Mordprozess im Fall Anna Politkowskaja endet mit Freisprüchen – Staatsanwaltschaft nimmt neue Ermittlungen auf

Moskau (Russland), 21.02.2009 – Im Prozess um die Ermordung der russischen Journalistin Anna Stepanowna Politkowskaja wurde am Donnerstag das Urteil gefällt. Die zwölf Geschworenen des Moskauer Militärgerichts sahen die Mittäterschaft der drei Angeklagten nicht als erwiesen an und votierten einstimmig mit „nicht schuldig“. Sie kamen damit dem Antrag der Verteidigung und dem der Familie Politkowskajas nach. „Das ist ein seltenes Beispiel für Rechtsstaatlichkeit in Russland“, sagte die Anwältin der Familie, Karina Moskalenko. In der Regel folgen die russischen Gerichte den Anträgen der Staatsanwaltschaft. Der Prozess sei schlecht vorbereitet worden, Beweismittel widersprächen sich oder seien verschwunden und auf der Anklagebank säßen mutmaßlich nur Helfershelfer, sagte die Anwältin dem ZDF-Auslandsjournal.

Anna Politkowskaja arbeitete bei der kreml-kritischen Nowaja Gaseta. Sie hatte unter anderem über Menschenrechtsverletzungen in Tschetschenien berichtet. 2006 wurde Politkowskaja von Unbekannten im Aufzug ihres Wohnhauses erschossen.

Das zuständige Moskauer Militärgericht hat den Fall unterdessen wieder an die Staatsanwaltschaft abgegeben. Sie solle nun versuchen die wirklichen Täter zu ermitteln, entschied der Militärrichter Jewgeni Subow.


Karnataka closed for a day after Supreme Court's judgement for Kaveri water

On Friday, various cities in the Indian state of Karnataka observed Karnataka Bandh ((en))English language: Karnataka closed as the people opposed the Supreme Court's judgement on the Kaveri river dispute. Most shops were closed to support the strike.

The Indian Supreme Court judgement instructed Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water from the Kaveri river for ten days to Tamil Nadu. Both of the states demand shares of Kaveri water which goes back to the time when Britishers ruled India.

Due to the strikes, there were no means of public transportation. Even the Metro Service in Karnataka's capital Bengaluru didn't run. Private cabs also didn't provide service; airports were crowded as the passengers had no means of transportation.

Southern Railway officials reported no large-scale ticket cancellations for trains between Bangalore and Chennai. No trains on that route had to be rescheduled. But the bus services from Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai to Bangalore were stopped near the border for security reasons and tickets were refunded for the passengers who booked tickets for Bangalore. There were fewer passengers as well.

Television service providers in Karnataka blocked more than 50 Tamil channels for the day. Tamil movies were not released as well. Tamil movies from some theaters were removed a day before. Though no major violence was reported, movie posters of Mudinja Ivana Pudi were burnt. Friday movie releases were postponed.

Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi uploaded a video on Twitter saying, "Kaveri is ours, we will not let it go. Why should we give water when we don't have any? Come out for the struggle, stand with the farmers. I am supporting the farmers, you too should." ((kn))Kannada language:
ಕಾವೇರಿ ನಮ್ದು ನಾವು ಕೊಡಲ ನಮಗೆ ನೀರ್ ಕುಡಿಕೆ ಇಲ್ಲ ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಔರಿಗೆ ಎನ್ನಿಕೆ ಕೊಡ್ಬೇಕು ಬನ್ನಿ ಆಚೆ ಬನ್ನಿ ಹೋರಾಟ ಮಾಡಿ ರೈತರ ಜೊತೆ ನಿಂತ್ ಕೋಳಿ ನಾನು ಇದೀನಿ ನೀವು ಬನ್ನಿ

Internal exams in The National Institute of Engineering, Mysore were rescheduled to Sunday. Medical shops and petrol pumps remained closed in Mysore. The shops finally opened at 6 PM IST. Private schools also remained closed for the day, but were expected to run full day on Saturdays this month.


Spor o vodu v Kávérí vedl v Karnátace ke stávkám

Lidé v Karnátace nesouhlasí s rozhodnutím indického nejvyššího soudu, který tomuto indickému státu nařídil nechat odtéct stanovený objem vody v řece Kávérí do sousedního státu Tamilnádu, a v pátek proto došlo ve státě k hromadné stávce.

Spory o vodu se v této oblasti táhnou už od přelomu devatenáctého a dvacátého století, kdy byly v letech 1892 a 1924 uzavřeny smlouvy mezi Maisúrským královstvím ve vnitrozemí a pobřežní Madráskou provincií.

Ve svém nedávném rozhodnutí Nejvyšší soud (sídlící mimo oba státy na severu v Novém Dillí) nařídil Karnátace, aby po deset dní pouštěla do Tamilnádu 15 000 krychlových stop vody za sekundu (tj. zhruba 425 krychlových metrů za sekundu).

Stávka poznamenala především hromadnou dopravu. V hlavním městě Karnátaky, Bengalúru, nejezdilo metro ani autobusy, zavřeny byly i obchody. Kina nevysílala tamilské filmy a nebyly šířeny ani tamilské televizní stanice.

Tato zpráva byla založena zčásti nebo zcela překladem zprávy Karnataka closed for a day after Supreme Court's judgement for Kaveri water na anglických Wikizprávách.


Kenyan government and opposition agree on power sharing

The heads of the government and opposition in Kenya have signed a power sharing agreement aimed at ending the crisis over December's disputed elections. The agreement was reached after a day of talks mediated by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Chairman of the African Union Jakaya Kikwete.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga signed the agreement before international diplomats and representatives of the Kenyan government and opposition.

Chief mediator Kofi Annan said that the two leaders had agreed on a government structure after five hours of intensive talks.

"I am pleased to be able to tell you and all the citizens of Kenya that the two parties this afternoon completed the work on agenda item three, how to overcome the political crisis," he said.

The two sides agreed to the creation of the posts of prime minister and two deputy prime ministers. The prime minister is accorded authority over the ministries. The prime minister is to be nominated by the largest party or coalition in parliament and can only be removed by a majority vote of the national assembly. The accord also calls for distribution of the ministerial posts according to the relative strength of each party in parliament. And it calls for the changes to be enacted by constitutional amendment, a major demand of the opposition. The Prime Minister post has gone to Odinga.

Mr. Kibaki and Mr. Odinga pledged to ensure that the accord is implemented and called for unity among all Kenyans. Mr. Annan commended the two parties, saying they reached a common position for the good of the nation. And he had a message for the citizens of Kenya.

"Compromise was necessary for the survival of this country," he said. "Support this agreement, for it is the key to the unity of Kenya. It is the foundation for national reconciliation and it is the springboard for national recovery."

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown released a statement calling the signing of the power-sharing agreement a "a triumph for peace and diplomacy."

"Kenya's leaders have reached a power-sharing agreement that represents a triumph for peace and diplomacy, and a renunciation of the violence that has scarred a country of such enormous potential. Common sense has prevailed, and the Kenyan people have the outcome for which they have hoped and prayed," the statement said.

Brown also thanked Kofi Annan for his work and urged the international community to play their part and support Kenya's new government. Brown also noted that "Real leadership, patience and tolerance is necessary to ensure that the agreement sticks."

Kenyans are viewing the deal skeptically, such as 56-year old refugee Paul Waweru, "The deal between Raila and Kibaki will help to cool down the situation but I doubt if it will enable us to get back to our homes."

Diana Murugi, 72, lost her two sons in the violent fighting that has plagued Kenya since the end of the disputed elections at the close of last year.

"The coalition is about Kibaki, Raila and the big men, what about those of us here in the camp? How will I reconcile with people who killed my sons? It is impossible, even if Kibaki and Raila are in the same government," she said.

Parliament is to convene next week to enact the measures. Mr. Annan said the negotiations would resume Friday on long-term issues such as constitutional reform and ways to end inequalities in land and wealth distribution.

The two sides have been meeting for nearly five weeks in an effort to find a political solution to the Kenya crisis. One thousand people were killed and several hundred thousand were displaced in the violence that erupted after Mr. Kibaki was declared the winner of a presidential election that the opposition says was rigged.


Governo e oposição chegam em acordo no Quênia

O governo e a oposição do Quênia entraram nesta quinta em um acordo para formar um governo de coalizão no país. O anúncio foi breve e feito pelo ex-presidente da ONU, Kofi Annan.

Os conflitos no Quênia começaram no fim do ano de 2007 quando a oposição, liderada por Haila Oodinga, passou a contestar o resultado que deu a vitória ao já presidente Mwai Kibaki. Temia-se na região um conflito e uma limpeza étnica de uma das das duas principais tribos do país. A preocupação da comunidade internacional foi eminente e até o atual presidente da Onu Ban-Ki Moon chegou a ir até Nairóbi para mediar o conflito. Os protestos no país mataram 1.500 pessoas.


Kenyan TV and newspaper raided by masked police

The offices of Kenya's second largest TV and newspaper companies were raided simultaneously this morning by groups of masked police officers. The TV station was taken off the air for 13 hours, and the newspaper's press was damaged and its uncirculated copies burned. The Kenyan government is characterizing the incident as an evidence-gathering step of a national security investigation, in response to the paper and station's recent alleged publishing of false material to incite ethnic hatred and instability.

The Standard, Kenya's oldest daily newspaper, and the Kenya Television Network (KTN), the paper's sister TV station, were the targets of the raid. The company that owns both outlets is the second largest media source in the country. The raid marks the first time the Kenyan government has shut down a major media outlet, and punctuates a period of increased media freedom in Kenya.

The CEO of The Standard, Tom Mshindi, has reported that his staff was "roughed up" and intimidated during the raid. The raiders, wearing gas masks and driving unmarked vehicles, did not have a warrant and did not identify themselves as police, but a Standard staffer recognized the voice of a police commander among the raiding party. Later at a press conference, Internal Security Minister John Michuki acknowledged the raid occurred as part of a "state security" investigation.

On Tuesday, February 28, three reporters from The Standard were arrested for publishing stories Saturday about an alleged secret meeting between Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki, and minister for the environment and deposed former foreign minister Kalonzo Musyoka, who has become an opposition figure to the president's policies, to resolve differences. Both Kibaki and Musyoka have denied having any such meeting.

The journalists are charged with "publishing false rumor with intent to cause alarm to the public", and have pleaded not guilty. The three were released on bail after their arraignment today.

Musyoka has expressed dismay at the government's actions, pointing out that there are standard legal recourses to such media actions that should be used, rather than a police attack.

KTN and The Standard have been increasingly critical of the president, who is seen by many as losing touch with the country.

The Standard was able to repair presses and produced a special edition late in the day. KTN also returned to the air in the afternoon, showing footage of the Standard raid. Both outlets reportedly had equipment removed or damaged during the raids, including computers, security cameras, and a backup power supply.


Kenia: Polizeirazzia bei einer Mediengruppe

Nairobi (Kenia), 02.03.2006 – Am heutigen Donnerstagmorgen drangen bewaffnete Männer in die Zentrale einer führenden kenianischen Mediengruppe in Nairobi ein, beschlagnahmten Geräte und behinderten die Arbeit der Journalisten. Vor drei Tagen wurden einige Reporter der gleichen Mediengruppe verhaftet.

Der Vorstand der „Standard Group“, in deren Zentrale die Razzia stattfand, veröffentlichte eine Stellungnahme zum Vorfall. Nach Angaben des Vorstandes der Mediengruppe führten zwei Gruppen von bewaffneten und vermummten Männern in den frühen Morgenstunden des Donnerstages gleichzeitig Razzien in den Redaktionsbüros des Fernsehsenders „Kenya Television Network“ (KTN) und in der Druckerei der Mediengruppe in einem Industriegebiet in Nairobi durch. Bei beiden Razzien sollen die Männer das Wachpersonal der Mediengruppe überwältigt haben, um sich Zugang zu den Gebäuden zu verschaffen. Vor einem Gebäude habe sich einer der Männer als Polizist ausgewiesen, worauf den Männern der Zugang gewährt wurde. Nach Angaben des Vorstandes der Mediengruppe sind während der Razzien Computer und Übertragungsgeräte beschlagnahmt und Kabel beschädigt worden. Dies habe dazu geführt, dass die Ausstrahlung des Programms von KTN beeinträchtigt wurde, weswegen KTN sein Programmm bis jetzt noch nicht wieder aufgenommen habe. Nach Aussagen des Vorstandes der Mediengruppe beschädigten die Männer außerdem Überwachungskameras in den Gebäuden. In der Druckerei der Mediengruppe sollen tausende Exemplare der Donnerstagsausgabe der Zeitung „The Standard“ verbrannt worden sein. Bei der Zeitung handelt es sich um die älteste Zeitung in Kenia. Zudem wurde die Druckerpresse beschädigt, während sie sich im Betrieb befand. Der Vorstand der Mediengruppe bezeichnet die Razzien in einer Stellungnahme als direkten und eklatanten Versuch, die von der Verfassung garantierte Pressefreiheit zu untergraben. In der Stellungnahme fordert der Vorstand der Mediengruppe, dass die Männer für die Razzia verantwortlich gemacht werden. Mitarbeiter der Mediengruppe sagten gegenüber BBC News, dass sie von den Männern geschlagen wurden und gezwungen wurden, sich auf den Boden zu legen. Auch seien ihre Taschen durchsucht worden.

