Posted on 12/17/2006 4:03:30 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT
VEVAK learned its methodology from the Soviet KGB and many of the Islamist revolutionaries who supported Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini actually studied at Moscow's Patrice Lumumba Friendship University, the Oxford of terrorism. Documented Iranian alumni include the current Supreme Leader (the faqih) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, under whose Velayat-e Faqih (Rule of the Islamic Jurisprudent) apparatus it has traditionally operated. Its current head is Cabinet Minister Hojatoleslam Gholam-Hussein Mohseni-Ezhei, a graduate of Qom's Haqqani School, noted for its extremist position advocating violence against enemies and strict clerical control of society and government. The Ministry is very well funded and its charge, like that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (the Pasdaran) is to guard the revolutionary Islamic Iranian regime at all costs and under all contingencies.
From the KGB playbook, VEVAK learned the art of disinformation. It's not so difficult to learn: tell the truth 80% of the time and lie 20%. Depending on how well a VEVAK agent wants to cover his/her tracks, the ratio may go up to 90/10, but it never drops below the 80/20 mark as such would risk suspicion and possible detection. The regime in Teheran has gone to great lengths to place its agents in locations around the world. Many of these operatives have been educated in the West, including the U.K. and the United States. Iranian government agencies such as embassies, consulates, Islamic cultural centers, and airline offices regularly provide cover for the work of VEVAK agents who dress well and are clean shaven, and move comfortably within our society. In this country, because of the severance of diplomatic relations, the principal site of VEVAK activities begins at the offices of Iran's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.
Teheran has worked diligently to place its operatives in important think tanks and government agencies in the West. Some of its personnel have been recruited while in prison through torture or more often through bribery, or a combination of both. Others are Islamist revolutionaries that have been set up to look like dissidents - often having been arrested and imprisoned, but released for medical reasons. The clue to detecting the fake dissident is to read carefully what he/she writes, and to ask why this vocal dissident was released from prison when other real dissidents have not been released, indeed have been grievously tortured and executed. Other agents have been placed in this country for over twenty-five years to slowly go through the system and rise to positions of academic prominence due to their knowledge of Farsi and Shia Islam or Islamist fundamentalism.
One of the usual tactics of VEVAK is to co-opt academia to its purposes. Using various forms of bribery, academics are bought to defend the Islamic Republic or slander its enemies. Another method is to assign bright students to train for academic posts as specialists in Iranian or Middle East affairs. Once established, such individuals are often consulted by our government as it tries to get a better idea of how it should deal with Iran. These academics then are in a position to skew the information, suggesting the utility of extended dialogue and negotiation, or the danger and futility of confronting a strong Iran or its proxies such as Hizballah (Hezbollah). These academics serve to shield the regime from an aggressive American or Western policy, and thereby buy more time for the regime to attain its goals, especially in regards to its nuclear weaponry and missile programs.
MOIS likes to use the media, especially electronic media, to its advantage. One of VEVAK's favorite tricks is setting up web sites that look like they are opposition sites but which are actually controlled by the regime. These sites often will be multilingual, including Farsi, German, Arabic French, and English. Some are crafted carefully and are very subtle in how they skew their information (e.g., Iran-Interlink, set up and run by Massoud Khodabandeh and his wife Ann Singleton from Leeds, England); others are less subtle, simply providing the regime's point of view on facts and events in the news (e.g., www.mujahedeen.com or www.mojahedin.ws). This latter group is aimed at the more gullible in our open society and unfortunately such a market exists. However, if one begins to do one's homework, asking careful questions, the material on these fake sites generally does not add up.
Let's examine a few examples of VEVAK's work in the United States. In late October, 2005, VEVAK sent three of its agents to Washington to stage a press event in which the principal Iranian resistance movement, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MeK), was to be slandered. Veteran VEVAK agent Karim Haqi flew from Amsterdam to Canada where he was joined by VEVAK's Ottawa agents Amir-Hossein Kord Rostami and Mahin (Parvin-Mahrokh) Haji, and the three flew from Toronto to Washington. Fortunately the resistance had been tracking these three, informed the FBI of their presence in Washington, and when the three tried to hold a press conference, the resistance had people assigned to ask pointed questions of them so that they ended the interview prematurely and fled back to Canada.
Abolghasem Bayyenet is a member of the Iranian government. He serves as a trade expert for the Ministry of Commerce. But his background of study and service in the Foreign Ministry indicates that Bayyenet is more than just an economist or a suave and savvy businessman. In an article published in Global Politician on April 23, 2006, entitled Is Regime Change Possible in Iran?, Bayyenet leads his audience to think that he is a neutral observer, concerned lest the United States make an error in its assessment of Iran similar to the errors of intelligence and judgment that led to our 2003 invasion of Iraq, with its less than successful outcome. However, his carefully crafted bottom line is that the people of Iran are not going to support regime change and that hardliner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actually has achieved greater popularity than his predecessors because of his concern for the problems of the poor and his fight for economic and social justice. To the naive, Bayyenet makes Ahmadinejad sound positively saintly. Conveniently overlooked is the occurrence of over four thousand acts of protest, strikes, anti-regime rallies, riots, and even political assassinations by the people of Iran against the government in the year since Ahmadinejad assumed office. So too, the following facts are ignored: the sizeable flight of capital, the increase in unemployment, and the rising two-figure rate of inflation, all within this last year. Bayyenet is a regime apologist, and when one is familiar with the facts, his arguments ring very hollow. However, his English skills are excellent, and so the naОve might be beguiled by his commentary.
Mohsen Sazegara is VEVAK's reformed revolutionary. A student supporter of Khomeini before the 1979 revolution, Sazegara joined the imam on his return from exile and served in the government for a decade before supposedly growing disillusioned.
He formed several reformist newspapers but ran afoul of the hardliners in 2003 and was arrested and imprisoned by VEVAK. Following hunger strikes, Sazegara was released for health reasons and permitted to seek treatment abroad. Although critical of the government and particularly of Ahmadinejad and KhameneМ, Sazegara is yet more critical of opposition groups, leaving the impression that he favors internal regime change but sees no one to lead such a movement for the foreseeable future. His bottom line: no one is capable of doing what needs to be done, so we must bide our time. Very slick, but his shadow shows his likely remaining ties to the MOIS.
http://www.ocnus.net/artman/publish/article_27144.shtml
Thanks for posting that info.
You are very welcome, I felt that it might disappear and wanted it so we could always find it.
I found several in the rambles of the day, it was an exciting search results....LOL... for me.
Dig in and I am glad you found us, do join in, we are not a closed thread and will soon start #7, but will be sure there is a link to it on this list.
If you start printing them, Laughing at myself here, soon you will be buying paper by the case...........
Iranian bloggers on web restrictions
Iranian bloggers have reacted with anger and scorn to a new law requiring them to register their websites and blogsites with the authorities.
It is being seen as the latest attempt by the Iranian government to control the media.
A contributor to BBC Persian.com , Fariba Sahraie, asked six Iranian bloggers - inside and outside Iran - if they thought the law could be enforced and what effect it would have.
OMID MERMARIAN, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA
The bloggers who write about politics or culture from a critical standpoint are people who are already known to everybody, and they abide by the law.
There are others who are either unknown or who write under aliases, and there's a third group who write from outside Iran.
This law only addresses the first group: the people whose names and addresses are known.
It is highly likely that if it is enforced, more and more bloggers will go underground.
This legislation would mean that every blogger who is an intellectual, a journalist, a social activist, or who writes under his own name would have to blog in line with government taste.
This would threaten the very existence of many social, political and cultural blogs. Even those that write about women.
Many influential weblogs are already being censored by the government.
This law would result in many websites and blogs being closed down. Or at the very least, they would become increasingly conservative.
ABOLHASSAN MOKHTABAD, TEHRAN
This law is about registering companies. But there is a difference between weblogs and companies.
The government should trust its citizens and tolerate them.
But concepts of trust and tolerance do not exist in the current government.
The drive to curb the media started with the newspapers. Now they are widening the scope to include the internet.
The Iranian government should remember what is happening in China. Nearly 30 thousand people are currently employed to control Chinese weblogs.
Beijing is spending a lot of money in controlling the flow of information.
This is impractical and impossible to do in Iran. It will also provoke even sharper criticism of the Iranian government.
NAZLY KAMVARI, CANADA
Well, I have been trying to call the Iranian embassy in Ottowa to ask how I can register my weblog.
There was no answer and I got worried, because I really don't want to do anything illegal.
Seriously, there is no legal or practical foundation for this law. Even in north America there is still no law governing the internet.
Ensuring free dialogue can take place is one of the first conditions of restoring democracy. This law is diametrically opposed to that, even if it is being presented in an innocent way.
And anyway, what is the budget for this and how many people will be checking the websites every day?
Enforcing this law will officially put Iran on the list of the countries which are enemies of the internet.
Pro-democracy groups will find more reasons to criticise the Iranian government.
PARISTOO DOCOUHAKY, TEHRAN
It strikes me that getting rid of all sorts of private media is one of the objectives of this government.
Look at the newspapers. Every day you see fewer and fewer exclusive news stories.
Do you know why? It's because government officials don't welcome reporters.
At the moment, websites are the only outlet for those who care about freedom of information and for those who work in news.
Ministers want to limit and control websites, because they want to get rid of the media.
They have not given the issue any real thought, because destroying the media is tantamount to destroying the government.
Is this practical? It would be too optimistic to say it's not possible to restrict websites.
Just look at China. There, no stone is left unturned in the quest for media control.
SHAYAN MASHATIAN, TORONTO
Is the government - as the institution in charge of our society - entitled to impose such control over websites?
We all know that the drive to control the media began with radio [in the 1930s, the Iranian government said people had to get a permit before they could own a radio set] and has continued as far as satellite TV. The internet is the next step.
When the services on mobile phones become more popular, the same approach will be taken towards things like SMS texts.
This law can only be enforced on bloggers who have their own domain name.
If it's followed through, it will be yet another impractical and unenforceable law to add to those we already have.
And all this is irrespective of whether we actually agree with the law.
HASSAN ZAREZADEH ARDESHIR, CANADA
The plan is fundamentally flawed and is drawn up by people who know nothing about telecommunications.
Any attempt to limit the internet will backfire.
When video machines were banned in Iran, everyone tried to get one to use at home.
The restriction of information is taking place in our country, even though it hasn't worked in the past.
