Nuclear Issue Best Solved
Via Peaceful Means
Says Najib

From Mohd Arshi Mat Daud
www.bernama.com

JEDDAH, Feb 27 (Bernama)--Problems related to nuclear energy are best resolved through peaceful means, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Tuesday.

He said nuclear issues were best dealt through negotiations and discussion, instead of using military means, he said before delivering a keynote address at the Jeddah Economic Forum.

Najib, who is in Saudi Arabia as part of a week-long working visit covering Mecca, Medina and Riyadh, was asked on a report that Pentagon, the U.S. Department of Defence, was on the last phase in launching an attack on Iran.

His comments also come ahead of a meeting of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members -- the United States, France, Russia, China and Britain -- plus Germany in London Monday amid rising international tension over Iran's atomic plans.

The United Nations imposed limited sanctions on Iran's nuclear programme in December and Tehran faces possible further steps for ignoring a Feb 21 deadline to halt enrichment, which the West says Iran is using so it can make nuclear bombs.

Iran, the world's fourth biggest oil producer, insists it only wants to enrich uranium to make fuel for nuclear power plants.

On complaints of the late disbursement of relief fund for businesses affected by the recent floods, Najib said the cabinet wants the banks to quickly process and disburse the loans.

"So far, the MOF (Ministry of Finance) is satisfied with what has been done by the commercial banks."

He was also asked on the call by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that the government set up a Cabinet committee to monitor decisions taken by government-linked companies (GLCs), including Khazanah Nasional and that the committee should comprise political parties.

Najib said constructive criticism would be welcomed.

"They can set up their own committee if they want but that is outside the purview of the government. "As far as the government is concerned, the present machinery is good and the reporting goes to MOF and to the Prime Minister personally," said Najib.

On the recent physical abuse cases at the Air Force Training College in Kepala Batas, Kedah, he said if the ongoing police investigation showed that crimes were committed under the law, those involved can be charged regardless of the internal disciplinary action that had been taken.

BERNAMA

US Generals ‘Will Quit’
If Bush orders Iran Attack

By Michael Smith

and Sarah Baxter In Washington
Sunday Times, UK

SOME of America’s most senior military commanders are prepared to resign if the White House orders a military strike against Iran, according to highly placed defence and intelligence sources.

Tension in the Gulf region has raised fears that an attack on Iran is becoming increasingly likely before President George Bush leaves office. The Sunday Times has learnt that up to five generals and admirals are willing to resign rather than approve what they consider would be a reckless attack.

“There are four or five generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an attack on Iran,” a source with close ties to British intelligence said. “There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible.”

A British defence source confirmed that there were deep misgivings inside the Pentagon about a military strike. “All the generals are perfectly clear that they don’t have the military capacity to take Iran on in any meaningful fashion. Nobody wants to do it and it would be a matter of conscience for them.

“There are enough people who feel this would be an error of judgment too far for there to be resignations.”

A generals’ revolt on such a scale would be unprecedented. “American generals usually stay and fight until they get fired,” said a Pentagon source. Robert Gates, the defence secretary, has repeatedly warned against striking Iran and is believed to represent the view of his senior commanders.

The threat of a wave of resignations coincided with a warning by Vice-President Dick Cheney that all options, including military action, remained on the table. He was responding to a comment by Tony Blair that it would not “be right to take military action against Iran”.

Iran ignored a United Nations deadline to suspend its uranium enrichment programme last week. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted that his country “will not withdraw from its nuclear stances even one single step”.

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran could soon produce enough enriched uranium for two nuclear bombs a year, although Tehran claims its programme is purely for civilian energy purposes.

Nicholas Burns, the top US negotiator, is to meet British, French, German, Chinese and Russian officials in London tomorrow to discuss additional penalties against Iran. But UN diplomats cautioned that further measures would take weeks to agree and would be mild at best.

A second US navy aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS John C Stennis arrived in the Gulf last week, doubling the US presence there. Vice Admiral Patrick Walsh, the commander of the US Fifth Fleet, warned: “The US will take military action if ships are attacked or if countries in the region are targeted or US troops come under direct attack.”

But General Peter Pace, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said recently there was “zero chance” of a war with Iran. He played down claims by US intelligence that the Iranian government was responsible for supplying insurgents in Iraq, forcing Bush on the defensive.

