Armies of Liberation

“Egyptian law gives Egypt’s ministry of information the right to ban or censor any publication. The censor reviews each edition of the Middle East Times before allowing them to be distributed.

Articles may be censored if they:

Report on human rights abuses
Criticize the president or his family
Criticize the military
Refer to any ill-treatment of Egyptians in “friendly” Arab countries,
particularly Saudi Arabia.
Discuss modern, unorthodox interpretations of Islam.
Report on discrimination against Coptic Christians in Egypt.

However, the censor is very arbitrary — sometimes these things go through, sometimes they don’t.” The Middle East Times discusses this and more on their website in the last (and partially hidden) link in their menu.

(One article I published in Egypt discussing the selective application of the theory of civilian immunity by both the Israelis and the Palestinians was censored. The objectionable line that was deleted was “In the last fifty years, the United States has codifeid and implement functional equality among white men, women, minorities, children, immigrants,the aged, homeless, homosexual, religious, unions, prisoners, and police.”)

The following is an exerpt of an interview with
Soon Ok Lee and it gives a description of the North Korean Gulags.

The prison camp that I was sent to is in Kae-Chon, which is in the southern province of Pyung-Yang. There are 6000+ prisoners in there: 4000+ males and 2000+ females. Most of the prisoners are there for ridiculous reasons. Some are caught while traveling in places they didn’t have the permits to go to in search of food. Some are mothers, who had complained that their children were starving to death… they wondered ‘why do I have to die like this? Why can’t I eat till I’m full, like people in other countries…’ and people with these kinds of thoughts were considered to have bad ideology.

If the mother is pregnant, according to the North Korean law that says that a criminal’s seed must be scorched up to its 3rd generation, they abort the baby. If somehow the baby survives and is born, they strangle the baby by stepping on them in front of its own mother.

I also witnessed many human experiments. They said it was pointless to test weapons and chemicals on animals because they were created to target their enemies, other human beings. I also saw many Christians in the camp. Because of their belief in God, and because they sang hymns in the camps, they were stepped on until death. If they didn’t deny God, they were often times burned to death from boiling hot liquid metal.

I saw many unspeakable things. And these weren’t rare sights for me. Because I went through many physical tortures, I still have many after-affects left on my body. The right side of my face is still a little distorted, the left half of my mouth is crooked, and the whole left half of my teeth were crushed. I live with a lot of physical pain on my body and it’s difficult to get through each day. But there are still many people going through tortures, and human experiments even at this very moment.

Update:
SEOUL (Reuters) - Up to 3,000 people were killed or injured when two trains loaded with fuel collided and exploded at a North Korean station Thursday, hours after leader Kim Jong-il had passed through, South Korea’s YTN television said. There was no immediate suggestion the blast was anything other than an accident.

North Korea appears to have cut international telephone lines to the area to prevent information about the explosion getting out, Yonhap added. The North appears to have declared a type of emergency in the area.

North Korea’s official media broke their silence on Kim’s three-day trip to Beijing Thursday — strongly suggesting Kim was safely back in Pyongyang — but did not mention the explosion. Kim does not travel by air when he does venture outside North Korea.

Residents in Pyongyang said by telephone there was nothing unusual in the capital. North Korean television was broadcasting military songs and music — standard evening fare.

Update: The death toll has been revised down to 135 with 1200 injured. The cause of the explosion has been attributed to “gunpowder for irrigation” per the Russians. Some speculate rocket fuel or heavy munitions may have caused a blast of this type. The North Korean government has not affirmed the incident took place and North Korean TV continues to show sunsets and play patriotic music.

Zarqawi vs. Democracy

Terrorism has struck in Riyadh, in Bali, in New York, in Kabul, in Jakarta, and in Istanbul. In the nine months since the toppling of Saddam’s statue, Al-Qaeda has been slaughtering Iraqis to protect Sunni Muslims from the scourge of democracy. Al-Qaeda now faces an authentic coalition of the willing: 150,000 Iraqi security forces, 120,000 coalition soldiers, an Iraqi population that demands self-determination, and an American population that stands firm if bloody in the face of scorn.

Iraqi officials and civilians have been executed by a series of searing suicide bombings. A letter from Musab al-Zarqawi, Bin Laden’s close associate, was intercepted en route to Afghanistan. Zarqawi gives an update on al-Qaeda’s status in Iraq. He reports: We were involved in all the martyrdom operations.