Do you remember when Mr Gharazi was the Minister for telecommunications? [In the late 1980s and early 1990s] He called on everyone with a fax machine register it at the post office. That didn't work either.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/talking_point/6252737.stm
Published: 2007/01/17 14:23:17 GMT
© BBC MMVII
[there are several photos and screenshots with this article, at link...granny]
February 20, 2007 PM Anti-Terrorism News
US 'Iran attack plans' revealed - BBC: US contingency plans for air
strikes include most of military infrastructure - targets selected
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6376639.stm
Three Explanations for al-Qaeda's Lack of a CBRN Attack
http://www.jamestown.org/news_details.php?news_id=220
Afghan police abandon district to Taliban (updated) - Police "badly
outnumbered"
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/20070220-084923-2045r/
Thai Military Says 3 Held Over Violence
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070220/ap/d8ndgnvo0.html
Islamist Websites as an Integral Part of Jihad: A General Overview -
MEMRI analysis
http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=IA32807
(UK) Blair to announce Iraq withdrawal plan - 3,000 British soldiers to
leave southern Iraq by end of 2007
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070220/ap_on_re_eu/britain_iraq;_ylt=ApiEDRzPC30oxm3Kufvu8oGs0NUE
(Israel) Security forces prevent suicide bombing in Tel Aviv and
Security official says terror attacks being foiled constantly - Islamic Jihad
cell responsible for 'scores of Israeli deaths'
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1171894477548&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3367697,00.html
UK troops destroy key Taliban base - 3 large compounds linked by
trenches and underground tunnels around Garmsir
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/20022007/397/uk-troops-destroy-key-taliban-base-0.html
(Philippines) Banks to curb financial bloodline to terrorists
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=50452
(U.S.) Appeals Court Upholds Terrorist Designation - Islamic American
Relief Agency of Missouri ruled an affiliate of Sudanese charity accused
of financing al-Qaida
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=nation_world&id=5030227
Mideast Turmoil Drives Boom in Lebanese Armoured Vehicles - Dozens
assembled in Lebanon at prices of $100,000 - $200,000 - Oil states plan
weapons buying binge
http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=8069
South African LTTE Connections Exposed - Rohan Gunaratna:"Tamil Tigers"
run propaganda, fund-raising, procurement & shipping network in South
Africa
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20070212_10
Update: U.S. to stage biggest anti-terrorism exercise on Guam -
"TopOff4" part of series to strengthen ability to respond to WMD attacks
http://washtimes.com/world/20070219-105421-2049r.htm
Treasury Designates Hizballahâs Construction Arm - Jihad al-Bina,
Lebanon-based company, funded from Iran, run by Hizballah members,
overseen by Hizballah's Shura Council
http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/hp271.htm
(U.S.) Audit: Justice anti-terror data flawed - Federal prosecutors
counted non-terror cases - see audit report here
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1155AP_Terror_Prosecutions.html
http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/reports/plus/a0720/final.pdf
Iraq police bust oil smugglers - Attempt to smuggle 2 tank-trucks with
58,000 liters stopped
http://www.upi.com/Energy/view.php?StoryID=20070220-092923-9128r
Lying About Al-Arian - American Islamic community asserts that
terrorist operatives like Sami Al-Arian are blameless victims
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=26957
IDF: Arms being smuggled to Hizbullah on weekly basis
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1171894475251&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Americans kidnapped in Nablus freed - Palestinian officials say 3
American women kidnapped in Nablus released
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1171894477264&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Commentary: Time to Come to Grips with Russia's Real Agenda
http://www.douglasfarah.com/article/162/it-is-time-to-face-the-russias-real-agenda.com
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/02/time_to_come_to_grips_with_rus.php
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/19/AR2007021901172.html
You will want to read this one:
http://www.douglasfarah.com/article/162/it-is-time-to-face-the-russias-real-agenda.com
He also gave his moronic comments about finding a job for Zakayev.
Nobody should take him seriously.
http://www.newsru.com/russia/20feb2007/ramzan.html
Kadyrov promises to Zakayev to find him work in the Grozny theater
"Zakayev is a good actor. Everyone knows that," Kadyrov said.
"I know him very well. I know that he's not a fighter; he is an actor.
The renovation of our theater is nearly finished. We'll find work for
him," he said.
"If he isn't guilty of anything, if his conscience before the Chechen
people and Russia is clear, we're offering for him to come to Grozny
to work in our republic," Kadyrov said.
"He played very well and he's been very well playing also in London.
He sometimes says truth and also he says nicely untruth. We are
awaiting him in the very near future at home and we will be glad for
his arrival. If he's a Chechen, then he should be staying in the
Chechen republic, in Grozny, and we do not understand, why he hides
himself in London, if it declares, that he's innocent ", - emphasized
Kadyrov.
Let us recall that previously Ramzan Kadyrov declared, that "financing
of the act of terror, committed on the 9th of May at the Dynamo
stadium in Grozny, as a result of which perished Akhmad Kadyrov and
others, was done by Akhmad Zakayev, who is stays in London".
"According to some data available to us , precisely, through Ahmet
Zakayev, money in the amount of $1 million dollars was directed to
organize that act of terror against President Akhmad Kadyrov" - said
Ramzan.
Thanks to Milford421 for this report:
BJ's recalls mushrooms on E. coli suspicion - NY
http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/20/news/companies/bjs_recall/
BJ's recalls mushrooms on E. coli suspicion
Warehouse club operator pulls items from shelves after routine
testing finds possible presence of deadly bacteria.
February 20 2007: 7:30 PM EST
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. said Tuesday it
was recalling packages of fresh mushrooms after it a routine
inspection revealed the possible presence of the deadly bacteria E.
coli.
The warehouse club operator said the products affected were Wellsley
Farms brand fresh mushrooms purchased between February 11 and
February 19, 2007.
Video More video
continued..............
Thanks to Milford421 for this report:
Piece of blade found on Delta flight
posted by bkassab on Feb 12, 2007 3:36:41 PM
Discuss This: Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Linking Blogs | Add to
del.icio.us | Digg it
The Transportation Security Administration performed a security
sweep of a Delta Air Lines plane at Orlando International Airport
last night after an inch-and-a-half long knife blade was found on
board.
The blade, which appeared to be a piece of a broken knife, was found
by a passenger on Delta Flight 1293 on its way from New York's John
F. Kennedy Airport to Orlando, said TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz.
The passenger then alerted the flight crew, who called TSA. All of
the passengers were allowed to exit the plane and leave the airport,
Koshetz said.
"It's unusual," Koshetz said of the incident. "We didn't consider it
a threat in any way. We ensured the plane was safe for future
passengers."
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/business_tourism_aviation/2007/02/pi
ece_of_blade_.html
Google Alert - bin Laden's al Qaeda network
[It appears that everyone has an opinion...granny]
US, Pakistan At Loggerheads Over Al-Qaeda "resurgence"
Playfuls.com - Targu Mures,Romania
The general says there is no evidence of a resurgence of bin Laden's
group
in Pakistan but notes that its appeal is broad. "Al-Qaeda is a belief,
...
http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_15138-US-Pakistan-At-Loggerheads-Over-Al-Qaeda-resurgence.html
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&hl=en&client=google&ncl=1113760425
Al Qaeda Rebuilding Global Terror Network from Pakistan
By Kathy(Kathy)
Until recently, the Bush administration had described Mr. bin Laden and
Mr. Zawahri as detached from their followers and cut off from
operational control of Al Qaeda. The United States has also identified several
new Qaeda compounds in ...
http://libertystreetusa.blogspot.com/2007/02/al-qaeda-rebuilding-global-terror.html
Liberty Street
http://libertystreetusa.blogspot.com/index.html
Iraq, Al Qaeda and The Mulberry Bush Syndrome
By Shaun Mullen
US officials told The New York Times that there is mounting evidence
that Osama bin Laden, still kicking after all these years, and his top
deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, have established a new operations hub in the
mountainous Pakistani ...
http://themoderatevoice.com/war/afghanistan/iraq-al-qaeda-and-the-mulberry-bush-syndrome/
The Moderate Voice
http://themoderatevoice.com
NYT Alleges al-Qaeda Resurgent - by: sarabeth
Until recently, the Bush administration had described Mr. bin Laden and
Mr. Zawahri as detached from their followers and cut off from
operational control of Al Qaeda. [
] As recently as 2005, American intelligence
assessments described ...
http://www.1115.org/2007/02/20/nyt-alleges-al-qaeda-resurgent/
1115.org
http://www.1115.org
The War on -- what?
By Debbie
Al-Qaeda seem to have their agents almost everywhere these days. The
latest concern is back in Afghanistan, in the area where everyone
suspects Bin Laden may be hiding. Since we have not heard from Bin Laden
recently, he could be dead. ...
http://righttruth.typepad.com/right_truth/2007/02/alqaeda_suspect.html
Right Truth
http://righttruth.typepad.com/right_truth/
Iraq Gamble Diverts Attention From Bin Laden Hunt
Until recently, the Bush administration had described Mr. bin Laden and
Mr. Zawahri as detached from their followers and cut off from
operational control of Al Qaeda. Iraq provided the necessary diversion for bin
Laden to survive, ...
http://agonist.org/sean_paul_kelley/20070219/iraq_gamble_diverts_attention_from_bin_laden_hunt
The Agonist - thoughtful, global, timely
http://agonist.org
[No, I did not check them, am not in the mood for alqaeda, think it was more fun, reading old spy reports, if it is real exciting, let me know...LOL....granny]
Thanks for the ping!
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2007/febrero/mar20/08legenint-i.html
Havana. February 20, 2007
The legendary interview
Visit to the Cuban rebel in his hideout, was the title of part one of the report that appeared in the February 24, 1957 edition of The New York Times, capturing worldwide attention by showing the surviving guerrilla force led by Comandante Fidel Castro in the Sierra Maestra. Fidel had instructed Faustino Pérez, a Granma expeditionary, to leave the mountains, go into the city and make it one of his prime missions to find a journalist, but editors at the main newspapers would not agree for fear of reprisals. However, in early February, his efforts led to well-known reporter Herbert Matthews coming to Cuba
(Taken from the book Marabuzal, currently being edited)
BY JOSE ANTONIO FULGUEIRAS
THE road ahead stretched before Felipe Guerra Matos eyes like a rope muddied and blackened by the rural obscurity of a Manzanilla night. He knew it like the back of his hand, and anticipated the twists and turns of the causeway in a reflex conditioned by his many ascents and descents. His Willys jeep was like a mountain mule with a hard shell, tamed to be able to maneuver in the dark around each of the obstacles that the showers of the last few days had spat on the rustic and narrow trail.
The legendary interviewBeside him, U.S. journalist Herbert Matthews had fitted himself into the front seat, and was trying to scrutinize through the windshield the zigzagging labyrinth leading him to a place in the Sierra Maestra unknown to him.
I dont think its going to rain tonight, said the driver in a loud voice, his head leaning a bit to left and right. At that point he realized that Matthews knew little or no Spanish. Nor did he receive any answer from René Rodríguez, Javier Pasos, Quique Escalona and Nardi Iglesias, crammed into the back seats.
So, with his scant English, he tried to put together in his mind a sentence to win the friendship of The New York Times reporter, who was preceded by his fame won as a news hunter in various parts of the world where it had befallen him to act as a witness to some of the centurys most significant events.
The man, already approaching 60, had been a war correspondent in Abyssinia in the 1930s and in Spain during the bloody Civil War that put paid to the Republic. He had published various books and won various prizes including, recently, the John Moors Cabot, conferred by Colombia Universitys School of Journalism.
Matthews was head of the editorial page of The New York Times and was distinguished for his editorials and special features on Latin America. Over six feet tall, slim, almost gaunt, with slightly stooped shoulders and penetrating light-blue eyes. With his liberal position, he was considered one of the most eminent and influential journalists in the United States.
Mister, how do you feel here? Guerrita was going to ask, but the how do you feel here sounded in very bad taste to ask a person so well versed in the art of questions and answers.
At the Yara exit, a patrol positioned at the side of the highway had stopped them. A guard with the expression of a man with few friends approached and, without getting out of the vehicle, Guerrita replied before the man in yellow asked him.
This gentleman is a rich American interested in buying the Gómez rice field, he said, gloating over the word rich and the last name of the bourgeois landowner, well-known throughout the region.
The sentence was somewhat redundant for the patrol guard because, according to the image reflected by movies and newspapers of the era, all Americans possessed a fortune. Instead the soldier, who blessed the facilities accorded by his yellow suit to drink a beer without paying in any bar in Manzanillo or on its outskirts, knew that to molest a wealthy man would be disastrous in terms of his promotion aspirations, even to the rank of sergeant, and so, as the poet Amado Nervo would say, made a gesture of courtesy and, closing his eyes, let them continue.
For Guerra Matos, after tricking the guard, the most important thing was to drive as well as he could along the winding causeway, where pools of water were fully reflected in the bus headlights, and with all his strength and skill to climb the foothills.
Are you cold? he asked the American when he saw him suddenly shiver. But the man continued absorbed in the dark and his thoughts. Every once in a while he pulled on his tobacco from stem of a pipe that he never took out of his mouth; then he exhaled the smoke in almost perfect little rings that escaped floating from the sides of both his shoulders.
To reach Matthews, his comrades from the 26th of July Movement had to move intelligently via a risky route. The idea came from Commander-in-chief Fidel Castro, who had landed with 82 men a couple of months earlier (December 2, 1956) at Playa Las Coloradas on the northern coast of Oriente province.
