M A G A Z I N E (inaugurated 1.4.2001) CLICK HERE: EURO-NEWS-CLIP MAGAZINE
Webpage INDEX:
1. COMMENT - FOOT-AND-MOUTH
2. THE QUESTION OF VACCINATION OF THE HERDS AND FLOCKS
3. THE BURNING OF ANIMAL CARCASSES AND HYGIENE
4. BURIAL OF ANIMAL CARCASSES AS AN ALTERNATIVE
5. ON THE ORIGIN AND CHAIN OF INFECTION
6. "MANAGING FOOT-AND-MOUTH" by Mark Woolhouse & Alex Donaldson
7. "?KURSK REPORT"
8. ADDRESS OF GERMAN PRESIDENT JOHANNES RAU TO EU-PARLIAMENT
"A PLEA FOR A EU-CONSTITUTION" 4.4.2001
9. DELEGATION OF THE EU COMMISSION IN RUSSIA - LINKS TO TEXTS
IN 11 EUROPEAN LANGUAGES
10. FOCUS MAGAZINE:TRANSLATED TEXT RE:ENGHOLM, DATED 7.04.2001
11. EU'S INTRUSIVE LEGISLATION TO CONTROL CYBERSPACE
By BBC News Online technology correspondent Mark Ward
12. LINK TO PRIME MINISTER, FRENCH REPUBLIC, WEBSITE - ENTIRE
EUROPE SPEECH TO PRESS CLUB IN PARIS 28.05.2001 IN FRENCH
13. HUNTING BIN LADEN - INTERVIEW WITH THE FORMER CIA FIELD OFFICER IN AFGHANISTAN:
MILTON BEARDEN - CLICK HERE:CIA field officer Afghanistan
14. FOR UK BIN LADEN DOSSIER IN FULL CLICK HERE:UK bin Laden dossier
15. "HAMBURGER ABENDBLATT" ARTICLE ON FOILED ATTEMPT TO ARREST KARADZIC (ONE OF SEVERAL)(ENGLISH)
16. "LE MONDE" INTERVIEW WITH THE GRAND MUFTI OF MARSEILLE,
SOHEIB BENCHEIKH (IN FRENCH)-CLICK HERE:Grand Mufti of Marseille
17. JANES REPORT: 11 April 2002 /incorrectly dated 2001 "Strikes target Bin Laden networks in Europe"
CLICK HERE:Strikes target Bin Laden networks in Europe
18. INSIDE THE KGB MUSEUM - CLICK HERE:KGB on exhibition
19. CANADIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER BILL GRAHAM TEMPERS CRITICISM OF US OVER OPPOSITION TO NEW INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT:CLICK HERE:Globe and Mail(FOI CENTER):Bill Graham speech to UN
20. TEXT OF PM TONY BLAIR'S INTELLIGENCE REPORT ON IRAQ CLICK HERE:Intelligence Report on Iraq
21. ABU BAKAR BASHIR - LEADING INDONESIAN CLERIC - ARTICLE:TIDES WORLD PRESS UPDATE:2.05.2002 EXCERPT BELOW / COMPLETE TEXT CLICK HERE:ABU BAKAR BASHIR
22. WHAT IS THE IBDA/C? - Radical Front of the Pioneers for a Greater Islamic Orient
23. MADRID TRAIN-BOMBING (March 11, 2004)
24. ALEX SALMOND SPEECH IN AVIEMORE, 28.10.2007, REGARDING SCOTLAND'S INDEPENDENCE. WHAT ABOUT SCOTLAND'S
EU-RELATIONSHIP? euro-news-clip ASKS THE SNP, THE SNP REPLIES.
1. COMMENT - FOOT-AND-MOUTH:
Failure to contain this debilitating animal viral epidemic is primarily
a failure in scientific knowledge. The disease, which is similar to
Herpes in humans, attacks mainly hoofed animals, and results in adult
animals slowly dying of starvation, and the young animals dying of
infection. It is possible to inoculate the animals against the disease,
but this has to be done about every six months. Opponents of the idea
say every 4-6 months, proponents say every 6-9 months. Infected animals
develop antibodies prior to the symptoms appearing. The symptoms are
blisters within the mouth and sores on the feet. Experts are all in
agreement regarding the highly contagious character of the virus. It
is spread by direct contact as well as in the air. According to
anecdotal evidence, the UK virus in 1967 was so virulent that it
reportedly infected animals in disease-free areas by mailed letters.