Pace’s view was backed up by British intelligence officials who said the extent of the Iranian government’s involvement in activities inside Iraq by a small number of Revolutionary Guards was “far from clear”.

Hillary Mann, the National Security Council’s main Iran expert until 2004, said Pace’s repudiation of the administration’s claims was a sign of grave discontent at the top.

“He is a very serious and a very loyal soldier,” she said. “It is extraordinary for him to have made these comments publicly, and it suggests there are serious problems between the White House, the National Security Council and the Pentagon.”

Mann fears the administration is seeking to provoke Iran into a reaction that could be used as an excuse for an attack. A British official said the US navy was well aware of the risks of confrontation and was being “seriously careful” in the Gulf.

The US air force is regarded as being more willing to attack Iran. General Michael Moseley, the head of the air force, cited Iran as the main likely target for American aircraft at a military conference earlier this month.

According to a report in The New Yorker magazine, the Pentagon has already set up a working group to plan airstrikes on Iran. The panel initially focused on destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities and on regime change but has more recently been instructed to identify targets in Iran that may be involved in supplying or aiding militants in Iraq.

However, army chiefs fear an attack on Iran would backfire on American troops in Iraq and lead to more terrorist attacks, a rise in oil prices and the threat of a regional war.

Britain is concerned that its own troops in Iraq might be drawn into any American conflict with Iran, regardless of whether the government takes part in the attack.

One retired general who participated in the “generals’ revolt” against Donald Rumsfeld’s handling of the Iraq war said he hoped his former colleagues would resign in the event of an order to attack. “We don’t want to take another initiative unless we’ve really thought through the consequences of our strategy,” he warned.

Posted by: Raja Petra
http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/newsncom.php?itemid=2722

Palestine Hopes
Russia Will Help
Lift Blockade

www.bernama.com

MOSCOW, Feb 26 (Bernama) -- Palestine hopes Russia will help to lift the blockade of the Palestinian people, Head of the Political Bureau of the Hamas Movement Khaled Mashaal said here on Monday.

"We appreciate Russia's role very highly. This role is very important. We hope Russia will be able to persuade the international community to lift the blockade, clamped down on the people of Palestine," Mashaal added.

He said the Hamas representatives appreciate Russia's stand and are planning to discuss in Moscow the Fatah-Hamas agreements, reached in Mecca.

"These agreements are a very important step, which should put an end to the blockade. We hope the Arab nations will back us. It is necessary to guarantee a political atmosphere, contributing to the establishment of a Palestinian State.

"Pressure should be brought to bear on Israel to make Tel Aviv recognise the right of the Palestinians to build up their own state," the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported Monday quoting Mashaal, as saying here.

Mashaal, who heads the Palestinian delegation for consultations here.

Mashaal who called on the international "Quartet" to conduct negotiations with Israel, said at present, Israel is occupying Palestinian lands and the people of Palestine lack their own state.

The 'Quartet' should negotiate with Israel, not with us," said Mashaal, hoping that the "Quartet" will not alter its stand, and all the sides should respect the Mecca agreements.

"These accords are a very important step, which should put an end to the blockade," he said.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the ways to settle all these problems should be found by means of negotiations.

"We deem it necessary to strengthen the agreements, reached in Mecca between Head of the Palestine National Administration Mahmoud Abbas and the Leader of the Hamas Movement, and to actively help implement them," Lavrov stressed.

A special meeting was scheduled for March 13, which is to consider the parameters of the mechanism to help the Palestinian government.

The representatives of the Hamas leadership are planning to discuss here also some problems, linked with the coordination of the relations with the Russian leadership.

The first visit to Moscow of a Mashaal-led delegation took place on March 3, last year.

BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com

Abdullah: OIC Needs To Focus
On Economic Development
Besides Politics

From P. Vijian
www.bernama.com

DAMASCUS, Feb 26 (Bernama) --- Islamic nations should not only focus on political issues but also concentrate on developing their economies by expanding bilateral relations among the Islamic community, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said here today.

Member countries of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) should not only be concerned with political issues but also economic development through cooperation, which is very important, he said.

"But we have to be practical in our approach in widening bilateral relations, like what we are doing with Syria now," Abdullah, who is also the chairman of the 57-member OIC, told reporters during a joint media conference after meeting with his Syrian counterpart Mohamad Naji Otri here.

