Business de l'Etat Hébreu en Guinée et en Afrique: Infiltration du Mossad, ventes illégales d'armes

Formations de milices..... Business de l'Etat Hébreu en Guinée et en Afrique: Infiltration du Mossad, ventes illégales d'armes
Vente d’armes, soutien logistique, formation... L’intérêt de l’État hébreu pour les pays au sud du Sahara ne se dément pas.

Janvier 2009. La scène se déroule dans un somptueux restaurant du bord de mer à Tel-Aviv. Assis nerveusement au coin d’une table, Samuel Sternfeld avise une dernière fois son équipe. Dans quelques heures, cet habile homme d’affaires israélien reconverti en marchand d’armes doit accueillir une délégation officielle de Centrafrique. Bien que l’État hébreu n’entretienne aucun lien diplomatique avec Bangui, tout est organisé comme une visite d’État: accueil des ministres à l’aéroport Ben-Gourion, transport avec chauffeur, rencontre avec des officiers de l’état-major de Tsahal et inspection des principaux sites d’armements israéliens. Chaque étape du voyage est minutieusement planifiée. Soudain, le téléphone de Sternfeld retentit. Des rebelles viennent d’attaquer un détachement des forces centrafricaines dans la région de Ndélé, frontalière du Soudan. Il y a des morts, la visite est annulée. Coup dur pour cet homme d’affaires mandaté par le ministère israélien de la Défense et qui avait financé de sa poche le déplacement de la délégation envoyée par le président François Bozizé. Pour parfaire son « opération séduction », Samuel Sternfeld avait même sollicité le général Amos Gilad, alors négociateur israélien dans les pourparlers avec le Hamas. Gilad était chargé de transmettre l’assentiment officiel de son gouvernement et de mettre en confiance la délégation centrafricaine.

Fini l’eldorado subsaharien ?

Complexe à réaliser sans l’aval de la France, qui a toujours soutenu militairement les troupes de François Bozizé, l’accord avec Israël ne verra finalement jamais le jour. L’enjeu était pourtant de taille pour le président centrafricain. Confronté à diverses rébellions aux frontières nord et est, le général s’était laissé convaincre par Samuel Sternfeld de la nécessité de bâtir une armée plus imposante que sa garde présidentielle composée d’un petit millier d’hommes. Bozizé y voyait aussi l’occasion de se détacher de la pesante tutelle fran­çaise. Pour ce faire, l’industrie militaire israélienne était prête à tourner à plein régime: drones, blindés, armes légères et vedettes de la marine ont été proposés au régime de Bangui, de même que du matériel d’écoute et de renseignement. Sans grandes ressources financières, le gouvernement centrafricain envisageait en contrepartie de régler l’État hébreu en bois et en diamants.

Inconnu jusqu’ici, cet épisode illustre la nature actuelle des relations entre Israël et les pays d’Afrique subsaharienne, du moins sur le plan sécuritaire. Officieuses, aléatoires, elles obéissent en priorité à une logique d’intérêts politiques et économiques. Comme dans beaucoup d’autres zones géographiques instables, les Israéliens ont su faire valoir leur expérience militaire. « Aujourd’hui, des dizaines de sociétés de sécurité travaillent sur ce continent, toutes dirigées par d’anciens officiers de Tsahal, explique le journaliste d’investigation Ronen Bergman (éditorialiste au Yediot Aharonot). La présence israélienne y est exclusivement privée, c’est un phénomène qui remonte aux années 1970. »

Au lendemain de la guerre de Kippour (1973), lorsque la plupart des pays africains rompent leurs liens avec l’État hébreu, le Mossad décide de se substituer aux diplomates en servant d’interlocuteur auprès des dirigeants africains et des mouvements d’opposition. Isolé sur la scène internationale, Israël cherche avant tout à bénéficier d’appuis au sein de l’ONU. « C’est à ce moment-là que les hommes d’affaires et les marchands d’armes israéliens ont fait irruption en Afrique », raconte l’ancienne députée Naomi Hazan. Au Liberia, au Zaïre, au Togo ou encore au Cameroun, des centaines d’instructeurs israéliens commencent à assurer la formation de gardes présidentielles et d’unités d’élite. À la fin des années 1970, plus d’un tiers des ventes d’armes israéliennes se réalise sur le continent noir. Mais dans certains pays, l’ingérence est parfois lourde d’implications. En Afrique du Sud, l’État hébreu est accusé ouvertement de fermer les yeux sur l’apartheid et d’aider Pretoria a se doter d’armes nucléaires. Tandis que, face à la rébellion érythréenne en Éthiopie, il conditionne son soutien militaire à Addis-Abeba à l’émigration vers Israël des Falashas, les juifs éthiopiens. « L’effondrement de l’URSS a changé la donne, estime Naomi Hazan. D’autres marchés se sont ouverts aux États-Unis, en Inde et en Chine. Ils rapportent chaque année des milliards de dollars à l’industrie militaire israélienne. L’Afrique n’est plus une priorité. »

Nigeria, kenya, éthiopie…

Et pourtant, en septembre 2009, Avig­dor Lieberman est venu démentir cette allégation en effectuant une tournée africaine. Officiellement, la visite du chef de la diplomatie israélienne visait à renforcer la coopération sur le plan agricole et proposer des solutions liées à la purification des eaux. « Il ne fait aucun doute que le plus important pour l’Afrique, c’est la lutte contre la pauvreté et la sécheresse, pas les armes », déclarait Haim Dibon, l’un des proches de Lieberman. Ce déplacement officiel cachait néanmoins d’autres ambitions moins avouables. Au sein de la délégation israélienne figurent une équipe du Mossad, des représentants du Sibat, l’organisme en charge des exportations d’armes israéliennes, de même que plusieurs responsables d’industries de défense, comme les sociétés Elbit, Soltam, Silver Shadow et l’Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

Les pays visités par Avigdor Lieberman représentent quant à eux un intérêt sécuritaire majeur. Au Nigeria, principal producteur de pétrole en Afrique, en proie à une rébellion dans le Delta et des conflits communautaires dans l’État de Plateau, les ventes d’armes ont rapporté 500 millions de dollars à Israël ces dernières années. Au Kenya, cible par le passé de plusieurs attentats, la coopération antiterroriste a été longuement évoquée. Enfin, l’Éthiopie, partenaire stratégique de l’État hébreu, est positionnée sur la Corne africaine, au carrefour de la mer Rouge, à proximité du Soudan et de l’Égypte, un axe où l’Iran fait régulièrement transiter ses cargaisons d’armes à destination du Hamas et du Hezbollah.

Activités illégales en Guinée

Éditorialiste au quotidien Haaretz, Yossi Melman refuse néanmoins de penser qu’Israël a signé son retour sur le continent noir. Il prône une doctrine plus pragmatique : « En Afrique, là où il y a de l’argent, il y a des armes israéliennes », clame-t-il. Ce spécialiste des questions de défense a récemment révélé les activités de la société de sécurité privée Global CST en Guinée.

En décembre 2008, lorsque le capitaine Moussa Dadis Camara s’autoproclame successeur du défunt président Lansana Conté, il connaît la méfiance qu’éprouve à son égard une partie de la population. N’accordant guère plus de confiance à l’armée guinéenne, dont il est pourtant issu, le chef de la junte décide de s’attacher les services d’un expert en sécurité qui assurera l’encadrement de sa garde prétorienne, les Bérets rouges. Via le diamantaire israélien Beny Steinmetz, qui possède une mine d’exploitation en Guinée, Dadis Camara reçoit Israel Ziv, patron de la société privée Global CST. Ancien commandant des forces spéciales, Ziv possède un profil impressionnant. Connu pour avoir encadré l’armée colombienne lors de la libération d’Ingrid Betancourt, il a également servi de conseiller militaire en Géorgie en 2008, juste avant que n’éclate la guerre en Ossétie du Sud. Dadis et Israel Ziv concluent un accord qui s’élève à 10 millions de dollars. Mais la transaction est illégale: « Ziv a vraisemblablement agi sans le feu vert du ministère israélien de la Défense et a enfreint les règles d’exportation d’armes », explique Yossi Melman. Si le gouvernement israélien a décidé d’ouvrir une enquête, l’affaire est d’autant plus embarrassante que Global CST n’a pas remis en question sa coopération avec Dadis Camara après la répression sanglante de l’opposition, le 28 septembre 2009. « La société Global emploie toujours en Guinée des experts militaires, agricoles, des conseillers politiques et toutes sortes d’ingénieurs civils », affirme Yossi Melman.