Am 28.02.2006 nahm die Polizei drei Journalisten der Mediengruppe fest, die einen Artikel veröffentlicht hatten, in dem steht, dass sich der kenianische Staatspräsident Mwai Kibaki heimlich mit Oppositionsvertretern und dem ehemaligen Außenminister Kalonzo Musyoka getroffen habe. Die Regierung hatte bestritten, dass das Treffen stattgefunden hat. Gegen die kenianische Regierung werden Korruptionsvorwürfe erhoben, die in diesem Jahr zum Rücktritt mehrerer Minister geführt haben. So sollen öffentliche Mittel veruntreut worden sein. Unter anderem traten der Finanzminister und der Bildungsminister zurück. Die Autoren des Artikels betrachten das angebliche Treffen als einen Trick, mit dem eine Einigung mit den Gegnern der Regierung erzielt werden soll. Die Festnahme der Journalisten war von der Organisation Reporter ohne Grenzen verurteilt worden. Der Polizeipräsident Jasper Ombati sagte, die Polizei habe Hinweise, dass die Journalisten dafür bezahlt würden, Hass anzuregen.

Mutahi Kagwe, der kenianische Informationsminister sagte gegenüber Journalisten, dass er die Razzien nicht angeordnet habe und auch nichts von ihnen gewusst habe. Zuvor hatte er bestritten, dass die Razzien von der Polizei durchgeführt worden waren. John Michuki, Minister für innere Sicherheit, bestätigte, dass die Razzien von staatlichen Sicherheitskräften durchgeführt wurden. Die Razzien dienten dem Schutz des Staates, sagte der Minister weiter. John Michuki wird in Bezug auf die Razzien mit den Worten zitiert: „Wenn Sie eine Schlange schütteln, müssen Sie darauf vorbereitet sein, von ihr gebissen zu werden.“ Der Oppositionsführer Uhuru Kenyatta sprach im Zusammenhang mit den Ereignissen von einem „schwarzen Tag“. Eine Gruppe oppositioneller Parlamentsabgeordneter zog zusammen mit etwa 100 Demonstranten zu den Büros der Mediengruppe, um gegen die Razzien zu demonstrieren.


Khmer Rouge "Butcher" dies ahead of trial

Ta Mok, also known as the "Butcher", military commander of the  Khmer Rouge regime which terrorised  Cambodia in the 1970s, has died in a military hospital in  Phnom Penh. He was facing trial for genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the regime's rule.

Ta Mok had been in detention since 1999 and was recently transferred to prison hospital suffering from high blood pressure and Tuberculosis. The 82-year old had slipped into coma a week ago and died of natural causes, "given his poor health and respiratory problems," a doctor told  Reuters today.

Ta Mok's real name is not known, but reported to be Ek Choeun or Oeung Choeun. He joined the Khmer Rouge after being part of anti-French colonial and anti-Japanese resistance movements, rising to become the Maoist group's Chief-of-Staff. He is believed to have directed the purges of the Democratic Kampuchea regime, in which an estimated 1.7 million people were tortured and killed in what is now referred to as "the killing fields", earning him the name "The Butcher". After the fall of the regime, he continued to lead a faction, until captured by the Cambodian forces in 1999.

His death leaves only one surviving Khmer Rouge commander,  Kang Kek Leu ("Duch"), the chief of the Tuol Sleng S-21 interrogation centre to face trial. Most of the other surviving regime leaders are also in poor health. The regime leader  Pol Pot died in 1998, also before facing trial. This has prompted questions about whether the trials have been delayed too long. The trials are to be conducted before a special tribunal created by Cambodia, with support from the United Nations.

A spokesman for the tribunal, Reach Sambath, said on Friday that a "key resource of information" had passed away.

Youk Chang, director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia which is studying the crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge, said his death was "outrageous". "Some people may be happy with this," he told AP, "but not the victims who have been waiting for justice for a long time,"

Ta Mok's nephew Morm Mol said he was "saddened" by his uncle's death.


Ta Mok, der „Schlächter“ der Roten Khmer, ist tot

Phnom Penh (Kambodscha), 21.07.2006 – Der berüchtigte „Schlächter“ der Roten Khmer, der sich das Pseudonym „Ta Mok“ zugelegt hatte, verstarb am Freitagmorgen (Ortszeit) in einem Militärkrankenhaus in der Hauptstadt Kambodschas, Phnom Penh, im Alter von 82 Jahren nach mehrtägigem Koma. Er wurde seit Ende Juni wegen Tuberkulose, Atemnot und Bluthochdruck behandelt.

Dies gab sein Anwalt am Freitag bekannt. Ta Mok ist seit 1998 in Haft (nach anderen Angaben seit 1999). Erst vor zehn Tagen waren von der Staatsanwaltschaft Ermittlungen gegen ihn aufgenommen worden. Er sollte im Zusammenhang mit einem Sondertribunal zur Untersuchung der Verbrechen der Roten Khmer angeklagt werden, dessen Eröffnung für 2007 geplant ist. Von 1975 bis 1979 hatte er als Militärchef eine führende Position im Machtapparat der Roten Khmer inne. Unter der Führung des 1998 ebenfalls verstorbenen Pol Pot wurde in dem südostasiatischen Land ein unvergleichliches Blutbad angerichtet, dem nach Schätzungen etwa zwei Millionen Kambodschaner im Namen des „Kommunismus“ zum Opfer gefallen sind. Wenn die Menschen nicht direkt hingerichtet wurden, starben sie durch Hunger und menschenunwürdige Lebensumstände. Im Jahr 1979 machte das vietnamesische Militär der Herrschaft der Roten Khmer ein Ende.


Comandante do Khmer Vermelho morre aos 82 anos

Ta Mok, também conhecido como "Açougueiro",  comandante militar do regime do   Khmer Vermelho que aterrorizou a população do  Camboja nos anos 1970, morreu nesta sexta-feira (21) num hospital militar em Phnom Penh. Ele era um dos réus  em julgamento por um tribunal internacional das acusações de  genocídio e crimes contra a humanidade cometidos durante o regime do Khmer.

Ta Mok  estava preso desde 1999 e foi recentemente transferido ao hospital da prisão porque sofria de pressão alta e tuberculose.  O homem  de 82 anos entrou em coma há uma semana e morreu nesta sexta  de causas naturais,  "devido  a sua saúde precária e problemas respiratórios,"  segundo um médico contou para a agência Reuters.

O verdadeiro nome de Ta Mok   é desconhecido, mas segundo dizem pode ser:  Ek Choeun ou Oeung Choeun. Ele juntou-se ao  Khmer Vermelho depois de ter tomado  parte dos movimentos de resistência  contra os japoneses e os franceses,  até ascender ao posto de  chefe de pessoal do grupo maoísta.  Acredita-se que ele tenha comandado as execuções durante a época do Kampuchea Democrático. Estima-se que   aproximadamente 1,7 milhões de pessoas foram torturadas e mortas nos chamados "campos da morte", o que valeu-lhe  a alcunha de “açougueiro”. Depois da queda do regime, ele continuou a liderar uma facção, até ser capturado pelas forças cambojanas em 1999.

Com a morte de Ta Mok agora resta só um  comandante do   Khmer Vermelho vivo para enfrentar o julgamento:  Kang Kek Leu ("Duch"), o chefe do centro de interrogatório Tuol Sleng S-21. A maior parte dos outros membros do Khmer que estão vivos está também com  saúde precária. O principal líder do Khmer Vermelho, Pol Pot,  morreu em 1998 supostamente de causas naturais, sem ter sido julgado.

O facto de restarem poucos líderes do Khmer Vermelho vivos e a maioria estar muito velha levantou a questão sobre a demora em se instaurar um tribunal.  Os julgamentos dos réus do antigo regime comunista são conduzidos por um tribunal especial criado pelo Camboja, com o apoio  das Nações Unidas.

Um porta-voz do tribunal, Reach Sambath, disse sexta-feira que "uma fonte valiosa de informação" também já  faleceu.

Youk Chang,  diretor do Centro de Documentação do Camboja, que   estuda os crimes cometidos pelo   Khmer Vermelho, disse que a   morte de Ta Mok foi "ultrajante". "Algumas pessoas podem estar felizes com isto,” ele disse para a  AP, “mas não as vítimas que estiveram esperando pela justiça durante um longo tempo,"

Morm Mol, sobrinho  de Ta Mok, disse que ficou "triste" com a morte do tio.


Kidnapped Indian engineer killed by Taliban

Indian embassy officials in Afghanistan confirmed today that the body of the abducted Indian engineer K. Suryanarayana had been found in Kandahar. The Taliban abducted Suryanarayana at gunpoint on Friday.

His abductors had stated that if all Indian citizens in Afghanistan did not leave that country by 7 p.m. IST (1330 UTC) today, Suryanarayana, who they claimed was an "American spy", would be killed. Suryanarayana was apparently killed while he was trying to escape a few hours ago. The Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has condemned the beheading, calling it an "inhuman act". Indian security forces are enroute to Afghanistan to investigate the matter and the Indian Foreign Secretary Mr. Shyam Saran has said that India will do whatever it takes to bring the perpetrators of this brutal murder to justice. Suryanarayana leaves behind his wife and three children.


L'ingénieur indien qui avait été kidnappé a été tué par les talibans

Les autorités indiennes ont confirmé que le corps trouvé à Kandahar, en Afghanistan, est bien celui de l'ingénieur Indien Suryanarayana., qui avait été enlevé par les Taliban ce vendredi.

Ses ravisseurs avaient menacé de le tuer si tous les ressortissants indiens ne quittaient pas l'Afghanistan avant 19 h (heure indienne), Suryanarayana étant, selon leurs vues, un « espion américain ». Suryanarayana aurait été tué durant une tentative d'évasion il y a seulement quelques heures. Le premier ministre indien Manmohan Singh a condamné l'assassinat en le qualifiant d'acte inhumain.


Kosovo independence ruled legal by International Court of Justice

Judges from the United Nations International Court of Justice ruled Thursday that Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008 was not in violation of international law.

Despite protests from Serbia, which claimed that Kosovo's independence threatened its sovereignty and was illegal under international law, ten of the ICJ's fourteen judges supported the non-binding motion declaring Kosovo's independence legal. The move was supported by the United States and most European countries, while other countries, including Russia and China, opposed the ruling.

In its opinion on the matter, the court said that it "considers that general international law does not contain any prohibition on declarations of independence. Accordingly, it concludes that [Kosovo's] declaration of independence on the 17th of February 2008 did not violate general international law."

Even before the ruling, 69 members of the UN, out of a total of 192, had recognized Kosovo's independence, and observers say that more may do so in light of the ICJ's ruling.

Kosovo's president, Fatmir Sejdiu, said that "[t]he decision finally removes all doubts that countries which still do not recognise the republic of Kosovo could have," while Serbian president Boris Tadic said that "Serbia will never recognise the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo."


La ONU tomará una decisión sobre Kosovo mientras que Rusia seguirá sin reconocer su independencia


Za legalnost kosovske deklaracije 14 država, protiv 12

11. децембар 2009. HAG, 11. decembra 2009. (Beta) - Većina država koje su u petak učestvovale u završenoj raspravi o legalnosti jednostrane deklaracije o nezavisnosti Kosova pred Međunarodnim sudom pravde u Hagu ocenila je da je ta deklaracija u skladu sa međunarodnim pravom.

