Just Foreign Policy News, May 23, 2012
Congress says no auth for Iran war; Iran demands sanctions relief; anti-austerity bid at ILO
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I) Actions and Featured Articles
Avaaz Community Petition: Support targetted boycott of Israeli Settlement Goods
Someone in Ireland has put up a petition at Avaaz' community
petition site, supporting the Irish government's threat to push for an
EU boycott of settlement goods if Israel does not change its settlement
policy. If you're already a member of Avaaz, signing the petition takes
five seconds. Why not do so?
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Support_targetted_boycott_of_Israeli_Settlement_Goods
Would It Make a Difference to Progressives if Norman Solomon Goes to Congress?
If Norman Solomon goes to Congress, he would have a powerful
national platform to oppose wars of choice, and his staff would be
helping anti-war initiatives move through Congress.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/would-it-make-a-differenc_b_1536625.html
Gareth Porter/Shah Nouri Evidence Mounts That Afghan Massacre Was
Linked to Special Operations Forces' Response to Improvised Explosive
Device
According to Afghans, the massacre had a context: threats from U.S.
soldiers of retaliation against civilians if they did not cooperate with
U.S. troops.
http://truth-out.org/news/item/9294-evidence-mounts-that-afghan-massacre-was-linked-to-special-operations-forces-response-to-improvised-explosive-device
FCNL: Sen. Johnson's Landmark Statement on Iran Sanctions
Senator Tim Johnson (SD), Chair of the Senate Banking Committee,
clarified that "it is not and has not been the intent of U.S. policy to
harm the Iranian people" by prohibiting licensed humanitarian trade.
Senator Johnson called on the administration to emphasize that
law-abiding banks facilitating these humanitarian transactions will not
be punished.
http://fcnl.org/issues/iran/sen_johnsons_landmark_statement_on_iran_sanctions/
Muhammad Sahimi: Intervention Proponents Try to Scuttle Nuclear Talks with Iran
While it is well known that Israel is not a signatory of the NPT, it
is less well known that Israeli is a member of the IAEA. When AP
reporter George Jahn cites an "exclusive" revelation of a dire nature,
provided by an official of a country described as an IAEA "member
state," that country could be Israel.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2012/05/opinion-intervention-proponents-try-to-scuttle-nuclear-talks-with-iran.html
II)
Summary:
U.S./Top News
1) All members of Congress are now on the record declaring that they
have not authorized the use of military force against Iran in the
latest round of legislation passed in the House and the Senate, writes
Kate Gould of FCNL on Common Dreams. In the House, John Conyers
championed the amendment to stipulate that the NDAA contained no
authorizations with a bipartisan group of representatives: Ron Paul,
Keith Ellison, and Walter Jones. Senators fiercely debated the same sort
of provision offered by Rand Paul clarifying that the Senate sanctions
bill is not an authorization of the use of force against Iran. Lindsey
Graham and Joe Lieberman blasted this 'un-declaration' of war, insisting
that it be taken out and new provisions added that emphasized the
"military option." These objections blocked the bill from passage until a
compromise was reached that retained Sen. Paul's language but also
stated that the military option is still on the table.
2) Iran demanded that world powers improve proposals made in talks in
Baghdad aimed at easing the crisis over Iran's nuclear program, saying
future negotiations were at stake, AFP reports. P5+1 proposals were
believed to call on Iran to suspend enrichment of uranium to 20 percent
in return for incentives that fell short of meeting Iran's main demand
of easing [the impending oil and banking - JFP] sanctions. The P5+1
offer reportedly included a pledge not to impose any new sanctions
[beyond the oil and banking sanctions currently unfolding - JFP], easing
Iranian access to aircraft parts and a possible suspension of an EU
insurance ban on ships carrying Iranian oil. It also reportedly
included a revival of previous attempts to get Iran to ship abroad its
stockpiles of enriched uranium in return for fuel for a reactor
producing medical isotopes.
3) The International Labor Organization, because it includes labor
unions, is an international institution that could challenge the
pro-unemployment, pro-banker policies of the European Central Bank and
the IMF, writes Mark Weisbrot at the Guardian. On May 28, the ILO will
choose a new director general. As head of the ILO, Jomo Kwame Sundaram
of Malaysia would expose the fallacies of the labor market
liberalization policies currently being touted as the solution.
