Civil Society censures wrong politics of TNA but urges people to vote for it

Civil Society censures wrong politics of TNA but urges people to vote for it.

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 September 2013, 09:13 GMT]

The Tamil civil society in the North, comprising of religious dignitaries, including the Mannaar Bishop, academics, doctors, student leaders and trade union activists, on Wednesday came with an open appeal urging the Tamil people to use the forthcoming Northern Provincial Council (NPC) elections to reject those who have been opposed to Tamil national aspirations and to vote for the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). Reminding that it is also essential to be selective on casting the preferential votes to those TNA candidates who have a real attachment and commitment to the Tamil national politics, the civil society appeal also rejected the crucial sections of TNA's election manifesto as sending a wrong message of guidance to the Tamil people and to the international community. 

Russia says NO PROOF Assad was behind chemical attack

Russia says NO PROOF Assad was behind chemical attack

August 21, 2013. REUTERS-Bassam Khabieh
By Alissa de Carbonnel

MOSCOW | Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:36am EDT

(Reuters) - Russia and France disagreed radically on Tuesday over a report by U.N. investigators into a chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of people in Syria, highlighting the problems agreeing on action at the United Nations Security Council.

Sitting beside French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius at a news conference in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the report had produced no proof that President Bashar al-Assad's troops carried out the August 21 attack and that Russia still suspected rebels forces were behind it.

Fabius took the opposite view, saying the report left no doubt that Assad's forces were to blame for the attack which Washington says killed more than 1,400 people. The United States has also blamed Syrian government forces.

Lavrov acknowledged that the investigators' report proved that chemical weapons had been used but that "there is no answer to a number of questions we have asked," including whether the weapons were produced in a factory or home-made.

"We have very serious grounds to believe that this was a provocation," Lavrov said after talks in Moscow between two countries with veto powers in the U.N. Security Council.

He said there had been "many provocations" by the rebels fighting Assad's government and added: "They were all aimed, over the last two years, at provoking foreign intervention."

Lavrov said the U.N. report should be examined not in isolation but along with evidence from sources such as the Internet and other media, including accounts from "nuns at a nearby convent" and a journalist who had spoken to rebels.

"We want the events of August 21 to be investigated dispassionately, objectively and professionally," he said.

After Lavrov spoke, Fabius, whose country has stood with U.S. President Barack Obama in backing military action against Syria, challenged Lavrov's interpretation by saying the result of the report was clear.

"When you look at the amount of sarin gas used, the vectors, the techniques behind such an attack, as well as other aspects, it seems to leave no doubt that the regime is behind it," Fabius said.

Lavrov and Fabius agreed there should be a renewed push for a political solution in Syria. The Russian minister also thanked France for supporting a U.S.-Russian deal which calls for Syria to account fully for its chemical weapons within a week and for the removal and destruction of the entire arsenal by mid-2014.

But the differences over culpability for the August 21 attack indicated the hurdles faced in translating the chemical weapons agreement into progress towards ending a civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people since March 2011.

FRANCE URGES VIGILANCE

Their comments also pointed to likely wrangling in the U.N. Security Council over the mechanism for enforcing the agreement, which Assad has accepted, and disputes over punishment for any violations.

Fabius, who went to Moscow to discuss a U.N. resolution that would frame the U.S.-Russian accord, said the agreement was an "important step forward but not the end of the story".

"There is a series of precise mechanisms that have to be placed into a U.N. decision. We spoke about this and it should be dealt with in the coming days. I insisted, like Sergei Lavrov, on the necessity to go quickly," he said.

But Lavrov cautioned that while the Security Council was to adopt a resolution supporting the chemical weapons deal, a separate resolution would be needed to authorize use of force in response to any new attack and after guilt was proven.

Along with diplomatic ally China, Russia has used its veto power three times to block Western-backed Security Council resolutions meant to push Assad out or muscle him into ending a conflict that began with a crackdown on protests.

Lavrov said putting too much pressure on Assad would encourage his opponents and hurt the chances for peace.

"The more frequently and loudly the declarations come from different capitals that Assad is a criminal, has no place in this world and his place is in court, the more unwilling to compromise the (opposition) coalition becomes," he said

Fabius suggested it was Assad who should be kept in line and that he must keep his promise to abandon chemical arms.

"We are not bellicose, but we must remain vigilant because it is vigilance and firmness that enabled Syria to change its position and will ensure tomorrow that its commitments are kept," he said.

(Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow and John Irish in Paris, Writing by Steve Gutterman, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Angus MacSwan)

வடக்கை 2 வருடங்களில் பெளத்த மயமாக்க பொது பல சேன திட்டம்

வடக்கை 2 வருடங்களில் பெளத்த மயமாக்கத் திட்டம் 

 "இன்னும் இரண்டு வருடங்களுக்குள் வடக்கு, கிழக்கு பகுதிகளை முற்று முழுதாக பெளத்த மயமாக்குவோம். இலங்கை முழுவதையும் பெளத்த கொள்கையின் கீழ் ஒரே சமூகமாக மாற்றும் திட்டத்தில் அங்கமாகவே இந்த நடவடிக்கை மேற்கொள்ளப்படவுள்ளது.''  என்று நேற்று சூளுரைத்தது பொதுபல சேனா.

இதற்காக பெளத்த அமைப்புகள் ஒன்றிணைந்து உடனடியாக நடைமுறைப்படுத்தவுள்ள வேலைத்திட்டத்தையும் பொது பலசேனா நேற்று உத்தியோ கபூர்வமாக வெளியிட்டது.

திட்ட வெளியீடு

ஒரு இலட்சம் தர்மபாலகர்கள்
2 ஆயிரம் பிக்குகள் அணி
2 ஆயிரம் பொதுக் கூட்டங்கள்
10 இலட்சம் கையேடுகள்
10 ஆயிரம் விகாரைகளில்  நடவடிக்கை
5 மாபெரும் யாத்திரைகள்


"பெளத்த தர்மத்தைப் பாதுகாக்க நாட்டிலுள்ள சிங்கள பெளத்தர்கள் அனைவரும் சர்வமதக் கொள்கையை எதிர்த்த அநாகாரிக தர்மபால போல் செயற்பட வேண்டும்.

இதற்கு அனைத்து பெளத்தர்களும் அரசியல் கட்சிப் பேதங்களைக் கடந்து எமக்கு ஆதரவளிக்க வேண்டும்'' என்று பொதுபல சேனாவின் பொதுச் செயலாளர் வண. கலபொடஅத்தே ஞானா சார தேரர் அழைப்பு விடுத்தார்.

தென்னிலங்கையில் பள்ளி வாசல்கள் மீது தாக்குதல் நடத்தி தன்னுடைய பெளத்த வெறியை வெளிப்படுத்தி வந்த அமைப்பான பொது பலசேனா தமிழர் தாயகப் பகுதிகளிலும் பாயத் தயாராகி விட்டதையே நேற்றைய அறிவிப்பு வெளிப்படுத்தி உள்ளது.

பெளத்த, சிங்கள மறுமலர்ச்சியாளரும், எழுத்தாளருமான அநாகரிக தர்மபாலவின் 149 ஆவது ஜனன தினத்தயொட்டி கொழும்பு, கிருலப் பனையிலுள்ள போதி பெளத்த நிலையத்தில் நேற்று நடத்திய ஊடகவியலாளர் சந்திப்பின் போதே அவர் மேற்கண்டவாறு தெரிவித்தார்.

அங்கு அவர் மேலும் தெரிவித்தவை வருமாறு:
"இலங்கைக்குச் சுதந்திரத்தைப் பெற்றுக் கொள்வதற்காக வெள்ளையர்களுடன் அன்று போராடிய எமது தலைவர் அநாகரிக தர்மபாலவின் 149ஆவது ஜனன தினமான இன்று (நேற்று) பெளத்தத்தைப் பாதுகாக்கும் வேலைத்திட்டத்தை நாம் ஆரம்பிக்கவுள்ளோம்.

சர்வமதக் கொள்கையையும், சிங்கள, தமிழ், முஸ்லிம் என அனைத்து இன மக்களுக்கும் இலங்கை சொந்தம் என்ற வாதங்களையும் எதிர்த்த அநாகரிக தர்மபால, விகாரைக்கு அருகில் கோவில், பள்ளிகள் உருவாகும் நிலை ஏற்படும் என்றார்.

அவர் அன்று கூறியது இன்று அப்படியே நடந்துள்ளது. எனவே, எமது இனம் முகங்கொடுத்துள்ள இந்த அபாயத்திலிருந்து அதை மீட்க பல தர்மபாலர்கள் எமக்குத் தேவை.

நாட்டிலுள்ள சிங்கள, பெளத்தர்கள் அனைவரும் அநாகரிக தர்மபால ஆகவேண்டும். அவருடைய கொள்கைகளினூடாக மட்டுமே பெளத்தத்தைக் காக்க முடியும். அத்துடன், பாணந்துறை வாதத்தையும் மீள உருவாக்க வேண்டும்.

பெளத்த கொள்கை நாடு
பெளத்த சாசனத்தைப் பாதுகாக்க அநாகரிக தர்மபாலவின் கொள்கைகளை வடக்கில் தற்போது சிங்களவர்கள் இல்லாததால், கிழக்கு உள்ளிட்ட நாடு முழுவதும் சமூகமயப்படுத்த வேண்டும்.

