Southwest Asia News Digest
LaRouche Doctrine Presented at Cairo University Conference
On May 13, LaRouche representative Muriel Mirak-Weissbach gave a presentation, at Cairo University, on The LaRouche Doctrine, Democratic Presidential pre-candidate Lyndon LaRouche's plan for a U.S. exit from Iraq based on stabilizing Southwest Asia, and providing a regional cooperative framework based on economic development. The presentation was arranged as a special session of a two-day conference of the Center for Asian Studies at the University, which dealt with Arab-Chinese relations. The audience was composed of members of the center, numerous press representatives, diplomats, and a large number of students.
Mirak-Weissbach was introduced by Prof. Mohammed Selim, who said that Lyndon LaRouche presents a unique economic policy, the Eurasian Land-Bridge. He is the most pro-Arab American political figure, and has the courage to say so publicly. LaRouche did everything to stop the Iraq war, to jam it up, said Dr. Selim, and now presents a very credible solution. He called to revive the 1958 Iraq Constitution, since Iraq is not a banana republic, and has its won constitution. LaRouche now demands the withdrawal of the armed forces; he has a vision of Eurasia, and has very good relations to China. Prof. Selim noted, in conclusion, that he had had the honor to meet LaRouche for a personal discussion.
Mirak-Weissbach first presented the context of the strategic crisis as the economic crisis, which is the real reason for the permanent war policy of Vice President Dick Cheney and his crowd. The first priority, she said, is a financial reform and the realization of the Eurasian Land-Bridge policy. Then, she laid out the LaRouche Doctrine, point by point, and discussed how it can be implemented. In presenting the U.S. political scene, she stressed that either LaRouche must be the Democratic candidate, or exert critical influence on Kerry. She outlined the international support for the LaRouche Doctrine, and stressed that this will be crucial to determine the direction of the Democratic Party. Her presentation was followed by a long and lively discussion.
Palestinian Prime Minister Receives Letter from Bush
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia received a letter from President George W. Bush detailing the latter's commitment to the Road Map for a Middle East peace, Ha'aretz reported May 12. It is being taken as a total contradiction of the notorious April 14 exchange of letters between Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, but Bush had no choice, given the demand by Jordanian King Abdullah II to Bush to reiterate U.S. policy and commitment to United Nations resolutions concerning the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Now, the question circulating in Washington is: which is the real Bush policy.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said the letter to Qureia reaffirmed Bush's commitment to the Road Map and to the creation of a Palestinian state. The Bush letter also called on the Palestinians to support Sharon's disengagement plan and Gaza pull-out as a step towards a Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, Qureia will be meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on May 14, to discuss Qureia's upcoming meeting with U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice on May 17. He will also be meeting Colin Powell on May 16 during an economic conference in Jordan.
Qureia is expected to present Rice with a plan for a new Palestinian State, based on the Road Map, according to a statement by Jibril Rajoub, senior adviser to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
Demands for Sharon To Resign Follows Gaza Attacks
The Israeli opposition in the Knesset called for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to resign on May 12, following the death of six Israeli soldiers whose armored personal carrier was blown up in the Gaza Strip, earlier in the week. The opposition grew even more intense after a second Israeli army APC was blown up, killing five more soldiers on May 13.
"If Sharon is unable to free himself from the shackles of the Likud and evacuate the settlements, then he should step down from his position," declared Labor Member of the Knesset (MK) Ophir Pines-Paz. He called on the government to order the total withdrawal from Gaza. "What else must occur before the government accepts the view held by a majority of the nation?"
Labor MK Yuli Tamir said that Sharon must resign, since he cannot take Israel out of Gaza, and for his disregard for the lives of Israeli soldiers.
Meretz MK Yossi Sarid said, "It's a tragedy that soldiers must die a pointless death for the sake of a place where Israeli life will not exist."
Meanwhile, right-wing fascist MK Aryeh Eldad of the National Union Party called for a declaration of war against the Palestinian National Authority with massive air strikes.
Both attacks, claimed by Hamas, are being seen as revenge for the Israeli assassinations of Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmend Yassin and of Hamas leader Abdel Azziz Rantisi, which occurred in March and April.
Then, in revenge for the Hamas attacks this week, the Israelis have killed over 20 Palestinians in about 48 hours. Additionally, further fighting has occurred around a large deployment of Israeli troops to collect body parts of the slain Israelis. Both Egypt and the PNA are working to have the bodies and remains returned to the Israelis, which should be a normal procedure, except for the fact that Israel has an ongoing policy of not handing over the bodies of many of the Palestinians they kill, or the remains of suicide bombers.
The attacks come amidst intense Israeli military activity, including destruction of a Palestinian house. Nearly 100 houses have been destroyed over the last week, leaving hundreds homeless.
Some sort of large-scale reprisal by Israel is expected over the next hours or days. Nonetheless, the bombings are creating a potentially serious political backlash, including statements by the father of one Israeli soldier, who blamed Sharon's Likud Party for his son's death (see below).