4) House Republicans have claimed that automatic cuts to military
spending would harm national security, so they want to cut money from
food stamps and health care for the poor instead, notes Katrina vanden
Heuvel at the Washington Post. But military budget experts across the
political spectrum say otherwise. A recent survey found that after
receiving detailed information and arguments on both sides of the issue,
the average American favors cutting the military budget by 18 percent.
Why do House Republicans want to sacrifice the vulnerable to save
unnecessary military spending? Last year, the military industry spent
$131 million lobbying Congress.
Israel/Palestine
5) Amateur video of Israeli soldiers watching idly as settlers
opened fire on Palestinians throwing stones has emphasized the growing
power of "citizen journalism" in the occupied West Bank, Reuters
reports. B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, provided the
cameras used to document the event, as part of a program started in 2007
whereby it has distributed around 150 camcorders to "citizen
journalists" throughout the West Bank. The group aims to use social
media to bring alleged violations by settlers and the military into
public view.
6) A prosecutor in Turkey has prepared indictments and recommended life
sentences for four senior Israeli officers over the killing of nine
activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla forcibly intercepted by
Israeli commandos two years ago, the New York Times reports. Israel has
consistently rejected Turkey's demand that it formally apologize for the
raid and lift its blockade of Gaza.
Yemen
7) Yemen is on the brink of a catastrophic food crisis, Oxfam says,
with 10 million people – 44 percent of the population – without enough
food to eat. In some parts of the country, the UN found that one in
three children were severely malnourished. Some donors have justified
their reluctance to respond swiftly and at the scale required by
pointing to the security situation, Oxfam notes. But the work of the aid
agencies shows that assistance can be delivered at scale and in a
manner that is transparent and accountable, despite the difficult
context, Oxfam says.
Mexico
8) Prosecutors in southern Mexico announced they have captured a man
suspected in the killing of independent U.S. journalist Bradley Will
during protests against the Oaxaca state government in 2006, AP reports.
Suspect Lenin Osorio is a former state government employee. One of the
protesters was arrested in 2008 for the killing but was later released.
Contents:
U.S./Top News
1) Congress 'Un-Declares' War with Iran
Kate Gould, Common Dreams, Wednesday, May 23, 2012 by
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/23
[Gould is Legislative Associate for Middle East Policy for FCNL.]
All members of Congress are now on the record declaring that they have
not authorized the use of military force against Iran in the latest
round of legislation passed in the House and the Senate. This unanimous
'un-declaration' of war by Congress is a crucial victory, with
particular significance given its passage on the eve of the U.S.-Iran
talks in Baghdad.
The House was the first chamber to 'un-declare war', with its inclusion
of a proviso in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that this
legislation does not authorize war with Iran. This stipulation that
"nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the use of force
against Iran" is a remarkably sober note of caution and common sense in
an otherwise dangerous and reckless piece of legislation. The NDAA
allocates billions of dollars of weapons that could be used for an
attack on Iran and requires the administration to prepare for war and
dramatically escalate the U.S. militarization of the Middle East.
Notably, the NDAA exceeds the limitations on Pentagon spending that
Congress agreed to in the Budget Control Act by about $8 billion--much
of which is allotted for the anti-Iran weaponry.
Rep. John Conyers (MI) championed this amendment to 'un-declare' war
with Iran with a bipartisan group of representatives: Rep. Ron Paul
(TX), Rep. Keith Ellison (MN), and Rep. Walter Jones (NC). In less than a
week, Congress received more than 1,000 calls through FCNL's toll-free
number from grassroots activists across the country who support this and
other anti-war, pro-peace amendments that FCNL was working on. Partly
as a result of your advocacy against war with Iran, the
Conyers/Paul/Ellison/Jones amendment was considered so uncontroversial
that it made its way into the NDAA as part of a package (called 'en bloc
amendments') of non-controversial amendments, rather than going to the
House floor for a separate vote.
'Un-declaration' is 'Uncontroversial' in House, Hotly Contested in the Senate
Anti-Iran provisions are routinely given this special shortcut into
"must-pass legislation" like the NDAA, but legislation containing the
word "Iran" that is not agitating for either military or economic
warfare rarely qualifies as "uncontroversial."
In fact, on the same day that the House unanimously approved Rep.
