What the BBC won't show: Israel Targets Children

Yesterday (15 July 2006) Israel gave the people of Ter Hafra village in South Lebanon two hours to leave their village or face destruction. Those who were able to flee went to the nearby UN base. The UN refused to shelter these children, not wanting to take responsibility after the Qana massacre in 1996 when Israel massacred the civilians taking shelter in the UN headquaters. Left on the open road without shelter these fleeing civilians made easy picking for the Israeli airforce with their US donated F-16 fighter planes. Most of the victims were children, their bodies burnt in the precision targeted missle attack.

The photos are from Associated Press but it seems no western media is prepared to show them.

Bakar Bendera Israel & AS

Pemuda UMNO Perak bakar bendera Israel, AS

IPOH 26 Julai – Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO Perak hari ini membakar bendera Israel dan Amerika Syarikat (AS) sebagai tanda bantahan terhadap penindasan ke atas rakyat Palestin dan Lebanon.

Sambil menyifatkan Israel dan AS sebagai musuh nombor satu dunia, lebih 150 pemimpin Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO dari 24 bahagian melakukan tindakan itu di pekarangan Dataran Bangunan UMNO Perak di sini.

Ketua Pemuda UMNO negeri, Zainol Fadzi Paharuddin yang mengetuai acara membakar bendera beramai-ramai itu turut melaungkan kata-kata ‘Jahanam Israel dan jahanam Amerika’ sebagai tanda protes.

Mereka mendesak AS dan sekutunya supaya tidak menggunakan kuasa veto yang berat sebelah dalam menyelesaikan konflik di Gaza dan Tebing Barat dengan mendesak Israel meninggalkan kawasan yang dicerobohi.

Di samping itu, mereka juga menggesa Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) supaya tidak hanya berdiam diri, sebaliknya menghantar pasukan pengaman ke Tebing Barat serta-merta dan meneruskan usaha gencatan senjata.

Menurut Zainol Fadzi, Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO negeri juga mahukan Pertubuhan Persidangan Islam (OIC), Pergerakan Negara-Negara Berkecuali (NAM) dan ASEAN menyuarakan penentangan terhadap kezaliman Israel.

“Kami mahukan ketiga-tiga pertubuhan ini yang dipengerusikan oleh Malaysia bersatu mendesak Setiausaha Negara Amerika Syarikat, Condoleezza Rice yang akan hadir ke Persidangan ASEAN di Kuala Lumpur mempengaruhi Israel menghentikan kekejamannya.

UM 27.07.2006

Bakal Syuhada?

3 pengebom Bali fail rayuan hukuman mati

JAKARTA 26 Julai – Tiga warga Indonesia yang dijatuhi hukuman mati berikutan serangan bom di Bali pada 2002, akan memfailkan rayuan terakhir kepada pihak pendakwa bagi meminta hukuman mati mereka dilewatkan ke bulan depan.

Ketiga-tiga mereka ialah Imam Samudra, 36, Amrozi Nurhasyim, 43, dan Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas, 46.

Mereka merupakan antara 30 individu yang disabit bersalah mengebom kelab malam di pulau itu dan dikatakan mempunyai hubung kait dengan rangkaian Al-Qaeda dan Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).

Serangan itu mengorbankan 202 orang, kebanyakannya pelancong asing.

Salah seorang peguam pesalah terbabit, Wiranan Adnan berkata, dia akan memfailkan rayuan kepada Mahkamah Agung dalam masa terdekat.

“Peguam Negara harus berhati-hati, kami akan memfailkan kajian semula kehakiman,’’ katanya.

Wiranan bagaimanapun tidak mendedahkan dasar rayuan itu, namun peguam bela pesalah yang lain juga bercadang mencabar keputusan hukuman mati itu ekoran pesalah dikatakan mencabul undang-undang berkenaan selepas serangan tersebut.

Di bawah Perlembagaan Indonesia, penangguhan tarikh hukuman tidak dibenarkan.

Kesemua pesalah terbabit dijadual menjalani hukuman mati pada akhir Ogos ini, namun jika peguam masing-masing memfailkan rayuan, hukuman itu mungkin tidak akan dijalankan.

Sementara itu, tiga pesalah terbabit berkata, mereka tidak takut menghadapi kematian, malah mahu hukuman itu dilaksanakan.

