD, and Md. Shamsuddoha of EquityBD spoke.

The organizations of the rights groups include; Arpon, AMKS, Eso, Bangladesh Krishak Federation, CSRL, EquityBD, Kishani Shova, Lead Trust, On line knowledge center, Potikrit, La via campesina, MFTD, Prantik, Purbasha, RCASV, Swadin Bangla Garments Sramik Federation, Solidarity Workshop, Sirajgonj Flood Forum, Uddipan and EquityBD.

Prodip K Roy of Online Knowledge Center mentioned that statement from the EU Ambassador and State Minister for Environment and Forest on the management of MDTF is contradictory, while Minister mentioned the government of Bangladesh will have sole authority over the fund.

Feroze Ahmed mentioned that, two third of the World Bank projects still on fossil fuel projects, which are causing carbon emission. Moreover most of the World Bank project in Bangladesh is failed project, so the WB should not be involved with any projects anymore.

Tusar Rehman mentioned that, Government must maintain sovereignty in climate fund and such a fund should be channelled through independent foundation.

Rezaul Karim Chowdhury of EquityBD mentioned that their movement will continue till government will not finalize management modalities of MDTF.

Source: http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2010/03/16/news0231.htm

Second Edition Of The Sovereign Independent Newspaper Available Now

The second edition (March – April, 2010) of the Sovereign Independent Newspaper is now available :

Download Here in PDF Format.

Download Mirror #1

The Sovereign Independent Newspaper was launched by a coalition of Irish Truth-seekers and activists in an attempt to inform and educate the Irish people in the run up to the Lisbon Treaty Referendum II in September 2009. Unfortunately the globalists had ‘the Fix In’ well in advance, undoubtedly they [globalists] were going to resort to any means necessary, including financial terrorism to dupe the people of Ireland into surrendering their national sovereignty and accepting a move towards globalization.

Flashback: August 28, 2009 - Launch of The Sovereign Independent before the September 2009 Lisbon Treaty Referendum in Ireland.

Related Link: SovereignIndependent.Com

Ireland – Two Charged In Suspected Plot To Murder A Swedish Cartoonist

Editors Note: Yet another hyped-up ‘manufactured crime’ by the New Nazi’s in US government. Shameful that the Irish government do not have the spine to deal with the US alphabet agencies like they should, hopefully the Irish Justice system still has enough independence and common sense to deal with this affair equitably.

Irishtimes.com
March 16, 2010

Two men have been charged following an international investigation into a suspected plot to murder a Swedish cartoonist who depicted the prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog.

Ali Charafe Damache, from Algeria, and Abdul-Salam Mansour Al-Jehani from Libya were remanded in custody at a special sitting of Waterford District Court last night.

Mr Damache (44), who has been living in Ireland for about 10 years, chanted Muslim slogans as he was brought to the courthouse in Waterford under a heavy Garda presence.

He was charged with sending a menacing text message on January 9th. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

Mr Al-Jehani was charged with an immigration offence after he allegedly admitted telling investigators he gave a false name when he came to Ireland to claim asylum in 2001.

The men were among seven people arrested by anti-terrorist units acting on intelligence from the CIA, FBI and European agencies during a series of raids last Tuesday.

The were detained as part of investigations into a conspiracy to kill Lars Vilks, whose controversial depictions of the Muslim prophet were printed in a newspaper in Sweden in 2007.

Three women and two men have been released. Files are being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Detective Garda Donal O’Donoghue told the court he opposed both men being granted bail as investigators were not sure of their true identities.

He said officers were aware Mr Damache had previously gone by two other names – Thierry Garnier and Alex Garnier – had Algerian and Irish passports and might have access to an American one.

The detective said there was also evidence on Mr Damache’s computer that he had access to a false identity and had plans to travel to Afghanistan and Algeria. Read more…

Another Powerful Earthquake Jolts Chile

MOSCOW, March 16 (RIA Novosti)

A 6.7-magnitude earthquake, the latest in a series of powerful tremors, was registered in western Chile on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake, with the epicenter at the depth of 35 km (21.7 miles), stroke at 02:22 GMT some 75 km (50 miles) north of the western Chilean city of Concepcion.

There were no immediate reports on causalities or damage. No tsunami alert was issued.

Some 150 tremors, about 20 of them powerful, have been registered in Chile since an 8.8-magnitude earthquake occurred to the north of Concepcion. According to official reports, 497 people died as a result of that tremor.

It was followed by a series of aftershocks and tsunamis leaving some 2 million Chileans homeless and damaging about 1.5 million houses.

Chile’s newly-elected President Sebastian Pinera has said it would cost at least $30 billion to rebuild the country after the devastating earthquake.

Israeli ‘construction in Jerusalem will continue’ – Netanyahu

TEL AVIV, March 15 (RIA Novosti)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday Israel would not suspend building in East Jerusalem despite damaging ties with the United States and hampering Mideast peace efforts.

Palestinian authorities recently agreed to hold indirect talks with Israel mediated by the United States after a 15-month break, but peace hopes were thwarted after the Israeli government announced last week plans to build 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem, which has prompted strains in U.S.-Israeli relations.

“Construction in Jerusalem – and anywhere else – will continue as has been the custom during the past 42 years,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying by Israel’s Ynetnews service during a parliament meeting.

He added that the Israeli government would resume building in the West Bank upon the expiration of the 10-month moratorium on settlement construction announced in November 2009.

“The cabinet’s decision to end the construction freeze after ten months remains standing,” he said.

The announcement of new construction plans drew cutting criticism from many other countries and international bodies, including the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia, who comprise the Quartet of international mediators in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The Quartet will convene in Moscow on March 19.

Princess Diana Book Claims Her Driver Was Framed

A raft of alleged inconsistencies in the evidence surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, has been published in a book by an investigative journalist.

By Andy Bloxham
www.telegraph.co.uk
15 March 2010

Australian journalist John Morgan claimed he was disclosing a “tidal wave of evidence” that undermined the official conclusion that her death was an accident.

The inquest into the death of the Princess concluded that she and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed were unlawfully killed through a combination of the gross negligence of their driver, who was speeding and was more than three times the French drink-drive limit.

Lord Justice Scott Baker declared that there was “not a shred of evidence” in support of the several conspiracy theories.

One of which, propounded by the millionaire Mohamed Fayed, the father of Dodi, claimed that the couple were “murdered” by MI6 on the orders of the Duke of Edinburgh.

The inquest’s verdict in April 2008 did little to quell those conspiracies, however, and Mr Morgan’s book is the latest to claim evidence of an alternative conclusion.

Diana Inquest: The Untold Story alleges a cover-up by the authorities in France and claims the driver, Henri Paul, was not drunk.

The book alleges Parisian investigators bungled the inquiry and that documents prove that there was a second body in the morgue when tests were carried out.

He claims there were inconsistencies in the blood samples taken, errors in identifying the body and said key witnesses were not allowed to give evidence at the inquest.

He alleged that tests revealed traces of prescription drugs which Mr Paul was not taking, while finding no evidence of other medication he was known to be using.

Mr Morgan told the Daily Express: “When you carefully put all the pieces of this huge complex evidential jigsaw together, you can see this is a dead person who has been framed. Read more…

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