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Recent Appearances... Rantburg

International-UN-NGOs
Executions on the rise in Iran and Soody Arabia, sez rights group
2008-07-24
Iran and Saudi Arabia are two countries in Asia that have carried out the most number of executions in the world, according to a report released on Thursday by Italian rights group, Hands Off Cain.

The report also highlighted China as having the worst record in terms of the number of death penalties carried out.
"But let's focus on the US death row, shall we?"
Although the number of countries that have the death penalty has been reduced, the report said that number of people executed in 2007 increased compared to the previous year. In 2007, there were 5,851 executions carried out in the world, compared to 5,635 carried out in 2006 and 5,494 in 2005.

The report says that executions in Iran have increased by one-third, from 215 in 2006 to at least 355 in 2007. Iran is also singled out in the report for having executed 21 people by hanging in one day, while in the first 10 days of 2008, 23 people were hanged.

Also in Saudi Arabia, the number of executions have increased four-fold in a year, turning it into one of the countries with the highest number of executions per capita. At least 166 people were executed in 2007, and 39 in 2006. The report says that executions in Saudi Arabia are held in public courtyards outside well-attended mosques after Friday prayers.
Gee, it's almost like mosques aren't really places of worship as our own tradition of religion would figure.
Those executed are beheaded.

In 2007, 50 of the executions that were carried out in Saudi Arabia had to do with drug crimes.

In the Americas, the last remaining country practising the death penalty is the United States, where 42 people were executed in 2007, less than the previous year when 53 were executed.

In Europe, Belarus continues to be the only country in the continent where the death penalty is carried out.

The report by Hands Off Cain was presented on Thursday at a special ceremony attended by several Italian parliamentarians, including the vice-president of the Italian Senate, Emma Bonino, as well as ambassadors from several countries. The former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi also received "The Abolitionist of the Year 2008" award at the ceremony. The award is given to a person who, above all others, has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment in the struggle for a moratorium on executions and the abolition of the death penalty.
Can't remember what Prodi did, but it was most probably very tranzi in style.
And notice he's not in charge anymore ...
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Europe
Saudi king has historic audience with Pope
2007-11-06
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia had a historic audience on Tuesday with Pope Benedict XVI on the first official visit to the Holy See by a monarch from the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom. The two octogenarians met for half an hour, conversing through interpreters. Abdullah, wearing a traditional blue, gold and white robe, offered the 80-year-old Benedict a gold sword encrusted with stones ...
A strange gift.
... and accepted a 16th-century engraving of the Vatican from the pope.

Afterward the 84-year-old Saudi monarch, who was accompanied by a 12-strong delegation, met with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

Abdullah had arrived in Rome late Monday following visits to Geneva and London.

The Holy See does not have diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia, which is home to Islam's holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina and applies a rigorous doctrine of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism. Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal came to Rome in September to pave the way for the meeting, which had been expected to focus on the rights of Christians in Saudi Arabia and Islamic-Christian relations in general. Abdullah's visit comes as relations between the Vatican and the Muslim world have eased since the crisis provoked in September 2006 when Benedict appeared to link Islam with violence in a speech at Regensburg University, Germany.

The lecture sparked days of sometimes violent protests in Muslim countries, prompting the pontiff to say that he was "deeply sorry" for any offence and attributing Muslim anger to an "unfortunate misunderstanding".

It was not King Abdullah's first contact with the head of the Roman Catholic Church. He met Benedict's predecessor John Paul II in 1999 when he was crown prince to his half brother King Fahd.

The question of religious freedoms in Saudi Arabia for Christians and other non-Muslims remains an extremely sensitive one. In September, the US State Department annual report on religious freedoms noted some improvement in "specific areas" in Saudi Arabia but said "overall government policies continue to place severe restrictions on religious freedom." The report mentioned discrimination against non-Muslims, or against Muslims with practices different from Saudi Arabia's strict conservative Wahabi version of Sunni Islam. "Non-Muslims and Muslims who do not adhere to the government's interpretation of Islam continued to face significant political, economic, legal, social, and religious discrimination," it said. "Charges of harassment, abuse, and even killings at the hands of the muttawa (religious police) continued to surface. Saudi textbooks continued to contain statements of intolerance."