The disease is endemic in Africa, where it is found in game, including
elephants, and in Asia and South America. Animal migration may also play
a role. The role played by the abuse of antibiotics in animal hubandry,
as well as the effect of excessive transportation, in undermining natural
resistence to infection, cannot be underestimated. There is no known
cure for the disease once its has been contracted, but although there is
a vaccine its use is not permitted by the EU as a matter of policy,
because, it is claimed, that the drop in productivity of the herds
presents a serious economic loss. However, it has been reckoned that
the economic loss to the UK economy as a result of the cull will be
�9 billion. The big question is, does the cost of culling represent a
valid argument, both economically and ethically? At the root of the
problem is diagnosis. Before the symptoms appear, one has to test for
antibodies, which takes several days. There are too few laboratories. In
France, for example, there is only one laboratory. According to
information provided by French TV, TF1, 17.3.2001, the initial strain
of virus involved in the UK foot-and-mouth outbreak three weeks ago was
the strain "Pan-Asia" which originated, reportedly, in India.
"Webmaster@euro-news-clip" For more info CLICK HERE:CNN Foot-and-Mouth Report
2. THE QUESTION OF VACCINATION OF THE HERDS AND FLOCKS:
The EU-Agriculture Ministers, meeting in Brussels, are now discussing
vaccination as a means of controlling foot-and-mouth disease, with
Portugal, Belgium and Holland in favor of vaccination. To be considered
is the cost of vaccination of the entire herds and flocks, 300 million
animals, the problem of recognizing vaccinated animals, the duration of
vaccination, since it gives protection of from 6-9 months only, and the
fact that foot-and-mouth free countries will refuse to import vaccinated
animals, since they could be capable of infecting non-vaccinated stock.
Example: Argentina, whose meat exports make up 10% of GDP, recently
applied vaccination. UK meat and dairy exports make up only 1% of GDP.
19.03.2001 "Webmaster@euro-news-clip"- For further information and
scientific discussion CLICK HERE:VACCINATION
3. THE BURNING OF ANIMAL CARCASSES AND HYGIENE:
A hygiene specialist has raised doubts regarding the effectiveness of
virus destruction using open-air cremation pyres. There is the
possibility of spreading the virus in the surrounding area via the air.
The carcasses are not completely rendered to ash. Rain can also seriously
dilute disinfectant to the point of making it useless. Body remnants can
be recuperated by animals of prey which are attracted above all by sense
of smell."Webmaster@euro-new-clip
4. BURIAL OF ANIMAL CARCASSES AS AN ALTERNATIVE:
Where burial is the means of disposal, the geological and the
appropriate legal requirement , in particular, with regard to the
protection of the water table, as pointed out by the Prime Minister,
Tony Blair, during PMQ's in Parliament on 21.03.2001, must be followed.
The use of plastic foil as a means of protecting substrata is an example
worthy of consideration, and can be seen in landfills in mainland Europe.
The effectiveness is a matter for expertise."Webmaster@euro-new-clip"
5. ON THE ORIGIN AND CHAIN OF INFECTION:
If the reports are true that the origin of foot-and-mouth outbreak in
the UK at Heddon-on-the-Wall was in fact meat with the "Pan-Asia" strain
of the virus, of Indian origin, illegally imported from Asia or the
Mid-East, and supplied to a local Chinese restaurant, it would starkly
illustrate the absuridity of the UK remaining the only country which
does not belong to the EU-Schengen treaty on border controls. If, as it
now appears, foot-and-mouth disease in other EU-countries, namely France
and Holland, almost certainly was contracted from sites within the UK,
the whole subject of EU border controls of people and products of the
earth should be re-examined and discrepancies corrected, if need be by
further legislation, and should be applied universally throughout the EU,
including the UK. "Webmaster@euro-news-clip" 27.3.2001. To see also
related "Times" article, CLICK HERE:Times Research Article
For scientific reference via "Nature" links CLICK HERE:Nature
Article "Managing Foot-and-Mouth" Article in "Nature", 29.3.2001 CLICK HERE:Managing Foot-and-Mouth
6. "MANAGING FOOT-AND-MOUTH" by Mark Woolhouse & Alex Donaldson -
Main points:
1.The introduction of the disease into the United Kingdom apparently
represents a failure of, or evasion of, import controls for livestock or
livestock products although the 20 years since the last outbreak is the
country's longest period of freedom from this disease during the past
century.
