NO, NOT THE OIL! #165 (2/4)

[R Kym Horsell]

Ousted Haitian president vows to return
Jean-Bertrand Aristide has vowed to return to Haiti.
CAR (AFP). Deposed Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide has
accused France of colluding with the US to get rid of him.
He made the accusation in a phone conversation from the Central
African Republic, where he has been granted temporary asylum.
In the conversation, which he had with a French writer, Mr Aristide
said France had reacted to his demand for the restitution of what he
called Haiti's "independence debt" from its former colonial ruler.
He said Paris followed up with a systematic campaign of dis-info and by
colluding with the US in what he branded a "political kidnapping".
Mr Aristide says he plans to go back to Haiti, insisting he did not
officially resign.
He said he had signed a document "to avoid a bloodbath, but there was
no formal resignation".
The US has rejected calls for an inquiry into the conditions of Mr
Aristide's departure for exile.
"There is nothing to investigate, we do not encourage nor believe
there is any need for an investigation," State Dept rep Richard
Boucher said.
"There was no kidnapping, there was no coup, there were no threats,"
he said.
Controversy over Mr Aristide's departure organised by the US has grown amid
calls by Caribbean Community nations and from S Africa's foreign minister
for a independent inquiry into circumstances surrounding the departure.
Democratic politicians have accused the Admin of Pres George W Bush,
amid early US presidential campaigning, of forcing Mr Aristide into exile.
Mr Aristide said he was the victim of a coup orchestrated by
Washington and has accused France of colluding with the US.

Marines receive mixed reaction in Haiti
Port-au-Prince (AP). US Marines trained their rifles down gritty
streets and into a teeming market as they patrolled the Haitian
capital with other peacekeepers Thu, drawing smiles and a few angry
words, but no resistance.
Hatred is still simmering among various factions nearly a wk after
Pres Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted in a rebellion that left at
least 130 people dead, with new killings discovered outside Port-au-Prince.
As the Marines rolled into the looted port area in 8 Light Armored
Vehicles and ventured into the crowds, onlookers gathered around in
curiosity but showed no fear.
At one point, a Marine poured a canteen of water over his head to cool
off in the sweltering heat, drawing chuckles from passers-by.
"I feel much safer now the Marines are here," said Frantz Labissiere,
44. "I wouldn't be here if the Marines weren't here."
But not everyone shared his view. As the convoy passed an angry knot
of people, one youth shouted: "You took our president -- now you're
taking our country!"
Others held up photographs of Aristide, who fled the country Sun as
rebels neared the outskirts of the capital and the US and former
colonial ruler France pressed him to resign.
Haiti's 1st freely elected leader lost a lot of popularity in Haiti --
and in Washington, which restored him to power in 1994 after he was
ousted in a 1991 military coup -- because he allegedly used militant
loyalists to attack and intimidate his opponents, failed to help the
poor and condoned corruption. Aristide, in exile in the Central
African Republic, has denied the accusations.
The Central African Republic will offer him permanent asylum if he
asks but would find it difficult to pay for his upkeep, the govt said Thu.
"I can't say definitively if Mr. Aristide will stay here or if he'll
go, but if he asks us, we won't refuse him," Communications Min
Parfait Mbaye told The Associated Press in Bangui.
The Organization of American States announced the establishment Thu of
a tripartite council that is the 1st step to forming a govt of nat'l
unity in Haiti. The members are Leslie Voltaire, who was Aristide's
Min for Haitians Abroad; former opp'n Sen Paul Denis, a member of the
Democratic Platform coalition; and Adama Guindo, the UN resident
representative in Haiti.
The 3 are to choose, by consensus within 1 wk, 7 members for a
Council of Sages which in turn will propose a new PM.
The killing of Haitians continued, despite the arrival of the US Marines
and French troops as the vanguard of a UN peacekeeping mission, as
well as a pledge by rebel leader Guy Philippe that his men would disarm.
On Thu, Philippe traded his military clothes for a blue polo shirt and
jeans, and was unarmed. He told The Associated Press he wants go to
"many cities, to see how people are living and how I can help." He
said he has given the order to his forces to disarm, and said their
weapons were "in the bases" around Haiti.
In Gressier, 10 km W of Port-au-Prince, the bodies of 4 men were
seen in the street Thu. All were shot in the head and 3 had their
hands tied behind their backs -- 2 with rope, one with a shirt. The
4th man's hands weren't tied and it appeared he may have been trying
to flee when he was shot.
Some Haitians doubted Philippe's pledge and the arrival of
peacekeepers would end revenge killings.
"The rebels want to take over the country," said Gracious Laguenne, a
tailor. "As soon as the Americans leave, they're going to come back
and it will be the same thing all over again."
More than 1,600 foreign troops are now on the ground in Haiti,
according to the US S Command. They include 1,000 US Marines, 440
French, 130 Chileans and 60 Canadians. More than 20 US military
flights have delivered the US forces with nearly 800 tons of equipment
and supplies this wk. Since Feb 21, the US Coast Guard has intercepted
and repatriated more than 900 Haitian boat people.
The St Petersburg Times, meanwhile, reported Thu that looters found
stacks of $100 bills -- possibly as much as $350,000 -- in a hidden
safe at Aristide's mansion in suburban Tabarre. The bills were either
crumbling into dust or stuck together so tightly that they couldn't be
pulled apart, the newspaper said.
As the Marines expanded their control over the capital, merchants
began cleaning off pro-Aristide graffiti. A worker wiped "Viv
Aristide" off the metal gates of an auto dealership.
The Marines cleared debris from barricades that had been built by
Aristide militants to protect the city from the rebels. Others used
mechanical hooks atop Humvees to lift concrete barriers.
A few gas stations opened and long lines grew. The colourfully painted
tap-tap pickups that are the most popular form of transport took to
the road. Charcoal vendors set up shop on the sidewalks, as did
shoeshine boys and women selling fruit and vegetables.
Daphnee Saintilima, trying to sell papayas, voiced the concern of most
people in this country, where 2/3 of the 8 mn people go hungry every day.
"The most important thing for me is to feed my family. I'm tired of
politics. Politics doesn't feed me," she said.
But for some, the foreign peacekeepers are an occupying force
cementing Aristide's removal.
"People are still angry" at Aristide's departure, said Marie-Claude
Augine, 46. "Just because we have tanks patrolling, it doesn't make
things better. The rebels need to just go and so do the Americans."
S Africa added its voice Thu to calls for an independent internat'l
investigation into the circumstances of Aristide's departure from Haiti.
Aristide flew to exile in Africa aboard a U.S-provided jet as rebels
closed in on the capital Sun. When he arrived in Central African
Republic, he claimed US troops forced him to leave.
"The suggestion that Pres Aristide may have been forced out of office,
if true, will have serious consequences and ramifications for the
respect of the rule of law and democracy the world over," South
African Foreign Affairs Min Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said in a statement.
The the 15-nation Caribbean Community said Wed that the circumstances
of his departure were suspicious and should be investigated by an
independent internat'l investigation.
State Dept rep Richard Boucher brushed aside criticism.
"It's time to look forward. It's time to focus on what we can all do
for the people of Haiti."

