Photo: Anfal, Arabic for "spoils of war"

Mass graves: The Anfal campaign against the Kurds is widely regarded as one of the greatest crimes of Saddam Hussein's former regime. The gassing of Halabja, in which 5,000 Kurds died, is considered part of the Anfal campaign by human rights groups. However, the tribunal spokesman Raid Juhi said the Halabja killings would be tried separately. "These people [the victims of the Anfal] were subjected to forced displacement and illegal detentions of thousands of civilians," Mr Juhi said. "They were placed in different detention centres. The villages were destroyed and burned. Homes and houses of worshippers and buildings of civilians were levelled without reason or a military requirement."

The tribunal's decision to bring charges comes after investigators went through thousands of documents and eye-witness testimonies and uncovered mass graves, our correspondent says. Saddam Hussein's co-accused include his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as Chemical Ali for his role in the poison gas attack on Halabja in 1988. The others facing charges are former Defence Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmed and high ranking Baathists Saber Abdul Aziz, Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti, Taher Muhammad al-Ani and Farhan al-Jibouri. Mr Juhi said the charges against the former president and his co-accused had been filed with a judge, who will review the evidence and order a trial date. Correspondents say it is not clear whether the trial will run in parallel to the Dujail trial or after it. The announcement comes a day before the Dujail trial - over the killing of Shias in 1982 - is set to resume.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw have said it is down to Iraq's people, no-one else, to choose a leader. However, they said the process to do so must be speeded up. The pair made the remarks at a joint news conference in Baghdad, on the second day of a surprise visit. They coupled their remarks with praise for Shia leader Grand Ayatollah Sistani, whom they said had been a voice of restraint amid Iraq's unrest. Iraq's political parties have been wrangling over forming a new government since December's election. Mr Straw said the aim of the US-led coalition which invaded Iraq in March 2003 had always been the formation of a sovereign government. He said while those coalition members did not have the right to impose a government on Iraq, the deaths of their troops meant they did have the right to call on Iraqis to choose one as soon as possible. His sentiments were echoed by Ms Rice who said that although she and Mr Straw knew that Iraqi leaders had already been working hard for change, not simply spending their time jockeying for government positions, more must be done. "It is time to agree on those positions after the Iraqi people braved the terrorists to go to the polls," she said. Both foreign secretaries were full of praise for Iraqi Shia spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Sistani for the guidance and restraint he had brought to the Shia people amid the continuing violence. "He is an anchor for that community as well as all Iraqis," Ms Rice said.

An anti war rally in Australia kicked off a wave of global protests on Saturday, as campaigners marked the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq with a demand that coalition troops pull out. Around 500 protesters marched through central Sydney, chanting "End the war now!" and "Troops out of Iraq!" Many waved placards branding U.S. President George W. Bush the "World's No. 1 Terrorist" or expressing concerns that Iran could be the next country to face invasion. "Hands off Iran," read several placards carried by protesters through downtown Sydney. "Iraq is a quagmire and has been a humanitarian disaster for the Iraqis," said Jean Parker, a member of the Australian branch of the Stop the War Coalition that organized the march. "There is no way forward without ending the occupation." Paddy Gibson of the pressure group Students Against War said the "deepening crisis" in Iraq would only get worse if coalition troops stayed. "The longer this occupation continues, the more destabilized that country becomes." Opposition to the war is still evident in Australia, which has some 1,300 troops in and around Iraq.

Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was heckled by campaigners in Sydney this month who said she had "blood on her hands." But theprotest was small, compared to the mass demonstrations that swept across the country in the buildup to the invasion -- the largest Australia had seen since joining U.S. forces in the Vietnam War. Spurred on by daily images of bloodshed from Iraq, campaigners planned weekend demonstrations in major cities across the globe to demand the withdrawal of foreign troops. About 2,000 demonstrators turned out in Tokyo, carrying signs saying "Stop the Occupation" as they listened to a series of anti-war speeches, said Takeshiko Tsukushi, a member of World Peace Now group which helped plan the rally. Japan has some 600 non-combat troops in the southern city of Samawah engaged in humanitarian work.

The other key problem has been French resistance to reforming the bloc's generous farm subsidy system. Chirac voiced cautious optimism of a deal. "I haven't got an answer at this moment to the question: will there be an agreement? The discussions are fairly positive," he told reporters, but added that the state of negotiations was "fairly positive." Meanwhile an EU source added that Britain was proposing a total EU budget for 2007-2013 of 862.5 billion euros, increasing its previous proposal by 13.2 billion euros. If confirmed, it would match a proposal by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country has long been the EU's biggest net contributor.