Tokom rasprave koja je trajala od 1. decembra, 14 država je, uz vlasti u Prištini, podržalo kao legalnu tu deklaraciju, usvojenu u februaru prošle godine, dok je 12 zemalja, pored Srbije, tvrdilo da je deklaracijom prekršeno međunarodno pravo.

Delegacija Burundija nije izričito odgovorila na pitanje koje je najvišem sudu UN postavila Generalna skupština UN: "Da li je jednostrano proglašenje nezavisnosti od strane privremenih institucija samouprave na Kosovu u skladu sa međunarodnim pravom?".


கொசோவோ விடுதலை சட்டபூர்வமானது என பன்னாட்டு நீதிமன்றம் தீர்ப்பு

2008 ஆம் ஆண்டில் சேர்பியாவிலிருந்து பிரிந்து கொசோவோ மேற்கொண்ட விடுதலைப் பிரகடனம் சர்வதேசச் சட்டங்களுக்கு அமைவாகவே மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டுள்ளது என ஐநாவின் பன்னாட்டு நீதிமன்றம் வியாழனன்று தீர்ப்பு வழங்கியது.

கொசோவோவின் விடுதலைப் பிரகடனத்தை 69 உலக நாடுகள் அங்கீகரித்துள்ள போதும் இவ் வழக்கில் அதனை நிராகரிக்குமாறு சேர்பியா கோரியிருந்தது. பன்னாட்டு நீதிமன்றத்தின் 14 நீதிபதிகளில் 10 பேர் கொசோவோ விடுதலையை சட்டபூர்வமானது என அறிவித்தார்கள்.

சர்வதேச நீதிமன்றம் இதனை ஏற்றுக் கொண்டாலும் தாம் கொசோவோவை எப்போதும் அங்கீகரிக்கப்போவதில்லை என சேர்பியா தெரிவித்துள்ளது.

கொசோவோ பிரிந்தபோது அதை பல நேட்டோ நாடுகள் ஆதரித்திருந்தன. அதன் பிரிவினையானது எதிர்காலத்தில் உலகின் மற்ற பகுதிகளுக்கான முன்னுதாரணமாக ஆகாது என்று அந்த நாடுகள் அப்போது கூறின. ஆனால் உருசியா இந்த நிலைப்பாட்டை ஏற்கவில்லை. 2008 ஆம் ஆண்டு உருசியப் படைகள் ஜோர்ஜியாவுக்குள் சென்றதன் விளைவாக, தெற்கு ஒசெத்தியா மற்றும் அப்காசியா ஆகிய இரண்டு குட்டி நாடுகள் உருவாக வழிபிறந்தது. ஆனால் இந்த இரு நாடுகளையும் இதுவரை வெகுசில நாடுகள் தான் அங்கீகரித்துள்ளன.

பன்னாட்டு நீதிமன்றத்தின் நேற்றைய தீர்ப்பை அடுத்து மேலும் பல நாடுகள் கொசோவோவை அங்கீகரிக்கும் என எதிர்பார்க்கலாம் என அரசியல் அவதானிகள் கருத்துத் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.

செர்பியப் படைகளுக்கும், அல்பேனிய இன பிரிவினைவாதிகளுக்கும் இடையிலான போரை அடுத்து 9 ஆண்டுகளின் பின்னர் கொசோவோவின் அல்பேனிய இன பெரும்பான்மையினர் 2008 இல் விடுதலைப் பிரகடனம் செய்தனர்.

வெள்ளி, சூலை 23, 2010


Незалежність Косово визнана законною

У своєму рішенні від 22 червня 2010 року Міжнародний суд визнав проголошення незалежності Косово від Сербії 17 лютого 2008 року таким, що не порушувало міжнародне право. Міжнародний суд, зокрема, постановив, що "загальне міжнародне право не містить заборони на декларації про незалежність. Рішення Суду, однак є консультативним і не має юридичної сили.

Розгляд справи був ініційований Сербією, яка стверджувала, що незалежність Косово поставила під загрозу її суверенітет і порушувала міжнародне право. Проте, 10 з 14 суддів Міжнародного суду підтримали резолюцію, яка фактично визнала проголошення незалежності Косова законним. Цей крок отримав підтримку США і більшості країн ЄС, в той час інші впливові члени ООН, включаючи Росію і Китай виступили проти постанови суду. Ще до розгляду цього питання у Міжнародному суді 69 із 192 членів ООН вже де-факто визнали незалежність Косово, і спостерігачі передбачають, що після такого вироку суду їх кількість може ще збільшитися.

Президент Косова Фатмір Сейдіу привітав рішення суду і заявив, що «таке рішення, нарешті, знімає всі сумніви, щодо незалежності його країни». У свою чергу, президент Сербії Борис Тадич заявив, що «Сербія ніколи не визнає односторонньо проголошену незалежність Косово». Такої ж думки дотримуються і в деяких інших столицях Європи. МЗС України наголосив, що рішення Міжнародного суду не вплине не позицію України, яка не визнала незалежності Косово.


国际法庭：科索沃独立是合法的

在7月22日，联合国国际法庭表示，科索沃在2008年单方面宣布从塞尔维亚独立符合国际法。

儘管塞爾維亞抗議，稱科索沃的獨立在國際法裡是非法的，海牙国际法庭星期四发表的这一不具约束力的法律意见在科索沃的首府普里斯蒂纳引发了街头庆祝活动。正在华盛顿访问的科索沃总理萨奇把这个裁决称作是“对全世界都是可能得到的最好答复”。

這一舉措表示美國和大部分歐洲國家表示支持，而包括俄羅斯和中國的其他國家，則反對裁決。塞爾維亞總統塔迪奇說“塞爾維亞永遠不會承認單方面宣布獨立的科索沃。”

预计这个10票支持，4票反对的法院裁决会为更多的国家正式承认普里斯蒂纳政府扫清道路。包括美国和20多个欧盟政府在内的69个国家承认科索沃的独立宣言。


User:KuduIO/Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is indicted

Today, a U.S. grand jury indicted Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhohkhar Tsarnaev on thirty charges, including killing four people and using weapons of mass destruction. Some of the charges are punishable by the death penalty.

Prosecutors added new charges, including the carjacking of a SUV and the slaughter of an MIT police officer, to the ones that had already been brought in April against the suspect. The new charges are related to the escape attempt during which the accused accidentally slew his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, by running him over.

The improvised explosive devices allegedly fashioned out of pressure cookers by the two brothers killed three people and wounded more than 260 near the marathon's finish line on April 15.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was caught in a boat parked in a backyard in Watertown, Mass. four days later, where he lay wounded. According to the indictment, inside it, he had scribbled messages such as “The U.S. Government is killing our innocent civilians,” “I can't stand to see such evil go unpunished,” and “We Muslims are one body you hurt one you hurt us all.”

The indictment suggests that the brothers became radicalized mostly because of the Internet, rather than having any direct ties to known terrorist organizations. They used the Internet to gather information about jihad and obtain bomb-making instructions from an Al-Qaida magazine.


Джохару Царнаеву предъявлены официальные обвинения

Джохару Цорнаеву, подозреваемому в организации терактов в Бостоне, предъявлены официальные обвинения. Если Царнаев будет признан виновным, то он может быть приговорен к пожизненному заключению или смертной казни.

19-летнем Царнаеву инкриминируется использование оружия массового уничтожения и организация взрыва бомбы в общественном месте, результатом которого стала гибель людей. Часть оглашенных сегодня обвинений была предъявлена ему в апреле, после его задержания, однако ныне к ним добавились другие — убийство полицейского и угон автомобиля (братья Царнаевы захватили автомобиль, пытаясь покинуть Бостон).

В тексте обвинения не указывается, что братья Царнаевы были частью какого-либо масштабного террористического заговора или имели прямые контакты с иностранными экстремистами. Утверждается, что главную роль в радикализации Царнаевых сыграл Интернет — в частности, на сайтах «Аль-Кайды» ими были получены инструкции по изготовлению взрывных устройств.

В результате взрывов бомб на марафоне в Бостоне погибли три человека, более 260-ти получили ранения и травмы. Старший брат Джохароа Царнаева — Тамерлан — был убит в перестрелке с полицией.

27 июня 2013 года


美國起訴波士頓馬拉松爆炸案嫌疑人

陪審團指控波士頓馬拉松爆炸案嫌疑人焦哈爾·薩納耶夫30項罪名，其中包括在4月15日馬拉松比賽終點線附近製造的兩起爆炸事件中使用大規模殺傷性武器。今年19歲的焦哈爾·薩納耶夫星期四受到指控，如果被判有罪，他面臨死刑或者終生監禁。

在波士頓馬拉松爆炸案中，有3人喪生，260多人受傷。薩納耶夫還被控爆炸案發生幾天后殺死一名警察。當時，焦哈爾和他的哥哥塔梅爾蘭正試圖逃脫當局的追捕。塔梅爾蘭在與警方的交火中被擊斃，一天后，躲藏在波士頓郊區一座房屋後院停放的一艘船裏的焦哈爾被抓獲。

薩納耶夫兄弟過去10年來的大部分時間在美國生活。但是他們來自俄羅斯動蕩的車臣和達吉斯坦地區，那裏的伊斯蘭極端分子經常襲擊俄羅斯當局。執法官員説，焦哈爾在躲藏的船裏寫了幾段話，其中一條寫道，“我們穆斯林是一家，你們傷害我們當中的一人，就是傷害了我們所有的人。”


User:KuduIO/U.S. allegedly spied on EU offices, computer networks

The German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Saturday that the United States bugged European Union offices and gained access to its internal computer networks.

This is the latest of a series of revelations about alleged U.S. surveillance programs. The magazine cited a September 2010 document of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). It was obtained by fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who came into the international spotlight earlier this month when The Guardian and The Washington Post began publishing top secret documents that he had leaked to them.

The document explicitly calls the EU a "target" and outlines how the NSA bugged its offices and spied on its internal computer networks, in Washington, at the United Nations and at the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, which houses the European Council. It listened to its conversations and gained access to documents and emails. Der Spiegel's journalists have seen the document in part.

The magazine mentioned the discovery of phone and Internet taps at the Justus Lipsuis building by EU security experts "more than five years ago". It is not clear whether this is the same discovery of wiretaps that was announced by the EU in 2003.

The weekly also reported that security officers at the EU had noticed and traced numerous missed calls from within the NATO headquarters in Brussels to NSA offices.

European Parliament president Martin Schulz said that if the allegations are true, "it's a huge scandal."

Snowden, now 30 years old, has been in the transit area of a Moscow airport since last weekend and has technically not entered Russia. The government of Ecuador will consider his request for asylum once he is on their territory.


Abhörmaßnahmen der NSA sorgen für Irritationen in Deutschland und Europa

Berlin (Deutschland) / Brüssel (Belgien) / Washington, D.C. (USA), 02.07.2013 – Nachdem bekannt wurde, dass der US-amerikanische Geheimdienst NSA auch die Büros von EU-Einrichtungen und deutsche Netzknoten abhört, reagierten Politiker empört. Mittlerweile hat sich auch die Bundesanwaltschaft eingeschaltet.

Nach Informationen, die dem Nachrichtenmagazin „Der Spiegel“ vorgelegt wurden, hat die NSA im Rahmen des PRISM-Programms die diplomatische Vertretung der EU in Washington und die EU-Vertretung bei den Vereinten Nationen mit Wanzen abgehört. US-amerikanische Geheimdienste sollen auch für einen Lauschangriff in Brüssel verantwortlich sein. Dieser galt offenbar einer Fernwartungsanlage im Justus-Lipsius-Gebäude des EU-Ministerrats und des Europäischen Rats.

Am 30. Juni 2013 hat der deutsche Generalbundesanwalt Ermittlungen aufgenommen, um zu klären, ob es Anhaltspunkte für staatsschutzrelevante Delikte gibt. Unterdessen hat die Washington Post PowerPoint-Folien der NSA veröffentlicht, die zeigen, dass mit PRISM die Anwender der Onlinedienste von Microsoft, Google, Facebook, YouTube, Skype und anderen in Echtzeit überwacht werden können.