2.The immediate aim of a control programme must be to reduce R (the reinfection
rate) to less than one.
3.Vaccination, just like pre-emptive culling, should reduce R, but is
unlikely to bring it down to zero.
4.There are some clear research needs here. One is for the development of a
vaccine to induce sterilizing immunity in the respiratory tract of sheep
and cattle that could be used without the risk of establishing carrier
animals.
5.A much less widely appreciated need is for a vaccine that quickly stops
infected animals from transmitting the infection rather than aiming to
prevent disease.
6.Knowledge of host demography is essential for epidemiological research to
design control programmes in advance of an epidemic.
7.Some demographic information for UK livestock populations is provided by
annual Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food census data. But the
fine detail of the spatial distribution of livestock holdings is not in
the public domain, which is a major barrier to epidemiological research.
8.In the European Union, information is now collected on movements of cattle
and pigs (less so for sheep), but these essential data can be equally
difficult to obtain for non-government scientists.
9.That said, the course and scale of the current UK epidemic differs from
those of its recent predecessors, and the elimination of the disease this
time will be a formidable challenge.
6. "?KURSK REPORT"
8.9.2000 Translated Text: Re:FSB-Kursk Report, by Gisbert Mrozek,
published in the "Berliner Zeitung", 8.09.2000- " According to a report of
the Russian Intelligence Service, FSB, the nuclear submarine "Kursk" was
sunk by its own navy. A modern anti-submarine missile, which was launched
from the Russian cruiser "Peter the Great", reportedly caused the catastrophe.
This, according to "Berliner Zeitung" information, is the most important
finding of the investigation report submitted on August 31st to Vladimir
Putin by a special investigation group, led by FSB-chief Nikolai Patruschev.
In the detailed FSB report it is reported that on August 12th during fleet
maneuvers, a "Granite" type missile was launched armed with a new underwater
target-homing warhead. The missile submerged 20 kilometers down-range.
Immediately thereafter one initial underwater detonation, followed a short
while later by a second, were registered on board the cruiser. Both of the
explosions were reportedly visible from the bridge of the warship. On board
the cruiser it was initially believed that the second explosion was part of
the maneuver. The FSB-Investigation Commission indicates that it was only
later that it was determined that the position data of the "Kursk" and the
point of submergence of the "Granite" missile coordinated exactly at a
distance of 400 meters. The FSB-report is in stark contrast to the
explanations given hitherto by Russian military leadership. To date the
Defense Minister, Igor Sergeyev and other military leaders have been
adamant that the "Kursk" had been rammed by a foreign submarine. All 118
crewmen lost their lives in the accident in the Barents Sea. The FSB
investigation report would discredit the entire leadership of the armed
forces. For that reason President Putin wishes to continue the investigations
after his return from the UN-Summit in New York, according to information
from Moscow. Initially Putin will discuss the report in close contact with
military leadership, without the participation of the FSB. On being questioned
the press office of the FSB stated on Thursday that such a report was unknown
to it. A comment by the FSB-chief Nikolai Patruschev, on the contrary, was
still pending. According to information of the "Berliner Zeitung", the FSB-
investigation report describes in detail the events leading up to the
submarine accident. According to the report the cruiser "Peter the Great"
launched missiles of the type "Granite" daily since August 2nd. On August 12th
during a fleet maneuver, in which an exercise in defense against a nuclear
attack on Russia was to be carried out, the deployment of this weapon of
relative short range "under maximum realistic conditions" was to be tested.
On board the "Peter the Great" on the day of the accident were also the
Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Fleet, Admiral Vyatscheslav Popov, and
the Vice-Admiral, Mikhail Mozak. The FSB-report now submitted to Putin gives
no information as to the reason why the "Granite" missile hit the "Kursk".