Stratégie d’Infiltration

À défaut d’y avoir déterminé une politique claire, les Israéliens ont, semble-t-il, opté pour une stratégie d’infiltration en Afrique. Ainsi, l’aide militaire proposée par des entrepreneurs privés ou publics ne constitue souvent qu’un premier pas. En septembre 2002, cette logique est à l’œuvre lorsque le président ivoirien, Laurent Gbagbo, fait face à une offensive rebelle. Déçu des Français et à la recherche d’un appui militaire, le chef d’État ivoirien se tourne vers son fidèle avocat parisien Sylvain Maier, qui le met en contact avec plusieurs spécialistes israéliens. En quelques semaines, Laurent Gbagbo obtient la livraison d’hélicoptères, de drones tactiques et de matériel d’écoute. Une cinquantaine d’experts israéliens du renseignement opèrent alors à Abidjan pour espionner les communications des rebelles.

Le 6 novembre 2004, cette implication éclate au grand jour lorsque l’aviation progouvernementale bombarde une position française à Bouaké, tuant neuf soldats de l’opération « Licorne ». Paris découvre que des avions sans pilote israéliens ont survolé le secteur peu de temps avant l’attaque. La France demande alors des comptes à l’État hébreu et exige qu’il cesse son assistance militaire à Laurent Gbagbo. Entre-temps, l’homme d’affaires Moshe Rothschild, principal acteur des ventes d’armes à la Côte d’Ivoire, a déjà monté sur place plusieurs entreprises et décroche des projets liés au développement d’infrastructures civiles. À la fin du mois de juillet dernier, c’est Ehoud Olmert en personne qui s’est rendu à Yamoussoukro, pour une visite restée plus que discrète. Organisé par l’ancien ambassadeur israélien en Côte d’Ivoire, Daniel Kedem, le déplacement de l’ex-Premier ministre était lié à des affaires sécuritaires, telles que la mise en place d’un Shin Bet ivoirien pour renforcer la sécurité autour de Gbagbo et surveiller certains éléments hostiles de l’armée ivoirienne. Les Israéliens, en effet, via la société privée Omega, appuient et forment les services ivoiriens, ainsi que la garde présidentielle.


« Les Israéliens sont derrière tous les conflits en Afrique », s’écriait en août 2009 le colonel Kaddafi, en marge d’un sommet de l’Union africaine, à Tripoli. La réalité est autrement plus subtile. Très réactives, habituées aux situations de crise, les entreprises israéliennes sont souvent les premières à proposer leurs services à des pays en guerre: conseil militaire, soutien logistique et armement. Avec seulement neuf ambassades en Afrique, l’État hébreu est contraint de recourir au secteur privé pour exister sur ce continent

http://www.guineeweb.org/

Los manifestantes aclaman a Jiménez Villarejo al grito de "valiente, valiente"

Barcelona se moviliza para exigir el fin de la impunidad

MAGDA BANDERA / F. ARTACHO / TONI GARCÍA DE DIOS - BARCELONA / SEVILLA / VALENCIA - 25/04/2010 00:05

"Hoy celebramos una conquista parcial. Sois vosotros y vosotras los que habéis logrado expulsar a Falange de la causa contra Garzón", insistió ayer Carlos Jiménez Villarejo, ex fiscal anticorrupción, ante las 4.500 personas que ayer se concentraron en la plaza de Sant Jaume de Barcelona para defender al juez Baltasar Garzón. Y eso ha sido posible, añadió, porque el magistrado Luciano Varela se ha "sentido avergonzado". "Pero esto es sólo el principio. No pararemos hasta que se retire la querella contra Garzón", declaró Jiménez Villarejo, que fue recibido con gritos de "valiente, valiente" por la multitud.

Los motivos que llevaron ayer a los barceloneses a responder a la convocatoria de la plataforma ciudadana Investigar los crímenes contra el franquismo no es delito son múltiples, según la escritora Rosa Regás: "Nos han empujado a manifestarnos. El detonante ha sido el juicio injusto a Garzón, pero la gente está aquí por muchas otras razones. Quieren que se acabe la impunidad, que le expliquen por qué Falange sigue siendo un partido legal, que se busque a sus desaparecidos. Después de muchos años de miedo, al fin se atreven a salir a la calle y a expresarse".

Y lo hicieron sin estridencias. Apenas una decena de banderas republicanas. Las pancartas, escasas. A menudo, simples cartulinas blancas con frases sencillas, sin rimas: "No es delito". "Yo apoyo a Garzón". Ni una sigla política. Los líderes sindicales y de partidos que ayer se sumaron a la concentración se mantuvieron en segundo plano. Entre ellos, Joan Ferran (PSC), Enric Miralles (EUiA), Joan Herrera (ICV), Joan Ferran, Joan Carles Gallego (CCOO) y Josep Maria Àlvarez (UGT).

"Los franquistas mataron a tres de mis abuelos"
"Los franquistas mataron a tres de mis abuelos", decía ayer María Jesús Díez, quien dejó a su marido en casa y se fue sola a buscar a gente en la plaza de Sant Jaume con la misma angustia que ella. "Necesitaba venir por mi padre, que murió hace tres años y siempre sufrió por no poder contar lo que pasó", explicaba Díez.

Reivindicar la memoria
Un sentimiento similar expresaba Fernando Garijo, un brasileño de 40 años, nieto de un socialista fusilado en Soria, que ayer quiso homenajear a su abuelo, al que debe su conciencia política. "Se nota que la gente tiene ganas de gritar y de reivindicar su memoria después de tantos años de silencio. Me gustaría que hubiera venido más gente a la manifestación", añadió.

Tras la lectura de un poema de Miguel Hernández, a cargo de la actriz Vicky Peña, el también actor Jordi Dauder y la escritora Carmen Domingo leyeron el manifiesto y acabaron coreando el "No pasarán", que fue recibido con el mismo entusiasmo que los gritos de "salud y república". Domingo anunció que próximamente habrá más actos.

Sevilla reivindica a las víctimas
"La verdad de lo que se está diciendo aquí es tan obvia que hago míos a José, a Carmen... y a todas las víctimas del franquismo", explicó, vía megáfono y con un marcado acento inglés, Jane Arnold, de Estados Unidos. Y lo que allí se estaba diciendo, a las puertas de la Audiencia Provincial de Sevilla, no era más que un alegato por la memoria histórica, la dignidad de las víctimas del franquismo y el apoyo al juez Baltasar Garzón.

"Es nuestra forma de agradecer el papel desempeñado por Garzón"
A pesar de que la ciudad apuraba las últimas horas de la Feria de Abril, más de 500 personas, entre ellas la madre del juez Garzón, participaron en la concentración, en la que se corearon consignas como "fosas cerradas, heridas abiertas" o "Garzón, amigo, Sevilla está contigo". Pero sobre todo se escuchó a familiares de las víctimas, que con un simple megáfono, fueron relatando la historias de sus padres, madres, abuelos, tíos o incluso bisabuelos. Varias banderas republicanas adornaban la concentración, además de decenas de fotos de víctimas de la Guerra Civil y el franquismo. Jacinto Gutiérrez se hizo su propia pancarta, utilizando la foto de su abuelo, Antonio Collado, fusilado en Granada. Sobre la imagen se podía leer: "Por mis muertos que apoyo a Garzón".