Presumably these murders included that of Sergio Viera de Mello and other UN workers, the 83 people shredded at the Ali mosque in Najaf, and many, many other innocent souls. Targeting the public is an acceptable tactic according to Zarqawi because ‘For those who are good, we will speed their trip to paradise, and the others, we will get rid of them.’ The Iraqis reject these tactics, the goals of al-Qaeda, and this interpretation of Islam.

According to a recent Gallup poll, less than one half of one percent (0.3) of Iraqis prefers a conservative Islamic theocracy as under the former Taliban in Afghanistan. Twenty-nine percent prefer a system based on shura with consultation and public consensus. Thirty-nine percent prefer a multi-party parliamentary system.

Iraqis are working to protect Iraq and Islam from al-Qaeda. Zarqawi says this is because “…army and police (are) connected by lineage, blood and appearance to the people of the region.” Family ties, it seems, discourage indiscriminate shattering of the local population. Zarqawi is determined nonetheless that “Souls will perish and blood will be spilled.”

Zarqawi laments that he and his group have not been successful provoking a wide jihad in Iraq: “…our field of movement is shrinking and the grip around the throat of the Mujahidin has begun to tighten….our future is becoming frightening.” There is no popular support and the Iraqi people he says “will not let you make their homes a base for operations. People who will…are very rare, rarer than red sulfur.”

This rejection of jihad and terrorism, the “splitting the regular Sunni from the Mujahidin,” Zarqawi blames on the Governing Council and the Americans, and not on the inherent humanity of the Sunnis. Even under occupation, Iraqis reject al-Qaeda.

Zarqawi observes that numerous deaths have not shaken the will of the US military, the US president, or the majority of the American people: “America…has no intention of leaving, no matter how wounded or bloody it becomes.” He calls for a new strategy beyond attacking coalition soldiers, civil leaders and the public: civil war.

The murder of Muslims is deemed necessary: “Targeting (the Shi’a) will make them show their rage against the Sunnis.” A rare compliment, Zarqawi believes “the Shi’a are a greater danger” than the Americans. The Kurds, “a pain and a thorn” will come last. This civil war must come before “…the sons of this land will be the authority. (Once there) is democracy, we will have no pretext.”

When, after all this death and destruction, democracy prevails, Zarqawi plans to leave Iraq and try again in another country: “If, god forbid, the government is successful and takes control of the country, we will just have to pack up and go somewhere else again.”

And the whole world is at risk of a new neighbor. America remains resolved on al-Qaeda’s destruction and in defense of Iraq, humanity and Islam.

The Yemen Times compares modern world politics to the Fourth Crusade.

“Time and again this observer (and many others) stated that, for all intents and purposes, the White House is run by remote control by the international Zionist Establishment. It was not enough that George W Bush, in his sloppy press conference of Tuesday (April 13, 2004) showed his enmity for the Moslem World by pointing out all the Moslem countries that he finds require the attention of his administration in its expandable anti-terrorism war or what is turning out to be the 4th Crusade. We really had no illusions about Bushs (and the Bushies clique) absolute hatred for almost all things east of the Atlantic and south of the Mediterranean Sea (save of course for that evil Zionist concoction of Israel). But one would not believe that Mr. Bush W. would go on to make this hatred official policy of the United States and not merely a personal complex nurtured by Zionist-Evangelical chauvinism.”

In 1193, Pope Innocent 111 initiated a Fourth Crusade after the death of Saladin. On its way east, the crusading army became embroiled in a dispute regarding the succession to the Byzantine throne. Grasping the opportunity to destroy their greatest economic rival, the Venetian leaders of the crusade diverted to Constantinople (Istanbul) and sacked the great city Byzantium in 1204.

Translated from Arabic by Amir, an Iraqi for a Free Iraq

All this destruction we see in Iraq is the result of the brainwashing which the mosques unleashed on us over the past 12 years. Therefore, the use of mosques for military operations by terrorists is considered to be a simple matter compared with [the greater issue of brainwashing]. The mosques therefore represent legitimate targets when they are used to provoke the people to commit suicide as has been happening in Iraq. (Mahir xxxxx, Baghdad)

It seems that the operation of Valiant Resolve is beginning to achieve its aim. The Industrial area of Fallujah where the insurgents used to assemble their car bombs and explosives has now been destroyed. I swear to God that the people of Fallujah are more angry at the insurgents than the Americans. Mosque preachers should understand the consequences of their fiery sermons and the acts of allowing the mosques to be arms dumps. That what Fallujans are telling me.