It may have been a defect in the weapons system, as well as that the friend-foe
indentification of the "Kursk" was ineffective." Translation Copyright:
"Webmaster@euro-news-magazine"
8. PLEA FOR A EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION
Debate: 04.04.2001 'We need a European constitution', was the key message
from German President Johannes RAU in his address to the House. Such a
constitution would become the foundation of the 'European structure' and
would ensure that the EU would not become a centralised super-state but a
federation of nation states. This would enhance the EU's democratic
legitimacy for joint action, while also safeguarding the competencies of
the national states. New areas of responsibility could only be transferred
to Europe if all members of the federation were to agree to it. He stressed
that Europe was not moving towards a single centralised state; a
constitution would establish the basic political basis of a federation
which allows different traditions to be preserved. A federation would
enable every Member State to make its own sovereign decisions on its own
constitution and system of government. 'We need a constitution for the
very reason that we do not want to become a single centralised state', he
stressed.
The constitution should be based on the Charter of Fundamental Rights
proclaimed at the Nice summit which would have a binding power on the
actions of EU institutions and Member States where they implement EU law.
Secondly it would divide competencies between the Member States and the EU
and the principle of subsidiarity should guide decisions. Indeed he believed
that the competencies reserved for Member States should be precisely defined.
Thirdly the constitution should lay down Europe's future institutional
framework and address the question of the EU's democratic legitimacy. The
question of this legitimacy had caused much scepticism towards the EU among
the public who felt that they had little influence on the 'not very
transparent integration process'. Mr Rau called for Parliament and the
Council of Ministers to be developed into a genuine bicameral parliament.
The Council of Ministers would preserve the nation states' sovereignty while
the European Parliament would become a 'citizens' chamber'. The two chambers
should make decisions on an equal basis in all spheres in which legislation
is enacted.
He felt that although criticism of the Commission was sometimes justified,
it was often merely made a scapegoat by national governments often for
domestic reasons. However, the Commission's work lacked democratic legitimacy.
This needed to be changed, and Mr Rau called for the election of the
President of the Commission by the two chambers of the proposed Parliament.
This, he considered, was preferable to the other option whereby the
Commission President would be directly elected by the people. He believed
that his proposals would result in Europe's citizens being more involved in
the EU and the decisions it was making in key areas that affected them such
as the euro and rules on football transfers. A stronger European Parliament
would also ensure that the parties were not only European in name but
conducted themselves as such.
Mr Rau also argued that recent months had shown that the inter-governmental
method had reached its limit. He commended the example of the Convention
which had prepared the Charter on Fundamental Rights. 'Seldom in the last
few years has a European body done such good work', he proclaimed. He
therefore called for Europe's future to be debated in a broad forum in which
government representatives and members of national parliaments and of the
European parliaments would play an important part. This forum should prepare
the necessary decisions as far as possible and should include the citizens
of candidate states as 'the future European constitution will also be their
constitution'.
Mr Rau concluded by calling on the House to help to make Europe more
relevant to the everyday lives of Europe's citizens. 'You have my support',
he concluded.
9. DELEGATION OF THE EU COMMISSION IN RUSSIA (COPY OF EU-TEXT)
I am pleased to welcome you to the site of the Delegation of the EU Commission
in Russia.European Commission in Russia
Our site will help you to learn more about the European Union and its
institutions, 15 member states and the EU�s Tacis.Tacis
Under NewsNews you can find our latest
press releases and a calendar of forthcoming events in the European Union and
Russia. What's the EUWhat�s the EU?
contains general background information regarding the European Union, its
institutions and 15 member states. EU and Russia
EU and Russia gives an overview of bilateral relations in all areas.
You can also find texts of agreements, such as the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement
Partnership and Co-operation Agreement and
other documents, such as the EU Common Strategy towards Russia.
EU Common Strategy towards RussiaTacis
Taciswill provide you with information on this program and its
areas of activity. Click on "Evropa" "Evropa"
to read our magazine in Russian with a 4-page insert in English.
We encourage you to visit the EuropaEuropasite, where you can find additional
information in the eleven European languages.
Richard WRIGHT,
Head of Delegation.
10. FOCUS MAGAZINE:TRANSLATED TEXT RE:ENGHOLM, DATED 7.04.2001
"Engholm registered as unofficial collaborator"
The former SPD-chairman was in fact registered by the Stasi as an unofficial collaborator, as documents returned by the CIA indicate.
According to a recent evaluation of the Stasi documents handed over
by the US-intelligence agency to its German partners in December 2000,
Bj�rn Engholm was registered by the East German foreign intelligence
agency under the code-name Erdmann since 3 February 1971.