இதனூடாக சிங்கள பெளத்தர்களை தேசிய மட்டத்தில் ஒன்றிணைந்து பெளத்த கொள்கையின் கீழான சமூகத்தை உருவாக்குவோம். அத்துடன், ஒரு இலட்சம் தர்மபாலர்களையும் உருவாக்குவோம்.

இரண்டு வருடங்களில் நடைமுறைப் படுத்தவிருக்கும் இந்தத் திட்டத்தில் நாடு முழுவதும் இரண்டாயிரம் பொதுக் கூட்டங்களை நடத்தவுள்ளோம். தர்மபாலவின் கொள்கைகளை சமூகமயப்படுத்தி இரண்டாயிரம் பிக்குகளை உருவாக்கி, நாடு முழுவதுமுள்ள 10 ஆயிரம் விகாரைகளில் அதற்கான நடவடிக்கைகளை முன்னெடுக்கவுள்ளோம்.

மேலும் அநாகரிக தர்மபாலவின் கொள்கைகள் அடங்கிய 10 இலட்சம் கையேடுகளை விநியோகிக்க உள்ளதுடன், நாடளாவிய ரீதியில் 5 யாத்திரைகளையும் ஒழுங்குசெய்யவுள்ளோம்'' என்றார்.

இதன் போது, ஏனைய சிங்கள, பெளத்த அமைப்புகளையும் இந்த வேலைத்திட்டத்தில் பொதுபலசேனா இணைத்துக்கொள்ளுமா என்ற கேள்விக்கு அவர் பதிலளிக்கையில்,
""ஆம். இதுவரையில் பல சிங்கள, பெளத்த அமைப்புகளுடன் நாம் பேச்சு நடத்தியுள்ளோம்.

எமது நடவடிக்கைக்கு ஒத்துழைப்பு வழங்க அவை இணக்கம் தெரிவித்துள்ளன. இன்னும் பல அமைப்புகளுடனும் நாம் தற்போது பேசி வருகிறோம்.

நாட்டிலுள்ள அனைத்து சிங்கள பெளத்தர்களும் அரசியல் பேதங்களைக் கடந்து எமக்கு ஆதரவளிக்கவேண்டும்''  என்றார்.

வடக்கிலும் இந்தத் திட்டம் நடைமுறைப்படுத்தப்படுமா என்ற கேள்விக்குப் பதிலளிக்கையில், "யுத்த காலத்தில் புலிகளால் வடக்கிலிருந்து வெளியேற்றப்பட்ட சிங்களவர்கள் அங்கு மீளக் குடியமர்த்தப்பட வேண்டும்.

சிங்களவர்கள் அங்கு குடியமர்த்தப்பட்டவுடன், அங்கும் எமது நடவடிக்கையை மேற்கொள்வோம்''  என்றார்.

- See more at: http://onlineuthayan.com/News_More.phpid=428402303318844434#sthash.27MbSGrc.dpuf

ஐ.நா. முன்றலில் தமிழர் புதிய முழக்கம்!

We Want :'' TAMIL EELAM! ''

Our Leader :'' Pirabakaran! ''

Sri Lankan Government: '' War Criminal! ''

UN,UN : ''We want JUSTICE!''

====         தமிழில்                                         ====

எமக்குத்தேவை: தமிழீழம்!

எமதுதலைவர்: பிரபாகரன்!

சிறீலங்கா அரசு: போர்க்குற்றவாளி!

ஐ.நாவே,ஐ.நாவே:நீதியை நிலை நாட்டு!

==========================================

Full text of HT's exclusive interview with Lankan President Rajapaksa

Full text of HT's exclusive interview with Lankan President Rajapaksa

Padma Rao Sundarji, Hindustan Times   September 17, 2013

First Published: 03:13 IST(17/9/2013) | Last Updated: 03:17 IST(17/9/2013)


HT: Mr. Rajapaksa, in May 2009, your government and army managed to do something all previous governments in Sri Lanka had failed to do: end the 30-year-long civil war - one of the most brutal in the world - and decimate the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). What did you and your army do differently ?

Rajapaksa: It was sheer determination. The whole country had faced the war but I had the advantage over younger generations of having watched it from the day it started. When the LTTE were weak, they always asked for a ceasefire. Then, the international community intervened, the LTTE got powerful and - attacked all over again. So we knew and recognised that pattern. Our army too, knew, that as long as there are no political interferences as before, they could defeat them. We did not interfere and they succeeded in their endeavour.

HT: What would you list as your greatest achievement since the end of that brutal war which saw almost 120,000 people killed ?

Rajapaksa: Releasing all the ex-LTTE cadres and development of the North and East that were battered by the war. We released the cadres because we believe that their inherent Hindu culture will help them adapt and assimilate into the culturally similar Buddhist mainstream and that society will help them too. Many have joined the army, and several LTTE cadres have got married. I just got back from a train trip on board the Yala Devi, the new train to Killinochchi. I was taking the trip after 23 years, as were many others. Some of the passengers came up to me and cried tears of joy.