We must not give an excuse to the occupier to desecrate places of worship. (Isam xxxxx Al-Daraji, Iraq)

As long as the mosques are used as platform for directing abuse at others as well as accusing them of being infidels or even calling for their death, then no wonder that they are also used for military purposes. It is then obvious that they become a legitimate military target. It’s the result of what Bin Laden had planted. (Fa’ez xxxxxr, Iraqi living in the UAE)

Only the cowards hide in places of worship because they are unable to face the enemy in the battlefield. And because they know well that America and even Israel are concerned about public opinion, unlike the Arab states which do not care about attacking mosques. During the 80’s, Hussain Kamil (Saddam’s son-in-law who was in charge of security) used missiles to attack the holy shrine of Hussain in Karbala. Whereas Israel, declined to enter the Basilica in Bethlehem in 2002. The problem is that we the Arabs allow ourselves to do what we do not allow others to do. We do all the wrong things but criticise others the moment they get near doing such things. Let us be honest, if the British forces didn’t care about civilians, they wouldn’t be standing outside Basrah for 18 days before getting in. (Hassan Nasir xxxxx, Nineveh)

I live in a western suburb of Baghdad and hundreds of families escaping from Fallujah have descended here. We offer them whatever help we can. It seemed clear to me that they are not happy with what the so called resistance is doing in as much as they reject the American attacks. I understood from them that no one from the ordinary people on Fallujah dares to express their opinions because of the fear from the armed insurgents and their provocative behaviour. No one even dares to oppose the sermons of the Mosque imams which were the main reason for encouraging the extremists which turned their city into a battle ground for several months. Even the mosques have become military garrisons and arms depot and have become places of meetings [for insurgents] or places for sniping at Americans. (Muhammed, Baghdad)

I am not amazed to see that these so called resistance are Barbarians. When the Americans entered Ramadi and Fallujah, these were the first Iraqi cities which surrendered without a single shot. And now they are taking refuge in places of worship thinking that they will be protected. These people have abused the sanctity of the mosques during the Saddam era. (Ahmed, Al-A’xxxxx, Baghdad)

Those who start the confrontation are the guilty ones. The fact is that the places of worship are forbidden for use by fighters. Therefore, anyone abusing the holy places for their protection must be punished. We must not use the issue of attacks on places of worship for publicity in the same way Saddam used the issue of sanctions. (Dalia xxxxx, Baghdad, Iraq)

What the terrorists are doing by abusing places of worship, and refusal to surrender the killers [of the Americans] is itself a blasphemous act. As for using places of worship for protection, this is abuse to the sanctity these places and an attempt to gain publicity. It’s a prove that those doing terror acts in Fallujah are remnants of the Saddam regime because he was their master in the use of such dirty tactics. (Abdulla Al-xxxxx, Basrah, Iraq)

We have destroyed the sacredness of the mosques and allowed the tools of death inside when it is meant to be places for spiritual healing. So how do we expect the American professional soldier to respect the sacredness of these places when we ourselves practiced killing and shed blood in such places. Saddam’s tanks bombed these places in 1991 and the shells reached the inside of the holy shrines in Najaf and Karbala. And now we see some of these criminals using the same methods by using such places to manufacture bombs and prepare car bombs in the way their master Bin Laden taught them. The same thing happened when Majid Al-Khoey, a man of religion and a great Iraqi Muslim, was killed in Najaf. If we as Muslims do not respect the sanctity of places of worship, then how do we expect the non-Muslims to do so? (Ahmed xxxxx, Basrah, Iraq)

The mosques are places of worship in all parts of the world. These places have religious sanctity and must not be used for military purposes or to launch attacks because such acts are acts of war and the purpose of the mosque is for worship only and nothing more. (Nhooth xxxxxxxx, Basrah, Iraq)

The misuse of places of worship by their owners and using them as military camps or political party offices will invalidate their sanctity during war as well as peace. (Akram Al-xxxxx, Baghdad)

Places of worship have religious sanctity but if they were used to assemble car bombs and store weapons then we cannot protest the violation of such sanctity. Isn’t it necessary for those responsible for the mosques, who are meant to be the most careful of all people, to ensure that such places remain clean and not give an excuse (for the attackers)? The fighter can fight away from civilians and need not kidnap innocent people. The Russian engineers are not part of the war and came here to repair the power stations and we are in desperate need for electric power. You [the terrorists] have destroyed the image of Islam with your action. (Al-Sumaidi, Baghdad)

These terrorists deliberately use the mosques as hiding places so that these buildings will be attacked and that they can gain publicity. These tricks will not be believed by Iraqis. (Ahmed Al-xxxxx, Iraq)

