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2.8.13

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Military Resistance 11B5

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The Fix Is In!

U.S. Government Helping To Pay For The Bombs And Bullets Used To Kill U.S. Soldiers
Huge Amounts Of American And European Money Have Flowed Via Contractors Into The Hands Of The Insurgency

In Late January, The U.S. Military Blacklisted Afghanistans Kam Air From Winning Contracts With The Us In Afghanistan
A Few Weeks Later, The International Security Assistance Force In Afghanistan Issued A Terse Statement Announcing That Kam Air Would Be Removed From The Blacklist
The US is expected to spend $10 billion on Afghan reconstruction and far more in directly supporting military operations. Its a fair bet that a chunk of the money will go into the hands of Afghan politicians, warlords, and the Taliban alike. February 5, 2013 By Dan Murphy, Staff writer; Christian Science Monitor In late January, the US military blacklisted Afghanistans Kam Air from winning contracts with the US in Afghanistan, with the head of a US military anticorruption unit asserting that the airline was involved in bulk opium smuggling on commercial flights to Tajikistan. The decision touched off a flurry of backroom lobbying, given the political connections of Kam Airs owner and the shadow it cast over efforts to merge the private airline carrier with the struggling Afghan government-owned airline Ariana. The result? A few weeks later, the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF) issued a terse statement announcing that Kam Air would be removed from the blacklist pending the results of an Afghan government investigation into the drug smuggling charges. The release outlines a Feb. 2 meeting between senior officials in the Afghan government and the US military in Kabul. There, US military officials explained why they had recommended the (blacklist) designation to the commander of CENTCOM, or the US Central Command based in Tampa, which is in operational control of the Afghanistan mission. The brief statement makes no explanation as to why the Afghan governments arguments were convincing, though it implies that questions of Afghan sovereignty were crucial.

The CENTCOM commander made the decision to suspend the 841 designation because he believes it is an appropriate, logical course of action at this time for the sovereign Afghan Government to conduct a full investigation of Kam Air. Perhaps. But why Afghan sovereignty should determine who the US military does business with isnt entirely clear. Nor is it clear why the position of Maj. Gen. Richard Longo, who commands a task force to combat contracting corruption in Afghanistan, has been ignored. He told The Wall Street Journal in January that the U.S. will not do business with those who fund and support illicit activities. Kam Air is too large of a company not to know what has been going on within its organization. Making this story stranger still were the comments of ISAF and US Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Col. Thomas Collins to Stars and Stripes yesterday. He said, in the words of the Stars and Stripes reporter, that the decision to rescind the blacklist decision did not call into question the evidence uncovered by the original US investigation. An Afghan contact of mine, and a former senior adviser to the Afghan government, has an explanation. He alerted me to the ISAF press release with an e-mail headed the fix is in! He asserted that essentially the US is doing a favor for President Hamid Karzai by protecting the business interests of Zamari Kamgar, the owner of Kam Air (Mr. Kamgar rejected allegations of any wrongdoing at the airline in an interview with The Wall Street Journal after the original designation was made, and the next day he told AFP he might seek compensation for the US militarys baseless, unbelievable and insulting allegation). As with many operational decisions in Afghanistan, the press release exudes a strong odor of political calculations being made and acted on. What is a Section 841 designation? The section is in the National Defense Authorization Act, and is designed to prevent US contract money from ending up in the hands of the Taliban or any other person or group actively supporting an insurgency or otherwise actively opposing United States or coalition forces in a contingency operation in the United States Central Command theater of operations. One of the bitter truths of the Afghan war is that huge amounts of American and European money have flowed via contractors into the hands of the insurgency, leaving the US and its coalition partners in the position of helping to pay for the bombs and bullets used to kill Afghan and foreign soldiers.