Turkish water deal signed
Istanbul (Haaretz). Israel yesterday signed an agreement in principle
on importing water from Turkey, following 4 and a half y of negotiations.
Under the agreement, signed by Foreign Ministry director-general Yoav
Biran and his Turkish counterpart, Ugur Ziyal, Israel will import 50
mn cubic meters of water per y for a period of 20 y, for a total
of one bn cubic meters. The imports will supply about 3% of the
country's drinking water.
The water will be brought to Israel from a water-export facility built
by the Turks on the Manbaget River in the S of the country. The
Manbaget is considered to have extremely high-quality water.
The agreement does not include a timetable, but Israeli officials said
that the water will certainly not begin to arrive this y and probably
not next y, either. The accord also states that the price of the
water, the method of transportation and the means of quality control
will be determined in negotiations between the parties. The most
likely means of transport is a special 250,000-ton tanker ship.
Finance Ministry officials estimate that the price of producing the
water in Turkey will be 13 to 18 c per cubic meter, while the
transport costs will be 70 to 80 c per cubic meter, bringing the total
cost to as much as $1 per cubic meter, or $50 mn pa.
That is almost double the expected price of desalinated water at the
coastal desalination plant that Israel is now building, and 4 times
the price of fresh water supplied by Israel's own natural resources.
For this reason, the agreement is considered "political" rather than
economic, and the Finance Ministry has been highly critical of it.
One treasury official said caustically that if Israel has to buy the
water in order to maintain its good relationship with Turkey, "it
would be better to leave it in Turkey. Then the economic damage to
Israel would be much less."
Ziyal, questioned by reporters yesterday, denied reports that Ankara
had frozen infrastructure development projects in E Turkey in
which Israeli companies are involved to the tune of about $1 bn, in
order to pressure Jerusalem to sign the water agreement.
The freeze on these projects, he said, is due to his country's
economic woes.
The agreement is based on a joint statement issued by PM Ariel Sharon
and the Turkish energy minister in 2002, and later approved by the
cabinet, in which the sides stated Israel would purchase water from Turkey.

Blast in W Baghdad kills at least 3 more
Baghdad (Reuters). A rocket slammed into a Baghdad street nr a
telephone exchange on Thu, killing at least 3 people, Iraqi police at
the scene said.
On Wed, a bomb exploded in another telephone exchange in Baghdad,
sparking fears that guerrillas were targeting Iraq's communications
system in a new form of sabotage. The country's energy infrastructure
has frequently been attacked.
Police at the scene of Thu's attack said the rocket had skidded along the
ground after the initial impact, hitting a car and killing its occupants.
A large crowd of Iraqis stood around the mangled remains of the car.
"3 were killed and 2 were wounded," policeman Luay Majeed said.
Some of the crowd that gathered after the attack shouted anti-US
slogans, chanting: "America is the enemy of God."
On Tue a series of bomb attacks on Shi'ites in Baghdad and the holy
city of Karbalah killed at least 171 people, making it Iraq's bloodiest
day since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Iraq Council head chides US on security after bombs
Baghdad (Reuters). The head of Iraq's Governing Council said Thu the
country's US-led occupiers must do more to provide security after bombs
killed at least 181 people at Shi'ite Islam's holiest shrines this wk.
The comments by Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum, a Shi'ite cleric and current
president of the US-appointed Council, underlined friction between
leaders of the Shi'ite majority and occupying forces over a wave of
devastating attacks on Iraqis.
Not long after he spoke, assailants killed at least 3 people in a car
nr a telephone exchange in W Baghdad in a rocket attack, local police
said. A bomb exploded at another Baghdad exchange Wed, raising fears
that guerrillas have taken aim at Iraq's communications.
In the N city of Mosul, US soldiers opened fire on Iraqis trying to hijack
a Turkish truck Thu, killing 5 of them, local police at the scene said.
Iraq's top Shi'ite authority Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, whose call for
elections forced Washington to speed up the timetable for polls, has
blamed US forces for failing to secure Iraq's borders. Another Council
member said the attacks showed Iraqi militias should be in charge of security.
"I put the blame on the authorities," Bahr al-Uloum told reporters as
he visited a hospital where survivors of Tue's attack at Baghdad's
Kadhimiya shrine were being treated.
"The coalition forces are part of the authorities and they are in
charge of maintaining security, so they should do all that they can to
maintain security."
Iraq's US governor Paul Bremer said Wed that Washington would spend
$60 mn to boost security on Iraq's long, porous borders. He said 100s
more vehicles and Iraqi security personnel would be used to beef up security.
Brig General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the US
Army in Iraq, said the death toll from Tue's attacks was 71 in Baghdad
and at least 110 in Karbalah. The exact Karbalah toll was not known as
several bags of mangled body parts had also been collected.
Kimmitt said 553 people were wounded in the attacks.
Iran's state news agency said 49 Iranians were among those killed in
the Karbalah blasts.
* AL QAEDA SUSPECTED
Iraqi and US officials said the bombings, which targeted worshippers
as they commemorated the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, a revered figure
in Shi'ite Islam, were part of a campaign by a man accused of links to
al Qaeda to foment civil war in Iraq.
General John Abizaid, the cmdr of US forces in the region, said he had info
linking Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to the attacks, and suggesting the militant
had also developed links with the spy network of the ousted Iraqi govt.
US forces have put a $10 mn price on Zarqawi's head.
The US-led occupation authority says Zarqawi was working to ignite sectarian
strife to torpedo US plans to hand sovereignty to Iraqis on Jun 30.
A US general in Baghdad said that while foreigners posed the biggest threat
in terms of the sophistication of attacks, most of those fighting
occupation troops were Iraqis.
"There's little doubt that the same trigger-pullers who used to pull
triggers for the former regime are probably pulling triggers for
someone else," said Brig General Martin Dempsey, cmdr of the 1AD in
charge of Baghdad.
"But we see that the motivation of the leadership is changing from
former-regime restoration of power to extremism."

UK troops may stay in Iraq for more than 2 y
London (The News, Pak). Brit troops will have to remain in Iraq for
at least 2 y and perhaps more because of the instability revealed by
the bloody attacks in Karbala and Baghdad, Brit representative Jeremy
Greenstock said on Wed.
"This is a crunch period for the future of Iraq. Iraqi society has got
to realise that they have got to unite against [violence]," he told
BBC radio.
Greenstock, who is responsible for civil Admin in S Iraq, said those
who wished to destroy attempts to build a new Iraq planned to
intensify violence in the m leading up to the hand-over of authority.
He said the attacks on Tue were part of the last desperate struggle of
violent people to obstruct the process of nation building. The
violence, therefore, "was expected and is very difficult to stop".
Greenstock said Brit troops would remain after the hand-over of
sovereignty to an Iraqi interim Admin in Jun.
"We will stay here after Jun," he said adding, "We are not going to
leave." Asked how long Brit troops would remain, he replied, "My
prediction is at least another 2 y, maybe more than that. They will
come down in numbers as the Iraqi capacity grows. There will be a
correlation between those things."
Greenstock warned that the security situation is going to be nasty and
"we always predicted that."
Meanwhile, Brit PM Tony Blair said on Wed militants from across the
Middle E are flooding Iraq, bent on causing mayhem and instability.
"Terrorists from every [alleged] extremist group around the Middle E
are pouring into Iraq," Blair told parliament.