Conyers' amendment, senators fiercely debated the same sort of provision
offered by Sen. Rand Paul (KY) clarifying that the Senate sanctions
bill is not an authorization of the use of force against Iran. Sens.
Lindsey Graham (SC) and Joe Lieberman (CT) blasted this 'un-declaration'
of war, insisting that it be taken out and new provisions added that
emphasized the "military option". These objections blocked the bill from
passage until a compromise was reached that retained Sen. Paul's
language but also stated that the military option is still on the table.
Why an 'Un-Declaration' of War Matters
While the legislation passed in both chambers of Congress has troubling
implications for U.S.-Iran relations, the fact that Congress is now on
record affirming that the legislation does not authorize war is a major
achievement for the campaign against another war of choice. This
'un-declaration' of war sets a historic precedent that could be used to
tone down the implications of future saber-rattling legislation.
And saber-rattling legislation is very much what this is all about.
The House's orders for drones, fighter jets, rockets, machine guns for
mounting on warships, and heavy artillery systems designed to 'counter
the Iranian threat' would escalate brinksmanship in the Persian Gulf,
pushing the United States perilously close to the edge of war.
The Senate sanctions bill doesn't help matters either. The bill will
further erode the President's flexibility, both technically and
politically. Negotiations require compromise from both sides, and the
key concession that Iran has sought is a significant easing of the U.S.
sanctions regime against the Iranian economy. The "Negotiator in
Chief's" ability to lift sanctions in exchange for Iranian cooperation
on its nuclear program is already severely compromised.
Congress' assertion that neither the NDAA, nor a far-reaching sanctions
bill, authorize the use of military force against Iran demonstrates
progress.
Any progress in cooling down Congress' all-too common infliction with
Iran war fever improves the broader political climate that will play
into the U.S.-Iran talks on Wednesday. Given the fragility of U.S.-Iran
relations, even slight progress can make the difference between a
stand-off and a war.
2) World powers, Iran haggle in crunch nuclear talks
Simon Sturdee , AFP, May 23, 2012
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hqWml6PVc-xflu7AS5_AjnxCUqcA
Baghdad - Iran demanded late Wednesday that world powers sweeten
proposals made in talks in Baghdad aimed at easing the crisis over
Tehran's nuclear programme, saying future negotiations were at stake.
"The points of agreement are not yet sufficient for another round," an
Iranian official said on condition of anonymity as the meeting in the
Iraqi capital looked set to enter a second, unscheduled day on Thursday.
Earlier Wednesday, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton presented a
new package of proposals on behalf of the P5+1 -- Britain, China,
France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany.
The EU gave no details but they were believed to call on Iran to suspend
enrichment of uranium to purities of 20 percent in return for
incentives that fell short of meeting Iran's main demand of easing
sanctions.
Reflecting official thinking in Tehran, state media ran reports slamming
the package, with the IRNA news agency calling it "outdated, not
comprehensive, and unbalanced."
Iran made a five-step counter-proposal that an official said was "based
on the principles of step-by-step and reciprocity," which the ISNA news
agency called "comprehensive... transparent and practical."
"We need the steps that both sides have to take to be clearly defined
and there is no possibility of going back on them," the official from
the Iranian delegation said. "For example, that they lift sanctions that
they cannot then readopt two months later under a different pretext."
[...]
Sweeteners reportedly offered included a pledge not to impose any new
sanctions, as well easing Iranian access to aircraft parts and a
possible suspension of an EU insurance ban on ships carrying Iranian
oil.
It also reportedly included a revival of previous attempts to get Iran
to ship abroad its stockpiles of enriched uranium in return for fuel for
a reactor producing medical isotopes.
Iran says that a lack of fuel plates for this reactor was the reason it
started in 2010 to enrich uranium to purities of 20 percent, a
capability that reduces the theoretical "breakout" time needed to reach a
weapons-grade 90 percent.
Iran announced on Tuesday that it was loading domestically produced,
20-percent enriched uranium fuel into the reactor, and the Iranian
official in Baghdad was dismissive. "A possible swap of uranium enriched
by Iran for fuel isn't very interesting for us because we are already
producing our own fuel," the Iranian official said.
[...]