The former intelligence officer J�rgen H. from Schwerin provided
confirmation to FOCUS, that he met and became acquainted with Engholm
at a meeting of the East German Youth Organization (FDJ) in 1969. State
Secretary of the Justice Department Hansj�rg Geiger, Chief Federal
Prosecutor Kay Nehm, as well as the President of the Office for the
Protection of the Constitution, Heinz Fromm, have been informed
regarding Engelholm�s Stasi-registration since the beginning of the
year.
The highly-sensitive Stasi-documents from the clearance and code-name
files of the East German Intelligence Service (HVA) are believed held
at the present time at the Gauck Authority premises in Berlin. Its
spokesman, Christian Booss, as well as Nehm�s spokeswoman refused to make
any comment on the Engholm-files by reason of data-protection. Both
authorities, however, did not expressly deny the existence of these files.
According to FOCUS information Engholm was registered as an unofficial
collaborator under the registration number XV 128/71 until fall 1983.
Thereafter, he was passed to the East German Intelligence Service (HVA)
which was responsible for intelligence gathering from Western politicians
with legal East German contacts.
Engholm denied in Focus any unofficial collaboration whatsoever. The new
accusations were characterized as a campaign. Meanwhile, he has already
been threatened with a beating because of his alleged Stasi-involvement.
07.04.01, 0836 hours
English version: copyright webmaster@euro-news-magazine
11. EU'S INTRUSIVE LEGISLATION TO CONTROL CYBERSPACE
By BBC News Online technology correspondent Mark Ward
Be careful who you talk to on the net or phone, soon law enforcement
agencies could win sweeping powers to scrutinise the electronic
communications of every European. Proposals are being put forward to
the European Union to make communications companies keep records of all
phone calls, e-mails, faxes and net use for seven years just in case
police forces need to search them during criminal investigations.
Civil liberty groups and net watchdogs have condemned the plans and
said the laws, if passed, would give law enforcement agencies powers
denied to repressive regimes. But opposition to the plan is growing as
Data Protection Commissioners, business groups and human rights watchdogs
unite to fight the proposals. Watching the web Statewatch, a civil
liberties and state monitoring group, has been leaked documents that
reveal the EU is being lobbied to rip up existing data protection and
telecommunications legislation and replace it with laws that give
sweeping snooping powers to police forces. Under the proposals net
service companies, telecommunication firm and mobile phone operators
would be forced to keep the records of every call made, e-mail sent or
website visited for seven years.Law enforcement agencies such as police
forces, customs agents and intelligence services would also get free
access to trawl through the data when investigating any crime.
Current EU legislation forces law enforcers to get permission every
time they want to tap electronic communications or search for evidence
during investigations. The existing laws also restrict the amount of
time that communications firms can keep data before it has to be
destroyed. "Authoritarian and totalitarian states would be condemned
for violating human rights and civil liberties if they initiated such
practices," said Tony Bunyan editor of Statewatch. "The fact that it
is being proposed in the 'democratic' EU does not make it any less
authoritarian or totalitarian." Previous attempts to pass laws to grant
the sweeping powers have been defeated thanks to objections from Data
Protection Commissioners and public outcry. The UK Data Protection
Commissioner has said of previous proposals that they would lead to
"disproportionate general surveillance of communications". Caspar
Bowden, director of internet think tank the Foundation for Information
Policy Research, said the laws would give the police a "route map" of
the people anyone associated with, their contacts and sources and would
significantly erode civil liberties and privacy. The proposals are also
likely to encounter stiff opposition from businesses reluctant to bear
the cost of setting up huge archives to store the data should the police
ever want too look at it. To read the original BBC webpage, 16.05.2001,
CLICK HERE:EU CYBER LEGISLATION
12. LINK TO PRIME MINISTER, FRENCH REPUBLIC, WEBSITE - ENTIRE EUROPE SPEECH TO
PRESS CLUB IN PARIS 28.05.2001 IN FRENCH - CLICK HERE:Discours sur l'Europe
13. HUNTING BIN LADEN - INTERVIEW WITH THE FORMER CIA STATION OFFICER IN AFGHANISTAN:
MILTON BEARDEN - CLICK HERE:CIA station officer Afghanistan