Iraqi clerics try to avert civil war
Muslim religious leaders calm Shiites and Sunnis after attack on pilgrims.
Baghdad (Baltimore Sun/AP). Shiite Muslim clerics joined Sunni
preachers in a march of 1000s of mostly black-clad men yesterday,
trying to keep passions in check after an attack on Shiite pilgrims
that raised fears of civil war.
US and Iraqi officials disagreed over how many people died in Tue's
bombings in Baghdad and Karbala -- the deadliest since the fall of
Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi Governing Council said 271 people were
killed. US officials put the toll at 117.
The attacks -- at some of the holiest shrines of Shiite Islam and on
the most sacred day in the Shiite calendar -- threatened to turn Shiites
against Sunnis if the bombers were found to have been Sunni extremists.
But strife with the country's Sunni minority would hardly be in the
interests of the Shiites, who stand on the verge of achieving their
dream of political power after generations of suppression. Civil war
would threaten those dreams, and the influential clergy appeared eager
to keep passions in check.
No group claimed responsibility for Tue's attacks. However, the top US
cmdr in the Middle East, Gen John Abizaid, said yesterday that the US
has evidence that the al-Qaeda-linked Jordanian militant Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi was behind the bombings.
US officials said 15 people were detained in Karbala in the attacks,
though none was charged. Among those detained were 5 Farsi
speakers, a suggestion that they were Iranians. About 100,000 Iranians
were believed to have come to Iraq for the Ashura religious rituals,
and Iran's news agency said 23 Iranians were among the dead.
In what appeared to be a nod to criticism from Iraq's top Shiite
cleric, US administrator L Paul Bremer III said the coalition would
help strengthen border security, saying it was "increasingly apparent"
that "a large part of terrorism" comes from outside Iraq.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani and other Shiite leaders
accused the US-led coalition of failing to provide adequate security
for the worshippers and of not doing enough to prevent extremists from
crossing Iraq's porous borders.
"There are 8,000 border police on duty today, and more are on the way,"
Bremer said. "We are adding 100s of vehicles and doubling border
police staffing in selected areas. The US has committed $60 mn to
support border security."
In an attempt to play down sectarian divisions, Shiite Muslim clerics
and Sunni preachers led 1000s in a march from a Shiite suburb in
E Baghdad to the Kazimiya district where the bombings took place.
"We and our Sunni countrymen are, have been and always will be brothers,"
said Shiite preacher Amer al-Hussein, a snr aide to firebrand cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr, an outspoken opponent of the US-led occupation.
Abizaid's statement in Washington is the most direct assertion yet by
a US official that al-Zarqawi is carrying out a terrorist campaign in
Iraq, as described in a letter purportedly written by al-Zarqawi and
intercepted recently by US intel.
The letter outlined plans to attack Shiite religious sites to foment
civil war. The Bush Admin says al-Zarqawi has links to Osama bin
Laden, leader of al-Qaeda.
"The level of organisation and the desire to cause casualties among
innocent worshippers is a clear hallmark of the Zarqawi network, and we
have intel that ties Zarqawi to this attack," Abizaid, head of the US
Central Command, told a congressional committee.
A letter purported to come from al-Qaeda denied responsibility for
Tue's bombings, blaming US troops instead -- but it also called
Shiites infidels.
In Karbala, weeping relatives pored over lists of the dead posted on
the hospital walls as authorities worked to identify victims. Families
who received their loved ones' bodies took them away for burial.
In a sign of the bitterness over the lack of security, several
thousand Shiites chanted anti-American slogans in one funeral
procession. "No, no, Americans! No, no, Israel! No, no, terrorists!"
they shouted, carrying 3 coffins through Karbalah's streets. Some
took a sheet painted to look like an American flag and set it ablaze.
Also yesterday, 3 rockets hit a telephone exchange building in
Baghdad, knocking out internat'l phone service for much of the country
only days after the system was put back in service. One Iraqi worker
was killed and another injured, Iraqi officials said.

NATO ready to send troops to Iraq
Brussels (AFP). 9 Iraqis were killed in a string of attacks across
the war-ravaged country, as NATO announced it would send troops if an
Iraqi self-govt, due to take over on Jul 1, requests its support.
Polish troops also said they had captured 7 al-Qaeda suspects and
Karbala law officials accused the US-supervised interior ministry of
short supplying them after bomb attacks killed 102 people at a
religious festival, according to a new toll.
3 Iraqis were killed and at least 5 wounded in a rocket attack by
unknown assailants in SW Baghdad, police and witnesses said.
The target of the attack was not immediately clear, but an AFP
journalist said the rocket exploded about 100 metres from a US
military base.
Violence also dogged the N city of Mosul, where 3 policemen and 2
civilians were killed in a rocket and automatic rifle attack, police said.
Another Iraqi police officer was killed and 2 others seriously wounded
in the N city of Kirkuk when gunmen attacked their patrol, police said.
A US soldier was also wounded nr Baquba, in central Iraq, when a
homemade bomb exploded nr his convoy.
Earlier, Polish troops said they had arrested 7 al-Qaeda suspects
since mid-Jan, including 2 in the past wk, in the countdown to the
rampage on the Shi'ite Muslim holy city during the Ashura pilgrimage.
The rep conceded the US-led coalition had anticipated Tue's
spectacular bombings, but stuck to a security plan putting Iraqi
forces in charge of the city for the major holiday.
Polish Warrant Officer Zbigniew Dabkiewicz said 2 of the suspects were
connected with Jordanian Abu Mussab Zarqawi, the US-led coalition's
prime suspect the Karbala and Baghdad attacks.
The pair, both Iraqis, were implicated in a Dec 27 suicide bomb attack
in Karbala that killed 19 people, and are now in US custody, he said.
As fears of fresh violence ran high on the eve of the signing of a
temporary constitution, Karbala law enforcement officials vented anger
at being undermanned ahead of Ashura.
They charged that the interior ministry had failed to meet a request
for weapons, cars and radios.
The series of bombings in the city and the capital killed 173 people
and wounded 553 others, interim health minister Khdeir Abbas said,
giving an updated toll.
Speaking in Washington, the top US cmdr in the Middle E opposed the
formation of Shi'ite militias in response to Tue's violence, warning
that it would be a "destabilising event".
General John Abizaid's comments before the Senate Armed Services
Committee came in response to reports of rising demands by Shi'ites to
protect their communities with militias tied to political parties in
the face of escalating attacks targeting civilians.
In Warsaw, NATO Sec-Gen Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said he would send
soldiers to Iraq if Baghdad requested them and that the UN should
mandate a stabilisation force for the country under sovereign self-rule.
"After the 1st of Jul, it is up to the sovereign Iraqi govt to decide"
whether to ask NATO to send troops, he said.
The US is to formally end the occupation of Iraq and hand over power
to a sovereign govt on Jun 30, although it will retain a military
presence in the country.
In Madrid, Russian For Min Igor Ivanov said attacks would continue to
rock Iraq until the lingering US-led occupation was wrapped up.
"We believe that the only way to resolve this problem are a political
settlement and elections in a sovereign Iraq, issues which are
currently being discussed at the UN," he said.
The European Commission also warned that security is the key
constraint on delivering $mns of aid to Iraq, as it listed its
priorities for spending money pledged last y.
In the aftermath of allegations by a former Brit cabinet minister that
London spied on Kofi Annan in the run-up to the Iraq war, the UN
Sec-Gen met Brit's UN representative Emyr Jones Parry.
Initially announced for Wed, the meeting was put back 24 hr at Jones
Parry's request, said a rep.
"You can guess one of the subjects on the agenda," he told reporters.
Back on the ground, US troops in Baghdad are also to begin focusing
their mission on extremists, with remnants of the former Iraqi regime
becoming an increasingly spent force, Brig General Martin Dempsey said.
Operation Iron Promise, to be launched on Mar 16, will replace
Operation Iron Grip, which focused on cells of fighters from the
deposed Baath party and those loyal to former president Saddam Hussein.
"The motivation of the enemy is changing from former regime to
extremists," Dempsey told reporters.
Dempsey said the Baghdad and Karbala bombings were carefully planned,
going off one minute apart.
"It is a level of coordination that we have seen only a few times,"
Dempsey said, adding that he had seen similar tactics employed in Afghanistan.