Mereka juga berkata, tidak akan meminta belas kasihan daripada Presiden iaitu satu proses yang akan mengambil masa selama bertahun-tahun. – AP

UM 27.07.2006

Pelampau Israel

Israel bom rumah, masjid

BEIRUT: Seorang pegawai kanan Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) semalam berkata, Israel melanggar undang-undang kemanusiaan kerana mengebom kawasan perumahan di Beirut yang turut menempatkan ibu pejabat Hizbullah.


“Ia amat menakutkan. Saya tidak sedar yang kena bom (bukan satu bangunan) tetapi beberapa blok bangunan yang mengandungi kediaman,” Jan Egeland, penyelaras bantuan kecemasan PBB, memberitahu wartawan selepas melawat daerah Haret Hreik yang teruk musnah dibedil Israel.

“Ia adalah satu pencabulan undang-undang kemanusiaan. Kemusnahan yang dialami adalah lebih besar daripada apa yang saya bayangkan,” kata Egeland.

Pesawat Israel mengugurkan bom ke atas kawasan itu hampir setiap malam sejak memulakan serangan terhadap Lubnan pada 12 Julai lalu. Kali terakhir kawasan itu dibedil ialah pagi semalam, kata penduduk yang masih belum meninggalkan daerah selatan Beirut itu.

Laporan mengatakan, Israel turut mengebom sebuah bangunan tiga tingkat yang turut menempatkan masjid di Beirut. Tentera Yahudi juga mengebom kilang, jalan raya dan jambatan di Baalbek menyebabkan seorang terbunuh, semalam.

Egeland berkata, 500,000 hingga satu juta orang memerlukan bantuan antarabangsa di Lubnan, tetapi menghantar bantuan memerlukan laluan selamat. “Setakat ini, Israel tidak memberi kami laluan selamat,” katanya.

Egeland bercadang mengunjungi Israel esok untuk merundingkan laluan selamat bagi penghantaran bantuan antarabangsa. Beliau menganggarkan, kira-kira AS$100 juta (RM360 juta) diperlukan sebagai bantuan kecemasan bagi mengelak berlakunya krisis kemanusiaan.

Serangan Israel terhadap Lubnan setakat ini membunuh 372 orang di Lubnan, kebanyakannya orang awam.

Sementara itu di HAIFA, lebih 12 roket Hizbullah disasarkan ke bandar utara Israel itu, dengan dua terbunuh dan 15 cedera.

Beberapa roket mengenai dua pangsapuri, sebuah rumah, kawasan industri dan beberapa kenderaan.

Seorang lelaki terbunuh ketika memandu keretanya, manakala seorang lagi terbunuh ketika berada dalam sebuah bangunan.

Serangan roket ke atas Haifa berlaku pada masa sama Menteri Luar Perancis, Philippe Douste-Blazy dan Menteri di Pejabat Luar Britain, Kim Howells melawat bandar itu dalam usaha mencari penyelesaian krisis.

Pegawai dari beberapa negara Kesatuan Eropah turut melawat Israel dan Lubnan bagi mencari persetujuan untuk memulakan gencatan senjata.

Namun, di Washington, Setiausaha Negara Amerika Syarikat, Condoleezza Rice, sebelum berlepas ke Asia Barat berkata, negaranya sedang berusaha untuk mencari penyelesaian yang berkekalan di Lubnan dan bukannya gencatan senjata. – Reuters/AFP

BH 24.07.2006

Who's a Terrorist?

Dad ... what's a terrorist?

By David Campbell April 23, 2004

Surely even a child can understand the difference between good and evil. Dad ... what's a terrorist? Well, according to the Oxford dictionary a terrorist is "a person who uses violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims". Which means that terrorists are very bad men and women who frighten ordinary people like us, and sometimes even kill them?

Why do they kill them? Because they hate them or their country. It's hard to explain ... it's just the way things are. For many different reasons a lot of people in our world are full of hate. Like the ones in Iraq who are capturing people and saying that they'll kill them if all the soldiers don't leave? Exactly! That's an evil thing called "blackmail".

Those innocent people are hostages, and the terrorists are saying that if governments don't do what they want the hostages will be killed. So was it blackmail when we said we'd attack Iraq and kill innocent people unless they told us where all their weapons were? No! Well ... yes, I suppose. In a way, But that was an "ultimatum" ... call it "good blackmail. Good blackmail? What's that? That's when it's done for good reasons. Those weapons were very dangerous and could have hurt a lot of people all over the world.

