World Terrorism: News, History and Research Of A Changing World #6 Disinformation, Inc.

http://jta.org/page_view_breaking_story.asp?intid=6225

Toronto bookstore picketed for Israel donation
Protesters picketed a Toronto bookstore because its owners made a donation to an Israeli cause.

A group of about 25 picketers waved Palestinian flags this week on Bay Street as they urged a boycott of the Indigo bookstore chain because its owners, Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz, contributed to an organization that assists Israeli soldiers.

The Canadian Jewish News reported Dec. 21 that Reisman and Schwartz pledged to fund 100 scholarships annually for the next three years through the Heseg Foundation for Lone Soldiers, a charitable organization that assists Israel Defense Force graduates without parents or extended family in Israel.

The protesters said they were from the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid.

Timed to coincide with the pre-Christmas rush, their protest “appeared ineffective judging by the throngs lined up at the cash” register, according to one report.

http://jta.org/page_view_breaking_story.asp?intid=6222

Gaydamak boosts Bibi
A Russian-Israeli billionaire endorsed Benjamin Netanyahu’s bid to retake the Israeli premiership.

Arkady Gaydamak, whose lavish public philanthropy has stirred speculation that he could enter Israeli politics, said in an interview Wednesday that he did not plan to run in the next election.

Instead he voiced confidence in Netanyahu, Israel’s opposition leader and a former prime minister.

“Of all the people on the list of prime ministerial candidates, Netanyahu is the most fitting and the most responsible,” Gaydamak told Ynet.

He also had warm words for Ami Ayalon, the frontrunner to succeed Defense Minister Amir Peretz as Labor Party leader, but was dismissive of the incumbent, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

http://www.tass.ru/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11122955&PageNum=0

Experts confirm death of terrorist Basayev in last summer operation

28.12.2006, 02.14

ROSTOV-ON-DON, December 28 (Itar-Tass) - Forensic experts confirm that terrorist number one Shamil Basayev was indeed destroyed in an operation in Ingushetia last summer, representatives of the Prosecutor General's Office said Wednesday citing results of DNA tests on fragments of the bodies of the militants destroyed in the republic's Nazran district.

Basayev, the mastermind of the most horrible terrorist attacks in the history of the Russian Federation, was destroyed together with a dozen of his henchmen, including terrorist number two - Doku Umarov, in a complex multi-move operation by Russia's Federal Security Service.

Police started the hunt for Basayev after his raid on Budennovsk. He was put on the international wanted list in 1999. He was later charged, in absentia, with having organized several bloody terrorist acts, including an attack on a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, the taking of hostages at Moscow's theatre, dwelling house explosions in Moscow and Volgodonsk, and others.

Basayev hijacked a Tupolev-154 passenger plane from Russia's Mineralnye Vody to Turkey in November 1991.

In Turkey the hijackers surrendered to local authorities. The then Chechen president Dzhokhar Dudayev made Basayev the commander of his commandos after the incident.

In 1994, Dudayev promoted him to the rank of "brigadier general". Basayev became a field commander of Chechen separatism after the deployment of federal troops in the republic.

In June 1995, he led a raid on Budennovsk where he and his men took 1,500 people hostage in the local maternity house and held them for several days. One hundred and thirty peaceful people were killed.

Russian authorities charged Basayev and his associates under five articles of the Criminal Code: banditry (Article 77), mass riots (Article 79), premeditated murder (Article 102), hostage taking (Article 126), and terrorism (Article 213). The Prosecutor General's Office issued an arrest warrant for Basayev and put him on the federal wanted list.

In August 1999, Basayev and Jordanian-born warlord Khattab attacked several villages in Dagestan. In September 1999, Basayev was put on the international wanted list.

Basayev was also involved in residential house explosions in Buinaksk, Moscow and Volgodonsk in September 1999, when 316 people were killed and about 700 injured.

In 2002, Basayev created a battalion of shakhids (the ones who die for faith, or martyrs), called Riyadus-Salikhin. In October 2002, terrorists from this organisation seized a theatre in Moscow. All of them were destroyed during the storming but 129 hostages died.

Basayev was involved in the terrorist act on May 9, 2004 when Chechen President Akhmat Kadyrov was assassinated, as well as terrorist acts in Mozdok and Moscow, and Tupolev-134 and Tupoelv-154 passenger planes ion August 2004.