14. FOR UK BIN LADEN DOSSIER IN FULL CLICK HERE:UK bin Laden dossier
15. "HAMBURGER ABENDBLATT" ARTICLE ON FOILED ATTEMPT TO ARREST KARADZIC (ENGLISH)
16."LE MONDE" INTERVIEW WITH THE GRAND MUFTI OF MARSEILLE,
SOHEIB BENCHEIKH (IN FRENCH)-CLICK HERE:Grand Mufti of Marseille
17.JANES REPORT: 11 April 2002 /incorrectly dated 2001 "Strikes target Bin Laden networks in Europe"
CLICK HERE:Strikes target Bin Laden networks in Europe
18.INSIDE THE KGB MUSEUM - CLICK HERE:KGB on exhibition
19.CANADIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER BILL GRAHAM TEMPERS CRITICISM OF US OVER OPPOSITION TO NEW INTERNATIONAL CRIMINALCOURT: CLICK HERE:Globe and Mail(FOI CENTER):Bill Graham speech to UN
20. TEXT OF PM TONY BLAIR'S INTELLIGENCE REPORT ON IRAQ CLICK HERE:Intelligence Report on Iraq
21. ABU BAKAR BASHIR - LEADING INDONESIAN CLERIC - ARTICLE:TIDES WORLD PRESS UPDATE:2.05.2002
On the steps of a humble mosque, Abu Jibril Abdurrahman quickens his cadence as he
approaches the emotional crescendo of his sermon: "Oh God," he implores, "help us to destroy the infidels who have killed our children."
At this, a ragged chorus of "God is great!" goes up from three-dozen armed followers. The Indonesian preacher's voice quavers as he takes up a Koran
in his left hand and a battered pistol in his right. "You can't just have the Koran," he says, extending the pistol skyward, "without the steel. You will bring
The sermon, delivered on the island of Halmahera in early 2000 and now on a recruitment video being distributed by the Indonesian Mujahidin Council,
is chilling. It's no secret that Islamic militants are part of a religious war in the Maluku provinces that has killed 6,000 people since 1999. But this video,
obtained by the Monitor, offers direct evidence of an Al Qaeda connection to this war. The ongoing conflict between Christians and Muslims, the Al
Qaeda ties to local preachers, and the refusal of the government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri to arrest the key figures behind the violence are
some of the reasons the US says the country is becoming an Al Qaeda haven. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage testified to Congress about
Indonesia last month: "We are really worried that places that have sectarian violence can become the breeding ground [for terrorism].... It is an open,
very hospitable country, and it is a Muslim country. It is one we fear that Al Qaeda could operate in relatively freely." Jihad arrives in Maluku -
Mr. Jibril's speech inspired a reorganization of Muslim fighters in Maluku that led to a deepening of the religious war. What had been a local conflict was
transformed by the arrival of such jihad groups as Jibril's from outside the province. Though Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country, the tiny
Maluku provinces are about 50 percent Christian. The jihad groups have kept the fires raging in the country's worst communal conflict for two years and
have insisted that they won't leave until the Christians there are wiped out or converted. Some parts of the Indonesian military are sympathetic to the
group, which has left it untouchable. Last Friday, an associate of Jibril, Jaffar Umar Thalib, urged a Muslim gathering to reject a recent peace agreement
and go back to war with the "infidels." Over the weekend, 14 Christians were killed in renewed fighting. While the US is worried that the Maluku war
could lead to the arrival of Al Qaeda in Indonesia, both Singapore, and Malaysia say the group has already been here. Officials in Singapore and
Malaysia say that Jibril ran operations for a terrorist group called the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which received money and training from Al Qaeda. Nearly
24 alleged members of the JI were arrested in Singapore and Malaysia last October, according to both governments, and investigators say the prisoners
have told them that Jibril was the group's second in command and primary recruiter. Police from Singapore and Malaysia say Abu Bakar Bashir, who
leads the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI), also runs the JI. Mr. Bashir, who lives openly here, says neither he nor Jibril, an old friend and fellow
MMI leader, have ties to terrorism. The Indonesian government says that Singapore and Malaysia's evidence against Bashir and his associates is not
compelling. They say that they've seen no evidence that the MMI, which its neighbors say is a local front for the JI, is anything more than a peaceful
advocate for the establishment of Islamic law. Yet the revenge attacks that Jibril helped to inspire in the Galela district of Halmahera, where the sermon was delivered, argue otherwise.