Fear and fortitude in Baghdad
Baghdad (Asia Times). The streets in Baghdad are mean at night. Only
wild dogs prowl. Iraqis and journalists are prudent to stay inside. At
11 pm I received a call from a friend in the Saha neighbourhood of
Baghdad's Shaab district, a Shi'ite stronghold. A Sunni mosque nr his
house had been attacked.
"They are Wahhabis," he said [Iraqi Shi'ites call all conservative
Sunnis Wahhabis]. "Did I want to come?" I couldn't resist, and asked
the hotel for their taxi driver, but I didn't explain why I was going
there. Not a single car was out as we drove for 20 minutes from the
city centre to the Qiba mosque. The streets of Shaab were misty and
unlit. The road before the mosque was blocked by a truck.
As we drew up, about 20 men holding Kalashnikovs surrounded the taxi,
and on each side young men in shabby civilian clothes pointed the
barrels of their guns into the car through the rolled down
windows. They demanded to know who we were and what we wanted. They
were very tense. I asked the one on my side who he was, but he ordered
me out of the car. The taxi driver explained that I was not an
Iraqi. "He's a foreigner!" they shouted to each other, and all the
men came closer to the car. "They are all Israelis and Jews," shouted
one man in a slurred voice.
We tried to explain that I was a journalist, but they had never seen
an American passport or a press ID before. Why was I here? What did I
want? It was clear from the fear in their eyes and the anger in their
voices as they barked orders that they wanted to find somebody to
kill. They used none of the polite expressions that typically colour
even hostile Arabic conversation. They only gave orders, as if we were
their prisoners, their voices echoing against the empty city's buildings.
The man with the slurred voice pointed his Kalashnikov directly at me,
clearly in a drunken rage. The driver and I protested again that I was
just a journalist, in the country to investigate an attack. Not
knowing if they were Sunni or Shi'ite, I recited the names of every
Iraqi Sunni and Shi'ite leader that I could think of and said that
they were all my friends. I won over 2 men, and they began struggling
with the drunk man, who was still seemingly intent on shooting me. He
would not move the gun's barrel from right in front of me. My chest
was a vacuum. Then I managed to move away from the swaying danger. The
undecided ones in the group nervously eyed me, but before they could
make up their minds one way or another one of the sympathetic ones
hustled me into the mosque.
There were a number of armed guards in the mosque. I tried to remember
how to speak Arabic, and felt ashamed that my knees were very
weak. The guards confirmed that after the last prayers at night, as
the devout were emptying onto the street, a car drove by and opened
fire. "Praise God, nobody was wounded," they said, pointing to the
white gashes in the wall where bullets had torn off chunks of
plaster. They added that only a few m ago the same thing had
happened. As more men gathered holding their Kalashnikovs in a
ready-firing position [a rarity for Iraqis who usually sling their
weapons lazily], I decided that I had seen enough.
In the morning, Shaab's streets were busy with children playing amid
garbage and sewage pools. Donkeys pulled carts carrying gas for stoves
and boys banged on containers to let the neighbourhood know that they
were passing. American soldiers manned a checkpoint, along with fresh
Iraqi recruits, searching suspicious cars. A house nr the mosque is
riddled with bullets and burned. It belonged to a Wahhabi Muslim who
was killed last summer by local Shi'ites.
Abu Hasan, the mosque caretaker, was busy fixing the generator, his
hands and dishdash robe blackened with grease. He explained that the
attackers the night before opened fire from 2 cars, an Opel sedan and
a Nissan Pickup, at 7.30 in the evening. They were dressed like
police, he said, and before they managed to fire a RPG a bystander
grabbed it from them. "They want to create fitna [strife] between
Sunnis and Shi'ites, but it won't happen. I am 60 y old, I have never
seen any problems between us. We intermarry and are friends. America
is responsible for this," said Abu Hassan.
He added that Shi'ites from the city and from nearby Sadr City visited
the mosque to show solidarity. Sheikh Dhia from the local Shurufi
mosque came along with tribal leaders. "We are a targeted mosque
because Sunnis and Shi'ites both come here and are united," he
said. He asserted that 52 Sunni visitors had been among those killed
in the Baghdad attacks on Tue.
In Aug, the mosque was 1st attacked, he said, and 3 people were
wounded. After the latest attack the police shot a man in the leg in a
case of mistaken identity. The drunk man who was most intent on
shooting me the previous night was Abu Yasir, famous in the neighbourhood
for his alcohol-inspired belligerence. Seyid Nasr of the Seyid Haidar
Huseiniya [a Shi'ite place of religious mourning] also visited Qiba on
Thu, with 30 friends and relatives. As the honorific Seyid title
reveals, he is a descendant of the prophet Mohammed, and thus especially
respected. He is also the oldest and best known Seyid in Shaab. His
large home is down the street from a wall with posters of Ayatollahs
Khomeini and Khamenei of Iran. The walls of his study are decorated
with posters of Muhamad Bakr al-Hakim, the slain leader of the Supreme
Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, as well as other ayatollahs.
Seyid Nasr wore a black turban and thick glasses. "Our good leaders
will prevent fitna," he said. He explained that when he visited the
Qiba Mosque, he told the gathered people: "I am Sunni and I am
Shi'ite. We are all Muslims." He was certain that "there will not be
any problems between us", and blamed Jordanian wanted terrorist [by
the US] Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for the attacks.
Seyid Nasr explained that the Wahhabi who was killed and whose house
was burned was called Mohammed. On the day of Muhamad Bakr al-Hakim's
death last Aug, Mohammed went to a nearby square that had a painting
of Iraqi Shi'ite leaders. "Mohammed spat and threw stones at the
paintings, and then shot at them with his Kalashnikov," Seyid Nasr
said. "He killed one Shi'ite and wounded another. After that, the men
from the neighbourhood shot him and burned his house. The Americans
came to take his body and found many weapons in his house, as well as
pictures of Osama bin Ladin." Mohammed was from the Dulaimi tribe, and
in order to make peace the Dulaimis gave monetary compensation to the
family of the murdered Shi'ite. "After this, Sunnis and Shi'ites
prayed together in the Qiba mosque, and tomorrow we will do so again,"
said Seyid Nasr, who also mentioned that 51 Sunnis had perished in the
Baghdad explosions.
So far, the bloodletting that the attacks were meant to provoke has
not started, and leaders of both sects have called for unity and
patience. Shi'ite Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the highest Iraqi cleric,
urged that Iraqis unite, and blamed the Americans for failing to
secure Iraq's borders. Dr Muhamad Bashar al-Faydhi, a rep for the
Council of Sunni Ulema, blamed "foreigners" for the attacks,
describing them as a "real crime", and adding that "it is impossible
for any Muslim to do such a thing. Iraqis could never do this". Dr
Harith al-Dhari, another member of the Sunni council, placed
responsibility for the attacks in what he called "Holy Karbala and
Holy Kadhimiya" on America. The chief of the religious Admin of the
Sunni Waqf, Ahmad Abdul Ghafur al-Samarai, described the attacks as "a
dirty crime. Islam does not accept it. No religion allows this."
But Sunni leaders are taking precautions. Armed guards man the gate to
the Abu Hanifa mosque in Aadhamiya, the most important Sunni mosque in
the country. Sheikh Muayad of Abu Hanifa is closely escorted by a
bodyguard armed with a small automatic pistol beneath his vest.
Sheikh Muayad himself had visited the Kadhim shrine in Baghdad [scene
of the attacks] on the morning they took place. Abdel Hamid Rashid
al-Ubeidi, an assistant to Sheikh Muayad, said "only the Tigris river
separates us" from "our Muslim brothers" in Kadhimiya across the
bridge. "Our destiny is one and our enemy is one," he said, describing
the enemy as "the one who wants to divide us and make us opposed". He
blamed "foreigners" for the attacks, explaining that "sons of the
nation would never do this. If they were Muslim it was only in
name". Abdel Hamid added that "we are expecting an attack at any
moment. And if it is our destiny, then that is God's will."

Powell stresses US patience on N Korea crisis
[Unlike Iraq, we know they HAVE WMD].
Washington (Reuters). The US is not losing patience with diplomatic
efforts to end N Korea's suspected nuclear arms program, Secretary of
State Colin Powell said on Thu.
The comments appeared designed to avoid precipitating a new
confrontation with Pyongyang ahead of the Nov 2 US election and to
reassure allies Washington is committed to a diplomatic path after a
report suggested US patience was wearing thin.
Officials from the US, the 2 Koreas, China, Japan and Russia met in
Beijing last wk to try to find a solution but their discussions ended
only in an agreement to hold more talks.
The Washington Post reported that Pres Bush told his negotiating team
to make clear US patience for a diplomatic solution could run
out. Citing unnamed US officials, the Post said the president's action
effectively halted discussions on a detailed joint statement that
would have laid out steps to try to resolve the crisis.
"The president strongly believes that a diplomatic solution is
possible and we are not in any urgency to achieve that solution. We
want a good solution," Powell told reporters after talks with S Korean
For Min Ban Ki-moon.
The latest stand-off with N Korea began in Oct 2002, when US officials
accused N Korea of a clandestine program to develop nuclear weapons
that Washington sees as a direct threat to its allies S Korea and Japan.
Washington wants the complete, verifiable and irreversible
dismantlement of N Korea's suspected nuclear weapons programs and --
despite its earlier refusal to offer Pyongyang any "quid pro quo" to
achieve this -- has made clear that other nations are willing to
provide inducements.
"We will be patient in pursuing this policy," Powell said. "We are not
[in ]) crisis [as is] suggested by the newspaper article this morning
-- that somehow we are running out of time or running out of steam on
our diplomatic efforts."
The US believes N Korea may be pursuing nuclear weapons by
reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods that can yield plutonium for
bombs and by a separate, clandestine program to enrich uranium.
"Whatever they are doing or not doing, they will not force us or
pressure us into any kind of a deal that is anything short of"
complete dismantlement, he said. "The actions they are taking are only
keeping them away from benefits that they need."

