NEWS,29.09.2012

US embassy warning: Philippines on alert

Philippine security forces were on stepped-up alert on Saturday after the US embassy issued an emergency advisory about an alleged threat against Americans in the capital."As a matter of precaution, we have augmented security," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said. "Police visibility has been heightened."The US embassy said in its advisory that the "threat against American citizens in metropolitan Manila ... has been detected by reliable security forces" but it did not give details on the nature of a possible attack."This threat remains in effect until October 10," the embassy said in the advisory posted on its website on Friday.Britain, Australia and Canada also issued warnings to their citizens, citing the US advisory."Any attack could be indiscriminate, and we advise British nationals to exercise particular caution and extra vigilance in places frequented by expatriates and foreign nations," Britain's advisory said.Australia stressed the need for its citizens to avoid travelling to the conflict-wracked southern region of Mindanao, and Canada urged its citizens to be "extremely vigilant and increase their personal security awareness"."Bomb attacks could occur at any time in Manila and other key cities," Canada said in its advisory. "Targets could include places frequented by foreigners, such as large shopping malls and convention centres."Philippine police earlier stepped up security at the US embassy in Manila after violent protests in several countries over a US amateur film considered insulting to Islam.

Last Western detainee leaves Gitmo

The last Western detainee held at the Guantanamo Bay US military prison has returned to Canada after a decade in custody and has been transferred to a maximum security prison in Canada where he awaits parole, Canada's public safety minister said on Saturday.Vic Toews said that 26-year-old Omar Khadr arrived at a Canadian military base on a US government plane early on Saturday and was transferred to the Millhaven maximum security prison in Bath, Ontario.Khadr pleaded guilty in 2010 to killing a US soldier in Afghanistan and was eligible to return to Canada from Guantanamo Bay last October under terms of a plea deal. Khadr was 15 when he was captured in 2002 in Afghanistan, and has spent a decade at the Guantanamo prison set up on the US naval base in Cuba to hold suspected terrorists after the September 11, 2001 attacks. He received an eight-year sentence in 2010 after being convicted of throwing a grenade that killed Army Sergeant 1st Class Christopher Speer during a 2002 firefight.Toews noted that the US government initiated the transfer and suggested that Canada had little choice but to accept him under Canadian law."Omar Khadr is a known supporter of the al-Qaeda terrorist network and a convicted terrorist," Toews said. "Omar Khadr was born in Canada and is a Canadian citizen. As a Canadian citizen, he has a right to enter Canada after the completion of his sentence."John Norris, Khadr's Canadian lawyer, has said Khadr would be eligible for parole as early as the spring of 2013. It will be up to Canada's national parole board to release him, Toews said."I am satisfied the Correctional Service of Canada can administer Omar Khadr's sentence in a manner which recognises the serious nature of the crimes that he has committed and ensure the safety of Canadians is protected during incarceration," Toews said.