HT: Since the end of the war in May 2009,  the international community has focussed on the last and most brutal phase, during which allegedly about 30000 civilians were killed in crossfire. The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) is charged with committing human rights excesses. India has backed several international resolutions condemning Sri Lanka.
 
Rajapaksa: But why are they examining only the last phase? Why don't they go into all 30 years of war when the LTTE committed outrageous human rights excesses? As for the last phase, why don't they talk at all about how many civilians were trying desperately to come over to this side, when they were shot from behind by the terrorists? We provided ample evidence of how people who wanted to escape from the Tigers were being shot by them. If we were murdering them too, why would they have tried to cross over?  They would have waited there with Prabhakaran.

HT: The Geneva Convention applies to warring states but not to non-state actors like the LTTE. Given that there are civil war and sectarian wars all over the world and from the point of view of a human rights lawyer, do you think there ought to be amendments to those laws?

Rajapaksa: All international laws are made by big, powerful countries but applied only on weaker ones like ours. The countries who make those laws escape themselves. In fact, such countries are laws unto themselves. They discuss, they decide, they apply. Certainly that system needs to be revamped.

HT: Many influential members of the worldwide 887000-strong Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora who funded and armed the LTTE are still floating and keeping the concept of 'Eelam' alive. How are you tackling that problem?

Rajapaksa: It is not only the diaspora, but also people who escaped from here – after committing crimes of some kind or another – and got asylum in those countries. We have discussed this with many of their host countries, who are among those who declare that 40000 persons - either dead or missing in the civil war- are yet to be accounted for.

But unfortunately, we can't trace those people who escaped later. We only know that they have gone to Europe - even to small countries like Austria, Switzerland  but also Canada.

HT: Switzerland has about 50000 citizens of Sri Lankan Tamil origin, most of the funding for the LTTE is said to have come from that country. Bern started expatriating them to Sri Lanka after the end of the war but stopped recently, because the Swiss government feels it cannot guarantee their safety in Sri Lanka.

Rajapaksa: Most of those Tamil refugees who live there today were sent by the LTTE to earn money and give 40%-50% to the LTTE. In that sense, you could call them employees of the LTTE. But I wonder why the Swiss government doesn't just keep them there as citizens, if it feels they will be threatened here? We have no objections. If anybody wants to migrate, of course they can. Why should I worry about them? Anybody who sets foot in Sri Lanka is safe. We guarantee their safety.

HT: But all countries hosting Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka accuse you of human rights abuses. What would your message be to all those who have nurtured and tolerated money transfers in the name of a 'freedom struggle' to the LTTE -which bought weapons - all these decades?

Rajapaksa: I say: be fair. Be objective. Don't just come to conclusions based on one- sided "evidence." I understand that those governments are under pressure because these Tamils are now voters and funders of politicians in many cases, who are willing to keep human rights allegations against us and the Eelam issue alive in every available international forum.  This is the crux of the problem. One day, the people who are harbouring them will learn a lesson too. This is a warning I can give them.

HT: UNHRC Commissioner Navi Pillay has been at the forefront of criticism about the alleged human rights abuses by the Sri Lankan government and army. She was here recently and given access to everyone she wanted to meet. She is soon to write a report. Did you perceive a change in her attitude by the end of her visit to see the developments in the north and northeast?

Rajapaksa: During her courtesy call here, she seemed happy and said little. She didn't ask me anything. By then, she had seen what we have achieved in the former warzone within four years. We asked her about these allegations but she never said a word. Had she complained I would have immediately taken action. Others in my government asked her too but she gave no concrete instances. The truth is: this, too, is a campaign that was launched by the sympathisers of the LTTE even before she came to Sri Lanka. There is
absolutely no evidence. Now I ask you, if we wanted to attack those people she met, why would we have let her meet them at all? The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is sustaining this charge now. But of course, all oppositional politicians would oppose and falsely charge the government - that happens in every country. We have just connected Jaffna to the power grid at a cost of 14.2 billion rupees. Why did we spend that money? Because we want to develop the area and give electricity to people who had earlier destroyed everything themselves.  However, the general feeling here is that she had already written up her report before she came here and will, at best, add a few words. Still, I hope it will be a fair one.

HT: The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which was close to the LTTE, is contesting the Northern Province election and has released its manifesto. It wants the full implementation of the 13th amendment with, among other things - land and police powers to the council. Critics say it virtually calls for a separate Tamil state. What is your view on the manifesto?

Rajapaksa: I am disappointed. But this is not new. They have used this same tactic before to rouse the feelings of innocent people and get their votes. Earlier, they used to ask the Tamils to accept the LTTE as their true representatives. Now, they are saying the same thing but in a different way. Except that now, the Tigers are no longer there.