„Wenn die Medienberichte zutreffen, erinnert das an das Vorgehen unter Feinden während des Kalten Krieges“, so die Bundesjustizministerin Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (FDP). Vizekanzler Philipp Rösler (FDP) forderte von Amerikanern und Briten Aufklärung, ob die Handlungen auch Wirtschaftsspionage einschlossen. „Als Bundesminister für Wirtschaft und Technologie sei mir der Hinweis gestattet: Ich gehe davon aus, dass die Informationsbeschaffung ausschließlich das Ziel hat, den Terrorismus zu bekämpfen“, so Rösler. Es erscheine jedoch fraglich, wie Verwanzungen und flächendeckende Lauschangriffe in Partnerländern mit Terrorabwehr gerechtfertigt werden sollen, so der Spiegel.

Die NSA ist in Deutschland aktiver als in anderen europäischen Ländern. Bis zum Jahre 2004 betrieb sie in Bad Aibling eine große Abhöranlage (Field Station 81), die erst auf Druck der Europäischen Union geschlossen wurde. Die Anlagen wurden dann nach Griesheim, Menwith Hill in Großbritannien und die Türkei verlegt. Nach einer vertraulichen Klassifikation betrachtet die NSA die Bundesrepublik zwar als Partner, zugleich aber auch als Angriffsziel. Deutschland gehört damit zu den „Partnern dritter Klasse“. Monatlich sollen in der Bundesrepublik rund eine halbe Milliarde Kommunikationsverbindungen wie Ferngespräche, E-Mails, SMS oder Chats überwacht werden.

Anfang Juni 2013 hatte der Whistleblower Edward Snowden die Existenz des PRISM-Programms bekanntgemacht. Vom FBI zur Fahndung ausgeschrieben hat er mittlerweile Asyl in Ecuador und der Russischen Föderation beantragt.


Spiegel: АНБ США установило «жучки» в представительствах ЕС

По сообщению германского журнала Der Spiegel, американские спецслужбы прослушивали ряд представительств Евросоюза и получили доступ к внутренним компьютерным сетям ЕС.
Заявления журнала стали очередным сообщением о программах электронной слежки, которую якобы ведёт правительство США.
Страны ЕС потребовали объяснений от США.
По мнению экспертов мир может стоять на пороге крупного международного скандала.

Der Spiegel сообщает, что опубликованная в воскресенье статья основана на секретном документе Агентства национальной безопасности США (АНБ), полученном от его беглого экс-сотрудника Эдварда Сноудена.

В документе под грифом «совершенно секретно», датированном сентябрём 2010 года, сообщается о том, как АНБ установило микрофоны в представительствах ЕС в Вашингтоне, Нью-Йорке, ООН и Брюсселе, а также детали проникновения американской спецслужбы в компьютерную сеть ЕС и получения доступа к электронной переписке и документам.

По данным Der Spiegel, в 2008 году европейские специалисты по безопасности установили, что атаки на телефонные линии ЕС исходили из здания имени Юста Липсия в брюссельском районе, где расположена штаб-квартира НАТО, в которой также работали специалисты АНБ.

Президент Европарламента Мартин Шульц выпустил заявление, в котором потребовал от американских властей представить полные разъяснения и необходимую дополнительную информацию.
По словам Шульца, если сообщения Der Spiegel окажутся правдой, это серьезно повредит отношениям между ЕС и США.

Резкая негативная реакция поступила и от представителей отдельных европейских стран.
Министр юстиции Германии Сабина Лойтхойссер-Шнарренбергер заявила, что США должны незамедлительно представить объяснение относительно сообщений в прессе о прослушке офисов Евросоюза:

30 июня 2013 года


Шпигел: НСА контролише и институције ЕУ?

30. јун 2013.Берлин/ Немачка (Beta-Sinhua) - Америчка Национална служба безбедности (НСА) не само да контролише комуникацују грађана Европе, већ прислушкује и институције Европске уније (ЕУ), објавио је немачки лист Шпигел (Der Spiegel).

Лист је то објавио позвајући се на податке које је добио од бившег службеника НСА Едварда Сноудена.

Америчко правосуђе подигло је оптужницу против Сноудена за шпијунажу, пошто је он медијима проследио информације о шпијунским активностима САД, тј. њиховој контроли телефонских разговора и активности на интернету у земљи и иностранству. Уређаји за прислушкивање били су постављени у зградама институција ЕУ, а НСА је успела да уђе у систем интерног компјутера, што јој је омогућило да долази до података о састанцима представника европских институција, као и да контролише њихову преписку и интерна документа.

Шпигл додаје да је под сличном врстом контроле било и представништво ЕУ у УН у Њујорку, као и да је било прислушкивано и седиште Савета ЕУ у Бриселу.

Информације о слушању телефонских разговора и активности на интернету, које су раније објавили листови Гардијан и Вашингтон Пост, су у Европи изазвале оштро негодовање и забринутост због мешања у приватност читавог низа људи.

ЕУ је због таквих навода од америчких власти тражила „брзе и конкретне“ одговоре.


Kuwait stateless protest for rights

A thousand or more non-citizen residents of Kuwait demonstrated yesterday demanding rights given to Kuwaiti citizens.  Police used water cannons in dispersing the protest.  There were injuries among both protesters and police, and several protesters were detained.

Citizens of Kuwait receive substantial welfare benefits, including education and health care.  There are estimated to be around 100,000 non-citizen residents, called "bidoons" (from bedoun jinsiyya, Arabic meaning without nationality).  Many bidoons claim descent from desert nomads who did not apply for citizenship in 1959.  Many bidoons live in economic hardship, and cannot get legal recognitions such as birth and death certificates, driver's licenses, and attested marriage contracts.

Interior Ministry spokesman Adil Al-Hashash said "security forces on the ground talked to the protestors in a nice and civilized way", telling them "they should go to the legal channels for their demands rather than protesting."  The government says police acted in self-defense after protesters threw rocks.

Independent Kuwaiti Member of Parliament Daifallah Buramia said "[t]he protest of bidoons is legitimate and the government is responsible for this because it has failed to resolve the problem".


Οι απάτριδες του Κουβέιτ διαμαρτύρονται για τα δικαιώματα τους

Τουλάχιστον 1000 απάτριδες του Κουβέιτ διαδήλωσαν προχθές ζητώντας τα δικαιώματα που αναγνωρίζονται στους κάτοικους τους Κουβέιτ. Η αστυνομία χρησιμοποίησε εκτοξευτές  νερού κατά των διαδηλωτών. Σε αυτή τη διαδήλωση τραυματίστηκαν και αστυνομικοί και διαδηλωτές, ενώ  αρκετοί διαδηλωτές βρίσκονται υπό κράτηση.

Οι κάτοικοι του Κουβέιτ απολαμβάνουν σημαντικές κοινωνικές παροχές, στα οποία συμπεριλαμβάνονται η εκπαίδευση και η ιατρική περίθαλψη. Στο Κουβέιτ ζουν, σύμφωνα με υπολογισμούς, περίπου 100.000 απάτριδες, οι οποίοι ονομάζονται "bidoons" (από το bedoun jinsiyya, αραβική σημασία χωρίς εθνικότητα). Πολλοί απάτριδες ισχυρίζονται ότι ανήκουν στους νομάδες της ερήμου, οι οποίοι δεν υπέβαλαν αίτηση για υπηκοότητα το 1959. Οι περισσότεροι ζουν σε συνθήκες οικονομικής δυσπραγίας, και δεν μπορούν να λάβουν νομική αναγνώριση, όπως πιστοποιητικά γεννήσεως και θανάτου, άδειες οδήγησης και ληξιαρχικές πράξεις γάμου.

Ο Εκπρόσωπος Τύπου του Υπουργείου Εσωτερικών, Αντίλ Αλ-Χασάς, είπε ότι "οι δυνάμεις ασφαλείας επί του εδάφους μίλησαν στους διαδηλωτές με καλό και πολιτισμένο τρόπο", λέγοντάς τους "ότι πρέπει να περάσουν από νόμιμα κανάλια για να ζητήσουν τα δικαιώματά τους και όχι να διαδηλώνουν." Η κυβέρνηση επίσης δήλωσε ότι η αστυνομία ενεργούσε σε αυτοάμυνα όταν οι διαδηλωτές άρχισαν να ρίχνουν πέτρες.

Ένα μέλος της Βουλής, ο Δαϊφαλλάχ Μπουράμια είπε "οι διαδηλώσεις των απάτριδων είναι νόμιμες και η κυβέρνηση φέρει ευθύνη για αυτό επειδή απέτυχε να λύσει το πρόβλημα".

20 Φεβρουαρίου 2011


Kyrgyzstan: Ethnic unrest continues, government asks Russia for help

A second day of ethnic clashes in southern Kyrgyzstan between Kyrgyzs and Uzbeks has killed at least 62 people and wounded over 800 more, reports say, as violence there entered its second day. The interim Kyrgyz president, Roza Otunbayeva, meanwhile, appealed to the Russian government to send in troops to try and restore order.

The clashes are occurring primarily in the southern city of Osh. Witnesses say the chaos and violence has increased, and central authority collapsed, with gunfire audible throughout the city. The violence started on Thursday night, when ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks started street brawls that soon escalated into battles; riots and looting started, cars were damaged, and buildings set alight by both sides.

In a nationally televised speech, Otunbayeva commented: "I have signed a letter asking Dmitry Medvedev for third-party forces to be sent to the Kyrgyz Republic. Since yesterday the situation has got out of control. We need outside military forces to halt the situation. For this reason we have appealed to Russia for help."

Russian officials say the Kyrgyz leader had talks with Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin by telephone yesterday night.

Thousands of Uzbeks, meanwhile, have crowded the border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in an effort to flee the ongoing conflict; one child was trampled to death during the escape. According to a reporter for the BBC, people are being let through the border one by one by security guards.

By the latest official death tolls, at least 62 people have been killed, although the interim government believes that there could be up to 200 dead. Researcher for Human Rights Watch Andrea Berg cautioned that the death toll could jump once the government enters Uzbek neighbourhoods; under Uzbek tradition, the dead are buried within one day.

"We are moving corpses out of the city streets; however, there are regions that the authorities do not control, it is not known what is going on there. Additionaly, as a result of fires in the city, entire residential apartments burnt down, so there could be more dead people there as well," said a spokesman for the Russian ministry of health (Minzdrav).

Unrest also reached the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek; a medical official told the Agence France-Presse news service that 27 people were hospitalised, some of which are in critical condition.


Erneut blutige Unruhen in Kirgisistan

Bischkek (Kirgisistan), 13.06.2010 – Kirgistan kommt nicht zur Ruhe: Rund zwei Monate nach schweren Unruhen, die zum Sturz der Regierung führten, wurden im Süden des innerasiatischen Staates mindestens 65 Personen bei Unruhen getötet. Mehrere hundert weitere Menschen – manche Berichte sprechen von mindestens 630 Personen – wurden bei den gewaltsamen Protesten in der Stadt Osch verletzt.

Übergangspräsidentin Rosa Otunbajewa erklärte, die Lage sei angespannt, und setzte alle verfügbaren Mittel ein, um Demonstranten aus Bischkek daran zu hindern, nach Osch zu fahren. Es wurde eine Ausgangssperre verhängt und den Ausnahmezustand ausgerufen. Dieser wurde später auch für Dschalalabat verhängt. In Bischkek versammeln sich Tausende, um nach Süden aufzubrechen. Sie hätten Minibusse und Taxis gekapert, meldete die Nachrichtenagentur Kabar.

In der Stadt, in der im Jahr 2005 rund 230.000 Einwohner lebten, werde geschossen, teilte Regierungssprecher Asimbek Beknasarow im Rundfunk mit. Die Unruhen hätten eine ethnische Motivation. Dies wird von Augenzeugen bestätigt. Demnach seien Kirgisen und Usbeken aneinander geraten. An den Unruhen sollen zwischen 1.000 und 3.000 Personen beteiligt sein. Jugendliche Männer zündeten Autos an und warfen Scheiben ein. Es wird gemutmaßt, dass der Konflikt aufgrund von Reibereien in einem Spielclub ausgebrochen sei. Die Regierung hat Truppen und gepanzerte Fahrzeuge in die Stadt entsandt.

Die Lage in der Stadt scheint chaotisch. Hubschrauber kreisen über dem Stadtgebiet, immer wieder fallen Schüsse. Männer kämpfen mit Knüppeln, Eisenstangen und anderen improvisierten Waffen. Andrea Berg, die bei der New Yorker Organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) für Zentralasien zuständig ist, sagte, sie könne die Stadt nicht verlassen. Es verkehrten keine Busse, der Flugverkehr sei unterbrochen. Strom und Gas seien abgestellt, um Brände zu verhindern. Nach HRW-Angaben würden viele Usbeken die Stadt aus Angst vor Übergriffen verlassen und sich zur usbekischen Grenze aufmachen.