The issue is not a new one, with trucking contractors paying protection money to groups connected to the insurgency in order to buy safe passage for US fuel, ammunition, and food deliveries to US bases. The US also believes the drug business to be one of the principal money makers for the Taliban. The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), which investigates corruption in US spending in Afghanistan, said in his latest report out this month that Afghanistan produces about 90 percent of the worlds opium and that the illicit drug trade also supports the insurgency. The report also found persistent and high levels of corruption in the Afghan police, judiciary, and among its elected leaders. The Attorney Generals office, which presumably would lead an investigation into Kam Air, is not spared. While the ISAF press release said that US Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) and the Afghan Government remain mutually committed to transparency and combating corruption that isnt the impression youd get from reading the SIGAR report, which wrote the following about the Attorney Generals office: Despite the importance the United States and the international community place on progress in punishing high-level officials guilty of corruption, the Afghan Attorney General Office (AGO) made no significant anti-corruption indictments or prosecutions this quarter... The AGO has claimed progress in his compliance with President Karzais anticorruption and governance decree (PD45), but that claim does not reflect (the State Departments) understanding of events and omits important facts. For example, the Attorney General is responsible for issuing indictments on corruption, but two of the major stakeholders in the Kabul Bank scandal, President Karzais brother and Vice President Fahims brother, were not on the list of those indicted for crimes related to the banks collapse. The Attorney General also fired a reportedly reputable government whistleblower in the AGO because of the whistleblowers determination to build corruption cases against government officials, according to State. The Attorney General brought charges against the whistleblower for libeling ministries by accusing them of corruption in front of the Parliament. The Afghan governments own track record at rooting out official corruption under President Karzai is probably best summed up as awful. The US is expected to spend $10 billion on Afghan reconstruction and far more in directly supporting military operations.

Its a fair bet that a chunk of the money will go into the hands of Afghan politicians, warlords, and the Taliban alike.

POLITICIANS REFUSE TO HALT THE BLOODSHED THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE WAR

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS Helicopter Down In Tagab District Of Kapisa Province

February 7 Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan A U.S. helicopter crashed Thursday in eastern Afghanistan, but no crew members were seriously injured, officials said. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed the helicopter was shot down by the groups fighters in the Tagab district of Kapisa province. Both members of the helicopter crew were recovered from the crash and neither was seriously injured, U.S. Army Maj. Adam Wojack said.

Former Jihadi Commander Blown Up By Restaurant Pressure Cooker Bomb

02/05/13 By Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan A bomb hidden in a pressure cooker exploded inside a restaurant in northern Afghanistan Tuesday, killing five people, senior officials said. The explosion, which occurred shortly before noon in Faryab province, was targeting a former jihadi commander, according to the provincial governor Mohammadullha Batash. The former commander, Mohammad Nadir, was among seven people wounded in the blast in the upscale district of Khwaja Sabz Poshi Wali, Batash said, adding that two suspects had been arrested.

Resistance Action

03 February 2013 AFP & 07 February 2013 TOLOnews The police chief of Kashinda district in northern Balkh province has been killed with three other police officers in an insurgent attack claimed by the Taliban. An improvised explosive device, believed to have been detonated by remote control, exploded at about 3:00pm in Kashinda while the district governor was patrolling the area with the security forces. The blast killed the district police chief Nasruddin and three other police officers, and injured the district administrative officer Delbar, the police commander in the North Zone 303 told TOLOnews. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in an email. ****************************************************************** Taliban roadside bombs killed two police officers in the countrys troubled south at the weekend, officials said Sunday. The officers were on a routine patrol when their pick-up truck was blown up.