After being surprised by the Batista army in the location known as Alegría del Pío, the young rebels were scattered in various places in the area. Some were captured or killed by the bloody hosts of Fulgencia Batista; others were able to dodge the encirclement and just seven managed to find each other in the place known as Cinco Palmas, where Fidel, with a handful of guns, revived the year 1956 with the most optimistic phrase of the 20th century: Now we can win the war!
However, the news that Fidel was dead and the guerrilla forces liquidated appeared in the Cuban press. And then, a blanket censorship over anything that smelt of rebellion.
While they were winding up to the mountains, Guerrita evoked that event:
From February 9 to 11 we lost contact with the Sierra until the morning when comrade Radamés Reyes, a garrison telegrapher and linked to the 26th of July Movement, arrived at Rafael Sierras store. He brought the terrible news that Fidel and the whole group had been eliminated in an ambush in Los Altos de Espinosa. Rafael Sierra told me and I immediately transmitted that heartbreaking information to Célia (Sánchez). With great optimism she said: I dont believe it, because they would have published it in the press already. It has to be confirmed, but I am sure that hes alive.
FIDELS ALIVE!
The next day Miguelito, one of Epifanios sons, arrived at the rice mill and told me what had happened. They had escaped over a craggy outcrop with Luis Crespo. And he was sure that Fidel and another part of the group had also evaded the enemy siege. He told me that Crespo, a Granma expeditionary, wanted to make contact with us.
Celia ordered me to go and meet him. Crespo was confident that Fidel was alive, because he had seen how the Comandante and his squadron had also escaped over the rocks.
I proposed to Crespo that it would be best if he left the Sierra and he responded categorically: As long as theres one gun here the battle isnt over. I felt a great admiration for the attitude of that semi-literate countryman who, in the midst of the desperation, demonstrated the values and human qualities of the Granma expeditionaries.
The next day Miguelito returned again to Manzanillo with the confirmation that Fidel was alive and had sent a messenger who was waiting in Epifanios farm for us to go and collect him, because he had been ordered to meet with Celia. I went to find him and on my return found myself at the entry to Manzanillo, with a rural guard who asked me for a ride. I pulled up and put him beside the messenger. I entered the city protected by an enemy guard and celebrating Fidels life.
But, the Batista dictatorship stuck to the news that Fidel and his men had been exterminated. That was why the Comandante en Jefe asked for a reporter so that the news would be published, but the editorial boards of the national press were afraid of reprisals and thus a journalist from an influential media was needed.
Matthews had received a verbal message from Ruby Hart Phillips, the Havana correspondent of The New York Times, that he should catch a plane to Cuba as soon as possible as she had amazing news for him. On Monday, February 4, Phillips had been called to the office of Felipe Pasos in the Bacardí building in Monserate Street. There she found his son Javier, Faustino Pérez and René Rodríguez, who explained to her Fidels interest in meeting with a reporter in the very heart of the Sierra Maestra.
As expected, Phillips immediately offered herself but they persuaded her it shouldnt be her and that the conditions of the journey and the mountain ascent were very hard for a woman who, moreover, was the permanent correspondent in the country and who later did suffer heavy reprisals from the Batista regime.
There were not many details in the telephone call between Phillips and Matthews, but an old bloodhound like him only needed a slight scent on the wind to know that something was going down.
Five days later, Matthews, accompanied by his wife Nancy, landed on Cuban soil. At 10:00 p.m. on February 15 he was collected from the Sevilla Hotel with his wife and set off for the east of the country in the hands of Faustino Pérez who, from the very first instant, worked zealously to fulfill the mission given him by Fidel.
Faustino accompanied the outstanding journalist to Manzanillo. Guerrita saw the journalist for the first time in that city, in the home of Pedro Eduardo Saumell and he looked to him to be too old to negotiate to rough terrain of the Sierra. Judging by his pipe and his beret, he looked more like a private detective in the style of Sherlock Holmes rather than a reporter with the vigor and youth to scale, for example, the slope of the Derecha de Caracas, a majestic crag dressed in the green sierra foliage.
Matthews and Nancy revealed in their faces the fatigue of a long journey with next to no sleep over the entire length of the Central Highway. They had only stopped in Camagüey for breakfast. Then they continued on to Bayamo, entering it on the most difficult stretch, on the lookout for various army patrols. Their visible traits as foreign tourists made it possible for them to reach Manzanillo without many setbacks, accompanied by Faustino Pérez, Javier Pazos and Lilia Mesa.
While the jeeps engine roared more loudly as it ascended and the water forced the driver to hit the accelerator harder, Guerrita avoided looking at the U.S. journalist, who had left his wife at the home of his host, Saumell in Manzanillo. He put all his concentration into the steering wheel, the gears and the brakes. Despite the uneven road surface, he avoided by all means the bumps and wild braking. Nevertheless, the from time to time the jeep would give an exorbitant leap like a horse wounded by the spur of an earnest horse rider. Every time that happened he looked at the Americans face for some sign of annoyance, but the man accepted without any show the pirouettes that the muddied road track demanded of the vehicle.
This was his third trip in one day to the farm of Epifanio Díaz, an openly friendly countryman and one of the first collaborators with Fidel and his guerrillas after the landing.
FAUSTINO TAKES HIM TO MANZANILLO AND ALMEIDA IS THE FIRST TO MEET HIM IN THE SIERRA
The house of old Epifanio rose up firmly in the place known as Los Chorros, south of the Purial de Jibacoa on the northern slope of the Sierra Maestra. Covered by Guinea grass meadows and forested gullies, the farm lacked the height that would best protect the guerrilla movement, although its location almost on the plain facilitated easy access for any motor vehicle or the movement of a person not accustomed to walking rugged and wild landscapes.
Aware of the collaborative loyalty of Epifanio and his two sons Enrique and Miguel, Fidel decided to wait there for the U.S. journalist and have his first major meeting with the principal leaders of the eastern plain there at the same time.
The son of campesinos and a campesino himself, Guerrita could tell the time just by looking at the stars. For that reason, as soon as he saw the moon climbing into the center of the firmament, he knew that Sunday, February 17, 1957 was at the point of dying.
It was then that he stopped the jeep and said that they had to continue on foot. Matthews got down with pleasure and undertook with the group the ascent among the pathways, the darkness and the chirping of the insomniac crickets. Guerra Matos, who knew the twists and turns best, went in front while the journalist directed himself by his footsteps without letting go of his pipe or his desire to arrive.
Suddenly the Tío Lucas stream appeared before them, snaking evasively among the trees of the Maestra. To reach the camp they were inevitably forced to cross the streams cold currents. René made that known to The New York Times reporter and he responded with an animated gesture.
Matthews entered it in lively fashion but, in the middle of the trembling mirror of the river, lost his balance and fell spectacularly into the water. The Americans had it! shouted Guerrita. But, despite his surprise fall, the journalist swiftly raised the small bag he was carrying in his hands without losing his pipe. Guerrita held out his right hand in rescue and the American recovered himself with a certain youthful liveliness.
The mountain stream, which gave Martí more pleasure than the sea, acted like a hungry dog that licks and licks the stones on the bottom until they were left polished and smooth. It seemed that Matthews shoes hadnt taken into account that flow of mountain streams, and the journalist slipped on the cold and slippery bed like a classical baseball player sliding into base.
However, he didnt lose his demeanor or determination and with a gallant gesture continued along the path toward the camp that, without him knowing it, was only a few minutes away.
The first to meet him was expeditionary Juan Almeida Bosque, who explained to him that the Comandante en Jefe was at that moment in the General Staff and would come there at dawn. Matthews immediately sympathized with this man who based his words on Pazos translation and also informed the new arrival that the troops had various camps.
The conversation lasted for a few minutes, and was joined by combatant Ciro Frías and other guerrillas. Almeida asked Matthews to rest a little under a palm covering. The American acceded to his kindness, pulling out of his bag some matched saved from the early morning dip and lit his tobacco stored in the bowl of his immutable pipe.
Celia Sánchez recalled:
That night we went out walking to see if we could find a little house visible in daylight. We were Fidel, Armando, Frank, Vilma, and me; and Luis Crespo, who always got lost and wanted to be the guide. We never found the house; we walked so much in the night that we didnt know how to get back to the camp; we lay down in the open. Matthews arrived that dawn. When Universo arrived with the news, he was told that Fidel was in another camp, and to wait for him there. Almeida, Che and Raúl stayed with the visitor.
The group headed by Fidel arrived with the first rays of the sun. Vilma Espín, the prestigious underground fighter in Santiago de Cuba and who had been taken to the camp a few hours earlier by Guerrita, and Javier Pazos would serve as translators, although Fidel had a good knowledge of the English language.
Raúl went ahead of the group and shook the journalists hand while announcing the arrival of the maximum leader. The then Captain Raúl Castro narrated the event in his campaign diary as follows:
We arrived there and I embraced the Flaco (Skinny, René Rodríguez) who really had fulfilled his duty. I shook hands with the journalist and recalling my rudimentary school English said to him: How are you? I didnt understand his answer and then F (Fidel) arrived who, after greeting him, sat down with him in the hut and began the journalistic interview, which would surely be a blow¼ While they were doing the interview, Almeida, as officer of the guard, tripled the vigilance, taking all the security measures that were in our reach within that little scrubby cay, which was more like a mouse-hole. Unfortunately this is a completely dismantled area and it was daring on our part to separate ourselves so far from our beloved woods. If we were surprised here due to a tip-off, the 26th of July would suffer a collapse, as however well we managed to get out of it, we were running the risk of losing some of our valuable heads.
MATTHEWS IMPRESSED BY FIDEL
Guerra Matos, for his part, described it like this:
I saw Fidel arrive and greet the journalist, and I felt great satisfaction, but I didnt show it. I had contributed my bit to this encounter that had been long-awaited by our top leader and was extremely important for informing the world that Fidel was alive and the guerrilla was combat ready. The entire way, I did everything possible for the American to feel as comfortable and safe as possible, because any regrets (on his part) at this point would mark my life forever.
When he slipped in the middle of the stream, my hair stood on end, even though it was impossible to stop him from doing so. But the journalist was as determined as we were to reach the camp, and not even a bombing was going to stop us. I observed enthusiasm in Fidel as he walked over to Matthews, and I also felt that delight in my own heart.
Fidel greeted Matthews courteously and simply. Completely naturally, he sat down in front of The New York Times reporter and began a dialogue of questions and answers. Matthews, as an experienced journalist, had already inquired in Havana about the situation in Cuba at the time, the repression to which the people were subjected. He also knew about many of Fidels personal traits, and had some information about his history as a revolutionary student and his leading participation in the assault on the Moncada garrison in Santiago de Cuba.
He was nevertheless impressed by Fidels youth; however, as he listened to him, he came to the conclusion that the guerrilla leader was an invincible man.
Fidel talked about the whole odyssey of the landing, during which many expeditionaries were captured and murdered, but how the troop was able to regroup, consolidate itself and inflict several defeats on Batistas army during two months of armed struggle.
We have now been in struggle for 79 days, and we are stronger than ever, Fidel said. The soldiers are fighting badly. Their morale is low, and ours could not be higher. We have inflicted a lot of casualties on them, but when we take them prisoner, we never shoot them. We interrogate them, we treat them well, we keep their weapons and equipment, and we let them go.
Later, he added:
The Cuban people are hearing everything about Algeria on the radio, but they cannot hear or read a single word about us, thanks to the censorship. You will be the first to talk to them about us. We have followers all over the island. The best elements, especially the young people, are with us. The Cuban people are capable of bearing anything, except for oppression.
Fidel told the journalist that the dictatorship was using weapons supplied by the United States against its own people, and noted:
Batista has 3,000 men in arms against us. I am not going to tell you how many we number, for obvious reasons. The army is operating in columns of 200 men. We (are) in groups of 10 to 40. It is a battle against time, and time is on our side.