In late 1999, Christians in the neighboring district of Tobelo participated in a massacre of about 400 Muslims at Christmas, according to witnesses and
aid workers. That massacre inspired a national Muslim backlash, and an outpouring of aid, arms, and fighters to Halmahera and neighboring islands. Jibril,
who Singapore officials say received military training in Afghanistan, was in the vanguard. He and other MMI members arrived in Maluku January 2000
to organize a more effective Muslim fighting force. Jibril's network The chubby-cheeked Jibril and his colleagues introduced a centralized command
structure in the provincial capital of Ternate, delivered money for communications equipment and better weapons, and provided ideological inspiration,
according to a Western investigator. By the middle of 2000, the fighters Jibril helped to organize had routed local Christians with a series of well-coordinated
attacks on Christian targets using speedboats from Ternate and local militias. The worst massacre was in Galela on July 19, 2000, which claimed more
than 250 lives. "This was self-defense,'' says Fauzan Al-Anshari, a Jakarta-based MMI leader, who acknowledges that the MMI sent fighters to the
region in 2000. "We had to strike back." Mr. Al-Anshari says the MMI wasn't worried whether its actions were illegal. "When Muslims are attacked by
Christians, it's our duty to act. No one else will stand up for us." The reorganization of the Muslim militias by outsiders had profound consequences, turning
what had been a balanced and predominantly local conflict fought with homemade weapons into a national issue fought with mortars and M-16s. The
fiercer fighting completely separated the Muslim and Christian populations of the two provinces, a separation that prevails today. Suspicion of Christians
and other non-Muslims is a key tenet of both the teachings of Jibril and Bashir, a close colleague during most of the 1980s and early 1990s. Jibril's and
Bashir's religious vision is of a vigorous, aggressive Islam that brooks no insults from non-believers. "We are not terrorists - the US and the Jews are trying
to frame us,'' says Bashir in a recent interview with the Monitor. "They don't like us because we teach true Islam, one that stresses dying a martyr and
jihad. The US doesn't like that because it makes Muslims strong. I'm just a teacher. I'm not a violent man.'' Bashir says throughout history, Muslims "never
start trouble - we are always attacked first." Indonesia's reluctance to crack down US officials view Malaysia and Singapore's claims as credible and
have been alarmed by Indonesia's refusal to arrest Bashir. While Indonesia has helped deport some alleged foreign terrorists, it has refused to act against
Indonesians who are alleged to have ties to Al Qaeda. Analysts say the government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri is afraid of losing political
support from Muslims if she takes a harder line. "There are people here who, whatever the evidence against them, are clearly a major threat, judging
solely by their statements,'' says a Western diplomat. "But there are a lot of people here who feel that some of these groups have legitimate grievances, so
that makes the government reluctant to crack down." Jibril's 2000 sermon was on one of his first visits to his homeland in nearly a decade. After serving
a jail sentence here in the early 1980s for promoting the creation of an Islamic state, he exiled himself to Malaysia. Bashir's vision of an Islamic state
Outside of militant circles, he was not a well know figure. Jibril returned to Malaysia, where police officials allege that he set about arming and financing
a group there called the Malaysian Militant Group (KMM). Then in May 2001, two men with ties to Jibril and Bashir were killed and a third was
captured in a failed bank heist. The captured man described Bashir and Jibril as leaders of a terror group who had ordered the robbery. Jibril was
arrested soon after and is still in custody in Malaysia. Bashir, however, was already living in Indonesia, and Indonesian officials have refused to extradite
him, saying they don't feel Malaysia's evidence is strong enough. Throughout the allegations of terrorism, Bashir has kept an open door with journalists,
saying it's been a good opportunity: The time is ripe, he says, to make Indonesia an Islamic state, and he needs to use every avenue possible to make his
views known. CLICK HERE:
22. WHAT IS THE IBDA/C? -
The suicide attacks on Thursday in Istanbul were apparently a combined action of the terrorist network
al-Qaida and the Radical Front of the Pioneers for a Greater Islamic Orient (IBDA/C). Both groups, according to the Turkish media have acknowledged responsibility.