ABU DHABI [MENL] -- Qatar has decided to donate 100 military vehicles to the Palestinian Authority. Qatari Emir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani directed the military to export 100 surplus combat vehicles to Palestinian security forces. A government statement said the donation was meant to bolster PA police and security agencies. The statement, issued in September 2005, did not identify the type of military vehicles for transfer to the PA. Qatar has a range of armored vehicles from such suppliers as Britain, Egypt and France. Industry sources said the most likely vehicle to be sent to the PA was the VAB armored personnel carrier. Qatar has more than 130 such APCs, obtained in 1978 and which contain mortar carriers and anti-tank guided missiles.

Record High: More Christians Martyred in Past 100 Years than in all 1900 Prior Years Combined! Don’t Allow One More

Afghan Christian Abdul Rahman has been sentenced to death by Afghanistan. His “crime”: Converting from Islam to Christianity. Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, who is in Washington this week for talks on deepening strategic and economic ties with the United States, callously commented on the pending execution, saying, "I know this is a sensitive issue, and we know the concerns of the American people but the government of Afghanistan has nothing to do with it.”  Absolutely incredulous! The foreign minister of U.S.-liberated Afghanistan completely defends the right to execute a Christian. And this is the reason we liberated Afghanistan from the likes of bin Laden? What’s wrong with this picture???

Afghanistan's constitution is based on Islamic Shariah law, which forbids Muslims to convert to any other faith. The Afghan judiciary is considered a bastion of conservative orthodoxy, largely unreformed despite the ouster of the Taliban more than four years ago.  Afghan Prosecutor Abdul Wasi told the Associated Press that the capital case against Mr. Rahman would be dropped -- if the defendant would convert back to Islam. Saik". We are Muslims, and becoming a Christian is against our laws.  He must get the death penalty." Jim Jacobson, President of Christian Freedom International, an organization dedicated to helping persecuted Christians around the world. revealed  startling data that is nearly impossible to believe, including the eye-opening fact that more Christians have been martyred in the past 100 years than in all prior 1900 years combined. Jacobson said: "For those of us who live nearly exclusively on U.S. news reports, we hear virtually nothing about the vast numbers of Christians we who been martyred in the past century and the killing of Christians is rampant today worldwide—with over one million Christians killed in The Sudan alone." 

According to The Wall Street Journal, “CFI...specialize[s] in helping fellow believers in the worst places in the world–from war-torn Sudan to the repressive dictatorship of Burma. James Jacobson, a former Reagan administration official who is CFI’s president, is targeted for death by the Burmese and Sudanese governments, according to local Christian leaders.”  CFI is currently urging the Department of Homeland Security to allow Christian refugees from Burma asylum and protection in the U.S. DHS bureaucrats are wrongly using vague definitions of “material support” for terrorism in the Patriot to prevent the refugees from resettling to America. Christian Freedom International operates schools and orphanages for Karen and Karenni refugees along the Burma/Thailand border. CFI also distributes medicine and provides medical care to internally displaced persons in Burma.


CALLS FOR PRESIDENT BUSH TO INTERVENE:

The American Family Association (AFA) says over 200,000 of their supporters have emailed President Bush urging him to intervene to save the life of Abdul Rahman. AFA Chairman Donald E. Wildmon said he was disappointed with the statement by Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns who publicly said that the matter was one for the Afghan government and courts to decide.  California Rep. Tom Lantos, the ranking Democrat on the House International Relations Committee, demanded a strong official U.S. protest, calling the Rahman prosecution "outrageous" at a time when an international coalition of troops "are dying in defense of the Afghan government."

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said, "Religious freedom is not just 'an important element' of democracy; it is its cornerstone," Mr. Perkins declared.  Jacobson, a former White House policy analyst, travels to some of the most dangerous places in the world on behalf of repressed Christians. David R. Sands wrote in The Washington Times: " The Bush administration yesterday appealed to Afghanistan to spare the life of a man facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity, but said the matter was one for the Afghan government and courts to decide.  In a case that has sparked international outrage, the remarks of Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns were in sharp contrast to condemnations of the trial by lawmakers and by leading European allies.