In February 2005, the Prosecutor General's Office brought new charges against Basayev for having organized a series of terrorist acts, an armed attack in Ingushetia and Grozny in the summer of 2004, and hostage taking in Beslan, North Ossetia, in September 2004.

http://www.tass.ru/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11121693&PageNum=0

Putin signs anti-bureaucracy decree

27.12.2006, 15.00

MOSCOW, December 27 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree aimed at reducing the bureaucracy apparatus of the federal bodies of executive power.

He declared the measure in his opening remarks at a conference devoted to economic issues on Wednesday.

Putin said the decree “empowers the chiefs of departments and agencies concerned to optimize the strength of personnel and at the same time retain the remuneration fund and the right to use it.”

“Our salaries keep rising. We have always set to ourselves the task of cutting the bureaucratic machinery,” Putin said. “With that task we failed to cope, though. On the contrary, the strength of administrative bodies in the center and locally keeps growing.”

“I believe that the right to retain the remuneration fund despite personnel cuts and to use it will prove an incentive for the chiefs of the departments concerned to optimizing the subordinate staff,” the president added.

http://www.tass.ru/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11115465&PageNum=1

Special task force police stormed the apartment in central Cherkessk

25.12.2006, 20.00

CHERKESSK, December 25 (Itar-Tass) - A close associate of warlord Achemez Gochiyayev, who had been on the top of the international wanted list for organizing terrorist acts in Moscow and Volgodonsk in 1999, was killed in a special operation in Cherkessk on Monday.

As officials at the Federal Security Service’s department in the Karachai-Cherkess Republic told Itar-Tass the raid began early on Monday to detain militants of Gochiyayev and Timur Gloov’s gangs who are responsible for serial deaths of law enforcers and federal security servicemen in Karachai-Cherkessia.

Police and special task force units sealed off militants in an apartment 58, Lenin Street, in central Cherkessk. People of near-by houses were evacuated; lessons in the district school were cancelled.

The militants “made a violent resistance and in response to police demands to lay arms they opened mass fire,” a law enforcer said.

“As a result of operation a resident of Karachayevsk, Ramasan Tokov, 25, who had been on the federal wanted list since August, 2005, was destroyed. It was found out that Tokov is held responsible for terrorist acts against police and Muslim leaders,” he said.

“Tokov’s accessory, a resident of Cherkessk, who had sheltered the criminal in Karachai-Cherkessia was detained in this operation. Investigators do not disclose his name,” he said.

The operation began soon after police got a tip-off that dangerous special criminals were hiding in one of the flats in the apartment, a prosecutor of Karachai-Cherkessia, Vladimir Kuznetsov, said.

During the raid police exposed a lot of submachine guns and munitions.

“No victims among police and civil population have been registered,” the official said.

Achemez Gochiyayev has been on the international wanted list for organizing blasts of apartments in Moscow on September 9 and 13, 1999, and in Volgodonsk on September 16. The terrorist acts claimed 234 lives and left 2,000 people injured.

Last May, another six militants who acted under Gochiyayev’s instructions were killed in a special operation in Cherkessk.

Another five militants were destroyed in the Storozhevaya village, southern Karachai-Cherkessia, last April. According to police, they are held responsible for the deaths of six police in May-December, 2005, in Karachayevsk. One of the criminals killed there was identified as Timur Gloov.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,239101,00.html

Former Intern in Sen. Obama's Office Linked to Indicted Fundraiser

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

CHICAGO - An intern in Sen. Barack Obama's office last year was
recommended by an Illinois Democratic fundraiser later indicted for
seeking kickbacks on government deals.

Obama has denied doing any favors for Antoin "Tony" Rezko, who has
pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him. The internship
was one of 98 Illinois spots filled from a pool of 350 applicants.

John Aramanda, a 20-year-old student, served in Obama's Capitol Hill
office from July 20 to Aug. 26, 2005, and was paid an $804 stipend,
Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs told the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago
Sun-Times in reports published Sunday.

Gibbs said Rezko recommended the intern to Obama but contended that the
internship did not contradict Obama's statements about not doing any
favors for Rezko.

"I think that it's fairly obvious that a few-week internship is not
anything of benefit to Mr. Rezko or any of his businesses," he said.