One of the two suicide bombers, who caused the death of 23 people in Istanbul on Saturday, is believed to have been a member of theIBDA/C . The IBDA/C
was founded in 1984 as an alternative to the former Islamic MSP party of ex-minister Necmettin Erbakan, which was criticized by the Islamists as too passive.
The struggle of the Pioneers for a Greater Islamic Orient is aimed at the Turkish Republic founded by Mustava Kemal Ataturk in 1923, viewed by the group as
illegal with its secular basis. For that reason the IBDA/C is believed to have even entered into temporary contact with the
former Kurdish rebels of the PKK and with the extreme leftist Revolution Party DHKP/C.
Network without rigid hierarchy
The special characteristic of the IBDA/C is its diffusion and the absence of hierarchy. Numerous autonomous subsidiary groups plan their actions independently from
one another; their members take the initiative themselves. Targets for attack are mostly non-Muslim ethnic groups, media, bars,tabacconists and banks, as well as
statues of state founder Ataturk.
The members of IBDA/C - are, like the overthrown Iraqi head of state Saddam Hussein, Sunni Muslims. Their leader," Commander" Salih Izzet Erdis, alias Salih
Mirzabeyoglu, arrested in 1998, was an active member of the MSP-Youth Organization "Young Fighters". In April 2002 he was sentenced to death for an attempted
coup d��tat: the sentence was meanwhile commuted to life. After the attacks on Saturday a caller declared in the name of the group, that the attacks are to bring to
an end the oppression of Muslims. "Our actions will be continued."
Dateline: 20.11.2003, 13:53 hours
Translation from German: webmaster:"euro-news-clip" CLICK HERE:ARD 30.11.2003
29.11.2003 Hamburg, Germany - TV channel ARD, quoting the Muenchen Report program, the German Criminal Office, BKA, is aware of the presence of the
Islamic organization IBDA/C in eight German cities, Neumuenster, Bochum, Duesseldorf, Cologne, Kassel / Baunatal,
Frankfurt, Hanau, and Stuttgart / Boeblingen.
23. MADRID TRAIN-BOMBING:Moroccan Jamal Zougam (30) and his half brother Mohammed Shawi (35) were arrested in Madrid on Saturday,
13.03.2004. Both, originally from Tangiers, Morocco, have longer family ties with Spain, more intensively in the last 3 years.
Jamal Zougam operates the Nuevo Siglo electronic store with another Moroccan, Mohammed Bakkali, (31) in the strongly Arabic
Lavapies area of Madrid. Mohammed Shawi operates another store in the same area and is believed to be at least the nominal
owner of the two stores in question. The SIM-card of the cell-phone used as a detonator in an unexploded bomb at the
scene of the bombing originated in one of the stores in question. Two Indians who work in one of the stores have also been
arrested. Jamal Zougam, according to reports, has been under suspicion since spring last year. AP has been quoted as suggesting that Jamal has
connections with Imad Barakat Yarkas, alias Abu Dahdah, suspected of involvement in the 9/11 attacks. The name Jamal Zougam has also been found during
investigations into the terror bombings in Casablanca in May 2003 which killed 30 people. FOR FURTHER OPEN SOURCE ID RESEARCH CLICK HERE:Tracking the Threat ID Search
24. ALEX SALMOND SPEECH IN AVIEMORE, 28.10.2007, REGARDING SCOTLAND'S INDEPENDENCE. WHAT ABOUT SCOTLAND'S
EU-RELATIONSHIP? euro-news-clip ASKS THE SNP, THE SNP REPLIES. euro-news-clip emailed QUESTION:
Sir, / Madam,
I managed to hear all but the very beginning of the First Minister's speech on Sunday in Aviemore. Apart from a reference to
the "continent", however, I missed details of the relationship of a future independent Scotland within the EU. Obviously,
an independent Scotland would most certainly have to renegotiate EU treaties with the 27 other EU states. The Scottish
electorate will require greater clarity as to the foreign policy that will be pursued by a future independent Scotland. The
majority of that electorate will expect a Scotland fully engaged in the EU. There can be no return to the insecure isolation of the pre-Union past.
Sincerely,
[email protected]
SNP'S REPLY:
Dear Sir/Madam
The SNP have always stated that Scotland will be an independent and equal
nation within the EU.
There are several recent press releases on this, available on our website:
Yours sincerely
www.snp.org
LINK to *EURO-NEWS-CLIP* CLICK HERE: euro-news-clip
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