This manifesto is a clear attempt by the TNA to divide the country. And yet, I don't think any country will help them to do so. India definitely will not.

HT: Additionally, the TNA are asking for the army to be withdrawn completely from the North and Northeast.
Rajapaksa: If people in Hambantota in the south ask me to remove the army, can I do that? The army is all over in every country. Take India, in Delhi, in Chennai, etc. the army owns tracts of land. It's the same thing here. In any case, where should we put the army? We can't throw them out! Besides, don't forget, they have done a lot of terrific work up there - even taking on tasks that the people there themselves are loathe to touch - like building latrines, etc.

HT: But how about a phased withdrawal, drawn out over years?

Rajapaksa: We have already scaled down tremendously and reduced their presence to the airbase in Palaly and the port in Kankesanthurai.  I consider Sri Lanka one country.

Whether the army is in southern Hambantota or in northern Jaffna, it is the same thing for me. So why are they so worried? Besides, the geographical boundaries and the sheer tenacity of the long war in the North means that the army will never be withdrawn completely. It is the same in many other countries.

HT: How are you going to ensure that the elections on Saturday are free and fair? There are already complaints that SLA troops are intimidating voters.

Rajapaksa: There are going to observers from both South Asian countries as well as the Commonwealth stationed there. Besides, the army is keeping an eye too. I will say this once and for all: the army is not participating in the polls but merely providing security. How could I have kept my promise of holding the elections on September 21 unless there is guaranteed security?

HT: But for all your intentions, the TNA is slated to win the polls, not your UPFA.  So what gave you the confidence to still go ahead with the elections?

Rajapaksa: My confidence stems from the fact that all are entering the fray, including the TNA. When I was in Jaffna recently, some candidates of the TNA crossed over to us reporting discrimination against them because they were from lower castes and that 80% of the TNA's candidates were from the upper caste. They spoke in Tamil and denounced the policies of the TNA in public. But it is going to be a good battle. May the best party win.

HT: Relations between New Delhi and Colombo are no longer as close as before, largely due to the demands of politicians in Tamil Nadu.

Rajapaksa: I cannot comment on South India's politics. But politicians understand politicians so I give New Delhi a wide margin.  And our relationship with India is still very good.

HT: But in the interim, your relationship with China is better. The Chinese are assisting you - among other things - with satellite technology. India is worried that they may be used to spy or jam Indian satellites.

Rajapaksa:.  Who is going to develop this country? Should that be my aim or should I just wait in the name of good relationships with other countries? I will take the help of whoever offers it. India and China may have their differences. But having said that, our relationship with India will not change. Who controls business in this country? All wholesale businesses -food, clothes, saris and gold are India-aligned. A total of 43 CEOs of 46 International companies operating in Sri Lanka are Indians. This despite the fact that our policy is to give jobs to qualified Sri Lankans if they fit the bill.  But let it be known that India's fears are unfounded. We will never allow any country to act against India in any way from our soil.

HT: But surely the Tamils of Tamil Nadu worry you?

Rajapaksa: Yes. Because the actions by Tamil Nadu and the messages that come from there to the people of this country are that they are trying to encourage separatism in Sri Lanka.  I can understand it from the political point of view but the general public doesn't see it that way. They interpret it as not Tamil Nadu, but India trying to split Sri Lanka. Then there is the history of the LTTE to add to that fear: the fact that they were trained in India.

HT: Is the LTTE well and truly decimated? Or is there still a latent feeling of separatism among Sri Lankan Tamils ?

Rajapaksa: The average people do not have any such feelings. They are very happy. What they want is to be in a peaceful country and earn their livelihoods.  But my fear is that there politicians who still sympathize with the LTTE and want to divide this country. They might try to poison the younger generation.

HT: You are accused of having too many family members in government, not implementing the recommendations of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in full, of a Sinhala colonization of the Tamils of northern Sri Lanka.

Rajapaksa : Please don't forget that there have been Rajapaksas in parliament since the forties - this is not the first time. In any case, all Rajapaksas in positions of power today were elected. Which country in this region does not have political families? We had the Bandaranaikes, you have yours in India too. Unfortunately, those criticising our implementation of the LLRC don't know what they are talking about because they have not been here and seen for themselves. There are some things we cannot and will not
implement - like having two national anthems, which was one recommendation. How can we possibly allow that ? Could India have 35 national anthems?  And why would we need to colonize our own country? After all there were so many Sinhalas already in the North and Northeast before the war began. Ninety percent of Colombo's population is of Tamil origin. Does that mean they are colonizing Colombo? My own Tamil relations have taken a lot of land here. My niece's husband owns land in southern Sri Lanka and I frequently
pull his leg about it. These are politically motivated stories spread by those who don't know Sri Lanka. I speak Tamil up in the North. Is that colonization? In fact, they are asking for Sinhalese teachers up there, while young Sinhalas here are showing growing keenness to learn Tamil.