IF YOU DONT LIKE THE RESISTANCE END THE OCCUPATION

The Cost Of Corruption Has Risen Sharply In Afghanistan

The Amount Rose In 2012 To $3.9bn, Twice The Countrys Domestic Revenue
A 40% Jump Over The 2009 Figure
7 February 2013 BBC The cost of corruption has risen sharply in Afghanistan but fewer people are paying bribes, a UN report says. It said the amount rose in 2012 to $3.9bn, twice the countrys domestic revenue and that 50% of Afghans were paying bribes compared to 58% in 2009. Increasing numbers of people say they find it acceptable for civil servants to take small bribes, the report adds. The BBCs Bilal Sarwary says that what is revealed in this report could just be the tip of the iceberg. It is also unclear to what extent respondents felt able to speak openly about the bribery and corruption they have to contend with, our correspondent says. The report was compiled jointly by the UN office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Afghanistans anti-corruption unit, based on a survey of 6,700 people, It says that while there has been some tangible progress in the fight against corruption, the total cost of corruption rose to $3.9bn in 2012, a 40% jump over the 2009 figure. According to the report, the bribes Afghans paid last year amounted to double the countrys domestic revenue or one-quarter of the $16bn promised by donors for Afghanistan at a conference in Japan last year. Afghans know that corruption is eating at the fabric of their society, said UNODC regional representative Jean-Luc Lemahieu. The report noted that while the cost of corruption had risen, the total number of people paying bribes had dropped from 58% in 2009 to 50% last year - but they were paying more often. It said that the education sector had become especially vulnerable, with the number of Afghans bribing teachers jumping from 16% in 2009 to 51% in 2012.

WELCOME TO OBAMAWORLD:

WHERE EVERY DEATH IN COMBAT ACCOMPLISHES NOTHING AT ALL

February 2, 2013: U.S. soldiers peer through the scopes of their weapons after being fired upon by unseen assailants following a joint patrol with Afghan forces in a small village in Ghazni.(Photo: Carmen Gentile for USA TODAY)

SOMALIA WAR REPORTS

Ethiopian Occupation Troops Ambushed By Insurgents:

Much Of The Rural Areas In Bay And Bakool Region Are Dominated By Al Shabaab Fighters
The Situation In Hudur Is Very Dire; Food Supplies Brought To The Town Are

Sold At Exorbitant Prices Which Residents Cant Afford

Feb 7, 2013 Garowe Online BAIDOA, Somalia A contingent of Ethiopian troops were ambushed by Al Shabaab fighters as they made their way from El Barde in Bakool region in south central Somalia on Thursday, Garowe Online reports. According to local media in Bakool, the Ethiopian troops were headed back from surveying the town of El Barde which is located in Bay and Bakool region - when they were ambushed near Yed, a village that lies in the middle of El Barde and Hudur, where Ethiopian troops are stationed. According to local sources, there were several casualties on both sides and fighting is still ongoing in Bakool region. On Wednesday, an improvised explosive device (IED) hit a vehicle carrying Ethiopian troops as they were passing an intersection in Baidoa. Hiiraan Online a Somali web based media outlet, stated that at least 2 Ethiopian soldiers were killed in the blast. Despite Baidoa being a rather serene city since its capture by Ethiopian and Somali militia last year, the rural parts of Bay region are quite different. Much of the rural areas in Bay and Bakool region are dominated by Al Shabaab fighters. According to Hiiraan Online, the town of Hudur where some Ethiopian troops are stationed, is surrounded by Al Shabaab fighters and is very isolated, causing problems for citizens of Hudur. Sources who spoke to GO said that the situation in Hudur is very dire; food supplies brought to the town are sold at exorbitant prices which residents cant afford.

