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----- Original Message -----
From: David
Peterson
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2003 5:44 PM
Subject: RE: SEVERAL FROM BBC WORLDWIDE, APRIL 1, 2003 [ WARNING: VERY LONG.---But a lot of
good material translated into English from around the
world.]
Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 116 words HEADLINE: Russian official says humanitarian aid to Iraqis impossible in wartime SOURCE: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0634 gmt 1 Apr 03 BODY: Text of report by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS Moscow, 1 April: Moscow believes that "the implementation of the UN humanitarian programme for Iraq is impossible while combat continues", a well-informed anonymous source told ITAR-TASS today. "The decision to deliver humanitarian relief to the Iraqi population within the framework of the UN Security Council Resolution 1472 is of a theoretical nature so far," the source said. "In reality, the UN humanitarian operation can be resumed only after the end of hostilities," he said. "According to international law, the United States and Britain are responsible for the humanitarian situation on Iraq's territory," he said. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 240 words HEADLINE: Afghan Taleban leader orders holy war against Americans SOURCE: Al-Hayat, London, in Arabic 1 Apr 03 BODY: Excerpt from report by London-based newspaper Al-Hayat on 1 April Islamabad, Sanaa, Al-Hayat, AP, AFP: Taleban leader Mola Mohammad Omar has issued a fatwa ruling urging jihad holy war and ordering the murder of Americans and Afghan collaborators. The fatwa, copies of which were circulated in several Afghan and Pakistani areas yesterday 31 March , carried the signatures of 600 Afghan clerics in addition to Mola Omar. The fatwa compared the situation in Afghanistan with that in Iraq. It said: "When the infidels attack Muslim land, it is everyone's duty to fight the aggressor." Mola Omar said in the fatwa: "They condemned us for sheltering Usamah Bin-Ladin because they allege he is a terrorist, but what crime did Iraq commit?" He added: "In my capacity as leader of the Muslims (in Afghanistan) I rule that the jihad against US troops is a duty. I also issue a fatwa ordering the murder of anyone who cooperates with the Americans in carrying out their missions." He pointed out that "there are two poles in the world at present: Islam, which is the religion of peace, and (US President George) Bush, who is the symbol of terror and hatred." Copies of the fatwa have been circulated in areas in eastern Afghanistan and also in the Pakistani tribal region bordering Afghanistan. The fatwa contained Koranic verses translated into the local language and urging Muslims to stage jihad against the infidels... Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 757 words HEADLINE: Iraq: French media watchdog raps US-British forces over treatment of journalists SOURCE: Reporters Sans Frontieres press release, Paris, in English 31 Mar 03 BODY: Text of press release by Paris-based organization Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) on 31 March; subheading as published Coalition accused of showing "contempt" for journalists covering war in Iraq Reporters Without Borders RSF today accused the US-British coalition forces of displaying "proven contempt" for the work of the journalists trying to cover the war in Iraq and called on the coalition authorities to carry out an internal investigation into the treatment of the press and to publish the results. "Many journalists have come under fire, others have been detained and questioned for several hours, and some have been mistreated, beaten and humiliated by coalition forces," Reporters Without Borders Secretary-General Robert Menard said. "Furthermore, the Information Ministry in Baghdad has been bombed twice although, as everyone knows, it houses the offices of the international news media," Menard said. Stressing the organization's concern about these incidents, Menard said they seemed to indicate that the US and British forces take little account of the presence of journalists in the field who are not "embedded" with military units. "These incidents show a proven contempt for the work of journalists," he said, calling on the authorities to carry out an internal inquiry and publish the results. A group of four non-embedded journalists - two Israelis (Dan Scemama and Boaz Bismuth) and two Portuguese (Luis Castro and Victor Silva) - accused the US military police of giving them "the worst 48 hours in our lives" after arresting them on the night of 25 March while they were sleeping near a US unit between the towns of Karbala and Najaf. Although carrying press cards, they were threatened, mistreated and held in a jeep for 36 hours without being able to communicate with their news organizations or their families, who were consequently very worried. "The US soldiers said we were terrorists and spies and treated us as such," said Scemama, who works for the TV station Israel Channel One. "They want all the journalists in Iraq to have one of their liaison officers with them to supervise the footage they are broadcasting. There is no doubt that this is why they treated us so cruelly," he said. They claimed that the Americans were doing their utmost to ensure that no journalists were able to move about independently inside Iraq. Many journalists in Kuwait have also reported cases of non-embedded colleagues being questioned for several hours, threatened and sent back by the British or US military when they tried to cross the border into Iraq. The Information Ministry's headquarters in Baghdad has twice been the target of bombardment by the coalition, on 29 and 30 March, damaging foreign news media equipment. The international media "tent village" on the building's roof was wrecked by the first missile that struck at dawn on 29 March. Journalists had left the building less than an hour before these strikes, which could have caused many casualties among the foreign journalists in Baghdad. Al-Jazeera cameraman Akil Abd al-Rida, who was reported missing in the southern city of Basra, was questioned and detained for more than 12 hours on 29 March by US forces. A spokesperson for Al-Jazeera, an Arabic-language satellite news station based in Qatar, said he had been "relatively well treated." The spokesperson also said the station had notified the Pentagon before the start of the war about its team's presence in Baghdad. The cameraman and his crew had previously come under fire from British tanks on 28 March as they were filming food distribution by the Iraqi authorities in Basra. US freelance journalist Phil Smucker, who works for the Christian Science Monitor of Boston and the Daily Telegraph of London, was forcibly returned from Iraq to Kuwait on 27 March by the US military after being accused of jeopardizing the safety of a unit by being too specific in the information he gave in an interview for CNN on 26 March. A TV crew with the British news channel ITN came under fire from US-British forces at Iman Anas, near Basra, on 22 March while travelling in two jeeps clearly marked with the letters "TV." Reporter Terry Lloyd was killed and cameraman Daniel Demoustier was wounded in this incident. Two other members of the crew, French cameraman Frederic Nerac and Lebanese interpreter Hussein Osman are still missing. Reporters Without Borders asked US Gen Tommy Franks to order an enquiry into the exact circumstances of this incident. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 1187 words HEADLINE: Iraq: Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan airs US-led forces' appeals in English SOURCE: Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan, Salah-al-Din, in English and Arabic 1541 gmt 31 Mar 03 BODY: The Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan was observed by BBC Monitoring broadcasting appeals in English to "the Kurdish people of Iraq" on 31 March. The station has been heard in the past broadcasting in Sorani Kurdish and Arabic. It broadcasts in support of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP from Salah al-Din in Iraqi Kurdistan on mediumwave, shortwave and FM. The broadcast below was heard on 4085 kHz shortwave. The 9-minutes of English, heard already in progress, consisted of warnings to citizens to stay away from Iraqi military installations and US-led forces troops. The radio appealed for there to be no reprisals against Iraqi POWs and said the Geneva Convention must be observed. The broadcast also said that Saddam Husayn stood in the way of liberty and that US-led forces were there to help the people of Iraq. Following is the text of announcements in English and Arabic on Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan radio on 31 March; subheadings inserted editorially Short interlude of military music followed by announcer in English Soldiers of Iraq. Among you are Saddam's evil henchmen. Officers from the hated special security officers of words indistinct Saddam's continued rule. They stand between you and freedom. They represent everything that you despise, while you pursue safety and security for you family they pursue terror and violence. "Saddam's rule is coming to an end" While you pursue freedom they pursue oppression. While you look to the future of Iraq, an Iraq free from the bonds of Saddam, they look to the past. A past without freedom, without security, without safety and without hope. Saddam's rule is coming to an end and with it the reins of the special security office. These oppressors stand between you and a new Iraq. They have been given a choice. They can choose to support you in your pursuit of liberty, peace and justice or they can choose to remain loyal to Saddam and his evil ways. That time is running out. Short interlude of military music . Iraqi military "... demand money for the removal of these weapons" Saddam Husayn's influence over the Iraqi military continues to endanger the lives of Iraqi citizens. Reports indicate that since October 2002, members of the Iraqi military have been extorting money from the citizens of Iraq. Iraqi military words indistinct strong military weapons and equipment next to the homes of civilians. They then demand money for the removal of these weapons. The people living in these areas have had no choice but to pay, for fear that their neighbourhood may becomes a battlefield. Placing equipment near hospitals, mosques and schools is against Geneva Convention rules Civilian homes are not the only places being imperilled by Saddam's regime. The regime continues in the practice of hiding weapons in and around mosques, hospital and schools. These treacherous acts are illegal under international law that Iraq signed. Article 51 of the Geneva Convention specifically forbids shielding military targets by moving them into densely populated areas or deliberately moving civilians near such targets. The coalition understands that the Iraqi people fear for their safety. If word indistinct type of weapons are placed in areas populated by civilians. Intentionally using civilians as human shields is an abhorrent act and only encourages the probability of civilian casualties. The coalition may have to destroy military targets near civilian areas to prevent a greater loss of life. When weapons are placed in close proximity to civilian areas the prospect for collateral damage is very real. Do not allow your families to suffer such a fate. Stay away from the Iraqi military and its weapons. Short interlude of military music . "Coalition forces are here to help you" Kurdish people of Iraq. The world has united in a common cause. These nations have