Iran condemns US for taking group off terror list

Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of Iranian opposition party National Council of Resistance of Iran, smiles as she attends an international conference on Iran policy in Brussels. Maryam Rajavi, the Paris-based head of the exiled opposition group, said in an interview that she hopes the organization can now have the ear of the world's diplomats to help bolster its bid to overthrow Iran's clerical regime. She stressed that its goal was to replace the Islamic Republic with a democratic government Iran condemned on Saturday the Obama administration for taking an Iranian militant group formerly allied with Hussein off the U.S. terrorism list, saying it shows Washington's "double standards."The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), which began as a guerrilla movement fighting Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, helped overthrow the monarch in 1979 then quickly fell out with the Islamic Republic's first leader, Khomeini. It fought in the 1980s alongside Saddam's forces in the eight-year Iran-Iraq war but disarmed after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.The State Department delisted the group on Friday, meaning that any assets the MEK has in the United States are unblocked and Americans can do business with the organization. On Saturday, at their Paris headquarters, MEK members gathered to celebrate, tossing flower petals and displaying photos of members killed in the past 15 years."We call on the international community to respect the will of the Iranian people for a regime change in Iran," Maryam Rajavi, the Paris-based head of the exiled opposition group, said Saturday.Iranian State TV criticized the decision, saying that the U.S. considered the MEK "good terrorists" and claims Washington is using the group to work against Tehran. State radio said the move highlights President Barack Obama's anti-Iranian sentiments."There is much evidence of the group being involved in terrorist activities. Delisting them shows America's double standard policy on terrorism," state TV said. The U.S. distinguishes between "good and bad terrorists" and the MEK are now "good terrorists because the U.S. is using them against Iran," the report also said, adding that Washington and Israel use the group to spy on Iran's nuclear program.The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has denied the claims, saying the program is peaceful and is intended for electricity generation and scientific research.The State Department said the MEK hasn't committed terror for more than a decade. The group has also complied with demands that over 3,000 of its once-armed members abandon their base in Iraq near the Iranian border for a camp outside Baghdad, an essential step to ending their decades-long presence in Iraq.The group claims it is seeking regime change through peaceful means, aiming to replace Tehran's clerical system with a secular government.However, a senior State Department official suggested that removing MEK from the U.S. terrorist list does not translate into a shared common front against the Islamic Republic. The official said Washington does not view MEK as an opposition movement that can promote democratic values in Iran. The official on Friday briefed reporters on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter.In a rare interview on Friday, Rajavi said "the most important impact ... will be seen inside Iran.""The balance of power is going to change. For example, the first message for the Iranian people will be they won't fear increasing their activity and increasing their demonstrations," she said. The fear "will evaporate ... and that will lead to the expansion of anti-regime activities within Iran."Iran says MEK is responsible for the deaths of more than 12,000 Iranians over the past three decades, including senior government officials.The MEK spent huge sums of money over years lobbying for removal from the U.S. terror list, holding rallies in European capitals and elsewhere that featured luminaries like former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge from the administration of George W. Bush. Former House Speaker and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was among those recently welcomed by the MEK to Paris.The group was protected in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, but its members are disliked by the new Iraqi government, dominated by Shiite Muslims like those in Iran.The United States had insisted the MEK's members leave Camp Ashraf, their home in Iraq, as a condition for removal from the terrorist list. All but several hundred militants are now located in Camp Liberty, a former U.S. base outside Baghdad, looking for placement in third countries.The MEK was removed from the European Union's terrorist list in 2009.

NEWS,05.04.2012.