Abdullah said it was imperative to address issues pertaining to economic development among Islamic countries, and that the OIC had taken steps to establish financial centres and banks in various member countries.

"The cooperation among Muslim countries, whether they are in Asia or in the Middle East, and I believe, whether they are in Africa, it is important to make every effort to increase cooperation, especially in the area of economic development and investments," he said.

Today, Malaysia and Syria, both members of the OIC, stepped up their bilateral relations by establishing a Joint Commission Meeting (JCM), which is expected to hold its first meeting in May.

"The inaugural JCM between Malaysia and Syria will be held in May in order to give more focus on economic development," said Abdullah, who is on a three-day visit to Syria.

In addition, both governments had also set up a Joint Economic Commission that will enable both countries to enhance bilateral trade.

This morning, Abdullah had lengthy discussions with Syrian President Dr Bashar al-Assad, at the People's Palace, where both leaders discussed problems plaguing West Asia ranging from politics to poverty.

"As for the international issues, we discussed problems in the Middle East and, at the same time, we are also aware of the importance of addressing, besides political issues facing the Muslims, other issues like poverty," he added.

After meeting the president, Abdullah had a brief discussion with Syrian Vice-President Farouq Al Shara at his office in the capital and later met the Syrian prime minister

Both prime ministers witnessed the signing of several documents, including the Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation.

Malaysian Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and Syrian Transport Minister Yaarob Suleiman signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Feasibility Study for the Damascus Ring Road.

BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com

War Exhibition:
Manifestation Of A Peace-Loving Society
By Sophia Ahmad and Soraya Jamal
www.bernama.com


KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 (Bernama) -- "From blood and pus that rot in the soil, from skeletons that have lost their soul, snatched by weapons, the result of belligerents who show no love, the red flowers bloom beautifully, wanting to be adored.

"Those who survived are living on the vestiges of life, full of suffering, hunched, deformed, maimed and blind, war in retrospect is full of horrors, they remember now, in bitterness, in solitude."

These were two verses from the Malay poem "Bunga Popi" (Poppies) penned by national laureate Datuk Usman Awang on wars in 1955, inspired by his observations of the turbulent world then.

Humankind has passed half a decade since Usman penned the poem, yet wars and conflicts remain unending. It is clear that humankind has yet to learn their lesson from the ravages of armed conflicts.

Visitors to the "Expose War Crimes: Criminalise War" exhibition and conference held at the Putra World Trade Centre recently, entered into an unknown dimension that was full of rage, terror and violence against fellow humans.

Organised by Perdana Global Peace Organisation led by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, this conference is seen as a catalyst for the establishment of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission and Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal.

From the outset, visitors were greeted with a baby's heart-breaking cries and followed by the painful screams of abused war detainees. All these heart-rending cries that had probably caused goose pimples on many of the visitors came as a background to the continuous sound of exploding bombs and firing of weapons.

The graphic images of tortured victims shown together with replicas of the victims was also upsetting to many. It was totally unimaginable, of how cruel the perpetrators of war could be against other human beings!

The Iraqis are trapped in a viscous cycle of violence, Palestinians still undergoing bloodbath and the Lebanese still in search of reconciliation to end the periodical skirmishes.

Not only that, the exhibition revealed cruelty during the Vietnam War, the horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the horrifying effects of depleted uranium, economic sanctions, killing machines and the infamous torture chambers of the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay detention centres.

NEW INFO

It's clear that this exhibition proved the point that war is the scourge of humanity, besides being an eye-opener on the hegemony and cruelty of the Americans and their allies.

The first Gulf War in 1991 launched by the United States paved the way for the continuous suffering of the Iraqis, especially when the economic sanction was imposed on them.

The 13-year sanction imposed by the United Nations left 1.5 million people dead, with 600,000 of them being innocent Iraqi children who were too young to understand the conflict and misery.

What had they done to deserve such inhumane treatment? Was this the price they had to pay for the sins and ambitions of a few adults?

The sanction was carried out with only one intention, to torment the Iraqis.

Is baby powder relevant to weapon making? What is the purpose of sanitary napkins in a rebellious mission? How can a school children's textbook be related to aggression? What has wheat flour got to do with developing missiles?