King Abdullah's stay in Rome is the third leg of a European tour that will also take him to Germany and Turkey. Abdullah's lavish three-day state visit to Britain, the first by a Saudi monarch in 20 years, sparked human rights protests. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, who travelled to Riyadh in April, was to meet the Saudi king later Tuesday, while Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema was to have talks with his Saudi counterpart Al-Faisal.
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Europe
Italy protests music video of Turkish singer praising priest's murder
2007-09-19
Rome, 19 Sept. (AKI) - Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has strongly criticised a video clip by a famous Turkish folk singer singing about the death of priest Andrea Santoro.

According to a statement, Prodi telephoned the Italian Ambassador Carlo Marsili in Ankara on Tuesday and "expressed his displeasure, and that of the Italian government, following the news of a music video where the homicide of Don Santoro is celebrated".

In the clip posted on YouTube.com folk singer Ismail Turut's voice can be heard singing the song "Do not make any plans" with lyrics by poet Ozan Arif. The song is accompanied by images showing Ogun Samast, the teenager who allegedly shot dead ethnic Armenian journalist, Hrant Dink in Istanbul on 19 January as well as a suspected accomplice, Yasin Hayal, who was also implicated in the 2004 bombing of a McDonald's restaurant.

Monsignor Luigi Padovese, apostolic vicar in Turkey, in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI) called the video a "repugnant act" which does not express the feelings of the community.

Other images include those of a wolf, apparently symbolising the ultra-rightwing Grey Wolves group, and one of the group's most notorious members, Mehmet Ali Agca who shot and wounded Pope John Paul II in 1981.

Prosecutors are considering whether Turut, Arif or the unknown person who created the video could be charged with inciting hatred. "If they find me guilty, I am ready to serve the punishment. However, I am not guilty" Turut has said in response to the probe.

The image of Dink, an advocate for the claim that the mass deaths of Armenians under Ottoman rule during the World War I period was genocide - appears when the lyrics "whoever betrays the country, he will be finished off" are sung.

The images on the video showing the murdered Italian priest have been removed, and the Italian Ambassador has pledged to continue to work closely with the local authorities to avert future similar cases.

The clip has received considerable media attention in Turkey and has outraged activist groups with two, the Human Rights Association in Turkey and the Association of Solidarity for Oppressed People, announcing they would file lawsuits against Turut and Arif.
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Africa Horn
Sudan offers truce in Darfur
2007-09-15
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, on a landmark visit for talks with Pope Benedict XVI, said Friday he was ready to call a Darfur ceasefire ahead of peace talks with rebels.

The pope for his part voiced his “heartfelt hope” for the success of the peace talks next month, the Vatican said. Bashir raised the possibility of a ceasefire in Sudan’s western Darfur region after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. “We stated that we are prepared for a ceasefire for the start of negotiations in order to create a positive climate conducive to a positive end to the negotiations,” he told a press briefing. The Sudanese government and Darfur rebels who refused to sign a peace agreement are to hold talks in Tripoli from October 27.

Bashir faces mounting international pressure over the conflict which has killed at least 200,000 people and displaced two million since Khartoum enlisted Janjaweed Arab militia allies to help put down an ethnic minority rebellion in 2003, according to UN figures. The Sudanese president said he asked Prodi to pressure “certain European countries harbouring some of these rebel groups” to persuade them to come to the talks. “We hope that the negotiations in Tripoli will be the last and that they will produce a definitive peace,” Bashir said, adding that he wanted an end to economic sanctions against his government and the cancellation of its foreign debt. Bashir’s meeting at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome was the first between a Sudanese president and a pope.

“Very positive views were expressed concerning fresh peace negotiations for Darfur,” the Vatican said following the 25-minute meeting. “It is the Holy See’s heartfelt hope that these negotiations prove successful in order to put an end to the suffering and insecurity of those peoples.” Bashir also met for half an hour with Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican’s equivalent of a foreign minister who formerly served as the papal nuncio to Khartoum.
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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Hamas ready to entertain offers from dhimmis: spokescritter
2007-08-14
The Hamas Movement said, in return to an invitation for dialogue proposed by Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi Monday, that it was ready for an open dialogue with the West. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zehri said the invitation for dialogue between the West and the Palestinian movement, as proposed by Prodi, was "deeply appreciated by Hamas." He added that similar invitations for dialogue had come from "other European sides" including a delegation of UK legislators, who slammed their government for its attitude towards Hamas and called for opening a dialogue with the Palestinian movement.