The armed anarchists and remnants of the Saddam Fedayeen are pursuing the same methods Saddam used. They are using the mosques and houses as centres for the resistance as they call it. So what do they expect? Do the Americans stand crossed arms? (Abdul Ridha xxxxxx, Baghdad)

When an ordinary man gets involved in a dispute he does not hide behind his wife and kids which are more important than his life. Likewise with the place of worship which is holy and must not be used as a hiding place. The terrorist knows that he would be attacked if he uses this place to hide. I have no respect whatsoever to people who hid behind children and in mosques. (Majid xxxxx Baghdad)

Many of the attacks take on a similar pattern, eyewitnesses told IRIN. Hundreds - some say thousands - of Janjawid riding horses and camels arrive in an area from different directions before engaging in a major offensive. Rich from looting thousands of head of cattle, and carrying modern communications equipment, they easily coordinate their attacks.

Before and after burning the non-Arab villages (or sections of such villages) collectively accused of harbouring rebels, they often loiter, armed with automatic rifles, around water sources. Here they can intimidate and rape local women, loot their animals, and destroy key infrastructure, humanitarian workers and eyewitnesses told IRIN.

“The destruction of water sources, burning of crops and theft of livestock are a key element in the government’s campaign. For obvious reasons, cutting off all sources of food and water to civilians in their homes will inevitably lead to their displacement - or starvation,” HRW said in its report.

The Janjawid have sometimes been accompanied by the Sudanese army or have travelled in army vehicles; often they wear army uniforms, according to eyewitnesses. “Whenever these people [the Janjawid] come and attack villages, you expect that once people have resisted the army will come. That’s the scenario recently,” an MP from Darfur told IRIN.

“They [the militias and army] tie them [up], they torture them, trying to get information about the rebellion. Sometimes you can be killed if you are suspected, or if you try to resist, you can be tied, you can have your hand broken or legs, you can be whipped - all kinds of torture, beatings and shootings,” he added. “They don’t allow anyone who is a boy, anyone from 13 to 20, [to go free], they [the Janjawid] kill them straight away when they find them.”

The inhabitants of the villages have no choice but to flee. Even then, thousands are subjected to further attacks on the road, with more looting and violence at Janjawid “checkpoints”, the IDPs said.

Sitting in a tiny, makeshift straw hut in Kalma camp just outside Nyala town, 27-year-old Ajoiya, a member of the Fur community, recalled how she and her baby took refuge in a mosque in Kaileik, about 50 km southwest of Kas. “They [the Janjawid] came at night, they pulled back the bedclothes to see if the women had babies. If there was no baby, they would take them away to rape them,” she told IRIN.

Local authorities in Nyala are quick to draw attention to the humanitarian needs of the IDPs. They urgently needed proper shelter before the rains began in June, medical assistance and in some cases food, they told IRIN.

“There is a lack of overall policy on the approach [to aid]. The reasons for the creation of the crisis should be reflected in the response. There is no reflection on how to address this crisis,” said one regional analyst.

“IDPs should not pay the price for a conceptual dilemma about humanitarian assistance. We should act,” Alexandre Liebeskind, an official from the International Committee of the Red Cross told IRIN.

Efforts to help vulnerable populations in Darfur had been thwarted for months, according to HRW, which reported that “between October 2003 and January 2004, the Sudanese government almost entirely obstructed international assistance to displaced civilians in Darfur - and provided virtually no aid from its own coffers”.

All Africa

ROME, April 15 (Reuters) - An Italian hostage shot dead in Iraq tried to look his killers in the eye and died like a hero, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Thursday.

Frattini told reporters that Fabrizio Quattrocchi, one of four Italian security guards abducted outside Baghdad, was hooded when his kidnappers put a gun to his head.

“When the murderers were pointing a pistol at him, this man tried to take off his hood and shouted: ‘Now I’m going to show you how an Italian dies’. And they killed him,” Frattini said.

“He died a hero.”

Quattrocchi left for Iraq in November to work as a security guard. The 36-year-old, who was specially trained to guard oil pipelines, was earning up to 10,000 euros ($12,500) a month and saving to buy a house with his fiancee, Italian media said.

But until his kidnapping, his mother thought the former baker was working in Kosovo.

His kidnappers, a previously unheard of group, threatened to kill the other three Italian hostages if Italy does not withdraw its troops from Iraq and its support from the United States.

Rome has rejected bowing to such pressure.

Update: Rtfm says: Huzzah!