Retiree's suicide jolts Greece, triggers violence

A Greek retiree shot himself dead in Athens' main square Wednesday, blasting politicians over the country's financial crisis in a suicide note that triggered violent clashes hours later between police and anti-austerity protesters. Riot police fired tear gas and flash grenades after protests attended by some 1,500 people turned violent, and youths hurled rocks and petrol bombs outside Parliament. Authorities reported no injuries or arrests. The 77-year-old retired pharmacist drew a handgun and shot himself in the head near a subway exit on central Syntagma Square which was crowded with commuters, police said. The square, opposite Parliament, has become the focal point of frequent public protests against Greece's two-year austerity campaign. The incident, during morning rush hour, jolted public opinion and quickly entered political debate, with the prime minister and the heads of both parties backing Greece's governing coalition expressing sorrow. "A pharmacist ought to be able to live comfortably on his pension," said Vassilis Papadopoulos, a spokesman for the "I won't pay" group. "So for him to reach the point of suicide out of economic hardship means a lot. It shows how the social fabric is unraveling." Greece has relied on international rescue loans since May 2010. To secure them, Athens implemented harsh austerity measures, slashing pensions and salaries while repeatedly raising taxes. But the belt-tightening worsened the recession and led to thousands of job losses that left one in five Greeks unemployed. "As a Greek, I am truly shocked," Dimitris Giannopoulos, an Athens doctor, said before the protest. "I am shocked because I see that (the government is) destroying my dignity ... and the only thing they care about are bank accounts." Police said a handwritten note was found on the retired pharmacist's body in which he attributed his decision to the debt crisis. According to a text of the note published by local media, the man said the government had made it impossible for him to survive on the pension he had paid into for 35 years. "I find no other solution than a dignified end before I start searching through the trash for food," read the note. Police did not confirm whether it was genuine. Greece has seen an increase in suicides over the past two years of economic hardship, during which the country repeatedly teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. Police did not release the pharmacist's name and offered few other details. By Wednesday evening, dozens of written messages had been pinned to the tree under which the man shot himself, some reading: "It was a murder, not a suicide," and "Austerity kills." Hundreds of protesters made their way across the street from the square to outside Parliament and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, chanting: "This was not a suicide, it was a state-perpetrated murder" and "Blood flows and seeks revenge." Dozens of riot police stood guard. Papadopoulos, the protest organizer, said the suicide shows Greeks can take no more austerity. "This suicide is political in nature and heavy in symbolism. It's not like a suicide at home," Papadopoulos said in a telephone interview. "There was a political suicide note, and it happened in front of a clearly political site, Parliament, where the austerity measures are approved." Prime Minister Lucas Papademos issued a statement as protesters gathered at the site of the suicide. "It is tragic for one of our fellow citizens to end his life," he said. "In these difficult hours for our society we must all  the state and the citizens  support the people among us who are desperate." Government spokesman Pantelis Kapsis described the incident as "a human tragedy," but said it should not become part of the political debate. "I don't know the exact circumstances that led that man to his act," Kapsis said. "I believe we must all remain calm and show respect for the true events, which we do not yet fully know." Evangelos Venizelos, leader of the Socialist party, said the suicide "is so overwhelming that it renders any political comment unbecoming and cheap." "Let us reflect on the condition of the country and of our society in terms of solidarity and cohesion," said Venizelos, who served as finance minister for eight months before resigning to lead the Socialists. Conservative party head Antonis Samaras said the tragedy highlighted the urgency of getting Greece out of the crisis. "Unfortunately, this is not the first (suicide)," he said. "They have reached record levels." More protests are planned Thursday.

NEWS,24.03.2012.