Un grupo de chilenas desplegó una gran bandera de su país en el centro de la concentración. "Es nuestra forma de agradecer el papel desempeñado por Garzón en el caso Pinochet", explicó una de ellas, que dio, "en nombre del pueblo chileno, todo el apoyo y ánimo en su lucha a las víctimas del franquismo y sus familiares". También en Almería, Córdoba, Málaga y Jaén tuvieron lugar concentraciones de apoyo a Garzón. La más numerosa fue en Córdoba, donde participaron 1.500 personas.

La protesta de Valencia se solidariza con Garzón
La plaza del Ayuntamiento fue el lugar elegido para que cientos de valencianos apoyaran ayer al magistrado de la Audiencia Nacional detrás de una pancarta con el lema: “Con Garzón y la justicia universal. Investigar los crímenes del franquismo no es delito”. La lectura del manifiesto corrió a cargo de la actriz Rosanna Pastor.

En el acto que se organizó a través de Facebook, aunque contó con el respaldo de Esquerra Unida, se escucharon gritos de “Garzón, amigo, el pueblo está contigo” o “Nosotros sí tenemos las manos limpias”, en alusión al sindicato ultra que presentó la denuncia contra el juez. En la concentración se criticó que “un partido como Falange no esté ilegalizado” y que exista “una Ley de Amnistía preconstitucional impuesta en 2010”. Había muchos ciudadanos latinoamericanos que querían mostrar su respeto y apoyo al juez: “Se atrevió a juzgar a los asesinos en nuestros países y aquí no le dejan trabajar”.

http://www.publico.es/espana/307543/barcelona/moviliza/exigir/impunidad

Profile: Judge Baltasar Garzon

Page last updated at 16:52 GMT, Wednesday, 7 April 2010 17:52 UK

Rarely can a modern-day judge have stirred as much controversy as Spain's Baltasar Garzon.

To some he is a crusading hero, taking on dictators and terrorists on behalf of the world's oppressed.

To others he is a left-wing busybody obsessed with self-promotion.

While he was pursuing foreigners with questionable human rights records, the criticism directed at him was mainly just that - criticism.

But by delving into Spain's own murky past, he has provoked more strident opposition, and now faces trial, accused of over-reaching his judicial powers.

Pinochet case

Mr Garzon came to worldwide attention in the late 1990s, when the former Chilean military ruler Augusto Pinochet was arrested in London on his initiative.

He was acting under Spain's principle of universal jurisdiction, which holds that some crimes are so grave that they can be tried anywhere regardless of where the offences were committed.


The most famous case was an attempt to extradite Gen Pinochet in 1998
Pinochet headed Chile's 1976-1983 military regime, under which up to 30,000 people were killed or "disappeared" in the campaign against so-called left-wing insurgents.

Pinochet was arrested in the UK in 1998 and detained for 18 months while Spain's extradition request was considered. In the end, it was ruled he was too frail and he was allowed to go home.

Mr Garzon has also initiated other high-profile cases. In 2003 he compiled a 692-page indictment which called for the arrest of 35 men, including Osama Bin Laden, for their alleged membership of a terrorist group. That number was later increased to 41.

In 2005, 24 of them were put on trial in Madrid, in Europe's biggest trial of alleged al-Qaeda operatives.

Eighteen were found guilty of belonging to an al-Qaeda cell and sentenced to long prison terms.

Judge Garzon was also behind the trial in Spain of Argentine ex-naval officer Adolfo Scilingo, who was convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 640 years in jail in April 2005.

Civil war taboo

Mr Garzon is one of six investigating judges for Spain's National Court which, like many other European countries, operates an inquisitorial system as opposed to the adversarial system used by the US and UK. It is thought he will be suspended as a result of the charges against him.

The investigating judge's role is to examine the cases assigned to him by the court, gathering evidence and evaluating whether the case should be brought to trial. He does not try the cases himself.

The judge did start his investigations closer to home.

He took on the semi-official GAL death squads which operated in Spain's Basque region in the early 1980s - leading to the jailing of former Socialist Interior Minister Jose Barrionuevo.

He has also been active in Madrid's crackdown on the Basque separatist group Eta and is reported to have been on the group's list of assassination targets.

But it was by attempting to prise the lid off Spain's Civil War and the subsequent rule of right-wing dictator General Francisco Franco that he really opened a can of worms.

The subject has long been taboo in Spain and is only now starting to be discussed.

In October 2008, Mr Garzon launched an unprecedented inquiry into the "crimes against humanity" of the Franco era, promising to investigate the disappearance of more than 100,000 people and ordering the excavation of mass graves.

For some, that overstepped the mark. Under heavy pressure, he withdrew the investigation.

A right-wing civil servants' union accused him of overreaching his judicial powers by breaching the official amnesty that drew a line under the Franco era in 1977. That complaint led to him being summonsed to answer questions before the Supreme Court.

He has also found himself in other difficulties.

He was investigated and cleared over allegations that he was improperly paid for teaching in New York while on sabbatical from his job in Madrid.

In February 2009 Spain's Justice Minister, Mariano Fernandez Bermejo, was forced to resign after going on a hunting trip with Mr Garzon. It followed accusations that he had tried to influence the judge's investigation into members of the opposition Popular Party - claims the minister denied.

But perhaps the biggest threat to Mr Garzon's fame is a move in Spain to curtail the principle of universal jurisdiction. The Spanish government says despite its lofty ideals it does not work, taking up a great deal of time and money but resulting in hardly any convictions.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3085482.stm

SEE ALSO
Spain reins in crusading judges 25 Jun 09 Europe
Franco inquiry polarises Spain 20 Oct 08 Europe
Chile's Pinochet released on bail 14 Jan 05 Americas
Judge 'knew Madrid bombs not Eta' 15 Jul 04 Europe
Spain jails 'al-Qaeda suspects' 19 May 04 Europe
Spanish judge charges Bin Laden 17 Sep 03 Europe
Argentine officers wanted in Spain 09 Jul 03 Americas
Pinochet flies out of Britain 02 Mar 00 UK News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3085482.stm

Charismatic judge who pursued Spain's fascist assassins finds himself on trial

Powerful enemies are attempting to unseat the 'superjudge' who tried to bring the death squads of Franco's dictatorship to

Giles Tremlett Madrid
The Observer, Sunday 25 April 2010
Article history


The Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, who dared to investigate the atrocities of the Franco dictatorship. Photograph: Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images

The crowd gathered outside Madrid's national court was loud and angry. "The world has been turned upside down," they cried. "The fascists are judging the judge!" Some carried photographs of long-dead relatives, killed by rightwing death squads in Spain's brutal civil war in the 1930s. Others bore placards bearing the name of the hero they wanted to save, the controversial "superjudge" Baltasar Garzón.

Pedro Romero de Castilla carried a picture of his grandfather, Wenceslao – a former stationmaster taken away from his home in the western city of Mérida and shot by a death squad at the service of Generalísimo Francisco Franco's rightwing military rebels 74 years ago. The family have never found his body.
Garzón, he explained, had dared to investigate the atrocities of 36 years of Franco's dictatorship and now, as a result, he faces trial for allegedly abusing his powers. "My grandfather's case is one that Garzón wanted to investigate," he said. "He's a brave and intelligent judge, but now the right are out to get him."

Police tried to herd Romero and his fellow protesters away, but 400 of them marched to nearby Calle de Génova and brought traffic to a standstill. It was a taste of the anger being expressed daily across Spain, with tens of thousands of people due to march in the country last night.
Garzón still works at the national court, stepping out of his bomb-proof car every morning and climbing the courthouse steps to deal with cases involving terrorism, political corruption, international drug-trafficking and human rights cases. Soon, however, the hyperactive investigating magistrate who shot to global fame by ordering the 1998 arrest of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in London will have his cases taken away from him.