3) New ILO Leadership Could Push For Better Economic Policies
Poised to elect a new director general, the International Labor Organization needs to challenge the pro-austerity consensus
Mark Weisbrot guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 22 May 2012 16.58 EDT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/may/22/new-role-ilo-world-economy
The Troika – the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Commission,
and the IMF – is dragging Europe into its second recession in three
years. The ECB by itself has the ability to end this crisis, by
guaranteeing low interest rates on the sovereign bonds of countries such
as Spain and Italy. Member governments would then be able to restore
normal economic growth and employment.
But the ECB refuses to do this – partly because the Troika is using the
crisis as an opportunity to force changes, especially in the weaker
eurozone economies, changes that the people residing there would never
vote for. These reforms include shrinking government, privatization,
"labor flexibility", and reduced public pensions.
Since, however, Europe has by far the largest banking system in the
world, the eurozone crisis is also a significant drag on growth and
employment throughout most of the world. This could easily do more
damage if it is not resolved.
It is in this context that a struggle is taking place both within and
between governments and international institutions over the economically
and socially destructive policies in the eurozone. At the latest G8
summit in Camp David on Saturday, there were noticeable differences
between Presidents Obama of the US and François Hollande of France, on
the one hand, and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, on the other,
over the wisdom of continuing to push Europe deeper into recession
through fiscal tightening (as the Troika is currently doing).
While there are signs that many IMF economists and even the leadership
of the IMF are not happy with the Troika's policies, the fund is not
going to break with the Europeans on its board of directors. But there
is one international institution that, because its governance structure
includes labor unions, is sometimes able to take a more progressive
stance on these vital issues.
That is the International Labor Organization (ILO), affiliated with the
United Nations. The ILO is thus differentiated from such organizations
as the IMF, the World Bank, or the OECD (Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development) – all of which have an enormous influence
which tends to reinforce the status quo, or worse.
The ILO estimates that the world has lost 50m jobs since the world
economic crisis and Great Recession began – and the Troika is adding to
the toll. In 2009, the ILO proposed a "global jobs pact", which picked
up support from the UN and the G20, but with little result. Last year,
it proposed a "social protection floor", which also won international
support, but again, not much effect.
On 28 May, the ILO will choose a new director general. The frontrunner
is Guy Ryder, a former general secretary of the International Trade
Union Confederation (ITUC). Last November, he secured the support of the
workers' group, comprising a quarter of the ILO electoral college,
before his rivals were even known. There are also other candidates with
regional support, such as Colombian Vice-President Angelino Garzón.
But there is one candidate who is most likely to try to harness the
ILO's potential to challenge the devastating economic policies that have
caused so much unnecessary unemployment and suffering in the past four
years. That is Jomo Kwame Sundaram of Malaysia, the only Asian
candidate.
He is the Harvard-trained chief economist at the United Nations, also
responsible for its technical cooperation programs. Reputedly behind the
2009 Stiglitz Commission report (pdf) on the crisis, Jomo has shown
clear understanding not only of the causes of the current economic
crisis, but also of the failure of the relevant government and
international institutions to bring us out of it. He would also expose
the fallacies of the labor market liberalization policies currently
being touted as the solution. His track record indicates that he would
provide the necessary leadership at the ILO.
Although the ILO's efforts to establish international conventions to
promote a "rights-based" agenda for labor can be helpful, they are
ineffectual in the face of high unemployment. They are also far from
sufficient to advance the cause of the billions of workers who are
unemployed or facing increasing insecurity due to precarious employment,
stagnating wages, and declining benefits. The prospects for increasing
employment, and even wages, in the near future will depend, in large
part, on the macroeconomic policies pursued by governments – especially
those of the largest economies.
Until now, these have been going in the wrong direction – and the ILO needs to confront these policy failures head-on.
4) The GOP's fear-mongering on defense
Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation, May 22
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/republicans-choose-defense-companies-over-ordinary-americans/2012/05/22/gIQAxejnhU_story.html
House Republicans voted last week to break last summer's deal to raise
the debt ceiling and avoid default. "We are here to meet our legal and
our moral obligations to lead," Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan
(R-Wis.) said of the occasion, without a hint of irony.
The original debt deal required a bipartisan "supercommittee" to find
[$1.2 trillion] in deficit savings, or "sequestration" would
automatically be triggered - an across-the-board cut of $1.2 trillion in
each party's priority: domestic programs and defense. Even under that
self-imposed sword of Damocles, Congress failed to do its job, setting
the cuts in motion. But House Republicans argued that the requisite cuts
to defense funding would harm national security. Take the money from
food stamps and health care for the poor, they cried, as they cradled
the defense industry in their arms.