Abu Zehri stressed that these invitations for dialogue have underlined "the mistake committed by the West and Europe in the way they dealt with Hamas." He expressed hope that such invitations would receive positive responses and stated that his movement was ready for dialogue with the West. Prodi had underlined, in a recent statement, the "need to engage in a dialogue with Hamas to help achieve its political development." The Italian prime minister had added that Hamas had become a reality on the ground but remained a complicated structure that needed to be developed with European help.
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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Abbas calls for int'l force in Gaza
2007-07-11
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Tuesday called for an international force in the Gaza Strip, which is now controlled by the rival Hamas movement. “We have insisted on the necessity of deploying an international force in the Gaza Strip to guarantee the delivery of humanitarian aid and to allow citizens to enter and leave freely,” Abbas said at a joint news conference in Ramallah after talks with visiting Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

The call threatened to further widen the yawning Palestinian chasm, as Hamas has warned that it would not accept any foreign troops in Gaza and would treat them as an occupying power. Abbas said on Monday the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas is protecting Al Qaeda and allowing it to gain a foothold in Gaza. “Through Hamas, Al Qaeda is entering the Gaza Strip,” Abbas told Italian state television channel RAI in an interview in the West Bank city of Ramallah ahead of a meeting on Tuesday with visiting Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.
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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
'Hamas army' established in Gaza, intelligence source says
2007-07-10
Southern Command intelligence officer tells Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi that Hamas' military industry is being run in organized manner and developing in many areas. 'Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are controlled in Strip by Hamas army,' he say

Hamas' military industry is giving serial production numbers to the roadside charges and Qassam rockets it manufactures, a senior intelligence officer in the Southern Command told Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi during his visit to the rocket-battered town of Sderot on Monday.

According to the officer, intelligence sources believe that a real 'Hamas army' exists in the Gaza Strip and includes between 7,000 and 10,000 soldiers, who are being armed continuously with weapons smuggled through the Philadelphi route.

The officer told Prodi that Hamas and radical Islam organizations have completely taken over the Fatah headquarters in the Strip.

"Six kilometers (3.7 miles) away from here, some 800,000 people are concentrated in the Gaza Strip, where they are controlled by the Hamas army. This army's goal is to hurt innocent Israeli citizens living around the Gaza Strip," the officer said.

According to the report given to the Italian premier, about 30 tons of explosives have been smuggled over the past year into the Strip to Hamas and radical Islam organizations. Thousands of rifles and antitank missiles were also smuggled.

"As if this smuggling, which comes from Egypt, is not enough, Hamas has developed a real military industry, which operates inside buildings and private houses. The weapons manufactured there already have serial numbers, which testify to the development of this military industry," the intelligence officer said.
My take on this, is Hamas will attempt a Hizbollah type war against Israel by the end of the year, with the understanding Syria will use it as an opportunity to attack the Golan. Syria will then back out of its 'commitment. The UN/Euros might send in peacekeepers but I doubt it and Gaza ends up starving in the dark as international aid dissapears.
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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Conditions not right for intl Gaza force: Prodi
2007-07-10
And never will be, either.
SDEROT, Israel - Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi on Monday played down the prospects of deploying an international peacekeeping force in the Gaza Strip, saying conditions were not suitable. Prodi’s comments during a visit to the southern Israeli town of Sderot came after his foreign minister, Massimo D’Alema, had suggested Italy was prepared to consider sending troops to the coastal strip if requested by the Palestinian government.

