Republican News · Thursday 4 July 2002

Sharon off the hook

By Silvio Cerulli
Jerusalem 2/6/2002

Only a few hours after G.W. Bush's irresponsible speech effectively sanctioning the reoccupation of the Territories, the Belgian Court of Appeal has called a halt to the trial against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a "man of peace" in Bush's own words.

Sharon is accused of war crimes for his responsibilities in the Sabra and Chatila massacre (16-18 September 1982) in which scores of Palestinian refugees were slaughtered (800 according to the Israelis, 4,000 for the Palestinians), carried out by the Israeli proxi militia of the Christian Falangists.

It took the Belgian court a full eight months to discover and come up legal cavil (the non-presence of the accused in Belgium) capable of preventing the Israeli prime minister's indictment. In 1982, Ariel Sharon was Minister for Defence, the true architect of the invasion of Lebanon (30,000 deaths) and the person ultimatly responsible for the dispatch of the Falangist militia (Israel's ally) into Sabra and Chatila, to "cleanse them of terrorists".

The decision of the Belgian court is a heavy blow for the law, passed in 1993 and amended in 1999, governing universal jurisdiction in matters of war crimes and crimes against humanity. For the moment, Sharon would have been able to avail of his parliamentary immunity, but this would not apply to his generals, above all to Amos Yaron, the present Israeli Defence ministry coordinator and the then commander of Israeli troops in Beirut.

"The course of justice has been brutally interrupted," says Kibli Mallat, one of the lawyers representing the 23 parents of the victims and the survivors who brought the charges against Sharon. "However, our efforts to challenge Sharon's war crimes impunity will continue in Belgium and elsewhere. This decision of the court represents a mere setback for both international humanitarian legislation itself, and for victims all over the world seeking justice in the presence of mass massacres."

It is a step that should be taken not only for respect of all those killed in the summer of 1982, but also because the incrimination of Sharon would make a considerable contribution toward deterring the spread of Israeli war crimes, such as those committed in the West Bank city of Jenin only last April.

The international community can no longer close its eyes to Israel state terrorism which, most likely, eliminated Elie Hobelka, the Sabra and Chatila henchman, who was ready to testify against Sharon. In fact, had Hobelka entered Belgium, the Court of Appeal, in the presence of one of the accused on Belgian soil could not have disclaimed a connection between the case in question and Belgium. Therefore, in the case of the Israeli premier, at least for the moment, crime seems to be paying.

"They came from the mountains in thirty huge trucks", recalls Hasan, one of the survivors, in Amnoun Kabliyouk's book 'Sabra and Chatila: The Investigation of a Massacre'. "At first they started killing people with knives so that they wouldn't make any noise. Then they put snipers in the Chatila camp to kill anybody who crossed the streets. Next, armed men began going into the houses murdering men, women and children. At the end they blew up the houses with people in them, burying bodies under piles of rubble."

The Israeli parlament was forced to investigate Sharon's involvement into the atrocity and although he was found responsible for the actions of the Lebanese Falangists and was forced to resign from his post, he was never charged and never appeared in a court of justice. The Israeli Supreme Court instead, found Sharon guilty of lying to his then Premier Begin about the war in Lebanon and was declared unfit to command the army.

How then, can he now be considered fit to command the Israeli government?

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Second war on Iraq?

Iraq - Evidence is mounting that US President George Bush is set to follow in his father's footsteps by launching another war on Iraq.

Highly informed diplomatic sources have disclosed to a reputable Beirut newspaper, As-Safir, that the US has begun to carry out a plan of security and military operations aimed at Iraq, that American troops have entered areas in northern Iraq, and that major bases have been set up for them inside Jordan.

The sources report that the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), George Tenet, personally visited northern Iraq when he recently paid a visit to the region. There he gave orders to begin a security operation immediately, after President George Bush signed the order empowering the CIA to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Bush has also been making waves in Palestine by calling for Yasser Arafat, the nation's democratically elected leader, to be removed.

Sources for As-Safir said that the new element in the US's plan concerns the supposed role of Jordan, and that King Abdullah II in agreeing to vacate two military airfields in the country to be used by the American troops. Some two thousand American troops have already landed in Jordanian territory.