These are things that are ubiquitous in Malaysia and other countries but something rare in Iraq.

Denis Halloday and Hans Christof Von Sponeck from the UN's food programme in Baghdad reportedly resigned in a show of protest against the UN sanction and this is a clear sign that UN offers nothing but lip service.

UN wisely portrays itself as a world peace body, yet many times it had acted in cohort with the aggressors.

On May 10, 1996, Madeleine Albright (then US ambassador to the UN) was presented with a figure of half a million children under five dying due to the sanction. Without challenging this figure, she infamously replied: "We think the price is worth it."

In a nutshell, for the Americans, the life of others has no value.

TORTURE AT ABU GHRAIB PRISON

Ali Shalal, otherwise known as "The Man in Hood" and the survivor of atrocities at the Abu Gharib prison, shocked the world when the gruesome photos of his torture was shown by the media worldwide.

The audience shed tears when he recounted his horrifying and painful experience in the infamous prison after being detained without proper investigation by the occupying forces in Iraq.

He recalled detainees at the prison being tortured and tormented with the captors using methods unimaginable to normal human minds.

The Americans have mental and physical methods to interrogate detainees which have also been practised in other detention facilities such as the Guantanamo Bay and Arabian Oil Institute.

Beaten non-stop, a jagged stick and a rifle barrel pushed into his rectum, human excreta splashed onto his face, urinated on, confined in a cell without any clothing for two weeks and electrocuted for several sessions, were some of the tortures that Shalal underwent.

"I was tied to the metal bars of my cell by an Israeli interrogator and he then played the "By the Rivers of Babylon" song by pop group Boney M continuously until the next morning. The effect on me was that I lost my hearing and I lost my mind. It was very agonising and I lost consciousness," Shalal said.

No word could describe all the agonising experience he endured during five months in captivity.

When asked how he survived the torments, Shalal said: "God provides great strength to humans to overcome this, and please don't forget us in your prayers.

"The belligerents have no love for mankind! War rages on and they find profit in the colonised land! War rages and it kills babies in their cradles! War rages on and it destroys a culture and its values!"

CRIMINALISE WARS!

The following facts justify why war should be criminalised:

* Fifty million people were killed in World War II, 70 percent were innocent civilians.

* In Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the total number of people who died due to the Little Boy and Fat Man atomic bombs was estimated at 230,000.

* In Iraq, the total number of civilians killed so far is estimated at between 350,000 and 950,000.

* In Lebanon, 1,200 civilians were killed by Israel last year while in Palestine 3,334 people died from September 2004 to September 2006, all because of war.

* The Vietnam War, the longest war in American history, killed two million to 5.7 million people, a large number of whom were civilians.

It's mandatory to declare war as a crime because civilians are the real casualties and the victims.

The questions that have arisen from the conference are who will listen and whether the world wants to listen in the first place?

The proposed Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission and Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal are a step forward in seeking justice for those who have been victimised by war.

The government alone cannot be championing war crime issues, while non-governmental organisations are the best medium to tackle mankind's misery.

On the other hand, a non-governmental organisation can only be successful in its efforts if it has the clout and for Perdana Global Peace Organisation this is where Dr Mahathir comes in.

Dr Mahathir managed to garner the best minds under one anti-war umbrella in elevating public-consciousness and international momentum.

It's time for us to shout confidently that we believe in peace!

"We hate war, full of killing! We cry for a never-ending peace!" -- Poppies, Usman Awang, 1955.

BERNAMA

Abdullah's Visit May Rekindle
Unsettled Golan Heights Issue
From P. Vijian
http://www.bernama.com


DAMASCUS, Feb 25 (Bernama) - The Golan Heights, an unsettled issue between Israel and Syria, is likely to gain more attention with additional pressure coming from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) for an amicable solution to a prolonged discord.

Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, chairman of the 57-member OIC, is due to visit some parts of the Golan Heights when he arrives in Damascus today to begin a three-day visit to Syria.

The Golan Heights, located to the southwest of Syria, is a strategic military and water resources plateau spanning some 1,860 sq km. About 1,260 sq km of it has been under Israeli control since the Arab-Israeli war of 1967.

The area is said to provide a third of Israel's water supply and offers a strategic position to monitor military movements from the Syrian side.