It was very important to find them and destroy them. But Dad ... there weren't any weapons. True. We know that now. But we didn't at the time. We thought there were. So was killing all those innocent people in Iraq a mistake? No. It was a tragedy, but we also saved a lot of lives. You see, we had to stop a very cruel man called Saddam Hussein from killing a great many ordinary Iraqi people. Saddam Hussein stayed in power by giving orders that meant thousands of people died or were horribly injured.

Mothers and fathers even children. Like that boy I saw on TV? The one who had his arms blown off by a bomb? Yes ... just like him. But we did that. Does that mean our leaders are terrorists? Good heavens, no! Whatever gave you that idea? That was just an accident. Unfortunately, innocent people get hurt in a war. You can't expect anything else when you drop bombs on cities. Nobody wants it to happen ... it's just the way things are. So in a war only soldiers are supposed to get killed? Well, soldiers are trained to fight for their country. It's their job, and they're very brave. They know that war is dangerous and that they might be killed. As soon as they put on a uniform they become a target. What uniforms do terrorists wear? That's just the problem ... they don't! We can't tell them apart from the civilians.

We don't know who we're fighting. And that's why so many innocent people are getting killed ... the terrorists don't follow the rules of war. War has rules? Oh, yes. Soldiers must wear uniforms. And you can't just suddenly attack someone unless they do something to you first. Then you can defend yourself. So that's why we attacked Iraq? Because Iraq attacked us first and we were just defending ourselves? Not exactly, Iraq didn't attack us ... but it might have. We decided to get in first. Just in case Iraq used those weapons we were talking about. The ones they didn't have? So we broke the rules of war?

Technically speaking, yes. But ... So if we broke the rules first, why isn't it OK for those people in Iraq who aren't wearing uniforms to break the rules? Well, that's different. We were doing the right thing when we broke the rules. But Dad ... how do we know we were doing the right thing? Our leaders ... Bush and Blair and Howard ... they told us it was the right thing. And if they don't know, who does? They say that something had to be done to make Iraq a better place. Is it a better place? I suppose so, but I don't know for sure. Innocent people are still being killed and these kidnappings are terrible things. I feel very sorry for the families of those poor hostages, but we simply can't give in to terrorists. We must stand firm. Would you say that if I was captured by terrorists?

Uh ... yes ... no ... I mean, it's very difficult ... So you'd let me be killed? Don't you love me? Of course! I love you very much. It's just that it's a very complicated issue and I don't know what I'd do ... Well, if somebody attacked us and bombed our house and killed you and Mum and Jamie I know what I'd do. What? I'd find out who did it and kill them. Any way I could. I'd hate them for ever and ever. And then I'd get in a plane and bomb their cities. But ... but ... you'd kill a lot of innocent people. I know. But it's war, Dad. And that's just the way things are. Remember?

David Campbell is a Melbourne writer

Israel Terorist!!!

Israeli strikes kill more Lebanese

BEIRUT, July 18 - Israeli aircraft have bombed Hezbollah positions in Lebanon for a sixth successive day; but the attacks have not stopped the Shia fighters from firing over 50 rockets at Israeli towns and cities.

In Lebanon, anger was also rising as the Israeli attacks killed at least 40 more civilians, taking the toll to over 200 by Monday evening.

The deadliest attacks came when Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a minibus in the town of Rmeileh, between Beirut and Saida. Twelve civilians were killed.

Reuters news agency reported that the vehicle was taking civilians away from the fighting and towards Beirut when the missile struck.

In Saida, Red Cross rescue workers also discovered on Monday the bodies of nine other civilians who were in a building stuck by bombs on Sunday.

The international community have appealed for calm amid growing calls to deploy a multinational military force to monitor and, if necessary, impose a ceasefire along the border.

Israel has said that it will continue to attack Hezbollah until the group stops firing missiles from Lebanon and releases two Israeli soldiers that it captured last Wednesday.

Israeli air attacks have been concentrated on the border region and areas surrounding the two port cities of Saida and Tyre.

Most strikes have been directed against Hezbollah military strongholds and weapons storage facilities.


