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MIDDLE EAST Among these reasons is that it is necessary to create justifications for the massive spending of hundreds of billions on the Defense Department and other agencies in their war against the Mujahideen. My mentioning of these facts isn't out of hope that Bush and his party will treat our brothers fairly in their cases, because that is something no rational person expects, but rather it is meant to expose the oppression, injustice and arbitrariness of your administration in using force and the reactions that result from that. This is from one perspective, and from another perspective, perhaps there will one day come from the Americans someone who desires justice and fairness, and that is the path to security and safety, if you are interested in it. This is what needed to be said. And may peace be upon he who has followed the Guidance." The international Red Cross has voted to admit Israeli and Palestinian relief agencies.
The new red crystal emblem approved by the Red Cross Al Jazeera reported that Membership was approved by 237 votes to 54 but only after a lengthy delay as delegates struggled to reach a deal on Wednesday. Muslim countries raised legal and procedural concerns to challenge a December pact that had cleared the way for the entry for Israel's Magen David Adom and the Palestine Red Crescent. Tunisia and Pakistan proposed changing the deal to identify occupied lands, including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, as under the jurisdiction of their respective Arab relief societies - an amendment Israel would not accept. The advocacy group UN Watch said representatives from Saudi Arabia and Iran were among those who criticised Magen David Adom and sought to hold up its admission during the session. "It is tragic that a conference with purely humanitarian purposes should be put at risk by politics and rhetorical point scoring," Hillel Neuer, UN Watch executive director, said. Magen David Adom has sought membership in the Red Cross movement since the 1930s - even before Israel became a state - but had been barred because it objects to using the traditional symbols of the movement to identify its medical and humanitarian workers.New emblem: The addition of a third emblem to the red cross and red crescent had paved the way for Israel to join the organisation. The red crystal - a red-bordered square standing on its point - was endorsed in December but needed to be approved at the conference. The red crystal will be used on Magen David Adom ambulances and by other agencies in areas where the neutral symbol seems more appropriate. Palestine Red Crescent had previously been excluded from the movement because only sovereign nations are represented. The meeting dropped that requirement in the case of the Palestinian Authority. Mohammed Al Hadid, the conference chairman, said the move should result in better co-operation between Israeli and Palestinian relief services, and ensure more universal access to those needing help from the agency. The original Red Cross symbol - a reversal of the colours on the Swiss flag - was adopted in the 1860s when the organisation was set up to care for wounded soldiers. Muslim nations objected to the use of the cross, which they said reminded them of the Christian crusaders, and adopted the Red Crescent symbol.
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Saddam lawyer killed in Baghdad
Al-Obeidi is the third Saddam defence team lawyer to be killed. One of Saddam Hussein's lawyers has been killed after he was abducted from his home by men wearing police uniforms in Baghdad. Khamis al-Obeidi, who represented Saddam and his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim, was abducted from his house at 7am, Saddam's top lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi said on Wednesday. Jaafar al-Moussawi, the chief prosecutor, said that al-Obeidi had been killed. "They said 'We are from internal security and we need you for questioning'," Qatari attorney Najeeb al-Nuaimi told Aljazeera on Wednesday. Two hours later, Obaidi's body was dumped on a road beside a poster honouring the father of anti-American Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who was killed under Saddam in 1999. "They [three armed men] fired into the air and said 'This is the fate of Baathists!'," said a vegetable seller whose store is close by. Third death: Al-Obeidi is the third defence team lawyer to be killed since the trial against Saddam and seven co-accused on charges of crimes against humanity began in October. Al-Dulaimi, blaming pro-government militia for killing his deputy, called for a halt to the trial and said Saddam and others were on hunger strike. A US military official, however, said Saddam ate his evening meal. Some other inmates did not. Al-Dulaimi told Reuters the hunger strike, not the first of its kind, would go on until Washington improved security for his team. Bushra al-Khalil, one of the defence lawyers, blamed the US for the killing, citing an easing of security procedures. "I felt a change in procedures," she told Aljazeera on Wednesday. Al-Khalil said that previously "we were taken by helicopters from Baghdad airport into the Green Zone and [we would] live in the US military area. However, the last time, I found that they are taking us overland and letting us mix with people at the airport. This was not happening in the past. The Americans were responsible for sure. I expected the assassination because they wanted to obstruct our defence." Death penalty: The killing came two days after the chief prosecutor demanded the death penalty for Saddam and three of his former top aides for their roles in a crackdown on Shia villagers after a 1982 attempt on the ousted leader's life. Unlike al-Dulaimi, who shuttles between Amman, Jordan, and the Iraqi capital, al-Obeidi chose to continue to live in Baghdad despite the tenuous security. Al-Dulaimi blamed the interior ministry, which Sunnis have alleged is infiltrated by so-called Shia death squads. "We strongly condemn this act and we condemn the killings done by the interior ministry forces against Iraqis," he said, adding that US-led forces also bore responsibility because the war had allowed Shia militias to gain influence.Workers snatched: Also on Wednesday, armed men abducted 80 or more factory workers travelling home in a fleet of buses just north of Baghdad, police and interior ministry sources said. Five busloads of employees from a factory in Taji, north of Baghdad, were commandeered by dozens of armed men, officials said. One source put the number of those kidnapped at at least 100. The area sees significant Sunni Arab anti-government activity. Source: Al Jazeera |