HT: On a more personal note, you deliver some addresses in fluent Tamil, most recently at the United Nations. Where did you learn to speak it so well?

Rajapaksa:  I have an excellent teacher. I have not spoken it all my life, but started learning when I was the leader of the opposition. How you address people makes a big difference. Many MPs are now holding speeches in Tamil in the North, so I must admit it has set a trend of sorts.

HT: Do you have any time for other hobbies - like rugby, which you are said to love? You always seem to be travelling…

Rajapaksa: Travelling and meeting people is my relaxation!  I used to watch the rugby matches in which my sons were playing.  But not much now, because my children are grown up and busier even than I am.
END

(The interviewer is a veteran foreign correspondent who has covered the Sri Lanka civil war and other South Asia affairs for over two decades)

CIA Begins Delivering Weapons to al-Qaeda in Syria

CIA Begins Delivering Weapons to al-Qaeda in Syria

The Alex Jones Channel Infowars.com
September 12, 2013

The United States has officially announced it is now delivering “lethal aid” to the “rebels” engaged in attacks against the Syrian government. In addition to sophisticated communications equipment and advanced combat medical kits sent by the CIA, the State Department is sending vehicles and other munitions, according to the Washington Post.

Al-Nusra says it doesn’t want help from the CIA and the infidels.

The Post reports shipments were previously stalled due to “logistical challenges involved in delivering equipment in a war zone and officials’ fears that any assistance could wind up in the hands of jihadists.”

“We’ve come full circle from going after al-Qaeda to indirectly backing al-Qaeda,” Bill Gertz quoted a U.S. official as stating following a promise in June by the Obama administration to increase arm shipments.

In December, it was reported that al-Nusra, described as “the most aggressive and successful arm of the rebel force” that has affirmed its allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, is closely aligned with the so-called secular mercenaries supported by the United States.

Despite the fact the illegal war against the al-Assad regime is led by al-Qaeda and its al-Nusra affiliate with the direct support of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the Obama administration took umbrage after Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz said the U.S. doesn’t “have a dog in the fight” and “should be focused on defending the United States of America. That’s why young men and women sign up to join the military — not to, as you know, serve as al-Qaeda’s air force.”

Despite the CIA’s long history of directly supporting fanatical Islamic mujahideen groups since the early 1980s and working with Pakistani intelligence to create both al-Qaeda and the Taliban, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday he is outraged by Cruz’s remarks.

“I am outraged for somebody to suggest that our people would be serving as allies to al-Qaida, one,” McDonough said.

“Two, on this question about what this is and what this isn’t. What this is, George, is very clear. Targeted, consequential, limited attack against Assad forces and Assad

capabilities so that he is deterred from carrying out these actions again.

“Here is what it is not. It is not boots on the ground. It is not an extended air campaign. It is not Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya. This is a very concerned, concentrated,

limited effort that we can carry out and that can underscore and secure our interests.”

===============================

Russia says, No proof Assad was behind chemical attack

Russia says, 
No proof Assad was behind chemical attack

August 21, 2013. REUTERS-Bassam Khabieh
By Alissa de Carbonnel
MOSCOW | Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:36am EDT

(Reuters) - Russia and France disagreed radically on Tuesday over a report by U.N. investigators into a chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of people in Syria,highlighting the problems agreeing on action at the United Nations Security Council.

Sitting beside French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius at a news conference in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the report had produced no proof that President Bashar al-Assad's troops carried out the August 21 attack and that Russia still suspected rebels forces were behind it.

Fabius took the opposite view, saying the report left no doubt that Assad's forces were to blame for the attack which Washington says killed more than 1,400 people. The United States has also blamed Syrian government forces.

Lavrov acknowledged that the investigators' report proved that chemical weapons had been used but that "there is no answer to a number of questions we have asked," including whether the weapons were produced in a factory or home-made.

"We have very serious grounds to believe that this was a provocation," Lavrov said after talks in Moscow between two countries with veto powers in the U.N. Security Council.

He said there had been "many provocations" by the rebels fighting Assad's government and added: "They were all aimed, over the last two years, at provoking foreign intervention."

Lavrov said the U.N. report should be examined not in isolation but along with evidence from sources such as the Internet and other media, including accounts from "nuns at a nearby convent" and a journalist who had spoken to rebels.

"We want the events of August 21 to be investigated dispassionately, objectively and professionally," he said.

After Lavrov spoke, Fabius, whose country has stood with U.S. President Barack Obama in backing military action against Syria, challenged Lavrov's interpretation by saying the result of the report was clear.