French intelligence under fire over al Qaeda shooter

The French government has been forced to reject accusations that intelligence lapses allowed a young Muslim with a violent criminal record, spotted twice in Afghanistan, to become the first al Qaeda-inspired killer to strike on its soil.Hardened by battling Islamic militants from its former North African colony of Algeria, France's security services have long been regarded as among the most effective in Europe, having prevented militant attacks on French soil for the last 15 years.Opposition politicians, including far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, suggested that negligence or errors had permitted Mohamed Merah, 23, to carry out three deadly shootings within 10 days before he was identified, located and killed.But Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the police and intelligence agencies had done an exemplary job, and Interior Minister Claude Gueant said there had been no grounds for arresting the gunman or restricting his movements prior to this month's attacks, despite him being on a US "no-fly" list."Resolving a criminal case of this importance in 10 days, I believe that's practically unprecedented in the history of our country," Fillon told RTL radio.In an interview with the daily Le Figaro to be published on Saturday, Gueant said people could not be interrogated for having criminal thoughts."Neither he, nor those that he frequented, had ever shown the least sign of being dangerous," he said, adding that many people were on US no-fly lists simply for having visited countries like Pakistan. "I remind you that this man was French and therefore it was impossible to forbid him to move around in France."Foreign Minister Alain Juppe had appeared to acknowledged on Thursday that there were grounds to question possible security flaws, saying: "We need to bring some clarity to this."Merah shot dead three Jewish children and four adults in three attacks despite having been under surveillance by the DCRI domestic intelligence agency, which questioned him as recently as November."Since the DCRI was following Mohamed Merah for a year, how come they took so long to locate him?" Socialist party security spokesman Francois Rebsamen asked on the JDD.fr website.Merah's elder brother Abdelkader, 29, who is being questioned by police, was also on a security watch list after being linked with the smuggling of Jihadist militants into Iraq in 2007, government officials said.The left-leaning daily Liberation asked in an editorial whether the intelligence services had not "failed miserably"."How could they have so underestimated the potential danger of an individual they already knew?"Merah, a French citizen of Algerian extraction, amassed a cache of at least eight guns under the noses of French intelligence, including several Colt .45 pistols of the kind he used in the shootings, but also at least one Uzi submachine gun, a Sten gun and a pump action shotgun.In Washington, two US officials said Merah was on a US government "no fly" list, barring him from boarding any US-bound aircraft. His name had been on the list for some time.Rebsamen said that after the shooting of two paratroopers in Montauban, near Toulouse, on March 15, Merah's name was on top of a DCRI list of 20 people to be particularly closely watched in the southwestern Midi-Pyrenees region. Yet the agency appeared to have lost trace of him.Investigators only tracked down Merah on Tuesday, a day after he had shot dead three children and a rabbi at a Jewish school. Gueant has said Merah was positively identified when a police helicopter overflew his home and he came to the window.Merah was shot dead by a sniper after a gun battle with police on Thursday that ended a more than 30-hour siege at his Toulouse apartment. An autopsy showed the shootout left his body riddled with bullets, including two deadly shots to the head and abdomen, a legal source said on Friday.The founder of the GIGN elite police force, which was not involved in the raid, criticised the RAID special commandos for failing to capture Merah alive, and said they should have used tear gas to overpower him."How can it be that the top police unit fails to capture a man who is alone?" Christian Prouteau, who headed the GIGN in the 1980s, told regional daily Ouest France. "They should have pumped him with tear gas. He wouldn't have lasted five minutes."Police came up with his name when a list of 576 people who viewed an Internet advertisement placed by the shooter's first victim was compared with the DCRI's watchlist on Monday and led them to the IP address of Merah's mother.He had, however, been known to the Central Directorate of Interior Intelligence (DCRI) - the powerful super agency created by President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008 - since 2010. Merah first visited Afghanistan that year, was stopped at a checkpoint by Afghan police in Kandahar province and sent back to France by American forces.His second visit ended after three months last October when he contracted hepatitis and returned home, according to the public prosecutor in charge of the case.He was interviewed by DCRI agents in Toulouse in November but told them he had been on holiday - and even showed them photographs, prosecutor Francois Molins said.Merah told police negotiators at his besieged home on Wednesday that he trained at an al Qaeda camp in the lawless Pakistani border region of Waziristan during the same trip.Gueant already rejected accusations of intelligence slip-ups on Thursday, saying: " The DCRI follows lots of people involved in radical Islam. Expressing ideas, espousing Salafist beliefs, is not a sufficient reason to arrest someone."Although Merah could not have been arrested without proof of criminal intent, critics say authorities could have taken intermediate steps. French anti-terrorist law allows for the telephones of suspects to be tapped without judicial approval on the authority of the prime minister and an advisory panel.Le Pen suggested the DCRI may have missed the gunman partly because it had been diverted by Sarkozy's government to snoop on journalists and political opponents.The agency's head, Bernard Squarcini, is under investigation himself for ordering the illegal surveillance of Le Monde reporters' telephones.Squarcini said in an interview with Le Monde that security officials had naturally asked themselves whether they had missed clues or could have acted differently or faster."But it was impossible to say on Sunday evening (after the first shooting on March 11) 'It's Merah, let's get him'."He also said Merah's attack on the Jewish school had been a spur-of-the-moment decision after the gunman failed to find a soldier he planned to kill, according to his conversation with police negotiators during the siege of his home.He said there were no signs Merah belonged to any radical Islamist network and he appeared to have turned fanatic alone.While allies Britain and Spain have suffered major militant attacks in the last decade, following the US-led NATO invasion of Afghanistan to topple the Taliban, France had not seen a major attack on its soil since the mid-1990s.The Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA) carried out a wave of attacks, including the bombing of a crowded commuter train in July 1995 which killed eight and injured 150 people.The rise of al Qaeda, based in Afghanistan, posed a new challenge to French security services more used to watching Algerian-related militants, often with connections in what some French officials called "Londonistan".French-born Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States as one of the conspirators in the Sept. 11, 2001 al Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington and French-born Muslims were also active among Jihadi militants in Iraq.The terror alert in France was raised after al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden singled it out as one of the worst offenders against Islam in October 2010.But despite a spate of kidnappings of French citizens abroad, there were no attacks in mainland France. Officials say the intelligence services foiled several plots.