As the conversation went on, René Rodríguez, with a little box camera that he had brought from Manzanillo, was graduating as a war correspondent. Very eagerly, he focused the lens on both interviewee and interviewer, and clicked the shutter, while Matthews, in agile and almost illegible strokes, took notes in a black notebook.
Frank País, the great underground leader, at somewhat of a distance, used the time to clean the rebels weapons, an action that go down in history forever via the penetrating eye of Che Guevara, who later wrote in his diary:
I did not attend the interview, but according to Fidels stories, the man seemed friendly and did not ask any trick questions. He asked Fidel if he was an anti-imperialist, and (Fidel) answered that if he was, it was in the sense of an ambition to free his country from its economic chains, but not of hatred for the United States or its people. Fidel complained about the military aid provided to Batista, demonstrating how ridiculous it was (which it was) to act as though those weapons were for defending the continent when they could not eliminate a group of rebels in the Sierra Maestra.
The conversation between Fidel and Matthews was also marked by the Cubans wit, with his humor and originality showing through at the most important and tensest moments. The rebel troop was trying to impress the journalist in every way possible, without falling into bragging or lies that could call into question the veracity or the real existence and strength of the guerrilla.
That was why from the start, Fidel ensured that a military air was maintained in front of the reporter, and that the image was created of having more men than they really did. As the conversation continued, the rebels came and went from the camp, making it seem as though more people were there. Alongside that, there was Almeidas implication that they were several other camps nearby.
Some guerrilla fighters like Manuel Fajardo walked in front of Matthews without letting him see their backs, thus preventing the reporter from observing that their shirts were totally in shreds. Another ingenious moment was provided by Raúl Castro Ruz, a captain at the time, who after the arrival of combatant Luis Crespo, informed Fidel:
Comandante, the liaison for Column Two has arrived!
In response to Raúls witty idea, Fidel responded:
Tell him to wait until Im finished with the journalist.
The famous interview lasted almost three hours. Matthews, visibly content, asked Fidel to sign his notebook to lend greater authenticity to the information obtained. Fidel acceded to his request and also added the date of that historic day.
From a distance, Guerra Matos happily watched the guerrilla leader and the journalist say good-bye to each other. He now had an even more complex mission: to return with Matthews to Manzanillo in full daylight. Javier Pazos accompanied him again for the trip, along with the young campesino Reynerio Márquez, who took them close to the house of one of Epifanios daughters, on the road from Jíbaro.
AN ARMY PATROL INTERCEPTS THEM AGAIN
Guerrita recalled:
After the interview was done, they let us in to greet Fidel. The Comandante en Jefe asked about the journalists trip, along which road he had been led and what precautionary measures had been taken and insisted to me that I had to use more caution on the return trip to ensure that nothing happened to the reporter.
I reminded Fidel that I had met him 10 years earlier, during the La Demajagua Bell events.
Guerrita revealed that the Fidel of the Sierra Maestra was the same convinced and convincing man, but even more inspired. He gestured and put optimism into every comment he made, capable of cheering up even the most disheartened person.
I headed for Cayo Espino to my fathers farm to look for a car where I had hidden it. I returned and picked up the American at the home of Epifanio Díaz and by 1 p.m., we were back in Cayo Espino.
Serve the journalist lunch, and it has to be finger-licking good for him. The American has to leave here with a full belly and a happy heart, Guerrita humorously recalled telling his mother and father, both of them country people who admired and collaborated with the 26th of July forces.
Even though Guerra Matos family made every effort to serve a Cuban-style dinner that would completely satisfy their visitor, the reporter only ate a small piece of chicken, and to everyones surprise, with the utmost courtesy, changed the itinerary completely with just five words:
Please, take me to Manzanillo.
At the time Guerrita did not understand that the journalists brain was very far from his stomach, and that his greatest hunger was focused on the news filed away in his head and the papers he had carefully stored in his shirt pockets.
An army patrol intercepted them again on the highway, but Guerrita worked it again to misinform them. At about 5 p.m., they arrived at Saumells house, where his wife Nancy was sitting in the living room waiting for him.
From the threshold, Matthews succinctly proposed to Nancy that they leave immediately for Santiago de Cuba. They hurriedly got into a car that would take them to the capital of eastern Cuba. From Santiago that night, they traveled by plane to Havana, and the next day, the U.S. couple left by plane for New York.
As she boarded the plane, Nancy seemed chubbier than when she had arrived. Had she abandoned her strict diet, inspired by Cubas appealing food? Such a culinary image was the farthest thing from the truth. The astute woman had hidden all the notes that Matthews had taken during his historic interview with Fidel under her skirt. With that restrained trick, they evaded the customs inspectors and the network of ferocious members of Batistas Military Intelligence System.
Guerrita, for his part, continued with his duties, now as messenger, now taking combatants to the Sierra. The same day that Matthews left Manzanillo, Guerrita took charge of delivering three Granma expeditionaries who had become scattered during the landing to Epifanio Díaz farm.
The days following the journalists departure for the United States, Guerrita checked the newspapers daily hoping to see an article by Matthews. And on Sunday, February 24, 1957, he saw an impressive headline on the front page of El Diario de la Marina:
THE IMPACT OF THAT INTERVEIW WAS IMPRESSIVE
Fidel is alive!
And further down, the following summary:
He was interviewed by Matthews, of The New York Times, in the Sierra.
Cuban rebel is visited in his hiding place, he read later in the papers center-spread. He then saw the photo of the guerrilla leader holding a rifle with a telescopic sight, and the photocopy of the Fidels autograph, from when he signed the journalists notebook.
Guerrita sat at the steering wheel of his jeep and began to read very carefully the report written by Matthews in The New York Times, which El Diario de la Marina had reprinted.
Matthews began his report with this assertion:
Fidel Castro, the rebel leader of Cuba's youth, is alive and fighting hard and successfully in the rugged, almost impenetrable fastnesses of the Sierra Maestra at the southern tip of the island.
President Fulgencio Batista has the cream of his Army around the area, but the Army men are fighting a thus-far losing battle to destroy the most dangerous enemy General Batista has yet faced in a long and adventurous career as a Cuban leader and dictator.
This is the first sure news that Fidel Castro is still alive and still in Cuba. No one connected with the outside world, let alone with the press, has seen Senor Castro except this writer. No one in Havana, not even at the United States Embassy with its resources for getting information, will know until this report is published that Fidel Castro is really in the Sierra Maestra.
In his article, Matthews did not hide his loathing of the Fulgencio Batista regime, and stated categorically: Fidel Castro and his 26th of July Movement are the flaming symbol of this opposition to the regime. Further on, he said, To arrange for me to penetrate the Sierra Maestra and meet Fidel Castro, dozens of men and women in Havana and Oriente Province ran a truly terrible risk. Guerrita felt that the man in the little hat and pipe was referring to him, who had never evidenced the great danger that he was exposing himself to in taking the reporter to meet Fidel. That was why, when he re-read the line: a truly terrible risk, his admiration grew for the veteran reporter.
He continued reading, and found that Matthews subsequently provided a biographical sketch of Fidel, from the assault on the Moncada to the Granma expedition. Later, he referred to stories circulating about Fidels alleged death, which he categorically refuted. He then reported on his conversation with Fidel, and concluded with a quick reference to his departure to New York.
In the following days, Guerrita was once again delighted by a further two articles penned by Matthews, assessing the real situation in Cuba. The Batista government had had no choice but to lift the media censorship. Apparently, it had reconsidered due to the appearance of Matthews articles, given that they could be used by the international media to create a scandal of incalculable dimensions, and make the regime look ridiculous.
That was why Cubas main newspapers reprinted Matthews articles, while at the same time, Defense Minister Santiago Verdeja issued statements describing Matthews articles as chapters taken from a fantasy novel. Mr. Matthews has not interviewed the aforementioned insurgent, he said. The government spokesman questioned the authenticity of the photo of Fidel, and based his question on the following comments: It seems naïve that, having had the opportunity to go into those mountains and to hold such an interview, that he did not take a photo of himself with him to confirm what he is saying.
Guerrita knew that René had taken several photos of Matthews and Fidel while they were conversing in the heart of the Sierra Maestra. Perhaps, he thought, the negatives had been spoiled, or were not of sufficient quality to be visible when reproduced in a newspaper. He remembered that Frank had also gone into the mountains with a camera, but he did not remember having seen him take any photographs.
The Batista regime tried, in every way possible, to deny the veracity of Matthews interview with Fidel, the news of which was spreading like wildfire throughout the island. Along with Verdejas statements, there were those of Martín Díaz Tamayo, the military chief of Oriente, who told the Cuban media: It is totally impossible to cross the lines where the troops are. The interview is an invention.
On February 28, in a dagger blow to the heart of Batistas henchmen, El Diario de la Marina, reprinted a photo taken from The New York Times, showing Matthews and Fidel as they were holding their historic conversation. On the left side of the photo which traveled the world at the speed of light the reporter could be seen taking notes. On the right, Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro could be seen in profile, with his olive-green cap and his guerrilla beard, lighting a Cuban cigar, with the flame bringing light to the hopeful eyes of the humblest layers of Cubas people.
Guerrita Matos took off his eyeglasses and polished them with a corner of his shirt. Then he put them back on, to more clearly see y the photo taken by his comrade René Rodríguez. With a slight smile, he stepped on the accelerator and headed off quickly for the Sierra Maestra.
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2007/actualidad-i.html
[live links at above url]
Cuba will continue to denounce violation of its national airwaves
February 20, 2007
IN the framework of the 12th International Informatics Convention and Exposition 2007, Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, Cubas minister of informatics and communications, met with Fabio Leite, assistant director of the Radiocommunication Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and special envoy of ITU General Secretary Hamadoun Touré.
IN MIAMI
Round of applause for terror
February 16, 2007
THE Miami Herald didnt think it was worth reporting on even though its journalists were witnesses to the incident. A few days after having been the leading player in a protest to support international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, Miguel Saavedra, head of the so-called Vigilia Mambisa, has received a round of applause from a group of Miami police officers.
Chema Miranda confesses
February 15, 2007
ON February 13 Chema Miranda, program director for TV Martí until last November, confessed before a Miami criminal court to having received $112 000 in kickbacks during the first corruption scandal to shake that phantom television station managed by protégés of the Cuban American mafia.
Raúl tours units in the capital military region
February 15, 2007
SIMPLY, were on target, was how General of the Army Raúl Castro summed up the value of the new structures and concepts being put into practice at the Provincial Defense Training Schools (EPPD), the basic pillars for the training of members of the territorial defense structures, reservists and militia.
INFORMATICS 2007
Radio-electronic aggression of Cuba condemned
February 14, 2007
THE illegal radio and television transmissions to Cuba from the United States are inadmissible and more so when they are designed to foment internal subversion on the island, stated Fabio Leite, director of the Radiocommunications Office of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
India and Cuba extend exchange
February 14, 2007
HAVANA, February 13 (PL).India and Cuba have agreed to increase their exchange in the use of eolian energy, sugar cane, biotechnology and scientific cooperation, as part of the 6th Intergovernmental Joint Commission.
We need to revise the U.S. travel policy to Cuba
February 13, 2007
VARIOUS Congress members and journalists in the United States have highlighted the brutal case of Sergeant Carlos Lazo, who was decorated with a Bronze Star by the same government that is now denying him the right to travel to Cuba to visit his sons.
Venezuelan military delegation initiates activities in Cuba
February 12, 2007
HAVANA, February 12 (PL) .With the aim of creating stronger links of friendship and Latin American integration, cadets and teachers from Venezuelan military academies visiting the island are beginning a wide range of activities in this capital.
12th International Convention and Fair Informatics 2007
February 12, 2007
INFORMATION technology and communications and their contribution to a better world is the slogan of the 12th International Convention and Fair Informatics 2007, which runs from today to Friday, February 16 in Havanas International Convention Center.