Briefing reporters with Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah at his side, Mr. Burns said the U.S. government was watching the case of Abdul Rahman closely, but added, "This case is not in the competence of the United States government. It's under the competence of the Afghan authorities." The Italian Foreign Ministry said Rome will move "at the highest level ... to prevent something which is incompatible with the defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms." Mr. Burns and State Department officials were clearly struggling to condemn the prosecution without causing a major break with a vital U.S. ally. Mr. Burns said the administration would demand "transparency" in the trial and noted that Afghanistan's constitution guarantees freedom of religion for all citizens. 

Jonathan and Esther Pollard expressed admiration, gratitude and profound respect to their American attorneys, Eliot Lauer and Jacques Semmelman, for their heroic, undying, untiring efforts to secure justice for Jonathan Pollard, against insuperable odds. Their courage, determination, dedication and devotion to the truth has done the Jewish People great honor and been an enormous Kiddush HaShem. Fighting a battle for justice - uphill all the way - against 3 government agencies determined to prevent the truth in this case from ever coming to light, Lauer and Semmelman fought all the way to the Supreme Court without ever breaking stride or becoming discouraged in the face of utter corruption and behind-the-scenes subversion. The American Justice, Intelligence and Defense Departments have for 21 years thrown their full weight into subverting the rule of law to ensure that Jonathan Pollard, the Jewish agent of the Jewish State, never gets his day in court and that he remain in prison as a constant symbol for use against Israel and against the American Jewish community.  In their intransigent, two-decades-long subversion of justice for Jonathan Pollard, these agencies have repeatedly demonstrated that their hatred for Israel far outweighs any regard they have for the rule of law or for the American Constitution. Even the support of some of the greatest legal minds in America was of no avail. Among the influential signees of Amicus Briefs to the court in support of Pollard's case were such illustrious names as Anthony Amsterdam, Charles Ogletree, Charles E. Rice and Michael Tigar. Among the important legal organizations supporting Jonathan's brief were the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. This heavyweight support was of no avail in face of the massive subversion of the courts by the Justice, Intelligence and Defense Departments. Their stubborn opposition caused the entire legal struggle to be calculatedly sandbagged at the outset of every filing, and the merits of Pollard's case were never reached. Every filing was summarily dismissed on spurious and flimsy technicalities. Refusing to give in to the subversion, and more determined than ever, Lauer and Semmelman took Pollard's the case all the way to the American Supreme Court. This final avenue of appeal behaved no differently than the lower courts: it subverted justice by simply refusing to hear Pollard's petition. Contrary to misinformed media reports, Jonathan Pollard did not lose the case; it simply was never heard. Justice4JP released the following statement to the Israeli media. Translation below is provided by J4JP: US Supreme Court Hammers Final Nail in the Coffinof Hopes to Secure Justice for Jonathan  Pollard Via Legal Avenues. ESTHER POLLARD: "Jonathan's very life is at stake. If the Prime Minister will not respond at once - even before the day is done - by making an immediate appeal to President Bush to release my husband, then he personally will be sentencing Jonathan to death." The US Supreme Court yesterday dismissed Jonathan Pollard's final petition, driving the last nail into the coffin of hopes to secure justice for Jonathan Pollard via the US legal system. Here are some of the comments Esther Pollard made in the Israeli media today: "The decision of the Supreme court is disappointing but not surprising. The dismissal of this petition, just like all the ones that preceded it, was based solely upon legal technicality; the merits of the case were never reached. Israel's abandonment of her agent, my husband, Jonathan Pollard, was never  a problem that could be solved via the American legal system. The real issue is: this is the first time in the history of modern espionage that that an agent has been forced to face a court of law on his own, in the country where he operated, without receiving any support from the country which sent him and for whom he sacrificed himself. From the outset Jonathan never had any chance of receiving justice from the Americans as long as the country that sent him, and for whom he sacrificed himself, continued to turn its back on him. Whenever I am out in public, people come up to me again and again to express their outrage at the ingratitude and irresponsibility of the Government of Israel, which instead of freeing from captivity the one who served the State and saved the lives of Israeli citizens, just threw him to the dogs. For years we were told to be patient, that there is an on-going legal initiative. No one can say that any longer. It is over. This was the final nail in the coffin of our hopes of securing justice for Jonathan via the American system of justice. Every additional minute that Jonathan spends in prison he is in mortal danger. Every additional moment, every additional second that Jonathan remains in prison, his life hangs in the balance. There is no reason to wait to bring him home in a coffin, G-d forbid! If the Prime Minister will not respond at once - even before the day is done - by making an immediate appeal to President Bush to release my husband, then he personally will be sentencing Jonathan to death." 
 