MILITARY NEWS

Bashar, Were Coming For You

Rebels Could Be Seen Removing The Weapons And Protective Gear

Off The Bodies Of Dead Government Soldiers

The Rebel Assault On Regime Forces In Damascus Started At About 9 A.M. Locally With Coordinated Attacks
February 7, 2013 & February 8, Wall Street Journal [Excerpts] BEIRUTSyrian opposition fighters faced off against regime forces in their fiercest battles in months in Damascus on Wednesday. Rebels could be seen removing the weapons and protective gear off the bodies of dead government soldiers slumped in the mud. A poster of President Bashar al-Assad pasted on a nearby wall is torn off and stamped under rebels feet. Bashar, were coming for you, a voice could be heard saying. Damascus remained tense Thursday, with sporadic clashes in some areas, a day after antiregime rebels began an offensive. Syrian government forces tried Thursday to regain some of the positions and checkpoints they lost to rebels Wednesday in and around Damascus, opposition activists said. Fighting also spilled Thursday into a nearby major bus terminal connecting Damascus with towns and cities in the north and east, according to residents who said that activity at the terminal had come to a standstill since Wednesday. The fiercest clashes took place on the citys east side and briefly touched the busy Abaseen Square traffic circle, according to residents and opposition activists. Several compounds affiliated with government security and intelligence agencies are on streets branching from the square, and have been fortified in recent months with sandbags, concrete barriers and checkpoints. The rebel assault on regime forces in Damascus started at about 9 a.m. Wednesday locally with coordinated attacks on several government checkpoints and bases in neighborhoods adjacent to the Southern Flyover, a highway that snakes around the capital. By nightfall, regime forces significantly stepped up their patrols of the streets of the capital, which one witness said resembled a ghost town.

The most intense clashes, according to residents and activists, took place in the neighborhood of Jobar on the capitals east side and briefly spilled into Abaseen Square, where witnesses reported hearing sustained gunfire and alarm sirens. In separate activist footage of the battle for the Harmala mosque checkpoint in Jobar on Wednesday, rebels could be seen attacking with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns mounted on the back of pickup trucks. In a video clip showing one of the main rebel attacks, armed men could be seen at the abandoned security checkpoint in Jobar. In one video, one rebel attacker waving a pistol shouts out to an army officer to surrender before rebels overrun the checkpoint Toward midnight, the sound of explosions and gunfire could still be heard coming from several neighborhoods on the south and southwest sides of the city, as rebels conducted guerrilla strikes. Rebels also said they carried out a bombing against a regime security compound at the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp but gave no further details. The regime continued to pound rebel pockets in several suburbs of Damascus using artillery and rocket launchers positioned on Qasioun Mountain on the capitals northern edge.

FORWARD OBSERVATIONS

At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh had I the ability, and could reach the nations ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose. Frederick Douglass, 1852

Hope for change doesnt cut it when youre still losing buddies. -- J.D. Englehart, Iraq Veterans Against The War

Secret Documents Lift Lid On WWII Mutiny By 600 African American U.S. Troops In North Queensland Sparked By Racial Taunts And Violence
The Soldiers Took To The Machine Guns And Anti-Aircraft Weapons And Fired Into Tents To Attack Their White Officers
One Of The Biggest Uprisings Within The U.S. Military
February 10, 2012 By Josh Bavas, ABC.NET.AU An Australian historian has uncovered hidden documents which reveal that African American troops used machine guns to attack their white officers in a siege on a US base in north Queensland in 1942. Information about the Townsville mutiny has never been released to the public.

But the story began to come to light when James Cook Universitys Ray Holyoak first began researching why US congressman Lyndon B Johnson visited Townsville for three days back in 1942. What he discovered was evidence detailing one of the biggest uprisings within the US military. For 70 years theres been a rumour in Townsville that there was a mutiny among African-American servicemen. In the last year and a half Ive found the primary documentation evidence that that did occur in 1942, Mr Holyoak told AM. During World War II, Townsville was a crucial base for campaigns into the Pacific, including the Battle of the Coral Sea. About 600 African-American troops were brought to the city to help build airfields. Mr Holyoak says these troops, from the 96th Battalion, US Army Corps of Engineers, were stationed at a base on the citys western outskirts known as Kelso. This was the site for a large-scale siege lasting eight hours, which was sparked by racial taunts and violence. After some serial abuse by two white US officers, there was several ringleaders and they decided to machine gun the tents of the white officers, Mr Holyoak said. He has uncovered several documents hidden in the archives of the Queensland Police and Townsville Brigade detailing what happened that night. According to the findings, the soldiers took to the machine guns and anti-aircraft weapons and fired into tents where their white counterparts were drinking. More than 700 rounds were fired. At least one person was killed and dozens severely injured, and Australian troops were called in to roadblock the rioters. Mr Holyoak also discovered a report written by Robert Sherrod, a US journalist who was embedded with the troops. It never made it to the press, but was handed to Lyndon B Johnson at a Townsville hotel and eventually filed away into the National Archives and Records Administration. I think at the time, it was certainly suppressed. Both the Australian and the US government would not have wanted the details of this coming out. The racial policies at the time really discluded people of colour, Mr Holyoak says. Both the Australian Defence Department and the Australian War Memorial say it could take months to research the incident, and say they have no details readily available for public release.