Die Usbeken sind mit einem Bevölkerungsanteil von 14 Prozent die zweitgrößte ethnische Gruppe in Kirgisistan, die Kirgisen stellen mit 70 Prozent der Bewohner die Bevölkerungsmehrheit. Doch im Süde des Landes ist das Verhältnis ausgeglichener, in Osch ist etwa jeder zweite Einwohner ein Usbeke.

Kirgisistan ist ein strategisch wichtiges Land. Sowohl die Vereinigten Staaten als auch Russland unterhalten hier Militärstützpunkte. Russlands Präsident Dmitri Medwedew forderte ein Ende der Gewalt. Der chinesische Präsident Hu Jintao rief zu „einer raschen Stabilisation der Situation“ auf. Beide Politiker hielten sich anlässlich einer Konferenz der Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) zur regionalen Sicherheit in Usbekistan auf.

Russland lehnte jedoch ein Hilfeersuchen Usbekistans ab. „Das ist ein interner Konflikt, und Russland sieht die Voraussetzungen noch nicht gegeben, sich an einer Regelung zu beteiligen“, hieß es in einer von russischen Medien am Samstag, dem 12. Juni, veröffentlichten Erklärung von Medwedews Pressesprecherin. Man werde allerdings humanitäre Unterstützung gewähren. Kirgisistans Übergangspräsidentin Otunbajewa hatte zuvor den russischen Ministerpräsidenten Wladimir Putin um Hilfe gebeten.

Der gestürzte Präsident Kurmanbek Bakijew hat in Südkirgisistan starken Rückhalt. Anhänger des im April ins Exil gestürzten Ex-Präsidenten sollen nach Otunbajewas Worten die Unruhen organisiert haben, um eine für den 27. Juni geplante Volksabstimmung zu torpedieren. Diese soll eine neue Verfassung mit mehr Demokratie bestätigen.


Por conflictos internos, el gobierno provisional de Kirguistán pide ayuda a Rusia


Violences au Kirghizstan : l'état d'urgence décrété à Djalal-Abad

Djalal-Abad est, après Och, la deuxième grande ville dans le sud du Kirghizstan où les autorités ont instauré l'état d'urgence pour réprimer les troubles interethniques, a annoncé le chef adjoint du gouvernement intérimaire Azimbek Beknazarov dans une intervention diffusée en direct par la télévision kirghize.

« Nous introduisons l'état d'urgence à Djalal-Abad et dans le district de Souzak. Le gouvernement intérimaire constate avec regret que le foyer de déstabilisation ne cesse de se propager », a-t-il déclaré.

Le sud du Kirghizstan est en proie aux affrontements interethniques qui se poursuivent depuis jeudi soir, réunissant des milliers de jeunes Kirghiz et Ouzbeks qui incendient des voitures, pillent des magasins et font irruption dans des logements. Selon les informations mises à jour, les troubles ont déjà fait 64 morts et près de 900 blessés. Le nombre de victimes peut augmenter davantage, car les médecins, craignant pour leur vie, ne répondent pas aux appels émanant de la zone des affrontements.

La région, qui compte des centaines de milliers d'habitants, est menacée par une catastrophe humanitaire. À Och, tous les marchés et les magasins sont dévastés, et les autorités locales ont l'intention d'utiliser les réserves stratégiques pour approvisionner la population en denrées alimentaires.

Le Kirghizstan a ouvert la frontière avec l'Ouzbékistan afin de laisser les réfugiés quitter la région des affrontements interethniques. On procède également à l'évacuation des écoliers et des étudiants.

Le gouvernement intérimaire a demandé à Moscou d'envoyer un contingent armé pour rétablir le calme dans le sud du pays. Cependant, une source haut placée au sein du commandement militaire de Russie a fait savoir que les troupes chargées de protéger le personnel de la base militaire russe de Kant ne participeraient pas aux opérations de rétablissement de la paix dans les régions bouleversées par les troubles.


Kirghizistan: la situazione precipita. Il sud si trasforma in un campo di battaglia

Il governo centrale di Biškek ha perso il controllo della situazione; il sud del Kirghizistan è diventato un campo di battaglia. Nella città di Oš sono stati dati alle fiamme edifici pubblici, case ed automobili. Bande di uzbechi e kirghisi si sono affrontati nella notte tra giovedì e venerdì ed oggi dopo il tramonto.
Il bilancio provvisorio del ministero della Sanità afferma che decine di persone hanno perso la vita, mentre quasi migliaia sono i feriti. Le poche truppe governative presenti in città non riescono a fermare gli scontri. Si combatte in altre località circostanti. Le notizie tardano, però, ad arrivare.

I Paesi dell'Organizzazione di Shanghai per la Cooperazione, di cui fanno parte cinque repubbliche ex sovietiche oltre alla Cina, si apprestano a dare supporto al Kirghizistan. La premier ad interim Roza Otunbayeva, sabato mattina, ha chiesto aiuto alla Russia vista l'impossibilità di riprendere il controllo della situazione. Mosca, però, non pare intenzionata ad inviare alcuna unità militare per riportare la pace.

Visto il precipitare della situazione, domenica mattina, il governo kirghiso ha dato ordine alle truppe fedeli di "sparare per uccidere" su chi gira armato. Oltre 70mila persone avrebbero attraversato il confine uzbeco, distante una trentina di chilometri dalla città.


Kyrgyzstan: Violence continues, death toll rises

According to a spokesman for the Kyrgyzstan's ministry of health's press-service, at least 97 people have been confirmed dead from recent ethnic clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. Meanwhile, thousands of ethnic Uzbeks have fled to the border with Uzbekistan to escape the ongoing violence.

"Currently, in the regions of Osh and Jhalalabad, 97 people have died. A further 1247 have been hospitalised," a spokeswoman commented. Some reports caution that the actual death toll might be higher than the figures announced.

The violence, now in its third day, initially began in the city of Osh, but has since spread to neighbouring vicinities. A resident in Jalalabad told the Agence France-Presse news service by telephone that "at the current moment, there are shoot-outs going on in the streets." Another witness described there being "a veil of smoke covering the whole city."

Cars and buildings were also been set alight by the fighting groups, with many apartments, stores, and other shops burnt to the ground in Osh. Supplies now have to be shipped in from outside the region, as it is difficult to obtain anything within the city. Meanwhile, the Kyrgyz interim government announced that it would be mobilising part of its armed forces today in an attempt to quell the violence.

A spokesman for the Ministry for Emergency Services said that supplies and medical aid has been sent down to the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border to help the refugees there; as many as 75,000 Uzbeks are crowding the border trying to get into Uzbekistan. They are comprised mainly of children and elderly people; some have gunshot wounds.


Aumenta violencia étnica en Kirguistán: alrededor de 100 muertos y 75.000 desplazados

Osh, Kirguistán - La violencia étnica en el sur de Kirguistán entre kirguises y uzbekos ha provocado el saldo de 113 muertos, 1.440 heridos y 75.000 desplazados, según últimos datos aportados por el Ministerio de Sanidad de Kirguistán hace unas horas.

La situación ha alcanzado niveles críticos, obligando al gobierno provisional de Rosa Otunbáeva a pedir ayuda militar de Rusia, aunque con resultados no esperados, y a movilizar a todos los varones kirguises de hasta 50 años para controlar la violencia. También el gobierno provisional ha decretado el uso de la fuerza excesiva, permitiendo "disparar a matar", ante el fracaso del toque de queda impuesto en la zona.

Muchos uzbecos étnicos, que constituyen una significativa población en las ciudades kirguises de Osh y Jalal-Abad han huido en dirección a Uzbekistán, que ha abierto sus fronteras para recibir a los miles de refugiados. Mientras que en el vecino país, temen que la escalada de violencia cruce sus fronteras y agudice el conflicto, involucrando la intervención militar de Uzbekistán.

El Secretario General de las Naciones Unidas, Ban Ki-Moon, ha expresado su preocupación por los enfrentamientos y ha coordinado junto con la Unión Europea y la Organización para la Seguridad y la Cooperación en Europa en busca de una solución pacífica. Estados Unidos sólo se ha limitado en un comunicado a pedir la búsqueda de la "rápida restauración de la paz y el orden público".

El sur de Kirguistán se ha convertido en una región inestable tras el derrocamiento del anterior presidente, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, el pasado mes de abril, ya que Osh y Jalal-Abad fueron considerados sus bastiones políticos. La convivencia entre las etnias uzbeka y kirguís ha sido irregular, ya que en 1990 hubo un enfrentamiento étnico con saldo de víctimas.


Lake near Bristol drained of water through vandalism

All water has drained out of Marine Lake in Weston-Super-Mare, near Bristol, United Kingdom due to a recent attack by vandals.

Vandals forced open a sluice gate, and this resulted in all water being drained from the lake. The gate was originally placed there as part of a £29m project carried out by North Somerset Council, which says that the project aims to "improve flood defences and regenerate Weston-super-Mare's seafront."

"This is due to a bit of mindless vandalism by people trying to force open one of the sluice gates," said a council spokesperson. "Presumably it was the same yobs who thought it would be fun to splatter mud over the nearby wall."

The council has said it is expected the water level will start to restore at the next high tide and is viewing CCTV footage to locate those responsible.


האגם רוקן ממימיו בעקבות מעשה ונדליזם

אגם שליו ליד בריסטול אשר באנגליה רוקן לגמרי ממימיו בעקבות מעשה ונדליזם לא שגרתי. המדובר באגם מרין, אשר על מפלס המים בו שלט סכר ובו שער, דרכו ניתן לנקז את המים. הסכר, אשר הוקם כחלק ממיזם ממשלתי בעלות 29 מליון פאונד נועד לשפר את השליטה בהצפות באזור המדובר.

דובר מטעם מועצת המחוז אמר כי "זה קרה עקב מקרה ונדליזם טיפשי - אנשים ניסו לפתוח בכוח את אחד משערי הסכר. אנו משערים שמדובר בכמה צעירים משועממים שחשבו שזה יהיה כיף לרצף את הקירות שליד השער בבוץ." על פי מועצת המחוז, מפלס המים באגם צפוי לחזור עם הגאות הגבוהה הבאה, ובינתיים יתמקדו המאמצים באיתור הוונדליסטים באמצעות מצלמות האבטחה.


Lashkar-e-Toiba implicated in Mumbai attacks

Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), a militant Islamic fundamentalist group based in Pakistan, has been implicated in last week's Mumbai attacks in India.

Rakesh Maria, a commissioner with the Mumbai Police, said that the sole surviving attacker, whom he identified as Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, has admitted spending three months in a Lashkar-e-Toiba camp preparing the attacks. Kasab, who is reported to be 21 years old, told police that he spent a total of eighteen months training at various LeT camps.

Meanwhile, John Michael McConnell, the United States Director of National Intelligence, indirectly implicated LeT. In a speech at Harvard University, he said that the same group responsible for the 2006 Mumbai train bombings was behind last week's attacks. LeT has also been blamed for the attack on the Parliament of India in late 2001

"The same group that we believe is responsible for Mumbai had a similar attack in 2006 on a train and killed a similar number of people," said McConnell without naming LeT. "If you examine the groups we think are responsible, the philosophical underpinnings are very similar to what Al-Qaeda puts out as their view of how the world should be. It is a continuation."

Commissioner Maria said that the training took place in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, near the disputed Kashmir region. Kasab received very specific instructions, according to Maria.

"He was told things like, 'You'll come in through this door, then go over here, then go out through that door,'" Maria told CNN's Nic Robertson. "Very, very detailed, explicit instructions. The gunmen were hand-picked, but there were no examinations per se."

India has also said that Kasab named known LeT leader, Yusuf Muzammil, as the mastermind behind the attacks.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited the Indian capital of New Delhi on Wednesday.

"Pakistan needs to act with resolve and urgency and cooperate fully and transparently," said Rice. "That message has been delivered and will be delivered to Pakistan."

Analysts cited by Reuters are saying that India will not resort to a military response over the Mumbai attacks.

"The military option has never been an option, because the military can't guarantee you an outcome," said Manoj Joshi, an editor at the Mail Today. "We have been there, done it, and it doesn't work." In 2002, India threatened military action after the parliament attack.