Fidel is improving daily, Raúl affirms
February 9, 2007
FIDEL is improving daily, and keeps himself informed of everything, affirmed General of the Army Raúl Castro, second secretary of the Party, on Thursday.
Cubas enemies are losing ground
February 8, 2007
CUBAS enemies in the U.S. Congress are isolated, as even their former allies admit. New winds are blowing through the Capitol, as a result of the scandals surrounding Tom LeLay and other Congress members, along with the war in Iraq and the effect of both situations on the November mid-term elections, and now in 2007, these events have propitiated the introduction of several bipartisan pieces of proposed legislation aimed at ending the restrictions on travel to Cuba in place for no less than 46 years.
Turkey and Cuba increase economic and trade relations
February 8, 2007
CEMIL Cicek, the Turkish minister of justice, deputy and member of the governing AKP Party leadership, who is heading up the 7th Turkey-Cuba Joint Commission for Economic, Industrial and Trade Cooperation, assures that the political will exists to strengthen cooperation in various spheres.
2007 Havana Book Fair begins today
February 8, 2007
THE 16th International Book Fair in Cuba will be officially inaugurated this afternoon at the La Cabaña Fortress, with an event to welcome Argentina as the country of honor, and pay tribute to poet, fiction writer and essayist César López and historian Eduardo Torres Cuevas, to especially dedicate to them this occasion of sensitivity, knowledge and intelligence.
Lugo admits that Posada Carriles recruited him to place bomb
February 6, 2007
One of the two masterminds behind the mid-flight bombing of a Cubana airliner that killed 73 people in 1976 talk about the crime to The New York Times and claims he was just a peon in the schemes of Cuban exiles
STATEMENT FROM THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
U.S. avoids trying Posada for what he is: a murderer and terrorist
February 5, 2007
ON January 31, the United States government once again used a legal subterfuge to avoid bringing charges against Luis Posada Carriles for what he actually is: a murderer and a terrorist.
U.S. refuses to provide information on José Cousos killers
February 5, 2007
MADRID, Feb. 5 Spains National Courts have stated that the United States has refused to provide Judge Santiago Pedraz with the personal details of the three soldiers who killed photographer José Couso in Baghdad in April 2003, Prensa Latina reports.
Quake of 6.1 degrees in Santiago de Cuba
February 5, 2007
SANTIAGO DE CUBA.An earthquake measuring 6.1 degrees on the Richter scale and five in intensity, at 3:54 pm on February 4, interrupted residents Sunday relaxation or enjoyment of the baseball All Stars Game.
Raúl receives Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau
Cuba increases cooperation in health and education
February 1, 2007
GENERAL of the Army Raúl Castro Ruz, first vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers, received Prime Minister Dr. Arístides Gomes of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, who is on an official visit to Cuba for the 13th Session of the Cuba-Guinea Bissau Joint Commission.
Enabling law approved
Venezuelan Parliament and people grant special powers to Chávez
February 1, 2007
VENEZUELAN President Hugo Chávez can now issue decrees carrying the range, value and force of the law for 18 months, after being granted special powers by the National Assembly.
More than 2 million people have learned how to read and write via Cuban method
January 30, 2007
WITH the addition of its most recent versions in Quechua and Aymara for Bolivian indigenous people, the Cuban I Can Do It literacy method is now in 12 languages, said César Torres, dean of the Latin American and Caribbean Pedagogical Institute (IPLAC), during the inauguration ceremony of the 2007 International Pedagogy Congress at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana.
FIDEL
One of the greatest figures of the 21st century
January 25, 2007
FRENCH actor Pierre Richard, described in the media as a film great had a profound and interesting conversation with this journalist, discussing topics such as poverty in the world, Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. Just a few minutes after the interview began, the comic actor who has made us laugh so much in many of his films, revealed that he is an incredibly simple and humane individual and confided that he has had a kind of obsession with justice since he was a child.
Twelve new joint ventures, 16 agreements signed
January 25, 2007
CARACAS, January 24.Integration in all contexts between Venezuela and Cuba was strengthened today by a set of agreements in the transport, communications, finance, agriculture, mining, industry, tourism and energy sectors, signed in the presence of President Hugo Chávez and Carlos Lage, vice president of the Cuban Council of State. During the signing of the agreements, Chávez said that he had received a letter from Fidel in which it is noticeable that the Cuban...
The Cuban Revolution is a bastion of socialism
January 24, 2007
NAIROBI, January 23. The Cuban Revolution has been and will be a bastion of socialism in Latin America and of resistance against imperialism, affirmed Cuban parliamentary deputy Osvaldo Martínez here, at the 7th World Social Forum (WSF). Martínez, president of the Economic Affairs Commission of the National Assembly of Peoples Power, participated in panel on Critical Thinking and Social Struggles in Latin America, which included well-known academics and intellectuals. Speaking before a diverse audience, avid to learn about todays realities in Cuba, Martínez affirmed that the revolutions continuity is guaranteed.
European Parliament admits governments involvement in CIA flights
January 24, 2007
BRUSSELS, January 23. Governments of member countries of the European Union (EU) knew about secret CIA flights to transfer kidnapped terrorism suspects to secret prisons, concluded a European Parliament commission today. The commission, charged with looking into the involvement of EU countries in those CIA activities, approved its final report after a year of investigation. Its report, passed with 28 in favor, 17 against and three abstentions, reiterates that the United States has systematically practiced extrajudicial arrests, and that it has transferred terrorism suspects for its interrogation to illegal prisons, outside of its territory.
WTO should speak out against blockade of Cuba
January 23, 2007
GENEVA, January 22. The World Trade Organization (WTO) should speak out against the laws and measures of the blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba for more than 40 years, Cuba said today. Jorge Ferrer, a Cuban diplomat, made that request during an informal meeting of the WTO negotiating group for Access to Non-Agricultural Markets (NAMA), and asserted that a basic principle of that institution is non-discrimination, EFE reported. Cuba believes that this is an appropriate forum for taking a stand against violations that hinder and prevent trade with Cuba, Ferrer affirmed, noting that the WTO negotiations group is also responsible for eliminating non-tariff trade barriers.
Posada Carriles pleads not guilty to immigration fraud
January 23, 2007
EL PASO, Texas, January 22.Terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, who masterminded the sabotage of a Cuban passenger plane that left 73 people dead in 1976, and for planning and effecting other acts of terrorism against Cuba and its maximum leader, cynically pleaded not guilty to charges of immigration fraud and false testimony in the city of El Paso, Texas. Press reports transmitted last night on the TV Information Roundtable program noted that the detainees lawyer, Felipe D.J. Millán, asked for the bail hearing to be set back until after February 1, the time afforded the U.S. government to justify his detention on immigration charges.
Energy revolution guarantees supply but demands savings
January 19, 2007
SAVINGS is the key word in the Energy Revolution that, after a year of major effort, is showing results in all sectors of the countrys economy.
Bush ignores the rights of detainees in Guantánamo
January 19, 2007
THE Center for Constitutional Rights in New York is part of the vanguard of the struggle for the rights of detainees imprisoned on the U.S. naval base in Guantánamo, as well as the rights of citizens who have been unconstitutionally sanctioned by the U.S. government for their supposed ties to terrorism or for traveling to Cuba.
Attempt on the life of key witness against Posada Carriles
January 19, 2007
WASHINGTON, January 18.Accomplices of international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles and faithful to the utilization of explosive devices, tried to kill a key witness in the case against the criminal, according to the Miami press.
Pentagon manual allows execution of detainees on the Guantánamo base
January 19, 2007
WASHINGTON, January 18.The Department of Defense has drawn up a manual according to which it is allowed to incarcerate and even execute detainees in the prison on the base illegally occupied by the United States in Guantánamo on the basis of non-confirmed evidence or that obtained through coercion.
Energy revolution completes first year
January 18, 2007
ONLY a stable electricity supply can make it possible for agriculture, the new programs and all the plans and objectives to be achieved, affirmed Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdés Menéndez at the event commemorating the 48th anniversary of the arrival of Fidel and the Victory Caravan in Artemisa. He spoke on the importance of the advances in the Energy Revolution, the changing panorama in Habana province in this field, and how the generating capacity is to be further increased with two fuel oil generators in Güines and in the Ariguanabo textile plant and another eight in the Mariel thermoelectric plant.
Posada Carriles transferred to prison in New Mexico
January 18, 2007
EL PASO, Texas, Jan. 17. Terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, responsible for the 1976 attack on a Cuban airliner that killed 73 people, was transferred to a prison in New Mexico after spending a year and a half in a Texas detention center, according to what his lawyer told the AFP news agency on Wednesday, Jan. 17. They took him, they transferred him late yesterday (Tuesday) to Otero County in New Mexico (southwest United States), said Posadas attorney, Felipe DJ Millán, in El Paso, Texas.
Statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Posada Case: the moment of truth has arrived
January 15, 2007
The international media has reported that on January 11, 2007, the United States government, which for more than 18 months has been protecting international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, has been obliged to indict him on charges of fraud and lying when applying for U.S. citizenship.
Rafael Correa greets Fidel and wishes him a prompt recovery
January 15, 2007
QUITO, January 14.The president-elect of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, sent greetings to President Fidel Castro and wished him a speedy recovery, at the end of a meeting with Carlos Lage, vice president of the Cuban Council of State.
Successful visit to Cuba by UNDP administrator Kermal Dervis
January 15, 2007
KERMAL Dervis has expressed his appreciation for human development advances in Cuba, as demonstrated in the countrys achievements in education, healthcare and social protection.
Posada Carriles charged on seven counts, but no terrorist ones
January 12, 2007
WASHINGTON, January 11.a Federal Court in the western district of Texas has brought formal charges against Luis Posada Carriles on seven counts, which include fraud in the naturalization process and six others for giving false information during interviews with immigration authorities. The Justice Department affirms in a press release that Posada Carriles lied in his immigration application on filling out the form and then under oath in interviews with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials on April 25 and 26, 2006.
In my country dogs are treated better than the Guantánamo prisoners
January 12, 2007
GUANTANAMO.If dogs were treated with the same cruelty in the United States that prisoners in the Guantánamo base are treated, there would certainly be a popular uprising on the part of the owners of those animals, Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004, affirmed here. The Peace Mom, as the anti-war U.S. activist is known, yesterday headed a march and vigil close to the military enclave to call for an end to the torture and the closure of the prison, located on territory illegally occupied by the U.S. government against the will of the Cuban people.
Now we are four in the ALBA
January 12, 2007
MANAGUA, January 11.With the official declaration that Nicaragua is to join the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) and the signing of its founding document, there are now four countries making up this new form of peoples integration. Representatives of the new integration bloc were present at an event in the Rubén Darío Theater that President Daniel Ortega described as historic when he affirmed that Nicaragua had adopted the principles of the ALBA founding declaration, dated December 14, 2004...
U.S. pacifists criticize their government for usurping Cuban territory
January 11, 2007
GUANTANAMO. We apologize to the Cuban people for the decision of the government of our country more than one century ago to usurp part of their territory and subsequently turn it into a center for torture and humiliation.
Cindy Sheehan impressed by the Latin American School of Medicine
January 9, 2007
I am impressed by the school, the quality of the students. I have never seen anything like it in the world; it doesnt matter what part of the world we come from, or the fact that our governments dont get along, we have the same hearts and they are filled with love. This is what Cindy Sheehan, U.S. pacifist and mother of a soldier who died in Iraq, wrote yesterday in the visitors book at the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), after touring the teaching center where more than 10,000 young people from 28 countries including 91 students from the United States are currently being taught.
Bushs policies shame Americans
January 8, 2007
FERVENTLY embracing a cause that she took up after her sons death, pacifist Cindy Sheehan affirmed in Cuba that the atrocities committed by the government of George W. Bush in the world is shameful for many Americans. The war against terrorism has begun in my country and has spread to others, condemning more than 600,000 Iraqis to death and killing more than 3,000 U.S. soldiers (in Iraq) and many Afghans, she said, criticizing Washingtons crusade.