It is also the meeting point of three countries -- Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan -- and its terrain cuts through the vital road to Damascus. Besides, it is a sectarian territory, a home to Muslims, Arabs, Druze and Christians.

In the Arab world, besides flashpoints like Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon, the Golan Heights continues to haunt the OIC and the Muslim community, which have failed to resolve these thorny disputes for decades.

Like the Palestinians, almost 500,000 people have been displaced from their homeland, a fertile and water-rich territory that Israel has refused to give up despite international pressure over the years.

Given the backdrop of other pressing problems, like war-torn Iraq, volatile Palestine and nuclear-ambitious Iran, international attention has slightly faded away from the Golan Heights, but Abdullah's visit, as an OIC representative, could tilt the focus and tweak the attention of world leaders.

Both Syria and Israel, through backroom channels and Track 2 diplomacy (using non-governmental organisations, think-tanks and individuals), have been engaging each other to settle the issue.

A leading Damascus researcher and author, Hamad Said Al-Mawed, said some positive signs are emerging from the Israeli camp to settle the Golan Heights controversy.

"Syria is not a political or military threat to Israel now, so there is no reason why Golan should not be returned.

"The half a million displaced refugees from the Golan Heights have the right to return and want to return to their homeland," he told Bernama in an interview in the Syrian capital.

About 25,000 of the 500,000 displaced people are still residing in areas occupied by Israel, another 85,000 live in the liberated villages nearby and in Quneitra, while many others have moved to Damascus.

Among others, the dispute between Israel and Syria over the Golan Heights needs to be addressed quickly to ensure that much-wanted peace returns to West Asia, say political observers.

"Don't forget that the global focus is on the Palestine-Israel issue, even if we all know that without a solution to the Golan Heights issue, there cannot be a comprehensive settlement to the Middle East problem," commented a senior Kuala Lumpur-based Malaysian diplomat.

BERNAMA

M'sia Proposes
Islamic Nations
Sever Ties With Israel

www.bernama.com

KOTA TINGGI, Feb 24 (Bernama) -- Malaysia, as the chair of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), has proposed that Islamic countries having diplomatic relations with Israel sever the ties and recall their envoys in response to the Jewish state's atrocities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the proposal was put forward at an extraordinary meeting of OIC foreign ministers on Israeli aggression against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem that was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, two days ago.

"We suggested that Islamic countries having diplomatic relations with Israel sever the ties or recall their ambassadors temporarily to show that we are serious and do not engage in mere empty talk," he said after giving out aid donated by Bank Rakyat for flood victims.

Syed Hamid said that the proposal, though difficult to implement, was agreed to in principle by the OIC countries and that OIC Secretary-General Prof Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu was following up on the matter.

He said Islamic countries should have an action plan that could be translated to the international community to resolve the problem of Palestine and which did not depend on words alone.

Atrocities

Syed Hamid said Malaysia also proposed at the meeting that Israel be referred to the Human Rights Commission over its atrocities against the people of Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is Islam's third holiest place after Mekah and Madinah.

Malaysia also suggested that the OIC obtain the advice of experts of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israeli action in Palestine for a resolution from the court based in The Hague, the Netherlands, he said.

Syed Hamid said Malaysia had also suggested that the Palestine issue should also be brought to the United Nations' Security Council and its members be asked to come up with action against Israel.

"What is happening now is that various resolutions are put forward (to the UN Security Council) but there is no action against Israel," he said, adding that the world would be saddled with the problem so long as the Jewish regime ignores international opinion on Palestine.

Malaysia, he said, would continue to raise the issue of Israeli occupation of Palestine though there may be quarters which are uneasy over Kuala Lumpur's bold stand.

Fatah

The foreign minister called on the world to respect the Palestinian unity government established after leaders of the Fatah and Hamas factions reached agreement at talks held in Mekah recently.

"Hamas' victory in democratic elections is not accepted. The unity achieved by Hamas and Fatah is not accepted. In the end, where do we place them?" he asked when commenting on the reluctance of the United States and European countries to recognise the new Palestinian government led by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

On his visit to Islamabad, Pakistan, tomorrow, Syed Hamid said he would attend a meeting of foreign ministers of seven Islamic countries on the latest developments in Palestine.

The seven countries -- Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey -- would attempt to draw up a new Palestine-Israel peace plan to be forwarded to the United States, the European Union and Israel, he said.

- BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news.php?id=248428