Israeli Arabs held for passing bomb data to terror group
Jerusalem (Haaretz). 2 brothers, both snr members of the Israeli Arab
movement Sons of the Village and residents of Arabe village in the
Galilee, have been arrested and charged with passing explosives
expertise to Al-Aqsa Martyrs in Jenin. The instructions, for preparing
explosives and rockets, came from Fatah's Abu Mussa faction in Jordan.
Shin Bet security service and Galilee district police sources close to
the affair yesterday said Hezbollah actually wrote the manuals but
that connection was not mentioned in the indictment.
Majed Kna'ane, a 33-yo psychologist and a top official in the movement,
was charged yesterday in Haifa District Court with transferring the
instructions in an act of betrayal and espionage.
His brother Mohammed, 39, the movement's Sec-Gen, was charged with
making contact with an enemy agent.
The brothers were arrested on Feb 7, but the arrest was not revealed
until yesterday. The prosecution said the brothers met the Sec-Gen of
the Palestinian Fatah Abu Musa faction, Ibrahim Ijawa, the leader of
the Popular Front, Ahmad Sadat, at his Jericho prison cell, and the
leader of the Popular Front, George Habash.
The prosecution says Ijawa also recruited another pair of brothers,
Assan Athamla, the secretary of the Balad movement in Nazareth, and
Sirhan, both who were charged with having contact with Hezbollah last m.
Prosecutors charged that Majed Kna'ane went to Jordan in 2001 where he
met Ijawa. Over the last 2 y, according to the charges, Kna'ane
transferred about $12,000 from Ijawa to his brother. At the end of
2002, on Ijawa's request, Kna'ane bought 24 detailed maps of various
sections of the country, and kept them in his house.
About 5 m ago, Ijawa asked Kna'ane to take 2 devices, an electronic
back massage and a blood pressure monitor, from Jordan to Jenin. The
appliances were brought to a friend of Kna'ane's, Anas Abed Al-Aziz,
and from there taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs activist Muntsar Abu-Elion.
The police and Shin Bet said Majed confessed to the charges, and is
acting as a state witness against his brother. The brothers' attorney,
Orna Cohen from the Adallah organisation, said yesterday that the 2
deny all charges.
Adallah said that the 2 were treated harshly by the Shin Bet during
their interrogation. The Shin Bet said "interrogations are conducted
according to law and accepted practices, and under tight supervision."

Zimbabwe condemns wider sanctions
Harare (ABC, Sally Sara). Zimbabwe has reacted angrily to the
strengthening of sanctions by the US and AUS. Zimbabwean Info Min
Jonathan Moyo has condemned the sanctions and says they will not have
any affect. Mr Moyo says the US can "go to hell". He says US
officials are imperialists who would not know democracy if it "hit
them in the face". A rep for Pres Robert Mugabe has also accused AUS
of taking senseless action against Zimbabwe. The Fed Govt has
extended travel restrictions to include snr officials from Zimbabwe's
state-owned companies. For Min Alexander Downer says the AUS has
strengthened the sanctions because of its growing concern about the
plight of the people of Zimbabwe.

Canada saves N Korean defector from execution "hell"
Toronto (AFP). A N Korean defector branded a "war criminal" thanked
Canada for saving him from a personal "hell" after it decided not to
deport him to probable execution in his Stalinist homeland.
Song Dae Ri was refused political asylum in Canada last y by the
country's Immigration and Refugee Board, which ruled that as a former
N Korean official he was complicit in war crimes committed by its rulers.
But Deputy PM Anne McLellan late Wed stayed a removal order against
Ri, ruling that he did not pose a risk to Canadian security and could
stay in the country as a temporary resident.
Canada's war crimes unit had found no evidence he was guilty of crimes
against humanity.
"I felt like I was in hell and now I'm on my way to heaven," said Ri,
in remarks passed to AFP by his lawyer.
"I was never a war criminal and I am happy that someone in the govt
can take this rock off my back."
Ri's case touched off a media and political firestorm in Canada, as it
raised the question of whether a low-level official could do anything
about crimes against humanity committed by the govt for which he worked.
North Korea, under reclusive strongman Kim Jong Il is blamed for gross
human rights violations, and accused of starving mn of its people as
paltry financial and food reserves are diverted to its mn-strong army.
Ri had argued that if he was returned to N Korea he would likely be
executed for treason.
He escaped to Canada with his wife and son Chang-Il or Joshua [now 6
y old] in 2001 from Beijing where he worked as trade official for N Korea.
Officials do not dispute his claims that his wife was lured back to
North Korea later that y by her parents where 4 m later she was executed.
His father was also killed in retribution for his defection.
Ri's lawyer Robert Moorhouse said that his client had applied to
permanent residency in Canada, so he could build a new life with his son.
"Now that the allegation of war crimes has been removed, and given the
fact that his son will soon be a permanent resident himself with no
other family in the world, we expect that the govt of Canada will do
the just thing and grant Mr. Ri the same status as his son," he said.
Moorhouse said that Ri had lost 30 kg during a y of uncertainty
over his status in Canada.

Chinese release political activist from jail
Beijing. China has released a prominent dissident from jail. Nothing
has been made public yet in China, but an influential US human rights
group says China has released 37-yo Wang Youcai from prison. This
afternoon in Shanghai the dissident was put on a plane headed for the
US to receive medical treatment. That is a common reason given when
China releases dissidents. Wang was jailed in 1998 after he helped
found the China Democracy Party. It was not his 1st stint -- he was
imprisoned after the 1989 Tianamen massacre. In recent wks, 2 other
political prisoners have been freed, but the US says ordinary Chinese
continue to lack the freedom and right to peacefully oppose or change
Communist rule.

Fake medical university advertises on web
Honiara, Solomon Is. An Internet website claiming to belong to a
university medical campus in Solomon Islands is offering degrees to
internat'l students for $40,000. The King's University School of
Medicine claims to be located on 50 acres of land in the capital,
Honiara. The website claims the Solomon Islands Medical Campus is
part of a privately owned university established by approval of the
Solomon Islands Govt. The campus does not exist -- certainly not as
it is displayed in the photographs on the website. Prospective
students are invited to apply for the 45 places left for the next
semester, at a cost of almost $9,000 for the 1st y, or $40,000 for
the full medical degree course. The phone number listed for the
campus in Honiara is disconnected, but another number in Perth in W
AUS has a recorded message asking callers to leave their details.