In addition, dozens of soldiers, together with members of American intelligence, have been transported into Iraqi territory. The sources said that the Americans have begun a campaign of making contact with the numerous forces in the Iraqi opposition, but that great difficulties confront the idea of setting up an alliance similar to the "Northern Alliance" in Afghanistan.

The US presented the plan to Saudi Arabia, the sources say, but Riyadh reiterated its refusal to allow its territory to be used for any military action against Iraq. It appears that the matter was taken to other countries also, to obtain their permission to use their territories should that become necessary.

Bush's administration has presented a plan for emergency economic aid to Jordan, the sources add, in case its economic and trade relations with Iraq fall into a crisis.

The Turkish paper Yeni Safak, reported on 27 June 2002, quoting sources in the Turkish Foreign Ministry, that the US has transported about 7,000 troops via heavy transport planes to the Incirlik airbase near Adana in the previous two weeks.

The paper claimed that Washington had begun to strengthen its forces in the area after its decision to begin military operations against Baghdad within the coming two months. The paper said that the number of US troops in Turkey would be increased from 7,000 to 25,000 troops during next month.

The Madness of King George

England - Pop star George Michael has released an outrageous satire of British PM Tony Blair's relationship with US President George Bush.

Premiered on MTV on Tuesday 2 July, Michael's unusual foray into the world of international politics comes in the form of a cartoon music video entitled 'Shoot the Dog'. Depicting a cartoon Michael in bed with Tony Blair's wife, Cherie, Shoot the Dog goes on to portray the British PM as a lapdog playing up to George Bush, while the singer looks on.

Describing himself as a "patriot", the English singer called on Blair this week to exercise a "calming and rational influence" on Bush.

"On an issue as enormous as the possible bombing of Iraq, how can you represent us when you haven't asked us what we think? And let's be honest, we haven't even begun to discuss it as a society," he said, addressing Blair.

Michael said he was "under no illusion" as to the importance of his opinions being more important than anyone else's (Bono take note).

"Nevertheless, I have strong opinions on Britain's current situation and I feel that in a time when public debate is being suppressed, even something as trivial as a pop song can be a good thing."

Houston, we have a Polish problem

Poland - The District Prosecutor's Office in Poznan, Poland, has launched an investigation into a case of breaking into US space department NASA's computers following a complaint by the US Embassy. The offence was allegedly perpetrated by hackers from Poznan.

According to Gazeta Wyborcza, one of the hackers recently completed his secondary education. The hacking of NASA servers reportedly caused damage estimated at $1 million. Under Polish legislation, the offense of destroying data on electronic media is punishable by up to eight years in prison.

'Mischief Makers' in Pakistan

Pakistan - The Pakistani government appealed to its people on Sunday for information that could help in its hunt for Saudi militant Osama bin Laden and 17 associates, terming them "mischief-makers" as defined by the Koran.

The appeal was made in an advertisement placed by the Interior Ministry in the mass-circulation Urdu-language daily Jang, offering confidentiality for informants, but no reward.

This comes days after the first Pakistani military casualties in a clash with suspected militants of bin Laden's al Qaeda network, in a remote tribal area of Pakistan near the Afghan border.

Pakistan, which played a key role in supporting US-led military action in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, has previously denied speculation that bin Laden could have taken shelter in Pakistan after his suspected Afghan hideouts were heavily bombed.

The advertisement quoted verses of the Koran, one of which read "Allah does not like mischief-makers".

Afghan wedding bombed

Afghanistan - More than 120 people, including children, are feared dead after a mistaken US bombing of a wedding party in Afghanistan.

American forces launched their missile attack when revellers at the party, in the village of Kakarak, fired weapons into the air - a common ceremonial gesture in rural Afghanistan. The Pentagon, however, insisted that a 'legitimate' target was nearby and that the casualties were caused by an errant bomb.

"We have children who are injured and who have no family," nurse Mohammed Nadir said. "Their families are gone. The villagers brought these children and they have no parents. Everyone says that their parents are dead."