Father of Slain Israeli Soldier Blames Likud
Reflecting the rage that is building up within the Israeli population, the father of one of the 11 soldiers slain this week in the Gaza Strip is putting the blame directly on the Likud Party and its voting down of a plan to withdraw from Gaza, according to Ha'aretz May 13.
Sahlomo Vishinski, the bereaved father, ordered his son's funeral procession to begin at Likud Party headquarters. He told Israeli radio, "They, the members of the Likud, they are responsible. My son was a sucker of the Likud. He was sent there by the members of the Likud. The Prime Minister wanted to get him out of there. I am sorry that I live in a country that is not functioning. Those that rule over us are the members of the Likud."
The death toll of Israelis now tops 1,000, a fact being widely broadcast throughout the Israeli media.
Avraham Burg of the Labor Party and one of the initiators of the Geneva accord peace initiative, said, "If this government is unable to get us out of Gaza, the parents of Israeli soldiers will get us out of Gaza. and not only out of Gaza, but also the Jewish settlements in Hebron, where there's nothing for us, and from Nablus, and from Kiryat Arbafrom every place where there is a mini-Gaza or greater Gaza.... Only one thing will remove this Gaza from our lives: sitting down and negotiating ... with everyone possible, from the territories, Jordan, Europe, and the United States. Without a comprehensive peace accord Gaza will continue to be the hell of us all."
Barenboim: Occupation Incompatible With Israeli Declaration of Independence
The Israeli occupation of Palestinian land is incompatible with the Israeli Declaration of Independence, stated world-renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim, at a special session of the Knesset on May 5. Barenboim, the Israeli-born conductor and pianist was at the Knesset to be awarded the Wolf Foundation Prize for his accomplishments in music.
There, Barenboim quoted from the Declaration of Independence, which said that Israel would "grant full, equal, social and political rights to all its citizens regardless of differences of religious faith, race, or sex." Barenboim continued, "With a pain in my heart, I ask today whether a situation of conquest and control can be reconciled with Israel's Declaration of Independence? Is there logic to the independence of one people if the cost is a blow to the fundamental rights of another people? Can the Jewish people, whose history is full of suffering and persecution, allow itself to be apathetic about the rights and suffering of a neighboring people? Can the State of Israel allow itself to indulge an unrealistic dream whose meaning is an ambition to bring an ideological resolution to the dispute, rather than the aim of attaining a pragmatic, humanitarian solution, based on social justice?"
The Jabotinskyite right-wingers turned rabid: Likudniks, President Moshe Katsav and Education Minister Limor Livnat, jumped up and accused Barenboim of attacking Israel. (Livnat, who as Education Minister chairs the foundation, had tried to block the prize awarded to Barenboim.) Knesset Speaker Reuvin Rivlin, who proudly displays a portrait of Zev Vladimir Jabotinsky in his office, boycotted the Knesset session awarding Barenboim the Wolf Foundation Prize. Barenboim responded, "I didn't attack Israel, I simply read from the Declaration of Independence, and asked rhetorical questions. You chose to interpret them differently." He later told reporters that if quoting from the Israel Declaration of Independence is provocative, "Then I'm proud to be a provocateur."
Barenboim also went to Ramallah, in the West Bank, to give a concert, and conduct the youth orchestra of the Palestinian National Conservatory. Barenboim toured the city, where he was hosted by Dr. Mustapha Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, at the Friends Boys School in Ramallah. Barenboim was received a standing ovation from the packed audience; he performed Beethoven sonatas Opus 10, No. 3 in D Major and Opus 109 in E major.
Following the intermission, he spoke briefly, paying tribute to his close friend, the late Palestinian intellectual Edward Said, who helped Barenboim finance the Palestinian Youth Orchestra, with which he has been involved for the past year.
During his tour, Barenboim went to Ariel Sharon's Berlin Wall of the Middle East, which he later denounced, and on May 6, he gave a joint press conference with Dr. Barghouthi and Suhail Khoury, director of the Palestinian National Conservatory of Music.
Italian Opposition Demanding Troop Withdrawal from Iraq
Romano Prodi, the current European Union President and likely future candidate against Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, is leading an Italian opposition modelled on the Spanish Prime Minister's "Zapaterista" faction, to pull Italian troops out of Iraq. Prodi called on moderates to join him in demanding that the Italian troops be withdrawn from Iraq in view of "war crimes" being committed there by coalition forces. The "war crimes" characterization was chosen by Prodi himself, borrowing an expression from the Vatican daily, Osservatore Romano.
The Prodi-led opposition forces will demand an immediate withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq in a Parliament motion to be voted on May 20. The radicalization of the Prodi coalition occurs in the midst of a debate on reports by Italian military police in Nassiriya, exposing tortures in the local prison, run by Iraqi police and overseen by the British. Those reports have apparently been sent to the Italian government, which should have intervened upon Viceroy Paul Bremer's occupation authority. However, not only did the Italian government not intervene, but Defense Minister Antonio Martino declared before Parliament that his office never received any report about abuses against prisoners.
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