The new wonders of the world
January 5, 2007
OF the seven wonders of the ancient world, six have ceased to exist for some time now as a result of erosion, natural phenomenon and human barbarity. Of the monuments honored with this title 200 years before our time, we have lost the Alexandria Lighthouse, the Temple of Artemis, the statue of Zeus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. Only the pyramids of Giza in Egypt are still surviving. Swiss Bernard Weber aviator, explorer, museum curator and film director has organized a worldwide vote via the Internet to bring these marvels up to date. The new wonders will have an advantage over their predecessors: the existence of UNESCO and Cultural Heritage...
Raúl meets with Pananamian President Martín Torrijos
January 4, 2007
GENERAL of the Army Raúl Castro Ruz, second secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, met last night with Martín Torrijos Espino, president of the Republic of Panama, who has been in our country on a working visit since January 2. During the meeting, which took place in the cordial and friendly atmosphere that characterizes Cuban-Panamanian relations, they discussed the development of bilateral links between the two countries, particularly the progress of Operation Miracle in the sister nation. With the cooperation of our country an Ophthalmological Center is to open shortly in the Panamanian province of Veraguas.
To deal with the drought
Lage inaugurates second Cuban factory of hydraulic pipes
January 4, 2007
HAVANA. Carlos Lage Dávila, secretary of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers, inaugurated Hidroplast, the second Cuban high-density hydraulic pipe factory, on January 3. The likewise Cuban vice president explained that the industry will contribute to the countrys waterworks projects and particularly to water conservation. The modern plant is located in the town of Wajay, in the Boyeros municipality; the first to open in the country is operating in the province of Ciego de Avila, and a third should be completed by the end of June in Holguín. All of these facilities will complete the production capacity required nationally.
Cuba with lowest Latin American infant mortality rate
January 3, 2007
IN 2006, Cuba achieved the lowest infant mortality rate in its history with a figure of 5.3 per 1,000 live births; a figure that confirms us as the leading country in Latin America with respect to such an important indicator. The aforementioned figure places the island in the top 30 nations throughout the world whose children have a greater probability of life from the moment they are born until they celebrate their first birthdays. In the general panorama of the Americas, only Canada has a lower rate than Cuba.
President of the Republic of Panama begins visit to Cuba
January 3, 2007
YESTERDAY afternoon, January 2, His Excellency Mr. Martín Torrijos Espino, president of the Republic of Panama, arrived in Havana on a working visit. He is accompanied by a group of his collaborators. This is the fourth visit to Cuba by President Torrijos since he assumed the presidency in 2004. His last stay in our country was in September 2006, on the occasion of the successful celebration of the 14th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.
MORE INFORMATION
[LOL, I had to see what they had to say, wonder how many of these stations are shortwave?]
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2007/febrero/mier14/07conden-i.html
Havana. February 14, 2007
INFORMATICS 2007
Radio-electronic aggression
of Cuba condemned
BY GABRIEL DAVALOSGranma daily
THE illegal radio and television transmissions to Cuba from the United States are inadmissible and more so when they are designed to foment internal subversion on the island, stated Fabio Leite, director of the Radiocommunications Office of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
Fabio LeiteLeite, who is attending the 12th International Informatics Convention and Exhibition representing Hamadoun Touré, secretary general of the ITU, affirmed that on his return to Geneva, the headquarters of that international organization, he will personally expose the U.S. radio-electronic aggression of Cuba, which currently amounts to 2,425 hours per week, broadcast on 30 radio and television frequencies.
The director emphasized that this constant U.S. attack is in violation of ITU regulations, which stipulate that radio transmissions within commercial broadcasting on medium wave, modulated frequency or television must be conceived of as a good quality national service within the limits of the country concerned.
Fabio Leite praised the achievements of our country in the telecommunications field in spite of U.S. hostility and stated that he would take it on himself to inform all the directional levels of the ITU of those results
Translated by Granma International
Regarding NW Arizona Granny's post (#4576), some additional info and links.
Dzerzhinsky died of a heart attack just a day or so after an hours-long loud and angry harangue condemning some enemies of Stalin's.
Bio:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSDzerzhinsky.htm
His statue came down in 1991:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2273462.stm
http://www.worldpress.org/Mideast/2682.cfm
'Shia Democracy': Myth or Reality?
Sreeram Chaulia
February 19, 2007
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, Muqtada al-Sadr's "Jaish al-Mahdi Army" has had a hand in the horrendous sectarian violence or "dirty war" in Iraq. (Photo: Wissam al-Okaili / AFP-Getty Images)
Editor's note: This is the second part of a two-part article.
Part II
Counter Arguments to the Shia Democracy Hypothesis
So far, this essay has painted a rosy and highly optimistic picture of the potential for democracy in Shia countries and communities through interpretations of theology, mass values, social practices, and elite inclinations. But there is much in favor of a more cynical view that Shia democracy is a chimera and is unlikely to materialize. Democracy in the Muslim world has only too often raised sky-high hopes and then deceived. False "Prague Springs" abound in past analyses of the prospects for democracy in Muslim countries, which were then taken over by events that consolidated authoritarian rule. Sean Yom balks at all the misguided feel-good predictions that ultimately failed to meet the test of reality.
continued..............
http://www.worldpress.org/link.cfm?http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36643
MIDDLE EAST:
Shia-Sunni Violence Spreads in Iran
Kimia Sanati
TEHRAN, Feb 20 (IPS) - A week after alleged Sunni militants blew up a vehicle transporting members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), killing 11 and injuring 18, sectarian tension is reported prevailing in the predominantly Sunni southeast that borders Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The car bomb attack in Zahedan, capital of the southeastern province of Sistan va Baluchistan, was attributed by Iranian officials to the Sunni militant group Jundullah (army of god) that has networks in Pakistan and is fighting to establish a unified, independent Baluchistan. It is regarded as a terrorist organisation by both Iran and Pakistan.
On Monday, Nasrollah Shanbezehi, one of four men captured soon after they set off the car bomb, was hanged at the site of the blast. Nasrollah was earlier shown on local state-run TV channels confessing to the bombing and having crossed over from Pakistan a few days before the attack on the IRGC.
Despite efforts by the Iranian government to contain the spread of religious sectarianism within the country, Jundullah has carried out several terrorist attacks in the province, including the assassination of four policemen earlier this month. It is allegedly responsible for the kidnapping and assassination of a number of clerics and officials and a bloody road massacre in Kerman province last year.
Jundullah, also called Popular Iranian Resistance Movement, has accepted responsibility for the attacks. In a press release dated Feb. 14 and posted on the Internet as well as in interviews with radios and satellite TV channels outside Iran, the leader of the group, Abdul Malik Rigi, said the operations were carried out in retaliation for the execution of its members by the Iranian regime.
The self-styled 24-year-old militant from Baluchistan's Rigi tribe goes by the title Emir Abdul Malik Baluch, and professes peaceful methods as long as Tehran follows the same principle. "But in the face of the regime's violent response to peaceful protests, there has remained no other way than to resort to taking up arms, the press release said.
Following the attack, a senior security official in Zahedan said the terrorist operation had been directed "from abroad" and that arms and a powerful bomb had been recovered from a hideout raided by the police the night before the car bombing, Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported.
In his short confession, Nasrollah said he had been recruited by Jundullah only three months ago and had undergone two months of training in Pakistan under 'English-speaking' instructors. He said he had been promised a reward of around 1,000 US dollars by the group and that his only motivation was money.
The name of Jundullah, said to be a splinter of Jundullah of Pakistan, first emerged after a hostage-taking incident in the Sistan va Baluchistan province in January 2006 when militants abducted nine members of IRGC. The hostages were allegedly moved to Pakistan.
Footage aired by the Al-Arabiya satellite TV channel later showed the hostages who Jundullah said would be executed unless 16 of their members in Iranian jails were freed.
One of the hostages, an IRGC officer, was later executed by the group and the footage was offered to Al-Arabiya but the channel declined to air it. The others were later released through negotiations, with the government denying that it paid any ransom.
In March 2006 members of the group dressed in police uniforms attacked the motorcade of the governor of Zahedan, killing 22 members of his entourage on the spot and abducting 12 more. The governor himself was badly wounded but survived.
Hossein Ali Shahriari, who represents Zahedan in parliament, has accused Western governments of not doing enough to get Pakistan to stop allowing militant groups from operating from its territory. Shahriari accused the United States, Britain and Pakistan of assisting Jundullah to foment sectarian violence in Iran, the Aftab News Agency reported.
But Shahriari also blamed national security agencies of failing to establish security in the lawless province even after the recent attacks and suggested arming the local people and allowing them to participate in law enforcement as counter measure.
Other Iranian officials have also pointed fingers at Pakistan and 'certain' Western countries. "They entered Iran from Pakistan and have carried out their attack with full support from Western powers. They are neither Shia nor Sunni, they are dependents of arrogant powers and are equipped and supported by them," Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted a senior provincial security official as saying.
Sistan va Baluchistan straddles the main drug-trafficking route from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Europe and is among the poorest and most lawless provinces in the country. Many locals resort to drug trafficking and smuggling in order to survive. Malnutrition is at critical level among the natives and the frustrated majority Sunni population is minimally involved in government decisions.
"Frustration will naturally drive desperate locals to groups such as Rigi's as long as poverty, the main problem in the province, remains unsolved. Sectarian discrimination, no doubt, is also another contributing factor but those arrested so far mostly belong to impoverished groups in Baluchistan and have no support among Sunni intellectuals. The Iranian government bears equal responsibility. The IRGC and its militia wing (Basij) practically rule the area," a political analyst in Tehran told IPS, asking not to be identified.
"There is clearly a sectarian war going on in the Islamic world. Iraq was not the starter, but was certainly a catalyst. Scores are now being settled in places other than the main battle field and Iranian Baluchistan is one of them. There were bloody stand-offs between the regime and militant Sunnis as early in the early 1990s when al-Qaeda and Sunni extremists were becoming hugely active in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the analyst said. (END/2007)
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http://dangermanagement.typepad.com/demotards/2007/02/jihad_is_global.html
February 20, 2007
Jihad is Global
This interview was conducted on August 13 and 15, 2005 from Cipinang Prison in Jakarta. Questions were formulated by Dr. Scott Atran and posed for him in Bahasa Indonesia by Taufiq Andrie. The interview took place in a special visitors room, where Baasyir had seven acolytes acting as his bodyguards, including Taufiq Halim, the perpetrator of the Atrium mall bombing in Jakarta, and Abdul Jabbar, who blew up the Philippines ambassadors house. The transcript follows the short introduction below.
Background
In this interview, the alleged terrorist leader Abu Bakar Baasyir provides his justification for waging jihad against the West. He also explains the calculus of suicide bombers and discusses his interpretation of Islam concerning war and infidels. Despite accusations that he is head of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist organization and has planned the most lethal terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia, Baasyir has only been convicted on conspiracy charges in the 2002 attack on a Bali nightclub that killed 202 people. His 30-month sentence for his role in that bombing, which included scores of Australian tourists among the casualties, was recently reduced by four months and 15 days.
Just outside the visitors cell is Hasyim, who runs Baasyirs daily errands. Hasyim is a member of Majlis Mujahidin Indonesian (MMI), the countrys umbrella organization for militant Islamist groups headed by Baasyir. Like many Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members, including Baasyir and JI founder Abdullah Sungkar, Hasyim originally came from Darul Islam, a post-independence group banned by the Suharto regime that has operated semi-clandestinely in Indonesian society much as the Muslim Brotherhood has in the Middle East.