Tories join attack on supreme court plans
London (Guardian). The Conservative constitutional affairs rep, Alan
Duncan, has joined the lord chief justice, Lord Woolf, in attacking
the govt's plans to create a supreme court.
He told Guardian Unlimited that the proposals -- contained in the
constitutional reform bill -- would result in an "inferior" and
"politicised" judiciary, "an American name and a very expensive building".
Yesterday, Lord Woolf claimed that the govt's plans would create a
"second class" institution, which would be a "poor relation" of others
around the world.
The govt, however, has made it clear that it will ignore the law lord's
call to defer the plans until after all the stages of reform of the
House of Lords have been completed.
A rep for the constitutional affairs dept said the creation of a
supreme court and the abolition of the post of lord chancellor were
necessary because the "separation of powers is vital to maintain
public confidence".
Mr Duncan, meanwhile, said he would "like to change it straight back
again" if the bill is passed, though he conceded that repeal was
dependent on "where they are in [reforming] the House of Lords".
But he insisted that "at the very least we'll need to reappraise the
system of judicial appointments". The govt is planning to establish an
independent commission to appoint judges.
"The lord chancellor appoints people who have never attracted
criticism in the past," Mr Duncan added.
"It is not easy to find people who want to be a judge, because you
have to give up a lot of money to do it."
"So if you go to open recruitment, and try and make it more reflective
of society, you're not only going to find inferior people to do it,
you're also going to have a growth of people demanding their judgements
reflect their representative qualities."
"Is the gay judge gay friendly? Is the woman judge female friendly? Is
the black judge black friendly? And that is a pretty insidious form of
politicisation."
Mr Duncan insisted that the present arrangement -- of the lord
chancellor heading the judiciary and the law lords sitting in the
House of Lords -- may look "mad in theory but it does work in practice".
"This is offensive to tidy-minded liberal lefties who want all
political theory to fit into neat boxes," he said.
"All that will be added to our existing system, which everyone says
works perfectly well, [by the govt's plans] would be an American name
and a very expensive building."
"You'd have thought Lord Dome would have worked that out by now," he
said of the lord chancellor, Lord Falconer.
The govt also rejected Lord Woolf's criticisms of its plans to prevent
the courts hearing appeals against decisions from immigration tribunals,
which he had dubbed "fundamentally in conflict with the rule of law".
A home office rep said: "We respect the views of the lord chief
justice. But it is important he respects our desire to deliver the
radical reforms we were elected to get through. "If we had been cowed
by previous criticisms, we would never have halved asylum claims or
got life meaning life for murderers.
Lord Woolf went so far as to warn that the judiciary may even need a
written constitution to protect itself from further political interference.

Oxfam focuses on slave labour in lead up to Olympics
London. Olympic authorities are being urged to help the mn of women
workers who are allegedly working in poor conditions to make
merchandise for this y's Athens Games. The internat'l aid agency
Oxfam says garment workers in developing countries such as Indonesia
and Cambodia are being forced to work longer hrs for less money.
Oxfam's Andrew Hewett says the Internat'l Olympic Committee and the
AUS Olympic Committee can influence the way sportswear companies
operate. "We hope that there will be change. It will require
considerable public pressure but we hope that the companies concerned
will see that it is in the interests of their industry to lift their
game and to clean up their act," he said.

Rescue effort begins as Arctic base sinks
Arctic Ocean. Russia is gearing up to snatch the crew of a floating
research station off the cracking Arctic ice floes that have nearly
swallowed the facility.
Most of Russia's N Pole-32 research station sank overnight, when the
ice below it 1st cracked and then disintegrated.
None of the 12 researchers posted to the station was hurt and all took
shelter in the few structures that did not sink in the icy water,
officials said.
Station chief Vladimir Koshelyev told Russia TV's website:
"All of a sudden ... a huge wall of ice appeared that kept growing and
growing.
"First they were 3 metres high, then 5, then 7 and finally over
10," he said.
"In the course of a half hour they practically swallowed up 90% of the
station, leaving only 2 small houses."
The researchers, all experienced polar hands, have taken shelter in
the 2 houses with food and emergency supplies to last about 5 days,
he said.
The researchers alerted border guards to the accident via radio and 3
helicopters have been prepared to pluck the scientists off the ice.
The choppers are due to fly to the station this wk, according to Artur
Chilingarov, a deputy speaker of Parliament and former Arctic explorer
who is coordinating the rescue effort.
"Don't worry, we'll get you off so you can return to the motherland,"
Russian TV showed Mr Chilingarov telling the researchers via
telephone from his State Duma office.
The station was set up in Apr 2003 to study climate change.
It has travelled about 3,000 km atop the ice floes since then and is
currently about 700 km from the N Pole in the Nansen Basin, news reports said.
The station, Russia's 1st since the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991,
was due to complete its work by Mar 20.

Child protection overhaul "could lead to false abuse claims"
London (Guardian). Govt plans to set up a sophisticated tracking
system to keep tabs on every child in England could lead to parents
being falsely accused of child abuse, child welfare experts warned today.
An electronic file would be created on every child to record warning
signs of abuse and neglect, including professionals' concerns and theories,
in a bid to enable child protection services to intervene before
families reach crisis point, under the children's bill published today.
Eileen Munro, reader in social policy at the London School of
Economics, said this risked a repeat of the recent cases of parents'
falsely accused of causing the cot deaths of their babies.
Ms Munro, an expert on child protection risk assessments, said that
the accumulation of minor concerns on the proposed databases by
different childcare staff could lead to problems being blown out of
proportion, or misinterpreted as in recent child protection scandals,
including the murder of 8-yo Vic Climbié.
She said: "The databases proposed by the children bill will allow a
wide range of staff to record any info they consider relevant, which
is a gross invasion of privacy. This info will not only include
factual info but also professionals' concerns and theories, which
risks a repeat of the recent cases of parents wrongly accused of
causing the cot deaths of their children.
"Vic Climbié's case illustrates the fallibility of professional
judgement, a point also emphasised by the recent cases of parents
wrongly accused of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. While it may be
possible to challenge the accuracy of factual info on a database, it
is not so easy to challenge judgements. It is also difficult to shake
off the smear even when a judgement is revised."
The children bill will require 150 local authorities to set up
databases on all local children and young people, recording warning
signs of abuse, neglect and offending behaviour, in a bid to enable
staff to identify and assist children and families with potentially
serious problems before they reach crisis point.
But Terri Dowty, policy officer for the family welfare organisation
Action on Rights for Children, condemned the proposed surveillance
system as "an outrageous intrusion into family life".
She claimed that the databases would present "an open invitation to
child abusers", and called on the govt to provide a cast-iron guarantee
that the widespread sharing of such sensitive info would not
compromise children's safety or privacy.
"We only have to look at the spate of recent prosecutions of 'caring'
professionals who have abused children -- teachers, police officers,
social workers and others -- to seriously question the govt's judgement
in promoting such an ill-conceived and dangerous scheme," said Ms Dowty.
"It is an unacceptable intrusion into the lives of families who are
responsible for bringing up their children and for ensuring their
safety is not compromised. The accuracy and security of data can never
be guaranteed, and the whole concept conflicts with existing data
protection legislation and European convention on human rights."
The education secretary, Charles Clarke, has dismissed concerns about
the proposed surveillance system, saying that the interests of
children "absolutely" took precedence over the civil liberties of adults.

Sudan, rebels need to clinch peace deal: Powell
Washington (Reuters). The US hopes the Sudanese Govt and rebels in
the S can reach a peace settlement this m, finally ending their
decades old civil war, Secretary of State Colin Powell said.
Washington, which is mediating between the 2 sides and has offered
improved ties and aid to the African nation if a power-sharing accord
is implemented, predicted a deal would be reached last y between the
Islamist Govt and the rebels from the Christian and animist S.
But the 2 sides must still settle competing claims to the Abyei area,
Mr Powell said at a congressional hearing, where he was pressed to
help end a war that has killed 2 mn people.
"By the end of Mar, I hope we will be able to crack this," he told a
House Internat'l Relations subcommittee.
Mr Powell said the US is ready to offer its ideas on breaking the
final impasse now that the sides have basically ended disputes over
two other areas and hammered out a deal on how to share the country's
oil revenues.
"We are very close. In the days ahead we will be working very hard to
try to bring this to a successful conclusion ... If we get a
comprehensive peace agreement and implementation of a peace agreement,
we have a long range plan as how to re-engage," he said.
Mr Powell said eventually the US could establish an embassy in Khartoum.
Despite advances toward peace in S Sudan, the US remains concerned
about continued fighting in a separate conflict in the W.