Just a hundred yards across a square, stern-faced judges at the supreme court plan to suspend Garzón next month. The temporary suspension will last while they decide whether he deliberately ran roughshod over Spain's laws by opening an investigation into the deaths of 113,000 Spaniards executed by Franco's men during and after the civil war. If they find him guilty – and there are signs that they intend to – his career will be over.
The irony of that will be lost on few. The only man to have been punished because of Franco's crimes will be Judge Garzón himself. "If that happens, the reaction will be furious," warns one of the demonstrators outside the National Court, who meet there every day at 8pm. "The assassins will have won."

Spain's most charismatic judge leaves few people cold. Many colleagues loathe him and envy his status. They see him as a capricious abuser of the law. "Judge Garzón has come to see himself as exceptional, losing sight of himself as just one more judge in the Spanish judicial system, bound by the laws," said Jesús Zarzalejos, a law professor at Madrid's Complutense University. Others see the bespectacled judge as a tireless and imaginative defender of justice.
"The other judges are critical of him because they would never dare do the things he has done," said Carlos Jiménez Villarejo, formerly Spain's chief anti-corruption prosecutor. "The reaction is corporativist and unacceptable," complains another former public prosecutor, José María Mena. "If he was a tame, lazy judge, he wouldn't have these sorts of problems."

Garzón has wielded the mighty powers of a Spanish investigating magistrate in flamboyant fashion. He has brought down governments, closed newspapers, banned political parties, arrested dictators, laid low drugs cartels, issued instructions to detain Osama bin Laden and been the driving force behind a new global interpretation of human rights law. Thanks in good part to Garzón, countries such as Chile and Argentina have overthrown amnesty laws and locked up the violent thugs of their own dictatorial pasts. "The Pinochet case gave out a message that all that was possible," said Joan Garcés, the lawyer who oversaw the prosecution case.

Little surprise, then, that Garzón is either hated or adored. While some want him dishonourably sacked, others campaign for him to win the Nobel peace prize. Others swing wildly from one extreme to another, depending on who he is investigating. Even former Socialist prime minister Felipe González, who was brought down by Garzón's prosecution of a state-run dirty war against the Basque terror group Eta, now backs him. "I don't have a very special relationship with this man," he admitted. "But what they are doing is inexplicable and unjust."
Supreme court magistrate Luciano Varela, the man who has ruled that Garzón must be tried, is openly leftwing but belongs to a generation that believes a post-Franco pledge not to delve into the past must be adhered to. "This artificially built case [against Franco] shows a basic lack of knowledge of the principles of law and of democratically approved laws such as the amnesty law of 1977," he said.

Many Spaniards are amazed by the protagonists who have suddenly reappeared into mainstream debate. The supreme court is acting at the behest of the Falange — the minuscule descendant of the party that provided eager gunmen for Franco's death squads — and of a shadowy far-right pressure group called Manos Limpias (Clean Hands).
On Friday, the Falange was barred from the next stage of the case, but between them the two groups – which public prosecutors refuse to back – represent only a few thousand people. "We are talking about a sectarian and partial judge who had intentionally, given his own political ideology, set himself up as the universal judge of rightwing dictatorships," Clean Hands, which is officially a trade union, said last week.

Then there are the supreme court judges themselves. Luciano Varela made clear several years ago his hatred of judges like Garzón. "The one thing I find totally repugnant is a judge who likes to play at policeman," he said. The supreme court president, Judge Juan Saavedra, is on the record as saying that he is "totally against" judges like Garzón. "Star judges are opportunists," he said. Saavedra is one of the five judges who will now decide Garzón's future. Another is Adolfo Prego de Oliver, patron of the rightwing Defence of the Spanish Nation group.
"The judiciary in Spain has changed since the Pinochet case," explained Garcés. "A lot of rightwing judges were appointed to the supreme court by the Partido Popular (People's party) government of José María Aznar in the eight years up to 2004." They include some elderly judges who once swore loyalty to Franco's regime, he said.

PP backs the campaign against Garzón. The party was vocal in its criticism of the Franco case. "It is outlandish," said Manuel Fraga, a former Francoist minister who is the party's founding president. The party had also lashed out at Garzón for his recent investigation into a PP corruption scandal known as the Gürtel case. Party leader Mariano Rajoy has called the wave of pro-Garzón demonstrations "anti-democratic".
Those demonstrations looked set to reach a new pitch with a march through Madrid yesterday. Oscar-winning film director Pedro Almodóvar and Javier Bardem, the Hollywood star, are among artists and intellectuals who have supported the judge.

The anger has spread far beyond Spain. Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called on the supreme court to throw out the case. "Garzón sought justice for victims of human rights abuses abroad and now he's being punished for trying to do the same at home. The decision leaves Spain and Europe open to the charge of double standards," said Lotte Leicht, EU advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "Instead of a criminal complaint against Judge Baltasar Garzón for investigating crimes under international law committed in the past, Spain should, irrespective of the date of their commission, bring perpetrators to justice," said Amnesty's senior director Widney Brown.

The New York Times published a fiercely supportive editorial, although some on the American right rub their hands at the threat to universal justice – which they fear may be used against US officials accused of torture in Iraq .

Spain's so-called historical memory groups have already imitated Garzón's prosecution of Pinochet by lodging a case asking for Francoist atrocities to be investigated by an Argentinian court, on the basis that international law permits other countries to prosecute crimes against humanity if Spain refuses to. Carlos Slepoy, a Madrid-based Argentinian lawyer, was in Buenos Aires to present the petition. "There are still people alive who were involved in the extreme repression of the first decade of Francoism, but crimes were still being committed up to 1977," he explained. "If we manage to find people who were involved, we will demand their detention, extradition and trial – whatever country they are now in."
The Argentinian court will rule next month on whether it acce
pts the case. That may depend on whether Spain's supreme court decides to banish Garzón. "What is on trial here is a lot more than Garzón's future," said Joan Garcés. "This is a battle for the history and the soul of Spain itself."

GARZON'S CAUSES....

1988 Aged 32, becomes one of the youngest ever magistrates at Spain's powerful national court. Investigates state's dirty war by GAL death squads against Basque terror group Eta.
1989 Vows revenge on Eta after it murders prosecutor Carmen Tagle.
1990 Leads police operations against Colombian-related drugs clans.
1993 Elected as an independent MP on the Socialist party list, helping it win re-election.
1994 Resigns over Socialist corruption.
1996 Opens genocide investigations into Pinochet dictatorship in Chile and Argentinian military juntas.
1998 Former Socialist interior minister José Barrionuevo jailed over GAL case.
1998 Orders arrest of Pinochet in London.
1998 Shuts Basque newspaper, alleging it is an Eta front.
1999 UK frees Pinochet.
2001 Investigates Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi over Spanish TV companies.
2002 Suspends Batasuna, a pro-Eta separatist party, for three years.
2003 Issues international arrest warrant for Osama bin Laden.
2005 Argentinian navy captain Adolfo Scilingo jailed in Spain for mass murder of junta opponents.
2008 Opens, and is then forced to close, investigation into Francoist crimes against humanity during and after civil war.
2009 Investigates corruption in rightwing People's party.
2010 To stand trial for allegedly abusing power over Francoist investigation.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/25/baltasar-garzon-spain-franco

España se echa a la calle por la dignidad de las víctimas de la dictadura

LA IMPUNIDAD DEL FRANQUISMO

La causa a Garzón "ensucia" la memoria de las víctimas

Varios miles de personas se manifiestan en diferentes ciudades en apoyo al juez y contra la impunidad del franquismo

PÚBLICO.ES / AGENCIAS - 24/04/2010 21:10
El procedimiento abierto al juez Baltasar Garzón "ensucia" la memoria de las víctimas de la dictadura franquista. "Nadie puede siquiera comprender que un estado democrático impute un delito de prevaricación a un juez que ha asumido los principios de verdad, justicia y reparación de las víctimas".