In 1993, Sungkar split from DI, bringing with him most of the Indonesian Afghan Alumni that he and Baasyir had sent to fight the Soviets. Until Suhartos downfall in 1998, Sungkar and Baasyir expanded their network of Islamist schools from exile in Malaysia, funnelling students to training camps in Afghanistan and the Philippines, and expanding JIs influence across Southeast Asia. After Sungkars death in 1999, Baasyir became Emir of JI a position and organization whose existence he publicly denies but for which there is overwhelming evidence, including from current and former JI members Dr. Atran has interviewed. Although Sungkar himself established direct ties with bin Laden, it is under Baasyirs stewardship that JI has adopted key aspects of al-Qaeda ideology and methods, targeting the interests of the far enemy (the U.S. and its allies) with suicide bombings (Bali, Marriot Jakarta, Australian Embassy) in support of global jihad.
Referred to as Ustadz (teacher), Baasyir is surrounded by visiting family and students who offer him a daily assortment of news magazines and foods, especially dates, his favorites. His disciples tend to be well-educated, often university graduates, and they wash his clothes. Baasyirs wife visits him once a month, and Ustadz offers to share the food she prepared with his prison mates, including Christians. He is a lanky, bespectacled Hadrami (a descendent from the Hadramawt region of Yemen, like bin Laden and Sungkar) who fasts twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. He is 66 and seemingly in good health. Dressed in a white robe, red sarong and white cap, he is sitting on a wooden chair, one foot up perched on the edge. He exudes politeness and is all smiles, with a strong voice and easy laugh he answers questions as if teaching.
Q. You say that it is fardh ain [an individual obligation] for Muslims to wage jihad against Infidels.
A. There are two types of infidels. The infidel who is against Islam and declares war on Islam is called kafir harbi [enemy infidel]. The second type is kafir dhimmi [protected infidel]. These are people who dont fight against Islam, but dont embrace it either and basically remain neutral.
Q. When in Cipinang, did Ustadz meet Father Damanik? [1] Is he kafir dhimmi?
A. Yes, I was visited and was respected by him. I have a plan, if Allah allows me, to pay a visit to his house. Thats what I call muamalah dunia, daily relations in the secular life. Because al-Quran sura 60 verse 8 says that Allah encourages us to be kind and just to the people who dont fight us in religion and dont help people who fight us so we are encouraged by Allah to be good and just to them. It means that we can help those who arent against us. On these matters we can cooperate, but we also have to follow the norms of Shariah. If Shariah says not to doing something, then we shouldnt do it. Shariah never prohibited business in the secular world except in very minor things. So it is generally allowed to have business with non-Muslims. We can help each other. For example, if we are sick and they help us, then if they become sick, we should help them. When they die we should accompany their dead bodies to the grave though we cant pray for them.
Q. What is the principle of Hudaybiyah [the covenant between prophet Muhammad and the People of the Book]?
A. Hudaybiyah means different things according to the legal situation. When Islam is strong, we come to the infidels country, not to colonize but to watch over it so that the infidel cannot plan to ruin Islam. Everywhere, infidels conspire to ruin Islam. There is no infidel who wouldnt destroy Islam if they were given even a small chance. Therefore, we have to be vigilant.
Q. What are the conditions for Islam to be strong?
A. If there is a state, the infidel country must be visited and spied upon. My argument is that if we dont come to them, they will persecute Islam. They will prevent non-Muslims converting to Islam.
Q. Does being a martyr mean being a suicide bomber?
A. As I explained [the day before] yesterday, there are two types of infidel terms for suicide: first, those who commit suicide out of hopelessness, second, those who commit suicide in order to be remembered as a hero. Both are types of suicide and there is no value in it.
In Islam there are also people who commit suicide out of hopelessness and we call this killing oneself. But if a person defends Islam, and according to his calculations must die in doing so, although he works hard in life, he will still go and die for Islam.
The consideration is: if I do this, will Islam benefit or lose? If I must die and without my dying Islam will not win, then my dying is allowed. If one can avoid dying that is better. But to die is also permitted. That we called istimata or istijhad. Istimata [to seek death, also istishhad to become a shaheed] means looking to become a shaheed [martyr] and istijhad [becoming a jihadi] means the same. Because to die in jihad is noble.
According to Islam, to die is a necessity because everyone dies. But to seek the best death is what we call Husn ul-Khatimah, and the best way to die is to die as a shaheed.
Q. Would it be possible for an act of martyrdom to be aborted if the same results can be assured by other actions? For example, a roadside bomb.
A. For sure, if there are better ways to carry out an action and we dont have to sacrifice our lives, those ways must be chosen. Because our strength can be used for other purposes.
Q. Is it acceptable to postpone a martyrdom action in order to make the hajj [pilgrimage to Mecca]?
A. A martyrdom action cannot be postponed in this case because jihad is more important than making the hajj. For example one of most revered ulema, Ibn Taymiyya, was asked by a rich person:
O Sheikh, I have so much money but Im confused about donating my money because there are two needy causes. There are poor people who, if I dont help, will die of starvation. But if I use the money for this purpose, then the Jihad will lack funding. Therefore, I need your fatwah [religious decision] O Sheikh
Ibn Taymiyya replied: Give all your money for jihad. If the poor people die, it is because Allah fated it, because if we lose the Jihad, many more people will die.
There is no better deed than jihad. None. The highest deed in Islam is jihad. If we commit to jihad, we can neglect other deeds. America wants to wipe out the teaching of jihad through Ahmadiyah [an Islamic school of thought that believes that Pakistans Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is the Prophet Muhammads successor]. Through this organization, America works. Why? Because Ahmadiyah prohibits its followers to undertake jihad because [they argue] jihad is the teaching of Christians. This organization originates from India. Its headquarters are in London, funded by America. Ahmadiyah is Americas tool to destroy Islam, including JIL [Jaringan Islam Liberal, Islamic Liberal Network], an NGO in Jakarta that advocates a liberal form of Islam. It is funded by USAID.
Q. So is the idea to postpone is not allowed in any circumstances, even in order to visit sick parents?
A. No, no. If we are in jihad, the jihad must come first. Unless jihad is in [the state of] fardh kifayah [a collective duty, for the nation]. If jihad is in [the state of] fardh ain [an individual duty], jihad must be number one. There is no obligation to ask permission from ones parents. But even if jihad is still in the fardh kifayah state, such as jihad to spy on infidel countries, Muslims dont require their parents permission.
Q. Can a martyrdom action be permanently abandoned if there is a good chance that the martyrs family would be killed in a retaliation action? similarly if the community where the martyr is from will also experience retaliation and casualties?
A. That is the risk and the consequence of jihad. If the martyrs family understands Islam deeply, they will obtain many rewards. Their reward will come, if they understand. A martyr must have ikhlas [sincerity]. The parent who understands this concept must be thankful to Allah. This is the spirit of jihad that most scares the infidels. This is a moral force. According to General De Gaulle, moral force is 80% and actual action only 20% [of successful combat]. For infidels the motivation is to be a hero or [to die for] the nation. Some are even encouraged to drink [alcohol] so that they can become brave. Russia was badly defeated in Afghanistan. [Afghanistan] is different than Eastern Europe which could be conquered in only a month or two. Russians thought [that they could conquer] Afghanistan in two weeks maximum because its people were backward, isnt that right? That was Russias calculation based on their experience in Eastern Europe. But Afghanistan fought Russia back with their aqidah [by following Islamic doctrine] in the way of jihad.
Ill tell you a story so that youll understand. There was an Afghan mother who made cakes. She asked her children to distribute the cakes to the mujahideen. One by one her children were hit by shells on their way to deliver the cakes. When the mujahideen informed her they said : Dear mother, please be strong because your children are martyred. [The mother replied]: Im not crying for my children but Im crying because I dont know wholl bring my cakes to the mujahideen. Then one of the mujahideen agreed to replace her children. So, this is the spirit of jihad. You find ikhlas and willingness. Prophet Muhammad said: I want to make jihad then die, then live again, then do jihad again, then live again, then jihad - for ten times. This is because of the noble status for Muslims who became shaheed.
Q. Do you think the community which believes in martyrdom actions cares if the martyr only manages to blow up himself/herself and fails to kill any of the enemy?
A. No, [provided that] the niat [intention] to be a shaheed must be for Allah. During battle it is different. Istimata is also different. Still, the whole notion revolves around martyrdom. But in places like London and in America there must be other calculations. In battle it is best to cause as many casualties as possible.
Q. Do you think God favors or cares more for the martyr who manages to kill 100 enemies or one enemy?
A. The value [nilai] and reward [pahala] is the same.
Q. In regard to the global condition, what kind of things can the West, especially America, do to make this world more peaceful. What kind of attitudes must be changed?
A. They have to stop fighting Islam, but thats impossible because it is sunnatullah [destiny, a law of nature], as Allah has said in the Quran. They will constantly be enemies. But theyll lose. I say this not because I am able to predict the future but they will lose and Islam will win. That was what the Prophet Muhammad has said. Islam must win and Westerners will be destroyed. But we dont have to make them enemies if they allow Islam to continue to grow so that in the end they will probably agree to be under Islam. If they refuse to be under Islam, it will be chaos. Full stop. If they want to have peace, they have to accept to be governed by Islam.
Q. What if they persist?
A. Well keep fighting them and theyll lose. The batil [falsehood] will lose sooner or later. I sent a letter to Bush. I said that youll lose and there is no point for you [to fight us]. This [concept] is found in the Quran. The other day, I asked my lawyer to send that letter to the [U.S.] embassy. I dont know whether the embassy passed on my letter to Bush [telling him], You are useless, youll lose. There are verses in the Quran that say, You spend so much money yet youll be disappointed. The verse is clear so Im not some one who can predict the future but I get the information from Allah, so Ill never be sad because I believe the time will come. Still, I feel that the Ummah [Muslim community] has a problem now. If the Ummah loses the [current] battle it isnt because of Islam. A Muslim, as long as he is not broken [and remains committed to Allahs rule] will get help from Allah.
Q. How about using nuclear weapons by Muslims, is it justified?
A. Yes, if necessary. But the Islamic Ummah should seek to minimalize [the intensity of the fighting]. Allah has said in verse 8 chapter 60 that we should equip ourself with weapon powerthat is an orderbut preferably to scare and not to kill our enemy. The main goal is to scare them. If they are scared they wont bother us, and then we wont bother them as well. But if they persist, we have to kill them. In this way, Prophet Muhammad sought to minimalize the fighting.
Q. In your personal view, what do you think of bombings in our homeland, namely the Bali, Marriott and Kuningan bombings?
A. I call those who carried out these actions all mujahid. They all had a good intention, that is, Jihad in Allahs way, the aim of the jihad is to look for blessing from Allah. They are right that America is the proper target because America fights Islam. So in terms of their objectives, they are right, and the target of their attacks was right also. But their calculations are debatable. My view is that we should do bombings in conflict areas not in peaceful areas. We have to target the place of the enemy, not countries where many Muslims live.
Q. What do you mean by wrong calculation, that the victims included Muslims?
A. That was one them. In my calculation, if there are bombings in peaceful areas, this will cause fitnah [discord] and other parties will be involved. This is my opinion and I could be wrong. Yet I still consider them mujahid. If they made mistakes, they are only human beings who can be wrong. Moreover, their attacks could be considered as self-defense.
Q. Does that mean you think they didnt attack?
A. No, they didnt attack because they defended themselves. They shouldnt be punished. In Bali where 200 people died, it was Americas bomb. That was a major attack and Amrozi [the Bali plotter who bought the explosives] doesnt have the capability to do that. [2]
Q. Did Amrozi tell you this himself?
A. He himself was surprised to see the explosion. When he said that it was Allahs help he was right but he didnt make that bomb. America did. There is much evidence to this effect and so the police dare not continue their investigations. According to Englands expert, that bomb was not Amrozis bomb. You should ask Fauzan. He knows this subject. That bomb was a CIA Jewish bomb. The Mossad cooperates with the CIA. [3] I had an exchange of views with the police and they didnt say anything. I said to them, You are stupid to punish Amrozi if he really knows how to make such a bomb. You should hire him to be a military consultant, because there is no military or police person [in Indonesia] who can make such a bomb. However, when I asked Ali Imron [4] in the court he said: Yes, I did it I believe him [that he made one of the smaller bombs that went off]. A bomb expert from Australia said that anyone who believes that Amrozi and friends made that [bigger] bomb is an idiot; [this is also the opinion of] a bomb expert from England whose comments I read in a magazine. If Amrozi really did make that bomb, he deserves the Nobel Prize. So, the death penalty is not fair.