The intern's father, Joseph Aramanda, a businessman in the Chicago
suburb of Glenview, once served as chief operating officer of a Rezko
company and had a long-term business relationship with Rezko, according
to court records and business filings.

continued...

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=124628&version=1&template_id=41&parent_id=23

Home:Pakistan/Afghanistan
Audio cassettes promoting jihad on sale in tribal region
Published: Wednesday, 27 December, 2006, 09:10 AM Doha Time
PESHAWAR: In Khar, main town of Bajaur tribal region of Pakistan, many vendors are selling audio cassettes that recall the alleged bombing of a seminary on October 30 by a US spot-and-kill plane and eulogise "innocent students" killed in the attack.
During a visit to the main bazaar, people were seen enthusiastically purchasing these cassettes, which had reached the market some three weeks ago.
One vendor said that, on average, he had been selling 30 to 40 cassettes daily. While the "Jihadi culture is flourishing all across the NWFP (North West Frontier Province), especially in Afghanistan-bordering tribal areas," the radical poems have booted out traditional music and romantic poetry. The locals have switched to listening to verses praising and promoting jihad.
Fearing home-grown Taliban, most of the video and music centres now sell ‘Islamic’ cassettes and CDs only.
Whenever militants achieve some victory over their rivals or receive some harsh blows (in Afghanistan or in Pakistan's tribal area), their poetic followers get inspired to narrate the event in fiery verses.
These days, two collections of poems inspired by the attack on a seminary in Bajaur are being widely sold in various bazaars of the tribal areas and the so-called settled districts in their vicinity.
The 'Wazir Khan Cassette House' from the Lee Market of Karachi was the first to release a collection of 'Taranas' (war songs) regarding the October 30 incident. Entitled 'Da Bajaur Shahidaan' (martyrs of Bajaur), this cassette has nine songs.
Sahar Gul Hanfi, a resident of Mohmand Agency, is the vocalist and the writer of these poems.
Almost all poems in the album condemn the killing of seminary students, and vow to avenge the killing from Americans.
Interestingly, there is no mention of Maulavi Liaqat, who was the in-charge of the destroyed seminary, in this collection.
There are two songs written on the bravery of tribesmen: "We respect tribesmen and they deserve to be respected, who are the custodians of Qur'an and Islam and by and large, they sacrificed their lives for this noble cause. Tribesmen are tigers and suicide attackers," asserts one of the songs.
Another poem sheds light on the custom and tradition of revenge to profess: "We, the tribesmen never miss an opportunity to take revenge and for this purpose a number of suicide attackers have been trained."
The teachers and students of the bombed seminary have been described as the ultimate victors in these songs. "Sacrifices would pave the way to the implementation of Sharia in the region and the return of Taliban as rulers." The second collection of songs has been released by Yadgaar Islami Cassette House, Shabqadar (Charsadda).
Hidayat Shah Sail and Shahidullah Shahid have written and sung the songs. According to Bakht Rawan, the owner of the cassette house, the cassette containing seven songs has made good business for him and its demand is on the rise. Both the vocalists belong to Shabqadar.
One song in this collection claims: "The land of Bajaur has tuned into Karbala, and Bush is celebrating victory... O braves of Bajaur come to the field of jihad."
Another song laments that Muslims are being killed brutally throughout the world and if they remain silent who would come forward to take them out of trouble. "I could not tolerate to see the brutality of Bush administration but I am helpless. O our God we need your support, as we could not wait anymore to see the insult of turban and beard, the Sunnah of Muhammad (peace be upon him)," it says. - Internews

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=124926&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17

Home:Gulf/Arab World
US sending standby force
Published: Thursday, 28 December, 2006, 10:34 AM Doha Time

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon said yesterday it will send about 3,500 troops to Kuwait to serve as a standby force for use in Iraq or elsewhere in the region.

The Bush administration is weighing force increases as it considers alternative strategies in Iraq.

The deployment order was sent to a brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

That unit will serve as the "call-forward force" for the commander of US Central Command, the command group responsible for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Central Command also holds responsibility for the part of Africa that includes Somalia and Ethiopia, where a week of fighting has spiralled into open war.