Canada military buys 800 German off-road vehicles
Ottawa (Reuters). The Canadian govt, under heavy fire for sending its
troops into danger zones in aging jeeps, said on Thu it was buying 802
German off-road utility vehicles for the armed forces.
A defence ministry rep said the G-Wagons -- built by DaimlerChrysler
AG unit Mercedes-Benz -- would cost $C126 mn [$US95 mn]. The
4-seater vehicles will be delivered by the summer of 2004.
The G-Wagons will replace the armed forces' fleet of Iltis vehicles.
2 Canadian soldiers in Kabul died last y when their Iltis hit a land
mine, prompting critics to say that an armoured vehicle might have
provided more protection.
Mercedes-Benz said in a statement that Canada was also buying a
minimum of 150 armoured protection kits which could be fitted to the
G-Wagons in a matter of hrs.
"The kits ... [provide] protection against small arms ballistics, hand
grenades and anti-personnel mines," said the defence ministry rep.
The 1st 60 vehicles will be deployed this m to Kabul, where some 2,000
Canadian soldiers are serving as part of a NATO -led stabilisation
force. Over 60,000 military G-wagons have been sold to NATO armies
around the world.
"It's a proven, off-the-shelf light utility vehicle ... that makes it
the vehicle of choice for military applications in armies around the
world," said the rep.
Leaders of Canada's military -- which consists of around 50,000 active
troops -- have long complained of being asked to do too much with too
little money.
Finance Min Ralph Goodale, due to deliver a budget on Mar 23, said on
Sun that Ottawa was obliged to ensure that its soldiers were properly equipped.
In May 2002, Parliament's defence committee called for a 50% jump in
military spending over 3 y. The current defence budget is slightly
more than $C13 bn.

NATO urged to ban troops from brothels
Brussels (Reuters). W troops abroad should be banned from brothels
and sex clubs that fuel an illegal trade in women forced into
prostitution, the US and Norway urged their NATO allies Thu.
The 2 nations urged the W defence alliance to mount a coordinated
clampdown on the human trafficking that sends women to work as
"modern-day slaves" in bars frequented by troops on missions overseas.
"Trafficking in human beings is part of the dark side of globalisation,"
said US ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns. "We don't have the luxury
of turning away from this problem because 10s of 1000s of lives are
being ruined."
"We want NATO to have a common policy to combat trafficking...by Apr,"
he told a news conference with his Norwegian counterpart, Kai Eide.
The envoys were speaking on the sidelines of a one-day conference on
NATO's potential role in tackling what they described as a "dark and
shameful" crime that could destabilise emerging democracies, especially
in the W Balkans.
The US estimates that each y as many as 800,000 men, women and
children are bought, sold, transported across nat'l borders and held
against their will for sexual exploitation or forced labour.
It has taken the issue seriously since an undercover investigation in
S Korea 2 y ago exposed the involvement of US troops in paying for sex
with women who had been trafficked from the Philippines and former
Soviet states into forced prostitution in bars nr a military installation.
Pres Bush has since set a zero-tolerance policy with respect to human
trafficking for all American military personnel, including peacekeepers
in the Balkans.
* PASSPORTS TAKEN AWAY
Burns, quoting a UN estimate, said that up to 90% of sex workers in
Bosnia were acting against their will.
"They would typically be told they were going to be a waitress or a
dancer, taken down to Bosnia, their passports taken away and then sold
from one guy to the next," he said.
Eide, whose country has prohibited govt employees and military
personnel abroad from purchasing or accepting sexual services, said
traffickers are so sophisticated they move in tandem with
concentrations of internat'l security forces.
The ambassadors said it was now time for a NATO-wide policy to
coordinate the efforts of the 46 countries in the alliance's Euro-Atlantic
Partnership Council, whose reach stretches from Canada to Central Asia.
"NATO has a special responsibility to ensure that our forces do not
contribute to this problem," they wrote in the Internat'l Herald
Tribune, calling on partnership members to:
* educate military personnel overseas about trafficking;
* step up efforts to pursue evidence of trafficking in persons in
clubs and other places frequented by NATO military personnel,
placing them off-limits, and help host countries to investigate
human trafficking;
* incorporate provisions in overseas civilian service contracts that
prohibit participation in activities supporting or promoting human
trafficking, and impose penalties on contractors who fail to monitor
their employees' conduct.

Police call for inquiry into Army bullying after Deepcut deaths
Surrey (Independent). A long-awaited police report into the violent
deaths of 4 young soldiers at Deepcut barracks yesterday recommended a
wider inquiry into the intimidation and harassment which drive
vulnerable recruits to commit suicide.
The investigation by the Surrey force calls for a new system of
accountability for and supervision of the treatment of entrants to the
forces, and describes bullying at the camp in Surrey as being "in
sufficient quantities to raise concern".
The House of Commons Defence Select Committee said yesterday that it
would hold an inquiry into recruit training.
Adam Ingram, the Armed Forces minister, told the Commons that the Govt
would consider what form a wider investigation might take, but that a
public inquiry would not serve any useful purpose.
The families of the dead privates -- Sean Benton, 20, Cheryl James,
18, Geoff Gray and James Collinson, both 17 -- have repeatedly called
for a public inquiry. Kevin McNamara, a Labour MP who has campaigned
for the families, described the report as "devastating". A "broader
inquiry", he said, was a "public inquiry by any other name".
The police found that between 1991 and 2001 there were 75 deaths in
the Army involving firearms in non-conflict situations, of which 60
had led to suicides or open verdicts at inquests. The report concluded
that a broader inquiry, extending beyond Deepcut into the armed
forces, could identify "more important lessons and safeguards to help
reduce risks in the Army... Such an inquiry would have the capacity
to reveal more info about why young soldiers, including trainees, are
particularly vulnerable to undetermined deaths, suicide and self-harm."
When Surrey Police asked the Army in 2003 for details of self-harm by
recruits at Deepcut, they were told that no reliable records could be
provided, according to the report. However, a study of guardroom logs
showed 39 such incidents, a figure regarded as "only half of the true level".
The investigation details individual acts of harassment which, it
said, could be subjected to further investigation in the future. In
one instance, a young female soldier had woken during the night to
find a corporal abusing her. When she complained to a supervisor, the
matter was "laughed off as a joke".
Mr Ingram said: "I understand that the 4 tragic deaths at Deepcut are
matters that we have to attend to and the Surrey Police carried out a
very intensive investigation. They interviewed 900 people and took
1,300 witness statements. That is such a comprehensive investigation,
I don't know what a public inquiry would elicit."
Des James, the father of Pte Cheryl James, said: "I'm not particularly
bothered about the House of Commons Select Committee. We mustn't allow
it to become a substitute for the real thing. I think the report is
extremely thorough and well put together. But it gives me absolutely
no satisfaction to say, 'I told you so.' I have been banging on since
the mid-90s about the culture of intimidation and bullying in the Army
-- and now this has backed that up."
Jim Collinson, the father of Pte James Collinson, said: "Both the Army
and Surrey Police failed in their duty of care to their young
soldiers. They failed to give us a proper investigation right from the
beginning. Vital forensic evidence was lost. If you do not get the
start of the investigation right, you'll not get the end right."

"Eyebrows raised" over Tas ferry prices
Hobart. A European ship broker has spoken this morning about his
claims the Tas Govt paid too much for the Bass Strait ferries --
Spirit of Tas I and II.
Norwegian Stan Stancheff says eyebrows were raised when the sale of
the former Greek ships went through.
In a Tas parliamentary committee hearing yesterday, the Upper House
Member for Rosevears, Kerry Finch, alleged the sale was marred by
corruption and kick-backs to foreign ship brokers.
Mr Finch says a Norwegian-based ship broker told him TT-Line paid
about $100 mn too much for the ships.
TT-Line has denied the claims.
Mr Stancheff says he has only made his views known through e-mails to
Mr Finch.
Mr Stancheff said this morning he had no role in the purchase of the
ships but alleges Tas taxpayers have been hard done by.
"I'm just an observer with a sense of annoyance when I see that state
money or taxpayers' funds are misused," he said.
"The proper procedure in valuing the ships was not done and the
valuation was provided by someone who was not independent and the Govt
should basically either instruct the auditor or the board of directors
to get a new valuation of the ships."
TT-Line chairman Nick Evers says Mr Finch's comments, made under
parliamentary privilege, are unsubstantiated and do not stand up to scrutiny.
"In my view and in the view of all credible observers at the time, and it
was thoroughly done and it was completely transparent, it was a good deal.
Period," he said.