formed a coalition with the purpose of removing Saddam and his brutal regime from power. Saddam has oppressed and exploited the Iraqi people for years and must be removed from power. Coalition forces are not here to harm you. Coalition forces are here to help you. In order to ensure your safety the coalition have set up a list of guideline to help keep you and hour family safe. Safety guidelines While these guidelines may be an inconvenience, please realize that they are for your own safety and as we do not wish to harm innocent people: For your own safety please stay away from potential targets. Avoid travelling or working near oil fields. Do not drive at night. Keep far away from military and its word indistinct buildings used to house military equipment. It is not safe for you to be near any of these buildings or areas. Also for your safety, please stay away from coalition soldiers. While these soldiers are not here to harm you, these soldiers are trained to defend themselves and their equipment. Do not attempt to interfere with coalition forces' operations. If you attempt to interfere with coalition military operations these forces will see you not as a civilian but as a threat and a target. Remain in place, ensure the safety of your family and loved ones. Please share this message with your friends and neighbours. Our goal is to remove Saddam and his brutal regime from power with minimal inconvenience to the people of Iraq. "Do not engage in revenge..." Kurdish people of Iraq. The armies of Saddam are falling. All across Iraq, words indistinct of the coalition have been scattered and destroyed. Soon Saddam's brutal regime of terror and oppression will be at its end. Although these soldiers may have frustrated the Kurdish population in the past, this does not give you the right to mistreat them upon their defeat. Do not engage in revenge attacks or violence against defeated Iraqi units. Although you may hold a personal vendetta against these soldiers, they are your fellow countrymen acting under the orders of Saddam. Coalition forces will not tolerate retribution or acts of violence against Iraqi soldiers or Iraqi Arab civilians. Vigilante attackers will be apprehended and held accountable for their actions. No mistreatment of prisoners or war will be tolerated. POWs to be treated in accordance with Geneva Convention All prisoners of war are to be treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention rules. Prisoners are to be properly fed, given clean water and medical personnel should attend to their medical needs. Iraq was once a respected leader of the Arab world. Other nations see the Iraqis as intelligent educated people. Do not let these nations see you resort to word indistinct violence. Help rebuild Iraq to the stature it once held. Arabic programme 1550 gmt: Interlude of military music followed by a female Arabic-language announcer : This is the Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan. Dear citizens words indistinct in the Iraqi army, we give you the warmest welcome. Following is a selection of statements issued by the international alliance forces on how to deal with the current circumstances in our homeland Iraq... Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 599 words HEADLINE: Palestinian statement details Israeli "escalation of military aggression" SOURCE: Palestinian news agency Wafa web site, Gaza, in Arabic 31 Mar 03 BODY: Text of report by Palestinian news agency Wafa web site Ramallah, 31 March: An official spokesman for the Palestinian leadership announced the following tonight: The Israeli occupation forces continue to escalate their terrorism and large destructive war and aggression against our people - children, men, and women. They are also continuing their aggression on our land, particularly our Christian and Islamic holy places in Jerusalem, Hebron, and Bethlehem. They are razing and Judaizing the land and reoccupying Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqilyah, and Hebron, besieging them and imposing a blanket curfew on them. They are also invading the entire Gaza Strip from the north to the south by advancing into all areas, cities, villages, and camps under tank and machine-gun fire. This led to the martyrdom of three Palestinians in Bayt Hanun last night and another at the eastern line. Several citizens were also wounded. Gaza: Three martyrs, whose names are still unknown, joined the caravan of martyrs in southern Bayt Hanun at dawn today. The Israeli occupation forces deliberately opened fire on them on mere suspicion as they were returning home. Muhammad Faruq Tafish, 16, was also martyred when the occupation soldiers opened fire on him at the eastern line near the settlement of Netzarim while on his way back home late this afternoon. The occupation army also arrested three boys - Ibrahim Ibrahim al-Umari, Ali Walid Husayn, and Husam Husayn - while they were playing at Al-Hajj Fadl factory at the eastern line in the Gaza Strip. Ramallah, Tulkarm: Large occupation forces are continuing their daily incursions in the Ramallah area. They raid houses and arrest people. They are also escalating their provocation around the president's headquarters and government building. They direct their spotlights at his quarters and nearby buildings. They stop cars and pedestrians to check their identity cards and arrest some of them. They are also continuing their criminal acts in Tulkarm by raiding houses and randomly arresting people. They have also closed several medical and charitable establishments. In holy Jerusalem, the Israeli border police opened fire on citizen Husni Barakat, a mentally deranged person, while he was walking near the American Colony Hotel in east Jerusalem. His wounds were described as very serious. This is unparalleled state terrorism. This is racism practised by the occupation army against our land, people, institutions, and the Christian and Islamic holy places. The latest of these attacks was the destruction of the Al-Nur Mosque in Rafah. It is a continuous escalation of military aggression in all forms. This aggression, however, will not undermine our people's unique steadfastness. The Israeli aggression is aimed at imposing a new reality on the ground through the confiscation of agricultural land and the large Judaization operations in Hebron, Bethlehem, and holy Jerusalem, taking full advantage of what is happening in sisterly Iraq and the Middle East. Accordingly, our Palestinian people renew their call on the Quartet Committee comprising representatives from the USA, the EU, Russia and the UN , the United Nations and the Security Council to send international observers and immediately start implementing the road map without changes. The Palestinian people also call on them to stop the continuing Israeli aggression on our people and land and secure the Israeli occupation forces' immediate withdrawal from our land and areas as announced by the Quartet Committee and on all international levels. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 403 words HEADLINE: Kuwait issues warning to Al-Arabiyah TV over "biased" coverage SOURCE: Al-Hayat, London, in Arabic 1 Apr 03 pp1,6 BODY: Text of report by Hamad al-Jasir in Kuwait entitled: "Kuwait issues a warning to Al-Arabiyah TV and cancels its investment authority's participation in it because of the 'bias' and 'insults' in its coverage of the war"; published by London-based newspaper Al-Hayat on 1 April Al-Hayat has learned that the Kuwaiti Information Ministry has warned Al-Arabiyah satellite TV that it would face measures "similar to the ones taken against Al-Jazeera TV" if it continues with what the ministry considers "coverage biased against Kuwait." It is now confirmed that previous plans for the government-owned "General Investment Authority" to buy shares in Al-Arabiyah have been cancelled. National Assembly (parliament) deputies yesterday quoted Minister Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah as having said that he had informed Al-Arabiyah officials that the station's coverage of recent events were harmful to Kuwait and unjustifiably biased against it. He added that Kuwait "has no problem if the station takes an anti-war position or criticizes US policies towards Iraq but for the station to adopt the Iraqi regime's line and air insults against Kuwait is unjustifiable and unacceptable". According to the deputies, Shaykh Ahmad threatened the channel that it would not be allowed to have correspondents or carry out media activities in Kuwait. This was the measure taken against Al-Jazeera five months ago, when its offices were closed and its correspondents banned from operating in Kuwait. The issue of the Arab satellite TV stations' positions on Kuwait in the light of the current war was one of the issues that the deputies discussed with the government during the closed session that the National Assembly held yesterday to look into the government's request to allocate an additional budget of 500m dinars for emergencies. The deputies also quoted acting Finance Minister Shaykh Muhammad al-Sabah as having said that a feasibility study carried out by the General Investment Authority concluded against participating in Al-Arabiyah. However, a deputy told Al-Hayat that the decision to buy shares in this station was almost decided but its coverage of the war stopped it. According to ministers attending yesterday's session, the Kuwaiti government "is convinced that the satellites' positions stem from their governments' positions and are not unprompted or keeping in line with the Arab street". Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 392 words HEADLINE: Iran: Radio says George Bush trying to justify failure in Iraq SOURCE: Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, in Persian 0955 gmt 1 Apr 03 BODY: Text of commentary by Iranian radio on 1 April President George W. Bush of America delivered a speech yesterday. His remarks can be interpreted as an attempt to justify America's failure to realize the objectives of the war in Iraq. An analyst of the radio's research and commentary group, Mr Fathi, comments on Bush's remarks as follows: Fathi George Bush's speech, addressing members of the Coast-Guards, will help the process of militarisation and increased security in America's political and economic arenas. In the past, only the Federal Police and CIA used to talk about internal and external security issues. However, after coming to power, George Bush set up the Department of Homeland Security. It seems now that George Bush and leading members of the Democratic Party would like to transform America's Coast-Guard into a security organization, to receive budget allocation directly from the state. In other words, they intend to increase the level of existing fear and panic in American society. By doing so, they will also manage to allocate more budget to the security departments in America. At the same time, they can turn some economic and mining departments in America into security establishments. George Bush's speech also indicates that the restrictions will increase on the American citizens, the migrants from Islamic countries and Iraq in particular. Of course, after the 11 September incident, instances of violating the rights of the citizens in America have increased drastically. It seems that the process of violating the rights of citizens will increase even further in future. As far as the war in Iraq is concerned, it seems that the American president's remarks, the same as the remarks made by other American officials, were unrealistic. This is because now, 11 days since the start of the war, the American forces have not managed to capture any major Iraqi city. Nevertheless the president of America talks of victory in Iraq. However, the Iraqi army and its people are putting up a stiff resistance and this resistance has inflicted extra losses in men and material on the American forces. It is probable that, in view of the determination of the Iraqi people and the government to defend their own homeland, the American forces would suffer even more casualties and material losses. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 371 words HEADLINE: Saudi paper says US "threats" to Syria, Iran to divert attention, serve Israel SOURCE: Al-Jazirah web site, Riyadh, in Arabic 1 Apr 03 BODY: Text of editorial entitled: "In the service of Zionism"; published by Saudi newspaper Al-Jazirah web site on 1 April Big-gun Jews have received with satisfaction US Secretary of State Colin Powell's speech in which he denounced Syria and Iran, claiming that they support the Iraqi leadership and send weapons and men to fight the US and British forces. The US secretary of state responded to the "requirements" of the big Jewish American Israel Public Affairs Committee meeting that took place in Washington early this week. He was keen to tell the leaders of the big Jewish groups everything that was music to their ears. Thus he fired a barrage of threats at Syria and Iran, branding these two countries as terrorists. In the organic relationship between these Jewish groups and Washington, priority is always given to the wishes of these groups that wield great influence on the decision-making quarters in the United States. These groups believe that they play an important in the current war in Iraq basically focused on stoking up the fire of this war. It is also focused on expanding and waging this war against all those who pose a threat to the Israeli presence in the region or who seek to strip Israel of all the Arabs lands and properties it has stolen over a period of five decades. The Zionist role in this war is not confined to these meetings. It also includes actual intervention to sack anyone in the US decision-making body who opposes the war on Iraq. Prior to the outbreak of war, a Congress member was forced to resign his post because he criticized the Defence Secretary's rush for war against Iraq. The new accusations against Syria and Iran come at a time of military confusion in the battleground. A dispute has risen to the surface between Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon generals, who accuse him of being inexperienced in military affairs and of making wrong decisions concerning the supplies and the number of troops needed for this war. Thus these statements issued by Powell against Syria and Iran are aimed at diverting attention from the difficulties facing the US forces in Iraq and also at serving the Israeli and Zionist interests. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 1342 words HEADLINE: Kenyan writer says Bush fighting Iraq "on behalf of Western multinationals" SOURCE: East African Standard web site, Nairobi, in English 1 Apr 03 BODY: Text of commentary by Joseph Walunywa entitled "Will Bush destroy the rebuild Iraq" published by Kenyan newspaper East African Standard web site on 1 April Ever since it became clear that the USA was determined to go to war with Iraq despite opposition from the UN, commentators have speculated widely about the motivations behind the US' action. Some have argued that the US is driven primarily by the need to control Iraqi oil fields. Some have suggested that the US' most important objectives is to protect the state of Israel from a powerful and independent-minded Arab nation. And some have said that George Bush's obsession with Saddam Husayn reflects a psychological problem on Bush's part that could be deciphered through psychoanalysis. These arguments, and others like them, have contributed considerably to our understanding of the problematic relationship between George Bush's administration and the rest of the world. But they do not paint the complete picture. They are mediated through frameworks that are too narrowly delineated to fully account for American foreign policy as it is currently conceptualized. To be properly understood, Bush's (and Tony Blair's) determination to conquer Iraq (and possibly other "rogue states" like North Korea, Iran, Libya and Sudan shortly thereafter) should be examined within the context of understanding what we have come to know as "globalization". Bush's aim in Iraq is to destroy and then rebuild the country. This policy of systematic destruction and rebuilding of selected "developing" nations by "developed" nations like America is the bedrock of globalization. The policy is intended to ensure an endless and ever-growing market for Western goods and services. When people speak of globalization, what exactly do they mean? Without a good answer to this question, it is impossible to see through the rhetoric currently being churned out by Bush and Blair. Globalization is invariably represented by its proponents as the co-equal intermingling of the cultures of the world. This is misinformation intended to render a dangerous concept palatable to its primary consumers in the developing world. In view of the hierarchical relationship existing between the West and the rest of the world in terms of technology, educational institutions and media, the world's cultures can never intermingle co-equally. Inevitably, the presumed "global village" will consist of a hierarchical order of cultures. At the top will be the West. In the middle will be the so-called "Asian Tigers." And at the bottom will the "Third World" Africa, Latin America and much of the South Pacific. The top and middle rugs of this hierarchy of cultures will constitute the owners of the means of production factories, the multinational banks and big businesses- the elite of world civilization. The bottom rung of cultures will provide the masses of cheap labour required to run those institutions - and therefore the under-class. Globalization is an all-encompassing term for all the social, economic and political conflicts that have characterized the relationship between the West and the root of the world from the initial "encounter" of the two peoples to the present. Slavery was a form of globalization. So was colonialism. The aim of each one of these historical developments was to advance the market place available for Western goods and services. Globalization is the systematic replacement of non-Western values with Western values. The concept of the "global village" as a "democratic arena for all is no more than a euphemism intended to hoodwink non-Westerners to render them vulnerable to Western imperialism. At the moment, globalization is unfolding through three broad processes: the transformation of formerly socialist regimes into capitalist ones, the imposition of liberal democratic concepts on pseudo-capitalist regimes, and the exploitation of the world's "virgin territories". But what will happen when the entire world becomes exhausted in all these respects? If Western multinationals require a constantly expanding market in order for them to ensure their profitability, what will happen when the world's resources are exploited to maximum? The answer to this question explains Bush's obsession with Iraq. Once the whole world is capitalized, as is beginning to happen in the wake of the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the capitalist regimes of the West will be left with only one option. In order to ensure an ever-expanding market for their goods and services, they will have to consistently destroy and rebuild selected regions of the Third World. Through the process, they will guarantee business opportunities for Western experts. The key factor here is war. Through the process of warfare, such region will be returned to the dark ages. Their infrastructure (their bridges, skyscrapers and telecommunications equipment) will be levelled. Then Western experts, business people and ordinary workers will be brought in to install new structures. That way, the market for Western multinationals will never dry up. But first, reasons will have to be manufactured to justify the destruction of such countries. This will be done through war propaganda. Seemingly legitimate explanations will be found to demonize the leaders of such nations. The West will then invade such nations on the grounds that they are liberating their people from their dictators. In the wake of the end of the Cold War, we have been witnessing this process of demonization, destruction and reconstruction, first in Afghanistan and now in Iraq. The euphemism being used in the case of Afghanistan is the "War on terrorism" one being used in the case of Iraq is "opposition to weapons of mass destruction." The need to capture Usamah Bin-Ladin provided the excuse to destroy and to rebuild Afghanistan. The US dropped bombs on most of Afghanistan's communication and public works facilities. After the country was reduced to its knees, a compliant regime was put in place. Today, Afghanistan is teeming with Western "experts", multinationals and businessmen earning big bucks in the name of "rehabilitation" and "modernization." But Afghanistan is a small country. It alone cannot satiate the hunger for profit of Western multinationals. Hence the urgent need to identify similarly vulnerably regions of the world, to level them down and rebuild them along the same lines. That is what is going on in Iraq right now. Bush would like the world to believe that he has sent troops into Iraq in order to liberate Iraqis from Saddam. He claims that Saddam is harbouring weapons of mass destruction. " This is bullshit. It is just an excuse to give Bush the opportunity to level Iraq on behalf of the multinationals. Saddam may be dictatorial, may be imperialistic. But, as the world knows, he does not possess "weapons of mass destruction." After touring Iraq for months in search of such weapons, the UN team charged with verifying Bush's claim came up with nothing. Bush is invading Iraq for no other reason than to destroy it so as to rebuild it on behalf of Western multinationals. The occupation of Iraq by American and British forces will be followed by the imposition of a compliant regime. Floodgates will then be opened to Western "experts" and multinationals. Americans and Britons will set about rebuilding the country on contractual basis with the new Iraqi regime. Iraqi people will be compelled to pay for the rebuilding of the country through heavier taxation. The winners will be Western multinationals. In the meantime, America and Britain will be working on their next target "rogue state". What is disturbing is the fact that the overwhelming majority of casualties in these wars will be innocent civilians - women, children and the elderly. Proponents of globalization are literally feeding on the blood of the world's poor. The time is coming when the world will seek to stop the monster before the monster destroys the world. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 466 words HEADLINE: Indonesian political observer says US aggression confirms terrorists' claims SOURCE: Republika, Jakarta, in Indonesian 31 Mar 03 BODY: Text of report by Sigit Pramono entitled: "US has already lost politically", published by Indonesian newspaper Republika web site on 31 March Canberra: Islamic Politics expert from the Indonesian Technology Institute, Yudi Latif believes the US and allies have already politically lost the war in Iraq. Starting war with weak reasoning will tend to violate international law, the US and allies were not successful in winning the sympathy of Iraqi and international citizens, said the Paramadina University lecturer who is studying for a doctorate in Politics from the Australian National University in Canberra, on Monday 31 March . According to the Director of the Democracy and Islam Studies Centre, the courageousness of the Iraqi people and their loyalty to President Saddam Husayn was a rude awakening for US arrogance. In the beginning, he said, the US looked down on personal sacrifice and people's determined struggle as things that could not defeat modern weapons. But, in reality humans have values and prestige and if these are defiled then they will resist in any way they can, he said. Apart from that, said Yudi, the US military aggression towards Iraq confirmed what has been echoed by Usamah Bin-Ladin and other terrorist groups, that the US can no longer be resisted through multilateral discussions or international law, he said. The double standard and US arrogance provides justification for terrorist groups attitudes that the US must be faced in any way possible, he said. In a vein similar to Yudi, military and intelligence observer from ANU, Professor Des Ball believes that the US and allies have experienced a political loss in the war on Iraq. Rather than fighting terrorism, they (US and allies) have given new power to the Al-Qa'idah network, said Des Ball. He thinks that coalition forces will be able to physically destroy the Baghdad regime but politically the allies have lost the war. Professor Ball, from the Centre for Strategic and Defence Studies at ANU, said that the war in Iraq has lost safety and comfort for the US, Australia and other allies. The allies have already lost the war, said Professor Ball. According to Ball, allied troops obviously cannot find what they are looking for, namely weapons of mass destruction. Even so the one-off use of chemical weapons would be legal if Baghdad uses them in defence, he said. He said that he was certain that the allies will fail to connect Iraq with the terrorist network Al-Qa'idah. More importantly, freeing the Iraqi people from the Saddam regime may also be unachievable, he said. The allied troops' strategy of putting pressure on the Iraqi leadership has not achieved its target and conversely the Iraqi people's power has got stronger. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 298 words HEADLINE: Pope warns Iraq war must not lead to war of religion SOURCE: La Stampa, Turin, in Italian 30 Mar 03 BODY: Text of Marco Tosatti report by Italian newspaper La Stampa on 30 March entitled "Pope's fear: No to clash between Islam and Christianity" Vatican City: The war in Iraq must not become a war of religion: John Paul II has spoken out once again about the conflict currently under way, after a day of silence, and he did so in order to avert what appears to be one of his greatest fears for the future, namely that Operation "Iraqi Freedom" might trigger a clash between Islam and Christianity. "We must never allow war to divide the religions of the world," he said yesterday 29 March , as he received the bishops of Indonesia on a "home" Latin: ad limina visit. "I encourage you to seize this destabilizing moment as an opportunity for working together, as brothers working for peace, among your people, along with the followers of other religions, and with all men and women of good will, so as to assure understanding, cooperation, and solidarity." And he ended with a very strongly-worded appeal: "We will not allow a human tragedy to become a religious catastrophe, too." He went on to recall that Indonesia has been through awful episodes, such as the Bali attack, but he added: "We need to be careful not to give in to the temptation to define whole groups of people on the basis of the actions of an extremist minority. Real religion does not preach terrorism and violence, but seeks to foster unity and peace among the whole of the human family, in every way"... The Catholic world is mobilizing, and is calling on the government to "immediately" take "an active role to halt the war". This is the request contained in a petition signed by the largest associations, which belong to the group called the Morning Sentinels Italian: Sentinelle del Mattino . Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 619 words HEADLINE: Saudi paper says Saddam gleaned his tactics from Vietnam war SOURCE: Arab News web site, Jedda, in English 1 Apr 03 BODY: Text of editorial, entitled "All's fair in war" published in English by Saudi newspaper Arab News web site on 1 April The Americans and British are apparently aggrieved that Iraqis are not fighting according to traditional rules of engagement. They are furious that groups like the Saddam Fedayeen have been firing from hospitals and schools, using civilians as shields and have adopted the tactic of pretending to surrender and waving white flags and then firing on their foes as they advance. But these are traditional tactics - they are the traditional tactics of a guerrilla war. What can the Iraqis do other than fight a guerrilla campaign? If they send out their tanks against the Americans and British, they will be obliterated - as happened last week when Iraqi tanks tried to break out of Basra and head for the Al-Faw Peninsula. In a war like this - a war which for ordinary Iraqis is one of national survival - all methods are fair. If guerrilla tactics are the only serious option available to them, it is folly to imagine that they are not going to use them. If American and British strategists genuinely imagined that they would play the war according to Westpoint and Sandhurst rules, it is another miscalculation to add to the list. There is, however, more to the unfolding guerrilla campaign than military tactics. There is a political strategy as well. Saddam Husayn and his generals have evidently been reading their military history books. The use of civilians as shields, the pretence at surrender, are ploys that the Vietnamese used to great effect in their war with the US. The Iraqi military wants the Americans to lose their nerve and start firing on Iraqi civilians, thinking they are soldiers in disguise, and on Iraqi troops who are genuinely surrendering. Caught on camera, the consequences would be devastating. It would strengthen the struggle against the invaders and blur the line between civilian and military resistance: Iraqi solders would think twice about surrendering and be more likely to continue fighting while civilian resolve to resist the invaders would likewise be stiffened; and back in the US and the UK, images of civilians and surrendering troops being shot would massively increase public demands for an end to the war. The Iraqis know that they have one great military advantage which they will exploit to the extreme: their opponents' need to avoid civilian casualties. It spells a protracted urban guerrilla conflict, something quite new in the annals of warfare. But just because Saddam Husayn has opted to use tactics gleaned from the Vietnam war does not mean that this is going to be another Vietnam. The rush to predict as much in the past few days, with the US bogged down for years in an unwinnable war is a folly too far - and the international media is just as much to blame as anyone else. It is sheer emotion and sensationalism, and neither provide a worthwhile basis for conjecture. It is far too early to say where this war is going. It is not even two weeks old yet. In any event, the Americans too have learned lessons from Vietnam and they are not going to fall into Saddam Husayn traps quite so easily. There is no point conjecturing where this war is or is not going, no point making sensational assessments as to its outcome. We do not need to say anything more than the present visible truth - that this is a rotten war that the people of Iraq do not want. They have made it abundantly clear do not want to be liberated by the Americans and British. Not that that is going to make any difference in Washington or London. The wishes of the Iraqi appear to be the last thing on Bush's and Blair's agenda. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 963 words HEADLINE: Iraq - a crusade for oil or religion? - Kyrgyz views SOURCE: Vecherniy Bishkek web site, Bishkek, in Russian 26 Mar 03 BODY: An MP, a religious leader and a religious official all play down the idea that the war in Iraq will take on a religious colouring, while admitting that the possibility does exist. They do not expect any interconfessional strife in Kyrgyzstan, where Christianity and Islam have coexisted in peace for centuries. These views are gathered together in an article by Daniyar Karimov on the Kyrgyz newspaper Moya Stolitsa Novosti web site. The following is the text of the article, posted on 26 March under the title "A crusade for oil, or an incubator for Bin-Ladins". Subheads have been added editorially. Will the war in Iraq cause a clash between two world confessions? Will calls to support Arab followers of Islam be heard in Kyrgyzstan? Will the conflict in the Persian Gulf give rise to a surge of religious extremism? Islam and terrorism The military crisis in the Middle East poses a mass of questions of that type. But virtually no one can give a precise answer to them at the moment. "Of course, the war in Iraq may well be given a religious colouring," says Alisher Sabirov, an MP in the Legislative Assembly the lower house of the Kyrgyz parliament . "But, on the other hand, the Bush administration has been clearly differentiating the concepts of 'terrorism' and 'Islam' since September 2001. So far, I have not heard any politicians seeking to turn the conflict in the Persian Gulf into a clash between world religions." Just before the start of the war in Iraq, Saddam Husayn was, according to some reports, threatening the Americans with a jihad holy war . Foreign publications reported that special subunits of shahids suicidal fanatics were being trained in Iraq. However, to judge from Sabirov's words, that information need not be taken seriously at the moment. "Combat operations have been going on for about a week already," the MP says, "but nothing has been heard of any clash between the Americans and shahids." It is known, though, that Husayn did declare a jihad. Nevertheless, it is possible that religious fanatics will appear on the Iraqi-American front, the MP thinks. They may include "shari'ah warriors" from Kyrgyzstan. "Admittedly, that's not very likely," Sabirov maintains. "But it can't be ruled out either. Just like the calls from one of the local 'zealots of the faith' to support our Muslim brothers with weapons in our hands." "We have a secular democratic state," the MP emphasizes. "Everyone is the master of his own destiny. If someone is convinced that the Americans are infringing the rights of Muslims in Iraq, he can say so out loud." Islam and peace But Haji Murataly, the head of the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of Kyrgyzstan SDMK is certain that the Kyrgyz faithful will not engage in hostilities on the side of Saddam. "Islam is a religion of peace," says the mufti head of the religious confession. "Many innocent people die as a result of military action. We oppose the use of arms to resolve conflicts of any kind. I declare that on behalf of all the Muslims of Kyrgyzstan." The head of the SDMK also takes a sceptical view of the idea that the hostilities in the Persian Gulf may take on a religious colouring. "In my opinion, economic rather than spiritual interests are behind the war," the mufti declared. "Whether the Iraq conflict assumes the character of an interconfessional war depends on us, who dwell in the world. If people of different confessions are tolerant and considerate of one another, religious wars will forever remain a thing of the past." "Christianity and Islam have coexisted in peace for many centuries," says Sharsheke