Israeli artillery fires at southern Lebanon on 16 July


On Sunday Israel warned all Lebanese civilians to leave their homes in southern Lebanon ahead of the coming offensive.

Many have complied and have travelled north to seek relative safety in the capital Beirut and other major cities.

Israel’s Army Radio quoted Israel's chief of staff as saying that Israel planned to enforce a 1km (0.5 mile) "security zone" inside Lebanon to keep Hizbollah away from the border.

Hezbollah attacks

After killing eight Israeli civilians on Sunday, Hezbollah renewed its rocket attacks on Israeli towns and cities on Monday.

In Haifa, Israel’s third largest town where twenty rockets hit yesterday, five civilians were wounded when rockets badly damaged a residential building.

Short-range Katyusha rockets also wounded six people in the Galilee region of Western Israel. Others landed harmlessly in and around several towns in northern Israel including Acre and Tiberias.

Hezbollah attacks have killed 24 Israelis so far, including 12 civilians killed by rockets.

Negotiations

A United Nations team has also begun trying to broker a ceasefire as the world’s most powerful industrial nations called for an end to the fighting from the Group of Eight summit in St Petersburg.

The French prime minister, Dominic de Villepin called for “an immediate, humanitarian truce”.

Vijay Nambiar, who is leading a UN team to organise a ceasefire said there had been "some promising first efforts on the way forward” but added that “much diplomatic work needs to be done."

Nambiar will hold talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Tuesday.

Tony Blair, the British prime minister called for an international military force to separate the warring sides.


Israelis in a bomb shelter near the border with Lebanon


"The blunt reality is that this violence is not going to stop unless we create the conditions for the cessation of violence," said Blair, speaking at the G8 summit.

"The only way is if we have a deployment of international forces that can stop bombardment coming into Israel,” he said.

Officials from Iran, the main military and financial backer of Hezbollah, said that a cease-fire and a prisoner swap would be "an acceptable and fair" deal to resolve the conflict.

"In fact, there can be a cease-fire followed by a prisoner swap," said Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian foreign minister after talks with Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa in Damascus. - mks.

Wajah Hodoh AS

Puak Sunah kecam askar AS rogol gadis Iraq

BAGHDAD 2 Julai - Sebuah pertubuhan Sunah yang berpengaruh hari ini mengecam sekeras-kerasnya perbuatan sekumpulan askar Amerika Syarikat (AS) yang merogol seorang gadis Iraq sebelum membunuh mangsa itu dan keluarganya pada Mac lalu.

Persatuan Cendekiawan Islam berkata, perbuatan askar-askar AS itu mendedahkan “wajah hodoh AS yang sebenar.”

“Tindakan askar-askar AS yang merogol kemudian memotong mayat gadis itu sungguh memalukan dan akan terus kekal sebagai tanda yang memalukan bagi penceroboh-penceroboh,” katanya.

Para penyiasat AS percaya askar-askar terbabit telah merancang hampir seminggu mengenai serangan ke atas seorang gadis Iraq sebelum membunuh mangsa itu dan tiga ahli keluarganya di sebuah kawasan kira-kira 32 kilometer ke selatan Baghdad.

Seorang pegawai AS berkata, lima askar AS menceroboh masuk ke dalam rumah gadis itu.

Mangsa kemudiannya dipisahkan daripada tiga ahli keluarganya sebelum dirogol dan dibunuh dan mayatnya yang dikerat-kerat dibakar.

Seorang lagi pegawai AS berkata, tiga ahli keluarga gadis itu, termasuk seorang kanak-kanak, turut dibunuh.

“Kami mengecam sekeras-kerasnya jenayah yang sungguh hina ini. Tingkah laku yang diperlihatkan oleh tentera penceroboh ini dan perbuatan mereka menunjukkan wajah hodoh Amerika yang sebenar,’’ kata persatuan itu dalam satu kenyataan.

“Jenayah itu juga mendedahkan perisytiharan pihak penceroboh tentang kemanusiaan dan pembebasan adalah palsu.

“Kami menyeru seluruh dunia dan semua pertubuhan kemanusiaan menjadi saksi jenayah hina ini dan bertindak terhadap pencabulan Amerika yang melampau ini,’’ kata persatuan itu yang menentang keras kehadiran tentera Amerika di Iraq. – AP

UM - 03.07.2006