Son algunos de los fragmentos del manifiesto leído tras la manifestación convocada esta tarde en Madrid por la Plataforma contra la Impunidad del Franquismo, que ha concluido a las 20 horas (ver fotogalería).

El cineasta Pedro Almodóvar, la escritora Almudena Grandes y el poeta Marcos Ana han sido los encargados de leer el texto de apoyo al juez de la Audiencia Nacional al término de la marcha de Madrid, una de las muchas convocadas simultáneamente este sábado en varias ciudades españolas y extranjeras a través de las redes sociales de Internet.

Durante la lectura del manifiesto, al que ha seguido un minuto de silencio, los tres han lamentado "las consecuencias de un proceso que, en democracia, ensucia" la memoria de las víctimas del franquismo, "desprecia el dolor de sus hijos, de sus nietos y condena las aspiraciones de justicia de cientos de miles de familias españolas".

Un proceso que, promovido por "organizaciones de extrema derecha" -en referencia a Falange Española de las JONS, Libertad e Identidad y Manos Limpias- podría interpretarse "como una lamentable prueba de la minoría de edad de la democracia española", lo cual "representa un escándalo sin precedentes en la historia reciente de nuestro país".

"Hay comportamientos dentro de Justicia que pueden ser corregidos"
Han pedido asimismo que el impulso democrático que supuso la aprobación de la Ley de Memoria Histórica se profundice "para impedir que en el futuro se reproduzcan hechos tan vergonzosos como el auto del juez Varela".

Previamente, Reed Brody, representante de la organización pro derechos humanos Human Rights Watch, ha calificado de "irónico, desafortunado e hipócrita" que España no aplique "en su propio país los mismos estándares que en su día sirvieron para perseguir delitos similares cometidos en el extranjero".

De esta forma, procesar a un juez por investigar los crímenes cometidos durante el franquismo "hace posible que tanto España como Europa puedan ser acusadas de aplicar un doble rasero y socava la credibilidad y efectividad de ambas en la lucha contra la impunidad", ha concluido.

"Suprema justicia, suprema injusticia"

Varios miles de personas se habían concentrado en la capital española para para asistir a una de las manifestaciones convocadas. La marcha debía iniciarse en la plaza de Cibeles a las 18:30 horas, pero la multitud congregada hizo que se extiendiera hasta la puerta de Alcalá y que comenzaran a moverse minutos antes de la hora prevista.

Actores como Pilar Bardem y José Sacristán y políticos como los dirigentes de IU Cayo Lara y Gaspar Llamazares y el socialista Pedro Zerolo figuraban entre los participantes en la marcha tras una gran pancarta negra con letras blancas y con la leyenda "Contra la impunidad del franquismo. En solidaridad con las víctimas".

Muchos manifestantes portaban banderas republicanas, fotos de víctimas de la dictadura y pancartas con leyendas como "Impunidad para el franquismo, no gracias", "América Latina con Garzón", "Dignidad para las víctimas" o "Suprema justicia, suprema injusticia".

También se podían ver carteles con mensajes contra el PP, como "PP sucios y corruptos manipuladores" o "Tapan el Gürtel echando a Garzón", y al inicio de la marcha se han coreado gritos contra la presidenta de la Comunidad de Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre.

"Llamar la atención"
El actor José Sacristán ha asegurado que los manifestantes pretenden "llamar la atención, siempre desde el debido respeto" a la Administración de Justicia por su actuación contra el magistrado. "Desde el punto de vista moral, pensamos que tenemos toda la razón del mundo", ha asegurado Sacristán, que ha añadido que quienes apoyan a Garzón no pretenden "dinamitar la Justicia", pero sí denunciar que "hay comportamientos dentro de la Administración de Justicia que pueden ser corregidos".

Garzón "ha podido cometer un error, pero nunca una prevaricación"
El actor ha señalado que Garzón "ha podido cometer un error, pero nunca una prevaricación, y más aún teniendo en cuenta el carácter de los denunciantes", en referencia a Falange Española de las JONS y Manos Limpias. "No pretendemos el guerracivilismo, pero lo que no podemos hacer es mirar para otro lado", ha concluido Sacristán.

Por su parte, el coordinador general de IU, Cayo Lara, ha dicho ue si se inhabilita a Garzón "se inhabilitará a la izquierda de este país y a buena parte de los demócratas" que consideran que los crímenes del franquismo fueron "un genocidio". Lara participa en la manifestación de Madrid y explicó que esta convocatoria tiene como objetivo "parar este intento de atentado contra la memoria histórica y contra toda la gente que cayó defendiendo la libertad".

Manifestaciones en otras ciudades
A la marcha de Madrid, la más concurrida, le han seguido otras en varias ciudades. Así, en Barcelona, se han congregado unas 4.500 personas, según la Guardia Urbana, que han llenado la plaza de Sant Jaume. El acto, organizado por la plataforma ciudadana "Investigar los crímenes contra la humanidad no es delito", ha contado con la participación de numerosos artistas y políticos, como el secretario general de ICV, Joan Herrera; el diputado del PSC Joan Ferran o la escritora Rosa Regàs, así como el ex fiscal anticorrupción Carlos Jiménez Villarejo.

En Valencia, ondeando banderas de la II República y de diferentes partidos y formaciones sindicales, cerca de un millar de personas se concentraron en la primera marcha del día para exigir que se ponga fin a "una perversión política del sistema judicial" que supone "un brindis al franquismo", según el manifiesto leído durante el acto.

La manifestación, a la que han acudido Esquerra Unida, Acció Cultural, Plataforma 14 de abril, Izquierda Republicana y UGT, se ha desarrollado a mediodía en la Plaza del Ayuntamiento y ha reunido a centenares de personas convocadas a través de la red social Facebook .
La actriz valenciana Rosana Pastor ha sido la encargada de leer un manifiesto en contra de la impunidad del franquismo, en el que ha destacado que "todas las víctimas, al margen de sus convicciones políticas, merecen la justicia".

Asimismo, cientos de sevillanos se han concentrado frente a la puerta de los juzgados de la capital andaluza. La concentración, que en Sevilla ha sido organizada a través de Internet por personas desvinculadas de partidos, sindicatos o asociaciones, ha comenzado en torno a las 18:30 horas y en ella se han enarbolado numerosas pancartas de apoyo a Garzón.

Entre los asistentes, apartadas del centro de la concentración, se han encontrado las hermanas y la madre del juez, quienes han querido mostrar "como un sevillano más" su apoyo a su familiar y a los de las víctimas de la dictadura.

http://www.publico.es/espana/307479/manifestaciones/garzon/impunidad/franquismo
__________

FOTO: ARMH http://www.memoriahistorica.org/

The Shame of Spain and the Ghost of Fascism

Published on Thursday, April 8, 2010 by CommonDreams.org

by Scott Boehm

When Spain is mentioned in the English-speaking world, romanticized images of Mediterranean landscapes quickly come to mind. They are usually set to a passionate flamenco-inspired soundtrack and mingle with the fantasy of tantalizingly fresh paella, golden olive oil and ruby red wine. This is the Spain most outsiders imagine and experience, and it is largely what the Spanish economy has depended upon since the 1960s when the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco launched a massive tourist campaign to stimulate a struggling economy. The campaign was the stuff of economic miracles. Spain rapidly became one of the world’s premier vacation destinations.

But all the sun in the world couldn’t hide the horror lying in the shadows of a country haunted by a recent war that touched every aspect of Spanish life. At least not forever.

In 2000, twenty-five years after Franco’s death, Emilio Silva, a journalist searching for answers to questions about that war and his family’s relation to it accidentally discovered and exhumed the mass grave where his grandfather’s remains were located. Silva’s grandfather, a humble shop owner and supporter of the democratic state established in 1931, was summarily executed by members of the Falange—the Spanish fascist party—along with twelve other people from his village in the north of Spain shortly after Franco and a handful of generals launched a coup against the Spanish Republic in July 1936. Hitler, Mussolini, and the Catholic Church backed the conspirators while the United States, England and France turned a blind eye to the massacre that ensued.