The Fort Bragg troops replace a force that was moved into Iraq this year. There are 134,000 US troops now in Iraq. - Reuters

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=124761&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17

Bird flu in Egypt kills 10th victim
Published: Thursday, 28 December, 2006, 10:34 AM Doha Time

CAIRO: A 26-year-old Egyptian man died of bird flu yesterday, the third member of his extended family to die of the virus, a World Health Organisation (WHO) official said.

Brick factory worker Rida Farid Abdel Halim from the Nile Delta province of Gharbia had been in hospital for 10 days, Hassan el-Bushra, WHO regional adviser for communicable diseases surveillance, said.

It was the 10th death from bird flu in Egypt since an outbreak of the virus started in February.

Bushra said Egypt had no other bird flu patients receiving treatment. Eight Egyptians had contracted the disease and recovered.

A 15-year-old girl from the factory worker’s family died on Monday and a female relative died the day before, raising concerns about the possibility of human-to-human transmission.

But John Rainford, a spokesman at WHO headquarters, said: "The evidence that we have so far seems to be putting it into a context similar to other cases that have emerged since February... What we do know so far seems to suggest that the cases do not necessarily stand out."

The family had raised ducks at home, and the brother and sister had slaughtered the flock after ducks fell sick and died.

The man showed symptoms of the disease on December 14 and was admitted to a rural hospital three days later. He started receiving Tamiflu treatment on December 20 after a second case appeared in his family and the medical staff learned that he may have come into contact with poultry, Bushra said.

Bird flu has killed at least 156 people worldwide since 2003, according to WHO figures. People can contract the virus by coming into contact with infected poultry but experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily from human to human, sparking a pandemic that could kill millions.

The outbreak of bird flu did extensive damage to the Egyptian poultry industry this year but preventive measures appear to have contained the disease.

Before the latest three deaths, only one person had died of the disease in Egypt since May. – Reuters

http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Police-still-probing-Qld-boat-explosion/2006/12/27/1166895340938.html#

Police still probing Qld boat explosion

December 27, 2006 - 12:29PM
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A two-year-old boy and a woman remain in hospital in a serious condition after being severely burnt in a Boxing Day boat explosion that injured seven people.

Witnesses said several people were thrown into the water when the nine-metre pleasure cruiser exploded on the Noosa River at Tewantin on the Sunshine Coast at about 3.30pm (AEST) on Tuesday afternoon.

"It was terrible... it really was," one witness, who wanted to be known only as Margaret, told ABC radio on Wednesday morning.

"There wasn't a lot of fire or anything like that on the boat at all.

"I saw two men jump off the boat, and there were already people in the water.

"A gentleman on the boat threw the anchor over because the boat was just drifting."

Margaret said people in nearby boats rushed to help the injured to shore.

"The people were very fortunate that there were so many actual crafts around that were able to get to their assistance very quickly," she said.

The two-year-old boy was airlifted to Royal Brisbane and Children's Hospital with severe burns, and the woman suffering burns to her airways was also airlifted by another helicopter to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.

Four other children and a second woman were also taken to hospital with minor burns, and remain in a stable condition.

The other four people on board were uninjured.

Police said that investigations into the incident could take several days to complete.

Initial reports suggest the explosion may have been caused by a build-up of gases in the engine bay.

© 2006 AAP

http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Three-drug-smugglers-arrested-in-Sydney/2006/12/28/1166895400565.html

Three drug smugglers arrested in Sydney

December 28, 2006 - 11:44AM
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Three men were arrested over Christmas for smuggling drugs through Sydney Airport, including two who tried to conceal drugs in the soles of their shoes.

Customs officers said they had become suspicious about the weight of shoes of a 36-year-old Nigerian man who had flown into Sydney from Dubai on Christmas Eve.

The shoes were X-rayed, and after drilling through their soles, allegedly found up to 600 grams of cocaine.

In a Boxing Day arrest, officers said they frisk-searched a 35-year-old Canadian who had flown in from Canada and found about one kilogram of cocaine in his underwear.

A 40-year-old Australian man completed the "hat-trick" of arrests, officers confirmed.

He was apprehended after arriving on a flight from Vietnam. X-ray and trace particle analysis allegedly detected approximately 300 grams of heroin concealed in his sandals.

The Australian and Canadian men will appear in Sydney Central Local Court on Thursday.