Desidera L’Italia In tensione!

(I don’t know what it means, but have enough trust in RTFM to give a clenched fist salute and a prayer.)

Recently, there has been a wave of kidnapping of foreign workers in Iraq aimed at political putting pressure at their governments to withdraw their forces from Iraq. The question on the BBC Arabic service is what are the consequences of such acts of kidnapping?

Most respondants in Iraq objected to the kidnappings. Here are some of their comments translated to English:

May God damn those kidnapping the people who came to do nothing more than help us. The Japanese in particular came to Iraq without weapons. I wish that these hostages return to their families safely and that they do not take a bad image about us to Japan. These kidnappers do not represent the Iraqi people. (Anwar Al-xxxxx, Najaf, Iraq)

Without doubt, kidnapping is a cowardly act in the literal sense of the word. If the kidnappers want to put pressure on the governments of the hostages to withdraw their forces from Iraq, then the question is what are these forces? They have come to help the Iraqi people and participate in the rebuilding of Iraq. This proves that those doing the kidnapping are against humanitarian work and are therefore the enemies of the Iraqi people and must be got rid of. (Hisham, Iraq)

All countries spend so much effort, time and money to attract [good] international attention, even the major powers. Why do we sacrifice everything, including lives, to attract international animosity and what is the purpose of that? (Mushtaq xxxxxx, Baghdad)

We witnessed many events which show the savageness and barbarity of kidnapping, ransacking and looting and we do not wish to emphasise only the kidnapping of foreigners. It’s a proof of the security vacuum in Iraq and the lack of fundamental solution for such problems. I am most amazed to see that when few stray ones decide to kidnap some foreigners, we see the whole world condemning it and working hard to negotiate the release of their hostages. But what about the continuing acts of kidnapping against the Iraqis, young ones as well as adults? If we want to solve the problem, then only one side must take the blame and that is the coalition forces. (Majid xxxxx, Baghdad)

Its like people who want to destroy the reputation of Iraqis by doing such acts. Even though I have reservations against the acts of this so called resistance, but we see people who do certain things which destroy their own reputation. We see in Falluja some people in one hour destroyed the one year work of the resistance by mutilating the bodies of the dead. And now they started kidnapping, starting with the Japanese who came here only few months ago and they are the second biggest donors to us, then the Koreans and lastly the Germans who are against the war anyway. This is only doing harm to the reputation of Iraq and the Iraqis and its done by people who do not wish to live under the sun, because they always lived in the darkness and do not wish well to others. (Muhammadxxxxx, Baghdad)

I strongly condemn the acts of kidnapping of foreigners in Iraq, especially the foreigners working for relief agencies. Those doing such acts are highway bandits and criminals who do not belong to the poor people of Iraq. Our hearts are with the families of the hostages and we wish that they are released immediately. (Abu Mustafa, Baghdad)

Brothers, these people [the kidnappers] want to take Iraq back to the middle ages because they live in darkness and are unable to see the light which is spreading in Iraq. These people use to work for crime during the Saddam era and now they are continuing the same job as before. (Bashar xxxxi, Arbil, Iraq)

It’s a cowardly act. If they were heroes then they should kidnap Americans and not unarmed civilians. (Jihan, Iraq)

Islam forbade terror in everyway against peaceful civilians. Any act which contradicts this is an insult to the teaching of the prophet Muhammad. (Haithem xxxx, Iraq)

Kidnapping was a practice done under the old regime to compromise people resisting it. For example, they would hold the wife and children or relatives of the required person so that he would surrender and get executed. Often these people had to surrender to avoid causing problems to their families. These kidnappings prove the cowardice and low life of those criminals of the regime. I wish the [current] hostages a better luck in surviving captivity. Qassim, Iraq

The kidnapping of those innocent foreigners working for relief agencies is a proof that this resistance as its called is nothing but a group of saboteurs aiming to destabilise the security of the country whenever they have the chance using slogans which are clear. They are receiving support from neighbouring countries, particularly Iran. (Raimoon xxxxxx, Iraq)

It is not right to kidnap people who came to help Iraqis. (Atheed, Baghdad)

Those who are doing the kidnapping do not have a faith, morals or values. Why do they call themselves Jihad fighters? Is this the Jihad? They are infidels and want to see Iraq remaining in the savageness of the Saddam era. (Abdullah xxxxxxxx, Iraq)

Thanks again to Amir for the translation to English.
Here is the BBC link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/arabic/talking_point/newsid_3614000/3614807.stm