But Townsville historian Dr Dorothy Gibson-Wilde says the findings validate 70-year-old rumours. Anytime it was raised, people usually sort of said, Oh you know, no that cant be true. Nobodys heard about that, and in fact it must have been kept pretty quiet from the rest of the town, she said. Mr Holyoak will spend the next two years researching the sentences handed out to both the officers and the mutineers involved, and why the information has been kept secret for so long.

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Forward Military Resistance along, or send us the email address if you wish and well send it regularly with your best wishes. Whether in Afghanistan or at a base in the USA, this is extra important for your service friend, too often cut off from access to encouraging news of growing resistance to the war, inside the armed services and at home. Send email requests to address up top or write to: Military Resistance, Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657.

Sequestration Cuts Would Close Service Academies, End ROTC Programs

8 February 2013 by ArmyJ, The Duffle Blog NEW YORK, NY Duffel Blog contributor and Fordham University researcher James Higgenbothem has discovered that the mandatory cuts to the military in the event of sequestration include a rider that calls for the immediate closure of the United States service academies and termination of ROTC programs. The controversial findings are all revealed in his new book Why Obama Hates America, which will be published in late February. A Pentagon official, who requested anonymity due to the controversial nature of the cuts, admitted to Higgenbothem that the militarys solution to the removal of the military academies was simple and cost effective. We will replace the four year course load with an online Officer Candidate School that could be completed in as little as 16 weeks. I mean, a four-year Ensign from Annapolis or Lieutenant from West Point will cost the government over $500,000, the anonymous official told The Duffel Blog. But lets be honest, an O-1 is useless either way, and theres no added benefit from that half-million investment. Even an ROTC scholarship will run about $100,000 over the course of a cadets schooling. Everyone knows these things are wastes, but since 90% of the military leadership comes from one of those pampered schools for boys, the places have never faced a serious threat. Until now, that is. The recent drowning death of a midshipmen swimmer at Annapolis, as well as the bloody riots that claimed the lives of over 16 cadets at the Air Force Academy and West Point provided additional justification for the shut-downs.

Coupled with the new Pentagon study that found the current crop of Majors were actually less effective than new 2nd Lieutenants, the choice was almost a forgone conclusion when faced with the threat of massive budget cuts. The new plan would call for a complete ban on commission of officers from college programs. All applicants to the online course must have at least six years active duty service and hold a minimum rank of E-5. Higgenbothems source also notes that with online courses, the number of cadets who are hazed, sexually assaulted, or killed by negligent discharge should approach zero, saving the government additional millions that would have otherwise been spent on creating new PowerPoint classes to teach cadets why all those things are bad, as well as damages from civil lawsuits. The Pentagons decision isnt much of a leap from current operations today. Things like anti-terrorism, road safety, OPSEC, and range operations are all taught via a click-through online presentation, so why not the basic skills needed to be a commissioned officer in the United States military? Its not that much of an increase in the learning curve, Higgenbothem notes. At press time, a Pentagon spokesman reported that the new online courses will be hosted by the University of Phoenix or University of Maryland University College of Maryland University.