Hamas MP Asserts Government Formational Declared Before End of the Month

Photo: Salah Bardaweel

The spokesman for Hamas movement's parliamentary bloc Salah Bardaweel asserted that the next government formation will be declared before the end of the current month, while another member of parliament added the shape and time of declaring the government will be determined next week. Bardaweel added on Sunday that "we sent messages to all the blocs and parliamentary lists we met with, and attached Hamas' political platform and common grounds agenda," pointing out that these blocs and lists will have two days to discuss these messages before the comprehensive meeting of all the factions on Monday, which will formulate the final stances towards participating in the coming government or not.

The Hamas MP noted that both Abu Ali Mustafa List, representing the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Independent Palestine List headed by Mustafa Barghouti, are the closest to joining the government, adding that there are some agreement with Al Badil List, which represents the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the Palestinian People's Party (PPP) and Fida Party, to join as well. With regards to the participation of Fateh movement in the government, Bardaweel hinted some differences between his movement and Fateh, which he referred to the differences in the political platform of both movements. On his part, Hamas MP Yehya Mousa asserted that the meeting with the Palestinian factions on Monday will decide the exact time and shape of the declaration of the government's formation. "

The movement [Hamas] has presented the government's program, and we await the remarks of the factions, then the formation of the government will b decided whether it is a national coalition government or a Hamas-led one with some factions and independents," Mousa said. Mousa further commented on the news reports about the complications in the commission letter given by President Mahmoud Abbas to the Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniyya, by saying that the complication is related to the new Palestinian political system, which is a two-headed system of the presidency with its political system and the government in its different political platform. "I believe the movement has offered what is related to it, especially in the political aspect, which doesn't defer from the statements of the politburo chief Khaled Mashaal." Mousa maintained that the next government will deal with the political agreements signed by the Palestinian National Authority or the Palestinian Liberation Organization with Israel, to the extent that serves the interests of the Palestinian people.

Hamas document outlining principles of incoming Palestinian government surfaces recently; Hamas says it is 'committed to the expulsion of the occupation and the right of return,' says it has 'right of resistance in all its forms'. A document by Hamas outlining the incoming Palestinian government's basic principles and prompting criticism by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has been  released. "Resistance in all its forms is a legitimate right," the document declared. It was transferred to Abbas, and was made public early this month, after being leaked to journalists. Hamas declared in the document that it is "committed to the expulsion of the occupation and the right of return." With that, the document said that the Hamas government would "address the reality created with the agreements with Israel."

Hamas designated prime minister Sheikh Ismael Haniyeh transferred the document to Abbas, who earlier responded coldly by saying that the principles were '"too vague.' Addressing the question of whether Hamas would recognize Israel, the document stated that "this would done with consultation with the Palestinian organizations and institutions, and the Palestinian people in its entirety."

These are the Hamas' founding principles: "To respect the blood of martyrs and sacrifices of the Palestinian people for the safeguarding of the national rights of the Palestinians, which cannot be given up, for the sake of carrying on the struggle to remove the occupation, and safeguarding the right of return, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as it capital. We announce that the founding principles of our government will be based on the following points:

 1. The expulsion of the occupation and the establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. 2. A commitment to the right of return of Palestinians to their homes and property. We believe that the right of return is a private and collective right that can't be given up. 3. Resistance in all its formed is a legitimate right of the Palestinian people in its path to put an end to the occupation and the reinstatement of its national rights. 4. The start of a wide reform process in the Palestinian Authority's institutions. These institutions should be based on the principles of democracy, justice, the rule of law, political pluralism, and the principle of the separation of authorities and the guarding human rights and private property. 5. The Palestinian government will address the reality created following previous agreements between the Authority and the occupation and it is the right of the government to reassess these agreements on the basis of international law and in accordance with the rights of the Palestinians people. 6. The Palestinian government will protect the independence of the choice Palestinian people and its institutions, and will safeguard its sovereignty in this matter. 7. The government will emphasize the Arab and Islamic character of the Palestinian issue and will act to enlist Arab and Islamic support for the Palestinian people in every sector. 8.The government will hold friendly and positive relations on the basis of mutual respect with Arab and Muslim countries and with the countries of the world. 9. In principle, we will be prepared to continue with the current calm, which is a path to obtain national goals, and not a goal.