Never mind that the Republicans are, as Jon Stewart said, turning a
"suicide pact" into a "murder pact." Is this fear-mongering warranted?
Will the looming cuts to the Pentagon's budget really threaten our
security?
Not according to many experts on both sides of the aisle. The nuclear
policy group Global Zero released a report this month recommending a
significant reduction in our nation's nuclear arms arsenal. Signatories
included such liberal pacifists as former Republican senator Chuck Hagel
and Gen. James E. Cartwright, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff and nuclear forces commander.
Republican Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.), a former presidential candidate, has
argued that the doubling of military spending in the past decade "should
be extremely troubling for those claiming to be fiscally conservative."
In 2010, Paul joined Democratic Rep. Barney Frank (Mass.) to convene a
Sustainable Defense Task Force, which identified $1 trillion in defense
cuts over 10 years.
Earlier this year the Pentagon itself proposed slowing the growth of its
budget by stretching out its purchase of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters,
reducing ground forces, and eliminating obsolete or troubled programs.
Ending the U.S. combat role in Iraq and Afghanistan will also save $44
billion a year after 2013.
At $700 billion, annual U.S. defense spending represents 57 percent of
the federal government's discretionary budget and last year accounted
for 41 percent of all global military spending.
Even with the proposed cuts, U.S. military spending would still be the
highest in the world by an order of magnitude. "The additional $500
billion in cuts is entirely responsible," Matthew Leatherman, an analyst
with the Stimson Center, an independent public policy group, wrote
recently, "even if the [sequestration] process is not."
Despite the GOP's overblown rhetoric about security, the American people
haven't been fooled. In a recent survey, the Stimson Center, the
Program on Public Consultation and the Center for Public Integrity found
that after receiving detailed information and arguments on both sides
of the issue, the average American favors cutting the defense budget by
18 percent.
In other words, the American people have, once again, proven more rational than some of their representatives.
The GOP hypocrisy on the debt is thinly veiled. With most members having
pledged life and limb to anti-tax zealot Grover Norquist, they refuse
to consider any revenue increases, including allowing the debt-inducing
Bush tax cuts to expire. Defense spending, too, is untouchable. What
does it say about their commitment to fiscal responsibility when they
treat the biggest pieces of the budget pie like kryptonite?
No, Republicans prefer to put a sledgehammer to the mere 18 percent of
the federal budget that funds services for the neediest Americans. Those
cuts won't make a significant impact on our debt, but they would have
drastic consequences for people's lives. The $60 billion the House
recently voted to take from these programs would push at least 300,000
children off their health coverage and 1.8 million people off food
stamps.
And for what? To protect the F-35 spending - long seen and known as a boondoggle - that will cost at least $1.5 trillion?
Why do House Speaker John Boehner and his right-wing cabal want to sacrifice our most vulnerable citizens to save such programs?
Here's a hint. Last year, the defense industry spent about $131 million
lobbying Congress. It contributed almost $23 million to congressional
campaigns in 2010. As David Hess, chairman of the lobbying group
Aerospace Industries Association, recently boasted, "We're a pretty
effective group with a very loud voice." And nothing speaks louder in
Washington than cash.
At a time when working families are barely scraping by, the GOP's
shameless coddling of the defense industry reveals a great deal about
its priorities.
[...]
Israel/Palestine
5) Citizen journalism focuses on Israeli occupation
Noah Browning, Reuters, Wed May 23, 2012, 6:16am EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/23/us-palestinians-israel-videos-idUSBRE84M0FQ20120523
Aseera al-Qibliya, West Bank - Amateur video of Israeli soldiers
appearing to watch idly as settlers opened fire on Palestinians throwing
stones has emphasized the growing power of "citizen journalism" in the
occupied West Bank.
Shaky footage, captured on Saturday from two angles by residents of
Aseera al-Qibliya village, shows bearded residents from the nearby
settlement of Yitzhar aiming a hand gun and assault rifle at the crowd,
followed by sounds of gunfire.
A bloodied youth shot in the face was shown being carried away on the
shoulders of fellow villagers. The video was soon posted on the
Internet.