"If you want a solution to Afghanistan, you have to lean on Pakistan to shut down all jihadist operations," said Siddharth Varadarajan, an editor at The Hindu. "You have to tackle the root cause, which is the attitude of the Pakistani military. That is the silver bullet."


虔誠軍被證實涉及孟買襲擊

巴基斯坦境內的伊斯蘭恐怖組織虔誠軍（Lashkar-e-Toiba；LeT）被印度官方證實涉及上周在孟買發生的連環恐怖襲擊。

孟買襲擊事件中唯一被活捉的恐怖分子阿杰马勒·阿米尔·卡萨夫已經轉為污點證人，他供認到他曾經在虔誠軍的軍事訓練營接受過長達18個月的高強度訓練。在成為恐怖分子之前，組織的高層曾經表示，如果卡薩夫能夠為「聖戰」犧牲生命，他貧困的家庭將會獲得1,250美元。11月26日，他和其它9名被挑選的「聖戰者」從海路登錄孟買後，兩人一個小組執行襲擊任務。卡萨夫和伊兹梅尔·卡恩被分配到同一組，他們前往希瓦吉火车站（CST火車站），在火車站內投擲手榴彈和用AK-47掃射民眾，在那里54人被他們殺害。然後他們前往卡瑪醫院襲擊那里的警車，擊斃了孟買反恐部隊的總司令，在那里他們又挾持了兩名人質，駕車竄逃多處。最後卡薩夫假扮成屍體被發現，最終被捕。卡薩夫還表示，他們在但是注射了安非他命，使他們能夠保持亢奮與軍方對峙。

印度要求巴基斯坦協助引渡20名相信在巴基斯坦境內的恐怖組織領導人，包括虔誠軍的領袖哈菲斯·穆罕默德·萨伊德，以及被認為領導這次恐怖襲擊的扎基·乌尔·拉赫曼·拉赫维和优素福·穆扎米尔，但是遭到巴基斯坦總統阿西夫·阿里·扎尔达里的拒絕，他在接受CNN的采訪時對印度的「巴基斯坦涉及襲擊」指控的提出質疑，稱襲擊者不屬於任何一個國家；並且表示如果證明他們有罪，也應該由巴基斯坦來審判。

印度和美國都已經公開指控虔誠軍策動了此次襲擊，稱优素福·穆扎米尔在三個月成成為這次襲擊的小組的領導者，直接策劃了這次襲擊；而襲擊是應由萨伊德批準的，因此萨伊德也必須對此負責。不過萨伊德公開否認他有參與。對於巴基斯坦不愿意移交這些人，印度則強硬表示，如果巴基斯坦不愿意合作的話，印度會被迫停止印巴和平進程，甚至不排除使用武力解決問題。

3日，美國國務卿賴斯抵達新德里協商反恐工作並且調停印巴之間近來的緊張局勢。她表示巴基斯坦必須表現出決心和迫切全力、公開地和印度合作，對抗恐怖分子。今天賴斯飞往巴基斯坦。她在会见巴基斯坦总统和总理后对记着声明道，印度和巴基斯坦会合作共同调查孟买恐怖袭击事件，而巴基斯坦政府已经承诺会围捕怀疑者。但两国关系仍然处于紧张阶段。对此，赖斯一再强调，巴基斯坦会采取必要迅速的手段去阻止像类似的事件发生。

雖然孟買襲擊已經過去好幾天了，但是印度全國依然處於高度戒備狀態。CST火車站於昨日突然發現兩枚炸彈，每枚炸彈重達4千克，引起民眾的恐慌，不過相信炸彈是恐怖分子襲擊的時候遺留下來的。火車站已經恢復運營。

印度的情報機關指出恐怖分子有可能對印度實施空襲，目前新德里和班加羅爾的三座機場正全面加強戒備。除了要求警方加强对机场周边车辆的检查及监管力度外，还要求旅客要提前3个小时到机场，所有行李必须进行X光机扫描和人工检查。而情報機構也再一次接到疑似的恐怖襲擊威脅，威脅者又是聲稱來自「德干聖戰」，不過現在印度已經認定「德干聖戰」只是掩人耳目的空殼而已，真正的襲擊者是虔誠軍，甚至可能是阿蓋達。

虔誠軍於1989年由萨伊德成立，其最直接的目的就是終結印度在克什米爾地區的管治，他們多年來在克什米爾制造了許多宗爆炸案。九一一之後，在美國的壓力下，穆沙拉夫總統取締了虔誠軍，虔誠軍也被印巴美英俄澳等國列為恐怖組織。他們近年來相當活躍，2001年的印度國會大廈襲擊事件、2005年的德里爆炸案和2006年同樣發生在孟買的火車連環爆炸案都被普遍認為是他們策動的。


Lawmaker from Japan found hanged

Yoji Nagaoka, a House of Representatives lawmaker from Japan, was found hanged at his home in Tokyo, in a suspected suicide attempt.  He later died in a hospital on August 1 (JST, UTC+9). Japan's National Police Agency said the 54 year-old lawmaker left no suicide note and there were no wounds on the victim.

Nagaoka was born in Furukawa, Ibaraki in 1950. After he worked in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, he changed his career to politics. In 2003, he was elected to the House of Representatives for Ibaraki 7th constituency for the House of Representatives.

Centering on the postal services commercialization bill, Nagaoka opposed it in the LDP Executive Council, he voted however approval at the House of Representatives on July 5th. Japanese media reported his changing of opinion has been criticized as "betrayal" by some political leaders.


自民党の永岡洋治衆議院議員、自宅で首吊り自殺

8月1日午前10時5分ごろ、自民党の永岡洋治衆院議員（54歳、茨城7区）が、東京都世田谷区の自宅で首を吊っているのを、妻が発見し、娘が消防に通報した。永岡議員は東京消防庁の救急隊によって東京都三鷹市の杏林大医学部付属病院に搬送されたが、まもなく死亡が確認された。

警視庁成城警察署は永岡議員は自殺を図ったとみて、関係者から事情を聞いたり、遺書の有無などについて確認を急いでいる。

永岡議員の事務所によると、永岡議員は先月末に出身地の茨城県古河市に帰り、7月30日に同市内で開催された夏祭りにも顔を出していたという。

永岡議員は1950年古河市生まれ。東京大学法学部を卒業後の1975年4月に、農林水産省に入省、畜産局牛乳乳製品課長などを歴任し、1995年に同省を退官した。1996年10月と2000年6月の衆議院選挙に出馬したが、いずれも落選。旧建設省の中村喜四郎元大臣の失職に伴う2003年4月の衆議院統一補欠選挙で初当選し、現在は2期目だった。

亀井静香衆議院議員を主体とした亀井派に所属しており、今日の郵政民営化法案を巡っては、党総務会では反対したものの、7月5日に開かれた衆議院の法案可決に伴う投票において可決された際は賛成票を投じた。


Lawsuit filed against CIA for the use of torture

A German man, Khaled al-Masri, has filed a lawsuit against the CIA for alleged torture when he was held prisoner for five months in Afghanistan last year.  He was arrested in 2004 in connection with the September 11 attacks when he was stopped in Macedonia.  After being arrested, he was flown to Afghanistan for questioning.

Masri said his cell in Afghanistan was cold, dirty and in a cellar, with no light and one dirty cover for warmth. The first night he said he was kicked and beaten and warned by an interrogator: "You are here in a country where no one knows about you, in a country where there is no law. If you die, we will bury you, and no one will know."

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is representing Mr. al-Masri in the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia seeking damages of at least $75,000. The main defendant is former CIA director George Tenet.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Germany and would not comment on the lawsuit but the new German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, "I'm happy to say we have discussed the one case, which the government of the United States has of course accepted as a mistake..."

A senior U.S. official accompanying Condoleezza Rice to Romania said that Rice had not admitted to any mistakes in the handling of Masri.  "We are not quite sure what was in her head," he said, referring to Merkel.


US-amerikanische Bürgerrechtsgruppierung will CIA verklagen

Washington D.C. (Vereinigte Staaten), 04.12.2005 – Die American Civil Liberties Union, eine Bürgerrechtsorganisation zur Verteidigung der Bürgerrechte, hat erklärt, sie wolle die CIA verklagen, weil der amerikanische Auslandsgeheimdienst Gefangene außerhalb der USA und damit außerhalb des US-amerikanischen Rechtsraumes gebracht habe.

Konkret setzt sich die Organisation für einen namentlich nicht genannten Mann ein, der angeblich von der CIA zu einem Geheimgefängnis nach Afghanistan gebracht worden sei. Der Mann werde auf einer Pressekonferenz in der nächsten Woche zu dem Fall persönlich Stellung nehmen.

In der Presseerklärung legt die Bürgerrechtsorganisation die folgenden Anklagen dar: „Der Prozess wird die CIA-Verantwortlichen auf höchster Ebene anklagen, die universellen Menschenrechte verletzt zu haben, als sie ihre Agenten beauftragten, einen unschuldigen Mann zu entführen, ihn festzuhalten, ihm jegliche Kommunikation zu verweigern, ihn zu schlagen und ihn anschließend verschleppt und in ein geheimes CIA-Gefängnis in Afghanistan transportiert zu haben.“

Die geheimen CIA-Transporte, die nach Presseberichten auch über Europa abgewickelt worden sein sollen, sind offenbar mit Absicht durchgeführt worden, um die Gefangenen in Länder zu verschleppen, wo die gesetzlichen Bestimmungen in Bezug auf die Verhörpraxis weniger restriktiv sind.

In dem BBC-Bericht wird auch darauf verwiesen, dass einige Betroffene darüber berichtet haben, nach Syrien und Ägypten verschleppt worden zu sein.

US-Außenministerin Condoleezza Rice will angeblich noch vor ihrem Flug nach Europa am Montag zu den Berichten Stellung nehmen, nachdem die Europäische Union eine entsprechende Bitte brieflich geäußert hatte.


Ex prisionero alemán en Afganistán inicia juicio contra antiguo director de la CIA

El alemán Khaled al-Masri demandó a George Tenet, antiguo director de la CIA y a otros oficiales por supuesta tortura mientras fue mantenido prisionero durante cinco meses en Afganistán en 2004. Masri fue arrestado en Macedonia en relación con los ataques del 11 de septiembre y enviado a Afganistán para ser interrogado.

Masri afirma que su celda en Afghanistan era fría y sucia, estaba ubicada en un granero, sin luz y que sólo disponía de una cobija sucia para calentarse. La primera noche él afirma haber recibido golpes y patadas de parte de su interrogador, quien le dijo: "Estás en un país en donde nadie conoce tu paradero, en un país sin ley. Si mueres, te enterramos y nadie se enterará".

En Estados Unidos, Masri es representado por la Unión estadounidense de derechos civiles (ACLU) en su querella iniciada el martes en Alexandria, estado de Virginia, en la que solicita hasta US$75.000 por daños. El acusado principal será George Tenet, quien anteriormente trabajó para la CIA a nivel de dirección.

La Secretaria de Estado estadounidense Condoleezza Rice estuvo de visita en Alemania pero no habló con los periodistas sobre este caso. Por su parte, la nueva Canciller de Alemania Angela Merkel afirmó: "Estoy contenta al afirmar que se discutió el caso particular, y que el gobierno de los Estados Unidos por supuesto aceptó que había sido un error...".

Posteriormente un miembro del personal que acompañó a Condoleezza Rice hacia Rumania afirmó que ella no había admitido errores en el tratamiento de Masri. Al referirse a Merkel dijo: "No sabemos exactamente a que se refería".


Leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq arrested

An Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said that the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was arrested Thursday. Al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was reportedly arrested in the northern city of  Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.

There has been no official confirmation or comment from United States forces yet, but news of the arrest was reported on Iraq state television.

The Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman, Mohammed al-Askari, told the Associated Press via telephone that, "The commander of Ninevah military operations informed me that Iraqi troops captured Abu Hamza al-Muhajir the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq."

Al-Masri, an Egyptian-born militant, took control of Al Qaeda operations in Iraq after former leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed on June 7, 2006 in an airstrike northeast of Baghdad.

Major Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said that police in Mosul "arrested one of al Qaeda's leaders at midnight and during the primary investigations he admitted that he is Abu Hamza Al-Muhajir. Now a broader investigation of him is being conducted."