The Nigerian man has appeared in Sydney Central Local Court and remanded in custody until a date in January.

© 2006 AAP

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/12/27/1166895364995.html

Teens accused of murder giggle during hearing

Daniel Emerson
December 28, 2006
The victim's parents, Andrew and Sophie Mitchell.

The victim's parents, Andrew and Sophie Mitchell.
Photo: Steve Ferrier
Other related coverage

* Body-in-bin accused faces court

THE COURTROOM giggles of two young Perth women charged with murdering their friend and dumping her body in a wheelie bin drew a sharp response from a Supreme Court judge yesterday.

West Australian Supreme Court Judge Geoffrey Miller reminded Valerie Parashumti, 18, and Jessica Stasinowsky, 19, of the seriousness of the situation.

The women, who are charged with the wilful murder of Stacey Mitchell, 16, whose body was dumped in a bin behind a rented Perth house last week, appeared together via video link from Bandyup Women's Prison.

Hours earlier, hundreds of weeping teenagers linked hands in memory of Stacey at the Atwell skate park while her grieving parents stood inside the "friendship circle".

The source of the accused pair's laughter appeared to be the difficulty the authorities have had ascertaining the correct spelling and pronunciation of their surnames.

In asking the women to confirm their identity, Justice Miller yesterday referred to the 18-year-old as "Parashmuti", as per the court list, and appeared to be shocked by images of the women laughing on the television screen before him. "You have both been charged with wilful murder. I don't know what you are laughing about," he said.

As the teenagers continued to giggle at the pronunciation of "Parashmuti" during the hearing, Justice Miller told them that they would have "very little chance" of getting bail should they apply for it. They were remanded to appear in court next month.

The victim's parents, Andrew and Sophie Mitchell, later said in a statement that they were devastated by the loss of their loving, caring daughter.

"We have been overwhelmed by the love and support of family, friends and the local community of Atwell," the statement said. "Stacey was a loving, caring, 16-year-old girl who will be deeply missed by her loved ones. Stacey loved her friends, music and having a good time."

Clusters of teenagers hugged and wept while pink balloons were released, and schoolmates blew bubbles in her memory.

WEST AUSTRALIAN

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/12/27/1166895361607.html

Man 'changed appearance' after brutal Geelong rape

Andrea Petrie
December 28, 2006

AN UNEMPLOYED father of two accused of brutally raping a 22-year-old woman shaved his head and took drastic measures to change his appearance after the attack, a court was told yesterday.

Geelong Magistrates Court heard that Luke Benjamin Gill, of Corio, also burnt a T-shirt he was wearing on the night of the rape and threw the runners he had worn into the Barwon River, after security camera footage of the suspected rapist appeared in the media, which he believed looked like himself.

Gill, 28, has been charged with four counts of rape, abduction with intent to sexually assault and assault with intent to rape. He has also been charged with intentionally causing serious injury, recklessly causing serious injury, and the theft of several items from the victim's handbag which have not been recovered.

Detective Sergeant Peter Dodemaide told the court the woman was raped on December 1 on her way home from Geelong's Eureka Hotel about 2am, after she was followed from a nearby ATM and "frog marched" into an alcove in Market Square Mall.

After her attacker fled on foot, the victim staggered to an intersection where she collapsed unconscious due to excessive blood loss.

Passers-by called an ambulance and she was rushed to Geelong Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery for what Sergeant Dodemaide described as "severe lacerations".

The victim spent nine days in hospital where she underwent multiple surgeries. The court heard she would have to undergo further surgery in the future.

The court heard that Mr Gill had admitted to being in the vicinity of where the attack took place that night and was heavily intoxicated. But he told investigators he had no recollection of an attack, nor did he believe he was capable of committing such a crime.