Teacher Ibrahim Makhlouf, who filmed the incident, lives by the brush
scorched in the clashes on the village's edge, beneath the gaze of the
prefabricated suburbs of Yitzhar, which lie outside the official
settlement boundary.
"We want the whole world to see what Israel and the settlers do to us.
They steal our land and they attack us, and the world said we were the
terrorists and criminals," he said. "Now we can make it clear who's the
aggressor and who's attacking whom. The truth contradicts their claims
about our situation."
The Israeli Defence Force has ordered an investigation and confirmed
that live fire was used during the confrontation. "That said, it appears
that the video in question does not reflect the incident in its
entirety," it said in a statement. A spokesman for the settlers said the
violence flared when they were pelted with stones as they tried to put
out a scrub fire allegedly started by the Palestinians.
B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, provided the cameras
used to document the event, as part of a program started in 2007 whereby
it has distributed around 150 camcorders to "citizen journalists"
throughout the West Bank. The group aims to use social media to bring
alleged violations by settlers and the military into public view.
"The importance of our work is that we show what is being done in
(Israel's) name in the West Bank by our soldiers and by organs of our
government," said Sarit Michaeli, B'Tselem's spokesperson. "The media
might just show one minute, but anyone who's interested can watch this
whole playlist and make up their own mind," she said, referring to
numerous videos showing the shootings uploaded to YouTube.
[...]
A senior Israeli officer was suspended after being filmed striking a
young Danish activist in the face with the butt of his rifle during a
pro-Palestinian rally last month.
Lieutenant-Colonel Shalom Eisner argued that the initial video was
deliberately fragmentary and concealed the violent nature of their
gathering. Other clips released subsequently showed Eisner striking
other people.
Circulated among army personnel, an internal memorandum obtained by
Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth in the wake of the Eisner affair
underscored mounting concern by the Israeli leadership over the
influence of video on the media narrative. "Remember it takes only 10
seconds out of hours of video footage to cause irreparable damage to the
image of the soldiers, the army and the state," the memo said.
[...]
In villages and at demonstrations throughout the West Bank, cameras now
accompany stones and tear gas as an increasingly permanent fixture.
"Our impact is excellent if you consider that Nabi Saleh is a village of
less than 600 people," said Bilal Tamimi, an activist and wielder of a
B'Tselem camera from a flashpoint area near an Israeli settlement and
military base in the West Bank. "People from around the world have
learned what happens here through this distinct medium," he said.
6) Turkey May Indict Israeli Generals Over Flotilla Raid
Rick Gladstone, New York Times, May 23, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/world/middleeast/turkey-may-indict-israeli-generals-over-flotilla-raid.html
A prosecutor in Turkey has prepared indictments and recommended life
sentences for four senior Israeli officers over the killing of nine
activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla forcibly intercepted by
Israeli commandos two years ago, Turkish news services reported
Wednesday.
The indictments, which have not been formally approved by the Turkish
judiciary, could further strain relations between Turkey and Israel,
which were once close but which deteriorated badly after the flotilla
raid on May 31, 2010.
Israel has consistently rejected Turkey's demand that it formally apologize for the commando raid and lift its blockade of Gaza.
Turkey's semiofficial Anatolia news agency said the prosecutor, Mehmet
Akif Ekinci, had prepared a 144-page indictment package that would seek
life imprisonment for Gabi Ashkenazi, the former chief of general staff
for the Israel Defense Forces; Vice Adm. Eliezer Marom, former commander
of naval forces; Gen. Amos Yadlin, the former military intelligence
chief; and Brig. Gen. Avishai Levy, the former head of air force
intelligence.
[...]
Yemen
7) Yemen on brink of hunger catastrophe aid agencies warn
Press Release, Oxfam International, 23 May 2012
http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressrelease/2012-05-23/yemen-brink-hunger-catastrophe
Yemen is on the brink of a catastrophic food crisis, seven aid agencies
said today (23 May 2012) with 10 million people – 44 percent of the
population – without enough food to eat. The aid agencies warned that
malnutrition rates recorded by the UN in some parts of the country were
alarming, with one in three children severely malnourished.