While the events of 1936-1939 are popularly referred to as ‘the Spanish Civil War,” the term misrepresents what actually occurred. More than a war between two more or less equally prepared and similarly matched sides, it was the mass extermination of “los rojos”—anyone considered part of “the anti-Spain” by the self-proclaimed, and well-armed, guardians of national identity and patriotic spirit. The “reds” put up a long fight, but ultimately they were killed, tortured, raped, imprisoned, kidnapped, used as slave labor and/or driven into exile for four decades.

Like Emilio Silva’s grandfather, hundreds of thousands of the victims of such repression—continued by the Francoist state at the conclusion of the war—continue to lie prostrate in mass graves. Since the exhumation in 2000, their descendents and sympathizers have formed a growing historical memory movement. Like Antigone, they have repeatedly asked for one thing from the Spanish state: nothing more than the possibility of exercising their desire to properly bury their dead. Like Creon, the Spanish state has consistently responded with statements, actions and laws that laugh in the face of their ethical claim.

In 2008, Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, internationally famous for having put Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet on trial for genocide in 1998, admitted a series of lawsuits filed by several historical memory organizations and individuals seeking assistance with the location and exhumation of the remains of family members. Garzón subsequently opened the first criminal case into the 1936 coup and the Francoist dictatorship. He concluded that the generals who launched the war were guilty of crimes against humanity, and ordered the exhumation of nineteen mass graves. A few weeks later, Garzón was forced to close his case under pressure from fellow judges of the National Court and the Attorney General’s office. Once again, the hopes of family members were crushed by the weight of law and the callousness of the Spanish state.

(For a brief description of Garzón’s case, see my article “On Human Rights, Spain is Different” published on Common Dreams December 10, 2008: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/12/10 [1]).

If the story ended here, it would be yet another sad lament in a long litany of historical wrongs for the victims of Francoist repression. But this story, unfortunately, is not over.

Shortly after Garzón withdrew his case, a far-right lobby and the Falange—the same Spanish fascist party that killed Emilio Silva’s grandfather and dumped his body in a ditch like hundreds of thousands of others—filed lawsuits against Garzón for opening the historic case. To the surprise of many international law and human rights organizations, the Supreme Court admitted the suits last May. Yesterday Judge Luciano Varela ruled that Garzón must stand trial. He faces removal from the National Court and banishment from the bench for twelve to twenty years, which would mean the sudden end of Garzón’s illustrious, if controversial, legal career.

While Garzón has been roundly criticized for self-promotion and basking in the spotlight of high-profile cases, such personal faults are irrelevant to the case at hand. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Fascist party and its associates—which appears quite possible—it will be a far-reaching victory for the state of impunity that characterizes contemporary Spain and a devastating loss for those seeking the most minimal act of justice for the dead. It will also be a significant blow to international criminal law, convert Spain into a legal embarrassment in the eyes of the world and discredit the integrity of Spanish jurists.

This would seem bad enough, but if Garzón is debarred it also means that fascism will be validated as a legitimate and effective political force in democratic Spain. Not only will the family members of the victims of fascist violence lose the only judge daring enough to challenge the 1977 amnesty law protecting those responsible for mass extermination and state repression—a law considered illegal under international law—they will also be forced to swallow the fact that, in Spain at least, democracy means that fascist complaints carry more weight than the burden of those traumatized by the Spanish state during much of the twentieth century.

Ten years into the twenty-first, the political panorama looks chillingly familiar to those who have survived or studied Francoist “justice.” Once again, the force of law is being used to discipline those who challenge a deeply unjust social order. But it is more than simply punishment; it is a threat to those who might follow in the footsteps of Garzón, and an insult to all the Antigones of the world. It is also the apparition of fascism, alive and well in sunny Spain, rearing its ugly head from behind long, haunting shadows.

In Madrid, you can almost hear its voice echoing throughout the hallowed halls of justice: “Olé! Somebody pass the sangría…”

Scott Boehm is a Researcher for the Spanish Civil War Memory Project (http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/scwmemory/ [2]) at UC San Diego where he is a Ph.D. candidate in Literature. His dissertation, "Trauma and Transitionism" examines the intersections of culture, memory and justice related to mass extermination and state repression in Spain. He can be contacted at sboehm@ucsd.edu [3].

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article printed from www.CommonDreams.org

URL to article: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/04/08-3

http://www.commondreams.org/print/54732

On Human Rights, Spain is Different

Published on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 by CommonDreams.org

by Scott Boehm

In the 1960s, Spain launched a campaign to entice tourists to Spain via the slogan "Spain is Different!" But while the phrase was intended to elicit exotic images of bullfights and siestas, it doubled as a justification for the anachronistic dictatorship of Francisco Franco, who—thanks to Hitler and Mussolini—had won the Spanish Civil War in 1939. Franco remained in power until his death in 1975, after which Spain transitioned to democracy without looking back. Although franquismo included the systematic execution and disappearance of political dissidents, the torture of "red" women and the kidnapping of their "corrupted" children, as well as concentration camps and slave labor, there was no discussion of holding Nuremburg-like trials or establishing truth commissions.

Until now.

Since an historic mass grave exhumation in 2000, Franco's victims and traumatized family members have pushed the Spanish government to honor human rights agreements to which Spain is a signatory, such as the U.N. International Convention for the Protection of All People Against Enforced Disappearance. That document clearly states that "the widespread or systematic practice of enforced disappearance constitutes a crime against humanity," and that "each State Party shall take the necessary measures to hold criminally responsible… any person who commits, orders, solicits or induces the commission of, attempts to commit, is an accomplice to or participates in an enforced disappearance." In 2003, the U.N. Human Rights Commission reprimanded Spain for the discovery of mass graves from the Pyrenees to the Canary Islands. Such international pressure served as a catalyst for Spain to pass a "Law of Historical Memory" last December. Yet while the law has generated much debate about the Spanish Civil War, it vows merely to "facilitate" civilian attempts to locate the disappeared, instead of taking state responsibility for such a complicated undertaking.

This October, Baltasar Garzón—the Spanish judge who put Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet on trial for genocide in 1998—opened the first criminal investigation into Francoist repression. In a bone-chilling decree, Garzón certified 114,266 documented cases of enforced disappearance and authorized the exhumation of nineteen mass graves, including that of Federico García Lorca, the famous Spanish poet. In November, Garzón was forced to close his investigation due to fierce resistance from within Spain's National Court. On November 28, the court held that Garzón did not have jurisdiction over the case in a 14-3 vote.

When it comes to human rights, Spain is different.

As Amnesty International cites in a special report condemning the legal arguments used to thwart Garzón's investigation—such as claiming Spain's 1977 Amnesty Law places a statue of limitations on investigating crimes against humanity committed under Franco—countries with far fewer means have fulfilled their obligation to guarantee the three pillars of human rights—truth, reparation and justice—to the victims of enforced disappearance. (For more information, see the full report here: http://www.es.amnesty.org/uploads/tx_useraitypdb/crimenes_guerra_civil_y_franquismo_2008.pdf). The U.N. Human Rights Commission also recently reminded Spain that "amnesty concerning grave violations of human rights [is] in contradiction to the provisions of the Covenant [on Civil and Political Rights]."

Complicating matters, in 2005, Spain sentenced Adolfo Scilingo, a former Argentine naval captain to 640 years imprisonment for crimes against humanity committed during Argentina's "dirty war" through the application of Spain's "Law of Universal Jurisdiction." And the same week that Spain's National Court voted to stop Garzón's investigation, the Spanish Congress voted to extradite military leaders of the 1994 Rwandan genocide in order to try them for crimes against humanity. Yet the Spanish State remains unwilling to investigate such atrocities within its own territory.