Q. I want to ask your opinion of Nasir Abass book where he said that you are the Emir of JI? [5]
A. This is a traitor, a betrayer. I was in Malaysia and I had a jamaah [congregation] the name of which was Jamaah Sunnah. We just studied Islam.
Q. Were you aware that Nasir Abas was your student?
A. Yes, I was. But he was not the only one there; he also studied with Ustadz Hasyim Gani. I joined his group. He died. I think Nassir Abass book is [written] on orders from the police and for money.
Q. According to you, the book is incorrect, especially on Jemaah Islamiyah and you being its Emir?
A. This is not a court and the real court has failed to prove it. [6]
Q. What was Nasir Abass motivation in writing that book?
A. I dont know. But basically he got orders from the police and received some money. I think that was his motivation. He doesnt have the courage to meet me. If I meet him, Ill send him to do jihad in Chechnya or to the Southern Philippines so that Allah will accept his remorse [taubah]. He invented his own story.
Q. I heard that Nasir Abas came here. Did he meet you?
A. No, he came here to meet others.
Q. If I may know, when was the first time you heard the name al-Qaeda?
A. After the police questioned me; during the time I was filing a law suit against TIME magazine. Do you remember when I did that? They wanted me to take 100 million rupiah to stop the case but I didnt. But I dont know anymore about the case. During that time, I was under suspicion but I wasnt arrested. That was the first time I heard the name al-Qaeda. [7] A policeman from the intelligence section whose name I forget interrogated me from morning until afternoon. He asked about that name [al-Qaeda]. That was the first time I heard of it. Before, I never heard of it. I went to Pakistan but I didnt hear that name. I went there to accompany my son [8] and meet some Arabs but I never heard that name.
Q. How about Shaykh Osama bin Laden?
A. I heard his name a long time ago. I read his writings, saw his tapes and met Arabs in Pakistan who talked about him when I accompanied my son, Abdur Rahim. Who didnt know Osama? He was a mujahid against the Soviets and he had his own military that he funded by himself. He was a hero who America also praised. He was then also supported by America. America was piggybacking on him because America didnt have the courage to fight against the Soviets. They were afraid of the Soviets and they relied on the Afghans.(????????????)
Q. Have you ever him?
A. No, no. I want to though. After my release, I hope I can meet him. [9]
Q. Where will you find him?
A. If he still existsbut how could I? On Osama, my stand in court was clear. I have sympathy for his struggle. Osama is Allahs soldier. When I heard his story, I came to the conclusion that hes mujahid, a soldier of Allah.
Q. So you will always be on his side?
A. Many say this and Osama is right. His tactics and calculations may sometimes be wrong, hes an ordinary human being after all. I dont agree with all of his actions. He encouraged people to do bombings. I dont agree with that. He said that JI followed his fatwah. His fatwah said that all Americans must be killed wherever they can be found, because America deserves it. Therefore [according to bin Laden] if Muslims come across Americans, they have to attack them. Osama believes in total war. This concept I dont agree with. If this occurs in an Islamic country, the fitnah [discord] will be felt by Muslims. But to attack them in their country [America] is fine.
Q. So it means that the fight against America will never end?
A. Never, and this fight is compulsory. Muslims who dont hate America sin. There is no iman [belief] if one doesnt hate America. There are three ways of attacking: with your hand, your mouth and your heart.
Q. Does this mean Americas government? Its policies?
A. If its citizens are good thats fine, especially the Muslim citizens. They are our brothers. Non-Muslims are also fine as long as they dont bother us. A witness at my trial, Frederick Burks, wrote that hes against Bush. [10]
Q. How can the American regime and its policies change?
A. Well see. As long as there is no intention to fight us and Islam continues to grow there can be peace. This is the doctrine of Islam. Islam cant be ruled by others. Allahs law cant be under human law. Allahs law must stand above human law. All laws must be under Islamic law. This is what the infidels fail to recognize, thats what America doesnt like to see. You should read a book, The Face of Western Civilization by Adian Husaini. Its a good book, a thick one. The conclusion of the book is that Western scholars hold an anti-Islamic doctrine. It is true there will be a clash of civilizations. The argumentation is correct that there will be a clash between Islam and the infidels. There is no [example] of Islam and infidels, the right and the wrong, living together in peace.
[unknown url]
ANALYSIS-Serb "turn to Russia" on Kosovo could have price
Tue Feb 20, 2007 6:51AM EST
By Douglas Hamilton
BELGRADE, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica
is so confident that Russia will veto Western-backed independence for
Serbia's breakaway province of Kosovo that he is already looking
forward to the victory party.
But some fear that if Serbia succeeds in derailing this project of
European Union and United States diplomacy with the help of Russian
muscle, it may be trading its EU and NATO membership prospects for a
precarious perch in Moscow.
If so, it would be the only Balkan state to face East by choice.
Ex-Soviet satellites Bulgaria and Romania have joined ex-Yugoslav
republic Slovenia in the EU and NATO. Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia,
Montenegro and Albania share the same aim.
"If we are going into the EU then we have to behave like Europeans and
adopt their values," said Zoran Ostojic of Serbia's Civic Alliance,
one of the very few to say Kosovo independence is inevitable and urge
Serbs to accept it.
"If we are going to be the vanguard of Russian interests here then
they will dictate our government and we will be some kind of black
hole," he said.
Kosovo was seized by NATO forces in 1999 to halt Serb ethnic cleansing
of its 90 percent Albanian majority in a counter- insurgency war, and
has been run by the United Nations since.
The bombing of Serbia to this end was NATO's first use of force in its
history, a defining moment that put "humanitarian intervention" above
legal and territorial sovereignty.
Kosovo's Albanians expect to win independence by the autumn.
In a session of the Serbian parliament last week, 225 of the 250
deputies declared that "Serbia rejects" Kosovo independence.
But analysts saw it as a blame-sharing ploy, papering over cracks that
will open wide when Kostunica and President Boris Tadic try to forge a
coalition after Serbia's inconclusive Jan. 21 election.
Parliament's "rejection front" in reality spans a wide spectrum of
views on Kosovo, which cannot easily be reconciled.
The ultranationalist Radicals, Serbia's biggest party, would declare
Kosovo "occupied territory" if a solution were imposed, creating a
territorial scar that might not heal for decades.
Kostunica has not endorsed the idea but says Serbia would curb ties
with any capital which recognises Kosovo. Diplomats say that would
apply to Washington, London, Paris and Berlin.
Kostunica also says it is "unthinkable that the United Nations would
snatch territory away from a member state", as proposed by U.N.
mediator Martti Ahtisaari. He predicts that "the Security Council will
undoubtedly reject his proposal".
WARNING OF LOSS
President Tadic's Democratic Party, by contrast, wants no diplomatic
cut-off threat. Far from placing absolute trust in Moscow's Kosovo
policy, it warns Serbs of the possible loss of the mountainous land
wreathed in the history of their nation.
Ahtisaari sees no hope of compromise in a final round of Serb-Albanian
talks beginning on Wednesday in Vienna, and expects to submit his plan
to the Security Council in mid-March.
The West believes there is no way that Kosovo's two million ethnic
Albanians will remain part of a country whose troops, under the late
autocrat Slobodan Milosevic, killed 10,000 of their people in the
1998-99 war and drove out 800,000.
"There is no realistic alternative to the U.N. proposal," said
Ahtisaari deputy Albert Rohan. Doing nothing risks a fresh conflict
that could threaten the entire region.
A top Kostunica aide, Vladeta Jankovic, responded that the West simply
thinks "everything can be bought and sold."
The EU and NATO offer a fast track to membership if Serbia is
"constructive" in Kosovo, but have made no open threat to freeze
Serbia out if it defies them by wrecking Ahtisaari's plan.
Western powers want to avoid provoking any lurch to the
ultranationalist right, said a senior EU diplomat. "No one wants
Belgrade to become a Minsk," he added, using the capital of Belarus as
a synonym for paranoid, anti-Western autocracy.
While Kostunica anticipates a "principled stand" on Kosovo by the
Kremlin, many Serbs are sceptical, recalling that Russia has made
promises but left its Slav cousins in the lurch before.
"If Russia imposes its veto in the Security Council it will do so out
of its own interests, not Serbia's," said analyst Zoran Dragisic. But
a veto was unlikely, because Kosovo would be thrashed out one way or
another to avoid deadlock, he said.
Turning to Russia was no longer a geopolitical option, and certainly
not the destiny favoured by most Serbs, he said.
Analysts see the blame for Kosovo's loss already being parcelled out,
and perhaps Moscow too will get a slice.
(Additional reporting by Beti Bilandzic, David Brunnstrom)
Source: KTRK Houston [edited]
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=health&id=5049030
We're learning as many as 12 000 people in Houston may have been
exposed to hepatitis A at the Pappasito's restaurant on I-45. The
health department is planning to treat 3000 people with an antibiotic
[?] shot. And all of this is costing taxpayers here big money. In
terms of the cost to the county, it's being quoted as $88 500, all
for this one confirmed case. The biggest cost of the hepatitis case
was for the immune globulin shots. The county had to get a special
shipment from the manufacturer to treat the 3000 people who could
benefit from the treatment.
The health department has identified these 2007 dates for potential
exposure:
January 23-27
January 30-31
February 1
February 3
February 7-9
It is believed the Pappasito's waiter who worked on those days may
have exposed up to 12 000 people to the virus. "What we want those
people to do is monitor themselves quite closely and if they develop
any signs or symptoms that they feel might be consistent with
hepatitis to go ahead and call their doctors," said Herminia Palacio
with Harris County Health and Environmental Services [HCPHES].
The health department issued a warning to Pappasito's for improper
hand washing and improper handling of ready-to-eat foods. Health
officials say the restaurant has rectified the problem. "They have
put changes in place that include things like using gloves for
handling what we call ready-to-eat foods," said Palacio.
As for the 3000 people or so who can still receive treatment, a
clinic opens Tue 20 Feb to begin handing out shots to prevent the
onset of the virus.
Hepatitis A is a virus that can cause [benign] liver disease. It's
rarely fatal and most people recover after several weeks. The
symptoms can include extreme tiredness, fever, nausea or vomiting.
[Byline: Gene Apodaca)
--
ProMED-mail
promed@promedmail.org
[So far there has been no positive diagnosis of hepatitis A infection
in persons visiting the restaurant in Houston, Texas, where a
hepatitis A-positive member of the staff was employed. The Harris
County Public Health and Environmental Services are taking
commendable pre-emptive action to forestall a potentially serious
outbreak of hepatitis A that could affect up to 12 000 people.
ProMED-mail is posting this information as a service to the
community. - Mod.CP]
.........................cp/mj/dk
http://www.e-ariana.com/ariana/eariana.nsf/allDocs/D7BB03CA954D08388725728700448ACD?OpenDocument
Journalist gunned down in Afghanistan
Xinhua
02/19/2007
A local journalist has been killed by unknown armed men in
Afghanistan's northwest Faryab province, said a local official Monday.
"Two armed men riding a motorbike opened fire on Rahman Qul near his
home in Ankhoi district Sunday afternoon and killed him on the spot,"
provincial governor Abdul Latif Ibrahimi told Xinhua.
It is not clear if the attackers were militants and an investigation
is underway, said Ibrahimi.
Working for a local newspaper, Rahman Qul was a renowned journalist in
his home province.
No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack so
far.
Unknown armed men gunned down two German journalists in northern
Baghlan province last year. One Italian newsman was abducted in the
troubled Helmand province months ago and was set free unharmed after
three weeks in captivity.
Taliban militants have warned journalists not to report their
casualties without verification with them.
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