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OCCUPATION PALESTINE

Israeli Police On Sunday Detained Two Palestinian Young Girls And Their Grandmother After Denying Them Permission To Visit The Childrens Jailed Father

The Grandmother Remains In Israeli Custody

Jana Khanfar, 8 and Hala Khanfar, 7 04/02/2013 Maan JENIN -- Israeli police on Sunday detained [translation: arrested] two young girls and their grandmother after denying them permission to visit the childrens jailed father, the Palestinian prisoners society said. Hala Khanfar, 7, and Jana Khanfar, 8, were detained [translation: arrested] with their grandmother while trying to visit their father Rami Khanfar in Israels Negev prison, their uncle told the society. The children, from Nablus in the northern West Bank, were held until 1 a.m. Monday, when they were handed to Palestinian security officials in the southern city of Hebron. They spent the night in Hebron at the home of the head of a local committee for prisoners families. Their grandmother remains in Israeli custody [translation: locked up by police], a Maan reporter said. The governor of Hebron, Kamil Hmeid, strongly denounced the arrests, calling on local and international organizations to document Israeli violations against children. Rami Khanfar is serving a 15-year sentence in Israeli jail.

Zionist Forces Attack A Village Palestinians Build On Their Own Land:

Israeli soldiers use sound bombs and pepper spray to disperse Palestinian activists. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

Israeli soldiers hold down and pepper spray a Palestinian activist at point blank range. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian youth during the forced evacuation of Al Manatir. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

A Palestinian medical worker evacuates a young girl suffering from tear gas that was fired into her home by Israeli forces in the West Bank village of Burin. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

Palestinian youth throw stones at Israeli military jeeps invading the West Bank village of Burin, February 2, 2013. The army invaded Burin after ejecting Palestinian activists from the newly created village of Al Manatir on a nearby hilltop on village land. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org) February 6, 2013 +972 Palestinian activists create a new village, Al Manatir, on private Palestinian land near the West Bank village of Burin threatened by nearby Israeli settlements. Israeli forces violently evacuate the area, resulting in arrests and injuries. In the early morning hours of Saturday, February 2, Palestinian activists erected a new protest village in the spirit of Bab Al-Shams on a hilltop overlooking the West Bank village of Burin. Named Al Manatir, the new villages location was selected to protest the expansion of nearby Israeli settlements and the violence and harassment Burins residents frequently face from settlers. According to the actions organizers, Hundreds of Burins residents, together with Palestinian activists from across Palestine, established a new makeshift neighborhood of huts and tents in the village today, on lands threatened by confiscation by the adjacent Jewish-only settlement of Har Brakha. The new neighborhood is named Al-Manatir, after the traditional stone huts Palestinians built in their agricultural lands, which were used as shelter for the watchmen of the fields. In recent years, the village of Buring has suffered from frequent Settler attacks, launched from both the Har Brakha and the Yitzhar settlements.

Activists stress that their main goal is to sustain presence on the land, as means of protecting it from confiscation and establishing the rights of Burins residents to their land. Shortly after the structures were established, groups of settlers from Har Brakha started to convene in the area and attack the Palestinians by throwing stones at them. The Israeli military soon arrived on the scene, and though they separated settlers from Palestinians, they proceeded to violently eject Palestinians from the newly created village despite the fact that it was created on Palestinian land belonging to the inhabitants of Burin. Though soldiers stood idly by as settlers carried away several of Al Manatirs shelters, the military attacked Palestinian activists with tear gas, sound grenades and pepper spray. Several Palestinians were violently arrested for resisting the evacuation, and many required medical treatment for tear-gas inhalation and other injuries while fleeing from the rocky hilltop. As activists and local residents returned to Burin, the Israeli military invaded the town, occupied its main streets, and fired tear gas for several hours as residents responded by throwing stones. The military also fired several volleys of live ammunition, and according to some reports, one resident was struck in the leg. Several residents of the town, including small children, were evacuated by ambulance and treated for tear-gas inhalation after their homes were engulfed in the fumes. Haggai Matar provides further background on the context for this protest action: This is the third Palestinian outpost to be set up in past month, the first being Bab Alshams (Gate of the Sun) in the E1 area, which gained both local and international attention until it was forcefully brought down, and the second being Bab Al-Karame (Gate of Dignity) in Beit Iqsa, which was also taken down by the army. Gaining more and more international support since the UN bid on November 29, 2012, Palestinians are expected to continue carrying out unarmed and non-violent protests such as these, highlighting Israels racist policies that differentiate in its attitude to Jewish illegal outposts on Palestinian land and Palestinian outposts on their own land. [To check out what life is like under a murderous military occupation commanded by foreign terrorists, go to: www.rafahtoday.org The occupied nation is Palestine. The foreign terrorists call themselves Israeli.]

DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK

CLASS WAR REPORTS

The People Want The Fall Of The Regime

Tunisia Hit By Fresh Protests, Clashes With Police And Strikes
Protesters Torched And Ransacked Offices Of The Ruling Islamist Ennahda Party In A Number Of Towns

Angry Tunisians gather around an ambulance carrying the body of Chokri Belaid after his assassination Wednesday. European Pressphoto Agency [Thanks to Alan Stolzer, Military Resistance Organization, who sent this in.] 2013-02-07 By Antoine Lambroschini TUNIS; Middle East Online & By CHARLES LEVINSON, Wall Street Journal & 08 Feb 2013 Al Jazeera Tunisia was hit Thursday by fresh protests, clashes and strikes sparked by the assassination of outspoken opposition leader Chokri Belaid

Thousands of Tunisians took to the streets in several cities after the attack. In the capital, Tunis, police used tear gas to disperse wailing demonstrators surrounding the ambulance carrying Mr. Belaids body to the morgue. One policeman was killed after being hit by rocks in Tunis, while protesters torched and ransacked offices of the ruling Islamist Ennahda party in a number of towns as news spread of Belaids assassination. Ennahda has been squarely accused by Belaids family of being behind the killing -charges it vigorously denies. Many protesters chanted the people want the fall of the regime and other slogans that echoed through Tunisias streets during the revolution two years ago, witnesses said. This time, however, the ruling party, Ennahda, bore the brunt of the popular rage. In the capital, police fired tear gas at demonstrators marching on the interior ministry to protest Belaids assassination in broad daylight on Wednesday, a correspondent said. The protest march came despite a heavy deployment of police in Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the 2011 uprising that toppled ex-president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and where thousands had gathered Wednesday in scenes reminiscent of the revolt. The state news agency TAP also reported clashes in cities across the country, with police resorting to tear gas and warning shots. While opposition parties and unions refrained from calling people onto the streets Thursday, spontaneous protests that erupted in a dozen towns and cities the previous day served as a reminder that social upheaval remains a real threat. In the northwest town of Boussalem, demonstrators set fire to a police station. Clashes also erupted in Gafsa, in Tunisias volatile central mining region, with protesters throwing petrol bombs at police who fired tear gas in response, correspondents said. Hundreds of opposition protesters clashed with police outside the governors office in the central Tunisian town of Gafsa, an AFP news agency journalist reported. The Gafsa demonstration was organised by the Popular Front, an alliance of leftist parties to which Belaid belonged. Thursdays unrest follows violence the day before that left one policeman dead in Tunis and saw protesters torch and ransack offices of the Islamist party Ennahda in a number of towns, including Gafsa. Lawyers and judges across the country as well as teachers at Mandouba University, near Tunis, kicked off a two-day strike in response to the killing of Chokri Belaid outside his home on Wednesday, officials said. Al Jazeeras Ahmed Janabi, reporting from Tunis, said that security reinforcements have arrived at the French embassy in the heart of Tunis, where protesters have gathered.

Police continue to chase demonstrators away from the embassys vicinity. Anti-riots forces chased demonstrators in the allays surrounding the embassy, said Janabi.