‘While in Lebanon we sent international troops because there was a common request from the parties, here (in Gaza) certainly, for now there are not the conditions to do the same thing,’ Prodi told reporters near the Gaza border with Israel.
"No, no, certainly not!"
Prodi toured Sderot, a town that is frequently hit by makeshift rockets fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza, with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Abbas: Hamas who allowed al-Qaida into Gaza Strip
2007-07-10
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Monday night that Fatah would not renew contact with Hamas, citing the group's move to allow al-Qaida to become established in the Gaza Strip. Abbas was scheduled to meet Tuesday with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi
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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
IDF to request green light to strike Hamas leadership
2007-04-25
The IDF plans to ask Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday for permission to carry out "pinpoint" operations against Gaza-based Hamas terrorist chiefs and infrastructure, in response to an attempt by the Islamist group to kidnap soldiers near the Gaza Strip.

According to IDF sources, a barrage of more than 10 Kassam rockets and 20 mortar shells on the Negev Tuesday morning was meant to provide cover and distract attention from an infiltration by a terrorist cell, whose members intended to kidnap soldiers deployed on the Gaza border.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, speaking in Rome after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, said the rocket attacks were a "one-time violation of the truce." He called on Israel to show restraint in order to avoid a "deterioration" in the region."

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said that Rome was concerned about the renewed rocket attacks, and called on Abbas to adhere to the principles set by International Quartet - especially the recognition of Israel.
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Europe
Prodi visits Saudi Arabia to discuss Mideast
2007-04-22
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi visited Saudi Arabia on Saturday for talks with the Saudi king and other officials on the troubled Middle East.

Center-left Premier Prodi was first received in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, by three princes, including Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. The Italian premier is expected to discuss bilateral relations and international issues with King Abdullah, as well as issues such as the war in Iraq, the crisis in Lebanon, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Iranian nuclear standoff.
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Afghanistan
Abducted Afghan interpreter slain
2007-04-09
Follow-up from yesterday.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — Taliban insurgents have killed the kidnapped interpreter of an Italian journalist whose own release from captivity followed a controversial swap for Taliban prisoners, an Afghan government official said Sunday.

The death of Ajmal Naqshbandi, who also was a journalist, came on a day of heavy violence in Afghanistan that also saw the deaths of seven North Atlantic Treaty Organization soldiers in roadside bombings in the south.

The government official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed Naqshbandi's slaying hours after a purported Taliban spokesman telephoned news agencies in Kabul, the capital, to say that the journalist had been beheaded. Naqshbandi was working with Italian reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo in the troubled southern province of Helmand, where the Taliban insurgency is strongest, when the two men and their driver were kidnapped March 5. The driver was beheaded soon afterward. Mastrogiacomo was released March 19 after Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed to free five Taliban prisoners, including at least two senior members of the fundamentalist Islamic movement.

The swap provoked a firestorm of national and international protest from critics who said the deal would encourage more abductions. Within the last two weeks, at least 13 Afghans and two French aid workers have been kidnapped. Taliban rebels have demanded further releases of their jailed associates in exchange for some of the hostages.

Naqshbandi's captors had offered a similar swap for him, but Karzai on Friday ruled out any more deals. "When we demanded the exchange for the Italian journalist, the government released the prisoners, but for the Afghan journalist, the government did not care," Shahabuddin Atal, a purported Taliban spokesman, told the Associated Press. Atal said that his group beheaded Naqshbandi in the Garmsir district of Helmand province Sunday afternoon.

Karzai said he agreed to a swap for Mastrogiacomo out of gratitude for Italy's commitment of 1,800 troops in Afghanistan and because Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi had called him "several times and asked for cooperation."
Of course he did.
News of Naqshbandi's slaying came as a heavy blow to colleagues and some Afghan officials who had thought some kind of a deal to secure his release might be possible. Last week, journalists rallied in Kabul to press the government to work harder to win their colleague's freedom.

In Rome, where a huge photograph of Naqshbandi has been hanging from the facade of City Hall as a way to press for his release, Mastrogiacomo said he was devastated by the news of his colleague's death. "This homicide was horrible, gratuitous and cowardly," Mastrogiacomo said in a statement. "Ajmal Naqshbandi was a journalist, like me, like so many who practice our craft circulating through the world." The blame for the killing rests squarely with the Taliban, "who have shown their true face to the world," he said. "They are simple murderers."
Didn't know that from the beginning? That's okay, Daniele. You have a nice bottle of wine for him tonight, okay, scumbag?
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