Uhapšen vođa Al-Kaide u Iraku

Iračko ministarstvo odbrane je objavilo u četvrtak 8. maja 2008 da je uhapšen vođa Al-Kaide u Iraku, Ebu Ejub al-Masri. Kako se navodi, Al-Masri je uhapšen u Mosulu, gradu na sjeveru zemlje. Snage SAD-a nisu zvanično potvrdile niti komentirale ovu vijest, a vijest je objavljena na iračkoj državnoj televiziji.

Glasnogovornik iračkog ministarstva odbrane Muhamed al-Askari je dao izjavu agenciji Associated Press putem telefona u kojoj se navodi da je iračka vojska uhvatila Abu Hamzu al-Muhadžira (jedno od imena Al-Masrija), vođu Al-Kaide u Iraku.

Al-Masri, inače rođen u Egiptu, preuzeo je kontrolu nad operacijama Al-Kaide u Iraku nakon što je bivši vođa ove organizacije al-Zarkavi ubijen 7. juna 2006 u bombardovanju sjeveroistočno od Bagdada.


Leaked cables cause Australian concern

Leaked diplomatic cables between Australia and the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, have raised controversy in the Australian community. The documents were released by the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks. The cables between the then prime minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, and the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, revealed that China may need to be forced to integrate into the international community. The secret documents also contained information of a conversation between Clinton and Rudd in Washington. In the interview, Rudd stated that China was "paranoid" about Taiwan and Tibet.

The sensitive documents may place a strain on diplomatic relations between Australia and China. Despite this, Kevin Rudd reassured the public that the "robust" relationship between Australia and China wouldn't sustain any substantial damage to the relations between the two countries. At this stage, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has provided no further comment on the matter, other than to ensure that the relationship between China and Australia would allow opinions to be expressed without any threat to either side.

At the heart of the leaks is Australian founder, Julian Assange. Wikileaks have now released 821 of their promised 251,287 US diplomatic cables. The cables are being released on a stage-by-stage basis. Earlier this week, Assange was arrested on suspicion of rape in London under a Swedish arrest warrant placed on him from a court in Stockholm on November 18.


Η διαρροή εγγράφων προκάλεσε ανησυχία στην Αυστραλία

Η διαρροή των εγγράφων μεταξύ της Αυστραλίας και των ΗΠΑ προκάλεσαν τριβές  στην αυστραλιανή κοινωνία. Τα έγγραφα δημοσιεύθηκαν από την ιστοσελίδα WikiLeaks. Πρόκειται για έγγραφα του τότε Πρωθυπουργού της Αυστραλίας, Κέβιν Ραντ, και της Υπουργού Εξωτερικών των ΗΠΑ, Χίλαρι Κλίντον, αποκάλυψαν ότι η Κίνα ίσως χρειαστεί να εξαναγκαστεί να γίνει  μέλος της διεθνούς κοινότητας. Τα έγγραφα περιέχουν επίσης πληροφορίες για τη συνάντηση και τη συζήτηση του Ραντ και της Κλίντον στην Ουάσινγκτον. Σε μια συνέντευξη του, ο Ραντ δήλωσε ότι η Κίνα επιδεικνύει  "παρανοϊκή" στάση  απένταντι στην  Ταϊβάν και το Θιβέτ.

Τα έγγραφα μπορεί να προκαλέσουν ταραχές στις διπλωματικές σχέσεις της Αυστραλίας και της Κίνας. Ωστόσο, ο Κέβιν Ραντ διαβεβαίωσε το κοινό ότι οι στενές  σχέσεις της Κίνας και της Αυστραλίας δεν θα διαταραχθούν. Η Τζούλια Γκίλαρντ, νυν πρωθυπουργός της Αυστραλίας, δεν έκανε κανένα περαιτέρω σχόλιο, μόνο δήλωσε ότι οι σχέσεις μεταξύ  Κίνας-Αυστραλίας, θα πρέπει να επιτρεπούν τις έκφραση των απόψεων  χωρίς απειλές προς οιανδήποτε πλευρά".

Στο επίκεντρο της διαρροής των εγγράφων είναι ο Αυστραλός ιδρυτής του Wikileaks, Τζούλιαν Ασάντζ. Ως τώρα, η ιστοσελίδα του δημοσίευσε 821 από τα 251,287 αναγγελθέντα μυστικά έγγραφα της αμερικανικής διπλωματίας. Αυτή την εβδομάδα, ο Ασάντζ παραδόθηκε στην Αστυνομία του Λονδίνου, αφού στις 18 Νοεμβρίου, το δικαστήριο της Στοκχόλμης εξέδωσε διάταγμα σύλληψης του Ασάντζ.

11 Δεκεμβρίου 2010


Lebanon car bombings kill dozens outside mosques

42 or more people have died, the Lebanese health ministry says, and over 500 wounded, from two car bomb explosions yesterday in the largely Sunni Muslim Lebanese city of Tripoli. The blasts occurred outside of the Taqwa and al-Salam mosques while hundreds of worshipers were gathered for Friday noon prayer. There has been reportedly no claim for responsibility as yet.

The first explosion, near the Taqwa mosque, reportedly occurred at 1:50pm local time (1050 UTC) killing 14 or more. The second, in which further deaths were reported, was caused by 100 kilograms of explosives according to the Interior Ministry. The imams of both mosques, Salafists Sheikh Salem al-Rafei and Bilal Baroudi, were unharmed in the attacks.

There have also been reports of unidentified gunmen firing into the air, hurling rocks at soldiers, and blocking roads near the blast sites.

A week earlier, a car bomb in Beirut killed 24 or more and left several hundred wounded.

Hezbollah condemned both the Tripoli explosions which they said they believed were part of "an effort to plunge Lebanon into chaos and destruction". Lebanese Defence Minister Fayez Ghosn said "We are calling for calm and vigilance, because the aim of [these blasts] is to stoke strife between sects".


Liban : 42 morts dans une double explosion à Tripoli

Page actualisée : 23 août 2013 — « Liban : condamnation de l'attentat de Tripoli par l'ONU »

Publié le 23 août 2013
Deux voitures piégées ont explosé, dans le centre de la ville libanaise de Tripoli, faisant au moins 42 morts. Le premier ministre libanais communique un bilan de 352 blessés, tandis que la Croix-Rouge libanaise élève ce nombre à plus 500 personnes touchées.

La première explosion a eu lieu près de la maison du premier ministre sortant, Nadjib Mikati (qui ne s'y trouvait pas). La deuxième voiture piégée a explosé près du port de Tripoli. Les deux explosions se sont produites à proximité immédiate de deux mosquées sunnites, peu après la prière du vendredi. Un témoin dit avoir aperçu sept cadavres dans la première voiture ayant explosé.

Le chef de l'armée libanaise, Jean Kahwaji, a affirmé mercredi être en guerre totale contre le vandalisme qui sévit dans le pays. François Hollande s'est également exprimé au sujet de ces attentats, en condamant « les attentats odieux et lâches ayant coûté la vie à plusieurs libanais ». Il a apporté son soutien aux efforts du président Michel Sleimane.


У нападима на џамије у Либану 47 мртвих

24. август 2013.Триполи/ Либан (Beta-AP) - Број жртава јучерашњих симултаних бомбашких напада испред две џамије у либанском граду Триполију порастао је на 47, рекли су у суботу званичници.

Либански полицијски званичници рекли су да је у болницама задржано око 300 особа, од чега је 65 у критичном стању, као и да је још 200 претрепело лакше повреде.

Напади на џамије Таква и Салам изведене су са бомбама темпираним да експлодира у подне, када верници долазе на молитву.

Иако нико није пријавио одговорност за нападе, многи Либанци их повезују са грађанским ратом у Сирији, у којој се опозиција предвођена сунитима бори против режима којим доминирају Алавити, шиитска група којој припада сиријски председник Башар ел Асад.


Lewis "Scooter" Libby indicted on five charges

Executive Office of the President of the United States

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Jr., chief of staff to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, resigned Friday following indictment on five federal felony charges.

Mr. Libby is charged with obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury to a Grand Jury, and two counts of making false statements to the FBI in the Justice Department's investigation into the Plame leak. Mr. Libby's resignation was accepted by Vice President Cheney. President Bush also accepted Mr. Libby's resignation as Assistant to the President.

The indictment centers on Mr. Libby's grand jury testimony that he learned from media sources that Joseph Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, worked under cover for the CIA. The Justice Department says that Mr. Libby knew of Plame's covert status from at least four government officials, including Vice President Cheney, in the month prior to his talks with the press, but that he sought to hide that knowledge from the investigation.

No charges were filed against White House advisor Karl Rove, but he remains under scrutiny in the on-going two year investigation led by Special Counselor Patrick Fitzgerald. The Seattle Post Intelligencer reported that late Friday, three people close to the investigation stated that the individual referred to in Fitzgerald's record as "Official A" was actually Karl Rove, the so called "senior official in the White House" who allegedly informed Libby on July 10 or 11 of 2003 that Plame was a CIA operative. The Washington Post is reporting that Rove's "fate" will be known soon.

All five charges stem from three conversations Mr. Libby had with reporters about Valerie Plame in 2003 between July 10 and 12:

In a nationally televised press conference announcing the indictment, Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald likened the alleged falsehoods of Mr. Libby's testimony to sand being thrown in the face of a baseball umpire. The obstruction of justice count alleges that Mr. Libby made false statements while testifying before the grand jury, and attempted to mislead and deceive the grand jury by doing so.

The two false statement charges relate to FBI interviews conducted in October and November 2003. There is one charge for the July 10, 2003 interview with Mr. Russert, and another for the July 12, 2003 interview with Cooper. One perjury charges alleges Mr. Libby lied to the grand jury about his conversation with Mr .Russert. The second alleges he was lying when he testified to the grand jury that he had told reporters "I hear from other reporters Wilson's wife works for the CIA."

If convicted on all counts, Mr. Libby faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine. In a written statement delivered by his lawyer, Mr. Libby said "today is a sad day for me and my family" but is confident that he will be "completely and totally exonerated."

Vice President Dick Cheney called Mr. Libby in a written statement one "of the most capable and talented individuals I have ever known" and stressed that he is presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

President George W. Bush called the investigation "serious" and said that Mr. Libby  "worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people and sacrificed much in the service to this country."

In September 2003, CIA Director George Tenet requested a Justice Department probe of the possibility that high officials of the Bush administration leaked to journalists the secret CIA identity of Plame. In December 2003, Patrick J. Fitzgerald was appointed Special Counsel in charge of investigating the leak of the identity of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame. A grand jury was convened to hear testimony from reporters and members of the Bush administration. The federal indictment suggests that Libby lied about what he told reporters Tim Russert, Matt Cooper, and Judith Miller. "When citizens testify before grand juries they are required to tell the truth," Mr. Fitzgerald said.

In February 2002, Joseph Wilson was asked to travel to Niger by the Central Intelligence Agency in order to investigate claims that Niger had sold yellowcake uranium to Iraq, a substance that - after a lengthy purification process - can be used to make a nuclear weapon.

On the 28th of January, 2003, President George Bush stated in his State of the Union address that, "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." Much of the President's address was focused on building support for the War in Iraq, on the grounds that Iraq had been developing Weapons of Mass Destruction, and this statement was a key part of the rationale to justify going to war.

On July 6, 2003, Wilson wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times attacking the validity of Bush's assertion by describing how his experiences in Africa had led him to believe no such sale had taken place.  He went on to accuse the Bush Administration of manipulating intelligence data in order to exaggerate the threat posed by Iraq.  Ultimately, the White House was forced to retract the statement regarding Niger in the State of the Union address.

On July 14th 2003, journalist Robert Novak published a news article that disclosed the identity of Valerie Plame as a CIA operative. Novak attributed the information about Plame's identity to "senior administration officials." After Novak's article was published, other news reporters speculated that Plame's identity as a CIA operative was leaked by the Bush administration in an effort to punish Mr. Wilson for his public criticism of the administration. Valerie Plame and Joseph Wilson are married, although Valerie had been using her maiden name "Plame" in her role as a covert operative rather than using her married name.

In June 2004, President George W. Bush was questioned about the leak by the Justice Department, but not in front of the Grand Jury. Bush first promised to fire anyone in his administration who leaked the CIA identity of Plame, then later qualified this as meaning that he would only act if it could be shown that a crime was committed.

With the Grand Jury scheduled to conclude its term in October 2005, reporter Judith Miller was jailed in July 2005 for refusing to reveal the source of the Plame leak. After 85 days in jail, Miller finally testified before the Grand Jury. Several reporters, including Miller and Matthew Cooper, identified Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove and Dick Cheney's chief of staff Lewis Libby as Bush administration sources who revealed Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA operative.

