Internal contradictions
Fatah remains rife with discord, its leaders stumbling along the road of the Palestinian cause, writes Khaled Amayreh in Israeli-occupied Ramallah
Despite numerous promises and assurances for political reform within the Fatah movement, the mainstream faction of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) is still unable to hold its long overdue Sixth Congress.
22.11.08 Eyes Wide Shut THE DAY before yesterday, two documents appeared side by side in Haaretz: a giant advertisement from… Read More »Eyes wide shut
Picture: REUTERS/Mian Khursheed
Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf leaves the presidential house after his resignation in Islamabad.
The U.S. today offered to help Pakistanis displaced by an army operation against Islamic fighters in a northwest tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
Pakistani officials say more than 200,000 have fled the Bajur tribal region, the primary focus of the nearly two-week-old offensive, and the neighboring Mohmand tribal area. Many have landed in relief camps set up by the government and political parties.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Lou Fintor says "they stand ready to offer humanitarian assistance to the government of Pakistan, if requested, in regards to the situation in the tribal regions". He would not offer specifics about the assistance that would be provided.
Nearly 500 people have been killed in the fighting so far, according to Pakistani officials. The numbers and scope of the situation have been difficult to confirm because of the area’s remote and dangerous nature.
The U.S. offer indicated American officials were watching the situation with growing concern. But it also came as the U.S. seeks to strengthen its ties to the new ruling coalition, which this week managed to force longtime American ally Pervez Musharraf to quit as president.
The U.S. also has pushed Pakistan to root out insurgents from the tribal areas, and has frowned on its attempts to seek peace deals with fighters instead of resorting to force.
Bajur is considered a potential hiding place for Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri. Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik says last week that Pakistani intelligence has reports that about 3,000 armed fighters are present in Bajur.
The fighters include Pakistanis, Afghan Taliban and Central Asians.
SAPA-AP
(source: VOCfm Online)
A decision by the South African government to deport an El Al security official for overstepping their bounds has been hailed by the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) and Media Review Network (MRN). The two organisations have for the last two years been waging a battle to have action taken against the airline’s security officials who have notoriously been responsible for racial profiling and interrogating South African citizens who were trying to get to Palestine. Malick said the "bold" move showed political will and determination that no other government – who have faced similar challenges – have been willing to show.
"We must congratulate the SA government who have shown real political will and determination, because this is a global phenomenon where Israel has been violating rights of many international airlines for many years. For example, there have been many complaints from Muslims travelling through New York, Paris, Vienna and Geneva specifically. None of those complaints were dealt with by those airlines or their governments. So alhamdulilah, as South Africans we can be proud that our country has taken the lead and shown that we won’t tolerate such violation against our citizen."