Libyan New Rulers Fear Second Revolution February 15:

Faced With Growing Rumblings In The Street, The Authorities Have Put Security Forces On High Alert
A Leaflet Circulated In Tripoli Calls For A Popular Revolt And A Civil Disobedience Movement To Bring Down The Regime
The calls to demonstrate are justified because of several accumulated problems, such as inflation, the high cost of living and high unemployment among the youth, Mohamed al-Mufti, a former political prisoner under Gathafis regime, said. 2013-02-04 By Youssef Ba TRIPOLI; Middle East Online Two years after the start of the uprising that ousted Moamer Gathafi, Libyas new rulers are under attack for lack of reforms and face protests on February 15 being touted by some as a second revolution. Faced with growing rumblings in the street, the authorities have put security forces on high alert ahead of the protests as well as celebrations two days later marking the second anniversary of the February 17 Revolution that led to Gathafis ouster and being killed in October 2011. Demands by opposition groups range from a ban on officials of the former regime from holding public office to the disbandment of armed militias and a reform of the higher education system. Chants at protests are increasingly resembling those staged during the uprising against Gathafi: The people demand the fall of the (new) regime. A leaflet circulated in Tripoli calls for a popular revolt and a civil disobedience movement to bring down the regime.

It encourages Libyans to stock up with food and fuel in anticipation of what it says will be a complete shutdown of the country following the February 15 protests. It is unclear who is behind the leaflet and the calls for protests but Libyan officials and several organisations, including Islamic groups, accuse remnants of the former regime of fomenting protests to sow disorder and instability. In Libyas eastern city of Benghazi -- cradle of the anti-Gathafi rebellion -- the calls have been relayed on social networks by several groups backed by supporters of federalism and various civil society groups. The calls to demonstrate are justified because of several accumulated problems, such as inflation, the high cost of living and high unemployment among the youth, Mohamed al-Mufti, a former political prisoner under Gathafis regime, said. This movement is also politically motivated given their demands for federalism and the challenges posed to the decisions and choices of the assembly and the government. Zahia Attia, a political activist, said he would stage a sit-in and organise peaceful protest marches to denounce the national assembly for its failure to make progress on issues like national reconciliation, allocation of resources ... and drafting of a constitution. The new Libyan authorities, meanwhile, are trying to learn from incidents in neighbouring Egypt, where deadly riots erupted last month around celebrations there marking second anniversary of the start of the revolution that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak. Libyan authorities have held several meetings to organise festivities planned for February 17 and to step up security ahead of the February 15 demonstrations. Libyas Interior Minister Ashur Shwayel expressed his fears that the protests of February 15 may not be peaceful in nature, but insisted that every citizen had a right to express his political opinion. Libyas mufti, the highest religious authority, has also urged that demonstrations be held in a peaceful manner. Amor Bushala, a member of an organisation of civil groups, said his organisation would participate in February 15 demonstrations only if they are peaceful. Appeals must focus on correcting the process of revolution and not challenge the national assembly or the government which are legitimate institutions, he said. Users of social networks such as Facebook have resisted calls to protest against the government and national assembly, insisting that these institutions are legitimate and there is no reason to dispute them. Hadj Ahmed Muldi, a computer technician, however said more and Libyans were becoming excited by the calls for protest. Sixteen months after the fall of Gathafi, there is no change and (the new) government has failed to establish security or restore the authority of the state, lamented the 54-year-old resident of Tripoli.

Class War Greece:

People reach out to take fruits and vegetables distributed for free by farmers during a protest against high production costs outside the Agriculture Ministry in Athens February 6, 2013. REUTERS/John Kolesidis

Striking seamen and activists from the communist-affiliated trade union PAME march through the port of Piraeus near Athens February 6, 2013. Greek ships sailed again from the busy ports of Piraeus and Rafina on Wednesday after the government ordered seamen to end a six-day strike that cut off dozens of islands from the mainland. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

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