"When you look at the amount of sarin gas used, the vectors, the techniques behind such an attack, as well as other aspects, it seems to leave no doubt that the regime is behind it," Fabius said.

Lavrov and Fabius agreed there should be a renewed push for a political solution in Syria. The Russian minister also thanked France for supporting a U.S.-Russian deal which calls for Syria to account fully for its chemical weapons within a week and for the removal and destruction of the entire arsenal by mid-2014.

But the differences over culpability for the August 21 attack indicated the hurdles faced in translating the chemical weapons agreement into progress towards ending a civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people since March 2011.

FRANCE URGES VIGILANCE

Their comments also pointed to likely wrangling in the U.N. Security Council over the mechanism for enforcing the agreement, which Assad has accepted, and disputes over punishment for any violations.

Fabius, who went to Moscow to discuss a U.N. resolution that would frame the U.S.-Russian accord, said the agreement was an "important step forward but not the end of the story".

"There is a series of precise mechanisms that have to be placed into a U.N. decision. We spoke about this and it should be dealt with in the coming days. I insisted, like Sergei Lavrov, on the necessity to go quickly," he said.

But Lavrov cautioned that while the Security Council was to adopt a resolution supporting the chemical weapons deal, a separate resolution would be needed to authorize use of force in response to any new attack and after guilt was proven.

Along with diplomatic ally China, Russia has used its veto power three times to block Western-backed Security Council resolutions meant to push Assad out or muscle him into ending a conflict that began with a crackdown on protests.

Lavrov said putting too much pressure on Assad would encourage his opponents and hurt the chances for peace.

"The more frequently and loudly the declarations come from different capitals that Assad is a criminal, has no place in this world and his place is in court, the more unwilling to compromise the (opposition) coalition becomes," he said

Fabius suggested it was Assad who should be kept in line and that he must keep his promise to abandon chemical arms.

"We are not bellicose, but we must remain vigilant because it is vigilance and firmness that enabled Syria to change its position and will ensure tomorrow that its commitments are kept," he said.

(Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow and John Irish in Paris, Writing by Steve Gutterman, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Angus MacSwan)

9/11 ''பயங்கரவாதிகளோடு`` கூட்டமைத்து சிரியாவில் ஆட்சிக் கவிழ்ப்பு யுத்தம் நடத்தும் அமெரிக்கா (பிரித்தானியா,பிரான்ஸ்)!

Source: http://www.infowars.com

U.N. chemical weapons experts did not say who launched the attack on the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Ghouta, which prompted the threat of Western military action.

Western powers press Assad to comply; U.N. confirms sarin used
By Warren Strobel and Louis Charbonneau

PARIS/UNITED NATIONS | Mon Sep 16, 2013 7:15pm EDT

(Reuters)

 The United States, Britain and France warned President Bashar al-Assad on Monday that there would be consequences if he failed to hand over Syria's chemical weapons, and said a U.N. report on the August 21 sarin gas attack left little doubt that Assad's forces were to blame.

As expected, a report by U.N. chemical weapons experts did not say who launched the attack on the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Ghouta, which prompted the threat of Western military action. But it did give details of the type of gas and the munitions used, which some experts said indicated government forces were responsible.

After a meeting of their foreign ministers in Paris, the three Western permanent members of the United Nations Security Council said they would seek a strong U.N. resolution setting binding deadlines for removing Syria's chemical weapons, French President Francois Hollande's office said.

This followed a weekend deal negotiated by Russia and the United States on eliminating the arms.

Russia cautioned against imposing tough penalties on the Syrian leader, who is Moscow's close ally. Russia and Syria say that opposition forces carried out the chemical weapons attack.

In Syria, where rebels fear the U.S.-Russia deal gave Assad license to continue his campaign using conventional weapons, fighting was reported on several fronts. Turkey said its warplanes shot down a Syrian helicopter after it violated Turkish airspace.

The U.S.-Russia deal reached in Geneva put off the immediate threat of U.S. air strikes to punish Assad for the August 21 attack, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed at the time that it did not include any automatic use of force in the event of Syria's failure to comply.

U.S. President Barack Obama has said force remains an option if Assad reneges.

The U.N. report confirmed "unequivocally and objectively" that chemical weapons were used, according to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

"THIS IS A WAR CRIME"

"This is a war crime," Ban told the Security Council. "The international community has a responsibility to hold the perpetrators accountable and to ensure that chemical weapons never re-emerge as an instrument of warfare."

Washington says the attack killed more than 1,400 people, including some 400 children Washington's ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, said the U.N. report made clear that only the Syrian government could have carried it out. [ID:nL2N0HC0OV]

British and French officials echoed her comments.

Russian U.N. envoy Vitaly Churkin said there was no scientific proof government forces were responsible for the sarin attack. "We need to not jump to any conclusions," he said.