One clue to understanding this paradox is that Manuel Fraga, the official responsible for popularizing the slogan "Spain is different!," is also responsible for political repression as Franco's Minister of Information and Tourism. Fraga is not only alive and well in sunny Spain, but he regrets nothing of his past and recently denied that Franco was a criminal. Like in post-Nazi Germany, opening the floodgates of justice is a threat to ex-Francoist officials like Fraga, and to businesses that benefited from slave labor under Franco, such as the construction companies Dragados and Banús (see Isaías Lafuente's 2002 book Slaves for the Fatherland). Another clue is the fact that Franco himself appointed the grandfather of Spain's current (socialist) Attorney General military judge in 1936. There are as many skeletons in the closet as there are mass graves in Spain, and not all belong to the conservative parties.

However, impunity in the face of human rights violations is not acceptable by Spain's own standards of international law, let alone basic principles of justice. The world cannot afford Spain to wallow in a legal state of exception while it champions principles like universal jurisdiction that place human rights high above national politics. The integrity of such laudable concepts is jeopardized when Spain fails to apply them within its own borders. Most importantly, from the perspective of someone who has interviewed victims of Francoist repression, many survivors of Spanish state violence remain traumatized, while those responsible for their pain freely walk the streets of Spain without any sense of shame.

Different is not always better.

Scott Boehm is a Fellow of the Human Rights Center at Berkeley, and a Researcher for the Spanish Civil War Memory Project at UC San Diego. He may be contacted at sboehm@ucsd.edu.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/12/10

Yemen, Red Sea and Israel

The leaders of the World Zionist Congress – which was established in Basel (Switzerland) on August 29, 1897 to campaign for the establishment of Eretz-Israel (Greater Israel) in Ottoman Palestine by applying every mean to populate the with European Jews – had realized the strategic importance of the Red Sea (which leads to Suez Cannal, Mediterranean and Dead Sea) being the only Sea route open to their land-locked Eretz-Israel dream. The proposed map of Eretz-Israel which was presented by Theodor Herzl (d. 1904) and wrote in his Diaries, vol. II, page 711: “The area of Jewish State stretches from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrate”. This map (shown at the bottom of this post) was also inscribed on Israel’s 10-agora coin, showing the Zionist entity stretching from “the Mediterranean to Mesopotamia and from Red Sea to Euphrate and upto Medinnah in Saudi Arabia.”.

Yemen is located at the mouth of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden which is the major route of the oil tankers. Along this route, Yemen is one of the two countries which have not been ruled by a western-puppet government plus half of country’s population is pro-Iran Shia and anti-Zionist regime including its president Ali Abdullah Saleh who after USS Cole bombing blamed Israel for funding/training the Al-Qaeda group. The other country is Eritrea - that’s why it’s being targeted by the Israeli lobbying groups in the US.

CIA-Mossad planned and executed the Christmas Eve bombing hoax and blamed the Nigerian Muslim pasty for having links to Al-Qaeda (made in Israel) Al-Qaeda. This gave a golden opportunity to pro-Israeli Jewish Senator Joe Lieberman who said on Fox News: “Iraq was yesterday war. Afghanistan is today’s war. If we don’t act preemptively, Yemen could be our next war. That’s the danger we face.” Obama was quick to offer every help to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, diretly and indirectly through Saudi Arabi, to make sure Yemen doesn’t fall into those anti-Zionist Iranian Islamists. He despatched Gen. David Petraeus (an Israel-firster) to Yemeni capital Sana’s. According to FARS News, during Saleh-Petraeus meeting (January 2, 2010), the two agreed to have the US build a millitary base on the Island of Socotra which would be only 3000 km away from one America’s largest naval base at Diego Garcia (Indian Ocean). This new base will allow both the US and Israel to keep an eye on the commercial and military vessels from China and Russian passing through this stategic waterway.

Keith Johnson in an article titled Israel, Yemen, the Gold Watch and Everything! wrote:

The fingerprints of Israel’s meddling are all over the place in Yemen. And you better believe that we’ll be hearing a lot more about Yemeni connections to all manner of atrocities committed in the name of “Allah” against the United States. Israel will make darn sure of that. And what’s my evidence? Well, recent history would be a good place to start.

Does anybody remember the USS Cole? In October, 2000 while refueling in the Port of Aden, the USS Cole was sunk by a small boat loaded with explosives, resulting in the death of 17 soldiers and injuring another 39. Samples of the explosives taken from the ships hull revealed that the explosive was of a type only available in the U.S. and…(drum roll please) that’s right-Israel!

How about the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Sa’ana? In October 2008 Yemeni security forces arrested a group of alleged Islamists militants linked to Israeli intelligence in connection to that provocatuered attack. The network was described as 40 people from different Arab nationalities that were spying for the Mossad. Say it ain’t so, Joe!

Israel has even been linked to the Somali piracy trade when Somali pirates were found to have telephone links to former Israeli Prime minister Ehud Olmert’s office. Nasty business.

Now how could our “only ally in the Middle East” do such awful things to their best friend in the whole wide world? Simple. It’s the old Mossad “we will wage war by way of deception” technique of carrying out attacks on your ally and blaming it on the one’s you want your ally to attack in retaliation (in layman’s terms of course).

So what’s the hubbub, bub? Why all this activity concentrated in and around Yemen? Well, Israel has always salivated over controlling that region. In an article appearing in “The Yemen Times” on October 26, 2008 titled “Israeli Strategy to occupy Al-Mandab Strait” Najeeb Al-Ghurbani writes:

If you want an even better grasp on the Israeli strategy you can find it in Saudi Arabian Colonel Turki Al-Anazi’s “Strategy Research Project” document titled “Strategic Importance of the Red Sea”. Starting on page 13 under the heading “Israeli Strategy”, Col. Al-Anazi states:

“Free navigation to and from Eilat is considered absolutely essential to Israel’s security and economic interests and to reduce Israel’s political isolation, due to the enmity with its Arab neighbors.

The Red Sea’s importance for Israel grew since it is the best waterway for shipping and trade with East Africa and the Far East. The prime concern for the Israelis is to secure free passage through the straits of the Red Sea so it would not be under any political or economical pressure.

The Israeli strategy in the Red Sea stands on certain bases.

First, the necessity of Israel’s security that demands controlling the straits and waterways of the Red Sea and preventing any of its adversaries from controlling them.

Secondly, the Red Sea is vital to Israel’s economic well being since it’s a maritime route to the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean’s and links it to Asian and African trading markets.

The Israelis even set their own goals dealing with the Red Sea region, which are:

1.) To secure free navigation on the Red Sea

2.) To accomplish a strategic depth in the Red Sea, which enable Israel to monitor the Arab military in this region

3.) To break any Arab blockade on any of the Red Sea straits, waterways or on the Israeli ships

4.) To guarantee and secure the civilian line and military lines in the Red Sea which are directed to the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal or to the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Bab Al-Mandab.”

Webster Tarpley in his assessment of the situation points out that the objective in Yemen is to break it up into micro-states and mini-states. And there are at least four groups that can be used to facilitate this. To the north are the Shiite Houthie rebels who are supported by Iran and fighting in opposition to the central government. Then we have the Saudi backed Sunni who are in support of the central government. Throw in some hard lined Communist left-overs from the old soviet days and a bunch of Guantanamo ex-cons and escaped prisoners joining the CIA…uh, I mean…al-Queda and you’ve got the makings of one hell of a party!

And of course after they get through killing each other off and pieces of Yemen start breaking into sub-regions and enclaves, Obama can step in with his Nobel prize in hand and offer humanitarian aid and assistance; which essentially means Wall Street, Tel-Aviv and London coming in for the kill under the President’s left cover.