Gill was remanded to appear at the same court in March.

http://www.dearnetoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=768&ArticleID=1946574

EXPLOSION FEARS LED TO EVACUATION
by Kevin Rogers
FIFTY people were evacuated from their Thurnscoe homes after a potentially explosive gas bottle was discovered in a blazing shed.
Houses within 100 yards of the fire on the corner of Lancaster Street and Brunswick Street were evacuated on Saturday, as firefighters made the scene safe.
Police said an acetylene bottle found in the fire remained intact and was left to cool for four hours before residents returned. The cause of the fire is unknown.
The blaze comes after a series of break-ins and arson attacks on houses on Brunswick Street, which have been unoccupied for several months due to the Government Pathfinder regeneration scheme, which will eventually see them replaced with new properties.
A resident of Brunswick Street, who did not want to be named, said: "Every single house left empty has been broken into around here and the fire brigade are having to come up at least once a week. There are only three houses left occupied on our street.
"The council have put on security patrols but things are not improving."
She added: "Barnsley Council promised us they would knock the properties down - but they have just left them boarded up and people are breaking into them all the time."
Anyone with information should contact South Yorkshire Police on 0114 2202020.
kevin.rogers@dearnetoday.co.uk
27 December 2006

http://www.dearnetoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=5054&ArticleID=1948086

Hijack attempt foiled on Russian plane
PRAGUE (Reuters) - A Russian passenger plane bound for Geneva was hijacked on Thursday but it made an emergency landing in Prague and the hijacker was "pacified", a Czech police spokesman said.
"According to the latest information, the culprit was foiled on board the plane, meaning he was pacified, not in the sense of any damage to ... health," spokesman Pavel Hantak said.

The plane landed and was directed to taxi to an outer area of the airport, where it was surrounded by emergency vehicles, officials said.

The Airbus A-320 on the Moscow-Geneva route made the unplanned landing in Prague after the pilot declared an emergency on board.

Aeroflot flights suffered a series of hijackings in the early 1990s.

(c) Reuters 2006. All rights reserved.

28 December 2006

http://www.dearnetoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=5055&ArticleID=1947259

Qaeda suspect blamed for U.S. kidnap captured
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi special forces backed by U.S. advisers have captured an al Qaeda cell leader believed to be behind the kidnap in June of two U.S. soldiers who were found tortured and dead, the U.S. military said on Thursday.
A U.S. statement said the man was captured in a raid on Tuesday in Yusifiya, 15 km (9 miles) south of Baghdad. It said he had recently been seen commenting on a video CD showing the kidnapping of the soldiers that was shown at a mosque.

"The terrorist is believed responsible for kidnapping two U.S. soldiers from a checkpoint in Yusifiya in June, 2006. The soldiers were later found tortured and murdered," a U.S. statement said.

A third soldier was killed in the attack on the checkpoint in which Privates First Class Kristian Menchaca and Thomas Tucker were seized in the south Baghdad al Qaeda stronghold.

The mutilated and booby-trapped bodies of Menchaca, 23, and Tucker, 25, were found three days after the June 16 attack.

"The terrorist is also suspected of perpetrating numerous kidnappings, murders and other violent crimes within the Yusifiya area," the U.S. statement said.

(c) Reuters 2006. All rights reserved.
28 December 2006
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http://www.dearnetoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=5055&ArticleID=1947156

N.Korea sold gold to Thailand before sanctions
BANGKOK (Reuters) - North Korea sold 1.3 tonnes of gold to Thailand a few months before the United Nations slapped international sanctions on Pyongyang in October, according to Thai customs data.
Thailand paid the reclusive communist state a total of 1.03 billion baht ($28 million) for 500 kg of gold in April and 800 kg in May, the Customs Department said on its web site, www.customs.go.th.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Kitti Wasinondh said importing unwrought or semi-manufactured gold from North Korea did not violate the U.N. sanctions, which included a ban on sales of luxury items to Pyongyang.

"The deals were done before the sanctions were imposed. Even if we import them now, it is still legal," Kitti told Reuters.

The U.S.-led sanctions, approved unanimously by the U.N. Security Council on October 14 five days after Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear test, were intended to persuade the North to resume six-party negotiations on ending its nuclear ambitions. Despite Pyongyang's return to the table, the sanctions, which also require all countries to prevent the sale or transfer of materials related to its unconventional weapons programmes, remain in place.

Thailand, a major jewellery maker, imported nearly 80 tonnes of gold from 22 countries in the first 11 months of 2006, according to the Customs Department.

But traders say gold purchases from North Korea are rare.

"These orders might have been just a one-off purchase by one firm," said an official from the Thai Gold Traders Association.

"Thai traders don't usually import gold from North Korea because it is a communist country with so many unpredictable factors," said the official who declined to be named.

($1=36.33 baht)

(c) Reuters 2006. All rights reserved.

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