Dozen hospitalised after chemical scare
Adelaide. 12 people have been taken to hospital after a chemical
scare in Adel's NE. The Metropolitan Fire Service says people inside
a home in the suburb of Gilles Plains [!!] were trying to fumigate the
dwelling using pesticides containing aluminium phosphide. 4 people
inside the house and 8 emergency workers have been taken to Royal Adel
Hospital after being exposed to the chemical. The nearby area has
been cordoned off, but emergency services say the danger is almost
over. Metropolitan Fire Service rep Bill Dwyer says some homes
downwind from the scene are being evacuated to allow the contaminated
property to be ventilated. "A precautionary measure, fortunately now
we've got a bit of a breeze here," he said. "We're going to put
positive pressure fans in place and they will blow the residue fumes
or odours out of the property."

Film Commission pushes ahead with archive merger
Sydney. The AUS Film Commission has confirmed it will co-locate its
MEL and SYD Screensound archiving offices with AFC facilities.
Screensound is embroiled in a controversial merger with the smaller
AUS Film Commission. The commission says the new arrangement will
give Screensound staff access to better facilities. But Ray
Edmondston from support group Archive Forum says the closure of
separate Screensound offices will have a detrimental effect on the
work of the archive. "It will not have an obvious and visible
separate presence, it'll be clearly a subordinate part of the AFC," he
said. "The symbolism is very important to them and it will be less
distinct from the AFC and not at all clear to people what it is."

Senator questions pets on flights plan
Hobart. A Tas Liberal Sen is seeking an explanation from Qantas
subsidiary Jetstar on its plans to allow pets in overhead lockers.
Sen Guy Barnett says the low-cost airline has advised him pets cannot
be carried in the aircraft hold but can be placed in the overhead
lockers. It is one of the concerns being aired at a public meeting
with the carrier in Launceston today. Tas business leaders are also
calling for an additional flight to MEL. Sen Barnett says there are
many risks associated with having pets in overhead lockers. "It
raises a whole range of issues in terms of safety and health issues in
terms of dogs being up there with cats, mice, rats and birds," he
said. "You put your hand up into the overhead locker, you might have
it bitten off by a great dane or something, there's all sorts of
issues it raises."

Food producers reject US FTA
N Vic. A farmer and meat exporter from Vic's Upper Murray has
described the free trade deal with the US as a disaster.
Kevin Bowtell believes beef, sugar and grain producers will all lose
out because of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
He says AUS negotiators went in with a particular outcome in mind.
"I think they went in with open eyes, but determined to get this free
trade agreement, irrespective of what they had to give away and I
think too much has been given away," he said.
"We've opened the doors to America and how we're going to be able to
save from being subjected to the dumping of subsidised stock I don't
know, and AUS farmers as far as I can see get nothing out of it."
Meanwhile, the managing director of SPC Ardmona believes the canned
fruit industry has lost out in the trade deal.
Nigel Garrard says under the deal, tariffs on AUS canned fruit exports
will decrease by 1% a y over 18 y.
But he says a 5% tax on American imports into AUS will be cancelled
immediately.
Mr Garrard says it is not a level playing field and the AUS canned
fruit industry will have to start looking to other markets.
"My idea of a free trade deal is that it's the same for both parties
and there's absolutely no doubt that it's not the same for both
parties, and I would put the canned fruit industry right up there with
sugar as one of the big losers out of the free trade agreement," he said.

US gains unfair tinned fruit advantage: SPC
Canned fruit industry criticises free trade agreement.
N Vic. The managing director of SPC Ardmona believes the canned fruit
industry has lost out in AUS's free trade agreement with the US.
Nigel Garrard says under the deal, tariffs on AUS canned fruit exports
will decrease 1% a y over 18 y. But he says a 5% tax on US imports
into AUS will be cancelled immediately. Mr Garrard says it is not a
level playing field and the AUS canned fruit industry will have to
start looking to other markets. "My idea of a free trade deal is that
it's the same for both parties and there's absolutely no doubt that
it's not the same for both parties," he said. "I would put the canned
fruit industry right up there with sugar as one of the big losers out
of the free trade agreement."

Officials unable to explain PBS blunder
Canberra (AAP). Trade officials have been unable to explain exactly
how AUS's cheap medicines system will be affected by the free trade
deal with the US.
The 1,000-page agreement was released publicly on Thu -- including a
key detail which will allow decisions to exclude drugs from the
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to be reviewed.
Exact details of how it will operate and even its power have not been
determined.
Patricia Ranald from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre at the
University of NSW said the changes could push up drug prices.
But the fed govt and the man who led the negotiations, Stephen Deady,
said the deal was in AUS's best interests as it would tie the country
to the US economy.
Meanwhile, PM John Howard will head to Bris on Fri for talks with Qld
sugar producers angry that they've been left out of the deal.
Sugar was excluded from the free trade agreement after the US -- to
protect its own sugar producers -- would not agree to any deal which
opened up the market.
Cane growers are looking for a rescue package of up to $600 mn.

Govt tries $4.5 bn super fix
Canberra (AAP). The fed govt said it will pour more than $4.5 bn into
paying out its superannuation liabilities to Telstra and AUS Post.
The govt will make a single lump sum payment of $3.125 bn to the
Telstra superannuation scheme and another $1.443 bn to AUS Post's scheme.
Finance Min Nick Minchin said the payments would eliminate any future
risk to taxpayers and provide greater certainty to both super funds.
"This decision will result in a $4.7 bn reduction in the AUS govt's
unfunded superannuation liability," he said.
"For Budget purposes, the payments will be largely treated as a
financing transaction that will not have a direct effect on the
underlying cash balance."
Sen Minchin said the lump sum payments will replace the current
quarterly instalments paid to the Telstra and AUS Post superannuation
funds, known as TSS and APSS respectively.
The changes mean that Telstra and AUS Post will now be responsible for
meeting the costs associated with the benefits under their
superannuation schemes.
"The system of quarterly payments to the TSS and APSS involved complex
actuarial calculations, and significant uncertainty for taxpayers,
Telstra shareholders, and for the super schemes covering Telstra and
AUS Post workers," he said.
"The lump sum payment will not affect the benefits of members of the
superannuation schemes and simply replaces the stream of payments
previously expected by the schemes."
Sen Minchin said he would table Determinations to give effect to the
govt's decision to make the lump sum payments in parliament next wk.
The govt's lump sum payments represent the book value of the assets,
held in the respective accounts of the superannuation schemes.
The govt has made payments worth about $500 mn each y since 1990 into
the super schemes.
The payments related to Telstra and AUS Post employees who were
formerly covered by the Commonwealth's superannuation arrangements and
then transferred to the Telstra and AUS Post schemes.
Sen Minchin said the lump sum payment would not have any effect on the
superannuation arrangements of Telstra and AUS Post workers who
remained in the commonwealth super scheme.
The govt will continue to be responsible for the liability of the
remaining members in the commonwealth fund.
Telstra said its superannuation scheme will remain fully funded, with
assets in excess of liabilities.
"As disclosed in Telstra's half-y accounts, Telstra remains on a
superannuation employer contribution holiday, the continuation of
which depends on the performance of the fund," Telstra said.
"The actuary is currently reviewing the fund's position, as at 30 Jun, 2003.
"It is possible that the actuary will recommend re-commencement of
employer contributions at some point during 2004-05, albeit at a
reasonably low level."
The superannuation funds were set up 14 y ago when Telstra and AUS
Post were corporatised.
Telstra's fund has 70,000 members while AUS Post has 35,000.

Liberals fear losing key seats
Canberra (AAP). Internal Liberal Party polls showed key Coalition
seats were at risk, The AUS newspaper said. The Crosby-Textor polls
conducted over the past 6 m support PM John Howard's fear that his
govt was just 8 seats from "electoral oblivion". "There's fear we got
a get-out-of jail card in 2001 by buying our way out, but it won't
work a 2nd time round," a Liberal Party source said. The seats the
Coalition fears losing at the next fed election include the S AUS
Marginal seat of Hindmarsh, where Liberal Party MP Chris Gallus is
retiring; Hinkler and Herbert in Qld; Dobell on the NSW central coast;
Canning in W AUS and Wakefield in SA.
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