Ministers from the UK, Saudi Arabia and other countries are set to meet
at the Friends of Yemen conference in Riyadh today. The agencies - CARE,
International Medical Corps, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Mercy Corps, Oxfam
and Save the Children – called on those attending the meeting to scale
up efforts to tackle the crisis. The UN humanitarian appeal for the
country is just 43 percent funded – a $262 million shortfall.
Penny Lawrence, Oxfam's International Director, who is visiting Yemen,
said: "Yemeni families are at the brink and have exhausted their ways of
coping with this crisis. A quarter of the population has fallen into
debt trying to feed their families. Mothers are taking their children
out of school to beg on the streets to get money to survive. Donors are
focused on politics and security, but failure to respond adequately to
the humanitarian needs now will put more lives at risk, further entrench
poverty and could undermine political transition in the country."
Yemen's political crisis last year increased hunger in the country as
food and fuel prices surged. Hunger has doubled since 2009. A quarter
of the hungry – some 5 million people – are in need of urgent emergency
aid. In Hodeidah and Hajjah, child malnutrition rates are double the
emergency level. The UN estimates that 267,000 Yemeni children are
facing life threatening levels of malnutrition.
Conflict in the north and south the country is also exacerbating the
crisis. Over the last two months, nearly 95,000 people have been forced
to leave their homes as a result of conflicts, bringing the number of
people displaced in the country to close to half a million.
Women are particularly at risk, as they generally eat last and least.
Oxfam partners have reported an increase in early marriage as families
marry off their daughters young in order to ease the burden of the
crisis.
Jerry Farrell, Save the Children's country Director in Yemen said:
"Almost half of Yemen's population now does not have enough to eat.
Political instability, conflict and high prices have left families
across the country going hungry. We know that children always suffer the
most when food is in short supply, and unless urgent humanitarian
action is taken, Yemen will be plunged into a hunger crisis of
catastrophic proportions."
Some donors have justified their reluctance to respond swiftly and at
the scale required by pointing to the security situation and the
continued political instability in the country. However, the work of the
aid agencies shows that assistance can be delivered at scale and in a
manner that is transparent and accountable, despite the difficult
context.
Hashem Awnallah, Islamic Relief Yemen (IRY) Country Director, said: "The
hungry of Yemen cannot wait. The aid community is ready and willing to
scale up in Yemen. Donors need to heed the lessons of the Horn of Africa
and respond now before the crisis further deepens."
There is food in local markets in most parts of Yemen, but millions of
people cannot afford to buy enough food for their families. Oxfam gave
cash payments to 100,000 people in Al Hodeidah helping them to purchase
food, with Save the Children running a similar programme in Sa'ada.
Mercy Corps has implemented cash-for-work projects in Taiz City
providing a fair wage to local people with little other means to earn
income and buy food. CARE's recent livelihoods project in Haradh
reached 4373 people including 1794 internally displaced persons. In
addition, government programmes like the Social Welfare Fund, which
provides cash payments to millions of Yemenis, could be further
supported and scaled up.
Mexico
8) Mexico captures suspect in 2006 slaying of US independent journalist
Associated Press, Wednesday, May 23, 4:07 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexico-captures-suspect-in-2006-slaying-of-us-independent-journalist/2012/05/23/gJQAb48mkU_story.html
Oaxaca, Mexico - Prosecutors in southern Mexico announced Wednesday that
they have captured a man suspected in the killing of independent U.S.
journalist Bradley Will during protests against the Oaxaca state
government in 2006.
Suspect Lenin Osorio is a former state government employee who allegedly
shot Will as he videotaped a clash between protesters and government
supporters.
Osorio had worked in the state education department, but it was unclear
whether he was working there at the time of the killing of the New York
man.
Osorio was apparently angered by the acts of an alliance of protest
groups that blocked streets and paralyzed Oaxaca's state capital for
several months in 2006, said Samuel Castellanos, a special prosecutor
for the Attorney General's Office.
Will was covering the conflict for Indymedia.org. He sympathized with
the protesters, one of whom was arrested in 2008 for the killing but was
later released.
Osorio was captured early Wednesday. Castellanos said he apparently
acted alone, and had no known ties to political or union groups. He
alleged fired with a .38-caliber pistol from a distance of 43 meters
(yards).
The protests started as a teachers' strike to demand higher pay but
quickly ballooned into a wider movement against then-Oaxaca Gov. Ulises
Ruiz, who was accused of rigging his election.
[...]
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