Syria's U.N. ambassador did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The report confirmed that sarin gas was used. The investigators studied five impact sites and were able to determine the likely trajectory of the projectiles at two sites -

Moadamiyah and Ein Tarma.

Eliot Higgins, who blogs under the name of Brown Moses and has been tracking videos of weapons used in the Syria conflict, wrote that he has not seen the opposition using the munitions identified in the report: a variant of the M14 artillery rocket and a 330 mm caliber artillery rocket.

Rebels have seized all kinds of weapons from military depots across the country in the 2 1/2-year civil war.

But Amy Smithson, a chemical weapons expert at the Monterey Institute in California, said the attack bore "so many hallmarks of a military trained in chemical warfare doctrine" and not an untrained force.

"Multiple sites, simultaneously targeted. The early morning hours of the attack are when winds are at their lowest and temperatures at their coolest - the very conditions conducive to having toxic gas stay on the target," she told Reuters.

"The Assad government has been in the business of chemical weapons since the 1970s. They are trained in military doctrine. They also have chemical delivery systems that the rebels don't," she said.

SYRIA RISKS CONSEQUENCES

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told a news conference in Paris that the three powers agreed with Russia that Assad must suffer consequences if he fails to comply with U.N. demands.

"If Assad fails in time to abide by the terms of this framework, make no mistake, we are all agreed - and that includes Russia - that there will be consequences," Kerry said.

The accord offered the Syrian leader "no lifeline" and he had "lost all legitimacy", Kerry added.

After Hollande met Kerry and British Foreign Secretary William Hague and their French counterpart Laurent Fabius, an aide to Hollande said: "The idea is to stick to a firm line".

"They've agreed to seek a strong and robust resolution that sets precise and binding deadlines with a calendar," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Russia accused the Europeans of trying to reinterpret the agreement.

In Moscow, Lavrov said any rush to draw up a resolution threatening to punish Syria in the event of non-compliance showed a "lack of understanding" of the deal.

"Our (European) partners want to again unilaterally review what we've agreed on with the Americans. That's not how you do business, and I'm sure that despite these statements that are coming from European capitals, the Americans will, as proper negotiators, strictly stick to what has been agreed on," he said.

PEACE TALKS PLAN

Lavrov said it may be time to consider efforts to force the Syrian opposition to attend an international peace conference instead of just urging them to do so. The rebels have said they will not attend talks if the Syrian president is there.

Syria's government at the weekend hailed as a "victory" the Russian-brokered deal. Rebels who have been fighting Assad's forces since 2011 say it benefited their enemy in the civil war.

Assad briefly dispersed his forces to protect them from strikes threatened by the United States in response to the attack.

Opposition voices say the chemical weapons deal effectively gives Assad permission to carry on with the conventional war, in which more than 100,000 people have died, according to U.N. figures.

Fighting between rebels and government forces ground on from the outskirts of Damascus in the southwest to the central Hama province to Deir al-Zor in the east.

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said Turkish warplanes shot down a Syrian helicopter after it violated Turkish airspace.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an anti-Assad monitoring group based in Britain, said government warplanes also hit targets in the Sbeneh area south of Damascus and in the eastern Deir al-Zor province.

CHEMICAL WEAPONS

The Syrian government has told the United Nations it will adhere to a treaty banning chemical weapons. The U.S.-Russian framework agreement calls for the United Nations to enforce the removal of existing stockpiles by the middle of next year.

Assad has less than a week to begin complying with the deal by handing over a full account of his chemical arsenal. He must allow U.N.-backed inspectors from the Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to complete their initial on-site checks by November.

Experts say the removal of up to 1,000 metric tons of chemical agents will be highly problematic in the middle of Syria's civil war, although they assume that the dozens of chemical weapons sites remain under government control.

"The OPCW just doesn't have the manpower to man such an operation like this, so they would bring in other experts," former OPCW official Dieter Rothbacher told Reuters. He said even in normal circumstances it would take 15 to 20 inspectors several months to make an inventory and verify Syria's stockpile.

The U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria said on Monday it was investigating 14 alleged attacks with chemical weapons or chemical agents in Syria over the last two years.

U.N. human rights investigators also said hard-line Syrian rebels and foreign fighters invoking jihad, or holy war, had stepped up killings, executions and other abuses in the north since July.

(Additional reporting by Alexander Dziadosz, Stephanie Nebehay, Elizabeth Pineau, John Irish, Louis Charbonneau, Michelle Nichols, Jonathan Burch and Anthony Deutsch; Writing by Giles Elgood and Claudia Parsons; Editing by David Stamp, David Storey and Jim Loney)

தேர்தல் கொள்ளைக்கு நீதியரசர் போட்ட மாறு வேடம்!

வேறு பிரித்தறிவாய் நீறு பூத்த தமிழா!