The indictment comes at the same time as allegations mount that Vice President Cheney and his chief of staff Libby withheld crucial documents from the Senate Intelligence Committee as it was investigating the intelligence failure in the run-up to the Iraq war in 2004. Rep. Jerrold Nadler has requested to expand Fitzgerald's investigation to clear up if the actions in the CIA leak were just a part in a larger scheme to deceive Congress into authorizing war, who was involved and whether their actions were criminal.


Bush-Administration unter Druck wegen Anklage gegen Stabschef

Washington D.C. (USA), 29.10.2005 – Der amerikanische Präsident George W. Bush und seine Administration geraten durch die Anklageerhebung gegen einen der ranghöchsten Mitarbeiter des Weißen Hauses, den Stabschef von Vize-Präsident Richard „Dick“ Cheney, Lewis Libby, unter Druck.

Libby soll die CIA-Agentin Valerie Plame enttarnt haben. Laut US-Recht ist die Enttarnung einer Agentin ein Straftatbestand. Reporter, die diese Information in der Presse veröffentlichten, bezogen sich auf Libby als Quelle der Information, was Libby jedoch abstreitet. Der Ehemann der Agentin, der ehemalige Diplomat Joseph Wilson, hatte öffentlich erklärt, die Enttarnung seiner Frau als Agentin der CIA stehe in Zusammenhang mit dem Versuch, ihn als politisch missliebigen Kritiker des Irak-Krieges mundtot zu machen. Wilsons Kritik an der Bush-Administration hatte auf die Verwendung angeblich gefälschter Dossiers abgezielt, mit denen die Bush-Administration die Behauptung begründet hatte, der Irak besitze Massenvernichtungswaffen. In der Verfechtung dieser Argumentationslinie, die wesentlich zur Rechtfertigung des Irak-Krieges diente, hatte Libby eine herausragende Rolle gespielt.

Die Anklageerhebung zielt nach den gegenwärtigen Informationen jedoch nicht auf die Enttarnung der Agentin durch Libby ab, sondern auf Falschaussagen, die Libby in diesem Zusammenhang vor Gericht gemacht haben soll.

Der 55jährige Libby ist angeklagt wegen Falschaussage, Behinderung der Justiz und Meineid im Zusammenhang mit der Enttarnung der CIA-Agentin Valerie Plame vor zwei Jahren. Im Falle einer Verurteilung hat der soeben zurückgetretene Stabschef des Vizepräsidenten eine Strafe von bis zu 30 Jahren Haft und eine Geldstrafe von 1,25 Millionen Dollar zu erwarten. Die Anklage ist deshalb von solch politischer Brisanz, weil damit gerechnet wird, dass auch der Vizepräsident von der Jury als Zeuge vorgeladen werden wird. Wenn der Vizepräsident vor Gericht in einer solchen Anklage aussagen muss, wird das zweifellos große publizistische Aufmerksamkeit erregen und die Regierungsarbeit möglicherweise lähmen.

Wie zuletzt beim Vorgänger des amtierenden Präsidenten geschehen, spielen Gerichtsverfahren gegen Mitarbeiter oder wie im Falle Bill Clinton gegen den Präsidenten selbst und die Presseberichterstattung darüber in der amerikanischen Öffentlichkeit eine gewaltige Rolle und können einen Präsidenten in seinen Handlungsmöglichkeiten erheblich einschränken. Diese Befürchtung äußern Beobachter der politischen Szene in Washington.


Libyan court jails 24 foreigners for helping Gaddafi

A court in Libya has sent 24 foreigners, mostly Ukrainians, to prison for supporting late leader Colonel Muamar al-Gaddafi's regime by working on anti-aircraft missiles. The convicts say they are oil workers who were forced into the conflict which toppled Gaddafi.

A Russian deemed to be the ringleader received a life sentence, while a second Russian, nineteen Ukranians, and three Belarussians were all given ten years' hard labour. Belarussian ambassador Anatoly Stepus attended yesterday's hearing and expressed surprise at "the worst kind of sentence. We thought that even if they were sentenced it would not be so strict. They have suffered a lot."

The Ukrainian ambassador, Mykola Nahornyi, called the decision "inconsistent with the laws of the countries of the citizens who were tried," and described "evidence which the court has on file that they were threatened with weapons by Gaddafi forces to [engage in] the building and maintenance of anti-aircraft weapons".

The men have been held since their capture in August last year by rebels who had taken the city of Tripoli. Libyans and other Africans were detained alongside them. The missiles at the heart of the case were used to target NATO aircraft, which were supporting the rebellion against Gaddafi. The revolt ultimately toppled the regime, which had stood for 42 years.

The trial commenced in April and the prosecution alleged then the men were complicit in Gaddafi attacks on civilians whilst being "in the pay of Gaddafi and his brigades". Ukraine vowed then to seek freedom for its citizens, or at least repatriation to serve sentence.

The defendants appeared in a cage within Tripoli's Court Complex to hear the outcome. An estimated 1,500 Ukrainians were in Libya when the conflict erupted in February last year, with Libya-Ukraine relations strong under Gaddafi's leadership. Gaddafi's nurse was Ukrainian and the European nation, alongside Russia, was among the last countries to recognise the legitimacy of the new government in Libya.


Libyjský soud poslal 24 cizinců do vězení za pomoc Kaddáfímu

Libyjský soud poslal 24 cizinců, převážně Ukrajinců, do vězení za pomoc, kterou poskytli režimu Velké libyjské arabské lidové socialistické džamáhíríje vedenému Muammarem Kaddáfím. Provinit se měli prací na protiletadlových střelách. Jejich obhajoba byla postavena na tom, že byli původně ropnými pracovníky a k práci na vojenském materiálu byli donuceni.

Nejpřísnější trest doživotního vězení dostal Rus, který byl považován za jejich velitele. Druhý Rus, devatenáct Ukrajinců a tři Bělorusové dostali všichni po deseti letech nucených prací. Běloruský velvyslanec Anatolij Alexejevič Stěpus, který byl přítomný jednání soudu, vyjádřil nad rozsudkem údiv. Ukrajinský vyslanec Mykola Nahornyj prohlásil, že rozsudek neodpovídá právu států, z nichž odsouzení pocházejí, a popsal důkazy, které svědčí o tom, že odsouzení byli k práci pro Kaddáfího donuceni hrozbou zbraněmi. Podle vyslanců se muži proti rozsudku odvolají.

Muži byli zadržováni od minulého srpna, kdy je povstalci zajali v Tripolisu během občanské války v Libyii. Jimi opatrované protiletadlové zbraně byly používány proti letounům Severoatlantické aliance, které podporovaly povstalce proti Kaddáfímu. Libyjská strana považuje odsouzené za žoldnéře.

Tato zpráva byla založena zčásti nebo zcela překladem zprávy Libyan court jails 24 foreigners for helping Gaddafi na anglických Wikizprávách.


Listening to you at last: EU plans to tap cell phones

A report accidentally published on the Internet provides insight into a secretive European Union surveillance project designed to monitor its citizens, as reported by Wikileaks earlier this month. Project INDECT aims to mine data from television, internet traffic, cellphone conversations, p2p file sharing and a range of other sources for crime prevention and threat prediction. The €14.68 million project began in January, 2009, and is scheduled to continue for five years under its current mandate.

INDECT produced the accidentally published report as part of their "Extraction of Information for Crime Prevention by Combining Web Derived Knowledge and Unstructured Data" project, but do not enumerate all potential applications of the search and surveillance technology. Police are discussed as a prime example of users, with Polish and British forces detailed as active project participants. INDECT is funded under the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), and includes participation from Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Indicated in the initial trial's report, the scope of data collected is particularly broad; days of television news, radio, newspapers, and recorded telephone conversations are included. Several weeks of content from online sources were agglomerated, including mining Wikipedia for users' and article subjects' relations with others, organisations, and in-project movements.

Watermarking of published digital works such as film, audio, or other documents is discussed in the Project INDECT remit; its purpose is to integrate and track this information, its movement within the system and across the Internet. An unreleased promotional video for INDECT located on YouTube is shown to the right. The simplified example of the system in operation shows a file of documents with a visible INDECT-titled cover taken from an office and exchanged in a car park. How the police are alerted to the document theft is unclear in the video; as a "threat", it would be the INDECT system's job to predict it.

Throughout the video use of CCTV equipment, facial recognition, number plate reading, and aerial surveillance give friend-or-foe information with an overlaid map to authorities. The police proactively use this information to coordinate locating, pursuing, and capturing the document recipient. The file of documents is retrieved, and the recipient roughly detained.

Technology research performed as part of Project INDECT has clear use in countering industrial and international espionage, although the potential use in maintaining any security and predicting leaks is much broader. Quoted in the UK's Daily Telegraph, Liberty's director, Shami Chakrabarti, described a possible future implementation of INDECT as a "sinister step" with "positively chilling" repercussions Europe-wide.

"It is inevitable that the project has a sensitive dimension due to the security focussed goals of the project," Suresh Manandhar, leader of the University of York researchers involved in the "Work Package 4" INDECT component, responded to Wikinews. "However, it is important to bear in mind that the scientific methods are much more general and has wider applications. The project will most likely have lot of commercial potential. The project has an Ethics board to oversee the project activities. As a responsible scientists [sic] it is of utmost importance to us that we conform to ethical guidelines."

Although Wikinews attempted to contact Professor Helen Petrie of York University, the local member of Project INDECT's Ethics board, no response was forthcoming. The professor's area of expertise is universal access, and she has authored a variety of papers on web-accessibility for blind and disabled users. A full list of the Ethics board members is unavailable, making their suitability unassessable and distancing them from public accountability.

One potential application of Project INDECT would be implementation and enforcement of the U.K.'s "MoD Manual of Security". The 2,389-page 2001 version passed to Wikileaks this month — commonly known as JSP-440, and marked "RESTRICTED" — goes into considerable detail on how, as a serious threat, investigative journalists should be monitored, and effectively thwarted; just the scenario the Project INDECT video could be portraying.

When approached by Wikinews about the implications of using INDECT, a representative of the U.K.'s Attorney General declined to comment on legal checks and balances such a system might require. Further U.K. enquiries were eventually referred to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, who have not yet responded.

Wikinews' Brian McNeil contacted Eddan Katz, the International Affairs Director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (E.F.F.). Katz last spoke to Wikinews in early 2008 on copyright, not long after taking his current position with the E.F.F. He was back in Brussels to speak to EU officials, Project INDECT was on his agenda too — having learned of it only two weeks earlier. Katz linked Project INDECT with a September report, NeoConopticon — The EU Security-Industrial Complex, authored by Ben Hayes for the Transnational Institute. The report raises serious questions about the heavy involvement of defence and IT companies in "security research".

On the record, Katz answered a few questions for Wikinews.

((WN))  Is this illegal? Is this an invasion of privacy? Spying on citizens?

((WN))  Who is making the decisions based on this information, about what?

The E.U. report Katz refers to was ratified just six days before the September 11 attacks that brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center. In their analysis of the never-officially-recognised U.S. Echelon spy system it states, "[i]n principle, activities and measures undertaken for the purposes of state security or law enforcement do not fall within the scope of the EC Treaty." On privacy and data-protection legislation enacted at E.U. level it comments, "[such does] not apply to 'the processing of data/activities concerning public security, defence, state security (including the economic well-being of the state when the activities relate to state security matters) and the activities of the state in areas of criminal law'".

Part of the remit in their analysis of Echelon was rumours of 'commercial abuse' of intelligence; "[i]f a Member State were to promote the use of an interception system, which was also used for industrial espionage, by allowing its own intelligence service to operate such a system or by giving foreign intelligence services access to its territory for this purpose, it would undoubtedly constitute a breach of EC law [...] activities of this kind would be fundamentally at odds with the concept of a common market underpinning the EC Treaty, as it would amount to a distortion of competition".

Ben Hayes' NeoConoptiocon report, in a concluding section, "Following the money", states, "[w]hat is happening in practice is that multinational corporations are using the ESRP [European Seventh Research Programme] to promote their own profit-driven agendas, while the EU is using the programme to further its own security and defence policy objectives. As suggested from the outset of this report, the kind of security described above represents a marriage of unchecked police powers and unbridled capitalism, at the expense of the democratic system."