Usenov, chief specialist at the State Commission for Religious Affairs under the government. "It is doubtful that the war in Iraq will develop into a clash of religions." Media responsibility; harmony in Kyrgyzstan But, according to Usenov, it is quite possible to depict the conflict in the Persian Gulf in the hues of a religious war. The chief state commission's specialist thinks that it is up to the media. "As is known, the media possess great power," he says. "If the newspapers and television exaggerate the idea of the religious nature of the military operation against Husayn, then, sooner or later, the clash between the Americans and the Iraqis really will take on that alignment." Usenov himself, however, has more faith in modern people's common sense. "In our country, for example, in Kyrgyzstan," the specialist insists, "there are no clashes between the representatives of Christianity and Islam. Orthodox and Muslims easily find a common language. So I should like to rule out straightaway any appearance in Kyrgyzstan of calls for a war with the Christians and, accordingly, of extremist groups." Usenov thinks that mankind can see that firm friendship between Christians and Muslims is possible by looking at our country. "Kyrgyzstan is a vivid and worthy example of the existence of warmth and mutual understanding between different religious confessions," he says. Bin-Ladin sidelined Incidentally, because of the war in Iraq, mankind has forgotten about the person who is virtually the "hero" of the religious extremist resistance against the United States Usamah Bin-Ladin. The No 1 terrorist, who has declared a jihad against America, is, so far, not very keen to take revenge on Bush for the bombardment of Baghdad. Fortunately, oil has yet to gain a creed. But even so one should not forget the feelings of a large section of the Islamic world there is a great host of Islamic fundamentalists. Iraq is no exception. Will it become an incubator for Bin-Ladins, Husayns and others like them? The article is accompanied by a photograph showing an antiwar demonstration Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 332 words HEADLINE: Federation of Arab Journalists condemns "unwarranted" Iraq war SOURCE: Khalij Times web site, Dubai, in English 31 Mar 03 BODY: Text of report in English by Dubai newspaper Khalij Times web site on 31 March Dubai: The Federation of Arab Journalists (FAJ) issued an open letter yesterday addressed to the United Nations and other international organizations, condemning what they described as "an unprecedented and unwarranted aggressive war" on Iraq by the United States, United Kingdom and their allies, and urging them to intervene and work for a cease-fire for the sake of hundreds of innocent Iraqi civilians who are either dying, suffering injuries or being rendered homeless. The federation said that the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights Commission should mediate to achieve a cease-fire and an immediate withdrawal of coalition troops from Iraq. These international bodies, the statement said, should also come forward and condemn the aggression launched by the American and allied troops. It also stressed the need for providing immediate relief to alleviate the plight of the suffering Iraqis. The statement drew attention to the bombing of civilian targets, such as schools, open markets and buildings, that had killed or injured hundreds of Iraqis and rendered countless others homeless. "The FAJ condemns this war and considers it a blatant aggression on Iraq and its sovereignty as well as a violation of the international humanitarian law. This war is out of the boundaries of international law and is not legally or morally warranted," the statement, signed by Salah-al-Din Hafiz, the secretary-general of FAJ, said. "No matter how controversial some people think the Iraqi leadership is, the attempt to assassinate Iraqi leaders is a war crime whose perpetrators should be legally prosecuted," the statement said, reiterating that "a democratic regime cannot be installed through a military operation or by imposing it from abroad since it would tantamount to a violation of the Iraqi peoples' right to self-determination and choice of their own ruling system". Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 669 words HEADLINE: US "chief instigator of deceit" to aid "aggressive ambitions" - N Korean paper SOURCE: Minju Choson, Pyongyang, in Korean 20 Mar 03 p 4 BODY: Text of report article by Staff Reporter Han Myong-hwan entitled: "Deception and plotting are bound to be revealed", published by North Korean newspaper Minju Choson on 20 March In the international community, voices of opposition and condemnation are growing ever louder now against the US designs for military strikes on Iraq. Even within the United States, the mood of opposition to military operations against Iraq is growing stronger. However, the United States, ignoring the unanimous demand of the international community to resolve the Iraq matter politically and diplomatically, is using all manners of convoluted measures to justify its planned war against Iraq. One of these is to label Iraq a very dangerous terrorist country that is connected with "Al-Qa'idah". As powerful proof of this claim they loudly make, the United States offers the recording of a speech in the voice of Usamah Bin-Ladin, the leader of "Al-Qa'idah". Some time ago, a foreign television broadcast sent out a voice recording of a speech by Bin-Ladin appealing to the followers of Islam to rise up and resist the US attack on Iraq. This recorded speech in Bin-Ladin's voice was not particularly different from the voice of the international community which opposes the US military attack on Iraq. Moreover, there was absolutely nothing in his speech relating to a link between Iraq and "Al-Qa'idah". A US State Department spokesman, however, insisted that this speech gave proof that Bin-Ladin and "Al-Qa'idah" are aiding Iraq. At the same time, the directors of the CIA and the FBI came out at a Senate hearing in the US Congress crowing about connections between Iraq and "Al-Qa'idah", and they charged that Iraq may have passed chemical and biological weapons or radioactive materials to terrorist elements. Iraq dismissed this, calling it "yet another trick by Bush to artificially associate Iraq with 'Al-Qa'idah'" and an attempt to set up "a new pretext to justify starting a war". The problem is that many of the world's observers express sympathy with Iraq's position, while presenting great suspicions about US claims. This is by no means a coincidence. There are several reasons for that. The first one is the fact that US Secretary of State Powell knew beforehand that Bin-Ladin's recorded speech was being made public in a broadcast. Recordings of speeches in Bin-Ladin's voice were made public several times in the past. However, this was said to be the first time that US senior officials already knew about it directly, as happened this time. In connection with this, one French news outfit immediately quoted Powell's statements and reported that a tape of Bin-Ladin's voice recorded in a speech had come into the hands of the US State Department; meanwhile, they checked on the veracity of this. But the television broadcasting station that made Bin-Ladin's recorded speech public said there was no such tape at that time. The voice recording of Bin-Ladin's speech was afterwards announced through a broadcast. Next is the fact that the voice recording of Bin-Ladin's speech was announced at the most opportune time indeed for the United States. Within a short time after the Bin-Ladin speech was made public, a discussion on the Iraq problem was under way in the UN Security Council. The US presentation of new evidence at this time that Iraq had connections to Bin-Ladin's "Al-Qa'idah" was very advantageous in swaying the UN Security Council member nations who were vacillating between the two positions of "inspections" and "war". The unanimous opinion from this is that the United States purposely announced Bin-Ladin's recorded speech. The trickery of the United States for carrying out its impure motives will not work well in today's world. All the facts show us once again that it is the United States that is the chief instigator of deceit and trickery, not hesitating from any means or method in order to achieve its aggressive ambitions. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 492 words HEADLINE: Rights groups slam Swiss plans to list Iraq war casualties on Internet SOURCE: Swissinfo web site, Bern, in English 2057 gmt 31 Mar 03 BODY: Excerpt from report in English by Swiss Radio International's Swissinfo web site on 31 March Plans by the Swiss foreign minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey, to publish on the Internet a list of civilian victims of the war in Iraq have provoked a furore in Switzerland. Human rights groups say the list could be used for propaganda, while opponents accuse Calmy-Rey of using the war as a political platform in an election year. The Foreign Ministry was not willing to comment on the list ahead of its planned publication, expected in the next few days. But Calmy-Rey told the weekend press that its purpose was to "give an overview" of the number of civilian casualties and to drive home the reality of conflict. The list is not expected to include military casualties from either side of the conflict. "There are already now many civilian victims," Calmy-Rey told the SonntagsBlick newspaper. "Only when we see a full list will it become clear to us how awful the war is." Accuracy The government is reportedly gathering names and statistics from various unspecified sources, although the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told Swissinfo it had not yet been contacted concerning its statistics. The ICRC is the only humanitarian organization operating inside Iraq and the organisation's expatriate and Iraqi staff have visited numerous hospitals in the main cities of Baghdad and Basrah since the start of the war. According to chief spokeswoman, Antonella Notari, it would be very difficult to establish an accurate picture of the number of the victims in Iraq. "We certainly don't have an overview of the situation of casualties in all of Iraq," she told Swissinfo. "We are only a partial source of information on such numbers and it depends very much on which hospitals our people have been visiting and the numbers we get from hospital staff." Witnesses "If we're not first-hand witnesses and if we don't have access to first-hand information, we would never get drawn into making conclusions from numbers," she added. Amnesty International told Swiss radio that the number of civilian casualties could not be determined precisely and warned that such information could be "easily used for propaganda purposes". Within Switzerland, the plan has drawn criticism from across the political establishment. The president of the House of Representatives' foreign policy commission, Lilly Nabholz, told Swiss radio that the idea was ill-advised and should be abandoned. Her party, the centre-right Radicals, criticized Calmy-Rey - a Social Democrat - for using the list as a means of garnering popular support ahead of general elections in Switzerland later this year. "It appears strange to us that all those victims in Iraq are being used, or indeed abused, for a political campaign... in fact it's nothing else," spokesman Christian Weber told Swissinfo... Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 327 words HEADLINE: China's FM Li Zhaoxing tells UK counterpart Iraq issue "inseparable" from UN SOURCE: Xinhua news agency, Beijing, in English 1557 gmt 31 Mar 03 BODY: Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) Beijing, 31 March: A proper settlement of the Iraq issue is eventually inseparable from the United Nations, and China will join the international community in safeguarding the UN's role in international affairs and the authority of the UN Security Council. Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing made the remarks in a phone conversation with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw Monday evening 31 March . Li expressed great concern over the situation in Iraq, saying that the war has resulted in many innocent Iraqi civilian casualties, sparked off a grave humanitarian catastrophe and added uncertain factors to the stability of the Gulf region and the economic development of various countries. The UN Resolution 1472, unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council on 28 March, was of positive significance in terms of adjusting the oil-for-food programme for the emergent humanitarian needs in Iraq. Resorting to the use of military force to resolve the Iraq issue does not comply with the interests of all parties concerned, said Li. China had time and again appealed to halt the military action as soon as possible and to make all possible efforts to reopen the door for political settlement. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw briefed the Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing on the latest summit talks between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W. Bush at the Camp David and Britain's ideas concerning the post-war arrangements. Straw said the British side hoped that the United Nations would play a key role in post-war arrangements. Moreover, both sides had an exchange of views on the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the situation between India and Pakistan. The two sides also expressed their desire to maintain contact and consultations on international issues. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 856 words HEADLINE: Kyrgyz paper condemns Iraqi war of US "Fourth Reich" SOURCE: Rif-Obozreniye, Bishkek, in Russian 28 Mar 03 p3 BODY: The US-sponsored embargo against Iraq and the current US-led war in that country, both of which have caused many Iraqi deaths, can only be compared to the excesses of Nazi Germany, according to an article by Semetey Amanbekov in the Kyrgyz newspaper Rif-Obozreniye. He claims that the USA has seized the historic opportunity presented by the collapse of the USSR to impose its will on the whole world, settling scores first of all with noncompliant members of the former socialist camp. He sees George Bush as a puppet in the hands of the military, which wants to test its newest weapons, and the oil magnates, who want to control Iraq's oil. The following is the text of the article, published on 28 March under the title "Iraq is offering worthy resistance". Subheads have been added editorially. The war in Iraq is still, unfortunately, the main subject of the world's news. The whole world is tensely following the deadly struggle between the aggressors and the people defending their own land. In the meantime, the antiwar rallies are growing in intensity. The whole world has been swept by a wave of anti-American feeling. No one wants a repetition of past horrors. We say a firm "no" to the Fourth Reich that is being created, known as the USA. Blitzkrieg fails The war in Iraq looks like dragging on for a long time. The anti-Iraq coalition's blitzkrieg didn't come off. The Iraqi regular army and volunteers are putting up a desperate resistance against the occupation forces. Every day, the news agencies report the deaths of Anglo-American soldiers. There are also heavy losses in military hardware. In violation of all the standards of international humanitarian law, the Americans are using cluster bombs and missiles weapons that are banned by the Hague Conventions. Furthermore, the Geneva Conventions categorically forbid the bombing of civilian targets and sites of cultural value. But it seems that the Americans regard the norms of international law as being purely declarative in nature. Iraq is putting up a very worthy resistance. A week has passed since the start of hostilities, and the forces of the anti-Iraq coalition have yet to take a single town. The Iraqis are fighting stubbornly for every street, for every metre of their homeland, forcing the Americans to pay in blood for their aggression. The Yankees have claimed dozens of times to have taken the towns of Basra and Umm Qasr, but the Iraqis have disproved that by their deeds, with weapons in their hands. First embargo, now war However much American propaganda says that the Iraqi people are oppressed by Saddam Husayn, all that is more like a myth. Saddam is sincerely loved in Iraq. The people in Iraq are poor not because of Husayn's so-called "dictatorial" regime, but because of the embargo imposed by the Americans back in the early 1990s. Every year, 80,000 Iraqi children die in Iraq's hospitals. Eighty thousand! And all this because the USA has categorically forbidden the whole world to export medicines to Iraq, fearing God forbid! that Saddam might use them to save his soldiers in the forthcoming war. This monstrous crime against the Iraqi people can only be compared with the deeds of Nazi Germany. The most terrible thing is that, sensing their impunity, the US administration is continuing its crimes against humanity by launching missile and bombing strikes against Iraq, regardless of the whole world community. To date, the allied troops have launched over 2,000 missiles and bombs against Baghdad alone. For the sake of comparison, the figure was only half of that when Berlin was bombarded in 1945. It looks as though there is no way back. After killing hundreds of thousands of people, the Americans will occupy Iraq regardless. They will heed neither the appeals from the UN nor the antiwar rallies involving many thousands of people. It was not George Bush Jr who unleashed the war. It was started by the USA's militaristic circles and oil magnates. The former did that in order to test their latest weapons, and the latter to gain control of Iraqi oil. The stopping of the war would lead to both being arraigned for their crimes before the International Court. The Americans will try to end the international condemnation of the war by intimidating some and bribing others. USSR has gone, USA supreme Only now, it seems, has the world recognized the purpose of the once powerful empire called the USSR. Both the USA and the USSR restrained one another, preventing the scales from tipping to one side. After one empire collapsed, the other seized hold of the reins of world power. And it now possesses the world, clearing the countries it doesn't like away from its path by force. The USA is primarily destroying the former socialist camp. Those countries that have altered their views radically and have started to dance to the American tune (Eastern Europe, the Baltic republics) have remained intact. Yugoslavia, for example, has, by the "grace" of the Americans, ceased to exist. Now Iraq is being destroyed. North Korea, Cuba and Belarus await their turn. Who will be next? Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 784 words HEADLINE: Jordanian columnist calls for "civilian jihad" against US action in Iraq SOURCE: Al-Dustur, Amman, in Arabic 31 Mar 03 p 20 BODY: Text of report from "Scopes" column by Batir Muhammad Ali Wardum entitled: "Civilain jihad against the United States"; published by Jordanian newspaper Al-Dustur on 31 March Except for those who profit from the United States or are mentally ill, we all harbour a great deal of hatred towards the US policies. There is no room for hypocrisy in that and we are not interested in caring about diplomatic and trade relations at a time when the US army is perpetrating savage massacres in Iraq. Yes, we do harbour deep hatred and contemplate all available means through which we could respond to this US aggression. There is a problem with the closed Arab societies that are repressed by governments. The problem of these societies is that they have only two options. The first option is the haphazard military response that is sometimes more harmful than beneficial and steers the feelings of hatred in their incorrect direction. The second option is passiveness and submissiveness and turning the war and aggression into a pattern of consumerism similar to the way offers are advertised through the media. Al-Azhar announced that the jihad against the US forces in Iraq has become a religious duty, and we are grateful for that, and there is no disagreement on that at this stage. We the left wing and liberals used to believe in the past that the jihad against the United States might be harmful to Arab and Islamic causes and that it was not a priority because the priority was against Israel. But the occupation of Iraq by the US army now is a legitimate and moral and human justification for waging all kinds of jihad. The jihad is not waged merely with military operations because not all Muslims have the capability to fight or use weapons and some perhaps prefer using other methods of jihad. New mechanisms must therefore be developed in the Arab world that would be based on civilian jihad. That is the activities and efforts that any individual or family could do without having to resort to the use of arms. The amusing thing is that the concept of civilian "jihad" is applied in the West and its societies that are more open than the Arab and Islamic societies due to the absence of the idea of a civil society in them. Let us take the Jordanian society as an example. It is regarded as one of the Arab societies that have developed towards being a civil society through the presence of hundreds of non-governmental organizations and societies. But all these organizations have remained silent during this war and have not carried out any activity or effort against the war or even expressed rejection. This is despite the fact that the non-governmental organizations are the most active elements in the demonstrations that are organized in western societies. But it seems that our non-governmental organizations are more interested in foreign projects and financing regarding democracy and human rights than in preserving democracy and its actual practice. Civilian jihad includes many options, including the boycott of US products. But the Arab governments reject even this kind of peaceful civilian "jihad" under the pretext that it harms "national" economic interests. The civilian jihad also includes strikes and civil disobedience in the case of protesting domestic policies. But the search for civilian jihad activities against the occupation is the real challenge that is currently facing the Arab societies against US occupation of Iraq. Such activities require a large number of individuals who would volunteer for this cause and who would be willing to at least sacrifice their time and money if not with their lives. Such activities also require many institutions that interact with the street and with the outside world and the international institutions that have similar concerns. Also, these efforts must be permanent and continuous and do not represent a temporary stint, but involve the mobilization of potentials and available resources. All of these practices and behaviours need to be developed in the Arab World to begin with. The jihad against the United States and its invasion of Iraq and occupation of its territory and the pillaging of its resources and killing of its population is a required and completely legitimate jihad. This jihad is not merely a military jihad, but includes many peaceful and civilian activities. Such activities could sometimes be influential and effective if there were those who could plan and implement them in practice and contribute to turning the feelings of hatred into an affective practical action against the US invasion at the political, civilian, economic, cultural, and social levels. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 986 words HEADLINE: Syrian paper denounces US, British "invaders" of Iraq SOURCE: Tishrin web site, Damascus, in Arabic 31 Mar 03 BODY: Text of editorial by Dr Khalaf al-Jarad, entitled "Glory be to a people who challenge the invaders", published by Syrian newspaper Tishrin web site on 31 March In the months and weeks that preceded the beginning of the barbaric US-British war, hundreds of articles, studies and analyses were published in world media and news agencies in a well-planned manner, in addition to scores of meetings and press conferences held by leaders and official spokespersons of the two invading states. They all sought to prepare public opinion in these countries, to destroy the morale of the Iraqis, Arabs, Islamic peoples and peace-loving people all over the world and create false impressions among the American and British peoples that occupation of Iraq will liberate the Iraqi people, develop their society, and achieve prosperity, democracy and progress for them, in addition to other exposed allegations. Let alone their cheap attempts to scare the American people and make them believe that Iraq, which is thousands of miles away from them, poses a real danger and sure threat to the American people' security, safety and life. As part of this deception campaign and through fabricated reports and information, the issue of the alleged weapons of mass destruction was exaggerated. It was said that the main aim behind the invasion was to destroy these dangerous weapons. Specialized inspection teams and their technological means and fine professional knowledge, supported by advanced US and Western intelligence reports, failed to find such weapons. They also failed to present evidence that Iraq evaded positive cooperation on these weapons. In such a situation, it was only logical to give these inspectors the necessary time to accomplish their mission. However, such a move ran counter to the US administration's intention and the intentions of those who followed this administration in its mad plan. This state of affairs prompted the US administration to publicly and officially violate international legitimacy and it declared this at the three-way Azores summit. In other words, it could not wait and go along with public opinion, international legitimacy and its provisions. Thus it rushed to war the plans, means and instructions of which were already in place, while there was no need anymore for it to keep the mask, which it used to deceive the Americans, British and the world throughout the period of preparation for war. In his great speech at the Sharm al-Shaykh summit less than three weeks before the US-British aggression, President Bashar al-Asad referred to these deception masks, which their owners took off when they announced that the issue had nothing to do with the inspectors' return, implementation of the UN resolutions or weapons of mass destruction. One of their aims is to control the region and the world, as oil is one of the most important means to control the world. The other aim is to redraw the map of the region in a way that suits them and the Zionist entity of course. Three days before the prearranged war of aggression against Iraq began, US and British leaders publicly stated that the issue will not be resolved if the Iraqi leadership steps down. They said that Iraq must be invaded, its political map must be changed, and Iraq must be divided as part of moves to consolidate the unipolar world order to serve the US and Zionist interests in this sensitive part of the world. The invaders' missiles, planes, armoured vehicles and machine of aggression have been in action for 12 days now, leaving behind destruction, hundreds of martyrs and thousands of wounded Iraqi civilians, mostly children, women and old people. All types of weapons of destruction, be they the stupid ones or the ones that are falsely called "smart", were tested, but the outcome disappointed the aggressors' hopes and rosy expectations. This outcome also contradicted their claims, deceptions and lies, which turned into a real farce and object of ridicule among analysts and in various world news agencies and media. Thus, the invaders blamed their deadly "smart" weapons and unknown factors for their failure and absence of the "shock and awe" under the following headlines: Patriot missiles shoot down Apache helicopters by mistake. Friendly tanks attack each other. Fighter planes crash due to error and others downed by friendly fire. Soldiers killed by their colleagues. Others killed by cluster bombs dropped by their planes. This in addition to other US and British lies in the war of aggression against fraternal Iraq because they were afraid of admitting the bitter facts. As for the bombing of marketplaces, residential neighbourhoods, hospitals and infrastructure installations that claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent victims, it turned into a daily tragedy, which intensifies as the valiant Iraqi resistance in cities, residential areas, and combat lines becomes fiercer. However, the big historic and strategic mistake, which the invaders do not dare to mention in public is the fact that they departed from international legitimacy, thought that Iraq and its wealth and people would be an easy prey and drove their peoples with the rest of the world into a dark tunnel from which no one knows how to get out. The Iraqis are fighting ferociously in defence of their land, independence and dignity. Their plight brought them closer to each other and increased the sense of solidarity among them, while the aggressors' massacres prompt them to be bold and rush to martyrdom. As for the invaders, they dive deeper in confusion and desperation. Weeks and perhaps months will pass while the aggressors have no hope in getting out of the Iraqi quicksand, except with a resounding defeat or with their leaders, the extreme right wingers, and lovers of Israel, Zionism, oil, and destruction, returning to their senses. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 723 words HEADLINE: Russian Muslim leader claims thousands ready for pro-Iraq jihad SOURCE: Izvestiya, Moscow, in Russian 29 Mar 03 BODY: Text of interview with Talgat Tadzhuddin, supreme mufti of Russia, by Anton Klyuyev in the Russian newspaper Izvestiya on 29 March The CIS Supreme Islamic Council, initiated by the Central Spiritual Board of Russian Muslims, has completed its work in Moscow. The meeting of more than 20 Muslim leaders from Russia, Latvia and Moldova resulted in the adoption of appeals to the world's Muslims, to the United Nations and to heads of state in connection with the situation in Iraq. Following the council session Talgat Tadzhuddin, supreme mufti of Russia and chairman of the Central Spiritual Board of Russian Muslims, answered questions from Izvestiya special correspondent Anton Klyuyev. Klyuyev Respected Mufti, what was the essence of the appeals that were adopted? Tadzhuddin We adopted an appeal to the UN secretary-general and to the heads of all the world's states voicing the position of the Central Spiritual Board of Russian Muslims that the world should live in peace, that the United Nations should not be in New York and that its place is in the capitals of the ancient world - the Old World rather than the New World. Moreover, people are currently protesting and holding demonstrations around the globe but that is completely pointless. Consequently, we adopted an appeal to Muslims not to take part in action aimed at generating confrontation with law and order. Protest can be purely symbolic - three people are enough for a demonstration. Klyuyev Certain experts are cautiously stating that America has essentially declared World War III, that it will not stop at bringing Iraq under control but will make war on others. What do you think, what threatens the world in the immediate future? Tadzhuddin The day of judgment - the end of the world - is not at hand, God willing. We are not yet so unreasonable as to allow war to grip the entire world. Provided there is even one person in the world who believes in God and hopes the world will not end. Klyuyev Are there currently any real levers for ending the war in Iraq? Tadzhuddin Of course! Prayer. The first weapon is patience. The Koran states: "The Almighty is with the patient." Klyuyev It is probably easier for us here - far away from the bombing - to be patient than it is for the residents of Iraq. Tadzhuddin If we do not want to be patient, there is another route - to quietly, silently, and very swiftly turn up in Baghdad and take up arms, and if there are no arms, to strangle the aggressors with our bare hands. Klyuyev But you nonetheless prefer the path of patience and peace? Tadzhuddin Yes! But all our mosques are already collecting signatures and statements from volunteers ready to go to fight in a holy war - a jihad - to free Iraq and the whole world. For such people the way is open - nobody is against it. There are thousands of these willing people and many of them are already there. Klyuyev Who are these people and how many of them are there, as far as you are aware? Tadzhuddin It's not just Muslims who are fighting there but Slavs as well. Who they are and how many there are of them is a secret. That is known to them, to me and to God. If we start talking openly about this now, it means we will be forcing somebody into it. Klyuyev You are no doubt aware that the mufti of Moscow and Moscow Region has declared a jihad against the anti-Iraq coalition? Tadzhuddin It was bad that he consulted neither with us nor with the Siberia Regional Spiritual Board to which he canonically belongs. Klyuyev Does he in general have the right to declare a holy war? Tadzhuddin For the Muslims of Moscow and Moscow Region - yes. Every Muslim is entitled to decide whether to be a jihad warrior or not. All the volunteers who are currently in Iraq and those who are wanting to go have decided that for themselves. And nobody but God can decide whether that is a mistake or not. Everyone is answerable for their actions to God. Klyuyev Are you planning to provide humanitarian aid to Iraq? Tadzhuddin We have appealed to all the faithful in our country, to all the Orthodox and to all who want to see peace in Iraq and the world to take the most active participation in collecting charitable funds and humanitarian aid for the Iraqi people. Supplied by BBC Worldwide
Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 271 words HEADLINE: Palestinian: Minister Yasir Abd-Rabbuh on US "black dream" in Iraq SOURCE: Palestinian Satellite Channel TV, Gaza, in Arabic 1900 gmt 31 Mar 03 BODY: Text of report by Palestinian TV on 31 March Within the framework of the campaign to express solidarity with, and support for the fraternal Iraqi people, the Ministry of Culture and Information, in cooperation with the cultural establishments in Ramallah, sponsored a march today. Culture and Information Minister Yasir Abd-Rabbuh and a group of intellectuals and writers took part in the march. A tent was pitched at Al-Manarah yard and speeches condemning the US-British aggression against Iraq were delivered. The speeches reiterated the Palestinian people's solidarity with the fraternal Iraqi people. Abd-Rabbuh - recording This is one of the most deceptive slogans, which is raised at present to provide a cover for this aggressive and criminal war on the Iraqi people. Through the destruction of Iraq and killing of tens of thousands of its people, they allege that they want to bring freedom to Iraq. In fact, the path followed by the Americans is the path of enslaving Iraq and dominating its people's resources - their oil - and then controlling all regional countries. This is the black dream, which the US administration is having along with all its supporters in the US extreme right and its allies represented by the extreme rightist forces in the world, headed by those in Israel. The Iraqi resistance to the aggression and invasion is a defence of the Iraqi people's right to have real democracy and to choose by themselves the way of their life and future that should not be imposed on them through tanks and Tomahawk missiles, and the destruction we see on this earth every moment. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 90 words HEADLINE: Somalia: Some 2,500 register to fight in Iraq SOURCE: Ayaamaha web site, Mogadishu, in Somali 1 Apr 03 BODY: Text of report by Somali newspaper Ayaamaha web site on 1 April Registration is going on in some mosques and other places in Mogadishu in connection with the ongoing war in Iraq. About 2,500 teenagers have so far registered. The teenagers say they are ready to fight alongside the Iraqi military and are ready to scarifice their lives for the Iraqi people whom they say have been unfairly invaded. Meanwhile, some teenagers living abroad are also said to have reached Syria where they have registered to go to Iraq. Supplied by BBC Worldwide
Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 378 words HEADLINE: Kenya: Editorial says Western media dishing out "lies" SOURCE: Daily Nation web site, Nairobi, in English 1 Apr 03 BODY: Text of editorial entitled "Western media dishonest" by Kenyan newspaper Daily Nation web site on 1 April How many Iraqis have the Allied forces killed or captured since they invaded nearly two weeks ago? How many cities taken? How many prisoners-of-war? Media consumers are apt to think that they know. For it is with great assurance that US and British TV and radio stations report news of "major breakthroughs". Yet confirmation never arrives. These "victory" reports seem fed to the media to conform to the Bush-Blair pledge that Iraq would be crushed. As contradictory facts emerge, the same media report these in a manner so unconnected with the original story that the consumer thinks the Allies are still moving full-steam ahead. Has Basra been captured? Have key Iraqi military or political chiefs surrendered? Is Baghdad about to fall? Why has a full-fledged invasion of the capital been "imminent" for a whole a week 100 kilometres away? Why is it that only "friendly fire" is bringing helicopters down - killing tens of Allied personnel - never Iraqi fire? Is it true that Iraq is treating its PoWs inhumanely, whereas Allied forces are giving VIP treatment to theirs? Etcetera. After the war, these media will argue - as they did after Falklands or Kosovo - that they have been victims of deception by the generals. Yet, as we know from Phillip Knightley's book The First Casualty, in war, military disinformation is the practice. What's more, the media make this mitigative plea after every war. So the question of deception does not arise. This plea, then, is what is dishonest, self-serving and dangerous. We know it because, in their "commentary" sections, these media make remarks that are clearly intentionally impartial to the adversaries of their governments. If, then, they happily dish out disinformation and lies, it is because they are willing accomplices. For, being corporate, they naturally support US gold in its perennial struggle with Third World oil in dollar terms. What is dreadful is that, during "peace", these same media bombard the world with holier-than-thou sermons about objectivity, truth, and fairness, whereas, in war, they are the first to trample these principles underfoot. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 873 words HEADLINE: Algeria: Islamist party plans solidarity march with Ira q SOURCE: El-Khabar web site, Algiers, in Arabic 31 Mar 03 BODY: Text of article by Moustafa B.: "Call for march of solidarity Wednesday 2 April ", published by Algerian newspaper El-Khabar web site on 31 March The official spokesman of the Movement for the Community of Peace MSP announced the organization of a march of solidarity with the Iraqi people the day after tomorrow (Wednesday 2 April ) in the capital. The march will set out from Martyrs' Square towards the parliament building. Abdelmadjid Menasra said: "We are picturing the organization of marches in the capital despite the ban and the repression. We do not recognize Zerhouni's decision." He asked why the capital was excepted from the organization of such marches and pointed out that it was not right to prevent the residents of the capital from expressing their ideas vis-a-vis the aggression against Iraq. "Our insistence will include the cities of Hassi Messaoud and Hassi R'mel, where our voice will be greater heard." At a press conference yesterday at the MSP party headquarters, official spokesman Abdelmadjid Menasra (accompanied by leadership member Ahmad El Dan) revealed a number of decisions adopted by the movement in order to express solidarity with the Iraqi people. According to Menasra, this people is being subjected to occupation, invasion, and an armed assault on Iraq's oil wealth not its liberation, as claimed by the invading forces. Mr Menasra added that the greatest evidence of this is the first step that was taken when the invaders entered the country: taking down the Iraqi flag that bears the name of God and replacing it with the American flag and taking control over 600 oil wells. Among the decisions adopted is the holding of an international gathering that the party's chairman called for on 17 and 18 April. This is a gathering to discuss ways of ensuring support to the Iraqi people and it will be attended by thinkers and Arab, Islamic and European personalities that reject the aggression on the fraternal Iraqi people. Ahmad El Dan says that it is an attempt by the movement "through which we will be shifting to convey our position on the international scene after having successfully done so on the national scene". The same speaker said: "We have authored a petition to the locally elected officials and parliamentarians and hundreds of personalities have responded to it. There will be an announcement of the final names the day after tomorrow on the pages of the newspapers." Within the same framework, the movement's leader, Mahfoud Nahnah, has corresponded with the secretaries of international organizations and the heads of the permanent member states of the United Nations Security Council in order for them to urgently intervene for the sake of stopping the aggression on Iraq. He has explained the position of the party and the Algerian people that rejects this aggression. Menasra also said that the Guidance and Reform Association would ensure the collection of assistance and funds on behalf of the Iraqi people in addition to organizing medical trips in the direction of Iraq. In his discussion of the official Algerian stance on the aggression against Iraq, Abdelmadjid Menasra confirmed that this position was not at a respectable level and had almost reached the point of assisting in the American-British aggression against Iraq. He reviewed the evidence that confirms this hypothesis including the fact that Algeria had raised its share of oil production in the international market. This is very helpful to the aggression. In addition, the Algerian embassy in Baghdad has been closed and its entire diplomatic legation has been withdrawn from there. At the same time, the other Arab embassies are remaining open in spite of the war. Menasra said: "We are waiting for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to give explanations for this withdrawal." Moreover, the speaker said: "We regret the withdrawal of the Algerian radio and television correspondents from the territory of the battle just before the start of the aggression. It is an official position that affirms the stance of support towards the aggression." The same source revealed that the coalition forces had arrested a number of Algerian young men who were on board a bus that had carried them from Syrian territory into Iraq, where their way was blocked by the invading forces and they were detained. They were also accompanied by a number of other Arab young men. The speaker demanded that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs intervene to get them released. "We do not want the ministry to wash its hands of them like the detainees at Guantanamo." Menasra denounced the Arab states that have got assistance from America on the pretext of offsetting the losses from the war. "We consider it to be a bribe that has been stained by the blood of Iraqi children, old men, and children." The party's official spokesman also denounced the retreat in the French position, which has now begun to think of a post-war Iraq. "We say to Chirac that the Algerian people, when they have gone out to welcome your arrival, it was for the sake of the position that France adopted in an attempt to stop the attack on Iraq and nothing else." He raised questions about France's current position. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 149 words HEADLINE: Kenya: Paper says USA "shifting goal posts" in its definition of terrorism SOURCE: East African Standard web site, Nairobi, in English 1 Apr 03 BODY: Text of editorial entitled "Resistance or terrorism" by Kenyan newspaper East African Standard web site on 1 April Faced with fierce Iraqi resistance, the US is shifting goal posts in its definition of "terrorism". Terrorism has always consisted of ambush on civilian targets, like the raid on the World Trade Centre, New York, on 11 September, 2001. When Iraqis use unconventional tactics to defend themselves against occupation, the US and Britain should treat the incidents as legitimate resistance. Suicide bombers may be associated with terrorism when they hit civilian targets, but must be seen as legitimate resistance when aimed at combatants. Iraqi forces have twice used suicide bombers in the current war for defence, but the US is citing the incidents to prove that the Iraqi regime abets terrorism. That is not fair in a war that is far from justified. Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring April 1, 2003, Tuesday LENGTH: 176 words HEADLINE: Hezbollah TV shows footage of US "massacre" of children in Iraqi town SOURCE: Al-Manar Television, Beirut, in English 1130 gmt 1 Apr 03 BODY: Lebanese Hezbollah TV Al-Manar broadcast video footage on 1 April 2003 of what it said was a "massacre perpetrated by US forces in the southern Iraqi city of Babil," including pictures of dead children, describing them as "quite horrific". The pictures showed bodies piled in the back of a pick-up truck; two dead young children; and the body of what appeared to be a child with half its head blown away. Bodies were also shown placed in coffins. The body of an inanimate baby with a dummy around its neck was also held up for the camera by a man. The 1130 gmt news bulletin in English was interrupted to show the pictures. "As we see, these are quite horrible pictures which show that civilians and children are the ones to have been killed during the US-led aggression," the presenter said, in English, as the pictures were shown. In the Arabic news bulletin at 1230 gmt, a caption said the pictures were from Al-Hillah in southern Iraq. The presenter asked children not to look at the pictures, again describing them as "horrific". |
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