And by the time its all over, the U.S. will have set a nice little table for its client state Israel to feast upon.

http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/yemen-red-sea-and-israel/

El ejercito secreto de la OTAN (Operación Gladio) documental de Historia

Los foros jihadistas traducen un documento del FBI sobre consejos de seguridad

Los foros jihadistas utilizan cada vez mas fuentes no-árabes para distribuir entre sus simpatizantes, en éste caso encontramos que su fuente de información sobre los medios de seguridad personal, seguridad en general y vigilancia han sido obtenidos de la pagina principal del FBI, han traducido literalmente del inglés al árabe.
Resulta muy interesante como acceden a un conocimiento del contrario utilizando “sus propias técnicas" aplicando una de las estrategias mas conocidas “matar con cuchillo ajeno o prestado”.

Al-Shabaab ya se encuentra combatiendo en la frontera con Kenya

Al-Shabaab amplía su radio de acción hasta la ciudad de Liboi, localidad fronteriza con Kenia.
En los últimos días se estám librando duros combates entre combatientes de Al-Shabaab y soldados.
Los atacantes asaltaron el puesto militar confiscando las armas, retirándose del lugar con el botín.
Se teme que la milicia Al-Shabaab se extienda hacia este país.

Por otro lado, el portavoz del movimiento Mujahideen Harakatu Shabaabul reivindica el ataque a la fuerza de AMISOM en Mogadiscio y la escuela de Policía de la ciudad. 7oficiales resultaron muertos y 4 soldados del regimen de transición.

La violencia en Mogadiscio deja 31 muertos y 100 heridos

Al Shabaab atacó el aeropuerto de Aden Adde defendido por las fuerzas de la Unión Africana. El ataque se profujo cuando estaba aterrizando el avión del president del gobierno de transición Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, quien volvía de Uganda para soliciatar refuerzos.
La insurgencia a tomado el control de los principales distritos de la ciudad como Hodan, Howlwadaag, Yaaqshiid, Huriwa y Daynile.
El portavoz de la Unión Africana, el Maj Behoku Barigye confirmó la muerte de dos de sus efectivos en el ataque.

FUENTES: web oficial de Al-Shabaab y http://www.garoweonline.com/
______________________

Al-Kataib emite el video, aunciado por Garbie en Ultima Hora Jihad, de Harakat al-Shabab al-Mujahideen

Reaparece Abu Mansour el americano en éste video de tributo a los niños que han quedado huérfanos. Por cada mujahiden que muere quedan varios hijos que vengarán la muerte de sus padres.

Moscow unwilling to recognize the might of Emir Dokka Umarov

The security committee of the Russian state duma believes that Doku Umarov has nothing to do with the Martyr operations in Moscow subway and is just making a PR campaign by taking responsibility for them.

"A claim by Doku Umarov about his involvement in the terrorist attacks in the Moscow metro must be checked", Gennady Gudkov, deputy chairman of the security committee in the state duma, said to the Russian radio station Echo of Moscow.

"We are well aware that this may be a PR campaign. Using the incidents, he could show that he has some might, or it may be that is is really responsible. Now the terrorists and their circle are to be exposed, whether they are or not related to Umarov", said the KGB duma deputy.

Curiously, before the video statement by Doku Umarov was made available in YouTube, the Russian secret services were claiming, without any evidence for it, that Dokku Abu Usman is responsible for the bombings.

Meanwhile, the ability of sabotage units of the Mujahideen of the Caucasus Emirate to organize and carry out attacks on Russian territory is doubted not only in Moscow.

The Russian service of BBC in its reports about metro bombings and in comments to the Dokka Umarov's statement, published the following amusing passage:

"A video footage appeared in the Internet where a man identifying himself as Doku Umarov, said that the explosions in the Moscow subway had been carried out under his order. A bearded man in camouflage, who has similarities with earlier pictures of the Chechen separatist leader who calls himself "Emir of the Emirate of Caucasus", claims that "special operations against the infidels" in Moscow subway stations on March 29 were conducted in retaliation for what he called a "massacre by the Russian occupiers of the poorest people of Chechnya and Ingushetia, who were collecting wild garlic in the Ingush village of Arshty on February 11, 2010".

It is to be mentioned that "someone claiming himself Doku Umarov" (BBC) has warned that attacks on Russian territory would continue.

Local apostates also pretend not to believe the statement of Caucasus Emirate's Emir. Thus, the well-known apostate Akhmar Zavgayev asks and answers himself in an interview with the Russian State Interfax news agency - "Can we trust terrorists, the leaders of the criminal groups? I doubt it".

Another apostate, a MP from the ruling KGB United Russia party, representing puppets of Dagestan, Gadzhimet Safaraliyev, has also doubts the words of the leader of the Caucasian Mujahideen.

"I think Umarov has too high opinion about himself and his capabilities" (to carry out such operations), he said.

According to Safaraliyev, "the militants' leader has no network of operatives powerful enough to organize and carry out such attacks".

According to him, "Umarov is being used as a cover for some more powerful organization". As an example, the deputy lists secret services of the US, Saudi Arabia and several other countries.

It is to be mentioned that the ringleader of the parliamentary security council of Russia and a former Russian KGB top terrorist Patrushev found a "Georgian trace" in the Moscow metro bombings.

Curiously, Moscow is clearly reluctant to admit that the Caucasian Mujahideen are capable to carry out sabotage operations on the territory of Russia. It was the most spectacular attack after the bombing of the elite Nevsky Express train, when the FSB and all Russian government Russian commentators unanimously said - "it has no Caucasian trace".

Moscow's unwillingness to recognize the facts is especially strange that, since according to many commentators, attacks in the Moscow subway are allegedly favorable for Putin, who intends once again to become the Russian Czar.

As they say, new explosions and new blood would again force the Russian population to rally around the government and demand a stronger hand.

However, this explanation has some significant flaws.

First, the "strong hand" (it impossible to be stronger than Putin now) is ruling Russia for 11 years and never stepped back (he didn't weaken, but only became stronger). The vertical of power in Russia is so steep that there is no way to be more steeper.

Second, despite vigorous opposition's attempts to stir up the masses, the activities of anti-Putin and anti-Kremlin meetings are weak. The masses drink vodka and watch the TV, which tells them how Russia "has risen from the knees".

Third, it has been a sabotage operation on the territory of Russia proper, and it destroys the myth of the pacification of Chechnya (Caucasus) and demonstrates the omnipotence of Putin and his FSB gang. The bombings of the metro and the blast of the elite train are, in fact, the act of public desacralization of Putin's regime, and they destroy the Putin's myth.

After 11 years of victorious reports and television images of allegedly peaceful and prosperous Kadyrov's Chechnya and killed "militants", new explosions under the nose of the Kremlin do not testify in favor of Putin, since these explosions destroy the Putin's main myth - the myth of omnipotence, stability and order.

And if the Putin's Latrine Doctrine dated anno 1999 to "rub out militants in the toilet" stimulated the drunk and angry Russian mob, then the same Latrine Doctrine dated anno 2010 of "scraping bandits off the bottom of the sewers" meets only laughter.

The Russian government is not as strong as it pretended to be all these years. And the crowd does not forgive weakness. This is even more dangerous for the government against the background of deepening crisis, rising unemployment and poverty. The inhabitants on his/her own skin felt that Putin's promises were empty.

So, the effect of these attacks can be completely different than all-knowing critics of the Mujahideen and the fans of the "FSB's traces" are trying to inculcate.

Perhaps, these bombings would open the most terrible secret of the current regime - Putin's regime is simply impotent.

It stupidly swallow up petrodollars of the previous corpulent decade, and stuffed its private purse with enormous sums of money, leaving the country with a crumbling Soviet infrastructure. As it turns out, this Russian government cannot even protect ordinary citizens, even in Moscow

As far a the Kremlin's Pokemon (Medvedev) is concerned, who is trying pretend to be brave, then his bulging eyes do not cause anything more but a condescending curiosity. Watching how he carefully stretches his mouth and strains his neck is very interesting indeed.

Ruslan Sinbarigov,

Kavkaz Center